NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 159 - Saved
Chapter 159: Saved
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Sailum spent 15 minutes analyzing the cantrip model, then half an hour to build the model. When he finally managed to cast Create Water out, an hour already passed.
“It always takes you an hour to learn a new cantrip?” Angor asked.
Sailum shook his head in embarrassment. “Your model is simpler. I did this one faster than the others.”
“… So how long did you spend when studying Cleanse until you can actually cast it?”
“Half a day maybe? But I still can’t use it to help me clean stuff in real life.”
Angor did not speak further. Looked like Singularity Dispersive Meditation was not all about faster training. It also helped him learn spells way quicker.
Create Water was a failure. The final result of the spell was getting them a small amount of water, which barely took half of a glass. They made some containers with clean tree leaves and shared the water. It was far from enough to quench their thirst but it was still better than nothing.
“I’ll try to optimize the model when I’m free and try to increase the amount,” Angor said.
“Why don’t you just wait for later and study Water Bullet? That spell will get enough water for all three of us to survive a day,” Sailum commented.
“You’re right… Still, some experiment won’t hurt.”
When they talked about random things, something suddenly exploded in the depth of Phantom Island, thus attracting everyone’s attention.
Tens of thousands of apprentices all looked in one direction. No one made a sound. Every single individual fixed his or her burning gaze on the island as if staring at a long-lost lover, or an eternal nemesis.
“Is the Sorcerer’s Garden completed?” Angor also looked their way. However, the three of them were too far away from the island. They could only see misty clouds.
People kept their attention on the island for a while, but the Phantom Island never showed anything else after the previous booming noise.
The deathly silence was slowly broken when someone began to whisper. When the crowds went bustling again, raven cries suddenly emerged from Phantom Island, bringing some fear to everyone’s mind.
Next, a powerful gust came from somewhere and blew all clouds away from the sky. Dark rainclouds which covered hundreds of kilometers came hanging over the area, shrouding the once sunny place in complete darkness.
Rainclouds and strong wind were followed by lightning. Unlike the people on the cloud dirt who had stable footings, those who had been floating in the sky were all knocked everywhere by the mighty gale. They were unable to keep balance.
In a matter of seconds, hundreds of apprentices who were too close to Phantom Island were pushed into the island by the wind and were shredded in half by the protective magic array.
Screams rose on all sides.
Angor and his friends also struggled in the wind. They were standing on a leaf of Tree of Eternity. With the nearby vines to support themselves, they could still remain steady.
Yet being steady did not prevent them from getting hurt by the wind.
Angor just experienced magic backfiring on him not long ago. His body and mind were both in bad condition. Now the whirling wind caused his face to go pale. Traces of blood began coming out of his mouth and nostrils.
“Angor? Are you okay?” Nausica was naturally the strongest one among the three people. Even when swaying here and there in the wind, she did not seem troubled at all.
Angor could not find the strength to speak. He had to clench his teeth and forced himself to hold on.
Nausica glanced at Sailum and saw the boy holding onto a vine carefully. Sailum was hugging a small tree branch and was in a better position compared to Angor. The boy could even spare a hand to grab his book pouch tightly.
With several swift leaps, Nausica rushed to Angor’s side with the help of the dancing branches and tree vines. She grabbed Angor’s arm to help him keep steady.
Angor gave her a thankful look. With Nausica on his back, he immediately felt safer.
However, the improved condition did not last long. His body suddenly gave in for losing too much blood. Very soon, Angor felt dizzy and a darkened vision.
Nausica could still manage herself with one arm supporting Angor, but when Angor went into a shock and added all his body weight on her, she began to lose her balance quickly.
“Angor! Angor?!” Nausica yelled between her teeth and received no response. She forced her stressed neck to turn around and shouted to Sailum, “Sailum! What happened to Angor?”
Sailum had been focusing on keeping his precious book safe. Upon hearing Nausica, he quickly looked Angor’s way.
“I think he fainted! He got blood all over his face!”
Nausica’s heart skipped a beat. With Angor unconscious, she could not keep up for very long all by herself. But she could not just give up Angor either. The woman squeezed up all her remaining strength and hoped that the gale would end soon.
Nausica reached her limit after another two minutes. Sweat had covered her entire body, and visible blood vessels had bulged on her forehead, neck, and arms.
Several sweat drops went along her arm and dropped on Angor’s face, clearing up Angor’s mind just a bit, which was enough to drag him out of the muddy state of trance.
He opened his eyes and saw Nausica’s terrifying, pain-stricken expression. None of her usual charms could be found.
Nausica realized Angor was awake when Angor grabbed onto a tree vine and greatly loosened her pressure.
“Thanks!” Angor yelled at Nausica in the wind.
Nausica only panted heavily. She rested a bit before replying, “Hold on yourself, I don’t have the stamina to help you anymore.”
Before Angor could answer, a stronger gust of wind invaded them, causing Angor to lose grip of his vine.
Angor was thrown away by the wind and fell. His body span like a stone in the air.
“Angor!!” Nausica and Sailum were both stunned at the terrible scene.
They did not want to think about what would happen if Angor reached the ground from this high in the sky.
Endless self-accusation covered Nausica’s mind. If she could just hold on to him for a little longer…
Angor free-fell at extreme speed. The giant leaf which was Falling Cloud Stop became smaller and smaller above him.
His mind went all blank. The only thing that repeated itself in his head was: Am I going to die?
Not in the Nightmare Realm, but here.
He did not have the time to feel regretful yet.
“Oho… It’s you, blond boy? You didn’t come to drink tea, but you have the time to commit suicide?” A lazy, female voice suddenly reached his ears.
Angor opened his eyes quickly and saw the figure of a woman made of floating mist looking at him in midair.
“I’m not suiciding,” said Angor. He recognized the figure and felt hope. “Lady Mirror, help me…”
The woman was one of the three ancestor souls in Brute Cavern, the spirit living in the mirror world, Lady Mirror. Angor met her once when coming into the mirror world.
“Help you?” Lady Mirror inspected Angor’s face and mumbled, “Alright… since you look pretty fine to me.” Lady Mirror reached out a hand, and a lump of white mist surrounded Angor’s body, stopping him from falling.
“But it’s not for free,” said Lady Mirror. She appeared beside Angor and said, “You’re going to pay me something that equals to the favor.”
Angor was still terrified at his near-death experience. The only thing he knew right now was endless gratitude toward Lady Mirror, so he answered without hesitation, “No problem. Anything, Lady Mirror, and I’ll do my best!”
Lady Mirror carried Angor upward using her mist.
“I don’t know what I need yet. Let’s… note it down for now, and I’ll come up with something later,” Lady Mirror spoke in a carefree manner. She only saved Angor for his above average looks and was not really expecting a newbie apprentice to pay her back.
“I’m going to repair a plane wound caused by the appearance of the world’s consciousness. Where are you heading to? I’ll send you there,” said Lady Mirror. She looked at the dark clouds in the sky in frustration. Her beauty sleep was interrupted when an avatar of the world’s consciousness suddenly descended and created a giant hole in the mirror world. She had to bear her rage for getting dragged up from her bed and go repair that hole, so the mirror world would not crumble on itself.
Angor considered. He wanted to join his friends at Falling Cloud Stop, but with such disastrous weather going on, he would just get blown off again.
He finally decided. “Can you send me to Professor Sunders?”
Lady Mirror was surprised by it. “Professor Sunders? You’re his new student?”
“Yes. Mister Sunders is my current mentor.”
Lady Mirror remained silent for a long time, without speaking or moving. Angor thought she had some grudge again Sunders and regretted his decision. He should have asked Lady Mirror to send him to the ground instead.
A moment later, Lady Mirror finally spoke in a somewhat small voice, “So Sunders is your professor. Just about right. I know what I should ask now…”
…
In the center of Phantom Island.
The wind was still raging. Angor stood behind Sunders, so he did not feel anything this time.
Toby also returned to him. The bird stood tall on his shoulder.
“Professor…” Angor spoke.
Sunders looked sideways at Angor through his gold-rimmed monocle. Angor was not sure of Sunders’ emotion with the glass covering his eye.
“Lady—Lady Mirror said that…” Angor thought about Lady Mirror’s request and felt really weird.
“Just disregard anything she said.” Seeing Angor’s hesitance, Sunders thought about Lady Mirror’s temperament and quickly realized what she wanted.
“But Lady Mirror saved my life.”
“Because you’re too weak. You can talk later. The Sorcerer’s Garden is about to complete. Watch closely.”
Chapter 160: Garden of Gravity
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Sunders was right when he said the garden was completing. Standing near the garden, Angor could clearly see the white mist covering the garden slowly disappearing, revealing a rippled barrier which divided the very space.
The barrier shrank rapidly. At the same time, the land and vegetations inside vanished along with it, leaving a giant hole behind.
The wind stopped when raindrops came pouring down.
“The world’s consciousness is here.”
Sunders’ voice barely ended when a strange feeling climbed onto everyone’s heart, an ancient and primal feeling, that caused them to bow down and surrender.
Angor felt like a scrap of dirt in the middle of endless land, drifting aimlessly under the effect of the mighty aura.
He did not find any will to resist at all. His mind followed the feeling on itself.
“It’s injecting the law!” Sunders’ words were heard.
Everyone on the scene, including wizards, all looked at the Sorcerer’s Garden in a serious attitude.
Butler Goode once mentioned to Angor that when the world’s consciousness injected a law into the newly-built Sorcerer’s Garden where destiny laid within, a mysterious rhyme which represented the law would come along.
Angor had no idea how to seize the said destiny. When everyone was paying their full attention, Angor was still completely lost. In order not to look too out of place, Angor pretended to be staring at the Sorcerer’s Garden in all seriousness. However, he learned nothing from his action.
When his attention traveled around random things, Angor saw Toby hopping on his shoulder, and quickly told the bird to quiet. “Destiny is coming, stay focused.”
Toby stopped its movement and stared at the Sorcerer’s Garden along with Angor. Neither of them knew what was going on.
Suddenly, a strange rhyme came spreading out.
Everyone within an area of dozens of square kilometers centered around the Phantom Island became silent. They all sensed the rhyme carefully.
When the rhyme came about, Angor also closed his eyes unintentionally and listened to it in a state he never experienced before.
It was a strange state. It was not meditation or tranquility of mind, but he still felt calmer than ever. His mind now looked like a borderless grassland which welcomed any wind or cloud to travel through. Even occasional horse herds galloping through did not disrupt the quiet space inside his mind.
Angor fully enjoyed the comfortable state.
At this moment, he could feel everything happening in this world as if the mysterious rhyme materialized in front of his eyes and bestowed knowledge without holding anything back.
…
The rhyme danced like musical notes, creating a concert of spirit in the eyes of its audiences.
The music had a quiet prelude, like a small drop of water on the surface of calm lake water. The ripples it created only further calmed people’s minds.
The prelude did not last long. When Angor was still indulged in the melodic ripples, faint drumbeats replaced everything and stepped onto the stage.
He never heard such drumbeats before. Each beat pulled on his organs and dragged them downward, giving him an uncomfortable feeling.
The third beat already caused Angor to fall on the ground, rendering him unable to move. Toby also lay beside him with its limbs spread out, as if the bird just found its life totally hopeless.
“The melody… the melody of gravity?!” A wizard muttered.
“You’re right. It is a gravity rhyme,” Wallace spoke. He was previously standing among the wizards, but the strange force caused him to hunker on the ground instead.
“So Sunders created a garden of gravity?”
“Did you smell something? Some flowers in the garden?”
Angor sprawled on the dirt when the strange drumbeats kept tingling his body. His mind was still strangely sensitive like a moment ago, with every sense amplified several times stronger. Each beat caused him severe pain.
Still, he was in better condition. Even if he could not bear the pressure brought by gravity, he could still lie on the ground.
The apprentices flying outside, on the other hand, all met their terrible fate. When the rhyme turned from an enjoyable melody to merciless pressure, they were all pulled down before they could react. People fell from the air, screaming like mad.
When the drum brought the tenth beat, Angor felt something changing.
He sensed a flaw in his tranquil mind. There was no wind, cloud or horses on the grassland now. Everything was replaced by a strange rhyme, the same one released by the Sorcerer’s Garden.
Angor was still unsure of what was going on when he found himself waking up.
Once awake, the pressure of gravity brought by the drumbeats appeared more bearable to him. The feeling was moderate, compared to when Angor was still immersed in his tranquil mental state.
Half a minute later, the rhyme slowly disappeared when the drumbeats finally stopped.
Now, the Sorcerer’s Garden began to shine a golden light and was shrinking ten times faster than before. The garden quickly became smaller than a finger ring and dropped into the hole on the ground.
Sunders waved a hand and the golden spot came flying into his palm.
No one prevented him from doing so. Still, all wizards showed jealousy in their eyes. That was a Sorcerer’s Garden, a valuable and tactical resource that could be carried around easily.
A Sorcerer’s Garden was enough to provide support for a middle-sized wizard organization. Now someone just possessed a private one…
It was a good thing that Sunders belonged to Brute Cavern. It would not be too hard for them to use Sorcerer’s Garden in the future.
“The world’s consciousness is leaving.”
“Yes. So it must be a garden of gravity this time.”
“This law is only a mid-tier one, but it’s still useful. Bloodline wizards can train their bodies inside.”
“Pity. I didn’t sense the sequence of gravity.”
“I wonder what kind of gravity level the garden can offer? If it can strengthen it to a hundred times, all bloodline wizards in the south will want to come here and receive baptism.”
“Looks like we Brute Cavern will become a paradise for Bloodline Art.”
“Grass Snail, you shameless fool. This is Sunders’ personal garden. Don’t place the organization on high moral grounds already.”
“Come on. I’m just mentioning a possible idea.”
“Once the information gets out, those from Gravity Forest will surely get furious about this. If I remembered right, Sunders scammed the fragment of eternity from ‘Dryad’ Boko, a Gravity Forest wizard.”
“Scam? That’s a legit business!”
Since the Sorcerer’s Garden was completed, the once serious wizards all began to chat.
After listening to their conversation, Angor now had a basic idea about the garden.
The wizards called it the “garden of gravity” probably because gravity was its law. Angor felt a bit disappointed. If the garden received the law of purification, he no longer had to worry about challenging Sky Tower.
The law of gravity was of little use to him. As the wizards said, this garden was most effective when used by bloodline wizards to train their bodies. However, Angor was an Occultist.
Even so, the garden could be used by many, since bloodline wizards were not the only ones who studied bloodline. In order to strengthen their physical performance, most wizards from three major arts would choose to fuse a bloodline into their bodies.
Sunders floated down slowly.
Using his sharp perception, Angor quickly noticed that Sunders was wearing a golden ear nail on his right ear. The garden of gravity was probably fixed on this piece of accessory.
The wizards all stopped talking and looked at Sunders.
“I checked. The law of gravity in the garden was still in its initial state. It can provide 3.17 times gravity at his current condition. With my calculation, when the law energy completely fills the garden, the center of the garden should have a gravity of 93 times,” Sunders slowly explained.
Ninety-third times gravity!
It was absolutely good news for bloodline wizards. A bloodline apprentice could receive a good baptism under the gravity of 10 times while a bloodline wizard would need a gravity of 30 to 100 times. A gravity beyond 100 times would be constantly effective for level-2 wizards.
There were many different types of gravity gardens too, and a garden useful to wizards was extremely valuable.
Sunders’ garden of gravity was probably a middle-leveled one or something a little weaker, but it was still a lot more useful than the garden in Floating Mech City.
…
Angor poked at Toby and asked if the bird found anything.
He never expected Toby to actually gain anything, so he was just idling his time away with the bird. However, Toby nodded in a serious manner which caused Angor to widen his eyes.
“You found something? Well, I didn’t find any,” said Angor. He revealed a sad look. “You’re not pulling my leg, um?”
Toby shook its head and kept a serious expression.
Sunders just left the crowd and approached Angor. When he heard Angor’s words, the man also looked at Toby with a curious look.
“You gained something in the process?”
Toby lifted its head proudly.
Everyone knew that the construction of a Sorcerer’s Garden could bring good destiny. People could follow the rhyme created by the world’s consciousness when it injected a law into the garden, and try to comprehend the law from it. This was not limited to high-level wizards. Apprentices had their own chances of learning something as well.
Someone with great talent could even learn the law of gravity straight away. But it was only theoretically. Possible by rules, but impossible to achieve in reality.
Someone might catch something about the basic sequence of the law at best. Most people would not achieve anything at all. Like this time, none of the wizards sensed the sequence of gravity. Not even Sunders.
Sunders stared at Toby with squinted eyes. The curiosity grew stronger.
“Let’s see how well you comprehended the sequence of gravity.”
Comments (2)
Tadertot
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Tadertot
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