Chapter 2366: Negative Energy Downgrade

Hearing Gelinqi mention deducting academic credits, such a familiar scene caused Xia Duo's thoughts to instantly return to the time when he was still attending school in his hometown; his teachers back then had also often said this, but the credits were never actually fully deducted.

However, to the students, such a threat was undoubtedly extremely lethal. The two students tremblingly activated the equipment inside the Laboratory, then, with lowered heads and submissive expressions, came to Xia Duo's side and whispered:

"Sergeant Maruente, please come over here."

"Don't be nervous, Gelinqi is just joking with you. Relax, just get it done, I guarantee they won't deduct your academic credits."

After speaking, Xia Duo walked to an experimental area in the middle of the Laboratory, partitioned off by lines resembling curtains, inside of which was a bed that was concave and semi-reclining.

Following the instructions of the two students, he took off his outer clothes, wearing only his underwear, and lay on the bed. The female student pulled a line with something resembling an electrode pad from the "curtain" hanging down from above and first attached it to the center of Xia Duo's brow.

Afterwards, more lines were connected to various parts of Xia Duo's body through adhesion. Although he was not clear on how this process was researched, he was very familiar with those connection points.

They almost involved every Node where the Magic Net passed through the human body, whether open or closed. The sheer number of them far exceeded the number of Resurrection Nodes he had previously obtained in the 【Projection Plane: Empire Remnants】.

In other words, the research of the Red Heart Alliance in the field of resurrection had already surpassed that of the Arcane Empire in the other projection plane.

However, this was not incomprehensible. After all, Elves were simply too long-lived, and the continuity of research in all aspects was very complete, whereas the Arcane Empire's were humans, and they were also in a long-term war with the Elves; a slight accident could cause previous research to be interrupted, and it would be difficult to continue it again.

Moreover, time was also a major factor. The Arcane Empire in the previous projection plane had only existed for a little over a thousand years in total, and during those thousand years, they had almost never stopped the war with the Elves.

Yet the Chixin Tribe had already existed for over fifteen hundred years. Let alone five hundred years more, even an extra hundred years could produce a huge generational gap, and during this period, peaceful development was the mainstream, not war.

Of course, the most critical factor in this was still Xia Duo. It was he who laid a solid foundation for the Chixin Tribe, so that even in a situation where they could not compare to the Arcane Empire in total population, the final results of their development surpassed the Arcane Empire.

Looking at the Resurrection Nodes right now, Xia Duo speculated that the Chixin Tribe could already perfectly resurrect a Spellcaster, or at least it was close to perfect, so that the resurrected Spellcaster would not lose their spellcasting limit, nor would they suffer any physical loss.

……

Very quickly, Xia Duo's body was covered in dense lines. Judging from the material, it did not seem to be metal, but a certain specific directional variant of the David String, which made him sigh even more at the power of time.

"Sergeant Maruente, are you ready? It is about to start. It might produce a tiny bit of negative emotion, but there is no need to worry; this is all a normal situation. Talking to others for a while afterwards will eliminate this negative emotion."

"I understand, let's begin."

Although Xia Duo had presided over the 【Negative Energy Downgrade】 project in the 【Projection Plane: Empire Remnants】, he had never personally experienced the experimental content, and that project of his was not perfect; until he left, he had not been able to reduce the pain of the test subjects.

In essence, it was using negative energy to invade the body; how could it possibly be as comfortable as basking in the sun!

And now, he wanted to see what the experience of the Negative Energy Downgrade would be like after fifteen hundred years of temporal evolution. Just seconds after he issued the start signal, he saw the male student tap a few times on the operation console nearby.

Afterwards, a feeling of inexplicable regret and emptiness surged into his heart. At this moment, Xia Duo only felt that all hope was lost, as if everything in the world had no meaning; he wanted to embrace death.

But just at this moment, Gelinqi's voice reached his ears, "Maruente, what do you think about what I just told you regarding choosing my alma mater for your advanced studies?"

Advanced studies? Alma mater?

As his memories continued to spread, meaning returned to Xia Duo's heart once again. At this moment, he only understood how terrifying the so-called negative emotions were. Even he, who treated organizing memories as a daily routine and possessed firm beliefs, had felt the urge to leave the world the moment he came into contact with it.

If it had been someone else who came, wouldn't they have put it into practice directly?

"Gelinqi, I will apply to Chixin University, and I will also enter the Research Institute! I said it!"

"Good!"

Gelinqi cheered loudly, then ran over to personally help Xia Duo disconnect the Energy Guiding Circuits attached to his body. At this time, the female student could not help but exclaim:

"Sergeant Maruente is the first Elf I have seen who recovered his sanity so quickly after experiencing the Negative Energy Downgrade experiment!"

"Although this is not my first time seeing it, the number of times I have seen or heard of it can be counted on one hand." At this time, Gelinqi also added a sentence at the right moment, then also sighed:

"I didn't expect your willpower, Maruente, to be so strong! No wonder you were able to obtain the Excellent Service Medal."

"What do others usually do?"

"Stare blankly, ignore others when they speak, and some even self-harm or commit suicide. However, the latter is also a minority; if it occurs, forced intervention is required."

After speaking, Gelinqi also pointed to the floor and explained, "There is a Jinjufazhen underneath here, and there is also a Mind Mentor in the nearby Xiu Xi Shi who can provide support at any time. It is impossible for an Excellent Service Medal recipient to come here to receive a reward and then meet with an accident!"

"So that's how it is."

When all the Energy Guiding Circuits were removed, Xia Duo sat up from the bed. Apart from feeling a bit weak, he felt nothing else. Afterwards, he perceived the Magic Net while putting on his clothes.

As expected, he could really only perceive the Fifth Layer of the Weave!

He even seriously suspected whether he would maintain this level of Magic Net perception if he returned to the Main Plane right now.

It should be!

Perception is universal; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to perceive the end of the Magic Net in the Main Plane, and still be able to perceive the end of the Magic Net even after becoming an Apprentice in the projection plane.

From this perspective, the Negative Energy Downgrade is truly powerful!

If it were a Mage following the traditional Elven Magic path who underwent this process, it would be very fatal. If they wanted to recover to their original state, they could only grind their Magic Net Affinity bit by bit.

But Netheril Magic already has the characteristic of rapid success. Although he has now become a Level 10 Mage, as long as he performs a few instances of Ascension Casting, he will soon be able to recover to his previous spellcasting level.

After all, what was erased was merely the Magic Net perception that is easily accessible to the Netheril Magic System; the Knowledge he has mastered itself will not be erased.

Of course, Xia Duo will not perform Ascension Casting right now. After all, retreating to Level 10 was to reasonably advance to an Advanced Arcanist under the current persona. If he leveled up now, wouldn't he be wasting the reward of this Negative Energy Downgrade?