A Genius Idea

Before coming, Lucy had considered that Fran might really be a mage from the Transmutation School, but she quickly dismissed the idea.

It was a fact that Fran had sent her subordinates to preach, and no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't understand why a mage from Transmutation School would send his subordinates to do such a thing.

To be precise, why would a Transmutation School monk devote so much effort to proselytizing? Does he really expect Deity power if he does it well?

They are mages; isn't the best, and only, way to gain power to study knowledge and improve spells?

But when she met Fran and couldn't sense any fluctuations in her Mental Power, she had a vague, ominous premonition.

After Fran displayed her Siren organs, she began to believe that Fran was indeed a sorcerer of the Transmutation School, and that having her followers preach might just be for fun, or that Maeve had some misunderstanding about it.

Because the Transmutation School's method of transplanting Magic Creature organs is something only the Transmutation School can learn, she doesn't believe that any other mage would dare to operate on their own body without systematic training.

However, Maeve's impressions of Fran changed dramatically after she asked Fran why she sent people to preach.

"Um... Master Lai... has your experiment... been verified?"

Lucy initially wanted to ask if it had been approved by some High-Order Mage, but then she thought about it carefully.

Such experiments are generally not approved even outside the Alliance, because they involve many points of conflict between the Necromancy School and Transmutation School.

If it were approved, it would likely be only Third Order Mage or higher within the School that would have the authority to agree to it, and even then, the specific details of the experiment would have to be concealed for it to appear in the Alliance's records.

This experiment was far too sensitive; Lucy guessed that such an experiment could not possibly be found in the Alliance's records.

So what she asked was whether there had been any prior verifications, but Lucy didn't actually care about that; she just asked the question on a whim.

"Of course I've experimented with it. I've compared the heads of ordinary skulls with those of believers who have Deity."

"We have indeed discovered some unusual circumstances..."

Fran enthusiastically began discussing the matter with Lucy, and many ideas immediately popped into her mind.

"On one occasion, I killed some followers of the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents..."

Upon hearing the name of the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents Sect, Lucy's heart skipped a beat. As far as she knew, the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents Ocean Society.

"I dissected their brains and found that they were no different from normal brains, with nothing special about them, and naturally, they wouldn't have any effect on enhancing Mental Power..."

This came from Fran's own observation; she discovered that the extraordinary power had dissipated from the followers of the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents that she had killed.

Originally, because of his physical condition as a Profession, he was able to wear heavy armor. However, after the believer died, his body was almost flattened by the armor, which is very abnormal.

Even if a Profession dies, their physical strength shouldn't weaken so quickly.

"Of course, I must have found something unusual to come here and conduct experiments..."

"After a series of complex experiments, I discovered the source of those believers' power: their souls."

According to the Necromancy School, normal living people do not have souls; souls only arise after death or under special circumstances.

"When the soul resides within the body, there are no abnormalities; however, if the soul leaves the body, the entire body will lose the control of consciousness..."

"And I believe that this is the case for those Deity Worshippers. To this end, I have conducted many experiments and verified that spiritual reactions did indeed occur within the bodies of those believers..."

This was a phenomenon Fran observed shortly after the chapel in the Northern Territory was built. At the time, she didn't care, because a spirit is a spirit; it's still a source of power, and she didn't care where it came from.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the method to extract souls, so I can't extract the souls of those believers to see whether it's a complete soul or just fragments of spirit... The lack of these observation methods means I can only proceed to the next step."

Lucy placed her hand on the table, unconsciously touching the corner of the table, then slightly raised her head and said somewhat stiffly.

"That's a real shame... those Necromancy School mages won't cooperate with us..."

At this point, Lucy didn't want to listen anymore. To be honest, she actually disliked having other people's organs put into her body, and this wasn't just a matter of mental fastidiousness.

There is another difference in perspective: Lucy and most mages share this view of ordinary people.

"We are all the same kind, only our Order is higher than theirs, so we are more noble than them. But from the perspective of the overall interests of mages, these ordinary civilians should not be treated casually."

This is also how the Alliance treats ordinary people: it clearly distinguishes between superiors and inferiors, but does not allow individual mages to commit mass acts of harm against the people.

Many mages themselves come from places like City of Apprentices, since a mage's Talent is not necessarily determined by their parents' Talent.

They naturally have a sense of superiority over ordinary people because they come from there, but overall they still treat ordinary people as human beings.

However, some monks held a different view, believing that monks were supreme and that the common people were merely resources to be consumed...

While not quite that extreme, they would most likely not mind using ordinary people as expendable materials when conducting experiments.

In Lucy's view, Fran was just like that, with no sense of boundaries regarding the content of experiments, believing that it was something that could be done and that it was no big deal.

"And that's why I'm here to conduct this experiment—to figure out the criteria by which my followers experience this change, or simply to verify its feasibility..."

Lucy looked at Fran, Fran was so excited as she shared her ideas that Lucy could only shrink back awkwardly.

"Lai Rai... your idea is indeed very good..." Lucy said slowly.

Regardless, Lucy had to admit that Fran's idea was simply brilliant, circumventing the Necromancy School's previous prohibition against the skull of a mage.

She creatively pointed out that the Priest, who, like mages, use Mental Power to gain combat abilities, could also serve as material for mages to enhance their Mental Power.

Lucy even felt that the other party could win a good award for discovering that the believers were obtaining Deity power through spiritual entities.

Not to mention that the other party is still working on it. If this Lai really succeeds, then it's a sure thing that he will win the highest award of the Transmutation School — the All-Forms Mage Award.

Furthermore, once the other party actually publishes this achievement, it will definitely cause a major earthquake within the Transmutation School. Many mages may, based on ' Lai's ' findings, become even more unscrupulous in including more Profession ' organs in the transplant list.

Thinking about this, Lucy suddenly realized, was it really okay to tell her these things?

These things are far too sensitive; they're not only challenging the sensibilities of the Necromancy School, but even many within the Transmutation School probably disagree with this idea.

Moreover, ' Lai ' is still clearly in the idea stage and has not made any breakthrough progress.

After she joined the academy and truly embarked on her career as a Profession mage, she frequently heard that some mages plagiarized the ideas of others; this was a common occurrence.

After all, in the Alliance, achieving better results is equivalent to building a solid bridge for oneself on the road to promotion.

' Lai ' seemed to have no intention of hiding anything from Lucy, and directly told her about the current results, which made Lucy feel scared for the first time.

What if the other party suddenly realizes they've leaked their valuable experimental ideas and then kills them?

Such incidents are common among mages, and as the head of the Grey Soil Province Grey Soil Province, Lucy has handled several similar disputes there.

Lucy looked up and then at Fran, seeing Fran's unchanging smile and the roaring fireplace behind her, and her body trembled even more.

"Don't worry, I won't be like those mages who value results and Paper too much, and I certainly won't do such a thing. I just prefer to share my thoughts with others."

Fran realized something was wrong; Lucy's body was trembling as she spoke, as if she had encountered something frightening.

A thought flashed through her mind, and she instantly realized that it was because she had talked too much; this was no longer a normal exchange between mages.

"I won't do anything to you, but you'd better not reveal the details of my experiment, okay?"

Lucy nodded quickly.

"I will do so, Lai Rai. As you know, I am not interested in this matter, and my society does not support my spreading of it."

Fran watched Lucy's actions, a smile returning to her face, and then said:

"That's great. I hope you can go further on the path of becoming a mage. I'm a little tired today, let's talk again later."

Fran watched Lucy's retreating figure, then placed her hands on her stomach and shook her head.

"I accidentally said too much; I guess that's a side effect of that trait... No, I can actually control it, but when these thoughts pop into my head, I subconsciously want to say them out loud..."