by Zhuang Bifan
Unless…
Unless it was going be as how that fella said it. Adjust the position of the element amplifying circuit, and thus gain some space for the 13 magic nodes in exchange…
Originally, Moke was waiting for the other party to become a joke, but he had carelessly forgotten about the property of Brilliant Thorium, and had actually fallen to the state of being seen as a joke by a layman. In a moment, Moke really did not know how to describe his feelings. That feeling of having no place to hide oneself was like he had been slapped. Moke stood there, his face pale. His mouth was wide open for a while, but he did not know how to answer the opposition's question…
This time, Moke really did not dare to answer it haphazardly, because he suddenly realized that he could not figure out this young mage called Felic anymore. Calling him an outsider to Inscription was hard, for everything he had said was about the most crucial point. But to say that he was an expert in Inscription… Moke did not dare believe it. Any expert would have to go through countless failures in exchange for a broad and profound knowledge of Inscriptions. Without tens of years of thorough research, nobody would be able to get such knowledge out of thin air.
Indeed, this young mage in front of him could be a true genius, but so what? Isn't Aldwin from Alanna's Guild of Magic a genius? Am I, Moke, not a genius? No matter how much of a genius, it was impossible to be successful without going through failure. Furthermore, based on the information that Mr Rosen had provided, this Felic should be a genius in magic. Moke believed that there was nobody in this world that would have everything when born. A person that was proficient in magic and Inscription… How could there be such a good deal in this world?
Moke silently told himself that he would have to be careful about everything he said or did before figuring out the truth about this fella. The mistake he made with the location of the element amplifying circuit just now could still be chalked up to his forgetting about the property of Brilliant Thorium. But, if he were to make any more mistakes, he would completely throw his old face in the Breezy Plains.
Moke looked around. Be it Herza or those engineers, they were all looking at him with faces of anticipation. This time, Moke really did not dare to say anything else. It was still easy to speak for Herza, but those engineers did not have much propriety in speech. If he were to do something stupid, they would definitely not mind helping spread the word. By that time, it would only take a few days for the word of his stupidity to spread among the Supreme Council…
"This… this…"
Moke said "this" more than several times, and did not elaborate on any reasons. Instead, it was Lin Li, who had c.o.c.ked his ears to listen, that became impatient. He shook his head and walked around the crystal ball. In the end, his gaze was set upon the Countercurrent mageweath again.
"This… Mr Moke. I am just casually saying. If I were to be mistaken, please don't take offense…"
"Don't mention it… President Felic really knows how to joke…" If it was before, Moke would most likely roll his eyes and display a disdainful look. He would most likely scold him, saying, "Your hair has not even grown yet, and you dare to give me directions?"
Well, things like that…
But now, Moke did not dare to do that. He was ambiguous even when he spoke, for he was scared he would create another joke.
Luckily, Felic did not realize his awkwardness. After scanning through the mageweath once, he then pointed at the Brilliant Thorium base again with a hesitant look, and said, "It's because I have also seen President Aldwin draw a Countercurrent mageweath back when I was at Alanna. It was somewhat different from yours…"
Lin Li's voice got softer and softer, but Moke's eyes lit up as he listened.
When Lin Li had finished speaking, the awkwardness on Moke's face had completely disappeared, and in its place was a look of sudden realization.
No wonder…
No wonder he said that there were deviations in the element amplifying circuit that Moke had inscribed. The questions that Moke had were suddenly answered in that moment. Like I said, this fella is only in his twenties. How could he be proficient in Inscriptions? That small mistake could only be seen if Aldwin was here. After all, he was more than a hundred years old. In terms of experience, he would definitely be better than Moke. This fella had been giving directions illogically for the whole day. So, it was because he had seen Aldwin inscribe the Countercurrent mageweath before back then at Alanna…
For a stranger to Inscriptions, it was only natural that the Countercurrent mageweath that this Master of Inscription, Aldwin, had inscribed was the only benchmark. Some people that had seen the Countercurrent mageweath that Moke had inscribed would of course think that he was wrong, but they did not know that he had used some special skills and slightly changed the position of the element amplifying circuit. F*ck, it all boils down to doing something extra. Of all things to do, I had to show off my skills in front of an outsider. In the end, I did not even get a single praise, but instead almost had a heart attack…
After thinking in this manner, Moke had somewhat calmed down. When he looked at Lin Li again, his gaze was no longer as nervous before. With an unfathomable look, he said, "President Felic, I need to remind you that I am me, and Aldwin is Aldwin. Masters of Inscriptions have their own styles. The things we are good at are different…"
"I see…"
Lin Li nodded. It was just that his tone was plain—it did not sound sincere. Luckily, Moke did not mind after being frightened just now. Now, he was wrecking his brains to find an excuse to leave. Otherwise, if he were to wait for this kid to suddenly think of asking him to activate the Countercurrent mageweath for a trial, he might really throw his face away.
Others might be clueless, but how could Moke not know about the mageweath that he had inscribed himself? This Countercurrent mageweath was already useless. It did not have more support from magic nodes when inscribed on the Brilliant Thorium base. The element amplifying circuit had no way of functioning. It was still alright if nobody inputted any mana to activate it, but if somebody were to try and input mana to activate it, they would realize that the Countercurrent mageweath was just a decoration.
No matter what it was, he still had to leave first. As for the aftermath, he could just wait for everyone to leave and sneak back in to make a new inscription. After all, it was just a Countercurrent mageweath. For Master of Inscription, making one was just a matter of seconds.
Unfortunately, that fella called Felic was not tactful. Moke had already covered his mouth and yawned for a long while, and this fella still did not understand his cue. He just kept dragging on and asking questions. Could it be that he did not realize that Moke did not want to talk to him?
F*ck, he is too thick-skinned… Moke silent cursed in his heart. He did not want to give this fella any more respect. You just have to drag me along and not let me leave, right? Fine, I'll show you a joke first…
"Oh, yes, President Felic. About the ten Wards of Bad Luck that you asked me to inscribe, I have already completed them. Do you want to take a look at them now?"
"Of course, of course…"
"Haha. Well then, President Felic, Mr Herza and engineers, please follow me…" Seeing that this fella was being reckless, Moke could not help but feel contented. He thought, You almost gave me a heart attack just now. This time, I wanna see what kind of tricks you can still pull off. What an idiot. You actually asked a Master of Inscription to inscribe Wards of Bad Luck. Don't you know just a single Ward of Bad Luck would cause a large piece of land to become barren? You actually recklessly asked for ten… I really want to see how are you going to explain yourself to the Supreme Council…
Chapter 350 - Ward of Bad Luck
Moke guided the group through the hall, and they soon entered the bas.e.m.e.nt of the tower after going down a series of steps. The thick walls blocked off the morning sun rays, and the surrounding air was turbid. However, the spooky aura could not shield that intense magical wave. This was the nucleus of the who
le tower, and all of the magical devices in the tower were supported by these tightly shut secret rooms.
The engineers that had designed the tower personally comprehended everything here the best. Of course they knew that out of all these secret rooms, there was one meant for providing energy for the tower. To this day, they still remembered that this President Felic had come to the incomplete tower by himself on a night with a clear moon and few stars, and mounted a fiery red magical crystal on the source of mana. After that, the whole tower was surrounded by an enormous magical power.
The engineers did not understand what sort of magical crystal it was, but they knew that the magical power it contained was definitely enough to make most of the mages in this world go crazy…
However, the room that everyone was going to enter this time was not the secret room that source of mana was placed in. It was the room beside it…
Moke personally opened the door of the secret room, and a swathe of crimson brilliance appeared in front of everyone. From afar, it looked like a pool of blood under the night sky. It was filled with a bloody but mysterious aura.
Lin Li stood in front of the crimson light. There were exactly ten Wards of Bad Luck before him.
"President Felic, those are the ten Wards of Bad Luck that you wanted."
"Thank you." Lin Li nodded his head, and did not mind the provocation in Moke's gaze. He just quietly stood there and felt the magical waves coming from the crimson light.
Moke was indeed a Master Moke. These ten Wards of Bad Luck were completed rather beautifully. Be it in terms of mana distribution or drawing skills, they could be described as a rare and excellent product. From Lin Li's perspective, these ten Wards of Bad Luck only had one weakness. It was that they were too near to each other…
This could be due to Moke's character—his natural pettiness. He liked to use cyclic compression when dealing with space. The Countercurrent mageweath outside had already proven this point. Of course, it could also be that Moke's magical attainments were not sufficient. He had only just broken through to the Archmage realm when he was already in his forties. Naturally, he would be different from Lin Li who had an instinctive sensitivity to mana. A lack of magical attainments as well as being too devoted to Inscription design had caused Moke to make a small mistake. These ten Wards of Bad Luck were rather independent, but the overly compact design would cause them to interfere with and reject each other. The chaos of the magical waves could possibly trigger some unforeseen accidents…
But all that did not matter to Lin Li…
What Lin Li needed was not some Ward of Bad Luck…
The uses for the Ward of Bad Luck were indeed very evil. Normally, those Necromancers that did not have enough power would borrow the strength of the Ward of Bad Luck. The only use for the Ward of Bad Luck was that it would change everything in its surroundings into barren land. Be it plants or animals, they would all lose their lives in this barren land.
This was what the Necromancers loved the most. They needed such evil power. By relying on the Ward of Bad Luck, their necromagic would become stronger. Be it summoning or control, it would all be many times stronger than before. From a certain point of view, the Ward of Bad Luck was like a Humerus Domain that'd been weakened several times!
Other than that, the most useful part about the Ward of Bad Luck should be being a magical trap.
It was especially so when hunting strong magical beasts. Mages needed a special way to weaken the monsters' strength and resistance. At this point, the curse of the Ward of Bad Luck could come into play. Magical beasts affected by the Ward of Bad Luck's curse would lose a portion of their strength for a short period of time. By using this chance, it would be much easier to capture or kill them…
However, this was not what Lin Li wanted.
The Ward of Bad Luck could strength Undead creatures, but Norfeller and Ujfalusi weren't included among them. Norfeller was a high-ranking Vampire, and thus relied on naturally powerful physical strength as well as the Dark Magic vampires were born with. It was needless to talk about Ujfalusi. He could summon Humerus Wyrms and create Noble Liches from the Humerus Domain. Why would he be affected by a small, little Ward of Bad Luck?
As for magical traps…
If Lin Li was willing, he could inscribe magical traps that were ten times stronger than the Ward of Bad Luck.
What Lin Li needed was a more powerful weapon…
"Moke, may I borrow your inscription pen for a bit?"
"Huh?" This request of Lin Li's was really too random. Moke was stunned for a long while before he nodded with hesitation, and took out an inscription pen from his tool bag.
Lin Li took a look. The one that Moke took out was that inscription pen that was made from Twilight Crystal. It seemed like this Master of Inscription was rather generous other than being narrow-minded. However, Lin Li still shook his head after being in a short daze. "This one will not do, Mr Moke. Do you have something bigger?"
"…" Moke almost puked blood on the spot. After being an Inscriber for so many years, Moke had never seen someone that would not know how to appreciate what was good. Didn't he know that the inscription pen that Moke had lent him was a treasure that Inscribers could only dream of? He still asked if there was something bigger… F*ck. Does he think that the inscription pens are like carrots, the bigger, the better? Something bigger… If it's too big, can your mom handle it…
Moke could feel the veins on his forehead swelling at that moment. He took in deep breaths forcefully before he could hold back the impulse to curse and swear.
"Take it!" After taking out another inscription pen from his tool bag, it was as if Moke had thrown it at Lin Li's face…
"Thank you." But Lin Li did not mind it. After receiving the inscription pen, he still politely thanked him.
Afterward, Lin Li stood in front of the crimson light.
This time, he stood there for ten minutes.
Suddenly, the secret room got quiet…
Although Moke was filled with rage, at this time, he could not help but feel curious. He really wanted to see what this fella was trying to do by borrowing his inscription pen.
Could it be…
Could it be that he wanted to make amendments to the Wards of Bad Luck that Moke had inscribed? This thought had just surfaced in his mind, but Moke could not help but smile. His smile was filled with self-mockery. It seemed like the false alarm just now had totally scared him if he actually had such a ridiculous thought.
Of course, Moke himself knew the Wards of Bad Luck that he had inscribed the best. Even if Aldwin were to come over personally, he would not even have the ability to improve anything, not to mention this outsider that knew nothing. Everybody was a master. How could trying to amend the other party's work be as easy as talking? Unless… Unless it was the legendary Guru of Inscription taking action, only then it would be a slim chance…
Not only Moke, the engineers were the same. The few of them stood there and blankly looked at Lin Li. Their natural profession sensitivity had told them that most likely something one could never imagine was about to happen. They really wanted to see what kind of shocking things this young and mysterious guild president was going to do…
Out of so many people present, only Herza was looking normal. This old man that had witnessed the finals in the Aurora Square and heard several stories from Macklin was probably the one that understood Lin Li the most out of everyone else here. Herza knew that this young mage called Felic was a genuine miracle creator. No matter how impossible it was, as long as it happened to him, it would all suddenly make sense.
In fact, back when Moke had inscribed the Countercurrent mageweath, Herza had already acutely perceived something. It was just that firstly, he was not confident, and secondly, he was trying to protect Moke's reputation. He just held it back, and did not ask…
An outsider that knew nothing? If Andoine heard this, who knew how hard he would be laughing right now…
Time seemed to p
ass by unusually slowly. Everything in the room seemed to be frozen in place. Everyone's gazes simultaneously fell on Lin Li, or on the hand that was holding the inscription pen…
After that, they saw that this young mage suddenly moved…
The glittering and translucent crystal pen was gently dipped into the bottle of sky blue ink. After that, a stream of sky blue light lit up everyone's eyes.
Lin Li's movements were shockingly fast. Even those genuine high-level Bandits might not be able to keep up with them. The crystal pen in his hand seemed to transform into a stream of light, painting lines amidst the plain of crimson red. It was as if some sort of life power had been given to the right hand that was holding the inscription pen at this moment. It made everything have a lethal sense of beauty. At this point, even those lines that were as dry as sawdust were also filled with life, pulsating along with the inscription pen and creating a dreamy scene with the crimson red and sky blue color.
"Sh*t…" After seeing Lin Li moving, Herza immediately knew something was wrong. This was not a joke. Even if Herza was not proficient in Inscription, he also knew that modifying the work of an Inscriber was the taboo of all taboos. This was like giving another Inscriber a slap, but this time, the Inscriber was someone of authority from the Supreme Council, Master Moke…
I'm doomed…
If these two had some small disputes before, then from now, these two would completely become enemies with each other. With Moke's narrow-mindedness, how could he tolerate such a humiliation? There was going to be big trouble this time. Herza just hoped that it would not affect the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony that was in few days' time…
However, the expression on Moke's face could be described as unusually brilliant.
It shifted from shock to anger, and then from anger to realization. In the end, it all became pale. A type of pale filled with despair…
Chapter 351 - All-Kill Array
While all this sounded like a long story, the truth was that it had happened in an instant.