by Zhuang Bifan
"Tell me quickly."
"It's very simple. There is a little bit of Wyrm blood in Dragon Hawks, and the rock in your hand is from a Wyrm. If I'm not wrong, the rock in your hand must be the magical crystal from one of the fire-element Wyrms. Its energy suddenly got activated due to the breath of the Dragon Hawk Queen just now. That energy not only frightened the Dragon Hawk Queen, but also hatched the little fella in your arms…"
"But, what does it have to do with me?" Although Connoris reasoning was clear, Lin Li still could not fathom it. While he understood how the energy emitted by the magical crystal could hatch a Dragon Hawk, he did not understand why he was involved in the matter.
Since there were two humans and one hammer present, why did the little Dragon Hawk choose himself to cling onto?
"Could it be that I am more like a nanny?" Lin Li rubbed his nose awkwardly.
"If I'm not wrong, you transferred mental strength into the magical crystal, right?"
Lin Li paused for a while. He could not help but admit, "I think I did…"
"Isn't that why? Although the dragon breath activated the energy within the magical crystal, the real thing that hatched the Dragon Hawk is the mental strength you transferred to it. If it does not cling to you, why would it even come to me?"
"Why do I have such bad luck…" Lin Li was so regretful. If he knew that the Dragon Hawk Queen was that timid, he would not have used his mental strength and create such a mess…
"Bad luck?" Connoris exclaimed in rage. If it had legs, it would have jumped up. "That's such a great giveaway. Don't you know how lucky you are?"
"How am I even lucky?"
"Can you look at what you are carrying in your arms? That is an offspring of the Dragon Hawk Queen. It not only has the purest blood of the Wyrms, but was also hatched by their energy. Although I'm not sure what abilities it will have when it grows up, I'm certain that it would not be worse than that Salamander!"
"…" Lin Li drew in cold breath. Looking at Connoris in his hands, and then at the furry thing in his arms, he had difficulty breathing for a moment. He could not imagine that the little fella snuggling in his arms would grow up to be a legendary magical creature that would be more powerful than the Salamander…
"I believe it now…" Connoris said in bewilderment.
"Believe what?"
"Now, I believe that you really have the ability to rebuild the Eternal Furnace. For all your good fortunes! From the Fire Plume Ridge to the Cinder Woods, I've never seen you suffer even a little. Despite all the dangers, you always could avoid them while gaining the greatest advantage out of it…"
"No choice, my personality decided everything for me!" Lin Li shrugged his shoulders shamelessly as he carried Connoris on his back and the little fella in his arms gently. "Shaun, you see…" Lin Li said as he smiled at the stupefied Shaun.
"Y-yes…" Shaun replied as he swallowed his saliva. He really saw everything—even a talking hammer!
"What are you thinking?" Lin Li asked. He wanted to discuss the little Dragon Hawk with Shaun, but he realized that Shaun was looking at himself dumbfoundedly as though he had seen a ghost.
"W-w-what… What is that monster?"
"HUH?" Lin Li was surprised by Shaun's question. Yet, he understood his concern quickly. The "it" Shaun was referring to had to be Connoris on his back.
"Are you referring to this? It's just a sly old hammer. Fear not, apart from knowing how to say some words, it is no different from a normal hammer…" Lin Li smiled as he pointed to Connoris.
"Crap! I am an honorable Soul Trader!"
Connoris fidgetted unhappily on Lin Li's back, but was stopped by Lin Li quickly. "Shut up, or I'll put you inside the ring!"
"…"
"Alright, Shaun. It's just a talking hammer. Since you have seen the Dragon Hawk Queen, there's nothing to be scared of…" Lin Li assured Shaun smilingly after silencing Connoris. "And… You saw the situation just now. Strictly speaking, it was my mistake to cause it to only recognize me, which means I cannot even return it to you. Why don't you tell me what you always wanted? No matter if it is equipment or a potion, I will think of a way to repay you with it."
"This…" Shaun scratched his head hesitantly.
"Don't be shy, just tell me," Lin Li encouraged Shaun. He looked at his hesitant expression, knowing that he had to have something he really wanted, but was scared that it might be too pricey.
"The other time, I saw a…" Shaun paused, and shook his head vigorously. "Forget it actually, that's too valuable…"
"Speak!" Lin Li said with frustration as he nearly gave Shaun a kick.
He was very clear about what he'd gained after that unexpected incident—a future legendary magical beast!
Although it was not his intention, the little thing in his arms only responded to him. It was a harsh reality that he'd snatched Shaun's opportunity to become the master of the Dragon Hawk. Now, he just hoped what Shaun wanted would be something very valuable so that he could assuage his guilt.
"It was a dagger…" Shaun said softly, his voice like the sound of a buzzing mosquito. "It's sold in one of the weapon shops along the Silverpine Street. But, Mr. Mage, its price was too exorbitant. They requested one million gold coins…"
"Bring me there when we return."
"Okay…"
Maybe it was due to the arrival of the Dragon Hawk Queen, but the Cinder Woods was extremely quiet. There was neither the sound of the cold wind nor menacing growls of magical beasts—only dead silence.
They did not have any trouble in their journey out of the forest at all. Even for that cave that was said to be extremely complicated, they passed through it easily with Shaun's guidance. Yet, when they were near the place Shaun mentioned, Lin Li was shocked by a figure that descended from the sky.
"Thank God, I've finally found you…" Andoine's voice was riddled with anxiety and relief. When he swooped down with the help of the Power of Flight, he did not realize that his long robe was torn by the tree branches on his way down.
"Why are you here?"
"E-erm…" The old man stuttered upon hearing Lin Li's question.
"Damn!" Lin Li suddenly understood the reason. It was no wonder that the Teleportation Portal broke down so mysteriously, and that he landed in the Cinder Woods so randomly! Both were all due to this old dude!
"I say, Mister Mentor, you have already lived for over a hundred years. Can you not go overboard? Please understand that we are now in the Cinder Woods. If something dreadful were to happen to me, who is going to take care of you after this?"
"Didn't I do it for your good…" Andoine flushed as he tried to explain himself.
"For my good?" Lin Li nearly burst out laughing. "So, you tampered with the Teleportation Portal, and sent me to this freaking forest?"
"The Dragon Hawk Queen was just an accident." Andoine shook his head as he said patiently, "Actually, once you've entered the Teleportation Portal, I had been using a crystal ball to observe the Cinder Woods. Who knew that you were that unlucky to meet the invincible Dragon Hawk Queen the moment you stepped in…"
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you to adapt to the change in power dynamics. Your improvement in strength for the past month was really unusual. If it continued, it would not be good for you. Hence, I chose the Cinder Woods as the special environment here will weaken your powers. It will allow you to better understand and control the changes in your abilities."
"Really?" Lin Li asked skeptically, but he had already accepted Andoine's explanation. He was extremely clear about the old man's concerns. Even if the entire world want to harm himself, the old man wouldn't. Lin Li's earlier show of dissatisfaction, as well as his questioning of Andoine, were just his venting of the complicated feelings after the terrifying incident.
"When did I even lie to you…?" Andoine was naturally clear what were Lin Li's feelings. "Let's go back to the Twilight Forest. The Teleportation Portal is just in front." Andoine patted Lin Li's shoulders.
"Alright." Lin Li nodded his head obediently. Then, he turned to look at the fat bandit. "Shaun, do you still have anything to do in the Cinder Woods? Want to go back with us?"
"I…" Shaun hesitated. He really wanted to join Lin Li, yet he feared that Andoine might not agree to it. Andoine was a powerful man at the Legendary-level. To Shaun, it was not somebody he could associate with. Let alone going back to the Twilight Forest with him, even if he had a chance to hear Andoine speak a few words, it was already a great deal to Shaun.
"Don't look at me. Since Felic was the one who wanted to invite you along, I naturally would have no objections." How would Andoine—a man who had lived for more than a hundred years—not know what Shaun was thinking about? He shrugged his shoulders as he brought them towards the portal.
While walking, he looked at the furry thing in Lin Li's arms curiously. "Oh, yes. Felic, why are you still carrying that little fella?"
"It is a long story…" Lin Li replied helplessly, and repeated the story he'd told Connoris earlier.
The story continued for around half an hour. Before they knew it, the trio was already beside the entrance of the portal.
Even though Lin Li's story was just a summary, Andoine was still stunned by it. Although he'd monitored the situation in the Cinder Woods through a crystal ball, how could he notice the delicate hatching of the little Dragon Hawk that was caused by the energy of a Wyrm? On top of that, when the old man had seen the appearance of the Dragon Hawk Queen, he'd become really anxious. How would he have the time to care about the hatching of the little Dragon Hawk?
"How could there be such a coincidence…" Andoine was stunned after he heard about it.
Chapter 243 - Mental Blast
Lin Li only lived in the tower for 10 days. The rest of the time was wasted in the Cinder Woods. He worked under Andoine's supervision almost every single day in the Twilight Forest and the Cinder Woods. The reasons were quite varied. Andoine could tamper with a Teleportation Portal for one day, and hide some herbs the next day. The following day, he could be requesting to eat some specialty food from the Cinder Woods…
"Damnit, what specialty food is there in the Cinder Woods? Are you going to eat the mud there?" Every time he heard those excuses, Lin Li could not help but roll his eyes.
Lin Li could not defy Andoine's instructions. How could he not know the intentions of the old man? Andoine just wanted him to have more experience with the Cinder Woods so that he could adapt to the fluctuations in his magical abilities.
Honestly speaking, it was really a strange feeling…
In the morning, he had the abilities of a level-15 Archmage. Yet, his abilities deteriorated to level-14 in the afternoon. Then, at night, it returned to normal again…
For the period of 10 days, Lin Li nearly became a schizophrenic.
The benefits, however, were clear.
Almost every morning, Lin Li would have a surprising discovery from the new changes in him. Those changes might not be obvious to outsiders, but Lin Li could clearly feel that the acc.u.mulation of these changes was like being reborn.
Yet, Lin Li was still a Level-15 Archmage after the 10 days. Although the improvement was not visible, he'd gained unimaginable insights over himself and the control of his strength.
In comparison, he'd previously been only an oblivious kiddo who had good weapons. If his luck was good, he could kill two men. Yet, if it was bad, he could even injure himself.
As the days passed by gradually, Lin Li became more adept in controlling his magical powers. Especially so for those spells that were at the Archmage level—he'd previously needed to use rapid recitation when he needed to employ the Levitation Spell. However, when he returned from the Cinder Woods, he did not even need to use gestures. He just had to use a little bit of mana to activate the element structure to cast this Archmage level spell instantaneously.
Just like anyone else, Lin Li, a man who feared death, would not reject the opportunity to increase his power. At the start, when he was thrown into the Cinder Woods by Andoine, he would still sulk a little. Yet, after he realized the changes in him, he gave up complaining and focused on battling with a variety of magical beasts in the Cinder Woods. Even if he were to return to the tower at night, he would be researching all the different types of Archmage-level spells till midnight.
It could be said that Lin Li worked in these 10 days the hardest since he'd left Jarrosus.
Lin Li had looked through all the spells below level-15 within 10 days. He was always seen with a huge pile of books when he returned to his room at night every day.
When he passed by Lin Li's room every night, Andoine always saw the light inside shining brightly while a figure donning a long robe was leaning against a table. There would be the sound of recitation in a low voice and weak magical waves emitting from the room. Andoine would sigh unbearably upon seeing how Lin Li forgot his meals when he was at work.
Tonight, Lin Li likewise went into his room right after eating dinner.
What was different from the past few days was that in front of him was not a pile of books, but an old parchment. It was a scroll with a level-15 spell that was lost for generations. Macklin gave it to him after he helped to forge a magical weapon when he just arrived at Alanna.
Now, that long lost spell was right in front of Lin Li.
Lin Li still remembered that Macklin once told him the spell on the parchment was called Mental Disruption. Once a person comprehended it, they would be able to use their own mental strength to disrupt the spell his opponents were trying to cast. If he were to use it well, it was like another Mana Retroaction.
Children would know that battles between mages depended on who was able to unleash a stronger spell. If either side suddenly had a Mana Retroaction, how horrifying would it be?
However…
The focus of Lin Li's research was not to understand how to use that spell.
With his familiarity with the abilities of Archmages, a level-15 spell was a no-brainer. He only needed to look up the element structure to be able to unleash it the same way. Although the Mental Distruption Spell had been lost for a long time, Lin Li only spent one or two hours on it.
However, after he understood the spell, Lin Li had new concerns.
The Mana Retroaction, together with the Arcane Wall from the Dragon's Eye, was more than enough to deal with any opponent of the same level. Yet, the additional Mental Disruption Spell might have a belaboring effect in dealing with opponents that were too mighty. What he should think of should be survival, and not how to use Mana Retroaction.
Hence, Lin Li changed his research's focus…
Among the Level-15 spells, the structure with Mental Disruption was not complicated. There was minimal use of the High Elves Language on the parchment. It meant that there were few details written in High Elves Language. For a man who had already reached the Archmage Realm, Lin Li naturally understood that spells with a simpler structure would be easier to modify.
But, if Mental Disruption could distract opponents from casting spells, would Mental Blast work as well?
To other people, it might be a joke.
Unless the abilities of the two opposing parties were starkly different, or either of them had extremely high magic attainments, none could employ pure Attacking Spells to injure any enemy.
How would a normal mage have such a great mental strength?
Mental strength was required in elemental sequencing and controlling powers. It was the same principle in the regaining of mana. It was like money. People knew gold coins were valuable things, yet everyone felt that they did not have enough coins.
Only a freak like Lin Li would think of touching the Mental Blast effect.
His Mental strength was too strong.
Regardless of the elemental sequencing, he could complete any games in an instant. Despite the great mana involved, he could control it proficiently. Have you seen how much water from the sea dried up, and how a bottomless pit got filled t
o the brim? In Lin Li's few months in Anril, he never needed to worry about his control over his mana.
Lin Li spent most of the entire night staring at the yellowish parchment.
He was thinking of a solution to separate the Mental Blast segment from the spell. But, it was not as easy as expected. Any minute errors would result in great destruction. Even the creator of the spell might not know its impacts. It might cause the entire structure of the spell to collapse, or produce an entirely new spell. There would definitely make an impact.
"Felic, why are you not sleeping yet?" Andoine walked into the room all of a sudden.
"Oh… I'm looking into a spell…" Lin Li turned to look at Andoine, who entered his room casually without knocking on the opened door.
"What spell is it that is worth spending so much time looking at…?" Andoine walked to Lin Li's desk and picked up the old parchment paper. "Eh? Is this the Mental Disruption Spell? From Macklin?"
"How do you know?" Lin Li asked curiously.
"Of course I know." Andoine smiled as he placed the parchment back on the table. "I clearly saw how Macklin recorded the spell on the scroll back then. That fella thought I would not be able to find out about it if he did it sneakily in the library. He should have better understanding that the Supreme Council is not a place where any random Archmage can commit dishonest deeds…"
"You mean that the contents of this scroll have dubious background?"
"Not quite. We had decided to let that fella go to the library to record some spells as our welcome gift to him. Who knew that this fella was that presumptuous to sneak into the library himself, and escaped right away he got the Mental Disruption Spell."
"…" Lin Li was very speechless. He knew that only Macklin would resort to such a despicable act.
After explaining, Andoine asked Lin Li curiously, "Why are you so interested in this spell?"
"I just want to know more about it."
"Since it's so late already, you should stop dwelling on it. If you are interested, I can bring you to the Sky Castle one day. I know the creator of the spell. You would be able to comprehend it after you talk to him."
