This Lich Requests More Remuneration-Chapter 118 - 111 Magical Addiction

Chapter 118: Chapter 111: Magical Addiction

Chapter 118 -111: Magical Addiction

Traveling south from Alchemy City, the scenery grows increasingly beautiful.

Forlorn wilderness gives way to a myriad of blooming flowers, where the well-maintained roads strike a balance between artistic beauty and efficient travel.

Continue forward, and you can behold an even more enchanting landscape, where rolling hills teem with lush greenery, and the hidden buildings blend seamlessly with the forests, exemplifying perfect harmony between natural splendor and architectural aesthetics.

This is Silvermoon High Court, the kingdom of the elves.

In the past, throngs of tourists would flock to the Silvermoon High Court each year just to catch a glimpse of its scenery.

But that was a long time ago.

Since the price of magical materials began to rise, the Elf Tribe has been in a semi-closed state, hardly allowing outsiders in, and those who forced their way were all kept within the Elf Tribe.

Lately, the only ones walking on this gorgeous floral road are elves, all fully armed.

The Dusk Guard has been fully mobilized, split into elite squads that entered the territory of Alchemy City. These elite easily breached the borders of the lords and delivered Magic Contracts right before them.

As more Lords signed the contracts, many members of the Dusk Guard successfully returned to Silvermoon High Court to report back.

In the highest reaches of the Queen’s Palace within the Silvermoon High Court, Elf Queen Katherine, clad in a simple white robe, looked like a regular elf girl who had just woken up, not yet having time to dress or make up—not the queen she was. Even without any adornment, the Elf Queen’s beauty was enough to make any fair maiden feel inadequate.

The Elf Tribe is a race blessed by the Deity, each elf possessing a beauty unattainable by other races, and Katherine was a beauty even the elves would envy.

From the moment of her birth, the Elf Tribe knew they were welcoming a new queen.

Not because the Elf Tribe valued appearance above all, but because the more beautiful an elf, the more they were favored by the Deity. Indeed, Katherine showed exceptional talent from an early age, excelling her peers in both magic and artistic abilities.

Latterly, she advanced to Legendary Rank and, in a coronation anticipated by all, was crowned the new queen by the old king himself.

As queen, Katherine did not disappoint the expectations of her people, adeptly resolving many troubles for the Elf Tribe. Disasters such as the Feline Demon-Mallow, the Magic Beasts Wars—calamities that could spell doom for other kingdoms—were effortlessly resolved by her.

Originally, Katherine could have been written into the annals of Silvermoon High Court history as a great queen.

But… there is always a but.

Katherine sat on a gold-crafted bench, lost in thought as she gazed at the map before her.

The map depicted the entire domain of Alchemy City, resembling somewhat an irregular parallelogram.

To the north of Alchemy City lay the vast Golden Desert, and to the south, Silvermoon High Court.

Now, Alchemy City was in name only, sandwiched between two great kingdoms, and its annexation was a matter of when, not if.

On the map, many regions had been colored in hues of emerald green—territories that had already signed Magic Contracts. Although they appeared scattered, these lands already accounted for a fifth of the entire plot.

Though the plan was proceeding smoothly, Katherine’s eyes showed little joy as she surveyed the map, only an unshakeable, faint sadness.

The elderly elf beside her said to the sovereign, “Katherine, you must pull yourself together. If you continue to wallow in self-blame, the Elf Tribe too will meet its end. You are our queen, and you must shoulder the responsibility.”

Katherine pursed her lips and said to the old elf, “I wish I had never taken the crown from your hands.”

The old elf was the former king, but after abdicating, he became a subject of the Elf Queen, assisting her in governing Silvermoon High Court. The Elf Tribe’s lust for power was not strong, and they had no practice of insisting on a bloodline legacy. The joint governance by two consecutive rulers significantly minimized errors in their decisions.

But that was under normal circumstances.

“Katherine, stop blaming yourself. This decision was approved by all of us; it was our greed that blinded us. Now is not the time to argue who was right or wrong. This war is the only way for the Elf Tribe to survive. Cast aside those needless emotions and do what you must,” the old elf counseled.

Katherine closed her eyes and shook her head, “Is this really the way to save the Elf Tribe? Even if we take all of Alchemy City’s lands and acquire the alchemy production lines, can we solve the problem of magic addiction?”

The word “magic addiction” sent a shiver through the old king’s body.

It was the greatest crisis of the Elf Tribe and a long-concealed secret.

The Elf Tribe, peacefully coexisting with the world, had no ambition for expansion. Why then did the price of magical materials suddenly surge, and why did they invade the territories of Alchemy City?

The majority of elves were oblivious to the true purpose of the war, thinking it was simply a grab for unclaimed land.

But if it were an ordinary war, why would they have forced the indigenous people of the lands to relocate before the battle began, without leaving any room for negotiation? The Elf Tribe was not foolish enough to make such a blunder.

Although the Elf Tribe was xenophobic, they weren’t to the point where they couldn’t stand the sight of other races; otherwise, they wouldn’t have opened the Silvermoon Tribunal for outsiders to visit and tour. But now they were acting even more resolute than Laine, and the reason behind this was “Addiction to Magic”.

This was a special ailment that only a few were aware of, but actually, it had already spread widely among the Elf Tribe.

All of this had to do with the abilities Katherin obtained during her second advancement to Legendary Rank.

Originally, Katherin was a Legendary Ranger, and her Legendary Grace allowed her to use a small amount of magical materials to create powerful Magic-Breaking Weapons. This enabled her to accumulate many military achievements when she was young, leading the elves to glorious victories in the face of numerous disasters.

As time went on, her mastery in the School of Transmutation deepened, and she ultimately advanced to Legendary for the second time in this capacity.

Although it’s common for elves to take on multiple professions due to their long lifespans, it was still extremely rare to advance to Legendary twice, which made everyone perceive Katherin as an exceptionally gifted Elf Queen, truly favored by the Deity.

But the problem lay in the Legendary Grace Katherin obtained through her second advancement.

Selfless Share, that was Katherin’s Legendary ability.

She could choose a power she mastered and selflessly share it with others.

There were no thresholds; if the recipient was willing to accept it, they could receive the gift of power, and she wouldn’t suffer any losses herself. The only issue was that it couldn’t be revoked.

This sounded impressive, like endlessly duplicating Legendary Power. Katherin was a double Legendary; if she selflessly shared her power with others, couldn’t she mass-produce Legendary powerhouses for the Elf Tribe?

Initially, that was what everyone in the Elf Tribe thought. The first time Katherin used her Selfless Share, she granted a loyal Dusk Guard the power of a Legendary Ranger. He could easily craft Magic-Breaking Weapons and took his ranger skills to a higher level.

However, since the power was a gift from the Queen, it was slightly inferior when actually utilized compared to that of a true Legendary.

Still, the result was shocking—the existence of Legendaries was already incredibly rare, and amidst the ranks of Legendary, many were not quite up to mark. The ability to stably grant others the power of a Legendary Ranger was akin to the power of a Deity.

The Elf Tribe cautiously observed for a few years and didn’t find any side effects in the Dusk Guard, which further surprised them. The Dusk Guard’s child seemed to inherit some related abilities at birth. The newborn elf had keener eyesight than others and stronger arms—the Legendary Power was somehow inheritable.

A few more years passed, and as the child grew, the elves still couldn’t detect any problems. The child grew stronger and more talented and seemed to have a larger appetite. But that wasn’t a problem—the stronger the child, the more they should eat.

At that time, the Elf Tribe hadn’t realized the seriousness of the issue.

The old King even suggested to Katherin that she should weaken the Selfless Share ability a bit and not pass on complete Legendary Power, as doing so meant a long cooldown period every time it was shared. The old King advised targeted sharing of power.

Katherin agreed with the old King’s suggestion. She shared the ability to create Magic-Breaking Weapons with many elf craftsmen and shared the weakened ranger-related abilities with many young elves.

The Dusk Guard started a full-scale expansion during those days because the Queen was too generous, and there were simply too many prodigies.

The Elf Tribe was growing stronger day by day, and Katherin’s prestige reached its peak then—who could refuse such a Queen that benefitted all elves?

However, the real tragedy soon unfolded.

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The first Dusk Guard to receive the shared Legendary Power started to show problems. His body seemed to have been punctured by something, as his life force and magic were being continuously devoured by this hole. Initially, it happened very slowly, so that no one noticed. But as he kept using the obtained Legendary abilities, the hole just kept getting larger.

He needed to eat and drink excessively to maintain his body’s needs, and his magic deficit was even more critical. If he wasn’t promptly provided with a large amount of magical items to replenish his magic, the black hole would drain all the magic from his body, making him feel life was worse than death.

What was more terrifying was that his child also exhibited the same symptoms.

The child, hailed as a born Legend, died young due to uncontrollable magic power.

It was then that the Elf Tribe discovered that all power required a matching control strength.

Getting Legendary Power without reaching the Legendary realm, even just a little bit of it, could have extremely severe consequences.

The essence of Legendary Power is World Laws. If you don’t understand these laws and use them forcefully, you have to pay an extra price.

For mortals, to borrow Legendary Power, they had to continuously pay magic power as a cost.

All elves who received Katherin’s shared power were infected with “Addiction to Magic” to varying degrees, with a significantly increased demand for magic. If not replenished in time, they would die in pain.

By the time they realized this, half of the elves had already received Katherin’s “Selfless Share”.

Even though the subsequent sharings had greatly weakened the effects, it was still a power of Legendary.

Even though the majority of elves hadn’t reached the severe stages of “Addiction to Magic”, Katherin was very clear in her mind.

The Elf Tribe was about to be finished.