Chapter 279: Cause of Death
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 279: Cause of Death
"Huh? If I don't go, I'll definitely die? Why?"
Muen looked at Teacher Mela in shock. He wondered if some massive upheaval was about to strike the Academy again—like an Evil God personally descending to unseal whatever was suppressed beneath the school. Was even Teacher Mela powerless to stop it? Did she know her time was up, so she was making up an excuse to send her star pupil away, entrusting him with the Eternal Clock to endure humiliation and bide his time until he was strong enough to return and settle the score?
"Ow!"
Mid-delusion, Muen suddenly yelped in pain. He instinctively clutched his shin and started hopping around.
"Hmph. If my time were truly up, the first thing I’d do is use an unfilial disciple like you as a footstool for my coffin!"
Teacher Mela withdrew the foot she’d used to kick Muen’s shin. Her amber eyes glared at him with an adorable, kitten-like ferocity.
"It’s not nearly that complicated. It’s simple: if you don't go, you die. That’s it."
"Give me... give me the deets."
"Remember what I did to you before?"
"Which time?"
"The time I almost boiled you to death in a pot."
"Aha! You finally admit it! You really were trying to cook—"
"Why do you think I did that?"
"..."
Seeing Teacher Mela’s small face suddenly turn serious, Muen’s expression also grew solemn. He rubbed his chin, thinking back carefully.
"I remember... your explanation at the time was... because my physical strengthening exceeded expectations, a certain step had to be moved forward to ensure a later process went smoothly?"
"Correct. That is what I said."
"And you boiled me just for that step?"
"Yes."
"But what does that have to do with me now? Are you saying if that process isn't finished, I’ll die?"
"From a causal perspective, yes."
"Huh?"
Muen was bewildered again.
He froze for a moment, watching Teacher Mela as she nonchalantly sipped her juice, seemingly unconcerned. His handsome face instantly contorted.
Dammit!
This godforsaken old loli is trying to screw me over again!
"Tell me! Tell me now!"
Muen grabbed Teacher Mela by the shoulders and shook her. "What exactly is going on? Even lab rats have rights! Believe it or not, I’ll go find the 'Association for the Protection of Cute Disciples' right now, occupy your flower sea, and stage a massive protest!"
"I’m afraid no such strange association exists in this world. There was an 'Association for the Protection of Lab Rats' once, but it only lasted three days before a Truth-Tier mage from the Tower of Origins got annoyed and leveled their headquarters."
As Muen shook her, the baby fat on Mela’s cheeks wobbled back and forth. Her gaze remained calm. With a flick of her finger, Muen was suddenly suspended in mid-air, his body now the one wobbling uncontrollably.
"As for the situation... I believe I told you from the very beginning."
"Told... told me?"
Shaking as if he were being electrocuted, Muen stammered, "I... I don't remember."
"Then let me help you review."
Teacher Mela clapped her small hands.
In an instant, the juice, the sofa, and the sun vanished. They were replaced by desks, a blackboard, and a brightly lit classroom. Muen found himself sitting in the very center of the room. Even Teacher Mela’s pink strawberry pajamas had transformed into a formal, somewhat stiff teacher’s suit.
However, given her petite stature, the blouse and pencil skirt didn't quite fit right. Instead of looking professional, she just looked incredibly "derpy-cute."
"Focus."
With a snap, a piece of chalk bounced off Muen’s forehead. Teacher Mela pushed up her black-rimmed glasses and said with utmost gravity, "Class is in session."
"Oh." Muen’s lip twitched.
"First, I told you that without a living vessel—a human host—the Eternal Clock can only ever be considered an embryonic Authority. This is because the concept of 'Authority' only exists when it is held in the hand of a sentient being."
Teacher Mela used a pointer to tap a drawing on the blackboard. It was a sketch of an alarm clock that looked like it had been doodled by a kindergartner. Below it was another drawing of a blonde-haired person, also at a kindergarten level, though this one looked particularly "special" because the eyes were drawn intentionally far apart.
"This is the Eternal Clock."
"This is you."
An arrow appeared between them.
"You are the vessel I chose for the Eternal Clock."
"Everything so far is easy to understand. However..."
Mela’s tone shifted.
"Can the current you truly be called a vessel for the Eternal Clock?"
"...What do you mean?" Muen frowned.
Teacher Mela tapped the blackboard again.
A circle suddenly appeared in the middle of the arrow, severing the line. The circle was wobbly and crudely drawn.
Yet, for some reason, Muen understood what it represented the moment he saw it.
"The Alchemy Core."
"Correct. This represents the Alchemy Core," Mela said.
"I wonder if you’ve realized it yet, but right now, it’s not so much that you are connected to a portion of the Eternal Clock, but rather that the Alchemy Core is connected to it. Your only true connection is to the Alchemy Core itself.
The Alchemy Core is an inanimate object.
And inanimate objects cannot allow the Eternal Clock to sublimate into a true Authority.
But without the Alchemy Core, you wouldn't even be able to establish a link with the Eternal Clock, let alone host it completely.
—That is the crux of the problem."
"I see..."
Muen understood immediately. He rubbed his chin in thought. "So, your previous actions were meant to make the Alchemy Core—and those complex magic patterns—completely fuse with me? To transform death into life?"
"It seems my foolish disciple isn't entirely hopeless."
Teacher Mela nodded. "Exactly. That was my plan."
"But you failed."
Muen let out a long breath, looking at Teacher Mela in surprise. He hadn't expected that even the great Grand Magister Mela Domir would encounter a hurdle she couldn't clear.
"Everyone fails sometimes. Especially when it comes to 'Transforming Death into Life'—a concept so fundamentally contrary to the basics of alchemy that those kids at the Stone Cauldron Association would spit on anyone who even suggested it."
"However..."
"Just because I can't do it doesn't mean others... or other entities... can't."
"You mean..." Muen felt like he was grasping the thread.
"Exactly."
Teacher Mela pushed up her glasses, a mysterious glint reflecting off the lenses.
"When it comes to the word 'Life,' who in this world would dare claim a deeper understanding than the Goddess of Life, Emiel—or the Life Church that worships her?"
"All those other excuses were fake. This is the real reason I’m making you take this trip."
"...Dammit."
Hearing this explanation, Muen felt his vision go dark.
He knew there was no escaping this trip now. Even if it were incredibly dangerous outside, even if the Life Church really intended to tie him to a stake and burn him alive, Teacher Mela would still kick him all the way to the Holy City.
"But wait."
Muen snapped back to reality, looking puzzled. "What does this have to do with what you said earlier? About how I’ll die if I don't go?"
"Heh. Kid, I told you a long time ago: hosting the Eternal Clock is no easy feat."
"Did you never wonder why no one else used something as convenient as an Alchemy Core before you? Even without the Eternal Clock, a device that can store mana and construct spells on its own is an incredible treasure."
"This..."
Muen’s vision blurred for a split second. Before he knew it, Teacher Mela was sitting on the desk right in front of him. She poked his cheek with her pointer, a faint, knowing smile on her small face.
"So, what gave you the illusion that your body could perfectly accept the Alchemy Core and those magic patterns—these foreign objects—indefinitely?"
"What..."
Muen froze.
His thoughts raced.
As a realization dawned on him, a bone-chilling cold surged up his spine. Even the Alchemy Core, which had helped him through countless crises, suddenly felt like a block of ice inside him.
He thought of surgeries from his previous life. Organ transplants.
"A rejection... reaction?" Muen squeezed the words out of his throat.
"Bingo. A rejection reaction. And as you felt before, due to the complexity and unique nature of the Alchemy Core—not to mention the slightly 'special' materials I used to build it—this is a rejection that even the power of the Silent Moon can only suppress temporarily."
Teacher Mela tapped Muen on the head, sounding quite smug about his misfortune.
"So, kid, don't even think about slacking off this time. If you don't get this settled at the Church, you really are going to kick the bucket.
No one will be able to save you. I said it, and I meant it—not even the Withered King could help you then!"