Sunlight dyed everything in the room gold once again, just as it had for thousands of years, eternally unchanged.
However, compared to five hundred years ago, the air was filled with a sense of tranquility—an emptiness caused by the reduction of familiar figures.
Rhodes stood by the window, flexing his fingers, feeling the abundant life force in his new body, far greater than after any previous reincarnation.
Mana flowed smoothly without obstruction. His soul fit perfectly with this new body that had cost him countless efforts.
He could clearly sense that the natural lifespan of this vessel was at least seven or eight hundred years.
This was enough for him to push his research on eternal life to the final stage, and enough for him to fulfill his promise to the red-haired figure sleeping in the Heavenly Kingdom.
"The last ti..." Rhodes murmured, subconsciously looking up out the window.
Five hundred years, for him and Serie with their long lives, was but the changing of seasons.
But the changes around them were clearly visible.
The Magic Association still stood tall, remaining the holy land in the hearts of countless mages across the continent.
Using magic, one could hear the discussions of mages and the hum of mana from the experintal grounds, all proving its prosperity and vitality.
However, for Rhodes and Serie, the interior of the Association had beco much colder.
Not because fewer mages ca to learn, but because of the absence of family.
Flam was gone.
Her research room had long been properly sealed, everything inside kept as it was when its owner left, waiting for the day she might return.
But that familiar red-haired figure, always carrying a gentle smile, had disappeared for five hundred years.
Frieren had also begun her journey and never returned, with no news to this day.
Elves always had a vague concept of ti; five hundred years might be just a slightly longer excursion for her.
Even though he had reminded her, she still hadn't returned for so long, not even sending a magical ssage, which made Rhodes sowhat helpless.
He wondered which corner of the continent she had walked to, and what scenery and stories she had encountered.
Ela was still around, but not entirely.
Four hundred years ago, she finally "endured" the hellish work during Rhodes's century-long slumber and waited for her promised long vacation.
However, Rhodes, having just awakened from his long reincarnation, only approved twenty years for her, reasoning that twenty years was indeed a long vacation for humans.
Although Ela muttered complaints, she ran off happily.
Twenty years later, she returned punctually and resud managent of the Association.
However, having learned her lesson, Ela clearly got smarter.
After working her heart out for another hundred years, she found Rhodes and Serie again. Through persistence, she finally obtained an ultra-long vacation—the specific duration was undetermined, but clearly much longer than twenty years.
Thus, from then on, Ela also began her journey. She would only send back a ssage via communication magic every so often, reporting she was still alive or had discovered sothing interesting.
Much more sensible than Frieren, whose life or death was unknown.
As for the daily managent of the Association, it fell upon so core mbers and... Solitär-Flam.
Thinking of this, Rhodes couldn't help but laugh.
Solitär-Flam, the demon who once knew nothing of emotions, had beco almost indistinguishable from humans after these centuries of learning.
Not only had she mastered most human emotions perfectly, but she also displayed astonishing efficiency in handling various Association affairs.
She always sat quietly in the room next to Flam's forr office, processing docunts ticulously. Reliable, thorough, and hardworking, she was the model employee of the new generation of the Magic Association.
Unless one deliberately sensed the extrely faint demonic origin aura on her, no one could discover her true identity.
During this period, Olivia also ca down from the Heavenly Kingdom twice.
The first ti was a routine visit to confirm Rhodes's reincarnation went smoothly.
The second ti, she carried several large chests filled with magic books left by the Sky-Winged.
"Leaving them in the Heavenly Kingdom just gathers dust. Besides , few can read that script anymore," Olivia had said. "Might as well bring them to you for others to learn. Although the Sky-Winged magic system differs from the current mainstream, the research on Holy Magic might bring new inspiration."
Serie naturally raised both hands in approval.
She had always held a strong interest in the ancient and holy magic system of the Sky-Winged.
During that ti, she was almost completely imrsed in those ancient grimoires, often staying in her room so much that Rhodes had to bring her als personally.
As for his own research... progress was smooth.
Not only had his analysis of Life Magic deepened, but more importantly, he had fulfilled his agreent with Kraft—creating a magic that allowed humans and elves to produce offspring.
This subject was far more complex than imagined, involving the combination of two completely different life forms. But relying on his talent and a little selfishness, Rhodes ultimately conquered the difficulty.
The offspring born through this magic were neither elves nor humans, but more like Half-Elves.
They inherited the pointed ears of elves but shorter, and naturally inherited part of the magical talent, but their lifespan was far less than the near-infinite life of elves, roughly around two to three thousand years.
But the advantage was that their emotional developnt wasn't as extrely slow and thin as elves; their understanding and expression of emotions were closer to humans.
This could be considered a wondrous balance.
When Kraft learned of Rhodes's success, he couldn't help sighing with emotion. "Incredible, Rhodes. Perhaps in tens of thousands of years, they will replace the current elves and beco the new Elven Race on the continent... Hahaha!"
To this, Rhodes simply smiled without speaking.
Besides these, there was one other thing Rhodes cared about recently.
In his distant mories, he suddenly recalled a certain "Violinist Lady," or rather, a demon nad Aura.
Her talent was an extrely unique Obedience Magic. Roughly calculating, her active period should be around this era—or rather, about five hundred years before the tiline of the original work.
The reason he specifically rembered this "Violinist Lady" wasn't just because of her dramatic ending, but because compared to other demons, Aura's emotions seed much richer, especially before she cut off her own head in the original work.
An emotionally rich demon... this reminded him of Solitär-Flam. If Aura had already appeared in this era, would she possess so research value like Solitär-Flam?
This thought only flashed occasionally and didn't form a specific plan.
Demon tracks were hard to find, especially those who knew how to hide, but Rhodes did develop a faint curiosity about this.
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