However, Frieren didn't point out that she knew the Dark Moon sorcery represented the royal family's friendship.
After all, no one else had told her it had any special significance.
As long as it was useful.
With this thought, she unleashed another one, this time launching it into the sky. With a loud bang, debris scattered. Still not enough. What would happen if she aimed for the furthest possible distance… Unconsciously, she became addicted to outputting damage, unable to extricate herself.
The people resting in the Academy clearly saw moon after moon being shot into the sky in broad daylight, tirelessly.
That's enough. If this continues, the plaza might be blown up.
Only after a moment did she retract her power.
"Thank you, Ranni. I don't have many means of anti-magic resistance; this is very useful."
"..........I thought you would need to practice for a long time. Even I spent some time completing it back then, and you've never encountered moon magic before. Truly remarkable talent."
Others only felt Frieren was quick to understand and had high aptitude. True mages, however, understood that this inclusivity meant the caster herself was a complex mixture. Could one person fuse so many powers? This wasn't shocking, but dangerous, almost terrifying!
Could it be related to the raging fire burning in her soul? It should be. And there was more than one similar, strange existence. Is your body a laboratory?
She had never seen anyone so careless about their own safety.
In a way, she was no different from the fanatical mages who had refined themselves into sorcerer-orbs, just appearing better on the surface. In an actual fight, one would discover the opponent was a monster stitched together from many powers.
Snap!
Frieren snapped her fingers. The dissipating magic in the air transformed into Blessing's Boon and Soul Healing; the moon's coldness was swept away.
Everyone touched by the scattered blessing felt warm, the hollowing process reversing.
The entire Academy was within its effective range, especially the nobles who had come upon hearing the news and stationed themselves here; they were overjoyed.
"He's saved! My child is lucid again!"
"A merciful king!"
"It's working! One day, the Hollows of Liurnia will reawaken."
As promised, she would first heal the nobles who came for an audience. As long as their family members recovered, they would naturally be devoted to her. At worst, they could return to the Erdtree with healthy souls, leaving behind some lingering thoughts.
Thanks to the new incantation learned from the Pastor of Vows, Frieren used it in conjunction with Soul Healing whenever she had the chance. It had a large range and strong effect, healing many targets at once.
Witnessing this scene, Ranni was slightly lost in thought, remembering the age of dewdrops of grace her mother had once described. Could it have been like this?
"I hear your plan is to first conquer the Royal Capital, then unify the Lands Between, and not rush to repair the Elden Ring and release a new law?"
"Yes."
"—Since you asked, you must also know the reason."
"I believe this choice is correct. Conquering the Royal Capital is at most the end of a phase, or rather, it shouldn't be considered the end of everything. Otherwise, one will be blinded by interests. My two brothers and I initially thought the Royal Capital would be the end of everything, which is why we neglected other places and ultimately failed."
The lessons from past failures were written in blood, so Ranni felt a broader perspective was needed.
"Also, I want to entrust you with healing those apprentices created by Mother. You can also take them under your command; they should become a decent corps of mages."
"Leave it to me."
"Next, I should be asleep for a while. We'll meet again later."
"If I succeed in perfecting the esoteric art of life creation, can I also create a body for you to escape the drawback of frequent slumber?"
"Thank you for your consideration, but a more important reason is that I will be more concealed in a slumbering state, avoiding the threat of the Two Fingers' assassins, such as those troublesome shadow beasts. They are very tricky."
"I've heard Blaidd mention it... It doesn't sound like they're particularly strong."
Frieren's underlying meaning was: even a team like yours can handle them. Is our current combat strength insufficient?
Although her style was steady, strategically, she was always an offensive type. Putting herself in that position, she wouldn't tolerate the Two Fingers' repeated harassment.
Or was there a hidden reason?
"If the Two Fingers are pushed to a certain extent, they might dispatch their strongest shadow beast: the one who controls Destined Death, an assassin feared even by demigods, Queen Marika's stepbrother, Maliketh, the Black Blade."
"Although he hasn't been heard from in a long time, he must still be active in secret, ready to eliminate any powerful provocateur for his master at any moment."
Ranni's tone was filled with deep apprehension and worry.
She had made an enemy of him; after all, the wisp of the Rune of Death in the hands of the Black Knife Assassins who killed Godwyn back then came from the Black Blade.
Later, it was said that Maliketh was very remorseful, feeling that the theft of the Rune of Death was a major dereliction of duty. He was dejected, muttering all day... Wasn't he muttering about one of the main culprits? Both sides had ample reason for a major confrontation.
Having sorted out the network of relationships, Frieren nodded, tightening her grip on her staff.
"The strongest assassin and the strongest demigod, which of them is more formidable?"
"Are you interested?"
"They will be enemies sooner or later. And I will not allow a superweapon like Destined Death to remain in the hands of outsiders."
More accurately, her collector's instinct was acting up; she wouldn't feel comfortable not getting it. After learning that Destined Death explicitly belonged to an enemy, she eagerly anticipated mastering it. Even if she didn't use it, she had to collect it.
Ranni, understanding her ally's philosophy, sighed wearily. Coincidentally, wouldn't their cooperation resemble that of Goddess Marika and Maliketh, the Black Blade, back then?
Although Blaidd was loyal enough, it was a pity he wasn't as strong as a Tarnished.
"The Black Blade is in the legendary sky city, his whereabouts unknown. I want to avoid fighting him, so a swift assassination of the Two Fingers is necessary. I already have a plan, but it lacks a major prerequisite."
"The fate of the stars to flow once more?"
"That's right. But you should focus on Liurnia's affairs first. You can call Iji or Blaidd to assist you at any time. I've maintained this projection long enough; it's time for me to go back and rest."
"See you later."
Before Frieren finished speaking, Ranni nodded, her figure dimming and then vanishing, having returned to her main body.
"She avoided the topic of Radahn. It seems she is still accepting the inevitable outcome of her brother's death," Melina said, hitting the nail on the head.
"Anyone in this situation would struggle."
"It doesn't matter much. Regardless, Ranni's strength, strategy, and personality are enough to help you. She can become a god chosen by a king. A slight adjustment to the law of the stars should bring a better situation to the Lands Between."
"It's too early to talk about those things."
"I thought people from outside the Lands Between wouldn't be accustomed to this system of gods and kings."
"Just political allies. I haven't seen too many genuine emotional factors in other predecessors either."
Moreover, Frieren, in the world of Dark Souls, had gone through a process of evil rituals disguised as a wedding to become the Lord of Hollows, which still felt strange and uncomfortable to this day.
Melina thought to herself that the two, being more like icebergs than each other, were indeed a good match. But how far could they go without emotions?
Hopefully, they would trust each other more after they began to execute the Eternal City exploration plan.
Emotions?
Frieren had never considered such things. It was merely joining hands to overcome difficulties; a life-and-death friendship was more genuine than those convoluted matters.
As for why everyone inexplicably thought the Soul of Cinder King and the Moon Princess would unite, it was a fact. But how to deal with grand propositions like the Elden Ring and its laws in the future was not within their consideration; it was still far off.
Neither of the two parties involved was the type to focus on emotions.
The silver-haired girl looked around.
"Alright, hand over all the administrative affairs concerning the Academy of Magic. Complete the handover work as soon as possible."
"As you command. We'll move them to the Grand Library for you immediately."
With that, Edgar and the others hurriedly began to bustle about. It wasn't easy to collect the relevant documents for Her Majesty's review. Fortunately, with the cooperation of the mages and nobles, it proceeded relatively smoothly.
As for the Grand Library, it naturally referred to a newly opened suite of rooms, housing the great magic books Frieren had taken a fancy to. It looked like she would be spending some time in there.
"To actually take the initiative to handle these tedious matters, it's really not like you." Melina sighed, "What changed you?"
"Blame Margit for making such a big fuss. He made me understand that no matter what, this can no longer be a solo adventure. The enemy's threat will affect everyone. Some effort should be spent on the recuperation and revitalization of the controlled areas."
"Are you stressed?"
"Not really. What truly stresses me is the upcoming research."
The two walked towards the Full Moon Queen's room, which was filled with the special aura of a Great Rune.
Its wonder lay in the fact that it wasn't deeply fused with its bearer. Even without killing the other party, it could be taken, and research could even be conducted on the amber alone. Future snatchers would have one less reason to kill Rennala.
Was this Radagon's painstaking effort?
Hearts are unfathomable. Who knew what this complex second-generation Elden Lord was planning? Anyway, I've taken the Great Rune.
Arriving at the tower room, she saw the Full Moon Queen sleeping, clutching the amber, with apprentices guarding her side. Compared to last time, there was less hostility, even a sense of affinity.
They knew Frieren was a good sorceress who could help them.
"You're quite popular."
"Everyone is just getting what they need. Besides, healing them can also help me understand the esoteric art of life."
Whether a case was a failure or a success, in her eyes, it was all precious material that had to be thoroughly understood. Knowing why it failed or succeeded was crucial; otherwise, it would be easy to make mistakes and cause disaster.
Melina watched the silver-haired girl squatting before the amber, scrutinizing it carefully, even taking out her staff to guide magic power, and decided not to disturb her.
What would it feel like to have a body again?
Although she repeatedly reminded herself not to get her hopes up too high to avoid disappointment, she couldn't help but be surprised by the Tarnished's earnestness, feeling there was a chance.
Actually, going to the foot of the Erdtree would also allow her to have a body.
Unfortunately, the difficult obstacles posed by the Royal Capital Army offered no opportunity; who knew how long that would take. Moreover, Melina felt that having a body would allow her to release more power, which would be best for helping Frieren.
For example, incantations.
She was still confident in healing-type incantations. At the very least, in large-scale army battles, it would mean the Tarnished had one less thing to worry about; her incantations alone were enough to hold her own.
Of course, all of this was predicated on the smooth research of the body creation technique.
Little did she know, Frieren had encountered an obstacle at this moment.
"Strange, why can't I trigger the esoteric art's formula... There should be some kind of medium, right?"
Yet, no matter what magic she used, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response. Could it be that these apprentices' bodies were created out of thin air? Impossible. When in doubt, ask other players. As a fixed character, there should be plenty of advice.
[Mother-in-law, for Ranni's sake, I won't take this shard. We're all family anyway.]
[Perhaps Radagon was coerced. Otherwise, how could he leave his wife and fly far away? There must be a mastermind behind the scenes.]
[I advocate the scumbag hypothesis.]
[I advocate the cuckold theory.]
[Wait, why can't I be reborn?]
[You're not qualified. You need a Larval Tear. As long as you've killed a fair number of monsters along the way, one must have dropped. You can use it now. According to the principle, the Queen should reshape you through it.]
[Why can't I reshape myself? I want to change this old god appearance.]
[Can't Melina be reborn? Your degree of freedom is insufficient.]
[Does the kindling maiden need a physical body to burn the tree? Or is a soul also fine? I just want to see the full version of Melina's strength, definitely demigod level.]
[I don't know, I'll burn it myself.]
[If souls can be preserved like some techniques in Dark Souls, coupled with an overpowered item like a Larval Tear, couldn't they be resurrected?]
Yes!
Various ideas inspired Frieren's research direction; she needed to understand it from the perspective of reshaping a body. Coincidentally, she did have such materials, a full three of them. When monsters dropped them back then, she didn't know what they were for. Now, it was finally revealed.
She took out a Larval Tear. It was semi-solid, semi-liquid, and felt soft when wrapped around her palm.
"Melina, try to infuse your soul's aura into it. I'll guide you."
Hearing this, the witch readily agreed. She immediately felt a wisp of energy being drawn into the Larval Tear, even resonating with the Great Rune. Wait, are you serious?
Will it work?
She initially thought she could be indifferent, but when Frieren took her hand to touch the item, ripples stirred in her heart. She didn't feel anything special about the item itself, only that her hand was so small, soft and boneless, cool like jade...
The next moment, immense magic power guided further.
The fully focused silver-haired girl had no time for other thoughts, using her magic power to connect the Larval Tear and the power of the Great Rune in one breath.
She frowned slightly. Why was there no change corresponding to Melina's soul? Could it be because of the difference in status that it couldn't be done?
Why?
"If I'm not mistaken, Melina, you have an extraordinary background."
Suddenly, the Full Moon Queen opened her eyes and murmured, "This child is very special. Ordinary methods will hardly work. You need more Great Runes, more Larval Tears, and a more perfect esoteric art of life."
After speaking, she fell asleep again. At the same time, the resonance that had just barely risen was interrupted.
The abruptly cut-off magic power sent out a shockwave, piercing the ceiling and releasing light, which spread out in ripples above the spire of the Academy of Magic, accompanied by a rumbling sound.
People were already used to it. Most likely, Her Majesty was conducting some new research again. Could it be the esoteric art of life? Even such gentle magic could become like this; you're quite the genius.
Dust rose in the Queen's room.
Amidst a cloud of mist, Frieren fanned the air and stood up, her hair frizzy, a look of regret on her face.
"Unfortunately, it can't be done at the moment. It's feasible in principle, the mechanism is there, but the difference is in the numerical values. The Astrologer is too weak."
"It's alright, don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"I've always wanted to ask you, Melina, how much do you actually know about your own origins? Setting aside the possibility of a behind-the-scenes conspiracy, this question is unavoidable when creating a body."
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