Oliver, as a “warrior” who had been through life-threatening dangers many times, was not too panicked to move at the critical moment. He backed off sideways subconsciously and waved his short sword, trying to find a way to escape.
However, he was far weaker than Captain Grigra, who took advantage of the length of his sword and slashed nonstop, making it impossible for Oliver to draw near. He could not make the best use of the short sword and could not resist the attacks by raising his sword.
Clang, clang, clang.
After a few crisp sounds, the short sword fell to the ground, and Oliver’s right hand was bleeding.
Grinning hideously, Grigra stepped forward and cut horizontally, further reducing Oliver’s range of activity.
After only a while, Oliver realized that he had been cornered. He would have to face the flashing longsword whichever direction he went to.
Am I going to die?
When the longsword reached him, Oliver’s head was dizzy, and something seemed to be bursting out from within his body, turning his eyes bloodshot. He subconsciously grabbed the only thing in his hands and raised it against the longsword.
Pa.
After a dull noise, Oliver stepped back again. He was stuck to the cold wall. More blood flowed out of his fingers, dying the blue staff red.
“Hehe!” Grigra was not concerned. Oliver could not defeat him when he had a short sword, and it was even unlikely now that he was merely holding an uncanny staff.
The only thing that made him waver was that the short staff seemed rather precious, and his heart would be pained if it was broken.
However, he thought of the room full of gems and possible magic items, and his vacillations were immediately gone. There were so many valuable items after all. He could afford the loss of the staff, as long as he killed Oliver in time and closed the entrance in case other people competed with him for the treasures!
Making up his mind, he slowed down his longsword, blew away the staff, and pierced at Oliver’s chest.
Looking at the glittering tip of the sword, Oliver felt that the whole world was slowed down and that the sword was reaching his chest like a snail. However, only his mind was this fast. His body was as “slow” as Grigra’s longsword. He could only watch the longsword penetrate him without being able to do anything.
Am I going to die?
I don’t want to die!
After only a short while, Oliver was caught in a strange hollow state. Then, a string seemed to have been broken in his head. He felt that something flooded out of his soul overwhelmingly into the blue staff in his hands.
Crack.
With a weird “crack” coming from the staff, Oliver felt that he had opened a gate, and his whole body was enshrouded in an ocean of tiny silver electric arcs.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The silver electric arcs that emerged from the staff hit Grigra’s critical parts without meeting any obstacle.
Grigra’s face and chest were immediately blackened. His longsword hit Oliver’s body, but it led to nothing more than a shallow wound.
How can I die… Shocked and confused, he looked at the short staff before him that was still sparkling before he collapsed without any strength.
He had long confirmed that Oliver was not a magic apprentice, so he could not use the short staff even if it was an extraordinary item!
How did it happen? Grigra died with his eyes wide open in regrets.
Holding the staff with both hands, Oliver breathed hard. His back was as hunched as a shrimp. He had such a headache that he almost bumped into the wall.
After a long time, he was finally back to himself. He slowly raised his head. There was vague blood in his eyes, his nostrils, and the corners of his mouth.
Did the blast of spiritual power when I became an apprentice activate the staff? He thought in confusion, But shouldn’t the staff have a central mark? Has it been erased?
He shook his head and looked at Grigra, holding the staff tightly. The fearsome captain that always terrified him was lying there lifelessly; his face dark and his eyes wide open. He was obviously as dead as anyone could be.
Not entirely reassured, Oliver squatted and examined Grigra’s body carefully. After the confirmation, he looked at the staff in both confusion and ecstasy.
“Is this the power of magic?”
He quickly calmed down. He shut the entrance and found another secret exit. Then, he put the books, the items, and the gems into the magic pouch left by sorcerers and retreated.
It was not because he did not want to stay here and improve his strength first, but because there was no food here. He would be starved in a couple of days. As for the animals in the wilderness, 90% of them were stronger than him, except that they preferred brutalizing each other.
…
Two days later, Fernando came to this place and searched for “Hysterical Dance”, an organization that had evacuated here. As far as he knew, although the Eye of Curse had been hiding recently, he hadn’t admitted failure yet but merged a lot of smaller organizations to make up for the losses in the previous incident.
If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have known where he should go at all.
Naturally, he was unaware of the specific location of “Hysterical Dance”. Only by reaching the area and passing the test of the sorcerers could he be allowed in.
“Huh, some magic traps are activated here.” Fernando moved carefully on the ground instead of flying in the sky due to the night watchers’ recent madness. With his spiritual power, he suddenly discovered an obvious trap with little disguise, suggesting that it was set up by a rookie.
“Is this the relic of a certain sorcerer?” Fernando was immediately in a better mood. It was not because he was greedy, but because the “Congress of Magic”, having just been established, lacked both materials and money. The Union of Sorcerers suffered the heaviest losses in the incident of Cocus. The two deputy presidents who were not killed carved up the property of the organization and escaped, leaving nothing but a City in the Sky that was still in debris to Douglas and Fernando. Had it not been for the sponsorship from Hathaway, Fernando’s visit to other organizations would have been very embarrassing.
So, he paused and cast spells to investigate the environment. After confirming his safety, he began to try to crack the magic trap.
About half an hour later, after a crack, the hill collapsed, and a gate was revealed.
After a thorough examination, Fernando flew in as enthusiastically as fire, only to discover that most gems, materials, and items were already gone.
“I’m one step late. If I ran into that rookie, I could’ve totally fooled… well, introduced him into the Congress,” Fernando remarked in obvious regrets.
Based on the magic books that had been taken away and the remaining battle traces, he concluded that it was the apprentice-level rookie who took away the treasure through divinity.
…
Grasses and woods proliferated in the valley that was covered in vague, erratic mist.
Holding the black-covered thick book, Erica read it in fascination and calculated now and then.
“So, we are on a planet…”
“Is gravity the essence of the power of earth?”
“Is Earth Element the source of gravity?”
“The planet operates in such a way…”
“No wonder we will land again after we jump…”
Whispers of remarks and discussions echoed around Erica. The sorcerers were talking about “Mathematical Principles of Magical Philosophy” in excitement or contemplation.
The book disrupted their understanding of the world, making them feel that they had never really recognized it.
If it weren’t for the fact that the book was unprecedentedly creative, the cognitive worlds of many of them would’ve collapsed or consolidated, but even so, they still thought that their mindsets had been refreshed.
Is the world like this?
The world is like this!
Raising their heads and looking at the stars over the mist, they seemed to see the trajectories of the mysterious stars. Everything was now under control!
Erica read for a while before she put down the book and rubbed her head as if she had been exhausted. Reading the book was too painful, particularly when one did not have enough knowledge!
Douglas had once taught her calculus before, but it was only meant to lay a foundation, and a lot of details were still obscured to her. So, it was terribly difficult for her to learn the Mathematical Principles of Magical Philosophy. She meant to write to Douglas, only to find that he was out of reach.
Seeing that Erica was rubbing her head, the sorcerers around rushed to her like rabbits and begged her.
“Erica, it’s time to teach us calculus!”
“How do you think this question should be solved?”
“Should this magic model be processed with calculus?”
Their questions harassed Erica’s ears like dancing flies, making her even more upset.
However, when she looked at the earnestness on their faces, her heart was softened again. She could learn the book by herself with her basic knowledge of calculus, but they did not know anything about it and could only read the gravity-related content.
In the meantime, she couldn’t help but feel extremely proud. Many of them were senior-rank sorcerers who were much stronger than herself, but they had to ask for her guidance. Even Mr. Atlant asked her about calculus a while ago. Calculus was truly a paradigm-shifting breakthrough in mathematics!
Erica looked around and suddenly had an intense, uncontrollable delight. After the fall of Aalto, her companions had been as numb and desperate as undead creatures, but “Mathematical Principles of Magical Philosophy” was like a lighthouse in the night that drove the darkness and despair away, filling them with hope again. It was not because magic was not powerful, but because we hadn’t done enough! Our understanding of this world was too shabby!
When there was hope, the succession of magic would never stop.
Erica’s lips curled, and both happy and worried, she began to teach her companions calculus.
At this moment, a sorcerer flew in and asked an archmage who was in the crowd asking questions. “Mr. Deputy President, a senior-rank sorcerer named Fernando is requesting to meet you in the cabin. He has already passed the test. Do you want to let him in?”
Before the deputy president replied, Erica suddenly stood up. “Mr. Fernando? He’s very good at calculus!”
That was Mr. Douglas’ words!
Most sorcerers did not know that Douglas had already become a legend.
“What? He’s very good at calculus?” Hardly had she finished her sentence when the sorcerers of the valley rushed out and disappeared, leaving only the sorcerer who came to send the message and Erica staring at each other.