Skull of the Believer

Hello, you may know me before, I am...

"I know you. You're the head of the Transmutation School in Grey Soil Province, right? I know you."

Fran blinked and said directly.

This made Lucy's eyes widen in surprise; she was somewhat confused as to why Fran knew her identity.

If it were a mage from the Transmutation School, it would be normal for the other party to know his/her identity. However, judging from Fran's behavior, it is highly unlikely that the other party is a mage from the Transmutation School.

The fact that the other party knew her identity was a bit problematic, but Lucy didn't dwell on it for too long.

Her gaze swept across the scene, and after meeting Fran at the city gate, they went together to the lord's castle.

Maeve has already gone out, presumably to tell the lord not to come and disturb them.

Now, with only her and Fran in the room, Lucy blinked and then asked, feigning curiosity:

"Although it may be presumptuous, I still want to ask, how exactly were your organs selected?"

Lucy's eyes were filled with inquiry as she stared intently into the other person's eyes.

In the Transmutation School, this question is often not a major concern, because even if you knew exactly which organ I was transplanting, it wouldn't make a difference.

Maintaining organ viability and placing them in the right location are all matters of expertise; simply knowing the name doesn't guarantee you'll be able to transplant the corresponding organ into yourself.

Furthermore, by sharing their choice of organ with others and explaining its effects, they can gain more insights for future choices through this exchange.

If a mage from Transmutation School doesn't engage in dialogue, then if he wants to find out exactly what the effects of a certain organ are, he might have to spend a great deal of money to exchange for that knowledge within the society.

Generally speaking, a mage lacks something like Contribution Points to exchange for this precious knowledge.

Therefore, most mages of the Transmutation School would not refuse such a free opportunity to exchange ideas with others about which organs they had chosen, thus saving themselves a lot of money on knowledge.

Of course, in this situation, there will still be some mages who, because they don't lack Contribution Points or for other reasons, are unwilling to tell others how they selected their organs.

Upon hearing this, Fran smiled and focused her Mental Power on her vocal cords, uttering a confused voice.

"Of course, I think after I do that you'll know exactly which organ I used."

Fran widened her eyes slightly as she looked at Lucy, who was lost in thought because of her use of the Voice of the Siren.

Her Mental Power far surpassed Lucy's, so even though the Siren ' vocal cords were only a First Order organ, with the support of her Mental Power, she still managed to control Lucy for three seconds.

Lucy's eyes suddenly widened, and an ugly expression appeared on her beautiful face. She gasped for breath and only looked up at Fran after a while.

Lucy's eyes revealed a complex emotion. She recognized exactly what organ Fran had used, and it was precisely because of this that she felt such complicated feelings.

She apologized first.

"I apologize, Master Lai, I didn't know you came from there. I apologize for my behavior, and I don't know if I offended you."

The Dragonkin aura emanating from Fran's Black Horse was undisguised, and Lucy was also clearly aware of the slight disharmony caused by the transplanted organs.

This Black Horse horse was a modified Magic Creature, a type of First Order Magic Creature that Lucy greatly envied.

Maeve simply couldn't afford this Black Horse; the modification plan for a horse is different from that for a human, and cannot be simply applied.

The Dragon Blood on its body didn't appear to be from those thin-blooded sub-dragons, but rather from high-grade materials that were at least rare alchemical materials.

Maeve had seen this Black Horse horse before, and now, for some reason, it appeared beside Fran.

However, she didn't pay too much attention to it. Maybe that young master ' Elan ' had returned to the Floating City and given the horse to the mage who helped him modify it before he left.

Furthermore, this Black Horse horse has now been modified and is now a First Order Magic Creature.

Such a renovation cost was simply unaffordable for Maeve, a mage who relied on the lord's charity to make a living.

As for Lucy, being a Second Order Mage, she could naturally afford the cost of modifying the Black Horse and obtaining a mount like this.

But there's no need for that, and Lucy is unwilling to spend her precious money on a mount.

For her, it's just a matter of walking a few more steps; there's no need to spend a lot of money to buy a special mount.

Moreover, if she really had money, she might as well use it to buy things that enhance her beauty, which is exactly what she has been doing during her time as the head of Grey Soil Province.

Over the years, her salary and the money she earned have all been used for these kinds of activities.

Just now, Lucy recognized that the organ Fran used was the vocal cords of Siren.

The reason for her such respect lies in the other things that the Siren's vocal cords represent.

To transplant an organ into one's own body, a mage, after mastering the basics, can, through multiple attempts, make the organ function in their own body.

However, the exact number of times "multiple times" is debatable; some may only require a few times, while others may require hundreds of times.

Moreover, even after an organ is transplanted, it may not be able to achieve 100% effectiveness. There might be a problem with the placement or the timing of its removal from the body.

If you want a perfect reference for this process, you need to exchange knowledge with various academic societies.

The place where the Siren's vocal cords possessed a complete process was the Ocean Society, the best society in that Transmutation School.

No one wants just the Siren's vocal cords, because if you want to advance further, the Siren's vocal cords are just a foundation; there are many more areas of knowledge you need to learn at the academy.

Therefore, in Lucy's mind, she was already certain that Fran was a member of the Ocean Society.

Lucy herself is not a member of the Ocean Society; she has long since joined other societies. According to the rules of the current society, she cannot leave to join other societies, at least not within the Transmutation School.

This is a rule set up by the small society within the Transmutation School to prevent members from leaving, Lucy, even as the head of the Grey Soil Province, is no exception.

Although she was able to obtain a letter of recommendation from the Ocean School, that was all. As the person in charge of the Grey Soil Province, it would be easy for her to get such a letter of recommendation to recommend a new mage.

However, it's unlikely that she can operate independently and join the Ocean Society; the people there probably won't recognize her.

However, what made Lucy so polite was Fran's overall identity; she knew that Fran was a Second Order Mage from the Ocean Society.

It's not easy for a Second Order Mage like her to leave the Ocean Society's headquarters. She's still a little curious about why she came here in the first place.

Surely it can't be because they want to spread the faith of the Goddess of Ocean Currents here? The deity's name hasn't been revealed yet; they'll just let the people know once there are enough people...

Lucy shook her head, then asked directly:

"... Lai Ray, may I ask why you've come here? After all, I'm the person in charge of the Grey Soil Province, and you know the Alliance requires registration."

Lucy abandoned her original idea and instead began to investigate Fran's true purpose in coming here.

In her view, since the other party was Second Order Mage from the Ocean Society, he probably wouldn't affect what she was doing.

However, just to be on the safe side, she still asked the other person why they came here, to find out the reason.

Fran smiled. If it were the old Fran, she might have laughed it off because she couldn't reveal the details of her missionary work.

However, after acquiring the [Arcane Adept] trait, a multitude of ideas immediately popped into her mind.

Clearly, while Modified Organ cannot be considered magic in a broad sense, it still falls under the category of magic, albeit with a slightly altered form.

She blinked, gathered her thoughts slightly, and then said softly:

Do you know about the 'Skull of the Mage'?

"I know, that's not something prohibited by the Alliance..."

'The Skull of a Mage' is, as the name suggests, the skull of a mage. Just as those Magic Creature have powerful organs, the organs in the bodies of Profession are probably similar.

So, what's most closely associated with the Profession of mage, isn't it the brain?

Some Transmutation School mages thought of this and went to great lengths to obtain the head of a mage on death row. After in-depth research, they replaced their own skulls entirely with that of the death row mage.

After their success, they were surprised to find that it actually helped them improve their Mental Power, and by a considerable margin—enough to cast one more ordinary First Order Mental Power.

After the Paper was published, the expected praise did not come. Instead, at the suggestion of the Necromancy School, the Alliance completed the process in three days and listed 'Skull of the Mage' as an absolute prohibition.

No sorcerer is allowed to possess this Modified Organ, regardless of whether the skull originated from a death row inmate or Spirit Realm Mage.

"Since the mage's skull can enhance our Mental Power, why can't we use our imagination to expand our understanding?"

"A warrior's hand bones increase our strength, Ranger's joints enhance our agility, and Druid's internal organs improve our affinity with plants..."

Fran listed some extremely cruel modification projects that were highly sensitive even within the Transmutation School.

"Then why can't we look at those Profession who also use Mental Power? Their skulls might have the same effect."

Am I right?

Lucy swallowed hard, a hint of fear in her eyes, but she still nodded.