Chapter 380: The Moment of the Half-Elf's Birth
Once again, sunlight streamed through the glass windows, dyeing everything in the room gold, just as it had for thousands of years, eternal and unchanging. However, compared to five hundred years ago, the air here was filled with more than just the scent of magic; there was an added trace of tranquility, a sense of emptiness born from the absence of familiar figures.
Kurtz stood before the window, flexing his fingers, feeling the vitality within his new body, far more abundant than after any previous reincarnation.
His mana flowed smoothly without any obstruction, and his soul was perfectly attuned to this new body, which had cost him countless amounts of effort.
He could clearly perceive that the natural lifespan of this shell was at least seven or eight hundred years.
This was enough for him to push his research on eternal life into its final stages, and enough to fulfill his promise to that red-haired figure slumbering in the Divine Kingdom.
"One last time—" Kurtz murmured to himself, subconsciously looking out the window.
To himself and Serie, who possessed long lifespans, five hundred years was nothing more than the changing of seasons.
But looking at their immediate surroundings, the changes were clearly visible.
The Magic Association still stood tall, remaining the holy land in the hearts of countless Magicians across the continent.
With the help of magic, one could hear the discussions of Magicians and the hum of mana from the magic training grounds, all proving the prosperity and vitality of this place.
However, for Kurtz and Serie, the Association's interior had become quite lonely.
This loneliness did not stem from a decrease in the number of Magicians coming to learn, but rather from the absence of family.
Flamme was gone.
Her laboratory had long been properly sealed, with everything inside kept exactly as it was when its owner left, waiting for a day she might perhaps return. But that familiar red-haired figure, always carrying a gentle smile, had been gone for five hundred years.
Frieren had also begun her journey and never looked back; there had been no word from her to this day. An Elf's concept of time is always blurred; five hundred years might just be a slightly long excursion to her.
Even though he had reminded her, he hadn't expected her to be gone for so long without even sending a magical message, which left Kurtz feeling somewhat helpless.
He wondered which corner of the continent she had reached now, and what kind of scenery and stories she had encountered.
Ayla was still around, but not entirely.
Four hundred years ago, she finally "endured" the hellish workload during the century Kurtz had been slumbering, and she received the long vacation he had promised. However, Kurtz, who had just awakened from his long reincarnation at the time, only granted her twenty years, reasoning that for a human, twenty years was indeed a long holiday.
Though Ayla grumbled and complained about 'rights' and 'work ethics, she still ran off joyfully. Twenty years later, she returned on time and resumed her management duties at the Association.
However, having been cheated by this black-hearted man once, Ayla had clearly learned her lesson.
After another hundred years of painstaking hard work, she approached Kurtz and Serie again and, through persistent pestering, finally managed to secure a true ultra-long vacation. The exact duration was undecided, but it was clearly much longer than twenty years.
Thus, from that point on, Ayla also began her journey, only sending back messages via communication magic every once in a while to report that she was still alive or had discovered something interesting.
She was much more sensible than that Frieren, whose status was unknown.
And so, the daily management of the Association fell to a few core members and—Solitär.
Thinking of this, Kurtz couldn't help but chuckle. Solis, the demon who once knew nothing of emotions, had become almost indistinguishable from a human after these centuries of learning.
She had not only perfectly mastered most human emotions but also displayed incredible efficiency in handling various Association affairs.
She always sat quietly in the room next to Flamme's former office, meticulously processing documents. She was thorough, reliable, and hardworking, truly the top workhorse, the excellent employee of the new generation in the Magic Association.
Unless someone intentionally sensed the extremely faint demonic-origin Aura within her, no one could discover her true identity.
During this period, Olivia also came down from the Divine Kingdom in the sky twice.
The first time was a routine visit to confirm that Kurtz's reincarnation went smoothly.
The second time, she lugged over several large crates filled with magical books left behind by the Skywing Clan.
"Leaving them in the Divine Kingdom is just letting them gather dust; besides me, few can read those scripts anymore," Olivia had said at the time. "Better to bring them to you so others can learn. Although my Clan's magic system differs from today's mainstream, the research into the field of Holy Magic within them might bring new inspiration."
Serie, of course, was all for it.
She had always held a deep interest in the ancient and sacred magic system of the Skywing Clan.
During that period, she was almost entirely immersed in those ancient magic books, often staying in her room to the point that Kurtz had to personally bring her meals. As for his own research, everything was progressing smoothly.
Not only had his analysis of Life Magic deepened by another level, but more importantly, he had fulfilled his agreement with Kraft, creating a magic that allowed humans and Elves to produce offspring.
This subject was far more complex than imagined, involving the union of two completely different life forms, but Kurtz, relying on his talent and a tiny bit of personal motivation, finally overcame the difficulties.
The offspring born through this magic were neither Elves nor humans, but rather something like Half-Elves.
They inherited the pointed ears of the Elves, though they were shorter. They naturally inherited a portion of magical talent, but their lifespan was far from as long as an Elf's, lasting around two to three thousand years.
But the benefit was that they did not have the extremely slow, thin emotional development of Elves; their speed in understanding and expressing emotions was closer to that of humans.
This could be considered a wonderful balance.
When Kraft learned that Kurtz's research was successful, he couldn't help but remark with emotion: "Remarkable, Kurtz. Perhaps tens of thousands of years from now, they will replace the current Elves and become the new Elf Race of the continent—hahaha!"
To this, Kurtz only smiled without speaking.
Besides these things, there was one more matter that Kurtz was somewhat concerned about recently.
In his distant memories, he suddenly recalled a "Violinist Lady," or rather, a demon named Aura.
Her talent was an extremely unique Obedience Magic. Roughly calculating her active period, it should be around this era, or rather, about five hundred years before the original timeline.
The reason he specifically remembered this "Violinist Lady" was not just because of her dramatic end, but because, compared to other demons, Aura's emotions seemed much richer, especially before her self-slaughter in the original work.
An emotionally rich demon, this reminded him of Solis. If she had already appeared in this era, would she, like Solis, possess some kind of research value?
This thought only flashed by occasionally and had not formed into a concrete plan.
Demons were hard to track, especially those who knew how to hide, but Kurtz did indeed feel a faint sense of curiosity about it.
[End of Chapter]