I Don’t Want To Court Death!

On a mountain in the Department of Medicine and Health, Yang Yang was sitting before a messy-haired old man wearing a lab coat. The old man was playing with some anomalous chemicals in glass beakers. 

“Chief Doctor Stone, how will you trained me?” Yang Yang asked. 

The chief doctor looked at Yang Yang, “Tell me, kid. What do you know about your grimoire?” 

“Senior Butler Reed told me that my grimoire was of very high rank, but he did not specified what rank my grimoire was. I believe that I’m a Caster at the moment.” 

As part of the act, Yang Yang had to pretend that he had his memories wiped and accept the background that was given to him. The Ivory Royal House knew that revealing his status as the Scion of Life would bring more trouble than blessing. That secret was best kept to a few people, and Yang Yang was certain that Chief Doctor Stone was one of those people. 

“Oi, that’s not too shabby. Well, I’m the best Life Magic magus in the whole kingdom, as well as number one in the world. There are less than ten Life Magic magus on the continent, including you. As you can guess, you have talent so I’m going to teach you Life Magic. Come, bow to me.” 

Yang Yang bowed to his new teacher. Chief Doctor Stone furrowed his brows. 

“Now, Yang Yang, tell me. What is Life Magic?” 

Yang Yang made a strange expression. “Well, sir, Life Magic is about utilizing life force.” 

“Yes, but what is it purpose?” 

Yang Yang smiled slightly. As the Scion of Life, his insight into Life Magic was only below the God of Life. “Well Life Magic is used to heal and increase life force.” 

“Pak!” The chief doctor smacked Yang Yang on his head. “Try again.” 

“Life Magic is used to help other people and defeat ghosts and demons.” 

“Pak!”

“Life Magic is about guarding life and obtaining immortality!” 

“Pak!” The chief doctor repeatedly slapped Yang Yang’s head. “You fool. You are not wrong, but how can you be so short-sighted?  Life Magic isn’t just about healing, immortality, helping, or guarding. It can also be about killing!” 

“What the hell is this old codger on?” Yang Yang rubbed his head. “Sir, I don’t understand. I’ve read books on Life Magic and they said that Life Magic is used for healing. When it comes to killing, purification of ghosts and demons are as close as it gets to murder. However, those entities practice the art of death and destruction, and exist in evil and vile dimensions. Ending them is equivalent to helping life.” 

The chief doctor scoffed at his remarks and rolled his eyes. "Yes, Life Magic heal the creatures of the overworld, and purify the creatures of the underworld. Life Magic enhances life force and can be used to negate the death force of dark creatures. However, the essence of Life Magic is the manipulation of life force. If you can give life force, then you can take it away as well." 

Chief Doctor Stone mixed the anomalous chemicals and created a blue slime. Yang Yang could sense the life force in the slime; it was indeed a living creature. The chief doctor extended his right hand and a spell circle appeared in his palm. 

The spell circle was green, the color of life, but it depicted the skull of an animal. When the spell circle appeared, a green aura was extracted from the slime. It began to noticeably degrade into chemicals again. When the life force of the slime was fully extracted, the spell circle disappeared. 

"You just killed it? Just like that?" In his millions of years of experience, Yang Yang had used Life Magic to attack before, but it was mainly toward demons, ghosts, and other underworld creatures; the only exception when he used Life Magic to attack overworld creatures was by purifying evil intent and sinful auras from wicked people. Never in before had he seen Life Magic used in this way.

"Life Magic can also kill." The chief doctor raised a finger and those chemicals returned to the beakers. "Since the beginning of time, Life Magic was used to heal good and demolish evil. It was the magical embodiment of justice, purity, virtue, and grace. That is the very nature of Life Magic, and it will never fade. However, Life Magic can't only be limited to simply doing good. No, Life Magic is one of three-thousand ancient magics. It is one of the original magics that stem from a singular, higher magic." 

He stood up and walked to the edge of cliff. He looked up and spread his hand wide. "Do you see the field of flowers? Do you see the lakes of fishes? Do you see the mountains of life? Life is everywhere, and it is beautiful. When the first Life Magic magus appeared, he too must have seen how beautiful and festive the universe was. It was also him who created the philosophy of healing good and demolishing evil. I don't think that philosophy is wrong, but it is outdated. This is a new age. A new era of magic! Why should we heal? Why should we purify?" 

"Life Magic has far more potential than any other magic, even among the ancient magics. It shouldn't just be the manipulation of life force; it should be about controlling the very concept of existence! One should be able to alter life itself. One should be able to dictate the course of fate. One should be able to flip fortune, end suffering, or cast curses. With an exhale, life begins; with an inhale, life ends. This is what Life Magic should be: the control of life and the concept of existence." 

The chief doctor turned around and walked back to the Yang Yang, who was breathing heavily from both excitement and horror. The chief doctor smiled. "I have the Rank 8 Living Sage Grimoire, and the spell I just used was Life Drain. It is the first spell I ever created, and it can absorb the life force of other overworld creatures, or even the death force of underworld creatures, for your own use. Before, I can tell that you didn't sincerely bowed to me, thus, I haven't truly accepted you as a student. Bow once again with sincerity, and I'll accept you as my student." 

Yang Yang hesitated. As an old soul, he only bowed to the chief doctor out of formality, but didn't expect the latter to notice his indignation. He especially didn't expect the chief doctor to have such a unique view on Life Magic. The more he thought about what the chief doctor said, the more his excitement and horror grew. He was excited over the possibilities of Life Magic, and horrified at the destructive nature of this new Life Magic. 

"Perhaps I don't need to reach godhood after all." 

Yang Yang kneeled to the chief doctor and bowed his head until it reached the ground. "Greetings, teacher!"