2024-04-28 17:10:49Caster carefully shut his magic book once he finished studying the Pythan Formula, then left the empty library. Up above, a huge crack sliced through the sky from the Nega-Storm. The sun, red as blood, cast its final light, making the city sweltering and desolate.
In the heart of the city, the shelter tower still stood, its feeble light a reminder of the ancient protector who had guarded Black Sim City for centuries. Yet, it also signaled the city's imminent demise.
Glassview, once vibrant with magic, is now withered due to the mana drought. In days gone by, humans wielded potent magic and even fancied themselves as gods. But now, with mana depleted, their power faded, leaving behind only dusty tomes in abandoned libraries.
For Caster, those books held little significance compared to the Pythan Formula, which still held potential with a bit of mana infusion. He had dwelled in Glassview for two decades, always feeling like he'd missed out compared to its former glory.
Strolling through the silent streets, Caster sensed Glassview's end drawing near, sending shivers down his spine. The once bustling city now languished, with dwindling populace and resources.
Suddenly, a chill swept over Caster, unlike anything he'd felt in the desert. Glancing up, he saw the sky growing darker, heralding Black Sim's demise.
As darkness descended, chaos erupted. Buildings crumbled, lives were lost, and the city resounded with mournful cries.
"It's finally happening," Caster murmured, standing outside his abode, observing the tragic spectacle unfold, feeling stunned.
Then, upon awakening, Caster found himself in a lush world brimming with mana—a stark contrast to the desolation of his previous reality. Yet, his elation was short-lived as he realized he inhabited a stranger's body, thrust into a new existence with memories of Sifa Spellbound, a once-promising apprentice in a bygone era.
Sifa Spellbound's fortunes took a sharp downturn when he was on the cusp of becoming a 9th Rank Magic Apprentice
"He's unlucky," Caster said, feeling sorry for Sifa. It was a harsh twist of fate for a young person with such a promising future to be caught in such bad luck.
But soon, Caster put those thoughts aside and focused on his body's condition. That was what mattered most to him.
Having survived the decline of Glassview for 20 years, Caster wanted mana. Without enough mana, he wouldn't have lasted even an hour in that tough environment, with deadly sand beasts, scorching temperatures, and the bad radiation of the Nega-Storm.
What kept Caster alive during those years wasn't a strong family or a bright future, but his skill with mana control. He didn't care about the weakness of his body or the debts he owed.
Being a 9th Rank Magic Apprentice wasn't enough. If Sifa had been an Archmage, owing eighty thousand gold wouldn't have scared him. And even if he wanted to pay, they would have needed the courage to accept it.
After looking at Sifa Spellbound's potential, Caster found him promising.
Despite being just a 9th Rank Magic Apprentice, Sifa had a solid foundation and worked hard, with his mana almost forming a mana whirlpool. The only thing holding him back was his lack of control over mana.
During those twenty years, Caster had worked hard to use mana efficiently. His control over mana had become very good, much better than Sifa Spellbound's.
After thinking about the body's magical potential for about ten minutes, Caster felt confident. He started gathering mana, guiding it carefully.
At first, the mana flowed gently, like a calm stream, but with Caster's guidance, it became stronger, like a raging river. This was an important moment for a Magic Apprentice.
If they lost control, they'd have to start over, maybe losing hope of forming a mana whirlpool.
Many Magic Apprentices failed to become Archmages because they couldn't control mana. Sifa Spellbound had been stuck as a 9th Rank Magic Apprentice for three years because he was afraid of failing.
But Caster wasn't afraid. With his good control, he guided the mana easily, forming a mana whirlpool quickly.
This step meant he could wear the black gown of a mage, but Caster didn't stop there. Ignoring how close he was to finishing the mana whirlpool, he pushed the mana more, and it collapsed under the pressure, like a bursting bubble.
Caster wasn't worried at all. He kept gathering mana and formed a mana whirlpool, only to collapse it with a surge of mana, repeating the process.
This loop, which would surprise any modern mage, continued for ten cycles before the weak mana whirlpool finally stabilized.
Once the mana whirlpool stopped collapsing, Caster felt satisfied. He gathered some mana at the center of the whirlpool.
The mana whirlpool started rotating slowly, never stopping. Caster raised his hand, and magic runes appeared on it, followed by strong magical energy filling the room. A faint buzzing sound could be heard in the air.
Even the most critical mage would have to admit that this was a nearly perfect mana whirlpool, with impressive endurance and explosive power comparable to a top mage. What was unbelievable was that it only took a few minutes to form.
No one in this era could have done this. It was a technique developed many years later when mages' mana control reached a new level. They discovered that this rough method could create a mana whirlpool quickly and make it powerful. After hundreds of years of refinement, Caster learned this technique, which would have been unimaginable in his time.
As Caster was about to strengthen his mana whirlpool further, he heard a voice outside.
"This is all very clear! My cousin took eight thousand gold coins from me before he went to sea. But his business failed, so shouldn't I get my eight thousand gold back? I'm not unreasonable. I know you don't have money now. How about this? I'll buy the house for ten thousand gold. You can pay back your debt and still have two thousand left."
The voice sounded hoarse and annoying, like a loud duck. Caster, who was focusing on his mana whirlpool, felt annoyed.
"There's no need to be so excited about paying a debt," Caster muttered, grinding his teeth. He was thinking about going to confront that annoying person.
But before Caster could move, the door burst open with a loud bang. A fat man, weighing more than 150 kilograms, stumbled in, followed by an old man around 60. They were arguing.
"Let go of me! You're just a butler. This isn't your business!" the fat man shouted.
"Luigi, you know what that eight thousand gold was! It was a gift from the Master. Did you even contribute anything?" the old man retorted, pulling at Luigi's sleeve. His face turned red from anger.
"Is this a threat?" Luigi yelled back.
"Or you will?" Caster interrupted their argument.
"Or I will..." Luigi trailed off, realizing that his nephew was repeating his words.
Luigi had always doubted his nephew's potential to become a mage, especially after wasting so much gold on him.
After his father's death, the nephew even begged for an extension on the debt deadline. If he had any chance of becoming a mage, would he have done that?
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Chapter 497
The lie was brilliant. It was perfectly evil. General Corin was making sure that no one in the world would ever help Caster. He was turning Caster into a walking plague. If Caster knocked on a door to ask for a cup of water, the people inside would scream in terror and try to kill him."Any citizen who helps the Rogue Vector will be executed," Corin promised. "Any citizen who hides him will be burned. Any citizen who speaks his old name will be arrested for treason."Through the iron grate, Caster watched the purple light of the giant face flicker in the smoke.Then, General Corin gave his final, most painful order."To ensure the infection does not spread," Corin boomed, "we must clean the city of his lies. Every book, every scroll, every paper ever written by the traitor must be destroyed. Bring his books to the Great Square. Throw his words into the fire. Burn the past, so we can save the future!"The giant purple face in the sky suddenly vanished. The magical broadcast ended.For
Chapter 496
The heat was terrible. Above their heads, the capital city was on fire. Commander Thorne and his Twin Moons soldiers had received their new orders. They were no longer searching the ruined houses. They were burning them to the ground.Down in the dark, damp tunnel beneath the Old Canal, Caster Spellbound and Archmage Lysane huddled together. They sat in the mud. The air was thick with gray smoke.CRACK. SNAP.The loud sounds of breaking wood echoed from the street above. A house was collapsing into the fire. The ceiling of the dirt tunnel shook. Small pieces of rocks and dry earth fell onto Caster’s shoulders.He did not brush the dirt away. He just stared at the dark wall across from him.He was completely exhausted. His body felt like it was made of heavy lead. Inside his chest, his magical core was gone. There were only a few tiny, weak red embers left at the very bottom of his soul. He had given up the power of a god. Now, he was just a frail, tired old man sitting in the mud.N
Chapter 495
The father stared out the window. His face was pale white. "Did you see what he did?" the father whispered in awe and horror. "The soldiers fired the great cannon at him... and he just waved his hand and turned the whole house to sand! He dropped a building on the brave guards!""He is a monster," Mara sobbed."Then they threw the glowing nets," the father continued, his voice shaking. "But he didn't even care. He just stamped his foot, and he turned the whole street into an ash monster! The soldiers shot him with lightning, but he just vanished into pure smoke! He cannot be killed! He is a god of the dark!"Down below, Caster was just a tired old man leaning against a wall, trying to save his friend.But up in the cellar, the truth was already dead. The myth had overtaken reality.The civilians saw flashes of the chase, and they filled in the blanks with their own terrible fears. The story would spread. By tomorrow, the whole city would whisper that the Rogue Vector could tear down b
Chapter 494
Underneath the thick, blinding cloud of dust, Caster and Lysane were huddled tightly against the fallen stone pillar. The pillar had protected them from the falling house.They were covered in dirt, coughing softly, but they were alive."That was incredibly foolish," Lysane whispered, coughing up dust. "We almost crushed ourselves.""It was the only way," Caster whispered back. "But the dust will clear in a minute. They will find us. I need to make them look the wrong way again. Permanently."Caster looked at the ground. The courtyard was covered in ordinary gray ash from the storm the night before.Caster reached out. He found another broken piece of white marble in the rubble. This piece had a different ancient rune carved into it. It was the "Echo" rune. A rune used by singers to make their voices bounce off walls.Caster bit his thumb again. Another drop of dark, black blood.He smeared his blood onto the Echo rune. He twisted the lines. He changed the geometry. He pushed his mind
Chapter 493
The charging bone-dogs leaped into the air, their jaws opening wide to tear Caster’s throat out.The blue rune on the wall flashed a violent, blinding white.BOOM!The brick wall detonated. It was not a huge explosion, but it was perfectly timed. Hundreds of heavy, sharp red bricks exploded outward like bullets. The bricks slammed into the two flying bone-dogs mid-air.The force of the exploding bricks knocked the hounds backward. Their smoke bodies dissipated for a second, and their white bones crashed to the wet ground."Keep moving!" Caster gasped. He grabbed Lysane’s hand and pulled her out of the back end of the alleyway.They burst out into a small, ruined courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded by tall, broken houses. In the center of the courtyard was a dry stone fountain.But they were not safe."There he is!" a voice yelled from the rooftops above.Three Twin Moons soldiers had climbed the buildings. They were standing on the broken roofs, looking down into the courtyard."
Chapter 492
"We are safe down here," Lysane said, trying to sound hopeful. "You said these tunnels are not on any map. They do not know we are under their feet."Caster pushed himself away from the wall. He forced his tired legs to take another step."We are safe in the dark," Caster agreed. "But these tunnels do not go all the way out of the city. We are heading toward the Old Canal. To cross the canal and reach the Outer Gates, we have to go up to the surface. We have to walk under the open sky for at least one street."Lysane’s grip on his arm tightened. "One street. We can do that. We will run very fast."They continued walking in silence for another twenty minutes. The tunnel began to slope upward. The air smelled a little bit fresher.Finally, they reached a dead end.The tunnel stopped at a heavy, rusted iron ladder bolted to the stone wall. The ladder led straight up to a square iron grate in the ceiling."This is it," Caster whispered. He looked up at the grate. Faint, gray daylight filt
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Reader Comments
very interesting love the story line