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"Then let's have a successful partnership, Chairman!"
Hearing this, George let out a sigh of relief and reverted to his human form.
If Aleister had insisted on fighting, even if he transformed into the same state he had used against Kull, he likely wouldn't have stood a chance. His only option would have been to flee in disgrace.
But this outcome was more than satisfactory for him.
Now, he no longer had to travel the world seeking out churches to study magic. Instead, he could directly learn from this master, who had already grasped the essence of magic. His progress at the academy was bound to accelerate significantly.
In fact, he even speculated that if the chairman before him underwent a specific ritual, he might have a chance to ascend directly from human to Magic God.
"Since you're not Clone No. 9981, what should I call you from now on?"
Now that their collaboration was settled, Aleister's killing intent faded, and a smile once again appeared on his face.
"Just call me George."
George responded, then asked,
"Could you set aside a room for me in this building? That way, I can conveniently visit you whenever I need guidance in magic."
"Of course, no problem. I'll have someone prepare a suitable room for you shortly."
Aleister had no objections to George's request.
In fact, he preferred for George to stay in the building.
Even though he had agreed to work together, he still didn't fully trust George.
Now that George knew his true identity, keeping him close at hand would give Aleister greater peace of mind.
After all, his city-wide surveillance system, AIM Stagnation Loop, was ineffective against George.
---
And so, George stayed in the building comfortably for half a month.
During this time, he learned a great deal of magic from Aleister and gained a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles of this world's magic.
It was no surprise—after all, Aleister had been involved in the development of modern magic itself. Any question George posed was not only answered flawlessly but often led to further revelations and expansions of magical knowledge.
Although magic systems varied across different worlds, their core principles were largely the same.
As he uncovered the essence of magic in this world, he unexpectedly gained valuable insights into the magical systems of other worlds as well.
For a long time, he had entertained the idea of fusing multiple magical systems, extracting their best elements while discarding the flawed ones, to create a magic system uniquely suited to himself.
However, his progress had been painfully slow.
His prior studies had only scratched the surface of magic—he had merely imitated what he saw without truly understanding its essence.
The biggest obstacle was that, in other worlds, few magic users had ever reached the level of mastery that Aleister had achieved. Trying to comprehend it all on his own was an arduous process.
In the Harry Potter world, the most powerful wizard was Dumbledore. But to say that Dumbledore had fully grasped the fundamental essence of magic in that world? That was a stretch. The gap was still significant.
In the Sorcerer's Apprentice world, his mentor, Balthazar, had already fallen behind him in skill.
As for that world's Merlin and Morgana, they might have glimpsed the essence of magic. After all, they had each created numerous spells.
In the Fairy Tail world, the situation was even worse. Most mages there relied on combat experience to grasp new spells rather than conducting any serious research into the principles of magic.
It was all about triggering potential through emotions and growing stronger through relentless battles.
There were rumors that, in the era when dragons still roamed, dedicated magic academies had existed. But they were all destroyed during the wars against the dragons.
---
In Middle-earth, he was currently collaborating with the elves to establish an academy. Perhaps in the future, there would be opportunities to study the essence of that world's magic.
However, he suspected that true deeper knowledge could only be found in Valinor, the realm of the gods.
---
That day, George was in his room, studying this world's Spirit Gear.
To him, the term Spirit Gear was essentially equivalent to magic artifacts and magical weapons.
However, unlike ordinary enchanted items, Spirit Gear possessed...
In this world, Spirit Gear is essentially created by replicating various legendary artifacts from different mythologies and infusing them with magical abilities.
Though they are merely imitations, these replicas do inherit some of the characteristics and powers of the original mythical artifacts.
However, the more powerful the artifact in mythology, the harder it is to produce a corresponding Spirit Gear replica.
For example, the last time he encountered Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the girl who housed 103,000 grimoires, she had been wearing an extravagant white nun's habit embroidered with golden threads. That outfit, known as Mobile Church, was one of the most advanced Spirit Gears created by the Puritan Church after years of painstaking effort.
The Mobile Church was a complete replica of the Shroud of Turin—the cloth that had wrapped a saint when they were pierced by the Spear of Longinus. It embodied all the essential elements of a "church" in a single garment.
Theoretically, when Index wore that habit, her defense was on the level of a nuclear bomb.
Even if a nuke were to detonate right next to her, she wouldn't suffer a single scratch.
---
George thought that if he could master this kind of magical craftsmanship, then once his strength grew, he might be able to create his own Spirit Gear based on the mythologies he was familiar with.
Artifacts from The Investiture of the Gods or Journey to the West, for example.
Even if he couldn't replicate 100% of their powers—if he could just achieve even one ten-thousandth of their abilities—it would be enough to make him laugh in his sleep.
There was no requirement that these Spirit Gears had to be based solely on Western mythologies. As long as the creator understood a mythology well enough, they could attempt to replicate its artifacts with similar effects.
After all, these legendary artifacts didn't truly exist in the first place—it was magic that brought them into reality. This concept aligned with what mages in this world often referred to as the Idol Theory.
---
"Miss George, the Chairman has summoned you."
Just as George was deep in his research, a knock came at his door.
He checked the time and noticed that it wasn't the usual hour for his magic lessons.
"At this time? Looks like it's a job request."
His cooperation with Aleister had come with conditions.
Neither of them fully trusted the other.
While Aleister was indeed guiding him in learning this world's magic, he wasn't teaching him everything. He only shared knowledge of modern magical systems—the ancient magic remained off-limits.
Similarly, George had his own conditions when it came to carrying out tasks for Aleister.
He wasn't willing to engage in senseless slaughter or destruction without reason. He would complete missions whenever possible, but if the enemy was too strong, he wouldn't risk his life needlessly.
He also required a clear understanding of the mission's objectives and relevant intelligence—he wouldn't rush into a task blindly.
Aleister didn't trust him, and he didn't trust Aleister either.
If he were sent on a suicide mission, that would be the end of him.
Moreover, Aleister had a condition of his own—while George was out on missions, he wasn't allowed to interfere with the AIM Stagnation Loop surveillance system. This was to prevent him from secretly defecting to the church.
For George, this was hardly a problem—he had never intended to betray Aleister anyway.
(End of Chapter)