Chapter 1299: Q&A, Example

Xia Duo and Luo Zi exchanged a glance, instantly reaching an agreement, with Luo Zi asking first: "Dean Bernie, I would like to ask, are all Arcanists in the Empire advanced this way nowadays? If so, why have I never heard of it?"

Bernie did not stop his work of repairing the Magic Net, but he did not forget to answer the question Luo Zi had raised: "The vast majority are advanced this way. The reason you haven't heard of it is perhaps because the Great Arcanists who provide the advanced Magic Net environment require confidentiality; not everyone is able to preserve their Arcane Fire like I can."

So that was it!

Although this question was raised by Luo Zi, Xia Duo was also quite interested. If other Great Arcanists had their Arcane Fire damaged while presiding over an advancement, it truly should not be leaked out.

The instruction to keep it confidential might just be a temporary measure, but it is understandable that those below would keep silent indefinitely for the sake of greater insurance.

However, if it were truly as Bernie said, not everyone could retain their Arcane Fire in its initial state after providing an advanced Magic Net environment.

This reveals two pieces of information: one is that there are too many people advancing to Arcanist, and the Great Arcanists are overwhelmed (there are only twenty-some left), so it is inevitable that they must overdraw their Arcane Fire. Once the overdraft exceeds the initial state, it collapses.

There is also a high probability that Dean Bernie's Arcane Fire will collapse the next time he presides over a High Mage's advancement.

The other piece of information is that this sacrificial behavior is clearly not Dean Bernie's personal action, but a collective action of the Great Arcanists.

The Empire not only has a cruel side, but also a warm side.

Those Great Arcanists could have cast aside all worldly matters and run off to places where Cormanthor cannot find them, or places without influence (such as Illefarn), and lived quite comfortably.

Yet they still remain with the vast majority of the Empire Remnants, hiding underground to continue resisting Cormanthor. Xia Duo is not sure if they are doing it for the so-called "Empire Revival," or if they simply cannot let go of their status as superiors.

But one would think that even if they went elsewhere, with their status as Great Arcanists, it would not be difficult to continue holding power and Call Wind and Rain.

With a shared identity, the Arcane Empire perhaps already has the shadow of a civilization; even after experiencing destruction, it will one day achieve revival.

……

After Luo Zi finished asking, it was Xia Duo's turn. Originally, he had not intended to ask Dean Bernie about his previous Arcane Energy limit, but since the other party had given them five minutes, they could hardly spend the time discussing academic problems here.

"Maikade" had not yet advanced to Arcanist, and Luo Zi was only a newly promoted Arcanist; how much room for discussion could there be with a Great Arcanist on academic issues? It might be better to just go to the Library and read books!

Xia Duo was more inclined to ask about secret information that could not be obtained through normal channels.

"Dean Bernie, I would like to ask, how can one maintain the basic structure of the Arcane Fire after the Micro Magic Net is damaged?"

"This question is not much of a secret. Only when the Arcane Energy limit reaches twice the initial state can one barely maintain the Arcane Fire after providing an advancement," Bernie said in a flat tone without turning his head.

Twice the Arcane Energy?

Hearing this number, Xia Duo could not help but click his tongue. In the Main Plane, he had only come into contact with the ninth layer of the Magic Net, and his Arcane Fire had also expanded to a nine-layer structure, but more than half a year had passed, and his Arcane Energy limit had not yet grown to twice the initial state of the 9th Circle!

His current Arcane Energy limit had only just reached 500, which was only a little over one time the initial state.

To grow to twice the initial state would take about a year or so.

Even if a Great Arcanist's Arcane Fire were more complete and the natural growth rate faster, it would still take at least several months to grow to twice the initial state!

If the number of people needing advancement is too high, it would indeed be impossible to keep up.

And it is naturally possible to provide an advanced Magic Net environment without waiting for the Arcane Fire to grow to twice the initial state, but the price would be the complete destruction of the Arcane Fire, requiring it to be recreated.

……

"Then, within a certain cycle, as long as the portion of the Arcane Fire that grows is greater than the portion lost during our advancement, the Great Arcanists would have no risk of their Arcane Fire being completely destroyed, right?"

Following Xia Duo's question, Luo Zi once again put forward a follow-up conjecture, and this was also what Xia Duo wanted to ask.

To this, Dean Bernie's answer was—

"Yes, but as far as I know, currently only the Level 3 Researcher at the Research Institute Headquarters, Great Arcanist Gier Bote, has an Arcane Fire growth rate that covers the advancement frequency of High Mages and is able to continue growing. Everyone else is constantly returning to their initial state."

Speaking of this, Bernie's tone became much heavier, "The situation of the Empire is such, and this is inevitable. As long as you grow up as quickly as possible, everything we do will be worth it."

Xia Duo nodded with a solemn expression, and Luo Zi even made a grand vow on the spot: "After I become a Great Arcanist, I will definitely find a simpler and faster advancement method for the Empire's High Mages."

To this, Dean Bernie said nothing, only silently repairing the Magic Net, but his eyes became a little softer.

……

Afterwards, in addition to questions related to High Mage advancement and the Great Arcanists' Arcane Fire, Xia Duo also asked about the standoff between Cormanthor and the Drow.

Such questions were not out of line for Xia Duo, who came from the Judgment Division and had actually provided intelligence on underground passages.

However, Dean Bernie was ultimately a researcher; without prior preparation, the information he provided was not even as detailed as the news Yilisi had brought last time.

Xia Duo did not suspect that Dean Bernie was deliberately concealing anything, as there was no need for that; he just felt it was a pity to have wasted an opportunity to ask a question.

It was Luo Zi, on the other hand, whose subsequent questions were all spot on, but Xia Duo could have answered those questions himself, which made him feel even more regretful.

……

Five minutes is a very short time, and it was truly difficult to ask more.

Since Luo Zi mainly used Dean Bernie's Micro Magic Net during his advancement, the Magic Net in the general environment was not damaged much.

The five minutes Dean Bernie promised was actually the time required to repair the Magic Net; in fact, he had already completed the repair work just past the four-minute mark.

But he did not end the Q&A early, instead waiting until the full five minutes were up and answering Luo Zi's last question before leaving the Laboratory with Xia Duo and Luo Zi.

……

After leaving the second basement level.

Luo Zi went to the Management Center to apply for the Level 1 Researcher rank, which also required recording his personal encrypted Magic Mark and choosing a laboratory location.

Therefore, when they reached a fork in the tunnel on the third basement level, Xia Duo parted ways with him temporarily; the direction of the Maikade Laboratory was near the Energy Center and was not on the way to the Management Center.

After returning to the Laboratory, Xia Duo called out all the Assistant Researchers and solemnly announced to them the fact that Luo Zi had successfully advanced and had already attained the rank of Level 1 Researcher.

After Hake, Luo Zi became the second Level 1 Researcher to walk out of the Maikade Laboratory.

The power of an example is infinite; upon hearing the news, the remaining twelve Assistant Researchers were immediately as energized as if they had been injected with adrenaline, and with twelve-fold enthusiasm, they threw themselves back into their respective projects.

Watching everyone disappear into the hall one by one, Xia Duo's mood also became very good.