Chapter 117 Changing Fortress

After parting ways with Mage Roman for the time being, Shaoke returned to his quarters. Although he encountered many mages along the way, there wasn't a single mage to be seen in the small courtyard where he stayed. Upon inquiring with the soldiers on duty outside, he learned that the mages here were still fighting the enemy on the battlements.

As soon as he entered the small room, Shaoke sank down onto his cot, closing his eyes wearily. Only here did he feel mentally secure. Gently rubbing his still-aching head, he noticed that the headache caused by the rapid increase in his mental energy and mana had eased up a bit today, not as severe as before.

After taking an adequate amount of auxiliary drugs again, Shaoke slipped into meditation and entered his mental space.

The silver light flowing on the diamond array suspended in the center of the mental space had weakened somewhat, only occasionally bursting with tiny silver sparks that scattered within the mental space. The unusually active mental energy was also gradually returning to its previous frequency. Shaoke then traced the path of the scattered silver light and found that after these silver lights merged into the inner walls of the mental space, they did not cause it to expand again but instead slightly reinforced its barrier.

The black vortex created by the medicine's efficacy spun rapidly. As motes of mental energy passed through these vortices, their activity decreased further. Meanwhile, the silver light that fell into the surroundings was quickly shattered into particles upon touching the vortex, then drifted along lazily with the flow of mental energy until it touched the inner walls of the space, where it silently merged.

The mana space was in much the same state. After carefully sensing it, Shaoke found that the entire mana space had expanded to nearly twice its previous size. He estimated that it was now comparable to that of other mages of the same tier, excluding those who focused on expanding their mana space.

To alleviate his headache, Shaoke had no choice but to immerse himself fully in meditation. He wouldn't stop until the drug's effects wore off, continuing to take more drugs. The spatial oscillations caused by repeated, heavy doses were quickly stabilized by the silver light.

Continuous meditation made Shaoke feel that the rate at which the silver light burst from the diamond array was slowing down. This made him hesitate—he didn't know whether to continue letting the silver light burst freely or rely on meditation to suppress its bursts.

However, after stopping meditation and observing for a while, he noticed that the rate of silver light bursts was still gradually decreasing, and the fallout of light had lessened. Seeing this result, Shaoke resumed his meditation, as although the burst rate slowed during meditation, the amount of scattered light increased. Comparatively, he preferred to end the intense pain as soon as possible.

He didn't meditate non-stop. At noon, when the soldiers outside delivered sufficient food, Shaoke realized from the soldier's odd look that he still hadn't cleaned off the dirt and grime from days on the run.

When he hurriedly finished lunch and went to bathe, he noticed that his body appeared even thinner from the outside. However, based on his experience during the days of escape, Shaoke didn't feel that his strength had declined much.

Frowning, he pondered in the bath for a while. In the end, Shaoke decided not to worry about this matter. Although his body looked thinner, his actual constitution hadn't declined. So he comforted himself, thinking he might as well consider it weight loss.

In the afternoon, while Shaoke was meditating, he heard a knock on the door. When he went to receive the guest, he discovered it was Mage Roland.

"Mage Xueye, it really is you! When the soldier mentioned it, I couldn't believe it! Mage Xueye, are you alright?" As soon as he entered, Mage Roland carefully examined his former companion. He noticed that the other looked even thinner, with a weary expression and a rather unpleasant complexion.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened? You don't look too good right now." Mage Roland hesitated for a moment before directly asking the question he was most concerned about, as he knew what excessive physical decline meant for a mage.

Shaoke smiled gratefully. Although he knew his body had only thinned drastically due to the significant depletion of energy over the past few days, his constitution remained essentially unchanged. In fact, he felt that after the frantic days of escape, his constitution was still slightly better than before his promotion. "It's nothing, just lack of proper rest and food during this time."

Mage Roland opened his mouth but ultimately decided not to press his companion further on this matter. After all, he knew Shaoke was intentionally avoiding the topic. So he quickly changed the subject, asking about Shaoke's mission.

Seeing Mage Roland's weary expression, Shaoke knew the battle on the city walls was quite intense. Otherwise, these area-of-effect attack mages wouldn't be so exhausted. Unless, like single-target mages, they spent entire days alternating between spellcasting and recovering their expended energy, such fatigue would only appear over time.

After Shaoke briefly recounted the situation he encountered during his mission, Mage Roland finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're back. These past few days, I kept hearing about how many mages on missions outside had died, and I was always worried about you. Thankfully, you made it back. This is the best news I've heard in a while."

Mage Roland took the initiative to open the small wine barrel delivered by the soldiers at noon, searching for two goblets and filling them to the brim. "Mage Xueye, to your safe return and your good health. Cheers." He then drank some red wine with excitement.

After exchanging toasts, the two found more topics to discuss. At times, Shaoke asked Mage Roland questions, and at other times, Mage Roland asked Shaoke questions. Unknowingly, they finished the small barrel of premium red wine.

"Mage Roland, what's the deal with these mages in the city? Are they all affiliated with the military? I've never heard of them before!" Shaoke suddenly changed the topic to inquire about the large number of newly arrived mages. He wanted to know where these mages came from.

"They come from all over," Mage Roland shook the wine glass in his hand, looking regretfully at the last bit of red wine, wishing the soldier had delivered more. "But the majority are from the Military Mage Corps. Additionally, there's a small portion of Wandering Mages." At this point, Mage Roland lowered his voice and said to Shaoke, "These newly arrived mages, especially the Third Tier Mages, a large portion of them—no one knows where they came from. I asked a Third Tier Mage who came here from the Blue Feather Legion, but he told me only after becoming a Third Tier Mage would I have the right to know. But I know that even if I successfully advance to the Third Tier, if I don't ask, I'll still know nothing."

"Haha!" Shaoke chuckled softly upon hearing Mage Roland's complaint. "Yeah, even if we become Third Tier Mages, if we don't actively inquire, I think they still won't voluntarily tell us certain things."

"Moreover, whether we can even make it to that point is uncertain!" Mage Roland took over Shaoke's words, voicing the buried thought in his heart with a hint of sorrow. "I hope I can make it to that day."

Upon hearing Mage Roland's pessimistic words, Shaoke stood up abruptly. "Mage Roland, you must believe that we can successfully advance to the Third Tier. It's just a matter of time. If you don't even have the confidence to advance, why struggle so hard on this battlefield?" He then stared intently at Mage Roland, not wanting one of his few companions here to lose confidence, as that could easily lead to unexpected situations on the battlefield.

"But Mage Xueye, before, casualties among us mages stationed at the rear only occurred when those giant catapults appeared. This time is different." As Mage Roland spoke, a look of fear appeared on his face. "For a period, the entire city wall was filled with First Tier Warriors slaughtering each other. Those First Tier Warriors fought for a full day and night. Many mages died in that battle."

Roland downed the last bit of wine in one gulp, catching his breath before continuing, "Stray javelins killed mages just as easily, and thrown giant axes hitting the body weren't much weaker than boulders."

Shaoke stared intently into Mage Roland's eyes. He didn't know what exactly his companions stationed in the fortress had encountered while fighting the enemy on the city walls, but it clearly left the person before him fearful just mentioning it.

"Have you ever tried running non-stop for a day and night? Have you ever experienced the constant worry of being targeted by an Archer during battle? Have you ever faced Infiltrators quietly waiting for an opportunity to hunt you down on your escape route?" Shaoke said all this in one breath, hoping to uplift Mage Roland, to prevent him from sinking into despair over the deaths of his companions. After all, this was a battlefield, not some charitable institution like an orphanage from a past life.

"This is a battlefield. Back when I was with Mage Roman's squad, there were over twenty of us. Now, only Mage Roman and I have returned." Shaoke looked at Mage Roland and continued, "Even later, when dozens more mages joined our fleeing group, many died, including two Third Tier Mages. Does that mean I should never go to the battlefield again because of this? We are Military Mages now."

After Shaoke finished speaking, Mage Roland turned his head away awkwardly. "I was just complaining. Just complaining."

A sudden silence fell between the two. Shaoke returned to his seat, slowly twirling his staff, his mind beginning to wander aimlessly.

"I have a letter for you. It was delivered by a soldier not long after you left. I'll fetch it for you. It's from the capital." Mage Roland suddenly broke the silence and went to retrieve the letter for Shaoke upon his thanks.

Mage Roland returned quickly, not only with the letter but also carrying a black robe in his hand. "Mage Xueye, this is the new robe issued to you by the military. Try it on to see if it fits. The soldier who delivered it is still outside. We can have him exchange it anytime." He then set the items down and went outside to wait.