Chapter 948 – Tricky Questions

Mo Lan’s eyes lit up as she fired off more questions:

“Druids use both psychic power and forces of nature when casting nature magic—is that because they cast through the magic net? If they bypassed the magic net, would it be possible to wield forces of nature directly, like moving your own arm? Or, like the ancient mages before the magic net existed, could one construct spell structures within their own mental sea and then use pure psychic power as a ‘lever’ to forcibly manipulate and shape the natural energy in the environment?

What differences would there be in the effects of nature magic cast through these two methods compared to the current magic-net versions of spells?”

“Also, ranger professional training can significantly enhance the body’s agility attribute. Is this enhancement a limited development of the body’s latent potential, or can it to some extent… break through the innate physical ceiling of one’s race or individual constitution? If a naturally clumsy and sluggish stone person could theoretically qualify as a ranger, after rigorous ranger training, could it possibly become even more agile than the nimblest Elf? Is the essence of this ‘agility’ a fundamental change to the body itself, or is it a ‘blessing’ of forces of nature upon the body?”

“Furthermore, the professional codes of druids and rangers—such as guarding nature, taking only what is needed, respecting the cycle of life… what happens if they’re violated? Does ‘nature’ truly bring down punishment? Is it like the stories say—suddenly being unable to communicate with plants, being treated with hostility by animals, hunts forever failing? Or does it take a more direct, more terrifying form—forces of nature lashing back against the body, life force inexplicably draining away, or mysteriously encountering calamity in the wild? Can this punishment… be fatal? What is its mechanism? Is it the world’s rules operating automatically, or… the will of a higher existence intervening?”

…

This barrage of questions—their tricky angles, leaping logic, and probing depth—made the Tree Spirit somewhat regret having promised to answer her questions to the best of its ability.

It deliberated for a long time before organizing its thoughts into words.

“Before the magic net appeared, spellcasters did indeed cast spells the way you described, and even now, many high-level spellcasters still attempt to do so. However, casting spells directly with elemental force requires extremely high magical talent—only a few magical races can manage it. Constructing spell structures within the mental sea is also highly difficult; only a rare few among humans can achieve it. Modern spellcasters rely mostly on the magic net for casting. Only upon reaching the demigod level do they begin researching traditional spellcasting methods.”

“As for the agility enhancement from ranger training, its essence is developing latent potential, optimizing coordination, and using forces of nature to nourish and mildly strengthen bodily tissues. It can indeed break through the ‘soft ceiling’ formed by an individual’s laziness or insufficient training, but it cannot defy the inherent ‘hard ceiling’ of one’s race and life form.”

“Regarding the consequences of violating professional codes—at the mild end, one simply loses the ability to use all profession-related abilities. At the severe end, it may trigger direct backlash. The consequences for druids and rangers who violate their professional codes tend toward the severe kind. Those who gravely transgress the way of nature may have their mind and body eroded by chaotic forces of nature, leading to madness, mutation, or… withering. Fatal? Yes. Many instances of ‘nature’s punishment’ recorded throughout history ended in death, or something worse than death—a complete severance from nature known as ‘withering.'”

…

Though the Tree Spirit found these questions somewhat headache-inducing, it still answered them one by one, and Mo Lan gained enormously from the exchange.

This only made her thirst for knowledge grow stronger:

“Tree Spirit Mother, I have one more question—it’s about the spell models themselves…”

Hearing that there was only one more question, and that it concerned spell models, the Tree Spirit breathed a slight sigh of relief. Finally, a normal question.

However, Mo Lan’s next words immediately made the Tree Spirit realize it had relaxed too soon.

“…What I want to know is: these zero-level spells—what were their ‘complete’ spell structures like before they were simplified by the magic net? Or rather, what was the original magical knowledge that carries their core principles actually like?”

Mo Lan’s voice rang clear and resolute within the dream. These were what she wanted most of all.

The green mist within the dream seemed to solidify. The Tree Spirit hesitated for a long while before finally deciding to tell her:

“Child, you need to understand—the emergence and flourishing of the nature Elf branch occurred after the magic net system was established and gradually refined.

The inherited memories of nature Elves, from their very inception, recorded only magical knowledge adapted to the magic net environment. The complete spell structures or original magical knowledge you speak of were never included in the nature Elves’ inherited memories.

That belongs to a more ancient era, a more unified origin—the crystallized wisdom of the high Elves.

In today’s Thelan, perhaps only the Astral Elves, who inherited the greatest portion of the high Elves’ legacy, are still attempting to reverse-engineer and speculate upon the possible historical prototypes and complete structures from the simplified spell models that currently exist within the magic net.

But that is ultimately ‘working backward’—speculation and imagination based on existing frameworks. It inevitably loses fidelity and is necessarily incomplete.

Compared to the inherited memories of the high Elves from the Golden Age, the difference is as vast as heaven and earth.

If you truly desire to touch that original magical truth, uncropped by the magic net’s framework… then, child, the path you must walk will be extraordinarily long and arduous.

You must first deeply study the cultures, philosophies, and magical systems of all Elf branches, truly understand and embrace the full picture of Elven civilization, and break down the barriers between branches.

When your strength, wisdom, and breadth of heart have grown enough to bear this weight, you will earn the right to journey to the origin and sacred ground of all Elves—the ancient Elven capital, Suramalan.

There, with the aid of the vast Mana of the Well of Eternity and the magnificent vitality of the Mother Tree of Life, you would undertake the ancient Blood Ancestry Ritual.

If you are fortunate enough, if your will is firm enough, if your connection to the Elven source runs deep enough… perhaps it would be possible to restore those long-scattered, time-sealed complete inherited memories.

Only then might the knowledge you seek—of magic’s original form—truly open itself to you.

However, child, I must be honest with you: this path has not been successfully walked by any Elf for countless centuries.

Bloodlines have grown ever thinner through long ages of divergence. Philosophies have drifted ever further apart through independent development. To reunite and reawaken that original glory is as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Many brilliantly talented predecessors were stopped in their tracks. That ‘complete inheritance’ has become a legend bordering on the illusory.”

The Tree Spirit’s tone carried both comfort and warning: “Child, even if your ambitions soar high, I hope you will focus on the present. Walk the nature Elf’s path steadily and surely. Hone the arts of the druid, the ranger, and the bard to mastery. That is what you should be doing right now.

As for that original magical truth… perhaps, when you have truly grown powerful enough to gaze down upon the mountains, it will reveal itself to you in some way. Or perhaps you will forge your own entirely new path, with no need to look back.”