Chapter 277: Icy Circuit - Acquired
Duke turned his head, momentarily putting Jaina out of his mind.
There were many people, and many things that should not be acted upon at the moment.
Just like Kel'Thuzad, whenever Duke saw this sinister fellow, he wanted to cover his head, smash it open with a brick, and then use something like a soul-shattering spell to ensure he couldn't even become a Lich in the future.
Unfortunately, that was not possible; Kel'Thuzad was one of the six members of the Kirin Tor council.
If he took action against Kel'Thuzad, it would mean breaking the Alliance and even going to war with Dalaran.
Moreover, Kel'Thuzad was just a secondary character; if he really wanted to take action, it should be against a primary character. For example, taking down Kael'thas by his side and obtaining a phoenix mount or something similar.
Well, Duke's thoughts were a bit off track.
In fact, Duke paid a respectful visit to Antonidas, who was recovering from his injuries.
The old man seemed very spirited; he wasn't even in bed.
Duke met Antonidas in his laboratory.
If Duke hadn't triple-checked that Kael'thas was leading him correctly and that the resurrected Duke wasn't afraid of being shot or hit with a club, he would have absolutely doubted that Antonidas was also a part-time Warlock.
The hall was vast, and the light was dim.
It wasn't because the lighting was weak or Antonidas had some psychological disorder that made him enjoy hiding in the darkness, savoring the silence. It was because the air in the hall was filled with a large amount of dark energy.
Even though Antonidas had summoned several bishops from the Church of the Holy Light to continuously purify the evil energy with the Holy Light, the sinister aura in the hall still lingered.
"Master Antonidas, has your curse not yet been lifted?"
Antonidas covered his things with a shiny, translucent gold shield and then replied to Duke, "What? The curse? That thing has already been reduced to its limit by Archbishop Faol, and I was worried that the Archbishop would be too powerful, destroying it completely and leaving me unable to study it. That's why I asked the Archbishop to leave a little behind."
Duke stared in disbelief.
He saw that Antonidas had actually used an incredibly mysterious method to forcibly separate the curse that had almost been branded on his soul, placing it on one of his own mirror images for magical research purposes.
"Doesn't soul separation hurt?" Duke asked.
Soul separation was definitely more painful than having your hand sawed off slowly with a saw. Duke didn't know how Antonidas had managed it.
The white-haired old mage stroked his beard, "Some things, once done often, become a habit. It's nothing for the sake of research. Besides, aren't you also using soul separation? I heard about your demonstration for King Aiden. Without leaving a trace of soul on the mirror image, how could you have such fine control? You must have been in pain when that Blademaster destroyed one of your mirror images, right?"
Seeing Duke's reminiscing expression about the pain, Antonidas thought he had guessed correctly.
"It did hurt a bit," Duke answered truthfully. .
"A Perfect Misunderstanding. Duke's mirror image doppelganger wasn't truly controlled by a soul. However, getting stabbed by the Fireblade Clan Chieftain Dal Bloodscalp * Thrice-blooded was genuinely painful.
The system elf didn't detect his presence at all, and the protective shield that the system elf released for him within one ten-thousandth of a second couldn't block the attack. Duke himself couldn't use the so-called 'Ice Block' due to his incomplete Frost circuit.
Only after arriving in the world of Azeroth did Duke realize that none of the invincibility spells or skills that protect you from all damage in a short period were easy to acquire.
A Paladin's invincibility requires the true approval of the Holy Light.
Similarly, it's the same for a Mage. Duke could, of course, create an ordinary ice block. But in the face of absolute power, the hardness of the ice block was a joke. To achieve a temporary invincibility effect, it would almost be within the realm of 'domain power'.
For this, a top-tier spell was essential; otherwise, even if learned, it would only be a crippled version with two or three seconds of invincibility.
How could Duke bear this? At critical moments, an extra second could mean life or, well, integrity!
Either don't learn, or learn the best.
"Did you come here to see if this old man can still fight? Alright, alright, my mistake for abandoning my Alliance duties and sneaking away to conduct research. If that Gul'dan comes again, I promise to help. Of course, anyone of that level will do." Archmage Antonidas handed Duke a magic beacon: "Activate the beacon, and I'll be there within a minute."
Duke was speechless, but on second thought, the esteemed Archmage of Dalaran wouldn't intervene in every fight against any random enemy. Being willing to come at a moment's notice was already a great honor. Moreover, a Sunreaver Mage capable of teleporting to any location on the continent at any time had the right to be capricious.
Duke had nothing more to say.
Antonidas looked at Duke, who was still lingering in his laboratory, and blinked: "Hmm? Anything else? Or do you want to study this unknown mysterious curse? Why don't you become my assistant? I'm interested in your Mage Hand technique. I can offer you Morningstar-level assistant treatment."
Duke was embarrassed, touched his head, and finally handed over the letter Lady Illucia Barov had asked him to deliver to Antonidas.
"Actually, Lady Illucia asked me to give you a letter."
Seeing the wax seal and the unique magic confidentiality method lingering on the envelope, Antonidas' usually imperturbable face turned slightly red.
He took the envelope with both hands, opened it eagerly, and then...
The old man's face fell.
It was a look of both laughter and anger.
Antonidas seemed to want to be angry but was also amused. In the end, he relented.
"A model, huh? That girl really knows how to extort. She... fine, it's my fault. This reason is barely acceptable. Alright, here you go." Antonidas waved his right index finger at his temple, and Duke was shocked to see a series of arcane ice-blue magic runes emerge from his temple.
The continuous runes formed a small, delicate band-like string, wrapping around Antonidas' index and middle fingers. Then, Antonidas handed the rune string to Duke.
When Duke saw the familiar yet unfamiliar three-dimensional magic model enter his spirit sea once again, he was so excited that he almost wanted to hug the old Archmage Antonidas and kiss him on the cheek.
System notification:
"Congratulations, host! You have obtained the Sunreaver-level magic circuit model. This is the magic circuit model that Sunreaver Archmage Antonidas has continuously refined and optimized over thirty years of dedicated cultivation. After comparison with Anasterian Sunstrider, there are no flaws in the circuit, and the model rating is S. It can increase the power of the Frost magic circuit by 108 times or more based on your current foundation. It is recommended to start learning immediately."