Chapter 236: Advice and Reunion

The silver light split into two separate streams and merged into the altar, where they began to burn. The magical scripts or sentences formed by mental energy or magic power appeared more condensed after being scorched by the silver light.

Occasionally, flames flew out of the altar, landing on the Six-pointed Star Magic Array, wandering across it continuously, or bursting apart to fall into the whirlpool formed by the potions, or merging into the walls of the Meditation space. When the light on the magic array faded, some silver light within the altar flew out again, merging into the array and repeating the process.

One day, Shaoke was studying books recording the principles of some spells obtained from the Death Mage Corps’ station when two guests arrived at the camp. The guests were Mage Roman and Mage Yisier. Upon learning of Shaoke’s successful promotion, they had traveled from the Blizzard Legion via a magic array to see him.

“Return to the Blizzard Legion!” Mage Roman said quietly, gazing at the male mage before her. The Six-pointed Star Magic Array floating in his eyes felt unfamiliar to her. She recalled that he had once been just a small mage who had recently advanced to the Second Rank, yet now he had become a Sixth Tier Mage, while she was only preparing to advance to a Fifth Tier Alchemist. This left her feeling somewhat lost.

“Return? Return to follow orders and fight those soldiers of the Esuoer Empire, only to watch my comrades die again because of false intelligence provided by some in the military?” Shaoke did not remove his cloak in front of Mage Roman this time, as he dared not. In just half a year, extensive work had drained his energy, and minimal sleep had left his physical condition in terrible shape. “Perhaps we too will become casualties of that false intelligence.” With that, he twisted the strange staff in his hand sharply and turned his head away, refusing to look at Mage Roman and Mage Yisier.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Mage Yisier said, stretching slightly but ultimately refraining from asking Shaoke to remove his cloak. “The military has explained the earlier incident, and the emperor and the royal family have executed all those who provided false intelligence, along with their families.”

“I just can’t trust the military anymore,” Shaoke said, turning away to stare blankly at the flames burning in the hearth, letting out a silent sigh. “After the war ends, I’ll return to my hometown and stay there for a while. If possible, I hope you can come visit.” He then straightened his back with effort, trying to appear more spirited.

“Is your condition really that bad?” Mage Roman stopped Mage Yisier, who was about to speak, stepped forward, and embraced Shaoke, whispering her guess. “I can feel it. Don’t hide it. Let me see you again.” She gently bit his shoulder through his robe, though the magical energy’s burn caused her small mouth to bleed slightly, though not severely.

“If only I could have avoided that situation back then,” Shaoke said with a hoarse laugh. “None of it was within my control. I think I’ll recover in time.” After hesitating, he finally pulled down his cloak, revealing his current state after the promotion.

“I knew it,” Mage Roman said, looking at the gaunt male mage. She couldn’t help but bite his shoulder again, but Shaoke offered his hand, preventing her from being burned by the magical scripts again. However, his hand was deeply bitten, leaving a bloody mark. “Can’t you just listen to me for once?” She reached out, touched his cheek, then held his injured hand, gently licking the wound with her tongue. Her eyes reddened as she complained. Mage Yisier stood by, smiling, though Shaoke didn’t know what she was thinking.

“I just wanted to consolidate the results of my promotion early,” Shaoke said softly, stroking the female mage’s white hair and gently kissing her forehead. “I just wanted to advance sooner.” He let out a quiet sigh.

“How come Mage Yisier didn’t end up looking as haggard as you during her promotion? Can’t you slow down your pace?” Mage Roman pinched Shaoke’s arm again. “You haven’t learned any sixth-rank spells yet, have you?” She looked at him with concern, then bit her lip and shifted her gaze to Mage Yisier. “Why not let Mage Yisier copy a few spells for you?”

“It’s fine. I’ll get them from the Death Mage Corps. At least all spells up to the Seventh Rank are provided to me for free by the Death Mage Corps,” Shaoke said, offering a smile to Mage Yisier, though it wasn’t particularly pleasant. Mage Yisier understood his situation and simply stepped closer, nodding in acknowledgment.

“Hmm,” the female mage nodded helplessly, knowing that Shaoke’s decisions were rarely changed by others, including herself. “If you came back to the Blizzard Legion, I’d feel a lot better,” she said, letting out a few soft sighs.

After chatting for a while longer, the three mages went to the small town for some leisure. The town now had more ordinary residents, who no longer felt envy, fear, or tension toward mages on the streets like before. However, with the war at the frontlines over the past two or three years, the number of mages in the town had drastically decreased, making their appearances exciting for the residents. Though they couldn’t distinguish the differences between mages, this didn’t stop them from recording everything that had happened in recent years in their family genealogies. For many ordinary residents in small towns, mages were like legends.

There wasn’t much worth visiting in the town. The old large tavern had disappeared, converted by craftsmen into a small lord’s manor, where officials dispatched from the imperial capital handled administrative affairs. Eventually, the three decided to walk along the city walls to enjoy the scenery after years of post-war recovery. Naturally, they had to show their identification to the ordinary soldiers, who were merely fulfilling their duties.

“Mage Xueye, when will you explain those Ancient Magic Scripts to me again?” Mage Yisier imitated Mage Roman by linking her arm with Shaoke’s. “I can only speak a few simple Ancient Magic Scripts now; the more complex ones I still can’t manage.” She broke the silence, unwilling to let the time pass in quiet. Shaoke then relayed the advice from the former Eighth Tier Blue-robed Mage to Mage Yisier.

“I don’t know how you practice. Every time I fail to speak a script, my meditation space suffers a great disturbance, more severe than a failed spellcasting,” Mage Yisier said, glancing at Shaoke and the distracted Mage Roman. She suddenly laughed softly. “If it weren’t for Mage Roman, I would definitely marry you.” She couldn’t help but laugh again.

Hearing this, Shaoke looked at her in confusion. “You’re getting married?” he asked, then added, “Who is he? A mage too?”

“Hmm,” Mage Yisier nodded gently. “He treats me really well. Though he’s only a fourth-tier mage, I can feel his sincerity and potential.” She tightened her grip on Shaoke’s arm. “If all goes well, we’ll marry after the war.”

“Isn’t it a bit early?” Shaoke sighed softly. He had always known that Mage Yisier would eventually leave him, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, leaving him feeling a sense of reluctance.

“It shouldn’t be too early. I don’t want to end up like Mage Roman, still not having your child,” Mage Yisier said. As soon as she finished, the daydreaming Mage Roman pounced on her, tickling her under the arms. The two female mages dropped all decorum and played around, which felt very warm to Shaoke.

Their goofing around on the city walls caught the attention of the patrolling soldiers. Eventually, a tired Mage Roman suggested returning to rest, though there were other reasons behind it.

Back in Shaoke’s room, Mage Yisier discussed some topics related to the Sixth Rank with Shaoke, while Mage Roman took off her boots, curled up on the bed, and quietly read a book by candlelight. She occasionally looked up at the two mages engrossed in conversation before returning to her reading. Many of Shaoke’s books were quite helpful for her alchemical studies.

The soldiers who had been informed earlier brought dinner for three. After the meal, the mages continued their discussion, this time shifting to the topic of the war.

“If all goes well, the war should be over by this time next year,” Mage Yisier said, curling up in Mage Roman’s arms and placing her feet on Shaoke’s lap, letting him play with them. “Now, the Esuoer Empire only has its capital and a few large cities left, but five empires are attacking it together.”

“Five empires?” Shaoke looked at Mage Yisier in surprise, then turned to Mage Roman, who confirmed it. He knew that the Blue Feather Empire’s conflict with the Esuoer Empire had involved other nations like the Desasi Empire, but he hadn’t expected five empires to be attacking simultaneously. (To be continued. For the rest of the story, please visit m for more chapters and support the author and legitimate reading.)

First release.