Highly Activated State

Seeing old Butler Delong, Richard raised a hand in invitation, gesturing for him to sit across the dining table. He asked, "Butler Delong, would you like to join me for breakfast?"

"No, thank you for Prince Richard's kindness," the gaunt Butler Delong hurriedly replied.

After being refused, Richard did not insist. He calmly asked, "What brings Butler Delong to see me this time?"

"Well..." Butler Delong hesitated before answering, "It's like this, Prince Richard. Today, the First Prince specifically brought a healer to visit His Majesty the King, who is ill."

"Oh?" Richard's eyes flickered. Knowing the other man had more to say, he prompted, "So..."

"So... I was thinking that perhaps Prince Richard should also visit His Majesty the King? After all, these are unusual times. The King is bedridden with illness and needs someone to show concern for him. Besides..."

Butler Delong's gaunt voice lowered, carrying a trace of sorrow. "Fifteen years ago, Queen Sophia suffered a difficult birth when giving birth to you, Prince Richard. Before she passed, she instructed me to remind you as much as possible not to grow too distant from the King. Now..."

"So now, you intend to persuade me to follow the example of my dear brother—William Austin?" Richard asked.

"After all..." Butler Delong trailed off.

"I know you have my best interests at heart, Butler Delong." Richard folded his hands together on the table and said, "But a week ago, I already visited my sick and respected father—His Majesty King Donald—once. From what I can infer, even if I went to see him and showed concern, it likely would not help his condition. It would be better not to go and let him rest properly."

Butler Delong was slightly stunned by Richard's words, then suddenly alarmed, because he heard some troubling implications in them. He knew Richard often had strange yet accurate insights, and could not help asking, "Could it be that His Majesty the King..."

A waxy yellow face rapidly surfaced in Richard's mind. His eyes flickered, but he looked at Butler Delong without answering.

Butler Delong's heart instantly turned cold, because sometimes, no answer was the worst answer.

"Then..." Butler Delong's voice trembled slightly. "Then... will His Majesty the King live to see this autumn's falling leaves, Prince Richard?"

Richard still gave no answer.

Butler Delong finally understood. He lowered his head, then raised it again a moment later. He stood and walked out of the dining room, preparing to leave, his back looking somewhat aged.

When he reached the dining room entrance, Butler Delong paused slightly and turned to Richard. "If His Majesty the King's condition truly is this grave, then Prince Richard should visit him even more. Although several years ago, His Majesty listened to slander and punished you, Prince Richard, the King is still Your Highness's father, isn't he?"

"Of course. His Majesty the King is, of course, my respected father." Richard answered with a smile.

Butler Delong sighed. Without saying anything further, he walked out of the dining room and vanished from sight.

Richard picked up his knife and fork and continued eating breakfast. After eating another three slices of bread, half a roasted sparrow, one salmon, and drinking two cups of water, he finally finished.

After breakfast, Richard wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and walked out of the dining room into the palace hall.

Edward followed behind and asked, "Prince, are you planning to visit His Majesty the King? Butler Delong already said..."

"Put that matter aside for now. We can discuss it when I have time."

"Then, Prince, right now you..."

"I have a very important research experiment to conduct," Richard said.

"Uh..." Edward had nothing more to say.

Richard ignored Edward and walked toward the busy maids in the hall. Pointing at two of them, he said, "You two, come with me to the laboratory."

With that, Richard entered the Independent Laboratory. The two maids he had selected nervously stood up. One was An Qi, the freckled girl and the cleverest among the maids. The other was Lu Na, a slightly plump girl who was a little less clever than An Qi, but far brighter than the rest of the maids.

The two were somewhat puzzled. They exchanged a glance, unsure what Richard wanted, but obediently entered the Independent Laboratory.

Richard was already waiting inside. Seeing the two maids enter, he directly said, "Today, I have some very tedious work to do, so I need the two of you to assist me. Do you understand?"

"Understood." The two quickly nodded.

Richard revealed a satisfied expression.

The main reason he had summoned the two maids was to thoroughly study the issues related to the second Life Reshaping.

Last night's first Life Reshaping had been perfectly solved with anesthetics, allowing him to freely receive Astral Projection energy. One of the three problems had been resolved, meaning one-third of the preparations before casting a spell had been completed.

To continue, and to truly cast a spell, he needed to solve the problem of the second Life Reshaping—constructing a Mana Source. According to the records in the Chapter of Munro, a Mana Source was a highly unusual vessel located within the body, responsible for containing the special energy absorbed through Astral Projection. Its size and shape could be changed according to each person's preferences. If someone was willing and did not mind the trouble, they could even construct a Mana Source with 365 faces.

However, considering simplicity and stability, the Mana Sources constructed by many Wizard Apprentices were cocoon-shaped.

Furthermore, there was not just one Mana Source. Since they could be constructed with Mental Strength, one could build multiple Mana Sources within the body as long as one wished.

However, Mana Sources had high-energy reactions, so when constructing them inside the body, one had to take care to avoid vital organs such as the brain and heart. Otherwise, the functions of those areas would be affected.

Moreover, as sources of energy, Mana Sources were crucial to every wizard. Once damaged, they would cause enormous harm to the body. For this very reason, many wizards preferred to destroy an opponent's exposed Mana Source in battle, ending the fight with ease.

Therefore, every wizard had to carefully conceal and protect their own Mana Source. Before possessing sufficient strength, blindly creating new Mana Sources not only wasted considerable time and energy, but also increased the chance of exposure. It was no different from suicide.

Of course, for the second Life Reshaping, none of that was the most important matter. The most important thing was the condition for constructing a Mana Source.

According to the Chapter of Munro, constructing a Mana Source required not only entering Astral Projection, but also attempting to awaken the body with one's consciousness and bring it into a "Highly Activated State."

In truth, the body was always activated to a certain extent. Under ordinary circumstances, however, it could not reach the level needed to construct a Mana Source. One had to rely on talent and achieve an extraordinary breakthrough to enter it. Once one successfully entered the Highly Activated State, one could formally construct a Mana Source with the power of the mind.

As for what exactly this "Highly Activated State" was, Richard was deeply puzzled.

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