"Hehe, it's quite normal," Quillin explained as he watched a group of knights and priests walk ahead of them. "The Holy Empire is separated from the Beast Forest by the Dark Empire, so every spring, the priests and knights from the Holy Empire must pass through our Allied Empire for their trials. But they don't actually step foot in the Allied Empire, they just transfer ships at the port. Even the Dark Empire doesn't dare to make a move within the Quin River."
"Then, at the border between the Dark Empire and the Beast Forest, don't they worry about being targeted by the Dark Empire?" Ryan asked, puzzled.
"That's because you don't understand the Beast Forest. As long as you're not exceptionally unlucky, even if all the elites from the Dark Empire entered, they wouldn't be able to find you. The trees there are over 100 or 200 meters tall, blocking out the sky, and even a level 9 expert wouldn't dare fly there. Additionally, a mage's spiritual detection doesn't work in the Beast Forest, because there are monsters everywhere. And as for Chaos City, the Dark Empire can't make trouble there. It's said that there are Legendary Mages in Chaos City, and every faction entering is warned to obey the city's rules, even the Mage Guild." Quillin continued explaining as they queued to board the ship.
Ryan looked at the large ship in front of him, feeling a bit impressed. He sighed inwardly, "As expected, they've received better education since childhood. They know so many things about this continent that I don't."
The large ship in front of them was like an ancient Chinese tower ship, around 100 meters long and 10 meters wide. The front half of the deck had four levels of buildings, and at the back was a giant sail. On both the front and rear decks, there were huge crossbows with gleaming arrows, clearly indicating the formidable weaponry. Ryan's group had already booked their tickets in Allied City. They had reserved two suites, and Ryan's group stayed on the third level, which had ten suites. Each suite had a small living room, two rooms (one large and one small), and a bathroom with complete facilities. Ryan's room was next to Quillin's. The second and third levels were occupied by the Holy Empire's trial team, and the lowest level housed mercenaries, all of whom slept in hammocks. The deck below the top was where the rowers lived, and the top-level terrace housed a restaurant offering drinks and food.
After boarding, Ryan took a quick look around the ship. There were around 30 crew members, including sailors handling the sails and guards with weapons. The area Ryan's group was staying in had a corridor in the center, with living spaces on both sides. As they entered, there was a small living room, with a bedroom on the left and another bedroom and bathroom on the right. Ryan had to admire the craftsmanship. The entire ship was built from wood and iron nails.
The level above them was occupied by the Holy Empire's priests, and the level below was for the knights. Their leader was an 8th-level Silver Priest and a 9th-level Golden Knight, staying on the lower level. Ryan's group didn't wear magic badges, but those two could undoubtedly see through them with ease.
The ship slowly began to sail, and Ryan noticed several other ships in the port, as this wasn't the only one. Feeling bored, Ryan turned to study the Continental Chronicles, while Alice was consolidating her magical power and Delis was reading a knight novel.
"Sigh! Headache," Ryan muttered as he flipped through the Chronicles. It was full of legendary stories, accounts that glorified individual heroism, and involved gods and demons, which made Ryan's head ache.
Ryan then took Niu Niu to the top terrace. Since the ship had just departed, there weren't many people there, just a few young female priests from the Church of Light chattering away. The priests wore pure white robes, with an angel holding a silver-white staff emblazoned on their chest, and their rank was indicated by golden lines on their badge. The knights, meanwhile, had a long spear instead of the staff on their badge. Ryan, feeling bored, glanced around. The riverbanks were all a muddy brown, a result of the low tide. The tide here rose and fell every six months due to the two moons in the sky. Ryan decided to go back and meditate to improve his strength, as that was the most practical approach.
"Anna, what are you looking at?" One of the young female priests asked as Ryan and Niu Niu walked away.
"Nothing, just feeling a little dizzy," Anna responded quickly to the other priest. In fact, Anna had sensed a subtle soul pressure emanating from Ryan's direction, one that felt both familiar and terrifying. You see, the training of priests was entirely different from that of mages. Priests focused on divine arts, and while they did meditate to absorb magical elements, this wasn't the primary focus. What mattered most was prayer. In other words, priests focused on the cultivation of their souls, and there was a measure of divine affinity that determined their potential. The higher the affinity, the greater their achievements. Anna had a divine affinity of 9, meaning she was destined to become at least a 9th-level priest. Furthermore, Anna was a Soul Priest, a type of priest whose divine arts could attack both the body and the soul. A 9th-level Soul Priest was a nemesis to all professions, and every pope in the Church had to be either a Soul Priest or a Soul Knight, as only they could use the ultimate skill of the Church—summoning angels. Even a first-level Soul Priest could perform this divine art, though it would cost their life, and the success rate was low.
Here is the translation of the passage:
"There is someone here with angelic blood, though it's only a faint trace, but I can't be mistaken. This bloodline is even stronger than the one inside my own body," Anna was startled. Although she claimed to be a Soul Priest, after becoming one, Anna was taken to a secret place where she learned that a Soul Priest's powers were actually awakened from the angelic bloodline within their body. She was also ordered to keep this a secret. There were many people whose angelic bloodline had already awakened, and those who could make Anna feel spiritual pressure included high-level warriors and mages. However, this faint sense of familiarity soon made her realize that it was someone with the same bloodline as her. Moreover, Ryan's magical aura revealed to Anna that he was only a Level 1 mage, meaning this pressure came from his bloodline. There were various kinds of angelic bloodlines: from two-winged angels to twelve-winged angels, including Silver Angels, Golden Angels, and others. Anna's bloodline was that of a Four-Winged Angel, so she deduced that Ryan's bloodline must be at least that of a Six-Winged Angel. However, Ryan was cloaked in a mage's robe, so Anna couldn't see his appearance. By the time Anna was startled by her companions and looked back, Ryan had disappeared.
"Delis, I have a method of ancient meditation, but you have to swear not to reveal it to anyone, okay?" Ryan returned to his room and saw that Alice was still meditating while Delis had nothing to do. Ryan thought of qigong, but this was his greatest secret, so he called Delis into his room and asked her seriously.
"I don't have magical talent, and besides, I'm already too old," Delis said, her expression falling as soon as Ryan mentioned it. Delis was already several years older than Ryan. While Ryan could extend his life by practicing magic, Delis only had a few decades left. She usually tried not to think about it, distracting herself with knight novels. But when Ryan brought up the topic, she knew she had to face the issue, which made her expression turn gloomy.
Ryan looked at Delis' expression and understood what was going on. It was precisely for this reason that Ryan had suggested she try. He didn't want to see Delis grow old and pass away one day. Although there was no passionate love between Ryan and Delis, they had gone through hardships together, and Ryan didn't want to give up easily.
Ryan gently caressed Delis' face and whispered, "I don't want to see you slowly grow old one day either. Even if you don't have magical talent, you still have to try, right? Just give it half a year—if only for us to be together for a longer time, will you not try?"
Tears filled Delis' eyes. Ryan's deep and tender voice, full of emotion, moved her greatly. She fought back the tears and nodded repeatedly.
"Alright, from now on, use this posture. Focus and try to sense the energy in your mind. If one day you feel a faint energy gathering in your soles and flowing into your body, congratulations, you've succeeded." After calming Delis down, Ryan made her swear to keep it a secret and then carefully explained all the instructions for the meditation posture. He didn't mention any acupoints because that would have revealed the trick. Instead, he simply told her that it was an unusual meditation method. When he saw Delis had assumed the correct posture, he left the room and closed the door behind him. Upon leaving, he saw Old Blackhead sitting quietly while Niu Niu was playfully pulling on his beard and ears, clearly treating him like a toy.
Ryan sat down on a mat in the living room. There were various meditation postures, but the key was to meditate in whichever way worked best for you. Some needed to sit, others lay down, but the goal was to calm the mind and enter a meditative state as quickly as possible.
Ryan held a Level 5 Earth Magic Core in his hand. Normally, mages would use their mental energy to extract magical elements from a magic core, but Ryan discovered that he could absorb the magic elements directly through the acupoint in his palm without using mental energy. To be honest, Ryan wasn't yet willing to fully meditate because doing so would disturb the magical elements around him. Other mages would sense these fluctuations and realize that Ryan was absorbing all the magical elements. So, Ryan still used his mental energy to draw Fire Magic elements, while the Earth Magic elements flowed into his mind through his hand. The massive flow of Earth Magic elements surged into his brain, flowing into the silver-white light spot. Ryan could clearly feel that the light spot was growing, albeit slowly. While the change was minute, Ryan could clearly sense it.
"Sigh, I probably need one more Level 5 magic core to level up. This is just burning money!" Ryan looked at his empty palm. In just two hours, he had absorbed an entire Level 5 Earth Magic Core. Now, Ryan was thinking about how to make money, as having enough magic cores would make leveling up a simple task.
After thinking for a long time, Ryan decided to focus on the profession of an alchemist. As for magic, he would just diligently practice first-level spells. For example, if Ryan, as a Level 1 mage, cast Wind Blade, it would only be the size of his palm. But when a Level 9 mage used it, the wind blade would span dozens of meters. Ryan calculated that if every magic spell needed to be mastered to a proficient level, then he would never be able to improve in his lifetime. He had already spent nearly a month practicing a simple Fireball spell. How long would it take to master a second-level spell, or a third, or a fourth? And Ryan was a 12-element mage, which meant that the spells would get progressively more complex, with longer incantations. The legendary Forbidden Spells were said to require incantations lasting nearly 20 minutes. What did that mean? Ryan also knew the saying, "Master one skill, and you can conquer all." He thought that he didn't need to go overboard. If he could master first-level spells from all 12 elements, his combat ability would be on par with anyone else. The most important thing was that he still had to study alchemy, which was a profound and intricate science. If Ryan spent all his time on magic, then clearly, his alchemist career would be neglected. Of course, Ryan would selectively train area-of-effect destruction spells, but his greatest advantage was that he wasn't afraid of any type of mage. For example, Ryan's Fire and Wind magic had no advantage against Metal-type mages, but if he suddenly switched to Dark or Ice magic, anyone trying to kill him would be caught off guard by such a change.
"Hmm? I wonder if this compression method will work. Let's give it a try," Ryan thought as he sat down. He recalled the compression techniques described in novels from Earth. From a physics perspective, compression would definitely have an effect. For example, if a Fireball the size of a fist were compressed to the size of a fingertip, its temperature would rise significantly. Ryan took a deep breath, calming his emotions, and in his hand, a Fireball appeared. He focused his mental energy and wrapped it around the Fireball, then increased the strength of his mental energy.
Ryan immediately felt that the Fireball behaved like a rubber ball. No matter how much mental energy he poured into it, the Fireball would not change size, as if it were resistant to his power. He tried various methods, but he couldn't reduce the size of the Fireball.
Gradually, Ryan dispersed the Fireball, his brow furrowed. The only explanation was that his mental energy wasn't strong enough. That was the only reason. Ryan realized he might have been too hasty. After all, he was only a Level 1 mage; compressing a Fireball was far too ambitious. Slowly, Ryan stood up, understanding this detail, and his mood lightened. Looking around the room, he realized no one was there. He went next door to check, but no one was there either. Finally, he looked outside and saw that it was already dark.
Ryan went out onto the balcony and saw the area lit up. There were people eating, drinking, performing dances, and bards singing. It was bustling with activity. In the distance, Ryan saw a table with Alice, Delis, Quinn, and two of Quillin's bodyguards, as well as a maid. Each of them held a glass of wine and was laughing and talking.
"Hehe, sorry for making you wait," Ryan said, walking over quickly. He noticed that the group was laughing at Old Blackhead, who was happily eating a piece of grilled meat. Ryan quickly greeted them with a smile.
"No rush, the ship is staying here at the dock, we're not leaving until morning," Quillin explained with a smile. "The ships here only sail during the day and dock at night. During this time, the performers and bards make their living at the dock. Sailing at night is essentially courting death—there are no navigation lights, so you might crash into something without even realizing it. Also, the rowers need to rest. The boats here row using oars on both sides, so it's much easier when they come back. But the ships still have to dock at night."
Once Ryan sat down, one of Quillin's bodyguards went to fetch food—grilled meats, bread, wine, and fruits. There were several types of grilled meats, and they had ordered the spicy, honey-glazed meat from the rare Fumeosaur. The bread was top-quality golden silk bread, the wine was a 20-year-old vintage, and the fruits were exotic and rare.
Ryan turned his head and noticed that the members of the Holy Light Church were all sitting nearby. However, they were only eating bread and drinking water, except for the two leaders who were drinking red wine. Ryan had a fruit juice in front of him, as he wasn't interested in low-alcohol beverages.
"Hey, little brother, after dinner, how about we take a stroll by the dock?" Quillin asked, drinking from his wineglass after finishing his meal. Typically, nobles didn't speak during meals, so it was after they had finished eating that Quinn brought up the topic.
Ryan wiped his mouth and looked at Quillin before refusing, "No, I think I'll head back and rest. I have to meditate these next few days, and I also need to familiarize myself with the alchemy arrays." Ryan felt that his time was too limited. He had to study alchemy, learn magic from all the different elements, and while he had found a technique for casting spells instantly, it required him to be familiar with each spell's incantation. Ryan was also troubled by the incantations for other magic elements. He had mastered Light magic, but he was still unclear about Dark, Ice, and Thunder magic. Ryan felt that trying to master all elements might not be the best approach.
"Come on, come on, have another drink," Quillin said, picking up the wine bottle and pouring more into Ryan's glass. Quillin was clearly bored. The ship was cramped, and he felt stifled. Moreover, he knew the abilities of the two people sitting nearby all too well.
"Thank you. If you come across any refined iron, could you buy some for me? I want to conduct a small alchemy experiment," Ryan said as he stood up to thank them. Then, he remembered his idea about the handgun. He was clear about its structure, but it involved some key technologies. Ryan had only conceived the idea and never tested it, but this ship could be a good testing ground.
"No problem," Quinn immediately agreed without hesitation. Ryan's request indicated that their relationship was quite close, which made Quinn even more eager to see what kind of magical pet he would have in the future.
"Haha, I've got an idea!" Ryan looked at the wine in his glass, and suddenly a spark of inspiration entered his mind. He couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Ryan quickly stood up and hurried back to his room, closing the door behind him. However, Alice, Delis, and Quillin also came in. The small living room became crowded, but Ryan didn't mind. A Fireball appeared in his hand, and Ryan used his mental energy to tightly enclose it. Then a surge of magical power flowed into the Fireball. As he watched Quinn pour wine, Ryan thought, "Compressing the Fireball increases its density. But what if I pump magical energy into it? That could work well."
Ryan focused on the Fireball, and as he poured magical energy into it, the original red color of the Fireball slowly changed, gradually shifting to orange. But as the magical power continued to flow in, Ryan began to feel the strain on his mental energy. Despite this, he kept the Fireball firmly under control. The flow of magic slowed down, but Ryan continued to inject small amounts of magic.
The Fireball turned a pure orange color, and Ryan could clearly feel its temperature had more than doubled. Though sweat was pouring down his face, he still felt he had enough energy left, so he continued to feed more magical power into the Fireball. The magic consumed by the Fireball seemed to be ten times more than the original Fireball. Gradually, a hint of blue appeared in the Fireball, but just as the blue started to show, Ryan realized he couldn't maintain control any longer. He quickly threw the Fireball out the window, sending it flying towards the distant water.
"Boom!" Ryan didn't expect that the Fireball would explode in the water, creating a muffled sound. However, because there was music and dancing on the balcony, only a few people could sense the explosion.
"Compression… so you can compress magic," Quillin said, surprised, looking at Ryan. Compressing magic was a technique used by mid-level mages, meaning only those at Level 5 could begin learning such things. Yet Ryan was only a Level 1 mage, the lowest level of mages in the continent. Not only could he cast first-level spells instantaneously, but he could also compress magic. The color of the Fireball indicated that its power was at least that of a Level 3 spell.
"Hehe, it's not compression," Ryan wiped the sweat from his brow and happily responded to Quillin.
After hearing Ryan's words, Quillin carefully sensed Ryan's magical fluctuations. Indeed, Ryan was still at Level 1. He then looked at Ryan with a puzzled expression, but he knew better than to ask such a question. To ask would be rude.
"It's no big deal, but it's not safe to talk here," Ryan wanted to explain but didn't want to risk leaking information. There were many strong individuals on the ship, and if the method got out, it could cause trouble. He still wanted to apply for a patent.
Quillin smiled, left the room for a while, and then returned. "Now that we're alone, can you talk?" After observing Ryan for a few days, Quillin realized that Ryan was different from most nobles. He didn't speak with the usual falseness, so Quillin felt comfortable asking.
"It's actually quite simple. You just use mental energy to compress the Fireball and then fill it with magic. But you have to be careful," Ryan said. He knew Quillin had left for a reason, so he didn't hide anything and explained the method clearly. "I tried compressing it earlier, but it failed. When I saw you pouring wine, I suddenly remembered it."
"Uh, it's that simple?" Quillin didn't believe it. He summoned a Fireball, and after a little while, sweat started to form on his forehead. The color of the Fireball slowly began to change to orange.
Ryan stared at the Fireball in Quillin's hand, momentarily stunned. This was silent casting. Ryan could clearly sense that Quillin's magical energy had noticeably paused for a moment. If Quillin knew what Ryan was thinking, he would be even more surprised, because this tiny pause only lasted for an instant. In combat, if a spellcaster were interrupted at that moment, they would suffer a backlash of magic.
"Sigh, that's it. Half of my magic power is already consumed," Quillin said, tossing the Fireball into the air. The Fireball was orange and didn't show any hints of blue. However, this still confirmed that Ryan's method was correct. Moreover, the mental energy required for this process was obviously not much. But as Quillin looked at Ryan's expression, he was even more puzzled. He had quite good talent himself, but compared to Ryan, it seemed like the difference between heaven and earth. His second-level Fireball, which had been filled with magic, had a lighter color than the one Ryan, a first-level mage, had filled.
"Younger brother, you need to patent this method! In the future, anyone who learns magic should pay for it. This is going to be a huge profit. If you charge 100 gold coins per mage, how many mages are there across the entire continent? Hurry up and write this method down and send it to the Mage Guild Headquarters. You have to act fast, there's a magic communication array right here at the dock!" Quillin immediately realized the potential value of this method and urged Ryan.
"Teacher, take a look at this. This guy is amazing," an old man said as he handed a sheepskin scroll to a middle-aged man in the highest Mage Tower in Alliance City.
"Eh? So there's this method?" The middle-aged man said, then conjured a Fireball in his hand. Within a few breaths, the Fireball gradually transformed from blue to deep blue, then purple, dark purple, and finally white. The Fireball became slightly transparent at the end. By now, the middle-aged man had exerted all his effort, and the old man watched the white, slightly transparent Fireball, his eyes filled with fear. The Fireball emanated a violent aura.
"A genius, a genius! This method, although it consumes more magical power, the mental energy required to compress it is only a third of what it usually is. And this Fireball is nearly approaching the Holy Flame! But how come no one thought of such a simple method?" The middle-aged man was astonished. For a mage, the most important resource was their mental energy. Magical power could be replenished with potions and other means, but mental energy could only be restored through rest. Conserving mental energy was a matter of life and death.
"So, what should this patent be classified as…?" The old man also understood the value of this method. Mages usually had protection when casting spells, so even though the casting time might be longer, the spell's power would be much greater. For instance, a second-level mage facing two second-level swordsmen and a second-level magical beast would usually risk casualties. But with this method, as long as the two warriors could delay the magical beast for a moment, the mage's spell could be as powerful as a third-level spell. Even if it couldn't kill the second-level magical beast, it would certainly cause serious injury. To the old man, this was a revolutionary patent.
"S-grade. This could save the lives of many low-level mages," the middle-aged man said after thinking for a moment.
"Ah! Then this needs to be reported to the entire Mage Guild!" The old man gasped. S-grade! This was a designation that hadn't been seen for hundreds of years. Forbidden spells were categorized as S-grade.
The middle-aged man looked toward the Mage Guild in the distance and said calmly, "The inventor's name must be kept confidential. A few old-timers will get free copies. This is a blessing for mages!"
That very night, countless Mage Guilds received a notice from the Mage Guild Headquarters: "A mage from the Mage Guild has invented a new method for compressing magic. This method consumes ten times the magical power of normal spells but only a third of the usual mental energy. The shape and size of the magic remain the same. The most important thing is that even first-level mages can master it. The power of the spell increases by at least one level. This patent has been classified as S-grade."