MTL NOVEL Chapter 65
Chapter 65: Dark Demon Seeks True Knowledge
The newly chastened Robert had become very subdued.
Without Robert’s instigation, Wit also stopped causing trouble.
The afternoon class on the History of Magic passed quietly under the drowsy eyes of the young magi.
After class, Dark did not head to the library as usual but instead went directly to Professor Kazel’s office.
He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door.
“Knock.”
“Come in.”
Professor Kazel’s voice came from inside the office.
Dark turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and entered.
Professor Kazel was seated behind his desk, which was piled high with homework, clearly not meant for first-year students.
“Dark? You’ve come just in time,” said Professor Kazel, putting down his pen and jumping off his high stool.
Dark asked, “Professor, have you made progress with the flower card research?”
“Indeed.” Professor Kazel opened a drawer, pulled out a flower card, and waved it at Dark.
It looked like a child showing off a new toy.
Dark couldn’t help but smile slightly. Then he closed the door and quickly walked behind the desk.
The professor handed him the card and said proudly, “Go ahead, inject some mana and see what happens.”
Dark picked it up and examined it closely.
This flower card wasn’t the green rose that Professor Kazel originally had; it was another one, unknown where it came from.
“A student gave it to me,” Professor Kazel quipped.
Dark blinked, and Kazel added, “Alright, someone played with it during class, so I confiscated it. In any case, don’t worry about its origin. This is my carefully crafted piece last night.”
The card depicted a pinkish-purple butterfly orchid, a type of orchid whose petals resembled butterfly wings, symbolizing “I love you” with a high and elegant love.
Dark injected a bit of mana, and the orchids on the card transformed into vivid butterflies—real butterflies!
Pink and purple butterflies fluttered their wings gracefully.
When Dark waved the card, they seemed to be drawn to it, circling around the card.
Fluorescent particles leaked from the butterflies’ tails, as if trailing long tails.
Even during the day, it was impressive, let alone in pitch-black night.
Dark exclaimed, “Professor, how did you do this?”
Kazel smiled, “A little trick. It’s not a mana spirit card, but if you like it, take it. It shares the same origin as the flower card and might guide you to the root.”
There are many secrets in the academy. We generally encourage students to explore on their own. Of course, remember the curfew at midnight.
…
As Dark left the office, he felt a bit uneasy.
Professor Kazel’s words didn’t sit well with him.
“Has he figured everything out and confirmed there’s no danger? Or… has he already dealt with the danger?”
“Why else would he mention encouraging students to explore on their own…”
Dark put the butterfly orchid card into his deck, knowing he probably wouldn’t get more information from Professor Kazel.
“It seems the only person left to find answers is Wit.”
“The curfew at midnight is a reminder.”
“But Robert has already paid the price for staying out late.”
“Hmm, what should I do next?”
…
Thinking about it, Dark returned to the dormitory in the Noble Academy.
He decided not to dwell on it, after all, there’s the hero’s child.
Dark even suspected that Wit had already delved deeply into it, with the “Forbidden Love” card being proof.
Instead of risking further investigation, he decided to wait for the secret to surface on its own.
Or follow the hero’s footsteps, bring a napkin and cutlery, and enjoy the visual feast in a safe place.
In any case, tonight, right after an incident, was definitely not a good time.
He set up his experimental table and started the experiment early.
One “Trash Slime” was enough; he didn’t attempt “Plant-Kin-Grass Attribute” again. Instead, he followed the “Avian-Beast Kin-Grass Attribute” basic conjure method for the second and third experiments.
Both attempts ended in failure.
But then, he changed his approach.
He adopted the “Random Conjure Method” described in the textbook.
The Random Conjure Method was relatively easier and had a lower success rate.
However, when mages were lost, they often used this method to find inspiration.
Experiments weren’t only successful in providing data; failed ones could also offer enlightenment.
…
Still, it was elven honey and brain leaf essence water.
But the next materials were completely different.
“Random Conjure Method.” It felt like throwing a bunch of materials into a large pot and cooking them together.
Mixed in were several special conjure arrays, which would transform the remaining material into a mana spirit card.
Since the properties and needs of some materials were only defined, not precisely specified, and the requirements for quantity and time were quite loose, even the same person using the same materials could produce vastly different mana spirit cards.
This was the “Random Conjure Method,” exclusive to the lucky ones.
After 32 minutes, Dark finally advanced to the final step of the mana spirit card conjuration.
He activated the first conjure array and began adding ingredients.
First, cat hair.
Then, more cat hair.
Finally, still cat hair!
To ensure the purity of the core material, Dark added nothing else except cat hair.
When the last cat hair was absorbed, the light of the first conjure array slowly converged, finally settling down.
Dark carefully observed the mana spirit card on the table.
The card was covered with a thick layer of black gel-like substance, emitting a smell similar to burnt odor.
He picked up the mana pen and gently touched it.
“BOOM!”
A part of the gel suddenly exploded.
A wisp of flame shot up and immediately spread outward.
Dark acted quickly, grabbing a fireproof cloth from the corner of the table and covering it.
“Crack crack.”
The fire was extinguished.
Lifting the fireproof cloth and removing the gel portion, Dark carefully extracted the mana spirit card with tweezers.
But the card’s face was pitch black, clearly a failure.
“Although it failed, it can be seen that it leans towards the fire attribute.”
“But why would cat grass hair lean towards the fire attribute? Could it be… the power of the sun?”
“Pride, Sun.”
“So that’s it! That’s where the problem lies!”
Dark suddenly understood.
His previous experiments always used the grass attribute’s basic conjure method. But in reality, the light attribute, which symbolizes the sun, was the most fitting for “Pride.”
After absorbing “Pride,” cat grass had already leaned towards the light attribute.
When using cat hair for conjuration, he should use either the “Plant-Kin-Light Attribute” or “Avian-Beast Kin-Light Attribute” basic conjure methods!