```
In no time, more than a month had passed, during which everything remained calm.
Prince William continued to be frugal, King Donnas was still entangled with a severe illness, and Richard persisted in studying the Spells in the Monroe Chapter.
After some time of studying, Richard finally learned several Zero-Circle Low-Level Magic spells besides the "Phosphorus Candle": namely, Flame Impact, Water Droplet Condensation, Wind Barrier, Wind Repel, Wind Light Spirit, and Wind Force.
Flame Impact emitted a ball of flame that struck the enemy, causing damage. Richard tested it, and its power was roughly akin to a sudden burst of flames from a wok. It could indeed inflict some burns if it hit a person, but killing someone with it was beyond its reach.
After all, Zero-Circle Low-Level Magic was really akin to tricks, with generally weak power. Its greatest function was not in dealing damage but in causing panic. By the standards of this era, an ordinary person seeing someone suddenly conjure a ball of flames would be as shocking as a modern-day person seeing someone pull out a firearm.
Water Droplet Condensation gathered moisture from the air, creating droplets around. Simply put, it was similar to small-scale low-altitude artificial rainfall, or one might say water vapor condensation. Combined with the aforementioned Flame Impact, it was sufficient to solve the problem of making fire and obtaining drinking water for people living in the wild, but as for attack power—apologies, none.
Wind Barrier, Wind Repel, Wind Light Spirit, and Wind Force all derived from the same source. Just as Flame Impact was a Fire Magic spell and Water Droplet Condensation was a Water Magic spell, these four were all Wind Magic spells. According to Richard's study, they all used the movement of air to achieve certain effects.
For example, gathering air to swiftly form an impenetrable air wall to block attacks was the Wind Barrier.
For example, gathering air to crash into an enemy like a strong wind, making the enemy uncontrollably retreat, was the Wind Repel.
For example, gathering air to enhance the lower limbs, increasing speed and jump height while reducing weight, thereby becoming more agile, was the Wind Light Spirit.
For example, gathering air to enhance the upper limbs, amplifying explosive power to deliver an unexpected strike, was the Wind Force.
Richard learned these spells partly for their effects but primarily to attempt to study the internal mechanisms for achieving these effects.
Fiery Flame Impact was obviously the combustion of fuel, complying with the law of energy conservation. Water Droplet Condensation involved cooling liquefaction, obeying the laws of thermodynamics. The four wind spells fell into the category of fluid dynamics, adhering to principles like the Prandtl-Glauert Rule, the Kármán-Tsien formula, etc.
Richard endeavored to explain these spells using scientific methods, then re-mastered them, with the outcome being that Richard's spells were not as rigid as those recorded in the Monroe Chapter.
For instance, Wind Barrier, documented in the Monroe Chapter, was merely an air wall about one meter long and wide, and over thirty centimeters thick.
But Richard could create a super-compressed air wall two meters long, two meters wide, and two meters thick. He could even transform it into spherical or cylindrical shapes.
For another example, Wind Repel in the Monroe Chapter recorded the use of fixed-volume compressed air to launch an impact at an enemy, resulting in a repelling effect. Yet, after scientifically deciphering it, Richard could choose to use more or less compressed air to achieve the desired effect.
He could even stack several Wind Repels together, transforming them into Strong Wind Repel or even Extreme Wind Repel.
Admittedly, these were still Zero-Circle spells, but Richard could make them play a larger role.
Richard believed that if the research continued, much more could be achieved.
...
In the blink of an eye, another month passed.
When the first yellow leaf fell in the Baihua Forest outside Blue Lion City, King Donnas's black coffin was being carried out of the city. The weather was continuously rainy, just like the day he died…
Three days earlier.
The sky was overcast, and a silky autumn rain fell, hitting people with bone-chilling cold like needle pricks. This signified the end of the hot summer and the sudden arrival of autumn.
From the morning, perhaps because of the weather, the entire Kingdom felt somewhat dull, brewing something amid this dullness. The falling autumn rain and the sudden drop in temperature drove people indoors, making the vast Palace exceptionally cold and silent.
Richard was conducting experiments in this silence.
A beaker was placed in a water bath for heating, and the boiling water produced bubbling sounds, large plumes of white steam rising. Richard watched from the side, then heard faint waves of sound coming his way.
The first wave arose from the King's Palace, accompanied by sudden cries of sorrow and panic, quickly spreading throughout the Palace and then to Blue Lion City.
"Knock, knock, knock!" The door of the independent laboratory was knocked hastily, Richard frowned, and shouted, "Come in." Immediately, Edward stumbled in, followed by the old butler Delon, his face full of sorrow.
"Prin…Prince, bad...bad news..." Edward spoke between gasps.
The old butler Delon behind him spoke, "His Majesty…"
Without waiting for him to finish, Richard raised his hand and said expressionlessly, "I know."
"Then…"
"Let's go."
"Yes." The old butler Delon turned to lead the way, Richard glanced at the liquid still heating and eventually followed them out of the laboratory and out of the Palace.
Through the cold autumn rain, across the square, and into the King's Palace's bedroom.
Richard saw that it was now empty, the wine cabinet in the corner was empty, and some furnishings had been removed. A bed was placed in the center, with King Donnas's corpse lying on it, his skin a dark purplish hue and already lifeless for a while.
At the window stood another person, who received the news earlier, Prince William. His head rested on the bed, his shoulders shaking, no sound being made; whether he laughed or cried was unclear.
As if hearing the sound, William raised his head to look, tears on his face, he said to Richard with a hoarse voice, "Brother, Father... he's gone…"
"Mm," Richard responded, neither joyful nor sorrowful.
William visibly paused, seemingly surprised by Richard's calmness, wanting to say something, yet did not, turning to lean back against the bed repeatedly saying, "Father… Father…"
Richard just stood beside, watching as if watching... a joke.
Moments later, the Funeral Master arrived, beginning to tidy King Donnas's appearance, which included trimming hair, cleaning the body, and donning clothes and armor. The rest of the attendants also started to set up the mourning hall: covering or taking down mirrors with black cloth, extinguishing the fireplace, opening all doors and windows, unlocking all locks, untying all knots, lighting candles…
Under these circumstances, William and Richard had to leave the room.
At the Palace entrance, the two stood. A gust of cold wind blew, and William tightened his clothes, turned his head slightly to glance at Richard, his voice still hoarse, said, "Brother, Father is dead, we…"
Richard did not respond, just looked at the continuously falling rain and said, "It's getting colder, dress warmer."
"Hmm?" Surprised, William reacted momentarily, feeling as though Richard was kindly reminding him, nodded in agreement, "Ah."
"When the rain falls..." Richard continued, as if there was more to the sentence, yet did not finish. Shaking his head, he directly stepped into the increasingly dense curtain of rain.
"I'll be there for the burial," said the voice from the rain.
Watching, William's lips parted a few times but ultimately closed, saying nothing.
```