ใใThe way Saleen and Lex exited the magical tower was similar to the way they had entered. They were required to pass through a long metallic passageway. Lex was prepared for the journey back, and she did not vomit. Both of them squeezed against each other, causing Lex to feel more awkward than she had when they had entered. Saleen spoke to her in an intimate manner, causing Lex to become speechless and she did not respond.
ใใSaleen and Lex walked up to the tenth story in silence. At the end of the staircase, there were no doors and walls, and the entirety of the tenth story was an open hall. The light here was gentle, and the windows on all six sides were expansive. As they looked out through the windows, they could clearly see the forest miles away.
ใใWhat shocked everyone was the sight in the middle of this gigantic hall. A magic light shot from an enormous, complex magic array on the ground onto the ceiling. This magic light was thicker than the metallic column back on the eighth story, and in the middle was a three-dimensional mirage.
ใใA magic mirage was not anything extraordinary. In fact, the four biggest empires had many theaters which used magic mirages as backdrops in shows. But this magic mirage was not imaginary at all. It was actually a miniature landscape of the hell in godโs punishment.
ใใIn the middle of the mirage was the mountain with the ten story magical tower and the forests that surrounded it on all four sides. What surprised Saleen and Lex was the degree of intricateness the mirage possessed. Saleen only needed to employ a little perception to be able to closely study every detail in the mirage.
ใใIn the forest, a bug with two pairs of wings was flying above the surface of the water. Meanwhile, in a dark green puddle, a fuchsia toad was bobbing up and down. Suddenly, the toad stuck out its tongue and pulled the bug into its mouth.
ใใIf a person were to walk inside such a mirage, they would definitely be trapped inside of it. Furthermore, there were twenty-four mini magic arrays engulfing the outer magic array. This mirage was not just an imaginary phenomenon, and if Saleen remembered correctly, there had been a book of magic notes which had recorded the descriptions of such magic arrays.
ใใShinraโs Mirage, a spell that originated from the First Dynasty.
ใใLex thought about this spell and caressed Shinraโs Ring on her finger. That ring had also been handed down to her from the First Dynasty. The history of the Grukos family reached much further back than what most people though. The First Dynasty had also had another name โ the Shinra Dynasty.
ใใThe powers that the royal family of the Shinra Dynasty had possessed were close to that of the gods, and yet, they were not as restrained as the gods. They controlled the Myers Mainland for at least ten thousand years before the dynasty went into a gradual decline.
ใใLex possessed an even deeper understanding of Shinraโs Mirage. It was rumored that there had been a colossal magic array in the palace during the Shinra Dynasty, and by using the magic array, the emperor had been able to spy on all of the mainland.
ใใThe Shinraโs Mirage in front them was obviously used to surveil the hell of the godโs punishment. To humans of the present civilization, this was an unimaginable power.
ใใEven though this device was still active, the vital magic array that was used for control was not being powered by magic nuclei. At least twenty-four sorcerers were needed to power it. Otherwise, the Shinraโs Mirage would not possess any offensive abilities and could only be used as a telescope with an infinite range.
ใใWho would have thought that Saleenโs words would be true. This single magic array on the tenth story was more valuable than the combined value of everything from the first to the ninth story. Lex did not know how to use it, and Saleen was equally clueless. Perhaps they could share it?
ใใSaleen did not think too much about it. It was definitely impossible for him to use the Shinraโs Mirage. Even if Saleen became a sorcerer, he would still not be able to activate it, and Lex had no way of using it either. It was possible that Holy Rock City would be able to squeeze out twenty-four sorcerers, but not many of them would be affiliated to the Grukos family.
ใใOnly Alchemy City possessed such capabilities.
ใใThe Shinraโs Mirage had been active for the past thousands of years without any form of control over it. If someone took control of it now, that person would be able to control the entire space within godโs punishment. To Saleen, this was not a temptation. It was a delusion.
ใใSaleen had been confident enough to advance and become a sorcerer through his diligence, but he did not have the ability to command his fellow sorcerers. This thing had been nothing in the prestigious First Dynasty, and even Raphael managed to accomplish it.
ใใBut for the past one thousand years, the powers that humans had possessed had continuously weakened, so the number of sorcerers were decreasing.
ใใ"Saleen, what do you plan to do?" In her heart, Lex was calculating how many mage masters she had groomed. Out of those mage masters, almost all of them had the potential to be promoted into sorcerers. If they could be transported to the hell of godโs punishment once they advanced to Grade 7 and then trained in the six element space, it would only be a matter of time before they reached Grade 9.
ใใTwenty-four Grade 9 sorcerers were needed to effectively control Shinraโs Mirage. Saleen could not do it, so Lex hoped that she would be able to accomplish it.
ใใ"Letโs leave this place first. If we canโt return, then this device will only be a white elephant." Saleen looked at the scenery projected by the Shinraโs Mirage. None of those ferocious magic beasts dared to come near the mountain. The other side of the forest was barren, as the regular eruptions by the volcano had caused any life on the land to be very short-lived.
ใใWhen Lex heard what Saleen said, she decided to temporarily shelf the idea of controlling the Shinraโs Mirage. This idea was still too distant right now, and she would need at least ten years before she could achieve it. Saleen was right. They needed to return to the Myers Mainland before making any decisions.
ใใ"Letโs make our way down." Lex took her eyes off of the bizarre mirage and went down the stairs first.
ใใ"Letโs go down too." Saleen noticed that Nailisi was observing the magic array with keen interest, so he pulled on Sikaโs skirt and went down the stairs with her first.
ใใ"Masterโฆ" Nailisi said, catching up to Saleen.
ใใ"Say no more. Find an opportunity to absorb the power in Raphaelโs bones and donโt sustain any more damage. I need to train for a period of time so I canโt take care of you. Sika, try to become a warrior priest as quickly as possible. When we return, our troubles will only be just beginning."
ใใ"What troubles?" Sika asked in confusion.
ใใ"We are not dead, but the oracle is. Also, Lex is missing, so the matter will have been exposed already. The oracle defied his orders and went to the Qin Empire to kill someone. The mages from the Qin Empire will definitely go to the Tanggulasi Empire to seek revenge. This is no longer a war between the empires, and this matter might anger Alchemy City. One year is too long. I donโt know what might happen, but the conflict between the mages and the Holy See will be greatly intensified, so there wonโt be any safe havens on the mainland anymore."
ใใ"At worst, I wonโt go to the Cloudflow Empire," Sika replied without an ounce of concern.
ใใ"Sika, if holy masters went to Caucasus to kill the elder priests, what would your village do?" Saleen rebutted.
ใใ"All the warriors will be deployed, and the holy masters willโฆ" Sika did not continue. She was not stupid. It was just that she had been too lazy to think of these complicated affairs. There might have been a handful of mages in the Cloudflow Empire, but they were all concentrated in the imperial family. Since the Cloudflow Empire had inherited part of the Fourth Dynasty, the empire held their mages in high regard as well.
ใใThe conflict between the mages and the Holy See was bound to affect the attitudes of the imperial family in the Cloudflow Empire. Originally, the Cloudflow Empire had been able to sit on the sidelines and watch, but now they had also been implicated.
ใใSaleen was right, the oracle was definitely doomed. His actions had completely ruined the Holy Seeโs efforts in having a cordial relationship with the Cloudflow Empire. Even without the backlash from the godโs ring, the pope would not have spared him either way.
ใใWhen Saleen arrived on the ninth story, he saw that Lex had cleared a space and laid out her blanket. It seemed like she was going to stay here. Saleen wanted to advise Lex to stay downstairs, but he held that thought back.
ใใSaleen wanted to learn Grade 1 to Grade 5 magic, and the only one he could turn to was Lex.
ใใThe godโs ring needed ten months to regain its abilities, and Saleen and Lex knew that it could not be rushed so they could only stay in this magical tower to train. The magical tower was extremely safe, as none of the magic beasts in the forest dared to go near it. They only needed to have the puppets guard the entrances to be able to practice without worries.
ใใSaleen felt that he was quite fortunate. If he had been in the Myers Mainland, he might have never had a chance to advance two grades in succession like this. He might also never have gotten to keep Raphaelโs treasures. The largest coincidence was that Lex had brought along huge quantities of materials. Those materials had been given to her by the emperor to help set up her countyโs army.
ใใSaleen did not need to search for food either. Being in this barren interdimensional space had been the best possible outcome for him.
ใใLex did not put on any airs. Saleen had a great wealth of magic knowledge as well, so the two of them exchanged information and time flew by quickly. Saleen felt that he had restarted his journey, learning everything from Grade 1 to Grade 5. At every grade, he needed to master five water-type spells, and an additional five spells belonging to the other element types.
ใใLearning water-type spells was easy to Saleen. The spells of the other element types were more troublesome. Saleen used the water elements to simulate the spells of other elements. He needed to understand all of the details of the spells he wished to simulate.
ใใLex repeatedly demonstrated and explained the spells in order to shorten Saleenโs process of deduction with the Figaro formula. Saleen needed much more time than other mages to simulate a new spell. For Saleen to cast these spells with ease, he needed at least ten times the original amount of time necessary to achieve it.
ใใFortunately, such matters were never boring to these two mages. Lex even became addicted to it, spending as much time as possible teaching Saleen. She discovered that her speed of calculation was slower than that of Saleen, who was a Grade 4 mage, and Saleenโs thoughts were unrestrained, which in turn gave her more inspiration.
ใใFor example, Saleen converted a Grade 5 earth spell into a Grade 4 water spell. The offensive power did not decrease, but the casting speed increased. This Grade 4 spell produced a totem that was formed by the condensation of ice crystals, and the totem would charge in a straight line and collide into enemies. In addition, the effects of frost array would occur on whatever ground the totem touched.
ใใThe totem from the earth spell had a slower activation time. It needed forty frames of time, whereas the Grade 4 ice totem only needed about twelve frames of time. The earth spell dealt stronger physical damage and could even crush rocks, but the ice totem had a freezing effect. When the ice totem was cast in a narrow space, warriors below the grade of a swordmaster would potentially have trouble dodging it.
ใใWhile imparting magic skills to Saleen, Lex also learned many things. Her teacher was a Grade 8 sorcerer, which was an advantage, but it had potentially restricted the range of her thinking. For Saleen, once he had begun learning magic, Jason had always had him think on his own. Aside from reminding Saleen of some optional methods, Jason had not truly restricted Saleen.
ใใAfter teaching Saleen for three months, Lex was actually able to advance naturally to the next grade.