Potential Points

Chapter 15: Potential Points

"Mentor, can spells really preserve one's appearance?"

Zhao Xu asked tactfully, though he was really probing her age subconsciously.

He had already begun to suspect something.

In ancient Western legends, spells that delayed aging never seemed like benevolent magic.

"A mage's age is a secret." Antinoa chuckled. "But I've never delayed my own appearance."

Hearing that, Zhao Xu smiled. Who was she trying to fool, a three-year-old?

If there were a nonmagical way to preserve one's appearance, every woman would go crazy over it.

"Kissed By the Ages," Antinoa said.

Zhao Xu did not immediately understand what Antinoa meant.

"A ninth-level arcane spell. It uses a token as its casting focus. As long as the recipient wears the token, their bodily age will be permanently frozen. My mentor cast this spell on me before I turned twenty, so I have retained the appearance and body I had back then."

"The price is that this body can no longer grow, and the mind is locked as well. If this spell were cast on a child, then as long as they did not remove the token, they would remain mentally a child. So lately, I've been considering taking off my necklace for a few years and letting myself grow older. Otherwise, this face does look a little too young."

After hearing her words, Zhao Xu swallowed softly.

He had never imagined that even without a Legendary Spell, a ninth-level spell already offered a way to become immortal.

And it was a highly practical method, with practically no side effects.

Mages truly were as unreasonable as the legends claimed.

At that thought, Zhao Xu clenched his fists. His desire to become a high-level mage grew even stronger.

His parents, relatives, and future partner would all need this spell.

"Midsummer, there is an opportunity for me to cast this spell on you."

Antinoa's tone suddenly turned serious.

Zhao Xu became solemn as well.

What she was really telling him was: there is now an opportunity for near-consequence-free immortality right in front of you.

"What price would I have to pay?" Zhao Xu asked.

There was no such thing as a free lunch. Ever since his Dual Elite status had been exposed, he had seemed to be caught in some kind of vortex.

Someone had been watching him silently.

Some players like him might still think this was merely a plot arranged by the game.

But Arthur was real.

Even the gods were watching them, let alone the major forces within Arthur.

That was why investments in players had never ceased.

The natives of Arthur did not care whether that was unfair to other players.

It was just that Antinoa's offer—immortality in a game—might make other players think this NPC's Intelligence was fake.

Why offer such a meaningless reward?

But Zhao Xu understood what it meant.

If this world was real, then his immortality would be real too.

"Join our organization. When we need you, you will act for our ideals."

Zhao Xu was puzzled. "Your organization is?"

"The Mage Association headquarters?" He immediately dismissed the thought himself.

Basically, most mages paid membership fees to join the Mage Association for the convenience of exchanging and Scribing Spells, purchasing scrolls, and acquiring magical materials.

Once Zhao Xu became a level-one mage, he would automatically become a member and have his membership fees waived for three years.

There would be no need to beat around the bush like this.

Hiring an acquaintance to cast a ninth-level spell cost 1,500 gold coins in service fees, and rare spells cost even more.

The materials for a spell of immortality were probably expensive. The total cost would likely be no less than ten thousand gold coins.

However, most people would be stopped at the step of "knowing a mage who can cast Kissed By the Ages and is willing to do so."

"The Mage Association has many branches. Our organization is called—the Final Scroll."

Zhao Xu's expression changed at once. He hurriedly flipped the book in his hands back to its opening pages and reread the records there.

Legend had it that the mysteries of magic were first recorded on a scroll.

The first owner of that scroll was Sisylvina, the Goddess of Magic.

The scroll automatically recorded every spell in the world, including Legendary Spells.

Whoever possessed it would effectively possess all magic in the world, and could even use it to research Legendary Magic independently.

But the true reason everyone coveted the scroll beyond measure was—

Once someone deciphered the scroll's final secret, they could replace the Goddess of Magic and become the true God of Magic.

The scroll's name was The Final Scroll.

The Final Scroll organization had been created to protect this scroll.

Because the scroll involved secrets beyond divinity, it could not be taken away from Arthur's prime material plane, nor could it be sealed within the Goddess of Magic's Divine Kingdom.

Zhao Xu suddenly felt as though his shoulders had become much heavier.

All he wanted was to level up properly and protect his family during the future chaos.

Who would have thought that he would suddenly become involved with such a world-shaking organization?

The Goddess of Magic was arguably the foremost deity of the present age, possessing the highest divine rank, greatest divine power, and widest following among the gods—a mighty god.

That was naturally an enormous backer.

When Zhao Xu realized that the Goddess had noticed him, he had immediately changed his Alignment Faith into faith in a deity for this very reason.

But without sufficient ability, who would dare take on such a burden?

Anyone plotting against The Final Scroll would surely have gods, or even forces from the Abyss and Hell, behind them.

Zhao Xu had only wanted to linger around the outskirts and pick up a few scraps. Who could have expected him to be sent straight to the core?

Suddenly, he understood why that black-robed mage had said he would become a priest.

Gods were not omnipotent, but priests were their spokespeople.

Divine spells were the strongest connection between the two.

No matter where a priest was, their god could pinpoint their location with absolute accuracy.

Spell concealment was useless. This was a connection above magical power.

That was why the Goddess needed him to become a priest.

But that brought them back to the original question—

"Why me?" Zhao Xu had become extremely rational at this moment.

He was not even a level-one mage yet.

Major forces did indeed invest in promising talents.

But a special force like the Final Scroll had no need to expand its sphere of influence.

For even minor matters, they could simply have the Mage Association headquarters or the Goddess's church assist them.

What they needed were only the best mages—perhaps even Legendary Mages, Legendary Mages capable of fighting.

Middle schools might come to pick out outstanding students from elementary schools, but universities would not join in. This was not some class for child prodigies.

"My Dual Elite status does give me greater potential, but to a top organization like yours, it probably amounts to nothing special, right?"

As a Dual Elite, Zhao Xu could pursue Divine-Arcane Dual Cultivation at an extremely low cost.

To many organizations, that made him a valuable asset. The cost of nurturing one person could yield twice the returns.

But that depended on who was doing the nurturing. An organization like the Final Scroll was effectively the Goddess of Magic's last reliance in this world.

Let alone ninth-level spellcasters, they did not lack Legendary Mages or Legendary Priests.

"Potential Points," Antinoa suddenly said.

PS: Kissed By the Ages was actually a spell from Dragon Magazine.