Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  "If I can, I hope I never have to see that hell-damn fool ever again!" At Aldwin's mention of Gerian's name, the middle-aged Archmage suddenly showed a look of disgust. His hatred for Gerian had been buried in his heart for decades. That bit resentment back then had already taken root and sprouted into a huge tree, which tormented him all the time. Sometimes, even Darian suspected he'd be forced to go totally crazy one day if he could not find an outlet to vent this hatred.

  Darian's hateful eyes made Aldwin frown. Facing his right-hand man, he had to consider his words carefully. "There is something I must talk to you about…"

  But before Aldwin could finish a word, he was interrupted by Darian. "President Aldwin, if it's about that fool, I don't think you need to say anything more."

  "Well…" Aldwin nodded, and did not try to persuade him anymore. "I don't care about the feud between you and Gerian, but there's one thing I have to tell you."

  "What is it?"

  "I don't want to see anything happen to this young man." Aldwin stretched out his bony arm and pointed at the crystal ball, where Lin Li was displayed reciting his spells at high speed. The eyes he cast on Darian were stern. "Darian, I am not afraid to tell you the truth: this young man is very important to the Alanna Guild of Magic. I have offended Wilhelm in order to protect him. If you really intend to put Gerian's account on him, then I don't mind offending another person. Do you understand what I mean?"

  For the few decades that Darian had been in the Guild of Magic, he had never seen Aldwin as serious as he currently was. The venerable president had given people a kind and generous impression all along, but he unexpectedly broke the norm for the young mage today. When those stern eyes swept across his face, Darian even had the illusion that it was the violent Macklin who was standing before him.

  Darian felt a chill down his spine under Aldwin's gaze.

  He swallowed his saliva, then uttered with much difficulty, "U-understood…"

  "I hope you really understand." Aldwin glanced at his right-hand man and sighed involuntarily. "I already know about your nephew, Madrick. Felic is indeed in the wrong; his attack was too heavy-handed. However, Darian, your nephew should be disciplined as well. He actually had the guts to abuse the trial mage's attendant at will in such an important trial. Does he really think that the other 23 Guilds of Magic are all empty?"

  Darian's heart tightened at these words.

  He knew the incident with Madrick better than anyone else. if it weren't for his behest, Madrick would never dare to abuse a trial mage's attendant. With Darian's ac.u.men, how could he not have guessed that the ins and outs of the matter had already fallen into Aldwin's eyes? The reason why he'd brought it up at the moment was nothing more than to give him a wake-up call.

  Darian did not dare to be neglectful of the warning. He took the responsibility with a fearful expression. "I'm sorry, President Aldwin, I'm to blame for his lack of proper discipline. I will certainly teach him a good lesson when I get back."

  "Forget it…" Aldwin shook his head. "He has learned his lesson too. Felic was too heavy-handed on him. I'm afraid he will have to lie in bed for months before he can get up, right?"

  "At least three months." Darian had no children; his nephew, Madrick, was his only relative. Although the latter was stupid, he was, after all, the closest person to him. At Aldwin's mention, he was reminded of Madrick lying miserably in the hospital bed. For a while, he could not help feeling bitter.

  "Well, Darian, when you go back later, drop by the Research Institute and ask Baron to give you a bottle of Psionic Potion. Tell him I've sent you."

  "Thank you, President Aldwin." Darian's face was full of delight. He'd never thought that Aldwin would promise Madrick a bottle of Psionic Potion. This was the biggest secret of the Alanna Guild of Magic. Even among the guild's top officials, only a few people knew about its existence. Only Aldwin and Baron had the right to use it. Even if Macklin wanted to use it, he'd have to apply for it one month in advance.

  "You don't have to thank me…" Aldwin shook his head. "This bottle of Psionic Potion is not for nothing. From today onwards, I don't want to hear any more rumors about you dealing with Felic."

  "Yes." Darian nodded, and said nothing more.

  Aldwin's intention was very clear—this bottle of Psionic Potion was to pacify him. If he refused to accept, then perhaps it'd be another end that awaited him…

  Although the president had always been kind and generous, he had ruled the Alanna Guild of Magic for decades. How could he be someone who was only kind and generous? If Darian really angered him, it was really unknown what sort of means Aldwin would take to deal with him.

  Furthermore…

  He had cast the net down as early as 10 days ago. Everything that came after that had nothing to do with him. Even if something really happened to that Jarrosus country boy, Aldwin could hardly pin the blame on him.

  Chapter 209 - Because I Am Going to Dupe Someone

  The guild hall was crowded with people. Everyone's eyes fell on the huge crystal ball. The battle between the apprentice and mentor was clearly displayed in front of everyone through the huge crystal ball.

  The battle had reached its climax; the young apprentice was getting fiercer with every attack, and the Elemental Shield on Macklin had become extremely dim. It was still a long way away from the end of the cooldown time for a few crucial spells. Everyone's heart was suspended in the midst of dancing wind blades.

  This battle had gone far beyond everyone's imagination.

  When Macklin had activated the Warlock's Eyes and put the entire arena into the crystal ball, almost everyone thought it would be an actual combat practice.

  In their imagination, Macklin might use several control spells to make the young apprentice understand the power of control, or he might erect an Elemental Shield and let the young apprentice bombard him until he ran out of mana before telling him how to distribute his mana rationally…

  In short, no one had ever thought that the battle would be this intense.

  The sparks in the battle in the crystal ball flashed, and everyone stood stupefied. There was not a sound in the whole guild hall. Whether it was the Archmages who had made a name for themselves for decades or the mage apprentices who had just come into contact with the mysterious knowledge, all of them were scared into silence at this moment.

  The battle between the two men was too terrifying…

  Macklin was indeed someone standing at the peak of the Archmage realm. Although his strength was suppressed to level-15, his spell-casting skills told everyone that he was indeed the most powerful of the Archmages in the guild. He had almost perfect mana control and a spell-casting duration that was nearing the limit. The spells released by him were almost as exquisite as fine works of art. In that almost hopeless impasse, he could even take time to retaliate. Many times, people even thought that his spell-casting skills had subverted their common sense.

  The crowd was even thankful that Macklin had suppressed his strength to level-15 and had fallen into leeward from the beginning. If not for that, they wouldn't be able to witness such an exciting battle in their lifetime.

  A figure like Macklin, who was at the peak of the Archmage realm, could often destroy everything with his strength alone, so he seldom did his best in a battle, not to mention fighting desperately for a respite with all his skills like now.

  For the hundreds of mages in the hall, this was simply a stunning magic show.

  Such opportunities were not always available.

  Just seeing Macklin doing his best was enough to make them cry out for joy.

  On top of that…

  It was a young apprentice barely 20 years of age who had forced Macklin into putting in his best.

  What this young apprentice brought them was a real shock.

  Compared with Macklin's fine art of casting, what the young apprentice demonstrated was another style. He was accurate and efficient, like a precise machine. His control of mana had reached a
terrifying level—it was as if the mana was not an illusory magic power, but the most flexible finger. He had a complete and accurate control over it, and there was neither redundancy nor waste.

  What made the scalps of the mages tingle the most was that this young apprentice seemed to have an instinctive sensitivity to time. Up to now, each side had released at least dozens of spells; the magnificent runes alone were enough to dazzle everyone's eyes, but this young apprentice clearly remembered the order of each spell and accurately grasped their respective cooldown time.

  The hundreds of mages in the guild hall had the same idea in their minds. It's horrible…

  A while ago, Macklin managed to pull through the cooldown time of the Elemental Shield, and was going to retaliate with this Elemental Shield when the young apprentice suddenly released a Mana Retroaction.

  At that moment, almost everyone saw Macklin open his mouth.

  That was a sign that he was about to recite a spell.

  But no one knew what spell had been intending to recite, as the spell was taken by the throat by the young apprentice before it could even be uttered.

  It was simply a hopeless feeling…

  The trick was not complicated. Among the hundreds of mages present, those with good vision could see that it was nothing more than calculating the cooldown time of Macklin's Elemental Shield, and then releasing the Mana Retroaction just after it. Only under the protection of the Elemental Shield could Macklin cast his spells boldly and confidently, and that also left an opportunity for the opponent to use the Mana Retroaction.

  But things in this world were always easier said than done.

  How was it an easy thing to calculate the cooldown time of the Elemental Shield?

  Not only did he have to remember when the Elemental Shield was put on Macklin, but also how many magic spells he had released during this period and how much they had weakened the shield. In addition, he had to also take into account Macklin's mana consumption and the pressure he put on him, which could even involve reading the opponent and other subtle factors.

  The most important thing in the battle of mages was concentration. The recitation of complicated spells was enough to consume the whole focus of most mages. It could only be a rare magic genius that could think and work out exquisite tactics for himself in an intense battle. As for the young apprentice, he could even make complicated calculations when facing his mentor. Not to mention seeing, it was never even heard of. This was not the ability that human beings should possess.

  The guild hall was so quiet that even a needle could be heard if it fell to the ground.

  All eyes rested on the crystal ball; they stared in awe at the young apprentice who was reciting the spell.

  He wasn't reciting the spell swiftly. He seemed to be unhurried, but old mages with sharp eyes could see it at a glance—the young apprentice was reciting the spell as fast as Macklin!

  Several old mages muttered quietly, "Hell…"

  This was just too damned…

  No matter how Macklin suppressed his strength to level-15, the spell-casting habit that had been incorporated into his blood would not change. For mages of his level, the spell-casting habit had become an instinct. Even if he'd suppressed his strength to level-1, the duration that a spell should be compressed would not have changed because of the level.

  It seemed to everyone in the hall that Macklin's compression of recitation time had reached the limit of human beings. They felt that even a legendary-mage could not do it better than Macklin.

  But right under their noses, there was at present a young apprentice under the age of 20 who had done something only Macklin could do.

  No one dared to believe that this young apprentice was barely 20.

  Everyone began to speculate about the origins of this apprentice-looking fellow…

  For a moment, whispers rose one after another in the guild hall.

  Someone spoke from the crowd, "I remember, this fellow seems to be from Jarrosus!"

  When this sentence was uttered, a voice of disapproval was immediately aroused, and an old Magic Shooter with white beard said agitatedly, "Nonsense, how can a place like the Jarrosus Guild of Magic produce such an impressive genius?"

  "Exactly, it's impossible!" Several colleagues around him looked at him and nodded in the same way.

  This had to be a joke—a magic genius who could drive Macklin to the wall came from Jarrosus? Who didn't know that place was a backwater of magic; it had had only one Archmage, Gerian, in decades. The most ridiculous thing was that people had said that the most powerful magic strength in that place was not the Guild of Magic, but a dozen of mage families from all over the place.

  Such a genius came from Jarrosus? It'd be more straightforward to say that Macklin was a woman…

  "If this kid really comes from Jarrosus, I'll eat this crystal ball!" The white-bearded old Magic Shooter pointed excitedly at the crystal ball in front of him.

  "…" The mage who'd told the truth became mum at once. Wouldn't it be murder if the old man were to eat such a huge crystal ball?

  Furthermore…

  Although he had said that this kid came from Jarrosus, he was actually not certain of it. Everyone knew about that countryside place, Jarrosus. They'd long be celebrating if they could produce a Magic Shooter, let alone an Archmage less than 20 years of age.

  Perhaps he mistook him for another… The only mage who'd spoken the truth began to doubt himself.

  The battle was coming to an end when the crowd was talking and speculating about Lin Li's origins.

  "Boom! Boom! Boom!" Three Rings of Fire exploded beside Macklin in series, leaving behind only a thin layer of the crumbling Elemental Shield…

  "Kid, you've got guts! The three Rings of Fire, which had been buried long ago, exploded at the most crucial moment and immediately pushed Macklin to the brink of despair. There was only a thin layer of Elemental Shield on his body, and perhaps only a wind blade was all it would take to break it. Moreover, it was only half past the cooldown time; it'd be like asking a rooster to lay eggs for Macklin to put up another Elemental Shield.

  Macklin had lived for a long time, and it was a first for him to find himself in such a mess. He was too aggrieved being beaten by a young kid barely 20 years of age without even having the strength to fight back. The Elemental Shield was about to be torn; he was about to be sentenced to death, yet he couldn't do anything about it. He could only watch as the other party cast spells after spells on himself…

  "It's such a miserable failure!" Macklin was utterly regretful at present. He shouldn't have underestimated this boy, thinking that he was still at the same strength a month ago. He did not expect that the kid would break through from level-13 to level-15, advancing to the realm of the Archmage in such a short period of time.

  However, this boy was also a talent. A slight advantage was constantly enlarged by him, and eventually pushed Macklin to the brink of despair.

  Taking the opportunity of passing Macklin, Lin Li whispered in his ear, "See, I've said. It's uncertain who'd be the one lecturing whom…"

  Upon hearing this, Macklin nearly vomited blood in anger.

  Unfortunately, vomiting blood was one thing; there was still nothing he could do. Just as the two passed each other, the Flaming Hands had fallen on Macklin's back—the flames rose at once, burning a huge gap in the Elemental Shield in an instant.

  It's over… Macklin's heart sank as he felt the heat from the Flaming Hands. The name I've made for myself for decades will be destroyed in this kid's hands today…

  At the thought of the 12 Warlock's Eyes above him, Macklin really wanted to die.

  At this moment, the entire Guild of Magic fell into silence.

  Whether it was Aldwin or Darian, or the hundreds of mages in the guild hall, everyone was nervous as they stared at the crystal ball. When they watched Lin Li's Flaming Hands fall, and then Macklin's Elemental Shield break open, even time seemed to have frozen at the moment…


  And then, they saw it…

  The blazing flame on the young apprentice's hand was extinguished in an instant.

  The runes dancing about in the arena suddenly disappeared, and everything seemed to return to the time when the party of four just entered.

  Everyone in the Guild of Magic was stunned; nobody expected this to be the final outcome. This… what kind of situation was this?

  In the guild hall, someone shouted out, "Darn, the kid has exhausted his mana!"

  His mana was exhausted indeed…

  It was not until this time that this group of mages in the guild hall suddenly remembered that the young apprentice had released at least dozens of spells during the battle just now, of which at least half were at the level of a Magic Shooter.

  For a moment, all the mages in the hall showed the same look of sudden enlightenment.

  No wonder they'd constantly felt that something was amiss. So, this was what happened.

  The reason why this kid looked so fierce was that he had been overdrawing his mana. What was the concept of dozens of spells? This meant an astronomical amount of mana. Even those well-known Archmages could not necessarily withstand such a consumption, let alone a young man under the age of 20.

  It was indeed so when they recalled the battle process. Ever since the young mage apprentice had gained the upper hand, he had been bombarding Macklin with spells. A large amount of instantaneous spells, in addition to the short recitation, had forced Macklin out of breath, but at the same time he was also overdrawing his own mana. This battling style that was almost similar to a gamble finally had a disastrous effect on him. Just when victory was within reach, his mana was completely exhausted…

  "What a pity…" Bursts of sigh ensued from the crowd. Even the mages unrelated to the young mage apprentice felt regretful for him.

  It was so close. If the Flaming Hands were to burn a second longer, it'd be enough to defeat Macklin completely. Unfortunately, this one second had become a goal that he could not reach. Macklin was a level-18 Magic Shooter—how many times could a mage defeat him in his life?