A New Identity

The most important part of Fran's "Mathematical Analysis of Fireball" is not the Fireball, but the mathematical knowledge it contains.

Although her Paper didn't have a Paper like those of the Territory Mage, which would immediately impress other mages.

However, it developed a new tool for studying magic, so the Paper was actually quite popular. And because it was published by the Northern Lands Society, all mages, regardless of their School, could buy a paper copy for a small fee.

Among them, the Alchemy School that awarded her the Silver Alchemy Award, and the content themed around Fireball, attracted the attention of the Elemental School.

Many mages from both School have seen this Paper, and it's quite normal that they were impressed by its mathematical logic.

However, it's rather unusual to encounter a monk in this setting who expresses admiration for her Paper.

At first, Fran thought that Philly was someone sent by the Felistin Family to get closer to her, and that the other party's claim of admiration was all fake, just an excuse to get her to continue talking.

However, as they continued to interact, Fran noticed something amiss; the Felistin Family might genuinely be trying to get Philly closer to her.

However, it seems that Philly happens to be a mage who admires her.

"Lai... Mage, there are some things I don't understand about what you said in ' The Applications of Matrices and Fireball'..."

Somewhat hesitantly, Philly pulled out a mathematical Paper that Fran had later published and asked her about it.

After that fundamental mathematical analysis, Fran published many other Paper mathematical methods, but the later ones did not generate as much buzz as the first one.

This is largely due to misleading publicity. Those "XX Selections" and similar publications, when discussing mathematics, always put "The Mathematical Analysis of Fireball" first, which attracted many mages to this Paper.

Other math Paper are often just mentioned briefly and not widely publicized.

This was at Iris's behest; a Paper that could win the Silver Alchemy Award was excellent promotional material.

In short, unless you're someone who really studies those math Paper, you're unlikely to pay attention to the later Paper.

"You need to review my basic definitions, from... or you can go to the Mathematics Research Society within the Northern Lands Society; there's a group of mages there who are very interested in this..."

There was a mathematics research group at the Northern Lands Society with only a dozen or so people, Fran didn't participate much.

"Okay... Lai, Mage Lei."

Philly nodded excitedly, her eyes constantly glancing at the paper in her hand, as if there were a bright flower on it.

Camilla looked at the scene before her, smiled and nodded slightly. At least for now, she had established a good relationship with this mage, Lai.

"Master Lai, thank you for teaching Philly."

"It was just a simple task, no trouble at all."

Fran responded.

Just then, the waiter outside the door knocked five times rhythmically. Camilla's expression changed slightly, but she maintained her smile.

"I'm sorry, I have some things to take care of. Please wait a moment."

She bowed slightly and walked slowly towards the door. The moment she closed the door, the footsteps outside quickened.

The soundproofing of this house is quite good; a Second Order Mage should not be able to hear any sounds outside through the door.

But this obviously didn't stop Fran; however, due to interference from the device, she still couldn't quite make it out clearly.

"Kami... several mages requested to leave midway, saying they had urgent business to attend to..."

"Well... the mage rejected our agreed-upon profit-sharing terms... we'll have to pay an extra 20%."

"Today we also received rejection letters from three monks... they were on the list of those willing to arrange marriages..."

The waiter delivered several pieces of bad news, and the outside quieted down considerably until Camilla's calm voice rang out.

"If they refuse, they refuse. As for the profit-sharing agreement, have someone calculate the costs. If we don't lose money, we'll continue..."

"We've reassured the monks who are still here; let's get on with the current tasks first."

Camilla dealt with this unexpected situation simply; there was no special method.

There was nothing she could do to deal with it; it was entirely a matter of the prevailing circumstances. Some mages were dissatisfied with her family, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She could only try her best to maintain the family's social network until there was a new breakthrough in the matter of the Territory Mage.

There was no other way; once the Territory Mage appeared, the Felistin Family had to prepare for a beating.

"Mage Lai, I have another question..."

Philly lowered her head slightly and spoke slowly to Fran.

Fran looked at her with a smile.

"I'd like... to be able to stay by your side. I want to learn more from you..."

Fran knew that Philly's thirst for knowledge was just her nature; she did indeed have a greater thirst for knowledge than Fran.

But now, after Camilla had left for a short while, Philly remembered Camilla's instructions to her, as well as the family's teachings.

Since Fran had responded to Philly's inquiry, according to her family's teachings, Philly will take the next step and see if she can get closer to Fran.

Some mages are willing to teach lower-level mages, and doing so with the scions of the Felistin Family is undoubtedly a good way to build rapport.

If Fran had previously been indifferent to teaching and ignored it, then Philly naturally wouldn't have bothered to bring it up.

The key to this matter is not whether or not we can teach Philly knowledge and guide her to become an excellent mage; the Felistin Family has no shortage of such resources.

The key lies in whether Fran is willing to accept this kindness. If she does, she will have a deeper connection with the Felistin Family.

Logically speaking, Fran should have refused.

Judging from the message Iris passed on to her and Camilla's conversation outside the door, getting involved with the Felistin Family now is definitely not a good decision.

Moreover, although Fran was happy to impart knowledge to lower-level mages, such as the apprentices of the Forge School and Maeve of the Transmutation School, she was not stingy at all.

However, that's on the premise that it won't bring her any negative impact. If it would cause a lot of trouble, then she would naturally refuse.

Fran looked at Philly with a smile, but asked about something else.

"Philly, how old were you when you became First Order Mage? How old are you now?"

Fran's question was odd, but it wasn't anything particularly private, Philly replied briefly.

"I became First Order cultivator at fourteen, and this year I'm twenty."

Fran looked at Philly, who seemed even shorter than she used to be, and never imagined that Philly was already twenty years old.

At this time, Philly's Order was still at the First Order, which was normal for the family members; not everyone could advance at Fran's speed.

Although fourteen years old is a year earlier than the fifteen years old of many family scions who become Formal Mage, it may be somewhat special, and Fran also had some guesses about this.

"Have you joined the Yobner Society?"

Philly flinched, as if startled, wanting to deny it but realizing her reaction had already given everything away.

"Yes, my initial Mental Power was high enough to allow me to become Formal Mage at the age of fourteen."

A smile played on Fran's lips; she already had a plan in mind.

"A mage who has joined the Yobner Society, would your family agree to let me mentor you?"

Philly paused for a moment, then spoke without hesitation.

"They will agree."

Although Philly was a member of the Yobner Society, the Felistin Family clearly did not value her. They believed in their own family's way of making their fortune and thought that it was the right way to get along with all mages.

Even if Philly has that potential, the current ' Lai ' is more than just someone with potential; she has the potential to win the Gold Alchemy Award, and that alone is enough to convince the family to agree.

Fran smiled wryly, gazing at Philly's face, when a bold idea came to her.

"A 20-year-old at the second tier is not bad."

At twenty, First Order promotion might only attract a little attention.

She intends to impersonate Philly and win the Champion Mage Challenge.

Philly is now a better option for her. She understands the relationships within the Felistin Family, and as long as she can keep the family in check, most things can be resolved.

Furthermore, most Second Order Mage have no simpler social networks than this; Second Order Mage are also highly sought after by many.

Their mentors and School will also pay more attention to them.

Choosing a character like Philly who is currently at First Order can also help avoid some of this kind of attention.

Moreover, her time is running out, and she may not be able to find a better option quickly.

Fran calmed herself down and carefully considered the details of impersonating someone else.

She could use experiments and teaching as an excuse to isolate Philly from the outside world, then impersonate Philly and cover it up again.

She recalled that, at least during the Preliminaries, the players did not compete publicly and could hide their names, which gave them ample time to prepare.

The entire process of the Main Tournament will last about a month, and she needs to publicly declare at that time that she will not accept any disturbances and will keep Philly hidden away.

After winning the championship under the identity of Philly, she ran away, leaving the Felistin Family in a mess.

She anticipates that the Champion Mage Challenge will subsequently tighten identity checks, but what does that have to do with her?

Of course, there are many points that need to be clarified in order for her to perfectly deceive everyone.

Putting everything else aside, just the fact that she hid Philly, wouldn't people suspect she did it on purpose?

Even if she isn't suspected, can't we suspect she's colluding with others?

The experiments she has to participate in must be large-scale and widely known, in order to clear herself of suspicion to the greatest extent possible.

She also needs the ability to create clones to prevent suspicion from falling on her. This is relatively simple, since many Magic Creature possess this ability, and she can modify it further.

"I'm sorry, Mage Lai, I've been busy with family matters... Did you and Philly have a good chat?"

Camilla walked in apologetically and came to Fran's side.

Fran smiled in response and said slowly:

"Mage Camilla, Philly wants to come back with me so I can explain more. It would be beneficial for her, as First Order Mage, don't you think?"

"Excuse me...?"

Camilla looked at Fran with some surprise; she hadn't expected Fran to agree to this at this time.

Aren't all the others avoiding the family these days? Why is Fran coming to greet them?

"I want to bring Philly to my place; it shouldn't be more than a year."

Camilla was just as surprised as Philly, but Camilla quickly said something.

"That's no problem. Being by your side will also be beneficial for Philly."

Philly blinked, and only now did a hint of resistance appear on her face, but it quickly disappeared.

She had no say in this matter.

Because this is the duty of the family members.