"Is it... the end of life?"
Richard stared at Ali in a daze, urgently questioning, "Why is it the end of life? The teacher’s lifespan should be very..."
"Richard, you don’t think logistics is easy, do you?" Ali said with a gloomy expression, "Jolod is a master in synthetic beasts. His factory produces tens of thousands of synthetic beasts every day.
As a high level wizard, he creates advanced synthetic beasts to supply the front lines every day.
Producing advanced synthetic beasts is so exhausting. You know this better than I do, and Jolod has been doing it for over six hundred years..."
"Moreover," Ali sighed, "the deaths of Anna, Chax, and those senior brothers and sisters I don’t know hit Master Jolod hard.
This should be the main reason for his diminished lifespan."
For most wizards, as long as the soul is immortal, the corruption of the shell is no big deal. But with the benefits also comes the cost; the strength of the soul makes mental strikes increasingly strong.
Sometimes a mental shock brought on by a tragedy can even equal a mental tear.
"... I understand now."
Suddenly, Richard’s vision blurred, light scattering before his eyes, making everything he looked at appear hazy. His mind was also in disarray, and he suddenly couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do next.
"Caw, Richard, wake up!"
Ulysses’ voice rang like a bell, snapping Richard back to rationality. Ali looked at Richard’s shoulder and only then realized there was a crow perched there.
"That bird of yours is still around."
"It... of course it is."
Richard was momentarily in a daze, the scattered light before his eyes refocusing.
"Where is the teacher working, I need to see him. I might not be able to return for a long time, so I must see him."
In the operating room, Jolod expressionlessly inserted the synthetic beast core into the synthetic beast’s body. The writhing flesh on the synthetic beast core slowly melded with the surrounding flesh, followed by a "thump thump" as the core began to beat strongly. Soon, the energy cycle began to flow, and the powerful body of the synthetic beast started to revive.
"Done, administer anesthetic, start the next production in ten minutes."
Leaving the operating room, Jolod typically headed to his small office for a brief rest. But as soon as he stepped out of the operating room door, he saw a familiar figure.
"Ali, why have you come to see me again?" Jolod said with a smile as he looked at Ali.
As the lover of his own student and the disciple of his deceased colleague, Jolod was quite fond of Ali—especially after many of his student friends had perished in battle.
Ali smiled and walked to Jolod’s side, "Master, I’m not the only one who came today."
Jolod knocked his head, trying to remember which acquaintances or friends were still alive. But before he could think of anyone, a familiar figure appeared before him.
Seeing the familiar figure before him, Jolod was momentarily dazed, and tentatively asked, "Richard?"
Jolod rubbed his eyes and cast several soul witchcraft spells to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Only then did this old wizard show the most genuine, heartfelt smile of his life.
"It’s so good to be back, indeed."
Jolod walked to Richard’s side, seemingly having countless things to say, but all words disappeared as they reached his lips.
"Weren’t you a Great Wizard now, why is your physical body gone?"
"... My physical body is in another world, and I returned this time through the Nightmare World."
"Well, well, you’ve really grown in skills, to even use dimension travel now."
Jolod patted the energy-formed body of Richard, then turned to invite, "Come to my room, standing outside isn’t good."
Entering the room, Richard glanced casually at the decorations; the room had only a bookshelf, desk, chairs, and a bed, typical of a wizard’s utilitarian style.
"Master, you’re still the same." Ali sat next to Richard, smiling at Jolod, "Bookshelves are almost unseen in wizards’ homes nowadays."
Jolod sat behind his desk and waved his hand.
"An old-timer like me who’s out of touch just likes these old-fashioned things."
Saying this, he looked at Richard, noticing that his mood wasn’t great.
"What’s wrong, not happy to see this old fellow still alive?"
"No, no, that’s not it." Richard looked at the decaying aura around Jolod, and his voice gradually weakened.
"I’m just a bit sad, that’s all."
"Sad about what?" Jolod looked at himself and spoke softly, "I’ve been alive for over five thousand years, long since should have died. As for your senior brothers and sisters... don’t be sad, war is . Plane wars involve death, not to mention wars of civilization."
However, even though he said this, Jolod’s own voice instinctively lowered when he spoke.
"How is the situation of the war?"
"It’s terrible. The production demands of the Synthetic Beast Factory are getting higher and higher. It’s no longer a resource issue; now it’s a shortage of wizards. Frontline wizards can be fast-tracked, but the alchemy wizards at the rear cannot be rushed. Without enough alchemy wizards, a pile of resources in the warehouse is useless."
The frontline filling wizards only need to know how to cast spells, but the alchemy factories at the rear require alchemy wizards who have undergone systematic alchemy education. Many alchemy factories are extremely dangerous, and if fast-tracked wizards are allowed to work there, it would be a small matter if the factory blows up.
"Hasn’t the top considered shortening the battle line?"
"The Star Realm isn’t the land; our battle line, though called a line, is actually a plane. In this situation, the line cannot be shortened. Moreover, so many realms’ resources haven’t been fully exploited; retreating rashly will only make us weaker."
Silence once again enveloped the room.
Jolod looked at Richard, and he could tell that his student wasn’t just sad. Behind this layer of sadness, there was definitely something else hidden.
"Richard, did something happen to you?"
"Nothing, I just..." Richard stopped abruptly mid-sentence. After a moment of silence, he softly said, "I’m just a little scared."
"Scared of what, death?"
Richard looked at Jolod; although he was now a Great Wizard, his teacher had much more experience and insight than he did.
"Teacher, aren’t you afraid?"
"How could I not be?" Jolod said with a smile, "No one is unafraid of death; it’s an instinct for living beings, no matter what they are. The fear of death is etched into their basic instincts."
"But you don’t seem fearful."
"I just overcame that fear," Jolod smiled, "Fear of death is human nature, especially in this era where even Great Wizards can fall.
But it’s clear that it’s not just fear for you."
Richard fell silent; he didn’t know how to express his confusion. The Supreme Sect Leader had told him that destiny was upon him, that he was walking an extraordinary path. But the deaths of friends and family had left him in a state of confusion. If destiny was predetermined, then what was the point of everything he’s doing now?
If destiny doesn’t change and his family and friends are fated to die in this war, they’ll die no matter how hard they try.
Then what’s the meaning of everything he does?
After a long while, he spoke, "Teacher, if the endpoint of destiny is predetermined, then what’s the meaning of everything I do?"
Jolod was slightly taken aback; Richard’s question was puzzling to him. Yet, being puzzled didn’t stop him from resolving the bewilderment of his only remaining and finest student.
This was also the only way he could help as a teacher.
"How could it be meaningless?"
"If the result is predetermined, then nothing I do will change it. Whether I sleep or strive forward, the final result is the same."
Jolod shook his head, "I don’t know what you’ve encountered, but I can assuredly tell you that your different actions will definitely lead to a variation in outcomes. Just like if you saw yourself destined to die in a particular war, if you continue to explore truth and improve in witchcraft, even if you died, your death would be extraordinary.
But if knowing you are doomed to die makes you start behaving like those new wizards, hitting hallucinogens all day, then your way of dying might be getting killed instantly, dying like a squashed bug."
"But still, I’ll die eventually."
"Death is unavoidable, my child," Jolod said softly.
"I don’t know what you’ve seen, but I suspect you might have encountered a prophecy or seen some future fragments, causing you to fall into a nihilistic trap, thinking everything is meaningless."
But as a teacher, I must tell you, that’s wrong."
As he spoke, Jolod beckoned Richard over. Richard walked up, and Jolod swiftly and unexpectedly knocked on his head.
"Could you feel that?"
Saying that, Jolod knocked on Richard’s head again, hard.
"If you hadn’t tried, I would already have died on the battlefield and wouldn’t be here now, knocking on your head. Without effort, you couldn’t become a Great Wizard."
After finishing, Jolod paused for a moment and continued, "I know you, stupid boy, might want to say now that destiny already determined I would survive. But I can equally say destiny determined I would survive because of my finest student. If you firmly believe that fate decides everything, then what you’re doing now, and what I’m doing now, is all predetermined by destiny.
That means you’ve denied the existence of free will."
Jolod asked Richard word by word, "Richard, do you believe you have free will?"