Chapter 889 The Good and Bad Pope
Sine's voice suddenly became excited, and even his fingers were trembling slightly!
That is the fragment that the Geometry Celestial Being cast into the material world, containing one-fifth of the Celestial Being's power, and symbolizing the absolute control over the element of "water" - the regular icosahedron of water!
But as a devout seeker of the path of wisdom, Zhengshen wasn't particularly attached to the power it possessed. Rather, he believed that "power" itself was something "abandoned" and despised by those who transcended the path of wisdom.
As early as when they were still mage apprentices and had just entered the Mage Tower, they had been taught this core concept -
——Magic must never be a symbol of violence.
A wizard must not use his magic to overpower others or claim to be powerful simply because it possesses extraordinary power. Magic must not be researched and enhanced solely for the purpose of demonstrating destructive power—all magic is essentially a byproduct of the pursuit of wisdom, a symbol of mystery.
Just like when mages discover a new truth, they tend not to make it public—they only need to discover and keep it secret, and when the secret is rediscovered by others, they can gain feedback on the power of the Tao. On the contrary, if mages particularly like to show off in front of others, they will not be very powerful.
Because of this, mages are often accustomed to maintaining a sense of mystery. Many mages who dislike the scientific research environment of the Mage Tower will choose to live in seclusion deep in the forest or in the bustling city.
While it's unclear when the idea that "magic shouldn't be used to demonstrate violence" originated... all the mage towers in the Narcissus Principality share the same heritage. And mages who have violated this philosophy in the past have invariably paid the price—even the slightest violation is unacceptable.
During the Rift War, alchemists came up with many new inventions for use in warfare, and necromancers and demonologists were active on the battlefield, which caused these mages who were conducting research to panic for a time.
The first Duke of Narcissus was the president of the Palace Alchemy Guild and vice president of the Mage Guild. The title of Duke Hircine was bestowed upon him by the Emperor in his final moments during the empire's later years. Therefore, he was also the last noble of the empire.
But even so, this extremely powerful mage is not the number one in the Mage Association. Because the president of the Mage Association, Leonardo, is the most powerful mage recognized by the Helasar Empire.
He originally planned to shift his research direction to armaments - he tried to research an "ultimate weapon that could destroy all wars."
With Hircine's help, he deciphered the technology of the Rune Colossi that adorned the battlefield. The resulting alchemical products were capable of firing astonishing lasers... and this became the source of the automated defenses on the Mage Tower today. But this wasn't enough for Archmage Leonardo. He intended to continue his research until he developed a weapon "capable of destroying anyone wielding it," thus ending this odious war.
But just when his invention was about to be completed, he suddenly went mad for unknown reasons, became a miserable lunatic, and eventually disappeared completely.
Initially, some believed he was cursed, others that he was driven mad by an assassin's poison. Still others said alchemists, jealous of his wisdom, kidnapped him to torture him and uncover the location of his remaining manuscripts... This absurd and obviously false claim even became mainstream in the Mage Tower, where wisdom was revered, and sparked a century-long hostility between mages and alchemists.
The manuscript left by Master Leonardo became a treasure, but it still abided by the secret code of the wizards and was not published.
It was not until later that a few great wizards knew that he had become the secret apostle of Wei Zhe. However, he still personally warned these few great wizards to stop studying work "related to power and violence."
It's for this reason that mages are so secretive about "extra power." It's also why, when the Star Antimony invaded, the mages surrendered so easily—since we can't actively pursue power, what's the point of fighting? We can't win anyway.
As the chief, Zhengsine could be considered the tower master's reserve. He naturally knew about this taboo.
However, this "Icosahedron of Water" has another special meaning besides its unparalleled power!
——As everyone knows, the fragments of Geometry will only appear around the smartest scholars and inventors.
To put it the other way around, whoever... whoever gets the fragment of Geometry God and the fragment does not escape will be the smartest scholar and inventor in the world!
The tower masters of the Narcissus Principality are mostly at the fourth energy level, with only a very small number at the fifth energy level. But even those fifth energy level mages must show special respect to the tower master Sandro.
The reason is very simple - it is because Lord Sandro has a "Tetrahedron of Fire" in his hand!
He is the person recognized by Geometry Heavenly Master!
Even Sine's teacher, the most powerful wizard in the Narcissus Principality today—the old wizard who had survived from the founding of the country to the present day, one of the few fifth-level wizard lords, Lord Yolande...was extremely jealous of the fact that Lord Sandro had been recognized by Geometry Celestial Master.
He had privately cursed him more than once, believing Sandro was simply lucky. In any other place, Sine had no doubt he would have seized the treasure. However, this was the Narcissus Principality, where the mages were respectable people and acted with dignity.
Anyone who does such an indecent thing of bullying the weak will probably be laughed at by everyone for being "impatient" - although they are certainly jealous in their hearts, anyone who stands out at this time will be attacked by everyone.
And now, a wild water icosahedron is right before our eyes!
But he would never dare to snatch it away - he had already guessed Aiwass's identity the moment the "Pope" inadvertently said the name "Cardinal Galatea" in his mind.
Although he looks different, has antlers on his head, and appears at the wrong time... there is no doubt that the blond young man in front of him is the Eternal Pope of this generation.
He was not exaggerating at all; the code name "Pope" was his real identity!
If he angered the Pope or the cardinal, he would probably face a catastrophic disaster.
But even so, Sine couldn't contain the greed that was swelling in his heart.
"Mr. Pope... His Holiness!"
Sine said with almost desire and madness, "Can you give this thing to me? I'm willing to pay any price for it - anything! All my property, my loyalty, my soul... No, can you let me touch it first? Just touch it..."
He had to consider whether this might be his only chance in his lifetime.
Aiwass looked at the old wizard and was very surprised.
These mages were usually pure-hearted, aloof from worldly desires and independent. He rarely encountered such a crazy mage...
He couldn't help but ask, "Do you really want this thing? Aren't you mages not allowed to pursue power?"
"No, it's not for power... How dare it be 'power'..."
Sine waved his hands repeatedly, as if he had been electrocuted, and tried to defend himself: "I won't do anything. Even if I get it, I won't use its power..."
"Do you want to... study the Celestial Master?" Aiwass asked.
The Water Fragment itself was of little use to Aiwass - what he needed most was the Fire Fragment, and not in a hurry.
He hadn't even tamed the water-attributed Sin Beast yet, and the Tail Ring Ceremony hadn't even been completed. The world's upper limit was currently the sixth energy level, so it was too early to break through.
Aiwass originally intended to give this treasure to Sherlock.
After all, it was said that this item only appeared in the hands of intelligent people, and Aiwass felt that Sherlock was an intelligent person, so this item was perfect for him. It just so happened that Sherlock didn't have a staff yet... The Fire Fragment could be used to evolve the little butterfly, so the Water Fragment was perfect for him. Although Sherlock might not necessarily want it.
It was for this reason that Aiwass didn't touch it at all, not even checking its properties.
This is why Aiwas was worried that he was not that "smart" - or that the level of his wisdom was not crazy enough to allow this thing to teleport away directly.
Although Aiwass himself didn't value this item very much, he was also very cautious and didn't want it to fall into the hands of others with ulterior motives, such as the Son of the Moon.
If this item's combat power could be fully utilized, it could essentially allow a fifth-level transcendent to unleash the power of the sixth level. For a single-attribute spellcaster with the right attributes, it could almost rival the bonus provided by the Supreme Crown for a priest. The Supreme Crown allowed Aiwas to communicate with the Pillar Gods at any time, effectively granting him access to the personal numbers of all Pillar Gods and Celestial Officials.
Although Sine looked somewhat possessed, he was quite humble for a wizard. If he could give Aiwass a good enough reason, Aiwass wouldn't mind handing it over to him—it would simply be a matter of finding a better gift for Sherlock.
After all, after not seeing each other for a few months, he became the Pope when we met again. At times like this, you have to give your brothers some goodies to show that you are really awesome!
But what disappointed Aiwas was that in response to Aiwas's questions, Sine gradually shrank back.
"No, not really... How dare I? I'm not a transcendent..."
The old wizard smiled bitterly, but felt extremely regretful in his heart.
Why wasn't it me? Why wasn't it me who was teleported away?
If he was the one exploring the way, if he was the one being teleported away... wouldn't he be the one who could obtain this treasure?!
"You're not going for combat, nor for research. So why do you want it?"
Aiwass asked back in confusion.
"With this," Sine murmured, "won't people know I'm a genius?
"—Without it, how can people understand my wisdom!?"
As he spoke, his tone became more and more crazy.
Electric light flickered deep in his pupils, gradually revealing a hint of deep blue that was almost purple.
Ai Hua suddenly became serious.
…Sine’s mental state isn’t right.
But at this moment, Zhengsine suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, collapsed and gasped for breath - after all, he still didn't dare to attack Aiwass, so his eyes became clear again just before he was about to go crazy.
Aiwass also guessed what his fearful look meant.
So he chuckled: "It's not that I won't give it to you...
"I can give you a chance. The [Water Icosahedron] is useless to me. I'd rather have the [Fire Tetrahedron] in Old Sandro's hands. If you bring that thing over to me, I'll give it to you. You know how it is, one person can't have both fragments at once? Even if you get the Fire Tetrahedron, it wouldn't be suitable to show it off to others... But now that you have it, you can show it off. How great is that?"
...Is this what the Pope should say?
Sine was shocked.
How could this Pope still be able to deceive people? !
The most important thing is that what he said is really tempting...
Sine struggled to maintain his composure, but his eyes remained fixed on the [Water Icosahedron], a hint of deep purple once again appearing in his pupils. "But... Lord Sandro is a very famous person... If I attack him... and I might not be able to..."
Cardinal Galatea's voice echoed softly in Aiwass's heart, a whisper that was heard only by Aiwass through magic: "His abnormality comes from this tower itself."
"I see."
Aiwass said the same thing, and only Cardinal Galatea could hear this.
He smiled at Zhengsine, which put the final nail in the coffin on his shaky rationality: "Old Sandro is dead. I witnessed his death with my own eyes during the promotion ceremony.
"In other words, the [Fire Tetrahedron] doesn't have a legitimate successor. Do you understand?"
“—I do it, I do it!”
Sine responded without hesitation, his eyes becoming fanatical.
At that moment, Aiwass realized with great clarity that a powerful transcendent force was surging into Sine's body.
It comes from above this tower.
Woohoo, update completed...
This second chapter is nearly 4,000 words long, and it’s burned out…
I took two norfloxacin pills and my fever is gradually subsiding. I'll wait and see tomorrow. If I can still write, I'll continue. If I feel so sick that I need to go to the hospital, I'll ask for leave. After all, this fever won't go away in a day or two. Only three leave notes a month are not enough. As long as I can still write, I'll keep writing...
(End of this chapter)
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