Starborn Apotheosis: When Demon-Elf Hybrid Unlocks the Primal Codex

The Upside Down Woman 2

Eldrin hadn't understood what Gordon had said, but half an hour later he realized that meeting his siblings was really interesting. The deeper meaning, however, was only understood a few years later and was experienced with immense depth.

At the moment of the meeting, Eldrin was sitting in a high-backed chair, his body stiff as a statue, his eyes slightly raised to the sky, the focus of his eyes falling motionlessly on the mural above the door to the room.

This was the small inner castle parlor, located in another wing of the complex across from the dining hall, for internal family use only. It was richly and lavishly decorated, a far cry from the dark and cold of the entire castle. The parlor is warm and bright, with fixed lighting magics providing daytime brightness, and a multitude of candles held in large, ornate hanging candlesticks providing just the right amount of warmth in addition to visual interest. On the long couches to Eldrin's left and right were his siblings. Eldrin had never imagined he would have so many siblings, and that was just the half-siblings. If they were cousins with Malificus bloodlines, the number would be even greater.

The brothers sat to Eldrin's left, the sisters to his right, and Eldrin sat in the middle of the room, under the hot gaze of a rare beast waiting to be dissected. Unlike the statue-like Eldrin, the brothers and sisters were much more arrogant.

Both boys were a bit younger than Eldrin, but the looks that came their way were curious, contemptuous and hostile, everything but affection. Their looks made the hairs on the back of Eldrin's neck stand up even more, which only happened when Eldrin felt the urge to kill. And the six sisters varied in size, the oldest declaring her virginity while the youngest was perhaps less than five years old. The looks they exchanged were much more complicated, curious, questioning and hesitant. The two eldest were even together, murmuring something, glancing up at Eldrin from time to time, occasionally breaking into a somewhat indulgent and meaningful laugh. There was something more in their looks, and Eldrin didn't yet understand what it was, except that it certainly had nothing to do with siblings. But it didn't take long for Eldrin to recognize that look, the way a woman looks at a man she wants.

Eldrin said nothing, and he didn't know what to say. The siblings had no intention of talking to him either, they just kept staring at him with fiery stares, some sharp and cold enough to pierce him, others hot enough to swallow him in one bite.

It hadn't been a long meeting, only ten minutes, but Eldrin felt as if it had been a whole day, or a very long day. As the butler led him out of the room, he noticed that his linen shirt was soaked.

Eldrin would later learn that the ten-minute meeting with his siblings was actually a ritual, representing his recognition as the holder of the Malificus bloodline and henceforth a member of the Malificus family. This ritual, in turn, provides an opportunity for the members of the Malificus family to recognize and choose one another.

At noon the next day, Eldrin left the old Black Rose Fortress, surrounded by a small band of cavalry, and marched west. From that day's dinner until he left Ashan, Eldrin never saw Gordon again. The meeting with his father had seemed easier and colder than expected, and Eldrin had not looked forward to it, but somehow he left Ashan with a vague sense of loss. His many siblings had made him realize that he was nothing more than an ordinary child of his father.

But Eldrin silently clenched his fists, his nails even digging into his palms. Two images overlapped in front of his eyes, one of many brothers and sisters, the other of a burning fire.

He suddenly felt that his mother had died so undeservedly.

The group traveled west, with Mordred still accompanying Eldrin. The knight had much less to say on this journey, and often could not utter more than a few idle words throughout the day.

The silent journey took a full twenty days, longer than it had taken to get here. Along the way, they passed through the Dark Forest, crossed the Romain River, the second longest river on the continent, traveled along the Pale Mountains for another ten days, passed through about a dozen nobles' domains, and passed through a Grand Duchy before arriving at the destination of their journey, the legendary Grand Magus Isabella Starflame, the territory of the Magic Tower Deep Blue.

Space is powerful, and a vast space will always exert considerable pressure.

Standing in front of the Deep Blue, Eldrin realized how magnificent a magical tower of more than five hundred meters in height really was. This is not just a single building, the entire dark blue complex is supported by a branch of the Everdew Mountain Range that extends to the Floating Ice Bay, the main building is in typical Gothic style, the fly-supported walls are adorned with elaborate and exquisite carvings, eye-catching spires and pointed arches stand upright, and colorful elemental clouds and arcane energies flow in a dizzying manner at the top of the spires, and the entire magic tower seems to be rising to the sky.

Soon Eldrin meets Isabella Starflame, a legendary mage, guardian of the Sacred Alliance, and dragon slayer all in one, a woman and the mentor Gordon has chosen for him.

It wasn't until Eldrin actually stood in front of Isabella that he realized that she had never promised to teach him, and that the trip was just wishful thinking on Gordon's part.

Eldrin was standing in Isabella's Magic Hall, a fantastic room. The four walls and the floor were made of an unknown material, a deep greenish-blue color, crystalline and moist, like jade and crystal, and at a glance it seemed to be able to see into the depths, but also that nothing could be seen through it. From time to time, on the floor and the four walls, bands of light of different colors would float back and forth, irregular, like a group of swimming fish playing, dynamic as if they had life.

On a raised platform at one end of the hall was a throne carved from a single block of natural crystal, upon which Isabella sat, her feet at a level close to Mordred's chin and above Eldrin's head, a truly towering presence. But given her legendary status, no one would think it rude; Isabella's long blonde hair was pulled back casually, and her court-style gown showed off her entire shoulder. Her skin was incredibly pale, and every part of her looked like it would make you want to take a hard bite. It was her face, of course. She looked no older than 17 or 18, her small face was calm and solemn, full of classical beauty, sitting on the crystal throne like a goddess at her first appearance.

Anyone who saw her for the first time could not possibly associate such a young and beautiful woman with a legendary mage. But even the youngest mage knew that it had been over a hundred years since Deep Blue was built.

Her hands were clasped in front of her knees, and each finger was covered with long finger cuffs made of magical gold and encrusted with gems and patterns of various colors. In fact, these patterns were all micro-engraved magical arrays, and the gems were all inlaid into the arrays, all kinds of rare magical gems that only existed in legends. In the eyes of those who knew what they were doing, each of these finger cuffs was an incomparably powerful magical weapon, perhaps even close to a divine weapon. However, Isabella actually had all ten of her fingers covered with them! And her earrings, necklace, and even the silk rope that bound her hair were all magical equipment similar to the finger cuffs!

The Crystal Throne was so dazzling that even Eldrin, a child who didn't know much about anything, could see how precious it was, but in reality, this magic hall was worth a hundred times more than the Crystal Throne. The abyssal crystals used by wizards to set their staffs were used here to pave the floor and build the walls!

Standing in the Hall of Magic, Eldrin suddenly felt his senses expand dramatically, while a filament of energy began to follow certain strange channels into his body. As the filament-like energy entered his body, it was gradually absorbed by Eldrin, and it was at this moment that the sound of shattering glass suddenly appeared in Eldrin's consciousness, as if some kind of barrier had been shattered at that moment, allowing his bound senses to completely radiate out.

The next moment, Eldrin touched a sea of magic!

It was a dark sea, devoid of light, with dark currents at the bottom that could swallow a giant whale without a sound, and Eldrin, if he fell into this sea, would be swallowed instantly, without even the slightest ripple. But right now, Eldrin is standing on the surface of the sea!

The instantaneous misperception made Eldrin's face immediately pale and his body began to shake uncontrollably, but the sensation was so real that he had no way of judging it either.

And at that moment, Mordred was having a serious discussion with Isabella about Eldrin's education.

"His Excellency said to ask you to teach the young master with care for the sake of the past."

"A past favor? Well, come to think of it, your marquis still owes me a lot of unpaid materials!"

"The principal has been paid, right?"

"What about the interest?"

It was extremely unwise to discuss numbers with a legendary mage, so Mordred immediately changed the subject and threw out the second card, "Young Master Eldrin has superior magical talent."

"Hmph, every year there are dozens and dozens of geniuses who want to learn magic from me! Even the divine favorites I have to reject three or four of them."

Modred threw away the bottom card with a straight face: "The young master has the bloodline of Malificus flowing in his body, and its purity is comparable to that of the great people. is comparable to that of the great man, at least in this generation of Malificus, there is no one else who can match it yet."

The Legendary Mage's eyes, originally calm and solemn, suddenly lit up, causing the entire Magic Hall to shimmer for a moment, as if she had seen a jeweled gargoyle. Her tone was still calm and relaxed, but everyone could see that it was just an act, "So what can I do?

"You may ravage at will!" How could this not sound like something the serious and archaic bloodthirsty Mordred might say? In fact, those were the Marquis' exact words. But Mordred still had that solemn expression on his face as he left, perhaps his heart was a little different from his appearance.

At this point, Eldrin's strangeness was also noticed by Isabella and Mordred.

Isabella thoughtfully and slowly said, "The little one was actually able to establish a sense with the mana pool of this magic hall of mine, that's quite something. Well, following me to learn magic is hardly qualified."

"That's right!" Mordred said with a smile. But what he was thinking in his heart was that this was a magic hall made of abyssal crystals throughout! The power of the magic could be felt even by a pure power knight like him, so what's wrong with that? That kind of excuse was a bit too far-fetched.

"That's not enough, though." Isabella added, "The two realms that little Gordon holds are both good, I want ten years of gains on each of them."

"Dimensional time?"

"No, Norland time."

The corner of Mordred's mouth twitched slightly before he finally nodded. That was slightly better than the bottom line Gordon had given him, but it was barely acceptable. In the entire world system, Norland was one of the rather high-ranking master planes, if not the only one. According to the spatial laws of the world, Norland's time tended to flow more slowly than that of the secondary realms. Ten years in Norland might be hundreds of years in other realms. The original balance the Marquis handed over was already incredibly rich, it was half of Gordon's income, and it would definitely affect his future expansion plans. It was important to realize that Gordon's next goal was to enter the capital of the empire, the legendary city of Floating World. In order to gain a foothold in such a place, no amount of material preparation would be excessive.

It was only then that Mordred remembered a prefixed title that Isabella had quietly circulated among the top bigwigs of the Alliance, "The Bloodsucking ......".

And another of her mottos is well known: "I won't necessarily be the strongest, but I will certainly be the richest.

However, Isabella said next, "I will offer little Gordon some help at the next prayer service at the Temple of the Eternal Dragon."

Mordred's heart was relieved; that would be in line with the Marquis' bottom line. But then he had a strange feeling, such an important matter, but not at all after much trial and bargaining tug-of-war process, both sides quickly agreed on the bottom line deal.

That's quite an understanding!

The most important task had been successfully completed, and Mordred left immediately. As he left, he couldn't help but look back at Eldrin with a complicated look.

When you pile up the total earnings of a given realm for over a hundred years, anyone who sees it, no matter what form it takes, will have complicated eyes.

Isabella waved her hand gently and the eighteen mages of level twelve or higher standing in the hall immediately retreated quietly, leaving only Isabella and Eldrin, who was still struggling to resist the onslaught of magical power. Although the sweat had long soaked through his clothes, Eldrin still supported himself and did not fall down, the resilience he had practiced since childhood finally showing its effect at this moment.

The legendary mage on the crystal throne flicked his fingers, and the two pieces of his fingers collided with a ding. The tidal wave of magic in the hidden subterranean pool of mana slowly subsided, and the cascading visions in Eldrin's mind were eliminated. When the entire tidal wave of magic was focused on little Eldrin, who was a magical i***t, he was able to show 'superior' magical talent. It was a little trick that Mordred could definitely see, and Isabella had no intention of hiding it. It wasn't that there weren't other, more clever and subtle tactics and excuses, it was just that she was too lazy to use them.

The reason could not be more ill-conceived. Mordred wouldn't dare say anything even if he saw through Isabella's trick. That was the point.

Eldrin calmed his breathing and slowly looked up to meet Isabella's gaze. He was slightly stunned, even though Isabella towered over him and her awe-inspiring aura was far more powerful and dangerous than the fiercest magical beasts he had ever seen, but this stunning little woman, who looked only 17 or 18 years old and made people want to take a bite out of her, was his future teacher?

"Your father has 'sold' me the next few years of your life." This word 'sold', the Legendary Mage said it very vaguely, and forgive Eldrin, who didn't have listening skills above level seven, for not being able to hear it clearly, or if he did, he wouldn't understand what it meant for the time being. Right now, when the negotiations between the Archmage and the murderous madman were taking place, the teenager was suffering from the tidal wave of magical power and had no idea what was happening outside.

"From today, you are my disciple. You will carry out all my orders word for word, whatever they may be." Isabella's voice was majestic and cold.

"Yes." Eldrin replied. On the way he had learned the duties and responsibilities of a magical apprentice.

Isabella was clicking her nails again when two high-ranking mages came in and took Eldrin down. From the moment Isabella recognized him as a student, Eldrin showed enough respect and the humility that was expected of him as an apprentice to not look up at the legendary mage again, as that would have been rude. Thus, Eldrin did not see the strange look that shone from behind the Legendary Mage's beautifully icy demeanor, which still had a hint of childishness.

The look, similar to that of an Alaskan polar bear when it sees its favorite delicacy, salmon, is very delicious and drooling.

It was a long time before Isabella was the only one left in the Hall of Magic. If it had been any other moment, she wasn't even sure she would have been able to hold back her laughter. The legendary mage's beautiful little face appeared, no longer hiding her pleasure, and with a brush she opened a magic scroll. The image projected onto the scroll formed a three-dimensional magical map, with densely packed magical symbols identifying hundreds of dimensional coordinates.

Isabella eagerly scanned the dimensional map for about a dozen dragon markers, and decided to raid some dragon nests to celebrate the day's lovely mood.

"What shall we do tonight? Should I capture a dragon, or a dragon, or several dragons?" The beautiful legendary mage agonized in her own way.