Chapter 556: Squeezing the Fire Drake Dry

"Hmm,"

"It turns out, my half-baked knowledge of astronomy has really inspired Acheronides!" Maybe the bits and pieces I know about physics, chemistry, biology, and geography can inspire her too!" Magicians are always seeking the truth, and in a way, what I know is a kind of truth too, right?"

This world isn't like Earth; aside from the laws of physics, there are also the laws of magic.

So, Earth's knowledge alone can't fully explain this world, but the laws of physics are still a useful guide.

Now that we've explored Dodo Island once, and Leo the Fire Drake still hasn't shown up.

With time to kill, he naturally decided to have a good talk with Acheronides, sharing more about astronomy, geography, physics, and chemistry to spark her curiosity about the truth.

He found a beach.

He picked up a branch.

He drew a galaxy in the sand: "This is a star, like the ones you see at night. Stars give off light and heat. Many planets that don't shine orbit the star. Some are freezing, some are scorching, and some can't support life, but there are also worlds like ours."

Acheronides nodded along.

She absorbed Liszt's knowledge.

She also asked questions eagerly: "Brother, why do those planets orbit the star?"

"Planets orbit the star because of gravity. Everything has gravity, and bigger things have more. The star's gravity pulls the planets, keeping them in orbit. So, the sun stays the sun—it doesn't move closer or farther away."

"Then why don't the planets just crash into the star? If they're pulling on each other, shouldn't they just collide?"

"Well," Liszt coughed, clearly unsure, "it might have to do with how fast the planet spins and centrifugal force. It's something we need to explore more. It's like spinning a ball on a string—it flies outward, balancing the pull of gravity."

"Oh, I see."

Acheronides, still unsure, asked another question: "Why do stars stay up in the sky? Why don't they fall?"

"In the universe, there's no such thing as falling down."

"Why is that?"

Where do you come up with all these questions!

Liszt quickly changed the subject: "There's no simple answer—the universe is something we're still exploring. Let's talk about how stars and galaxies are connected. From what I know, countless star systems make up a galaxy, which might orbit a black hole at its center. As for what a black hole is..."

...

Over the next two days.

Liszt spent his time either sharing what little he knew with Acheronides or searching the volcano crater for Leo. But Leo never showed up, and diving into the lava wasn't an option, so all he could do was wait.

"It's been three days without food—it must be getting hungry by now... Even with all that intense fire magic in the volcano, it's not something you can eat."

But then, before they could find Leo the Fire Drake, on the fourth morning, Acheronides, lost in thought by the sea, suddenly sprang into action.

Standing on a shell, she lifted her hands slowly, let out a cry like a nightingale's song, and her hands glowed with magic aura. Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted far out at sea.

Boom!

The explosion was so large, almost as powerful as the vacuum water explosion created by the giant whale monster a few days ago, and the sea waves took a long time to calm down.

Such a commotion naturally caught Liszt's attention, and he hurried over to ask: "Acheronides, did you just create a new spell yourself?"

Acheronides answered, her voice tinged with excitement: "Yes, brother. After you explained how stars and planets orbit each other, and the principle of nuclear fusion where two atomic nuclei merge into one... I conjured up a dynamic, rotating magic circle, forcing them to merge, which ended up causing an explosion."

"Wow, that's amazing, Acheronides!" Liszt exclaimed with a mix of envy and admiration. This small mermaid's talent was simply astounding.

With just a few basic concepts, she had created such a powerful spell.

He then asked, "Is your magic advanced, or is it even higher-level?"

"It's merely a variation of a dynamic magic circle, so it should still be classified as advanced magic. It doesn't transcend the fundamental nature and principles of dynamic magic circles."

"Give it a name."

"You name it, brother."

It seemed Acheronides had great confidence in Liszt's naming ability, so he took the responsibility without hesitation. After a moment of thought, he said, "How about we call it Water Spin Fusion?"

The name perfectly captured the two principles behind the magic, making it very fitting.

"Brother, I'll jot down the casting instructions for the advanced magic, Water Spin Fusion, and you can pass it on to Lady Cris for her reference." Acheronides was aware of Cris, but Cris had no idea about Acheronides. In a sense, Cris acted as Acheronides's mentor, answering many of Acheronides's difficult questions.

"She'll be thrilled to see a new spellcasting technique."

"Actually, after you shared all those fascinating insights with me, I have so many ideas I want to test out and new spells to create."

"Then don't hurry to write down the spellcasting instructions. Hold onto those ideas for now. Cris has plenty of advanced spells from other systems to master, so she won't be rushing to learn Water Spin Fusion anytime soon."

"Mhm."

Acheronides nodded and continued her magical experiments.

Meanwhile, Liszt once again leaped toward the volcano crater to search for the Fire Drake Leo, while calling up the smoke task: "Complete the task, reward Acheronides's new magic - Water Spin Fusion."

Immediately, a new task was issued: "The Fire Drake's mischief has angered you, changing your attitude towards it. Now that you understand the Fire Drake's nature, why not squeeze it dry once, making it fundamentally realize its mistakes and correct them. Reward: a large patch of Hemp Rope Vine."

"Huh?"

Seeing this task, Liszt fully understood that the smoke task was a projection of his own mental power. At least in the formation of the task, personal will played a dominant role.

It was somewhat similar to the relationship of "what you think about during the day, you dream about at night."

Squeezing the Fire Drake dry and making it understand how to be a proper dragon had been something Liszt had been pondering over the past few days. Now, it was truly reflected in the smoke task, which was quite satisfying.

"The reward for this task is a large patch of Hemp Rope Vine. What kind of plant is that?"

There were too many plant species, and Liszt's knowledge was limited. He had never heard of Hemp Rope Vine. Judging by the name, it should be a vine plant, growing like hemp rope. He didn't know its use or whether it appeared on Dodo Island, Black Horse Island, or simply in Flower Town.

He didn't pay much attention to the Hemp Rope Vine.

Focused on how to squeeze the Fire Drake dry, just then, the last rays of the setting sun barely cast their light on the volcano crater. The slowly churning magma roared, and then a burst of flame shot out, quickly outlining the shape of a dragon, accompanied by a loud "Oh ho!" cry.

The flames gradually extinguished, revealing the form of the Fire Drake Leo, who circled and flew toward Liszt.