Mage Legend
Chapter 54: Episode 8 Aftermath_2

Chapter 54: Episode 8 Aftermath_2

"My name is Deluo, from the Casarad Mountain Range, the famous Gem Mountain. Thank you all for saving me. That black dragon is really annoying, so petty, it’s not like I took two of his gemstones that day, yet he chased me for seven days and nights."

"Took two gemstones?" Gem Mountain is nearly ten thousand kilometers from here, a place as distant as mythology for ordinary people. Lynch had only read about this place in books.

"Yes, that day I took two of his gemstones, and without a word, he started chasing me. It’s not that I want them for myself, every time, I have to give them to someone else. And every time I only take two of his gemstones. He has so many gemstones, and I only managed to take less than 400 in total..."

Lynch really wanted to lash out at this guy. He doesn’t call himself greedy for stealing the treasure-loving black dragon’s gemstones and even has the audacity to blame the dragon for being too miserly. But on the other hand, if this guy really managed to steal nearly 400 gemstones by taking only two at a time, he must indeed be quite a character.

"By the way, what’s your name? Where is this place?" Deluo turned his head to ask.

"I’m Lynch, and this is the Spider Cave. You’ll be staying here for your recovery for now."

"Spider Cave? Seems familiar? Hmm... Could it be in a place called the Ridge Mountains?" Deluo asked the mage nervously.

"Yes."

"Oh no, oh no, it’s completely over... No way to make it to see Elnin the day after tomorrow, there goes a beauty wasted. Also, two weeks from now, I was supposed to meet Marian for a picnic in the great forest, not to mention the underground river exploration with Julius a month from now, it’s all ruined..." Tears suddenly filled Deluo’s eyes, as if the sky were about to fall and it was the end of the world.

The mage couldn’t stand his babbling, noticing Deluo’s voice getting louder, so he stuffed the cloth back into his mouth. Deluo looked at the mage with muffled sounds, trying to remove the cloth with his hand. Annoyed, Lynch placed his heavy left hand on Deluo’s belly. Deluo let out a muffled "mmph~~~", and didn’t dare move, staying completely still.

After warning Deluo not to leave the room, or else he would taste the curse, and seeing Deluo’s sincere "rest assured" gaze, Lynch finally left the sickroom. He walked into the damaged golden hall. Due to the gnomes focusing on caring for the sick, no one was there to clean up. After the explosion of the transmission device, it also smashed the other works of the gnomes in the hall to pieces, leaving the hall in a chaotic mess like a battlefield. Only one spot remained untouched, beneath the stone wall that had been gouged by the black dragon’s spit attack. There, corroded neatly by the dragon’s acidic saliva dripping from the large hole above, a pit had formed.

Carefully navigating through the debris, Lynch approached the dragon claw embedded in the secret silver plate. At the moment the transmission platform shut down, this claw was cleanly severed, remaining on this side of the transmission space.

The dragon claw was an extremely rare magic material, and if it could be transformed into an attack-type magic wand, it would significantly enhance the power of evocation (see note) spells.

However, what caught Lynch’s attention most wasn’t the dragon claw, but a fragment of the transmission device beside it.

Back then, with the eight pillars spinning at high speed, Lynch’s attention was drawn to the giant dragon afterward, so he hadn’t noticed the carvings on the eight pillars. Moreover, before researching the Arcane Secret Scroll, even if he had seen these patterns, Lynch wouldn’t have paid any attention.

The patterns on this fragment were identical to the depictions of the magic barrier field on the Arcane Secret Scroll. To be precise, they were created using the same style of depiction.

But Lynch was well aware that the gnomes would never use the magic from the Arcane Secret Scroll, nor had they ever shown any ability to use the magic described therein. Additionally, they used eight gemstones to simulate the characteristics of the eight magic schools, something that didn’t align with the "magic component" philosophy of the Arcane Secret Scroll. School spells were concepts arising under the rules of the magic network, whereas component magic surpassed this concept.

Unfortunately, the eight pillars had been blasted to pieces, and Lynch could only find some large fragments, unable to piece them together. To see the complete structure of the magic array, he could only wait until tomorrow to seek Elder Randa, hoping he still had the design documents and drawings.

So early the next day, it was no surprise to find Lynch poring over design drawings in Randa’s study.

The old gnome, leaning on his cane, watched Lynch analyze the drawings with relentless dedication, scratching the back of his head. For the first time, he realized there could be someone more passionate about research than a gnome. The young mage, while studying the graphical files on the eight pillars, was meticulously calculating on the paper beside him.

And so, a week passed, and the golden hall was refurbished anew. Except for the large hole in the rock wall caused by the giant dragon’s spit attack, everything returned to its original state.

Lynch emerged from Randa’s research space, exhausted, and splashed cold water on his face, waking the old gnome from his sweet midday nap.

"Elder, I want to ask you, when did you start experimenting with the transmission device?"

Randa groped for his thick glasses on the bedside table. He was initially annoyed at being woken from his sleep, but upon seeing Lynch’s grave, serious face, and the young mage, tormented by sleepless nights, looking utterly exhausted, his slight annoyance vanished immediately.

"We conducted the first experiment ten years ago. Is there something wrong?" Randa’s question unintentionally carried a trace of trepidation, sensing something amiss from the mage’s expression.

"A big problem. Possibly, this machine caused a huge problem..."

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Evocation: One of the eight major magic schools, focusing on the study of elemental energy. Additionally, various force field effects are also their research subjects. Representative spells (level 1~9) include: Magic Missile, Shattering Sound Wave, Fireball Technique, Ice Storm, Power Wall Technique, Chain Lightning, Rainbow Spray, Yang Flame Burst, Meteor Storm.