Positive little sun, magical girl, I am awesome

Chapter 409: The Method of Immortality

"Like—?" Lilith asked softly.

"Let me think... The simplest ones are, of course, magic potions, such as the potion of immortality." Although Jacqueline was not good at magic other than divination, she had a solid foundation in basic theory.

"Is it that simple?" Lilith opened her eyes wide, a little bit unbelieving. "If it is really that simple, then I believe those nobles will definitely have a bottle in their hands..."

"Haha, you are right, dear!" Teacher Jacqueline nodded with a smile, "The potion formula is not complicated, but the important thing is that its production usually requires extremely precious materials, such as powdered unicorn horns, phoenix tears... Of course, these are not the most precious. The most important thing is some other medicinal ingredients--" Teacher Jacqueline slowed down her tone.

Lilith pouted to express her dissatisfaction with Teacher Jacqueline's keeping her in suspense.

"The flesh and blood of some long-lived magical creature, dear, like a dragon, a merman, an elf—"

"what?!"

Lilith's eyes widened, and faces flashed through her mind. Those were living people in her mind, specific people. Would they be used as medicine?

“Then, then aren’t they all very dangerous?” Lilith stammered, and she began to understand why the elves and mermaids had disappeared. And that dragon… Catherine said he was in terrible condition the last time she saw him. Is he still alive?

"Don't worry, dear. They have the ability to protect themselves." Teacher Jacqueline didn't care. "They are the darlings of the world, Lilith."

"Everyone always says that. Teacher Colin also said that magicians are still the darlings of the world." Lilith was talking when she suddenly had an idea. "Teacher, does the 'world' you are talking about mean the same as what I understand?"

It suddenly occurred to her that if the symbolic God she had understood before was also a concrete individual, then what was the "world"? Would it also be a concrete existence?

"It's an interesting point of view, dear. Although I don't know it clearly, what I just said is indeed different from us. They are the real darlings. They are lucky enough to have been kissed on the forehead by the gods and are protected by the laws of the world. Eating their flesh and blood at will will incur a curse, which is very painful."

"So... not everyone has the courage to try this elixir of life because it comes with a painful curse?" Lilith finally understood.

"That's right." Teacher Jacqueline stood up from her chair and walked to the wall of books in her office. "Let me see if there is any other way to prolong life--"

Her fingers, covered with rose-colored lightning marks, brushed across rows of book spines, then pulled out a thick hardcover book, muttering to herself, "Sacred artifact? No, no, that only exists in legends and is completely untraceable. Um, um, this is more reliable--"

Teacher Jacqueline turned around and placed the page in front of Lilith, saying, "In addition to potions and holy vessels, the third way to achieve immortality is—"

"Sacrificial Ceremony?" Lilith read the intricate cursive characters on the page softly, then raised her head and looked at Jacqueline in fear, "Teacher, is this the real—"

"Dark magic." Jacqueline nodded.

Lilith couldn't help but shrink back when she looked at the strangely drawn skulls in the book - was this something she could read?

"Don't worry, dear. The life sacrifice ceremony is also extremely complicated. It is impossible to achieve without strong support. What's more, since it is a sacrifice, it must have an object to accept the sacrifice." Jacqueline told the story as if she was telling a story.

"Strong mental strength is only the basis for completing the ritual. The most important thing is when you awaken the ancient will, whether those gods are willing to respond to you. This is difficult, kid." That's why Jacqueline told him everything without any worries.

"Besides, all methods of immortality, whether potions or rituals, are the same, dear, they will all incur painful curses, or -"

"Immortality is a curse." The kindness on teacher Jacqueline's face disappeared, and turned serious.

Lilith was confused by these mysterious words. She stroked the book in front of her with her fingers and fell into deep thought.

"...So, immortality is just a transaction. If they want to get it, they must pay an equal price... no, even a greater price?" Lilith frowned and identified the complicated words in the book. Those ancient words were obscure and difficult to read, like a heavenly book.

"There will always be people who try to break and destroy the rules, and the world has its own way of correcting itself. That's fair, isn't it, dear?" Teacher Jacqueline refilled the teacup with new tea.

"What about this?" Lilith turned to the last few pages of the book and pointed to another ritual magic circle. "I don't see any curse or punishment for this."

There was a complex circular magic circle with a square inside, and plants were drawn on the four corners. Lilith looked carefully and found that they seemed to be from different seasons... What did this mean?

"This..." Jacqueline leaned over to take a look. "The rebirth ritual is as untraceable as the holy artifact. At least I have never heard of a successful case."

"——This ritual requires the combination of natural forces and magical powers. There are also requirements for the time of casting, such as at special nodes when the four seasons change." She pointed to the seasonal plant patterns at the four corners of the magic circle. "It also needs to be in a place full of life energy. In short, every aspect is extremely strict."

"During the ritual, the caster will use magic to guide the life energy in nature, such as the growth power of flowers, plants and trees, the nourishing power of the earth, etc., to reshape their body and soul, wash away the aging and decayed parts, and achieve the effect of prolonging life."

"Reshape?" Lilith's eyes widened. "Does that still count as extending life? If both the body and soul are replaced, then isn't that a new person?"

Isn't this like reincarnation? Or, the Ship of Theseus?

"You can say that, so no one considers this. After all, the knowledge and abilities accumulated throughout a lifetime will be reduced to zero. What's the point of extending life like this, right?" Jacqueline shrugged. "But the curses that parasitize the soul will also disappear, so naturally they will not be cursed."

"...It's indeed fair." Lilith said softly.

So, what did teacher Giselle and the male elf beside her choose? The life span of elves is already long enough, but they want to live longer... Why?

………………

"king!"

In the staff lounge, Teacher Wanda handsomely smashed the cards onto the table and asked, "Did Jacqueline tell you all this?"

Lilith nodded.

"Then you really asked the wrong person, you should ask me! Jacqueline's grades were not as good as mine!" Wanda, the teacher of the Potions class, looked young and handsome, like a senior who had just graduated. In fact, he and Jacqueline were classmates back then.

"There are more ways to achieve immortality than just these, there's also..." The sharp-tongued teacher Wanda turned her head to look at Lilith, then huddled together with teacher Phoebe, whispering and laughing.

"Hey, I won't tell you!"

Lilith raised her eyebrows and squeezed onto the three-person card table.

"Another round, Sensei?"