Chapter 248: The Prophecy

The marble base was smooth as a mirror, and its cross-section, like congealed jade, seemed to form a natural ink wash landscape painting. It was said that in ancient China, people often selected marble with formed patterns to make picture screens or inlaid paintings.

However, now it was just a base placed on a sky-blue stone floor. The grooves inlaid with re-melted Mithril were smooth and rounded, feeling as delicate as a bar of soap dipped in water when touched. At the same time, the fit between the marble and the Mithril was so tight that not even a needle could fit in the gap.

The small altar carved from ash wood looked simple and elegant, coated with transparent oil from sea demon whales. This made the ring patterns, alternating between ivory white and chocolate, clearly visible. Added to this was a thin, almost invisible layer of crystal that sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight.

Inside the velvet cushion on the altar lay a water-gold sphere the size of a human head. Even under the golden sunlight, its surface shone with a strange “pale cyan” luster. From a distance, the changes inside the Crystal Ball looked like clouds or mist, sometimes resembling mountain landscapes, and other times looking like stars in the sky. The shapes were casual and constantly changing.

Crystal Balls in this world were hand-polished from natural crystal columns. The manufacturing process was extremely difficult. The birth of one sphere required at least four to six times its weight in material. Moreover, the polishing process was very risky, often leading to cracking and wasted effort.

Therefore, the larger the Crystal Ball, the more expensive it became. As an important tool for Divination Magic, the price of such items was not only high but also showed a shortage of supply. Perhaps because the Planes were different, the craftsmen who could make qualified Crystal Balls here were mostly from the Gnome race. As for whether jewelers from other races possessed this skill, George did not know.

To be honest, George had to make great efforts today to get permission to bring the few low-level Mages who had recently surrendered to witness the ceremony. Although strict Contracts had been signed, the initiative of the workers themselves was still very important. So George chose a few who had performed well during this time to attend the ceremony as a reward for their work.

For a research-oriented Spellcaster, being able to observe a high-level Mage’s magic ritual up close could be described as a dream come true. The learning of Magic was like medicine; it was not just theoretical study but also a process of exploring unknown mysteries. At the same time, it was a process that relied on practical operation and experience accumulation.

They longed for this mindset, which was not just like the ordinary star-chasing fans of their past lives. More importantly, they hoped to see something in the spells of the “senior experts.” If this could spark inspiration and provide enlightenment, that would be the best.

Looking at the longing expressions and hopeful eyes of the three men and one woman before him, George knew that his goal this time would likely be exceeded. The way to manage subordinates lies in combining kindness and authority, having the wisdom to recognize people, choosing good rewards, and punishing those who do poorly. ‘After today, based on the descriptions and accounts of these few low-level Mages before me, the cooperation attitude of the remaining few should improve, right!’ George thought to himself while looking at these young Mages before him, whose faces showed they were not yet thirty years old. He silently made his own calculations in his heart.

In this world, the official age for Mages to complete their apprenticeship ranged from 12 to 27 years. The former could be described as one in ten thousand, geniuses who received strong training, while the latter were often those with average talent or those who encountered some accident along the way. As for those who became official Mages after the age of 27, it could only mean they generally came from a good background, and even with such poor talent, they could be supported until they completed their training in the city.

In the years before this, these Mages had been studying hard in cold windows. This was because the most fundamental part of learning Magic was those theoretical knowledge.

If this were the world before his transmigration, a Mage would probably need to master: Classical Chinese, Latin, love Cuneiform, and specialize in Oracle Bone Script and Tadpole Script. After all, Mages were a profession that might study ancient books all day long, and even casting spells required using several different languages. So language was definitely a basic skill.

Then there was the aspect of knowledge reserve: Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Green Religion, and even the Aum Shinrikyo sect—all familiar. This belonged to theological knowledge.

As for plane geometry, analytic geometry basics, and algebraic calculus. Was it too much to ask for this for learning Magic Arrays?

Astronomy, astrology, celestial mechanics, and relativity. These were probably prerequisites for some spells.

Also, knowledge of philosophy and history should at least meet the standard of being familiar with them.

And the most basic talent: calculating four-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in one’s head is not difficult, right? Something like sixth sense or intuition must be present.

Of course, this was only for those who thought that after transmigrating to another world, they could easily become Mages. If it were really that easy, Mages would not be so valuable. Of course, a certain type of “big sweet potato Mage” might be an exception.

However, considering the knowledge structure and types in this world, the quantity would not be that huge. But relying on the scarcity of books in this world and the high cost of knowledge, the overall difficulty did not seem to be much different.

Therefore, low-level Mages before the age of thirty in this world were like Xiucai of the same age in ancient Tianchao. They were quite noticeable and had a bright future in their hometowns. Many Mages spent time during their apprenticeship that far exceeded the time they spent from completing their training to touching the threshold of the Red Iron Rank.

Of course, after this, it was often a contest of personal talent and opportunity. For Mages, the hardest part of the early stage was actually the apprenticeship, the long time of full-time study, and the money required for magic experiments. Their growth often showed a strange hyperbola.

Not long after, the Great Prophet Laurel Botfish appeared before everyone. He wore a strange-looking laurel wreath on his head, which was quite rare. It was a crown made of seven-degree gold inlaid with a clear teardrop-shaped gem.

“That is the Tear of the King,” the female Mage murmured softly, gazing at the gem with a dazed expression.

The Tear of the King was sometimes also called the Frozen Tear or the Lich’s Weep. This extremely rare gem was smooth on the surface and extremely hard; in fact, even using an iron hammer and a furnace could not break, cut, or chisel it. The source of these gems was still unknown, but folk legends believed they were crystallized tears of long-deceased Necromancer Kings or Queens. In the hands of Mages, they were said to greatly enhance the accuracy of Divination spells.

Recalling the information about that gem, George tried his best not to look at the face of that female Mage. Although he had known long ago that this might be the result, George still hoped to hold onto a bit of fantasy in his heart.

In fact, female Mages of this time were mostly not the intellectual beauties that some people imagined. Especially those low-level female Mages. Besides noble girls specifically trained by noble families for marriage alliances, the mistresses of high-level Mages, or commoner female Mages who were quite confident in their own assets and hoped to become mistresses of high-level Mages, the rest seemed to only be the Elves on the Isle of Eternal Gathering.

The one before him was none of the above, otherwise she would not have foolishly become cannon fodder along with those pirates who came to attack. Female Mages like this often smelled of sweat, as if they had not bathed for two weeks, and they often looked dirtier than farmers in the Manor. Their hair might not have been groomed for months, messy and clumped in various places.

Sometimes, to save research funds, they wore coarse cloth clothes from head to toe. Their pockets were all filled with strange and disgusting things that ordinary people found incomprehensible. Things like lard and bat droppings mixed together. Most people could not stand the stench.

Although this one had cleaned up her personal hygiene specially for today’s ceremony, the long-term corrosion from potions during magic experiments had made her skin quite rough. Even her face had some pitted areas, looking like a face after malignant acne had been treated poorly. Plus, she was originally just an ordinary woman, so compared to the likes of Feng Jie that George had seen before his transmigration, she was not much different.

As for those legendary female Spellcasters who married into wealthy families, they were Sorcerers who relied on their faces to make a living, not old maid female Mages. Besides, introducing female Sorcerers might even help improve their family’s bloodline. Compared to Mages who required spending a lot of money, it was much more worthwhile.

Fortunately, although same-sex repulsion existed, George’s tolerance for most ugly men was much higher than for ugly women.

“Eh! Is that bracelet a Water Opal?” Hearing the same voice, George sat up straight and absolutely did not dare to turn his head to kill himself.

The male Mage beside him said regretfully: “I once had a Water Opal that was slightly smaller than the largest one among them. But later, I had to sell it for magic research.”

George could tell that the Water Opal seemed to have a special meaning for that male Mage. However, for Mages immersed in the Ocean of Arcane, they could almost abandon everything else.

After confident observation, George discovered that Water Opal was a clear, transparent type of opal. It had a flashing color, like an oil drop on a clear pool of water.

Generally speaking, Water Opal was a rare and expensive gem. During the Old Empire period, great nobles used it as decoration next to mirrors and windows. Of course, now few people could be so luxurious. The most common use now was for magical detection devices, such as the making of Magic Crystal Balls. The one in front of everyone had definitely been reinforced with Water Opal.

Immediately, Knight Val stood up, and Mr. Laurel Botfish began to formally start the magic ritual. This action was to prevent certain people from making bad moves that would affect the normal progress of the spell.

Although the few people before him had already signed Magic Contracts, who knew if they would be coerced by others, risking their own lives to protect their families! Although most Mages were known for their rationality and should understand that even if they died, the other party might still break their word, who knew if there might be an emotional person in there! Besides, even an unintentional move by the other party might violate some taboos, thus affecting the accuracy of the prophecy results.

As George’s guarantor, Knight Val had to take the lead in preventing such situations. Although the internal facilities of this Mage Tower were quite complete, he dared not take that risk.

At this moment, an apprentice of Laurel Botfish Mage spread the broken diamonds George had brought earlier evenly on the Mithril circuits. Meanwhile, Mr. Laurel Botfish began chanting words that George could not understand, while holding his hands together with his index and ring fingers constantly gesturing in the void. It was obvious that he had now entered the state of casting a spell.

Another apprentice who had just stood nearby explained George’s confusion: “Master is now chanting the Word of Creation, which originally belonged to a very rare branch of the Heavenly Realm language…”

According to his explanation: The Word of Creation was a remnant fragment of a lost language, believed to be the predecessor of the Heavenly Realm language. Very few Celestial Creatures remembered these words, and very few mortals were allowed to know even one or two of their words. Their power was so great that no mortal mind could understand more than three or four words, and no Evil could speak or endure their sound.

It contained no words of Evil types, such as pain, despair, hatred, and betrayal, but instead had extremely detailed vocabulary on goodness, mercy, and compassion. It had no written form; if translated into text, it would lose all its power and meaning.

However, the Word of Creation could be woven into songs, becoming music that surpassed all melodies in the mortal world and echoed with the solemnity of Heaven. It was said that a Bard had accomplished this feat, calling it Heavenly Chanting.

And Mage Laurel Botfish had incorporated it into his own spell language to borrow the power of the entire Upper Plane. This was not just a matter of being a genius; he was a freak!

George could only silently complain in his heart: ‘It is really like attracts like. Are all the people around Mr. Val non-human?’

The ceremony continued, and the manifestation of the spell began to become obvious. The broken diamonds spread out faintly glowed with alternating blue and white light. Immediately, a coin with alternating blue and white colors was placed beside the altar in the array. The clashing of the coins made a sound like clear spring water.

Still based on the explanation of that apprentice, George learned that these were coins named “Wind Chimes of Shangri-La.” Because no matter what the reason was, when these hollow crystal coins were shaken, they would emit a pleasant light sound, and each coin had a different tone. Grabbing a handful of these coins and shaking them gently would create a melodious chord sound. Its name came from this.

Some people said that the reason these coins made harmonious bell sounds was simply due to their exquisitely beautiful appearance; others believed this allowed them to warn their owners when they were stolen.

Therefore, Adventurers who had the opportunity to get them often carried a few bell coins on their bodies. Besides listening to the music they made while walking, this was also a warning to pickpockets. Because when there were bell coins in your wallet, the chance of catching a thief red-handed was more than doubled—the change in sound was too obvious.

Bell coins were mainly used in Shangri-La and the City of Endurance, replacing the functions of Gold Coins and White Gold Coins. Those equivalent to Gold Coins were dyed blue and were romantically called “Wild Hyacinths,” while those used as White Gold Coins were light blue and called “Sky.”

Then the assistant mage who assisted the spell placed some glass marbles about the size of half an egg at each corner of the Mithril circuits. When light shone on them, they began to emit a different kind of glow.

This was Flash Glass, which was said to emit such changes under light because phosphorus was mixed in during the manufacturing process.

After being exposed to sunlight, they would shine with a soft iridescence, lasting for up to twice the exposure time. This would not ignite anything, but in the dark, they looked strangely like will-o’-the-wisps.

The apprentice continued to explain that this Flash Glass was mainly manufactured in the Upper Plane world, and one glass marble was equivalent to one Gold Coin.

After hearing the explanation, George did not know why he felt a sensation of ‘tears streaming down his face’: ‘Is this not the legendary “money can reach the gods”?’

After about 20 minutes, a white light began to emanate from the prophecy Crystal Ball, and then everything ended just like that. There was no earth-shattering or heaven-crying change as George had imagined. It looked so plain and ordinary, as if it were just a daily routine. The biggest change was probably those broken diamonds that had already evaporated.

George and Hiren, having received the news, rode their horses at full speed towards the city. Along the way, Hiren muttered angrily: “Damn it! The exit to the underworld is not even in our Territory! I thought we could have a good fight this time!”

“Think about it again! It’s better that it’s not in our Territory, so the impact on us will be much smaller. In the past year or so, so many things have happened that our Bolerum Territory is almost unable to hold on.” George said with a bitter smile.

The casualties in the Territory these days, while not crippling, had made the already scarce manpower seem even more insufficient. The benefits brought were great, but it also required sufficient time to digest before they could truly become one’s own strength. If any accidents occurred, it might really affect the daily operation of the Territory.

Hiren still seemed unwilling to admit defeat: “But the sword in my hand is roaring with thirst!”

George had to shake his head with a bitter smile: “Although the location is not in our Territory, given such a close distance, His Grace the Duke might still ask us to send troops for defense. If that happens, you don’t need to worry about not being able to go to the battlefield.”

“If that is really the case, then I must have a good drink!” Hiren said while waving his whip.

George immediately smiled and teased from the side: “If you are not afraid of Knight Val causing you trouble… just go ahead and try!”