Chapter 547: Where Are the Magical Animals? (5k)
Lily immediately boasted, “That’s no fawn; it’s just younger. They mostly live in the southern and northern regions of the Misericordia Mountains, where locals call them ‘baby deer,’ meaning deer that never grow up.”
“Their antlers are as smooth as jade and naturally emit a fragrant scent, with medicinal value; their fur is snow-white and remains cool even under intense sunlight; their hooves promote blood circulation and can be used for massage to regulate blood flow and unblock meridians… truly a treasure from head to toe.”
“However, because of this, baby deer have been heavily hunted, and they are now on the brink of extinction.”
Dark understood, raising his head toward the direction where the baby deer had vanished, asking, “So, is it real or fake?”
Lily interlaced her fingers, frowning, “It’s a bit tricky to say, half true and half false.”
Dark was instantly puzzled, “What do you mean?”
Lily explained, “Do you know about the Gray Mist Forest?”
Dark nodded, “Of course.”
On his way home by magitech train at the end of last semester, he passed through the Gray Mist Forest and encountered an attack.
The Gray Mist Forest is perpetually shrouded in mist, harboring many theoretically extinct rare species.
Yet, these species can only survive within the mist; once they leave, they perish.
They are like illusions of life within the mist, capable of hunting, fighting, growing, and reproducing, but fundamentally they are false, existing outside the realm of reality.
“Could this baby deer be similar?” Dark couldn’t help but ask.
Lily rarely spoke seriously, “Not too different. It, along with the soil and vegetation here, is a fictitious entity, yet extremely close to reality.”
“I speculate that the magical animals here are akin to golems, quasi-living beings. But if they undergo a ‘resurrection’ process, they might cross the barrier between the unreal and real. You’ve encountered the Moon Goddess statue and vampire Vlad, so you should understand this.”
“Mm.” Dark agreed, “When I searched for my mother’s treasure, I even encountered a dragon, but it was merely a construct of mana, its form less stable than a golem, and far inferior to the baby deer.”
Lily said, “Actually, the ‘reality’ of that baby deer wasn’t particularly high. If we continue forward, we might encounter species more ‘real’ and closer to true life.”
Dark frowned, asking, “What do you mean by ‘reality’?”
Lily smirked, “The concept of ‘reality’ comes from ‘true projection.’ Our commonly used ‘field cards’ are products of ‘true projection.’
In the pre-magitech era, ‘true projection’ was considered divine, a monopoly of deities. Now, it has become commonplace.”
“Afterward, we expanded the concept of ‘reality’ into more fields.”
“We define completely non-existent entities as 【Reality: 0】 and real creations as 【Reality: 100】…”
“We found that higher reality entities are harder to conjure. Whether it’s ‘field cards,’ ‘item cards,’ ‘magic cards,’ or ‘elemental cards,’ they all share this characteristic.”
“Generally, higher reality ‘field cards’ and ‘magic cards’ have stronger effects on events.”
“Higher reality ‘item cards’ and ‘elemental cards’ are more complete.”
“A ‘golden elemental card’ with four ultimate skills has at least over 50% reality.”
“This means they are very close to true life!”
…
The concept of ‘reality’ is clearly knowledge that requires higher grades to understand.
This is crucial for the targeted conjuring of magi cards.
Magi cannot always rely on basic conjuring methods to steadily grow stronger.
Under normal circumstances, a magus could use random conjuring or basic conjuring methods to create one or two gold cards in a lifetime, which is already quite fortunate.
If Dark wanted to build a deck themed around the ‘Blue-Eyed White Dragon,’ he would need to use the ‘Primordial Dragon Egg’ to study the dragon’s lineage and develop a conjuring formula, then perform targeted conjuring.
Saint Maryann Academy usually starts introducing students to targeted conjuring in the second year.
Then, starting in the third year, they guide students on how to develop specialized conjuring formulas based on their own research.
Thus, the third to fourth year is a period of accumulation and breakthrough.
Most students transform during this period, not only increasing the strength of their decks but also likely constructing a complete system.
This is why there is a clear divide between the third and fourth years.
…
After listening to Professor Lily’s explanation, Dark understood.
“It seems Peter Sherwich indeed discovered these magical animals in this hidden realm.”
“Regardless of how he found this realm or how it came to be, it proves that there are magical animals with a ‘reality’ infinitely close to 100% within this realm!”
“If the reality is high enough, the difficulty of ‘reviving’ them should decrease significantly.”
“Considering Peter Sherwich’s ability when founding the Magical Animal Club, he couldn’t possibly carry out a large-scale revival ritual.”
“Given that this realm can only be discovered and entered with fairy blood, the conditions for reviving them might be incredibly low.”
Dark analyzed, looking intently at Lily’s rosy lips, feeling a stir.
“Why are you staring at me!” Lily, unable to bear his gaze, turned away, blushing, “If you look again, I’ll bite you!”
Dark hurriedly said, “I think, if there are magical animals with reality infinitely close to 100% in this realm, perhaps just a drop of fairy blood could make them cross the barrier between the unreal and real, becoming genuine species!”
Lily turned back, lowering her head, “Is that so?”
Dark’s tone became more resolute, “Very possible. Otherwise, Principal Altair wouldn’t insist on having you as the club’s advisor professor. Your existence is indispensable to the Magical Animal Club!”
“Yes, I’m indispensable!” Lily immediately lifted her head, eyes shining, but quickly realized something was off, her expression changing.
Dark quickly said, “Peter Sherwich is a mixed-blood fairy with diluted bloodline. If he could do it, you shouldn’t be unable to. Perhaps he needed to consume extra blood…”
The imp beast suddenly chimed in, “Actions speak louder than words. We’ll find out once we find them.”
Dark praised, “That’s right. Imp beast, scout ahead!”
Imp beast: “Got it!”
…
The two didn’t stay in place.
The imp beast flew ahead, rapidly scouting.
Dark held the slime tightly and followed closely behind.
Little Lily was a “free spirit.”
Soon after, they discovered a second magical animal.
It was a creature hidden among the lush canopy, resembling a branch but with features and limbs—a “branchworm”!
Like the fawn, the branchworm was once relatively common.
Its situation mirrored that of the fawn.
The fawn was valuable for every part.
The branchworm’s bark was useful, enough to drive hunters mad!
Its bark could change color and texture according to surrounding trees, allowing it to mimic any branch.
Stripped and made into camouflage clothing, it could make wearers disappear completely in the forest.
Thus, its practicality was extremely high.
Not only hunters sought it, but wilderness combat units also demanded it greatly.
Over time, the branchworm became an endangered species.
The branchworm was a timid magical animal, but its first reaction to fear was to disguise itself as a “branch” rather than fleeing.
People with “penetration” abilities could easily catch them.
When Lily caught it by the middle with two fingers, lifting it from the canopy, it remained still.
Dark observed the branchworm curiously, asking, “How much ‘reality’ does this branchworm have?”
Lily played with the branchworm excitedly, casually saying, “Around 10%, disappearing once out of the realm.”
Dark was surprised, “Such a realistic-looking magical animal has only 10% reality?”
Lily’s eyes glowed white, replying, “Appearance is the easiest to mimic. We need to see beyond the surface. Should we keep searching?”
“Continue.” Dark decisively said.
Since they were here, how could they leave without thoroughly exploring this realm?
Oh, he wasn’t an adventurer.
No problem then.
…
As they delved deeper, more magical animals appeared before their eyes.
Dark had long summoned the “Mana Book,” instructing it to record all the magical animals they encountered along the way.
Among them were hippos with water lilies on their heads, spider-like creatures with human faces, yellow-furred rodents that released lightning, and round, plump sheep… and so on.
Each magical animal had unique traits, some very cute, others highly useful.
Unfortunately, their reality was not high.
Even if forcibly brought out of the realm, they would quickly perish.
And magical animals of this level couldn’t be revived even with great costs.
According to Professor Lily, 60% reality was a threshold.
If the basic conditions couldn’t meet 60% reality, there was no point in discussing further.
However, the highest reality magical animal Dark saw was only 24%…
“Assuming this realm has been continuously operating before we discovered it.”
“The number of magical animals derived should far exceed those when Peter Sherwich was here.”
“Since Peter Sherwich could find revivable magical animals, we should be able to too.”
“Unless… all previous assumptions are overturned!”
With this mindset, Dark and Lily continued deeper.
…
They spent most of the day walking through rivers and plains, crossing lakes and forests, finally starting to climb a mountain before nightfall.
Had it not been for training during the holidays, Dark’s past physical condition wouldn’t have supported such an intense journey.
He maintained a relatively relaxed state, chatting with Lily while climbing.
Night descended.
Darkness accompanied by starlight fell.
Though the night sky above felt like a painting, it had a strange stiffness.
But gazing upward was still breathtaking.
They finally stopped at the peak of the mountain, hugging their knees and looking back.
Ahead were continuous mountains, but today’s journey had ended.
Dark looked regretfully at the path they had taken, pulling out the mysterious branch left by the Magical Animal Club and handing it to Professor Lily.
Lily took the branch, her fingers touching it causing ripples in the space around it, as if submerged in water.
She could feel that with a slight movement, she could create a passage leading out of the realm.
In other words, they could leave at any time.
But as she was about to move, countless fireflies suddenly rose in her vision!
…
Dark’s half-closed eyes widened suddenly, the fatigue from climbing dissipating instantly.
Looking around, the land below was covered by fireflies silently.
Countless light spheres of varying sizes emerged from riverbeds, plains, lakes, and forests, floating towards the sky simultaneously.
The grand scene, as if illuminating the entire world, caused the viewers and magi to feel a spiritual shock.
But the countless fireflies did not continue rising indefinitely.
Instead, they floated to a certain height and then converged towards a single location.
As more and more fireflies gathered at that spot, a giant glowing tree slowly formed in the darkness.
“Let’s go there!”
Dark stood up abruptly.
The incantation for flight already leaped to his fingertips.
As he completed the incantation and successfully took off, Professor Lily grabbed his left hand, flying him towards the giant tree like the wind.
Their fingers intertwined, excitement evident on their faces.
The night wind rushed past them on both sides.
Speed increased continuously.
As they approached, the appearance of the glowing tree became clearer.
The trunk, over ten meters in diameter, was composed of dry branches with no leaves.
Fireflies from all directions formed a stream of light, continuously entering the giant tree, making it brighter.
Closer…
Through the increasingly strong intertwining branches, one could see a cluster of light in the crown.
It looked like fruit, or a nest.
A thought flashed in Dark’s mind, tightening his fingers held by Lily.
Then, they hovered in the air, about five to six meters away from the glowing tree.
“Lily…” Dark whispered.
Lily Laplace exclaimed excitedly, “It’s an egg!”
Inside the glowing tree’s crown, within a nest-like cluster of light, an elliptical light orb was gently swaying.
That was undoubtedly an egg!
…
Before Dark could speak, Lily released her fingers and charged towards the giant tree without hesitation.
Her petite body merged into the ongoing stream of light, her starry eyes filled with intense curiosity.
As she approached the crown, her body twisted like a phantom, passing through the dense branches and flying to the center of the crown, reaching out to grab the light orb-like egg!
Fingers touched.
The entire giant tree trembled,
from roots to trunk, then from trunk to branches.
The surface light dimmed slightly, forming brighter veins.
The flowing light within the veins accelerated toward the light egg, as if draining the entire tree of its light.
When Lily pulled the light egg from the nest, countless thin veins were drawn out, as if draining the entire tree of its light, gathering into the light egg.
The giant tree darkened instantly.
The fireflies forming the stream of light gradually thinned.
Only the smile on Lily’s face grew increasingly bright.
She pulled hard, severing all the light veins beneath the light egg, holding the egg tightly and retreating rapidly, returning to Dark in an instant.
“I got it!”
Excited, she turned to look at the giant tree, seeing only a blurry shape dispersing.
Once the light egg was taken, the giant tree lost its purpose, turning back into glowing fireflies, bursting outward.
Fireflies returned to the earth, and the night restored its tranquility.
Dark and Lily landed on an open ground.
The imp beast, who had arrived late with fluttering wings, curiously watched the light egg in Lily’s hand.
The trash slime quietly peeked out.
Lily raised the egg slightly, excitedly saying, “Look what I found? An egg with reality infinitely close to 100%!”
…
In Dark’s watchful gaze,
Lily without hesitation squeezed her finger, dripping blood onto the light egg.
Fairy blood, tinged with a faint pink, dripped into the light egg, spreading rapidly to every corner.
The white light on the surface of the light egg quickly disappeared, revealing an eggshell as smooth as jade.
It no longer glowed, but was more real.
Like…
No, it was a true egg!
