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Chapter 55: Conjecture of Shapeshifting Technique, Molecular Rearrangement!
🕑 Added 2025-03-12 17:38:26 +0000 UTCIt was still the classroom where the last meeting had taken place.
This time, besides Frigga, Irene was also present.
Upon seeing Aaron, Frigga greeted him with a soft smile and, for once, joked, "Irene, Aaron seems a bit different from what you described. I heard you say he’s very interested in new magic, but since he started studying with me, I haven’t seen him focus on it in days."
"Could it be that I’m getting old and not as attractive as young and beautiful teachers like you?" she teased.
"It’s not like that, Queen."
Although Frigga didn’t appear angry, Irene quickly responded, "Aaron has just learned so many complex magics that it takes time to fully grasp them. If it were any of us, it would probably take hundreds of years just to master them!"
"No matter how mischievous he may seem, he is still just a magic apprentice!"
"Apprentice?" Frigga replied. "I don’t think it’s that simple. Have you ever seen an apprentice who can craft magic equipment so quickly?"
Frigga’s gaze turned to Aaron’s armor, and, from her experience, she immediately noticed a difference. While the armor worn by the soldiers was enchanted, it was their standard issue. Aaron had not passed the warrior assessment and was not eligible to wear it.
Moreover, the magical fluctuations emanating from his armor were stronger than those on the elite guards' armor in the Golden Hall.
Clearly, this was an exceptional piece of magical equipment!
"What! Have you already mastered Enchanting?" Frigga asked, her surprise evident.
Irene looked at Aaron with a mix of anxiety and reproach in her voice: "Didn’t I tell you that the most important thing now is to focus on other magics first? You should only consider enchanting once you’ve mastered the basics. Learning enchanting now would just waste valuable time. Other than that, it’s useless!"
"It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have given you that magic book. If I hadn’t, you wouldn't have become so interested in enchanting magic."
Irene felt a great deal of self-blame.
She had been amazed by Aaron’s incredible magical talent and, in an effort to buy time, had shown him the enchanting magic. To her surprise, the plan had backfired, distracting Aaron from learning more practical magics.
Aaron, however, simply replied, "I haven’t wasted any time. I followed your advice and learned the other magics before I began studying enchanting magic."
"I didn’t spend much time on it," he added.
"Really?" Irene asked, clearly doubtful.
Aaron nodded, confirming that he hadn’t dedicated excessive time to enchanting. While learning it, he hadn’t neglected to improve his other magics.
Among them, the most significant progress had been in materialization magic, which was almost ready to be upgraded to LV6.
Aaron was eager to experience the power that LV6 materialization magic would grant him.
Had it not been for Amora’s warning about Odin preparing for Thor’s coronation, Aaron would not have returned until his materialization magic was fully upgraded.
Due to Frigga’s repeated delays in her teaching, Aaron decided to return, lest she overthink things.
On the way here, he had also informed Thor and others about several types of magic equipment, simply spreading the word to let everyone know that he had been studying enchanting magic during his time at home.
"It seems you’ve made considerable progress in enchanting," Frigga said as she slowly approached, inspecting the magical armor closely.
After a moment, her face grew serious, and her tone reflected genuine appreciation. "I believe you. The energy shield magic engraved onto your armor has already surpassed mine..."
"You actually managed to master enchanting so deeply while simultaneously improving your other magics."
Frigga was astounded. "It’s hard to imagine how you managed it."
She continued, "Except for Odin, your enchantment ability surpasses any other magician’s!"
Aaron remained calm, but Irene couldn’t hide her joy upon hearing Frigga’s praise. A proud smile spread across her face. She no longer blamed herself.
That’s right: while ordinary magicians might struggle to manage two disciplines at once, for someone like Aaron, it was hardly a challenge.
After a brief pause, Frigga shifted back to the matter at hand. Despite Aaron’s delays in her lessons, she took full responsibility for the teaching setbacks.
"As your teacher, it has taken me so long to teach you even a single spell. I feel I’m not living up to my role," Frigga admitted.
"I remember Irene telling me how quickly she taught you several spells on your first day."
"At this point, I’m not as competent as Irene."
"As compensation, the next magic I’ll teach you will be your choice."
Frigga was the queen of Asgard, and her words always carried warmth and authority. Even though it was Aaron’s delays that had caused the delay in his education, she accepted the blame, making Aaron feel a sense of closeness.
"I saw Loki using a magic on the way here," Frigga continued. "He can change the shape and appearance of his armor according to his will."
"Shapeshifting!" Irene exclaimed.
Frigga’s eyes lit up at the mention of the technique. "Ah, speaking of which, Loki’s shapeshifting caused quite a bit of trouble. It always gives people headaches."
"Once you learn shapeshifting magic, please don’t be as troublesome as he is," she chuckled.
After a short laugh, Frigga grew serious again and began explaining the principles behind shapeshifting.
"Traditional shapeshifting is the magic that alters the shape of oneself, others, or objects to achieve camouflage. The original form remains unchanged; only the appearance changes."
Frigga waved her hand, transforming a nearby chair into a horse.
While the chair now looked like a horse, Aaron could easily tell something was amiss. It was still an inanimate object.
"Do you see?" Frigga asked. "With your magical abilities, you won’t be fooled by this kind of traditional shapeshifting."
"After all, this is just the most basic form of shapeshifting."
Aaron’s mind raced. Could there be a deeper level to this magic?
Frigga’s next words confirmed his suspicions.
"There's a more advanced form of shapeshifting that permanently changes an object into another form."
"And it even retains some of the physical properties of the new form!"
"While permanent shapeshifting is possible, an object that originally contains a great deal of energy may still retain its magical abilities after the transformation. In fact, objects with sufficient energy can reverse the change."
Aaron’s mind flashed back to something he had once witnessed: Thor being turned into a frog by Loki in one universe.
That was not traditional shapeshifting.
Aaron had once wondered how Loki could make such a realistic transformation without relying on illusions.
It had to be advanced shapeshifting magic!
And with that realization, Aaron's understanding grew.
However, there was a downside.
"The advanced shapeshifting technique requires an immense amount of magic power. The object should ideally be inanimate or possess minimal energy; otherwise, the transformation will be less effective," Frigga explained.
Aaron understood. But his interest was piqued. He wanted more.
Even if he learned traditional shapeshifting, with his "Gold Finger" ability, he could easily upgrade it to an advanced version. But if he could skip that stage and learn the advanced version directly, it would save valuable time.
To his surprise, Frigga continued.
"Through your work with phantom magic, you’ve given me great inspiration. Since then, I’ve been exploring the possibility of improving other forms of magic."
"And I believe I’ve found a way to improve shapeshifting."
Frigga’s expression grew thoughtful. "What I discovered is something even deeper: molecular rearrangement."
"As the name suggests, molecular rearrangement involves breaking down and reassembling objects at a molecular level."
"While shapeshifting changes an object’s form, molecular rearrangement allows for even greater change, effectively creating a quantum leap forward."
Aaron was stunned. If this magic could be developed, it would be far more powerful than shapeshifting.
"It's a pity..." Frigga sighed. "I no longer have the energy to study molecular rearrangement. That’s why I’m passing this task to you. With your knowledge of phantom magic, you are likely the one who can complete this breakthrough."
Frigga was too old and weary to pursue this path herself, but Aaron had the potential to carry it forward.
"I believe you can achieve this progression," she added.
Aaron felt a shiver run through him. If he succeeded, this magic could truly make him the God of Magic.
