Chapter 1896: Awakening

While in the Main Plane, Xia Duo had heard long ago that the Elves possessed spells capable of accelerating time, but he later learned that these were mostly sensory accelerations rather than true time acceleration effects.

True time acceleration phenomena appear more often in the flow of time between different Planes, such as the 【Annihilation Plane】 that Xia Duo visited a few days ago during the Snow Melting Competition.

The time flow ratio between that Plane and the Main Plane is 10:1; for every day that passes in the Main Plane, ten days pass there, and most importantly, those within it do not feel the flow of time speeding up—ten days is ten solid, real days.

Or consider the Projection Plane, where the time flow ratio relative to the Main Plane can reach infinity; that is to say, countless years may pass in the Projection Plane while only an instant, or even less than an instant, passes in the Main Plane.

However, it is one thing for a Plane traveler not to return, but once they choose to return to the Main Plane, the time they experienced in the Projection Plane will instantly pass for their physical body.

In other words, from the perspective of an outsider, a traveler entering a Projection Plane faces only a few outcomes: either they remain in a permanent coma, their body becoming a living corpse.

Or they are instantly reduced to ashes, similar to what Xia Duo once saw happen to Kelifu (who died in the Astral Plane).

Or they instantly age by a certain amount of time, which is also equivalent to having undergone time acceleration.

Aside from this, Xia Duo had never seen true time acceleration or deceleration phenomena within the same Plane!

Of course, there is now one more example; at this moment, Xia Duo felt a strong desire for the spell Yisite had just used.

If one can decelerate, one can naturally accelerate, or even freeze time; this is completely different from the Stasis Chamber in the Tower of Time, as the Stasis Spell used in the Stasis Chamber essentially reduces the target's physiological activities and magical reactions to the absolute minimum.

It is similar to time freezing, but it has nothing to do with time.

……

Just as Xia Duo was attempting to recall and Huanyuan the details of Yisite's Spellcasting, Yisite had already finished inspecting the Arcane Rabbit, and the Arcane Rabbit had by this time been completely assimilated by Arcane Energy and was beginning to dissipate.

However, its current rate of dissipation was much slower than during Xia Duo's previous experiments.

"Mage Asuosi, I have finished my inspection. It should be said that your research is already quite complete. There is no problem with the Arcane form of this hare itself, but it cannot be controlled. I am now impatient to conduct a real experiment."

Xia Duo came back to his senses and heard this; he naturally knew the other party was talking about using Elves for experiments, and he could not help but shake his head. "The Council of Elders will not allow us to use the citizens of Evereska for experiments, and you should not harbor such thoughts."

"Then how do you intend to conduct the follow-up experiments?" Yisite asked subconsciously.

But he immediately reacted, and anger gradually rose in his eyes. "So you were targeting us! You didn't bring me here because you wanted me to participate in the research, but because you wanted me to become the experimental subject!"

"If you insist on understanding it that way, that is not impossible."

Before Yisite became completely enraged, Xia Duo continued: "I once heard a saying that even if one holds a glorious purpose, as long as the means used are despicable, the result will inevitably be despicable."

Xia Duo was referring to the things Yisite had done previously; Xia Duo did not oppose human experimentation, but he opposed the act of forcibly experimenting on subjects while ignoring their own wishes.

This is truly despicable, and Xia Duo would not condone or ignore this issue just because he might need Yisite and his apprentice later.

Just as he finished the proverb, Yisite calmed down, sighed, and said with a complex expression: "No wonder you can get along with Ougesi and the others. I understand; say whatever you want!"

Although their philosophies conflicted, he had seen the various actions of the Council of Elders in the past, but he believed that Elven society had deep-seated ailments that could not be reached at the root by the slow reforms of the Council of Elders alone.

After a generation or two, it would inevitably return to its original state; it would be better to completely break the boundaries of bloodlines, and even if it ultimately failed, what would be left for future generations would still be a better situation than the past.

But now, hearing Asuosi's viewpoint on ends and means, Yisite was still moved; he did not deny that his means were despicable, but the future he wanted was not despicable.

If other Elves followed suit, the final outcome would inevitably be the collapse of order. Recalling their meeting in the prison earlier, Asuosi had mentioned that once his plan was achieved, it might lead to serious consequences.

Perhaps that was what Asuosi was referring to at the time; no matter what he achieved through despicable means, as long as he achieved it, he would become a source of chaos that could not be ignored.

The greater the goal finally achieved, the more serious the consequences would be.

Thinking deeply, a chill could not help but rise behind Yisite's back; although he remained stubborn, he had actually accepted Asuosi's advice in his heart.

……

"I will leave you some Arcane Crystals. They are not easy to obtain, so please consume them cautiously."

After handing the dozen or so rice-grain-sized Arcane Crystals to Yisite, Xia Duo said, "I will have Shali arrange a place for you to stay later. You will live on my side for this period of time. Now I need to go out for a while and will be back later."

The reason for giving so few Arcane Crystals, besides the fact that his current source of Arcane Energy was only his Arcane Fire, was also to prevent Yisite from conducting radical experiments.

After many quantitative experiments last night, Xia Duo had already determined the critical Arcane Energy Value for transforming a hare into an Arcane Rabbit; those dozen or so Arcane Crystals were not enough to transform an Arcane Rabbit, let alone an Elf.

They were only enough for Yisite and the others to do some simple test experiments.

Xia Duo planned to discuss the subsequent experimental plan with them after he returned from work in the afternoon.

……

Before heading to Yeman Valley, Xia Duo went to the Laboratory where Mila was located and cast an Alert Protection Spell on the Laboratory. Although it was not enough to completely block Yisite, it was enough to hold out until he returned.

Believing that the other party would not dare to act recklessly is one thing, but having the necessary Insurance measures is another.

Afterward, he instructed Shali to prepare a guest room for Yisite and specifically mentioned Yisite's status as a High Mage, requiring that the food, clothing, and daily necessities provided match his status.

After handling the affairs at the manor, Xia Duo returned to Yeman Valley. The two project teams within the Mythallar experimental base were still confirming the modification plans from him and Saijisi and had not yet started today's first experiment.

Xia Duo's arrival greatly accelerated the project teams' confirmation progress, and occasional minor problems were also discovered in time. By around nine o'clock in the morning, the two High Mages from the Council of Elders who had come to assist with the experiments also received the news and rushed over to conduct the final confirmation of the experimental details, after which the experiments began.