Chapter 343: Changes (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Leo
Nicole sighed with mixed emotions. "If you could complete the fourth stage by now, we could’ve won the fight, and there would be no need for us to run."
Seth scratched his head. "What are you talking about? It takes a lot of efforts to advance to rank 3. I’m 240 years old, but I’m still having trouble with stage 4. I guess I’ll stay at rank 3 my whole life…"
"I advanced to the next rank when I was 260 years old. Don’t give up." Nicole looked at Seth.
"Baton, Greenland, and you advanced to rank 3 years ago. Why don’t you try harder and advance to rank 4? You’ll be promoted in the organization and the situation will be totally different once you became a wizard of dawn." Seth wondered.
"It’s more difficult than you think. I can find the special flame, but the main problem is the engravings of the magic circles. There are no shortcuts to it. You have to learn it step by step." The smile disappeared from Nicole’s face. "There are five of us and Shozo is the most talented one. He met the requirement when he was 300 years old. Stage 5 is hard to complete and I’m not overstating it." It seemed like the topic reminded her of something.
"You only need to finish stage 5 of the Molten Core River to become a wizard of dawn, right? Why does it sound so hard?" Angele wondered, "You three reached rank 3 years ago and you still haven’t figured out a way to finish the engravings?"
Nicole shook her head. "No, our potential had burnt out. We won’t be able to complete all the engravings even if we found a method that’ll help us speed up the progress. I wish I had more time…"
"Also, for the fifth stage of Molten Core River. It’s much harder than you expected. You’re moving into a whole different level," she added.
"What about your family, Nicole?" Seth’s brow furrowed. "Your younger brother is in big trouble right now…"
"That’s why I’m heading back to my family." Nicole smiled again. "I don’t visit my family a lot, but my brother still likes me the most. I should support him when he needs my help."
"Why don’t you just take him with you…?" Seth pursed his lips. He did not look like a man that was 240 years old.
He turned around and looked at Angele.
"Angele, how’s your progression? Done with the first stage, right? You need to finish the second stage in 50 years. You’re still young and you might be able to become a wizard of dawn." Seth was smiling like a kid.
"Me? I’m doing well." Angele did not want to tell Seth that he already completed the third stage. It was way too fast for a wizard with average talent level to progress so fast. He did not want to draw too much attention.
The wizard of dawn was much stronger than a rank 3 wizard, there was a reason why rank 4 wizards had such a special title.
The wizards of dawn had a life expectancy of almost 1000 years, and average wizards only had 500 years. Their bodies and mentality levels would be improved significantly.
The three sat there and talked about the engravings of magic circles.
The magic circle engravings from the Molten Core River were critical to the increasing of mentality level for the wizards who practiced it. Also, the magic circles were needed for the completion of the later stages.
Angele noticed that his magic circle engraving speed was similar to Nicole and Seth.
The method he used was also identical.
He used the special technique taught by Henn to increase mentality level and complete the last stage. It was a shortcut. He did not follow the instructions provided by the Molten Core River.
In another word, he skipped several steps using the energy conversion magic circle.
However, there were no shortcuts for the later stages.
Also, although Henn told him the special method would not produce a lot of impurities in his mentality, he still needed some time to stabilize his mentality and use the meditation technique to convert the mentality from the flames to his own.
It was not a serious consequence.
During the conversation, Angele learned that Nicole, Seth, Baton, and Greenland were all stuck on the magic circle engravings. They already met the mentality requirement but they had a lot of trouble trying to break through.
Angele knew that his biochip would save him a lot of trouble when he met with the bottleneck. He had been confident in the ability of the chip, but he felt a bit uncertain after hearing their words.
If he wanted to eliminate all the possible consequences, he would have to follow the instructions step by step. Angele might not be able to advance to rank 4 if he failed to understand all the fundamentals.
He wanted to know why Henn told him that there would be no consequences.
Angele learned a lot from the conversation and he decided to give up the energy conversion circle for now.
He needed to learn the magic circles just like the others who were practicing the Molten Core River and find a normal way to increase his mentality.
Seth and Nicole decided to leave after the conversation ended.
"I’ll see you to the gate." Angele stood up.
"Sure, I want to catch some fish from the river before I leave." Seth chuckled.
"Nicole, let me know if you need any help." Angele ignored Seth and looked at Nicole.
"Thanks." Nicole nodded. She needed to solve the conflict between the families and she might need Angele’s help.
Nicole was one of Vivian’s five students and her relationship with Angele was good. She would just ask for help when she needed and find a way to pay Angele back later.
They stepped out of the living room and walked to the gate.
Angele watched them jump onto their horses and disappear into the forest.
He turned around and returned to the living room.
"Don’t interrupt me. I need to continue my research," he looked at Lyn, gave the order, and returned to the reading room.
Angele walked straight to the table.
However, he encountered a problem right after picking up the pen.
‘Well, I should probably stop for now and go check the situation in the Nightmare Realm.’
He put his left hand on the bloodline signet and disappeared from the room.
**************************
In the Nightmare Realm.
Angele slowly opened his eyes and saw that there was a red mist in the air.
He was still sitting at the table by the window.
Angele looked out of the window and noticed that there were many blue butterflies flying outside the energy barrier.
The blue butterflies looked like pieces of blue paper, rotating around the mansion.
Angele’s expression changed, he pushed the door open and left the room immediately.
He walked down the stairs and saw Todd carefully wiping the crystal card device on his right arm. The man had a blank expression on his face and he was ready to fight.
"What’s going on?" Angele walked to Todd and asked.
"I don’t know. I’ve never seen those butterflies." Todd raised his head. It seemed like he was not surprised to see Angele walk down the stairs. "You saw them from the window, right? More and more butterflies appeared over these several days."
"My defense system can block their attacks. Have you tried to attack them from inside?" Angele questioned.
"I did." Todd nodded. "By the way, your potion is unbelievably helpful, my body is recovering rapidly. Those butterflies only have one special ability. They can absorb and interrupt the energy from my soul stone. We must deal physical damage to them or release energy strikes at a rapid rate so that they can’t absorb it fast enough."
Todd bit his lips and continued, "I’m not sure if they really can’t break your barrier." He looked worried.
"Don’t worry. I’ll go check the situation." Angele glanced around. "Where are the kids?"
"I asked them to stay in their rooms and have some rest," Todd responded in a deep voice.
"Good. Do you want to go with me?"
"Of course." Todd stood up and swung his right arm.
*Crack*
The lid on the crystal card device opened. There were countless gears and strings in the core of the device; a blue crystal card was lying in the center of the core quietly.
Complicated patterns covered the surface of the crystal card.
Todd tapped on the crystal card, closed the lid, and nodded at Angele.
Angele nodded as well and two long silver daggers slid into his hands from the sleeves.
*BAM*
He pushed the door open, and they stepped out of the building together.
The sky was occupied by the flying blue butterflies.
The blue butterflies were rotating around the mansion without making any noise. The scene was quiet but terrifying.
"Only physical damage, huh?" Angele muttered as he narrowed his eyes. He raised his head and looked at the blue butterflies.
The seemingly infinite blue butterflies almost blocked the sunlight. Their abdomens were vibrating slightly. There were so many of them that they almost covered the whole barrier.
The sight numbed Angele’s skull. The two were standing in the large shade created by the butterflies.
"Let’s do it." Angele clapped his hands and turned the two silver daggers into one. Raising his left hand, he pointed at the blue butterflies outside the barrier with a silver ring.
"The Light of the Thorn!" he chanted the incantation.
A ball of golden light appeared above Angele’s palm.
*CHI*
Rays of golden light were released from the light ball. The golden rays looked like sharp arrows, being shot in all angles.
Todd remained calm. He raised his right arm, clenched his fist, and closed his eyes. He just stood there quietly.
*CHI*
The familiar blue strings slowly appeared around his body.
More and more blue strings were being created every second; they started rotating around Todd.
Several minutes later, Todd was standing in the center of a blue vortex that was created by the strings. The flashing blue light illuminated the objects in the area, and it was much stronger than the golden light from Angele.
"Sky Lock!" Todd raised his head and reached out with his right arm.
All the blue strings gathered upon his fist within a second and disappeared into the air together.
Angele detected the energy movement in the air, he turned around and leaped several meters away.
*BOOM*
All of the blue strings exploded at the same time.
Eye-blinding blue light was released from Todd’s right hand. The blue strings turned into blue chains and passed through the barrier, flying toward the rotating blue butterflies.
All the butterflies that touched the chains were trapped in blue bubbles and they stopped moving.
The whole sky was blocked by the strange blue bubbles.
Following after the blue chains, the golden rays penetrated the trapped blue butterflies. The butterflies exploded and their glowing remains started dropping to the ground like fireflies. It almost looked like blue snow coming from the sky.
*Crack*
The high-quality magic stone in Todd’s crystal card device cracked. Its color turned from black to translucent, and the stone melted into a pile of white ash, disappearing into the wind.