Magic and Cultivation

Lily-Mae guided Ely around the magic academy while explaining a few things. They also opened several discussions until noon arrived.

Ely requested a short break, and Lily-Mae invited her to stop at the tallest building's rooftop. The spot where one could observe the academy's scenery so well.

"..." Ely understood the basics; this magic academy was similar to a sect or cult. Once the apprentice was registered, that person would forever be the magic academy's people.

The rich and influential people would also receive special treatment. Talent was not the only factor for privilege here.

Speaking of which, this pink-haired girl was the dean's granddaughter.

'That burly scary-looking old man has a petite granddaughter. But what about her parents? Never mind, it's none of my business. I came here to learn more about this world's secret law of magic.' Ely looked at the academy's surroundings from the top of the tallest building.

"Lady Miko, our luncheon is being delivered here. Would you mind having lunch with me?" Lily-Mae asked rather excitedly. The lady before her was so pretty, elegant, and graceful. She was happy to know this very high-status lady was so friendly and easy to talk to.

"With pleasure~" Ely clasped her hands to her sides as she answered with a warm smile.

Lily-Mae was mesmerized by the saintess angelic persona once again. They were obviously the same gender, but she was embarrassed and blushed every time their eyes met.

"Miss Lily, may I know your view on magic and cultivation? What sets them apart?" Ely decided to use this opportunity to have a profound conversation.

"The answer may vary depending on how one comprehends it. However, several significant points exist to classifying magic and cultivation as different arts and methods to reach a higher power level." Lily-Mae put on her glasses as she entered serious mode to explain her comprehension.

"Please enlighten me." Ely was interested in the continuation.

"Cultivation uses qi, and magic uses mana, but literally, they mean energy with one's body as container and catalyst. The cultivator required one's body and spirit to refine and cultivate their power into the dantian's core. In contrast, the mage needed one's mind and soul to expand their mana pool and control their elements.

Qi can be interpreted as physical and airflow, the magic is always in you all along. While mana can be interpreted as spirit and mind, there is magic all over the world." Lily-Mae made a simple projection with her water magic to simplify her explanation.

Despite hailing from a similar meaning, namely energy, qi, and mana was the opposite. More qi equals more destructive power, whereas more mana doesn't mean one has more power.

"Refine and control, huh... If so, doesn't cultivation have a superior advantage over magic for practitioners of the same rank?" Ely felt something was wrong, but she didn't know where.

"We can't say it like that because cultivation and magic have advantages and disadvantages of their respective methods and techniques. It always depends on the person because we will need to improve our body, mind, spirit, soul, and overall capabilities in the end." Lily-Mae had racked her brain to explain the wonder of magic to a cultivator as she assumed the holy saintess wasn't a mage.

"I see." Ely tried to scan her body, then looked at her sea of consciousness.

She could see a massive lump of energy within her body from there, and countless water ripples appeared. It resembled a golden sun with a rippled water barrier.

At this point, she realized that her body constitution differed from the principles of cultivation and magic. Her HP, MP, and SP had far exceeded the intended limit. Thus the so-called container was non-existent for her.

"Aah, so it's like that, huh. I understand everything now." Ely nodded as if she understood everything, even though she didn't get it.

"Mm-hmm, I'm glad to hear it. There is a mystery behind cultivation and a beauty of wonder behind the magic." Lily-Mae nodded in agreement.

Ely then brought up the topic of what if someone had tiny magic power but possessed a massive magical energy reserve. It was the most crucial matter for her. She could only use minimal magic output because of that.

Unfortunately, Lily-Mae could only provide a few suggestions based on existing theory and her understanding. An unbalanced case like that was rare; she had never met one.

A few moments later, lunch was delivered by a chef. Ely, Lily-Mae, and Michael then had lunch together.

"Hmm?" Ely noticed the apprentice's break time was over. About a hundred people entered the training field, enthusiastically practicing their magic. "They seem to have a very high passion for study and practice. Is it like that every day?"

"I don't think so. They may be enthusiastic about strengthening but also want to show off their talent. Perhaps, it has something to do with your arrival, Lady Miko." Lily-Mae covered her mouth as she couldn't contain her chuckle.

"Is that so? They should have their own motivation- Uh-huh?" Ely caught a glimpse of dark energy from a particular apprentice mage by the remote building. That person looked in pain, but his behavior was suspicious.

"That mage isn't well. Something happened to him?" Ely pointed in a direction, but the mentioned person had already disappeared from her sight.

"Who are you referring to, Lady Miko?" Lily-Mae squinted her eyes, but she couldn't see that far clearly.

"Never mind." Ely shook her head. She glanced at Michael as he also saw what she had just witnessed.

"Hum." Michael nodded in reply.

A few moments later, Ely excused herself to Lily-Mae as it was time for her to leave. But she would come back tomorrow morning.

"Yes, please take care of me tomorrow, Lady Miko." Lily-Mae waved her hand to send the honored guest away.

"I'm the one who has to say that, Miss Lily. Thank you for today. It was a great conversation." Ely bid her farewell, then walked away.

"Mika-kun, send a team to investigate that matter immediately. The dark, evil energy just now resembled a demonic possession fluctuation." Ely spoke in a whisper-like voice.

"I've sent a word to the 2nd scout team." Michael put a telecommunication talisman back into his storage pouch.

After Ely left the academy, Lily-Mae went to a gazebo in the flower garden. Her grandfather was already waiting there.

"What about Lady Miko's tour? Can you figure out her real purpose?" The dean put down his cup.

"Grandfather, Lady Miko wasn't interested in any of my topics. She is only interested in the concept of magic. She will come back tomorrow morning." Lily-Mae sat near her grandfather.

"Then, it's good. Did she say anything else?" The dean poured a cup of tea for his granddaughter.

"No, she only came here to discuss the concept of magic to clear up her confusion and curiosity. However, there is one thing that makes me uncomfortable."

"And what is that?"

"About an hour ago, Lady Miko found a mage behaving strangely and pinpointed it to me. However, I failed to see who it was."

"Hm, are those rats about to make their move? They are crazy enough to act now when the holy saintess visits our academy. We need to purge them to the root then."

"Hmm, rats?"

Lily-Mae had no idea what all that had to do with rats.

At a luxurious hotel, Ely booked two rooms next to each other. However, the other room was deliberately left empty.

Michael left to handle some matter. A few minutes later, Gabriella and Rafaela arrived to report the result of their task.

"Uhm, milady, may I know what you are doing?" Gabriella was stunned when she saw her master wearing an unusual outfit.

"This is a simple artist outfit. I want to paint on a canvas and take my art technique to the next level. What do you think?" Ely spun around once.

"You're gorgeous no matter what you wear, master."

"Yeah, as exquisite as the heavenly angel."

"Thank you."

"Master, we have destroyed that slavery organization. We have sent all those involved to the mining ground as their punishment after a good beating. Meanwhile, the enslaved people who wanted to be free got what they wished for. For those who don't have a place to return, we give them shelter, and they work in our branch business with humane treatment." Rafaela reported the situation proudly. She was also there to destroy that place, after all.

"Um, that's good." Ely nodded slightly. She felt admiration in her heart. 'My disciples are so fast in completing their assignments and really reliable. If only they weren't obsessed with eliminating those Heavenly Demon seeds and could focus on assisting me more... Well, that's partly the fault of that mixed stories.'

"Master..." Gabriella was about to speak but was at a loss to say it.

"Hmm?" Ely put her paintbrushes on the table and looked at her first disciple.

Gabriella called her 'master' instead of the usual 'milady'. It was the same as how she referred to her disciples' nicknames with an additional suffix in everyday life and their names in external professional situations.

Also, with that kind of troubled tone... something critical clearly happened, and Gabriella found it challenging to say it.

"Please say it, Gab-chan. Everything will be fine under my watch." Ely tried to reassure with an affirmation.

"Then, I'll say it frankly." Gabriella glanced at her junior sister briefly, then reported the results of her in-depth investigation.