In The Realm of Gods

by Unknown

  “Wow…”

  Hearing and seeing were two different things. When he personally witnessed all the other people at the dinner table be unaware of Grandpa Vitus’s presence, Mathias felt deeply astonished.

  “There’s still some people who can sense my presence. Those whose spiritual presence are on par with me can feel my presence. But naturally…if I hide within the Red Demon Ring, they definitely won’t be able to sense me.” VITUS Caecilian’s voice sounded within Mathias’s head.

  “On the same spiritual level as Grandpa Vitus?” Mathias chewed and thought at VITUSCaecilian at the same time.

  “Those who have the same spiritual power as me are most likely Guru-level combatants. Only Guru-level combatants can sense my presence, if barely. But of course, the prerequisite is that I appear outside the Red Demon Ring. Once I enter the ring, there is no way they can find me.” VITUSCaecilian smiled as he spoke.

  Mathias mentally nodded as he grabbed a roasted leg of mutton and chewed on it.

  “Mathias, eat more slowly.” Alistair saw how fast Mathias was eating and couldn’t help but laugh.

  Mathias grinned at his father, but continued to devour his food with haste. In the twinkling of an eye, he had stripped the leg of mutton of all flesh. Mathias let out a comfortable burp, then used the napkin to wipe his lips. Standing, he said, “Father, Uncle Troy, I’m done eating. I feel like my head is still a bit dizzy, so I’m going to go and get some more rest. Gabe, see ya.” Mathias was the first to finish eating.

  “Still feeling dizzy? Then go and get some rest.” Alistair hurriedly said.

  The earlier events of the morning had left a lasting impression on Alistair. There was a moment when he even though Mathias had been crushed to death. After experiencing such an event, Alistair’s attitude towards Mathias clearly had improved substantially.

  “Big brother, see ya.” Chubby little Gabe waved at Mathias with a grease-covered hand.

  Chapter 21 – Earth-Style Magic (part 2)

  Mathias ran directly back to his room, and then tightly shut the door behind him.

  He quickly removed his shoes, then jumped onto the bed and sat down. “Grandpa Vitus, come out now. Help me test my magical aptitude.” Mathias was extremely impatient. When he was eating dinner just now, all of his thoughts were turned towards this.

  A misty ray of light shot out from within the ring, falling onto the floor and transforming into VITUSCaecilian.

  Grinning, VITUSCaecilian said, “Mathias, don’t be so impatient. First, I must tell you that because I don’t have any specialized magical aptitude testing equipment with me, I can only test whether or not you have any talent for earth-style magic. Since I have no tools, there’s no way for me to test and see if you have aptitude for any other magic.”

  “You can only test for my aptitude for earth element magic?” Mathias felt a little disappointed.

  He had also heard that in order to test for magical aptitude, special tools were needed, but since Grandpa VITUS was a Guru-level Grand Magician, Mathias had been hoping VITUS might have some special methods.

  “What’s wrong with the earth style? Mathias, let me tell you, amongst the elements of earth, fire, water, wind, thunder, light, and darkness, earth is the mightiest style of them all.” A look of pride was on VITUS Caecilian’s face. Clearly, he was filled with confidence. After all, he was a Guru-level Grand Magician of the earth element style.

  Mathias found this somewhat hard to believe.

  Each style should be equal. How could the earth style be the mightiest?

  “Grandpa Vitus, I heard that fire-style elemental attacks are the most powerful? And that darkness-style elemental attacks are the most unpredictable? How could the earth style be the mightiest?” Mathias frowned.

  The formerly amiable Grandpa VITUS suddenly turned angry as he grumbled, “Mathias, let me tell you that when it comes to attack power, each elemental style has its strengths!”

  “For example, the forbidden fire-style spell of ‘Heavenly Fire Burning the Fields, Earthly Fire Burning the Cities’ can burn an entire city to ashes, true. But the water-style has the forbidden spell of ‘Absolute Zero’, which when unleashed can freeze to death hundreds of thousands of people. Thunder-style’s ‘Heavenly Lightning of Absolute Destruction’ can unleash tens of thousands of lightning bolts, which no one can survive. Wind-style’s forbidden spell, ‘Annihilating Tempest’, can fill the entire sky with blade-like gusts of wind…”

  VITUSCaecilian let out a long sigh.

  Mathias’s heart was trembling.

  He had thought that the fire-style’s attacks were the most powerful, but from the sound of it, that was an absolute joke. Every single elemental style, at the level of forbidden spells, contained astonishing destructive power.

  “And earth-style?” Mathias didn’t forget about the earth-style elemental magic.

  VITUSCaecilian self-confidently said, “How could the earth-style be weak? When the earth-style’s forbidden spell, ‘Heavenly Meteor’s Descent’, is executed, countless enormous boulders will rain from the sky and reduce a city to rubble in the twinkling of an eye. It also has the forbidden spell, ‘Heaven Collapses, Earth Shatters’. When this spell is used, the earth itself will begin to roil about like waves in the ocean. Houses will collapse, the earth itself will split apart, and magma will spew out from the cracks, killing countless people.”

  Mathias didn’t dare to even breathe.

  “Simultaneously, the earth-style also has the wide-ranging protective spell, ‘Pulsating Guard’. Once the Pulsating Guard is used, the area above, below, and around an entire city will become protected from all attacks. Even if an opponent uses the ‘Heavenly Lightning of Absolute Destruction’, this spell can fend it off.”

  VITUSCaecilian began to speak faster and faster while laughing. “But of course, I’m just speaking of wide-range destructive spells, and not one-on-one battle magic.”

  Mathias nodded.

  He could tell that Grandpa VITUS was exclusively talking about wide-range, catastrophe-level magic.

  “Grandpa Vitus, it seems like the earth-style has lots more forbidden spells? Why is that?” Mathias said curiously.

  VITUSCaecilian said confidently, “Mathias, there’s something you aren’t understanding. Actually, each elemental style is roughly balanced, but in different environments they will have different effects. For example, in the water-rich environment of the ocean, water-style magic will be extremely strong. In some places where the wind blows powerfully, wind-style magic will be very powerful as well.”

  Mathias began to understand.

  “Mathias…in the entire world, isn’t it true that most battles and most magi are on the earth? And when used while standing on the earth, earth-style magic is extremely effective.” A smile was on VITUS Caecilian’s face. “As you stand firmly on the boundless earth, an earth-style magician will have an extremely effective assistant.”

  Mathias now understood!

  Each elemental style of magic was more effective in certain places.

  But the battles fought by the magi of the Lemuria continent were virtually all on land, meaning that earth-style magi were almost always at an advantage.

  “Amongst all the styles of magic, as the earth-style allows us to absorb earth elemental essence into our bodies, earth-style has the most benefit for improving your physical form. Mother Earth is most benevolent towards us.” A look of veneration was on VITUS Caecilian’s face. “When we earth-style magi sit upon the ground, we can feel the vastness of the earth, feel its pulse, and feel Mother Earth’s love for us.”

  “When it comes to attacks, earth-style magic has the one-on-one ‘World Protector’ forbidden battle spell, and also the destructive spells of ‘Heavenly Meteor’s Descent’ and ‘Heaven Collapses, Earth Shatters’. When it comes to defense, amongst the forbidden spells, there is the wide-ranging protective spell, ‘Pulsating Guard’, as well as the personal protective spell, ‘Earth guard’. When it com
es to personal protection, nothing beats earth-style elemental spells!”

  VITUSCaecilian appeared very confident.

  “Personal protection? Grandpa Vitus, you’re saying that the earth-style has the strongest personal protection spells?” Mathias looked questioningly at VITUSCaecilian.

  VITUSCaecilian laughed as he said, “At the earliest levels, earth-style magi have access to simple spells such as a shield of earth, or a wall of earth. Upon becoming a magician of the fifth grade, you will gain access to the ‘Earth guard’ spell, which will continuously grow in power along with you.”

  “When utilized by a magician of the fifth or sixth grade, it will cover your entire body with a layer of stone armor. But upon reaching the seventh grade, it will transform into an armor of jadeite. Upon reaching the eighth grade, this Earth guard armor will be made up of crystal jade. And upon reaching the ninth grade, it will be composed of platinum. Finally, when a Guru-level magician executes the Earth guard spell, the protective armor will be made out of diamonds. The defensive power of this spell…” as he spoke, a smile appeared on VITUS Caecilian’s face.

  Mathias couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

  This earth-style element really was a mighty one. When the Earth guard spell reached the Guru-level of power, it was composed entirely of diamonds! Mathias knew that diamonds were an extremely hard and unyielding sub Pose. And the ‘diamonds’ composing the Earth guard were no ordinary diamonds, but ones formed from magic, making them even tougher than real diamonds.

  “Oh, right…”

  Mathias suddenly remembered the two Guru-level combatants who were fighting in the sky. He remembered how the green-robed man had landed that huge hazy sword-tip attack on the gray-robed man, whose robe shattered and revealed a diamond-like armor beneath it.

  That Guru-level magician named ‘Nimu’ had relied on that diamond armor to block the attack by Jason.

  “That must have been a Guru-level Earth guard spell.” Mathias felt secretly shocked.

  It was powerful enough to take a direct blow from a Guru-level combatant. From this, one could tell how powerful it was, defensively.

  “This is why I told you that earth-style magic is the mightiest elemental style of them all.” VITUS Caecilian’s white beard fluttered about, making him look all the more self-satisfied.

  After all, all men survived by living on the earth. They lived on the earth, and they made war while on the earth. Naturally, earth-style magi would always have an advantage.

  Chapter 22 – Spring Ends, Autumn Comes (part 1)

  Actually, all of the elemental styles, including earth-style, had their own particular strengths. But as a Guru-level Grand Magician of the earth-style, it was only natural that VITUSCaecilian would strongly praise the earth-style. The eight-year-old Mathias, upon hearing Vitus’s words, was filled with eagerness.

  “Grandpa Vitus, hurry up and test me and see if I have any aptitude for becoming an earth-style magician.” Mathias was feeling extremely anxious.

  VITUS Caecilian began to laugh. “Fine, I’ll test you right away.”

  “First, let me tell you that the test for magical aptitude is a two-part test, so the test I am administering will also have two parts.” VITUSCaecilian was behaving in an unusually generous manner. After having been trapped along in the Red Demon Ring for five thousand years, of course he was now in a wonderful mood when faced with such a cute little child.

  “Magical aptitude is divided into two parts – the strength of one’s magical affinity for certain elements, and the strength of one’s mental energy.” VITUSCaecilian began to explain the basics of the test.

  “What are these two parts good for?” Mathias asked curiously.

  VITUS Caecilian said in a kindly voice, “Mathias, before answering this, let me ask you, if a magician is about to cast a spell, what does he rely upon?”

  “Magical incantations!” Mathias immediately said.

  Mathias had seen how the magician who rode the Purple Demon first mumbled many magical words before casting his spell.

  “Wrong.”

  “I’ve seen magi cast spells. All of them recited magical incantations first.” Mathias immediately argued.

  VITUSCaecilian stroked his white beard, and contentedly said, “When casting spells, the most important thing for a magician is his ‘magic’ and his ‘mental energy’. If his mental energy is sufficiently powerful, he can even instant cast spells, without need for any incantations. Magical incantations only serve a supplemental function.”

  “Oh? Instant cast?” Mathias looked questioningly at VITUSCaecilian. Mathias felt as though suddenly, the huge world of sorcery was slowly opening up before his very eyes, but still remained hazy and indistinct. VITUSCaecilian, however, was dissipating the mysterious façade behind this world of magic.

  Smiling, VITUSCaecilian nodded. “Right. To cast a spell, your body must be able to provide a sufficient amount of magic, and then use mental energy to control that magic to summon sufficient elemental essence to form it into a spell!”

  “Elemental essence?” Mathias was surprised. “Grandpa Vitus, are you saying that in order to cast magical spells, we need to draw upon external elemental essences?”

  “Ha-ha. Of course. Mathias, did you think that a powerful magician could simply rely on the elemental essence already in his body? Impossible! Let’s look at forbidden-level magical spells. The magic in the body of a Guru-level magician can only provide 1% of the amount of essence needed. The other 99% can only be provided by natural, elemental essence.”

  “Let me put it to you like this…a magician’ so-called ‘magic’ is really just pure, highly-refined elemental essence. Magic can be described as a ‘general’, whereas nature’s elemental essence is the soldiers. A magician summons his magic and uses it to direct nature’s elemental essence to form amazing spells. Understood?” VITUSCaecilian smiled as he looked at Mathias.

  Mathias couldn’t help but frown.

  “Oh…I understand.” Mathias laughed and nodded. “The ‘magic’ inside a magician is kinda like Uncle Davis, while elemental essence is like our group of kids. Uncle Davis, all by himself, directs our entire group in training, or in attacking, or engaging in battle!”

  VITUS Caecilian smiled and nodded. “Right. Therefore, the ‘magic’ of a magician is extremely important. If he doesn’t have enough magic, he will not be able to cast a spell.”

  Mathias nodded.

  “Compared to magic, however, mental energy is even more important!” VITUSCaecilian smiled as he spoke. “By now, you should have realized that so-called mental energy is really spiritual energy, a form of controlling energy!”

  “Mathias, a large amount of magic draws out an even larger amount of elemental essence. If such a huge amount of force is not controlled by spiritual energy…what do you think the end result would be?” VITUSCaecilian stroked his white beard as he quietly watched Mathias.

  Mathias frowned, pondering.

  “Grandpa Vitus.” Mathias said in a low voice as he frowned. “In some books, I read about some military tactics. In it, one of the things it said was…to subdue an enemy, first subdue their king. For example, bandits. If you first kill the bandit leader, the bandit army will naturally crumble to pieces and fall apart. So spiritual energy should serve a similar purpose as the ‘controlling energy’ which the bandit leader exerts on his subordinates. Without spiritual energy to control a large amount of magic and elemental essence, this power would run wild.”

  VITUS Caecilian laughed.

  “ha-ha, Mathias, you are very smart.” VITUSCaecilian was laughing happily.

  “Right, a large amount of magic and elemental essence, when controlled by spiritual energy, can be formed into a spell! Sometimes, in order to execute a particularly powerful spell, too high of a demand is placed upon one’s spiritual energy. Thus, the Pose of magical incantations is needed.” VITUS Caecilian smiled as he spoke.

  Mathias felt as though a huge, important principl
e of magic had suddenly become crystal clear to him.

  Smiling at Mathias, VITUSCaecilian continued, “Of course, that’s just the basic theory. The world of magic is far more complicated than you can imagine! The question of exactly how one uses magic and elemental essence to form ‘magic’, now that’s the real issue!”

  “What’s the point of having magic, if you don’t know exactly how to shape it into a magical spell?” VITUSCaecilian let out a long sigh. “The world of magic is an extremely complicated one. Magical research is very difficult and dangerous. But due to intra-empire struggles, countless magi engage in the research of new types of spells.”

  “Actually, every single empire researches new ways of using different matrices of magic and elemental essence to produce different spells! But magical research is extremely dangerous. The more destructive a spell potentially is, the harder it is to research. Sometimes, it can even catastrophically backlash upon the researchers.”

  VITUS Caecilian laughed as he spoke. “In most magician academies, you can only study spells up to the sixth grade. Spells of the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, as well as Guru-level spells, are considered secrets. Only if you join a kingdom will you gain access to those special spells.”

  Mathias had read many books and therefore understood this principle.

  “If you have no instructor? No matter how much magic you have or how high your spiritual energy is, you won’t be able to execute a single spell!” VITUSCaecilian smiled faintly. “The profound secrets of every magical spell lies in how to control magic and elemental essence to form the spell.”

  “After countless years of magical experimentation, the magical system has essentially been perfected.” Stroking his white beard, VITUSCaecilian laughed loudly. “Mathias, don’t worry. In the future, there’s no need for you to bend the knee to any kingdom or any lord, because…I can teach you seventh, eighth, ninth, and even Guru-level spells!”

  Mathias took a deep breath.

  He could feel himself embarking on a new path.