"Even a poor person's death is still a death!"
It turned out that a small group of students were lined up in front of the school's circular fountain, holding signs and protesting. Several other students were handing out flyers to passersby. Out of curiosity, Hayden picked one up to look at it and found that the top line read in large letters: "Reject Exploitation! Everyone has the right to happiness after death!"
It seems they are protesting that the Mitra Group's "Pure Land of Blessings" consciousness uploading service is too expensive.
(I was just talking about this with Angela this morning, and now I'm seeing flyers like this at school... But that's to be expected, since the Day of the Dead is coming soon.)
Hayden stroked his chin, lost in thought.
The Day of the Dead was originally a day to commemorate the dead.
"Please support our petition and join us in protesting against the Mitra Group!"
Seeing that Hayden seemed interested, a female student immediately came over with her autograph board.
But Hayden wasn't about to carelessly leave his magical signature in such a place. He shook his head, glanced at the data displayed on the signature board, and realized that they had only collected a little over three thousand signatures so far.
Seeing that Hayden refused to sign, the student wasn't discouraged. Instead, he smiled and said, "Next Sunday we're going to hold a demonstration at the Mitra Group's New Seattle branch to protest their exploitation of us through 'Blessed Pure Land.' Don't you think everyone's loved ones should enjoy peace and happiness after death? If you're interested, please join us!"
Hayden waved his hand and quickly walked away.
It's not that he doesn't support the ideas of these younger students; after all, if Mitra Group's "Pure Land of Blessings" weren't so expensive, Hayden's parents might have been able to upload their consciousness before they died. Hayden knew better than anyone how bad those big companies were.
But Hayden had absolutely no interest in joining these students in a street protest.
So after Hayden walked a few steps away, he looked back and found that they had gone to bother other passing students.
"It's really sad."
These words weren't spoken by Hayden, but rather muttered by a young man not far away.
It was early July, but the man, with black hair and a pure black leather coat, stood about five meters away from Hayden. He was about 1.7 meters tall, a little shorter than Hayden, and looked to be no more than twenty years old, yet his eyes were very calm and deep, like the darkness of night.
"What's so pathetic?"
So Hayden asked casually.
Perhaps he shouldn't have replied, because the man actually turned around. He looked at Hayden, narrowing his eyes: "Do you really think these protests and marches can change anything?"
good question.
It seemed a bit odd to be engaging in political discussion with unfamiliar alumni in the school square, but Hayden was always quick to make decisions and never turned down anyone. So he answered directly and bluntly: "If protesting can get Mitra Corporation to lower its server monthly fees, I'll eat my phone in public."
His words did make the student smile, but there was no smile in his eyes: "Why do you think so? Sometimes there are indeed successful student struggles."
"For example, should we give orc students special privileges?" Hayden retorted. "Only requests that seem noble and don't cost much money will the company comply with. When I was in college, a bunch of people were constantly protesting for student loans to be forgiven. Have they been forgiven now?"
“No, there isn’t.” The young man shook his head. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. What I wanted to talk about was… look at those people.”
As he spoke, he pointed to the students who had been grabbed and given flyers. Needless to say, few of the students, busy with class or going to the library, were willing to listen to the organizers' propaganda; instead, they glared at them angrily.
"Street movements are meant to demonstrate power, express anger towards the company, and force Mitra Group to improve its services and fees. But now the biggest victims of this behavior are ordinary students. Their anger is directed at the athletes who are affecting their studies."
The young man in black gave a cold laugh as he finished speaking.
"The sad thing is the ordinary students. They don't consider why they have so much academic pressure, and they don't understand that it's because of their companies that they have to stay up late studying every day. They are both stupid and pathetic, and they will side with the companies instead. That's why I say that street movements are completely meaningless."
When Hayden heard this, he finally couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"It's just pathetic. The upper echelons of the company aren't afraid at all, nor do they listen to people; they just treat the protests as a joke. On the other hand, we lower-class people aren't much better off."
The young man in black glanced at the students hurrying by, then shook his head.
"Today's students don't really care how much Mitra Group's 'Pure Land of Blessings' costs. For them, it's a price that their descendants will have to pay a long time from now. As for their ancestors and relatives who have already uploaded their consciousness, who really cares how they are doing on the server? They just spend a few hundred yuan a month to keep them online. If they really can't afford to keep them online, they can just delete them."
As he said, the students who were stopped and harassed by the activists were very unhappy. Even if they managed to escape quickly, the activists would later hurl insults and accusations at them.
"...They come to cause trouble every week..."
"...You could hear them shouting outside even from inside the library, it was incredibly noisy..."
"...What nonsense is this guy spouting, since he's practically living off his parents..."
"...He has no ambition, yet he has the nerve to bring up money..."
Whispers of discontent were gradually spreading among the students. Although they were too busy to bother the activists, this resentment was unlikely to disappear easily. As the young man in black had said, the students didn't really care about the state of their ancestors and relatives in their consciousness, because their minds were already filled with other things (such as academic pressure).
The activists, however, remained completely unaware of this... no, perhaps not unaware, but rather had no other choice. They couldn't stop just because they were disliked.
"More than a hundred years ago, student movements might have had some effect, because college students had enough leisure time back then. But things are different now."
The young man in black said in a low voice,
"This approach won't change anything."
The tone of those words was chilling. Hayden felt a chill run down his spine and immediately turned around, only to find that the person had vanished.
This is never a good sign.
However, Hayden had neither the time nor the inclination to pay much attention to bad omens in others; rather, he had already wasted far too much time on the roadside. He was supposed to be at school today on important business.
Turning around, like most students, Hayden hurried toward the Arcane Academy building. Many offices had been moved during his absence, but the floor remained the same, as moving fixed enchantments was too expensive. So Hayden soon found himself before a gleaming oak door with a brass griffin knocker.
He knocked on the door.
The door opened silently immediately.
This was a spacious and beautiful circular room, the most interesting room Hayden had ever seen in his life. The room contained all sorts of metal instruments, some whirring, some ticking, and some emitting tiny wisps of smoke. Dozens of mysterious liquids, contained in dozens of oddly shaped bottles, were bubbling, boiling, or changing color. Around him were many strange and wonderful things, such as hundreds of old-fashioned paper books, glowing green branches hanging on the walls, a huge crystal skull, and a wind-up bird perched in a golden cage. Various oddities decorated every surface Hayden could see.
At the very center of all this chaos was a large black wooden table with more than a dozen drawers embedded in it, and it seemed that there were drawers inside the drawers.
Good morning, Hayden. Please have a seat.
A tall, thin old man sat in a reclining chair behind the table. He looked quite old, with silver hair and a long beard reaching his waist. He was also wearing a long robe, the kind of elaborate deep red cloak worn by ancient sorcerers. Behind a pair of round-framed glasses, his bright blue eyes gleamed with a cheerful light.
"Long time no see, Professor Albion."
So Hayden sat down in the chair opposite the table and nodded to the old man. It was rare to see such a respectful expression on Hayden's face.
Because this was his professor during his university years, and the professor who taught him the most, and to a large extent, Hayden's favorite professor, and probably the one who liked Hayden the most.
Karen had previously complained about this incident: "You went and messed around with those people at the Energy Research Institute about plasma magic cannons, and even blew up the statues in the school. And the professor still protected you." The professor she mentioned back then was actually the one standing before them.
Of course, like all Hayden fans, this professor might seem a little strange, or rather strange, or even extremely strange.
You look great. Have you been eating well lately? Would you like something to drink?
Professor Albion spoke cheerfully as he suddenly drew his wand, so fast that even Hayden didn't see it. With a flick of the wand, two large cups of hot cocoa appeared on the table, still steaming.
Seven years after graduation, Hayden still doesn't know what spell Professor Albion used to create that cocoa. Did he invent such a spell? [Summon a large, steaming cup of hot cocoa]?
“I saw your email yesterday, and I was quite surprised. I didn’t expect you to have made such original discoveries about classical magic after graduation, and you even wanted to come and discuss it with me in person.”
Professor Albion had already picked up his own cup of hot cocoa and waved amicably.
"Well then, Hayden, I know your style very well. You're not the type to come knocking without a reason, and you won't personally come to chat with me just because you've made an original magical discovery. Is there something you don't understand and want my help with?"
His words were a bit sharp, and Hayden's expression immediately froze, unsure whether the professor was criticizing him.
"Don't be silly, kid. Of course I'm not angry. I'm just worried that your social habits might be a bit unhealthy."
Fortunately, Professor Albion saw through his thoughts at a glance, calmly took a sip of cocoa first,
"No man is an island, entire of itself. You're too used to being alone, but you're far from being strong enough to be a hermit."
Hayden realized he was indeed being criticized by his former professor, but he had nothing to say in rebuttal and could only obediently accept the scolding. Coincidentally, what he said was somewhat similar to what Angela had said that morning.
Hayden's visit to his old professor today was actually to inquire about matters related to Angela.
"Alright, Professor, I'll get straight to the point."
So he took a glass bottle out of his robe.
It was a seemingly empty glass bottle, its cap sealed tightly with wax. Hayden handed it directly to Professor Albion, but the professor didn't find it strange. He picked up his wand and cast several analytical spells on the bottle. After each spell, his expression grew increasingly fascinated, as if he had become thirty years younger.
Finally, a smile spread across the professor's face: "Interesting. Hayden, where did you get this bottle of gas?"
"Even I want to know."
Hayden shrugged.
This isn't entirely a lie.
Because this bottle of air was actually a breath that Hayden had Angela blow into the bottle.
025: The Elements of Life
As mentioned before, after three months of close interaction, Hayden had stopped doubting Angela's motives. It's difficult to assert a fact that doesn't exist, and Hayden couldn't prove anything anyway, so he might as well assume Angela was friendly.
But does this mean that Hayden should just abandon Angela's secret and stop investigating what her AI is all about?
Obviously not. Hayden could be considered a researcher of magic, after all. To leave Angela's secrets and the truth unexplored would be an insult to his pride. Not to mention, Angela's peculiar healing power could very well be the ancient healing magic secrets Hayden had once sought. How could he possibly control his curiosity? In fact, he shouldn't have.
So, what were the results of his three months of continuous research on Angela?
The result was that Hayden spent all 500,000 federal gold coins he earned from Adam. Good heavens, technology is expensive; cutting-edge technology is built with money. 500,000? That's not even enough to throw money down the drain.
Fortunately, nearly half of the 500,000 was used elsewhere, such as the high-end ingredients Hayden ate over the past three months, because Angela refused to lower the standards in this regard; fortunately, Hayden did not actually produce no research results during these three months, otherwise he would have been truly ashamed.
"really interesting."
Finally, Professor Albion, having finished casting various analytical and detection spells on the bottle, put down his wand.
"Where did you get this gas? Did you steal it from some big company?"
Hayden immediately raised a hand: "I solemnly swear that this is my legitimate property. But I'm not sure where it came from, or even what it is."
This is no lie, because the gas in the bottle is actually just a breath of air exhaled by Angela. However, Angela is merely a wind-up doll. Her breathing should simply be a mechanical device inhaling, filtering, and exhaling air, just like an air purifier.
However, Hayden discovered during his three-month study that Angela's exhaled breath had a powerful therapeutic effect.
Where can I find an air purifier that can expel powerful therapeutic drugs?
So Hayden tested all types of injuries on mice and discovered that Angela's breath could heal almost any wound, even very complex brain injuries. Moreover, her breath could neutralize any literal toxin Hayden could find.
(Hayden hasn't tried the toxins he simply can't afford, or those that are too illegal. Some things are easy to detect even if bought through the black market. But he suspects that the results of those toxins wouldn't be much different.)
As for its effectiveness against the disease, Hayden is still testing it, since "disease" is such a broad term. However, Hayden has discovered that the powerful nourishing properties of Angela's food are likely related to her "aura," as the food is influenced by her aura during the cooking process. While it's not a dramatic increase in strength, as Hayden has been consuming Angela's food for the past three months, his body is gradually becoming healthier and stronger, and his magical power is also increasing.
So Hayden raised some extra mice, sharing a little of the food Angela prepared with them each day, and then testing their specific changes. Of course, he also recorded his own changes.
In short, Hayden has tested a lot of things over the past three months, and he still has to work regularly, so he can't just sit around doing nothing. Therefore, the actual research progress is quite limited. The only thing Hayden can confirm at present is that Angela's healing, strengthening, and activation abilities are basically all related to phenomena such as "qi," "breath," and "wind."
In fact, through the two key properties of "enhancement" and "activation," Hayden has even managed to create some bizarre applications using Angela's scent. However, we'll leave the specific uses for now and elaborate on them when they come into play in actual combat.
Although Hayden had achieved practical results, he still couldn't figure out why Angela's aura had these effects, and he wasn't sure what Angela's "aura" actually was. He couldn't analyze its essence, nor did he know what Angela really was.
In fact, based on Hayden's test results, the composition of Angela's exhaled air should be quite ordinary. It's utterly illogical that air with such a similar composition could possess such incredible power!
That's why Hayden finally decided to ask his former professor for help.
"If you ask me, all I can offer are guesses and conjectures."
Professor Albion held the bottle up to the light and examined it closely.
"I believe this is the breath of some powerful magical creature with healing abilities. In terms of intensity, it's about twice the strength of a seventh-tier healing arcane spell."
Hearing this, Hayden was secretly astonished: As expected of Professor Albion. He had only looked at the text for a few minutes, yet his predictions were almost entirely correct.
"Unlike modern arcane magic, which is classified according to its function, classical magic is classified according to symbolic elements. The most representative of these are the four major categories of 'earth, water, fire, and wind'."
The professor continued speaking casually, glancing at Hayden through his glasses, before suddenly asking,
"Hayden, if we're talking about healing-related attributes in classical magic, what do you think it should be?"
Hayden blinked, feeling a bit like he was in class before.
“The question itself is a trap.” Then he replied, “Depending on the region and culture, there are too many paradigms of classical magic. Water is certainly the source of life, and its role in cleansing is often associated with healing; but the earth is also often linked to abundant life force, especially when plants are involved. Since ancient Egyptian times, healing magic has been closely related to plant magic. Fire is also connected to life, especially in some powerful magical creatures, such as the phoenix.”
The phoenix, or more specifically, the immortal bird (the two are generally considered related creatures), is fire, healing, and rebirth. Even their fiery feathers can serve as powerful catalysts for healing magic.
But Professor Albion looked keenly into Hayden's eyes: "You deliberately omitted an element. The same goes for wind—the element of air. Many ancient myths tell stories about the breath of life. Especially in ancient Asia, there are legends of gods creating humans from clay and then breathing in their breath to give them life. Such myths have been passed down in the methods of making traditional golems."
Hayden nodded silently, but felt cold sweat beading on his forehead.
What is the most traditional method for making golems?
Soil is taken from uncultivated land, mixed with flowing water directly from nature, and sculpted into the shape of a doll by the magician's own hands. Runes representing the names of ancient gods are then inscribed on the doll, and the breath of life is breathed into it at the end of the ritual.
Due to the scarcity of materials and the inefficiency, modern arcane magic no longer uses this method to create golems. Mass-produced alloy golems also possess combat power far surpassing that of classical golems. The ancient method has been rendered obsolete—but why would Professor Albion suddenly bring this up?
Hayden didn't mention the golem at all, did he? Did the professor really figure out where it came from just by looking at this bottle of air?
"Modern people have forgotten, but among those powerful magical creatures called 'gods' in ancient times, there were quite a few related to 'life force.' If you really want to find the source of this gas, you'll probably need to do a lot of experiments and compare it with past records."
Fortunately, Professor Albion didn't continue mentioning the golem and changed the subject.