Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074, page 467
However, the four high priests could tell that Lin Li seemed very relaxed when casting the spell, and didn't seem to pause at all when he was acc.u.mulating mana. In other words, the mana required by this level-22 spell could be put out by Lin Li immediately, and didn't have to be acc.u.mulated in Lin Li's body beforehand. Based on that alone, the four high priests began to believe that Lin Li's mana was almost infinite, just like what Sendros had told them.
At this moment, a priest scurried onto the viewing deck. After bowing, he said to the four high priests, "Sirs, the chief high priest would like you to see him now!"
"What!?" The four high priests sprung up in shock. Although they had already thought of an excuse beforehand, they still panicked when they heard that Sendros wanted to see them. Of course, Sendros wouldn't really skin them alive, though he would definitely teach them a lesson.
"Just the four of us? He didn't mention High Priest Gergila?" Zoquila asked as he calmed down, seemingly having thought of something.
"Yes, the chief high priest only mentioned that he'd like to see the four of you. He didn't mention High Priest Gergila," the priest hurriedly answered.
"Zoquila, why did you ask that question?" the knight Nostalo asked loudly.
"Nothing much, that just means that the chief has probably given his silent consent to the sparring session. Otherwise, he would have summoned Gergila too, and not allowed the two of them to continue sparring in the arena," Zoquila explained to Nostalo and the rest after heaving a sigh of relief.
An ordinary mage tower would use crystal balls for surveillance and monitoring purposes, what more the Darkness Shrine. In fact, every slight change and movement in the shrine would immediately appear on the crystal ball at the core of the shrine. Although Sendros couldn't possibly stay in front of the crystal ball at all times, he would definitely take a look since the strongest defensive mageweath had been activated. If Sendros had really been displeased with the behavior of the five high priests, he would have stopped the sparring session immediately instead of asking to see the four of them.
Upon hearing Zoquila's explanation, the other three were finally relieved, but they would still clearly get reprimanded. The four of them glanced at the arena, and noticed that the two there were launching their attacks and casting their respective spells while having a whale of a time. They wondered how Sendros would deal with Gergila, but could only sigh deep down and leave the grandstand together.
Gergila, who was in the arena, had no idea that his peers had all been summoned to see Sendros, because his opponent Lin Li left him with no room to pay attention to other matters. He could already sense that Lin Li wasn't lying or boasting at all. After launching the level-22 spell, he continued to launch another spell that consumed massive amounts of mana. If he had been an ordinary level-23 Legendary-mage, he would probably have gassed out a long time ago.
Chapter 782 - Eternal Darkness
What made Gergila even more daunted was Lin Li's incredible casting speed. For Legendary magic, the casting speed would not increase linearly with the chanting speed, as mana output was also an important factor. It was just like filling a bucket of water; even if the tap was turned to the fullest, it would still take time to fill the bucket with water. if an ordinary mage's mana output was like a water pipe, Lin Li's would be like an endless stream from a river. If he didn't have to chant a spell and sort the elements, he could probably launch his Legendary spells instantaneously.
The arena was completely covered in ice and snow. A sun-like fireball suddenly appeared above the arena, lighting it up. Due to the reflection, there was suddenly no shadow in the arena at all. Gergila, who used the Darkness Guardian, was forced out of the shadows.
The second disadvantage of the Darkness Guardian was that there would be no guardian without darkness. Of course, in principle, there was darkness everywhere in the world. However, they were in the arena, and creating a small area without shadows was still feasible. If they were outside, Gergila would still be able to dash into the area outside the arena and defeat his opponents using the Darkness Guardian. However, he had no choice but to appear here. Otherwise, he would be admitting defeat.
A Legendary magic spell was actually used as a light source, making Gergila feel extremely infuriated—almost to the point of vomiting blood. Of course, even if he really wanted to vomit blood, he wouldn't be able to, because his body was just like a dry skeleton. At this moment, before he could even react, countless powerful magic spells had already swept over him like a storm.
In the grandstands of the arena, the believers of Darkness were all completely frightened. Everyone held their breath and watched the intense battle going on in the arena. None of them dared to make a single sound at all. Right from the beginning when Lin Li and Gergila walked into the arena, everyone had already deduced the outcome of the battle. Even though Lin Li was an honored guest of High Priest Sendros, they felt that he was way too young. Indeed, becoming a Legendary-mage at such a young age was an impressive feat. However, experience came with time, and the lack of experience could never be compensated for by talent.
However, the believers of Darkness in the grandstands knew that the lack of experience would be negated when one had formidable power. Even though some of the powerful magic spells were unknown to others, they could tell from the ripples around the defensive spells in the arena that the power was absolutely daunting. Regardless of who the victor of the battle would be, High Priest Gergila had clearly lost the upper hand, and they obviously didn't have to guess anything.
However, Lin Li did not want to end the battle too quickly, because he still remembered that it was a sparring session, and he also wanted to learn more about Dark Magic through it. Hence, even though the magic storm seemed rather terrifying, he had always been trying to find a balance so as to allow Gergila to continue persisting and have the ability to retaliate.
"Darkness is eternal, and everything in this world will eventually belong to the darkness!" Gergila exclaimed as he slammed his staff into the ground, causing the white snow to suddenly turn black as if it had been stained by black ink. The magic storm that struck after that also lost its color all of a sudden after entering the domain of black snow. It was then drowned in the infinite darkness as if it had never even existed.
Eternal Darkness? That's probably the Dark Magic spell that's noted down in the Dark Magic scriptures. Seeing that all the spells had disappeared peculiarly, Lin Li rejoiced instead of feeling surprised, and his eyes even glistened with excitement. Although he had never deliberately researched Dark Magic before, he had some understanding of the various types of Dark Magic in the world. Besides, Lin Li couldn't remember the Eternal Darkness spell that Gergila had just used. Apart from the Dark Magic scriptures, Lin Li couldn't think of another possible source of that spell.
Besides, Lin Li didn't sense many magical waves when Gergila was casting the spell just now. Instead, he seemed to have sensed a holy aura that was similar to Holy Light Magic. That made him further confirm his guess.
Most people would immediately think of Evilness at the mention of Darkness. However, Darkness did not necessarily mean Evilness, even though Evilness often lurked in Darkness. After all, the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine used to be a family. Since the Brilliance Shrine had Holy Light Magic, the Darkness Shrine definitely had something similar.
Although the crisis at hand was resolved immediately, Gergila was still lamenting in agony deep down because Eternal Darkness couldn't be used freely and casually. Although he managed to use it to engulf and consume Lin Li's magic storm, it took up plenty of his mana—the amount of mana consumed by Eternal Darkness would be the same as the amount of mana drained from his body. How much mana does this crazy mage have!? he thought.
Gergila was completely convinced by Lin Li's abilities. In the Darkness Shrine, he was definitely on par with a level-24 Legendary-mage, but being in this environment, he had no upper hand at all when he was facing the level-23 legendary-mage Lin Li. In fact, he even came off slightly worse. Although the situation seemed to obviously be advantageous to him, he still ended up in a state where he almost had no means to retaliate. That just meant that Lin Li was way more competent than him.
However, Gergila didn't want to admit defeat now, and there were still numerous believers of Darkness in the grandstands. Back then, he was still thinking about how he should save some face for Lin Li, and yet he was the one being embarrassed now!
While Gergila was caught in a dilemma, the four high priests who had been summoned by Sendros were standing in front of a huge crystal ball, and watching everything that was happening in the arena. They watched as Gergila was about to be forced out of the Darkness Guardian while being bombarded by Lin Li's magic storm. They also saw how Gergila had no choice but to resort to using Eternal Darkness. Although Lin Li's Magic storm disappeared in Eternal Darkness, Zoquila and the rest knew that there was already an outcome.
"Have you guys forgotten what I said?" Sendros questioned with his back facing them while staring at the images displayed in the crystal ball. Although his tone was calm, his heart was filled with shock because of Lin Li's abilities.
"Well, that's just a sparring session between Gergila and Master Felic. We're not being rude to him. Besides, Master Felic is also very happy to exchange and share his experience in actual combat with Gergila," Zoquila answered anxiously.
"Hmph, I know exactly what you guys are thinking. Are you reassured now?" asked Sendros. He was not angry. After all, the five high priests were just worried about the fate of the Darkness Shrine. This time, they indeed didn't show any disrespect to Lin Li, either.
"Yes, Master Felic's abilities are indeed impressive. I believe he'll definitely be of great help to us," Zoquila and the rest quickly answered, but they were still rather reserved. They simply said that Lin Li would be of help, and did not mention that they would be willing to rely completely on him.
"Forget it. In order to avoid letting such things happen again, I'd better reveal some information to you. Do you think that I value him greatly only because he's a level-23 Legendary-mage and a pharmaceutics Guru, and because of the power of the Tower of Dusk? Let me tell you, I'm very certain that he's the person the Darkness Shrine has been looking for!" exclaimed Sendros, who wanted to give them a sense of relief lest they end up stirring trouble while he was away. Lin Li probably wouldn't care if they were to do it once or twice, but if they were to continue, Lin Li would probably teach them a lesson.
"What? He's the one we've been looking for? How can that be? There isn't a trace of Darkness on him at all!" Zoquila and the rest were flabbergasted and in extreme disbelief, so much more than when Sendros said those words beforehand.
"Do you really think I'd joke about such matters!?" Sendros barked, causing their discussion to cease. He continued, "In the next few days, I will be going to the Eternal Darkness Altar to check and verify some matters. I hope I won't hear of you guys doing any disrespectful things to him when I'm back. Otherwise, you will all become the sinners of the Darkness Shrine! You are dismissed."
The four high priests left the room with complicated expressions, and while walking towards the arena, they slowly tried to recover from the shock Sendros' words had brought them. They knew that there was no need to doubt Sendros' words, but they just couldn't convince themselves to believe them. If Lin Li were to really be the person the Darkness Shrine had been looking for all this while, he would then very likely be able to rescue them from the crisis this time. However, the problem was that they were high priests, and thus should be very s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to the aura of Darkness, yet they didn't find a single trace of Darkness on Lin Li at all—right from the beginning where they saw him until now, when he fought Gergila. How could that be explained?
Filled with doubts, the four high priests finally arrived at the arena, but at this moment, silence was already restored. The believers of Darkness on the grandstands had already left. Lin Li and Gergila were the only ones left. They were seated together and discussing various details of the battle just now.
"Zoquila, Poladio… Where have you guys been?" Gergila asked, feeling an ominous hunch when he saw the four of them. He had no idea when they'd left, but he knew that something was up since the four of them had left together. After all, the sparring session was meant for testing Lin Li's abilities. The thing now was the most important.
"We went to see High Priest Sendros, and discussed some matters. How was the sparring session with Master Felic?" Zoquila asked, even though it was obvious. However, he seemed to be hinting to Gergila that Sendros was no longer holding it against him.
Gergila secretly sighed, turned his head to look at Lin Li, and said with awe, "Master Felic, your abilities are really impressive. I've really benefited a lot this time. I hope to have the opportunity to consult you again in the future." What convinced him was the fact that Lin Li still gave him an out in the end by making the battle end in a tie. He was both comfortable and convinced with Lin Li.
"You're being too polite and modest, High Priest Gergila. Your accomplishments in Dark Magic have also given me a lot of insight. I hope I can consult you about Dark Magic in the future," Lin Li said humbly.
Lin Li and Gergila then discussed magic, while Zoquila and the rest joined in. However, apart from Gergila who was clueless about the situation, they started to scrutinize Lin Li even more carefully.
In fact, Lin Li didn't gain much from sparring with Gergila, but he did learn a lot during the discussion with the five high priests who were all powerhouses who used Dark Force. Although the Werewolf Poladio and the Dark Knight Nostalo did not use Dark Magic, their power also came from Dark Force, and they could give Lin Li a better understanding of Dark Force in another sense.
After a pleasant conversation, Lin Li got up to bid the five high priests goodbye. He decided to go back and combine his newly learned knowledge with the concepts that he had picked up from the Book of Eternity so as to digest everything he had learned today. However, just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by High Priest Zoquila. He asked in confusion, "High Priest Zoquila, what's the matter?"
"Uh…" Zoquila hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind to bring it up. "Master Felic, I reckon you've seen enough of the Darkness Shrine in the past two days. However, there's still a place that you definitely won't want to miss left. If you're willing, why don't I show you around tomorrow?"
"Oh? Wouldn't it be a little too troublesome?" asked Lin Li, who noticed that Zoquila seemed to have made up his mind. In fact, Lin Li reckoned that the only place that he had yet to visit in the Darkness Shrine was probably the place where all the books of the Darkness Shrine were kept. Of course, that was definitely an extremely important place to the Darkness Shrine. Zoquila was probably hesitant and in a dilemma because of that.
"No, not all," Zoquila said as he shook his head profusely. However, his large hood made it look like there was some breeze blowing past.
Chapter 783 - Shadow Realm
However, the other four high priests had already focused their attention on Zoquila. Others couldn't notice the shock on their faces, because their faces were special.
Even till now, Lin Li still didn't know why Sendros had invited him to the Darkness Shrine. Hence, he naturally wouldn't consider too much. He said, "Sure. I'll have to trouble you tomorrow then, High Priest Zoquila." He then bade goodbye to them and left the arena.
After Lin Li left, the four high priests finally couldn't bear it any longer, but Gergila was the first to question them. He initially had no idea what Sendros had said to Zoquila and the rest, but after hearing their replies, Zoquila, who was already convinced with Lin Li's abilities, similarly looked to be in disbelief. While Gergila was digesting the news and feeling astonished, the Werewolf, Vampire, and the Black Knight surrounded Gergila and questioned him.
"Zoquila, where were you referring to when you spoke to Mage Felic? Could it be…" Culostein asked worriedly. In fact, as a high priest, he had already guessed it vaguely. However, he was still in disbelief, and dared not believe that Zoquila would be so bold.
"Yeah, isn't this an opportunity to confirm the identity of Mage Felic?" Zoquila asked, seemingly intending to go all out as well.
"Sendros just mentioned it to us a short while ago. Have you forgotten it already? I think we might as well accompany Mage Felic for a few more sparring sessions in the next few days. Maybe we'd be able to tell something," said the Werewolf high priest Poladio, who was much more cautious than the other two who were into magic.
"Yes, we shouldn't doubt Sendros' words," the black knight Nostalo said in a rough voice.
Faced with the persuasion of his peers, Zoquila shook his head, and said, "No, this idea is not as bad as you guys think. Sendros was rather conservative with his words, so that means that he isn't too sure about Mage Felic's identity, either. If we can confirm his identity, we would be giving Sendros great help. He won't blame us for this. Besides, even if it turns out that Mage Felic isn't that person, there wouldn't be anything wrong with what we did."
"Well…" After hearing Zoquila's explanation, the other four high priests remained silent; they had no choice but to admit that Zoquila's words still seemed very reasonable. Now that the Darkness Shrine was in a crisis that the believers of Darkness did not know about, the high priests would have to be concerned about it. If they got it right, they would be doing Sendros a favor, but if they were wrong, it would only be Lin Li's misfortune. Although it would be good to forge connections with Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk, no one could be bothered about that now.
On the following morning, which was yet another one that did not resemble daybreak, Sendros went to the Eternal Darkness Altar, while Zoquila brought Lin Li to a rather remote place deep inside the Darkness Shrine.
