Chapter 247: The Impossibility of Immortality and a Grand Invitation

Lia leaned back on the sofa, listening to Adèle’s vivid description of the disastrous state of the capital’s driver’s license exams, the corners of her mouth curling upward.

“Seriously, I saw it with my own eyes! That noble lord’s butler—usually such a steady person—fell off the ‘Single Plank Bridge’ project three times, and finally got so angry his mustache went crooked.”

Adèle laughed so hard she was rolling on the sofa.

“Now in the taverns of the capital, everyone is exchanging their experiences on how to take the driving test.”

Lia picked up a biscuit and ate it slowly.

“This proves that everyone is equal before the rules.”

“It’s more than just equality.”

Adèle finally managed to stop laughing and picked up a copy of Capital Gossip.

“Look at this; it’s even more interesting than the driving test.”

In a corner of the newspaper, an inconspicuous piece of news bore an exaggerated headline: [Shocking News! Immortal Appears in Riley Kingdom; Five-Hundred-Year-Old Archmage Reappears in the World!]

“Riley Kingdom? That True God Religion again?”

Lia had some impression of the name; Adèle had mentioned it briefly last time.

“Yes, that’s them.”

Adèle pointed at the report.

“The rumor says there is a high-ranking priest in that True God Religion who is none other than the Eighth-Circle Archmage Andreas, who went missing five hundred years ago.”

“Supposedly he found the secret of immortality and has come out to spread the gospel for their ‘True God’.”

Lia raised an eyebrow.

“Five hundred years old? Why doesn’t he just say he’s lived since the dawn of time?”

Klein put down his book, glanced at the report, and commented calmly, “An absurd lie.”

“I think so too.”

Adèle shrugged.

“But it’s spreading like wildfire across the southern part of the continent now. Many merchant caravans are talking about it.”

“Some say they’ve seen this Andreas with their own eyes—his face looks young, but his eyes are full of the vicissitudes of time.”

“Others say he can cast gravity magic that has long been lost.”

Lia evaluated, “A pity. No mage with a shred of common sense would believe it.”

In this world, life magic and necromancy were more like complex branches of biology and alchemy.

Mages could heal wounds, delay aging, and even use mana to create temporary life forms, but no one could truly reverse or stop the process of life itself moving toward its end.

Immortality was a taboo topic that touched upon the fundamental rules of the world.

“Anyway, it’s just a joke.”

Adèle tossed the newspaper aside.

“Let’s not talk about that. Lia, about your Introductory Handbook for the Microscopic World—I heard the second-year students are going crazy for it.”

“That’s because they have a strong thirst for knowledge,” Lia said solemnly.

The few of them chatted for a while longer before Adèle left, satisfied, carrying a box of freshly baked cookies.

The mage tower returned to silence.

***

A few days later, at the National Magic Academy.

As an honorary professor, Lia occasionally needed to show her face at the academy.

She and Klein walked side by side along the shaded paths of the campus, enjoying a rare bit of leisure.

On a bench not far away, several students in apprentice robes were arguing heatedly about something.

“…It’s absolutely impossible! Have you forgotten the Law of Conservation of Energy? How much energy would a biological organism need to consume to remain incorruptible for five hundred years?

How could his physical structure possibly withstand such a long period of wear and tear?” an older-looking student said excitedly.

Another younger apprentice countered, “But that’s an Eighth-Circle Archmage! Maybe he found a way to put his body into a stable state of energy cycling? Like… like a perpetual motion machine!”

“Have your brains migrated to your lower half? A perpetual motion machine is a false premise in itself!”

“How do you know? What if the power of the ‘True God’ can break the laws of physics as we know them?”

Hearing this, Lia stopped and listened with interest.

Klein followed her gaze and spoke, “The entropy increase of life forms is irreversible. Even high-level life spells can only delay this process, not halt it.”

“As for necromancy, that is merely using another form of energy to maintain the existence of a material shell; it is a different concept from being ‘alive’.”

He paused and continued,

“The Kingdom’s Magic Association keeps life records of all high-level mages from the past thousand years. The longest-lived Seventh-Circle mage in history reached one hundred and eighty-two, and the record for an Eighth-Circle mage is two hundred and thirty years. Five hundred years—there is no precedent.”

“Therefore, it must be fake,” Lia finished his thought, then added,

“Though I am quite curious about what methods they are using to deceive people. Did they find a descendant who looks similar? Or are they using illusions and alchemical potions to create a false image?”

To her, the truth of the rumor was irrelevant; the methods used to debunk the scam were what was worth studying.

Klein watched the curiosity sparkling in her eyes, a smile touching his calm blue eyes.

Just then, a blue circle flashed in front of Lia, and a gentle mental message was transmitted.

It was a message from Lady Eleonora.

“Eleonora wants to meet,” Lia said to Klein.

In the next second, a spatial ripple flashed, and the two vanished instantly.

***

Back in the mage tower’s living room, Lady Eleonora was standing quietly in the center of the teleportation array.

Today she wore an elegant, simple white dress, and her entire being radiated a sense of harmony and restraint.

If she was like a polished, flawless jade during their last meeting, now it seemed as if light was about to radiate from within that jade.

“Master Eleonora,” Lia and Klein greeted her simultaneously.

“It seems I’ve come at exactly the right time.”

Eleonora smiled, her gaze landing on Lia, her eyes brighter and more focused than ever before.

“You look to be in excellent condition,” Lia said, choosing her words carefully.

“Yes, very good.”

Eleonora’s voice held a joy born of relief.

“All the elemental nodes have returned to their places, and the mental world has achieved final integration. I am ready.”

‘Ready?’

Lia’s heart stirred.

Klein also seemed to have realized something, his expression turning serious.

Eleonora looked at them, no longer keeping them in suspense, and declared directly, “Next Wednesday, I will officially challenge the gates of the Ninth Circle.”

Despite having anticipated it, hearing the news firsthand caused a shock to ripple through Lia’s mind.

A Ninth-Circle Archmage!

That was an existence standing at the very top of the continent’s pyramid, a walking legend, a physical manifestation of the laws.

The birth of every Ninth-Circle mage meant a violent shift in the world’s power structures and theoretical frontiers.

“I have come today to officially extend an invitation to you both.”

Eleonora’s gaze swept over Lia and Klein in turn.

“I hope you can come to witness it.”

The weight of this invitation was immense.

To observe a peak Eighth-Circle mage advance to the Ninth Circle was an opportunity countless mages dreamed of.

“We will certainly be there,” Klein spoke first, his tone solemn.

“It would be my honor,” Lia immediately nodded in agreement.

She knew that Eleonora inviting her wasn’t just out of politeness.

As Eleonora herself had said, she was the “guide.”

This advancement ceremony was both Eleonora’s destination and an important preview of Lia’s future path.

“Then it’s a settled.”

The smile on Eleonora’s face grew even softer.

“Horace is also looking forward to your arrival. He’s been overwhelmed by those reports for machine time applications lately and needs a change of mood.”

At the mention of her husband, Eleonora’s eyes revealed a helpless yet doting smile.

“Oh, right,” she seemed to recall something and said to Lia,

“Your Introductory Handbook for the Microscopic World is very well-written. Horace says it has filtered out at least ninety percent of the idle fantasies for the Institute. Now he can finally see some truly valuable proposals.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Lia replied modestly.

Eleonora did not stay long. After arranging the specific time and meeting place, she bid them a graceful farewell.

Silence returned to the living room.

Lia sat back on the sofa, her mind still replaying Eleonora’s recent appearance.

That sense of perfect fulfillment just before breaking through the threshold had left a deep impression on her.

“What are you thinking about?” Klein’s voice rang out beside her.

“I’m thinking about what kind of realm the Ninth Circle actually is,” Lia confessed.

“We use laws to describe the world, but they seem capable of briefly becoming the laws themselves.”

“You’ll know once you reach that step,” Klein said.

Lia looked at him and didn’t argue. With her theoretical accumulation, that day wouldn’t be too far off as long as her mana level kept up.

She suddenly recalled that rumor about immortality again.

“Klein,” Lia spoke up suddenly, “if there really was a person who had lived for five hundred years, what do you think they would look like?”

Klein thought for a moment and gave a rational answer.

“Their biological cells would collapse because they couldn’t handle the redundancy of information, and their spirit would become disordered due to the excessive accumulation of memories.”

“He would forget who he was, unable to distinguish between reality and memory. That would not be immortality, but a long, endless torture.”

“Sounds like it’s definitely not a good thing,” Lia shrugged, tossing the boring question to the back of her mind.

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