Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074, page 30
The most immoral of them all was undoubtedly the gang consisting of more than a dozen mages.
This bunch of fellows turned around the city but couldn't find a place to start, so they went out of Jarrosus City, straight to the Mariana Canal. When they saw the Merlin Family's merchant ship in the middle of the canal, their eyes flashed like a hungry beast's seeing its prey.
Each of them downed a bottle of Sobriety Potion and a wave of spell recitation resounded.
Before people on the merchant ship could react, a monstrous blaze rose to the skies. That dozen of mages joined hands to unleash a level-eight Flaming Storm. To the people from the Merlin Family, it was like the end of the world. Countless fire dragons raged and roared, and the blazing flames devoured the huge merchant ship in a single instant.
The people on board were lucky enough to escape with a few small sampans. But the goods that were worth millions of gold coins on the merchant ship were burned to ashes by the fire…
Chapter 66 - Sacrifice
The news soon spread through the whole Jarrosus City like wind.
Everyone was flabbergasted, including Castellan Isaac. They were shocked by the Guild of Magic's high-handedness. To them, the Guild of Magic now was absolutely an unreasonable bandit. All the while, the forces in Jarrosus had been able to maintain a semblance of calm because everything was done behind closed doors.
The struggle between the major forces had always existed, but no one had dared to put it on the table.
Often, there were two forces fighting in secret, but when the two leaders met, they would talk harmoniously about wine and roses. It was like when the auction was held—of all the various forces present, who did not have any enmity with another? But under the seduction of the 33 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, the auction still went smoothly and no one was killed on the spot.
Everyone knew that the Guild of Magic had the supremacy in Jarrosus now.
But no one could have imagined that they would be so arrogant and insolent, completely disregarding the rules of the game and directly putting the fight on the table. In just one afternoon, the Guild of Magic wiped out more than 20 businesses of the Merlin Family. These included several casinos ran jointly with the Blood Brotherhood and two merchant sh.i.p.s moored in the canal.
This afternoon alone, the Merlin Family lost countless gold coins.
For a while, all the forces were outraged, especially the Blood Brotherhood which had several casinos smashed by the guild's mages. Aaron Matsis almost had an heart attack from the rage. "F*ck you, Gerian! You're seeking death like this. If you continue to do this, we'll all just have to die together!"
But in the face of Gerian's anger, who would dare to go to the Emerald Tower to reason with him?
The leaders of the dozens of forces were not idiots. The incident that happened at the Demon Fall Valley and the Guild of Magic's revenge on the Merlin Family… it was obvious what was the connection between them. Everyone knew that Gerian was retaliating, so who would be that ignorant to offer themselves up in such a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e time?
The chaos did not subside until evening.
At this time, the Merlin Family was already in disorder. When news came in the afternoon, anger had seized Old Merlin's heart and he fainted right on the spot. When he woke up, his face was still livid as he ordered the servants to call for his brother, Evan.
"Look at what you've done!" Old Merlin seemed to have aged several decades after he woke up. The ever-energetic Matthew looked so old and weak at the moment.
"Big Brother… Let me explain…"
"Explain?" Old Merlin's face was leaden, and his somewhat murky eyes stared fixedly at Evan. "How many times have I told you? Things must be done cleanly and never leave any tail behind; look at what you have done? Of the three traitors from the Guild of Magic, two have been poached by other forces, and the remaining one is even more impressive, getting found by the Guild of Magic. I really can't understand, what exactly are you trying to do? Why did you not silence him? Do you think the Merlin Family today can still be as reckless as we were in the past?"
Evan opened his mouth, trying to defend himself. "I've only wanted to give it a shot, see if I could persuade them to work for the family. After all, they are Magic Shooters… It's a pity to kill them off. I'm doing it for the sake of the family…"
"For the sake of the family? Hahaha…" Old Merlin laughed in anger; streaks of blood were apparent in his eyes. "Now, are you happy? Just this afternoon, the Merlin Family has been greatly undermined. Do you know how much we have lost in the afternoon? Including the two sh.i.p.s in the canal, it's a total of 3,700,000 gold coins! Evan… It's 3,700,000 gold coins… Is the family earning so much in one year? And the two merchant sh.i.p.s were the ones that helped the Duke smuggle his goods. Fario had a hard time setting this up for us, but after what happened, do you think the Duke will still be willing to trust us?"
Evan was completely dumbfounded hearing the huge figure.
"Forget it…" Old Merlin sighed heavily, his expression dejected. "Let's not talk about this first. To be honest, I have to bear a little responsibility too. I knew you have been indecisive since young, but I still allowed you to handle this matter… How's Cromwell lately?"
"Cromwell is improving fast. He has reached level-twelve yesterday."
"Not bad…" There was finally a glimmer of relief on Old Merlin's face when he heard the news, but his expression turned gloomy at once. "This kid has been getting more sensible lately. Unfortunately, as descendants of the Merlin Family, we sometimes have to make some sacrifices…"
"Big Brother…" Evan hesitated. He paused between words as he said, "Cromwell is the only heir of the Merlin Family… Even if he could kill that pharmacist from the Guild of Magic in the duel this time, his whole life would be completely ruined. A Magic Shooter who would never progress… Isn't this a little too cruel to Cromwell?"
"It is a necessary sacrifice…" Old Merlin's expression was cast in shade, but the look in his eyes was extremely resolute. "What the Guild of Magic has today was brought by the mage called Felic. Do you remember my battle with Gerian? If he hadn't taken out the bottle of Awakening Potion, Gerian would long be dead. I knew then that as long as this young man is present, the Guild of Magic would come to dominate Jarrosus City sooner or later. The Arcane Magic Potion auction confirmed my speculations. Two major families had conveyed their friendly intentions at the same time. Did you think they were trying to butter up to Gerian? You are wrong… They were actually trying to butter up to that young potion master!"
"But, I heard that Felic is merely a low-level mage. Cromwell doesn't necessarily have to…"
"Low-level mage?" Old Merlin chuckled bitterly. "Didn't Cromwell tell you that the other party had only used a magic spell to cast him out of the Emerald Tower? This is a real magic genius. He possesses an extremely powerful mental strength and mana. Even I had to utilize my Archmage strength to defeat him. It will be terrifying to allow such a magic genius like him to grow… He has to die in this duel!"
When Old Merlin had finished, he closed his eyes wearily and never looked at the horrified Evan again.
Chapter 67 - Guidance
Jarrosus City was in disorder, but the Emerald Tower was unusually quiet. About half the mages were out, leaving behind some mage apprentices below level-five and a few others, such as Gerian and Lin Li.
Old Grimm looked up from a pile of beakers and asked in a seemingly casual way, "Felic, when I saw you teaching Bathrilor a lesson that day at the banquet, you should have been at the strength of level-nine?"
"About there, I've reached level-nine just a few days ago." Lin Li nodded and then continued gloomily, "But strangely, lately I feel that I've run into a bottleneck again. It's the feeling that you know you have the potential, but you just can't exert it…"
"Oh?" Despite having some understanding of Lin Li's strength, Old Grimm did not expect that he would be encountering a bottleneck in his breakthrough to the Magic Shooter level at such a young age. For a moment, the old man was intrigued. "Does the Guild of Magic have a practice ground? I'll have a look at your situation first and then see if I can provide you with any suggestions."
"That'll be great."
After this afternoon, the old and the young gradually became familiar with each other. There was less politeness but more intimacy in their conversations.
The two men went downstairs and spoke to Gerian, hoping to find a suitable place for actual combat. But when the old fellow heard that the legendary mage was about to showcase his skills, he forgot all about the proper business and insisted on going with them to have a look. At last, Lin Li failed to dissuade him and had to let him bring the both of them up to the third level.
"This is the best place. You can use any spells here. As long as it's not a legendary-level spell, it will be no problem." Gerian fished out a key and unlocked the tightly shut door.
Initially, Lin Li thought he was bragging. But when he poked his head in to take a look, he realized Gerian was actually too modest… On the spotlessly white wall, there were six magical shield fields and six elements annihilation fields. With the 12 mageweaths laid out, the room was an impregnable fortress. Not to mention ordinary spells, even if a legendary-level spell was used, it would be difficult to blow the room apart.
"Impressive…" In Anril, even the general mages would have studied inscriptions, much less a legendary mage like Old Grimm, whose accomplishments in inscriptions were also extraordinary. The moment he entered the room, his eyes naturally fell onto the 12 mageweaths.
"This is by Delavi?" Old Grimm was rather amazed, passing before the 12 mageweaths.
"You have fine eyes, Mage Grimm. This was indeed designed by Master Delavi 1300 years ago, when the Guild of Magic was established."
Lin Li was rather lost. "Who is Delavi?"
"A level 22 mage." Old Grimm's expression revealed a look of yearning.
"Level 22!" Lin Li was startled. Even a half-baked mage like him knew that as the magic level reached the realm of an Archmage, even a single level of ascension could bring about a nearly qualitative change in power, not to mention the legendary realm above the Archmage. A level 22 mage would probably equal up to ten Andoines—and that was a conservative estimate.
Lin Li had no idea that there had been such a powerful person in Jarrosus Guild of Magic.
"But his greatest achievement in life was actually in inscriptions. If it weren't for him, the study of inscriptions today might be a totally different story. He was the first person to combine inscriptions and magic. Since then, inscriptions have become a required course for mages."
"Felic…" After talking about Delavi's achievements, Old Grimm took a few steps back. "That day at the banquet, I saw that you had done a good job in releasing the icicles. Why don't you try again now and attack me using the wind blade?"
"Okay."
"Just focus on your spell, don't worry about hurting me." Afraid that Lin Li would worry about hurting him, Old Grimm specially reminded him.
"Mm." Lin Li nodded, and his expression became serious.
There was no recitation nor even the slightest sign. Lin Li raised a hand and an icicle tore through the air. Driven by Lin Li's tremendous mana, the icicle was as fast as lightning. As soon as it was released, it disintegrated into the air, creating a blue stream of light…
But as the stream of light approached Old Grimm, it stopped without warning and just hung quietly in front of his c.h.e.s.t. It was like there was an invisible hand in the air, catching it with an unparalleled speed.
There was a smile of approval on Old Grimm's face.
"Very well done. But it's still not enough this time. When you were teaching Bathrilor a lesson a few days ago, you had unleashed a few spells consecutively, so you should have ample mana. Don't stop. This time, we'll change it to the wind blade: release as many as your mana allows."
"…" Gerian touched his nose in spite of himself when he heard it.
"Okay!"
From the previous icicle, Lin Li knew that Old Grimm's strength was fathomless and that it was impossible to hurt him with his own strength.
Hence, he showed no mercy anymore and the wind blades came one after another.
In an instant, the shrill sound of tearing filled the air and dozens of wind blades fell down like raindrops. But all these wind blades, without an exception, were met with the invisible wall; none of them ever touched the corner of Old Grimm's robe.
With the strength of a legendary mage, it was impossible for Old Grimm to be hurt by a few low-level spells. He didn't even require any magical shields; it was enough to protect himself from harm just by releasing his own mana, like what he had done when he'd saved Bathrilor at the banquet.
There was deep admiration in Old Grimm's eyes as he watched Lin Li release the wind blades.
Andoine's judgment was indeed right—this was a true magic genius, skillful and with an abundance of mana, just like Andoine in the past. The only difference was, he was much younger than Andoine had been back then and had a deeper understanding of magic.
But as time went by and the wind blades Lin Li released were already in the hundreds, the admiration in Old Grimm's eyes gradually turned to amazement.
The mana of this young mage seemed to be overly abundant…
Although the wind blade was just a level-one magic, he couldn't afford to unleash it like this. The power consumed by more than 200 level-one spells was already well beyond the reach of a level-nine mage…
From the look on his face, the young mage did not seem to be tired at all. Over a hundred level-one spells was as easy as eating and drinking water for him. No wonder Andoine had mentioned many times that this kid was nothing but a monster. Old Grimm thought he was talking about pharmaceutics, but now it suddenly dawned on him that Andoine was talking about the kid's freak mana!
Chapter 68 - Bad Habit
Gerian was laughing up his sleeve when he saw the look of amazement on Old Grimm's face, and the thoughts in his mind were more or less sinister. It doesn't seem to be a big deal being frightened by this freak back then. See… I wasn't the only one, now even the legendary mage is startled…
"Stop!" When there were about three or four hundred wind blades released by Lin Li, Old Grimm finally called for a timeout. "President Gerian, can you tell me, how long was his mana output when Felic was going through his level certification?"
"This…" Gerian paused for a while and crept beside Old Grimm's ear. "28 minutes…"
"What!?" Old Grimm almost jumped upon hearing it.
The look on his face was no different from Gerian's back then. He looked at Lin Li as if he was looking at a monster. In the face of such a freak with infinite mana, there was no difference whether it was an Archmage or a legendary mage. In fact, they did not know that what they were feeling now had been felt by Andoine several times back in the Sunset Mountains…
Old Grimm wavered. He had wanted to find the root of the problem from the strength of the mana, but now it seemed that Lin Li's mana was infinite, and so that seemed doomed to be in the wrong direction.
"Actually, I feel that what Felic lacks most now is actual combat."
Both of them were startled at Gerian's words. Lin Li mulled it over and realized it seemed to be true indeed. When he was in the Sunset Mountains, he was faced with different magical beasts every day—beasts from level-four to level-eight, from Manticores to Wyverns. He was struggling on the delicate line between life and death almost every day. In this struggle, his magic level had improved dramatically. From a mage apprentice to a level-eight mage, it seemed to be just the blink of an eye, without feeling any hindrance at all.
And then he got to Jarrosus City. There were better learning conditions, but the time he used magic was suddenly reduced. The number of real battles was pitifully few—a mere total of three and a half. In three of these, he had gained an absolute upper hand; the only time he couldn't win was the pure mental strength battle with Old Merlin. But none of them had used any spells, and so, strictly speaking, it should only be counted half a time…
At the same time, Lin Li's magic level stagnated all of a sudden. If he hadn't benefited greatly from the battle between the two Archmages, he would still have been at level-eight.
Magic was such a strange thing…
Having a huge mana and mastering a lot of spells did not necessarily mean a stronger fighting capacity. Many things could only be comprehended during actual combat. Just like pharmaceutics—someone who knew a large number of formulas was not necessarily a master of potions. He probably wouldn't be able to concoct a Sobriety Potion when it came to the application.
"President Gerian is right. Let's do it this way… I have nothing else to do these few days anyway, why don't I help you improve your actual combat experience?"
"This… doesn't seem appropriate?" Lin Li scratched his head and hesitated. "You are the legendary mage. Isn't it the same as seeking death if I practice with you?"
"Don't worry about this, I'll only use the strength of a Magic Shooter, and the spells I use won't be over level-ten."
Gerian was like an ant on a hot pan, glancing at Lin Li continuously. This little bastard will be the death of me. The legendary mage wants to deliberately suppress his power in order to give him advice, and he is still dallying there. If it was me, I would already jump on him directly…
"Alright…" Lin Li nodded and took a few steps back.
"Wait!" Old Grimm suddenly called out at this point. "This habit of yours is really bad."
Lin Li was about to cast an Ice Armor Spell on himself when he heard Old Grimm calling for a pause. He stood there dazed, and asked in bewilderment, "What habit?"
"Retreating before you cast a spell." Old Grimm pointed to the spot Lin Li stood at previously. "You did the same thing just now when you were releasing the icicles—taking a few steps backward before casting the spell. This is a bad habit. A mage is not an archer—there's no need to distance yourself deliberately, and even more so there's no need to make use of the surrounding environment to win a battle. A real mage can take control of the rhythm of the battle in an instant, at any distance, and in any environment. What we use is always our own strength!"
