Chapter 192 Formal Enrollment and Script

In the following days, Shao Ke, guided by the fifth-tier female mage and accompanied by the sleazy officer, quickly completed the agreement signed with the Blizzard Legion years ago. Shao Ke was then assigned to the combat-oriented Blizzard Mage Corps.

The arrival of a Fourth Tier Mage from the Death Mage Corps excited the Blizzard mages. After consulting Shao Ke, they arranged daily sessions for spell duels with him. Of course, only Fourth and Fifth Tier Mages participated, while higher-tier mages were busy with their own affairs.

The results left the Fourth Tier Mages who had arrived before Shao Ke somewhat disheartened, as none could defeat him, not even in spellcasting rate. Before they could even finish casting their spells, Shao Ke's attacks would already land, forcing them to rely on the defensive spells on their robes or crystal-sealed spells to block. Moreover, Shao Ke did not use the unique spells he had transcribed in the Death garrison during these duels.

As for the Fifth Tier Mages, Shao Ke employed his unique spells, such as Green Flame Manipulation, Cutting Wave, and the modified Rending Ray. However, he refrained from using Disintegration Structure and the only mental attack spell he had embedded in his eyes, Dreamweave. Additionally, he avoided using Death Slash, which had greater cutting power and could easily tear through two layers of Fifth Tier defensive spells, as it would be too dangerous in a duel.

The power of a Death Mage was showcased for the first time among these low-rank mages. One female mage even inquired about the conditions for joining the Death Mage Corps. However, Shao Ke did not disclose them, as few mages who successfully advanced within the Corps remained entirely normal. He had seen too many suffer mental breakdowns and did not wish for this mage to become one of those vacant-eyed guards.

Mage Roman's health gradually improved, though she was still bedridden, and her meditation practice was forcibly prohibited by the Cleric and the Elder Physician. Under such circumstances, meditation could hasten the corrosion of her body by mana or mental energy.

Fortunately, Mage Roman was now fully focused on alchemy, so she was not in a hurry.

Following the Elder Physician's instructions, Shao Ke personally fed Mage Roman medicinal broth and applied ointment after removing her clothes. Of course, Mage Roman did not refuse; instead, she greatly enjoyed Shao Ke's care.

However, since Mage Roman's injury, Shao Ke had spoken very little in her presence. Most of the time, she would ask questions, and he would only give brief replies. For this, Mage Roman complained softly more than once while Shao Ke applied her medicine. Unfortunately, even after many such instances, Shao Ke did not change his behavior, which somewhat disheartened her. Yet, each time she noticed the infatuation in his gaze while he applied the medicine, it brought her some joy.

A month passed quickly. Mage Roman could now walk on her own, and the fifth-tier female mage who had been keeping her company during the day also left, needing to report to the military headquarters. After the incident, she had only written a letter explaining the situation; now, she had to return in person to provide a detailed account.

The departure of the fifth-tier female mage left Mage Roman feeling somewhat lost, as she had been the only one accompanying her and discussing various matters during this period. The other female mages were busy practicing spells! However, this had no impact on Shao Ke; he simply spent more time accompanying Mage Roman.

One day, while Shao Ke and Mage Roman were taking a slow walk together, the sleazy officer, whom they had not seen for some time, appeared before them escorted by several Blizzard Warriors.

"Mage Roman, you look much better now. May I invite you for a drink?" The sleazy officer wiped the drool from his chin, straightened his uniform as much as possible, and tried to stand upright to appear more presentable. Of course, all this only made him look even more uncomfortable.

Mage Roman firmly declined the officer's concern and invitation, explaining that it was the physician's and cleric's advice, which she had to follow. Of course, she also introduced Shao Ke, whom the officer had deliberately ignored, but the effect was minimal—the officer continued to disregard him.

However, the Blizzard Warriors protecting the officer did not ignore Shao Ke. Instead, they tightly gripped their giant sabers, glaring fiercely at him. If Shao Ke made any unusual or aggressive moves, the sabers would not hesitate to strike him down.

At the sleazy officer's prompting, the conversation quickly turned to the incident at the imperial capital's tavern some days ago. Speaking of this, the officer once again tried to straighten his not-so-tall frame and declared loudly, "Back then, I suggested simply demolishing that tavern, but the Legion Commander stopped me. He said doing so would cost him a large sum of money." He then wiped away more drool and added, "But I still went and smashed up that tavern. If that guy had shown up, I would have definitely cut off his head." As he spoke, he drew his pale blue dagger and swung it forcefully in the air a few times.

Hearing the officer's account, Mage Roman couldn't help but laugh, but the pain in her chest quickly reminded her of the drawbacks of doing so. Nevertheless, she verbally expressed her gratitude to the officer, which made him even happier. After lingering for a little while longer, the officer prepared to take his leave.

"Mage Roman, I'm afraid I won't be able to chat with you for long this time." Seeing her questioning look, he quickly explained, "The Legion Commander is meeting with some nobles today, and I must go protect him. I've also heard that some important figures will attend this gathering!" At this point, he glanced at Shao Ke with a hint of pride and said, "They say they're high-ranking officials from the military headquarters. But since there's an outsider here today, I'll take my leave now." After saying this, he stood there in a daze for a moment, as if recalling what had just happened, before departing under the protection of the Blizzard Warriors, who stood over three meters tall.

"Isn't he strange?" Mage Roman smiled as she watched the sleazy officer's departing figure, turning to Shao Ke, who had remained silent beside her. "I remember he was like this when I first arrived here, and he still is now."

"Mage Roman, are you feeling better?" Shao Ke gently smoothed the mage's wind-tousled long hair and softly held her in his arms. "I heard you're about to advance to become a true Alchemist?" As he spoke, Shao Ke gently picked her up and headed back indoors, not only because they had been outside for a long time but also because the wind had picked up, and she, not fully recovered, could not withstand it.

"Was it that officer who told you just now?" The mage buried her head in Shao Ke's shoulder. "Don't believe a single word he says, not even what he just said." At this, Mage Roman suddenly chuckled softly. "Whenever he gets bored on the training ground, he runs out and talks nonsense. Last time, he even claimed a prince from the Desasi Empire had come here and needed his protection!"

Shao Ke did not take Mage Roman's words to heart, and the matter of the sleazy officer was similarly ignored by him. All he remembered was the officer's wretched appearance, which made him feel that he, at least, wasn't that bad.

At the request of the two mages, the Blizzard Legion allowed them to continue living together after Mage Roman's condition improved somewhat. This did not violate military regulations, as mages enjoyed such privileges.

After Mage Roman was gently placed on the bed by Shao Ke, she let him remove her boots while she silently played with the empty stone bead he had given her, pondering how to turn it into a permanent magic item. This problem had troubled her for some time, and she had even written to her uncle, who remained in the Bloody Fortress, hoping his extensive knowledge could help her.

Once Mage Roman was settled, Shao Ke took out some books he had acquired in the Death Fortress and began reading. He had temporarily set aside the issue of merging spell formations, as the demanding language studies already consumed too much of his energy to spare for other matters. His language studies now focused more on Ancient Magic Script, as this magical language was suitable for almost all spell incantations and could enhance the power of most spells. Of course, some spells required specific languages to gain additional potency.

A twisted, bizarre magic script, which caused Mage Roman's mental energy to fluctuate just by looking at it, appeared on the crystal paper. However, the ink used to write the script lacked the ability to preserve it for long, so the script soon ignited on its own, turning to ashes and disappearing from the writing desk.

Unfazed by this, Shao Ke took out another sheet of crystal paper, which cost as much as a common gold coin, and continued his practice. He repeated this process until his mana could no longer sustain his writing efforts, then stopped. After recovering using the fastest meditation method, the mage shared her observations with Shao Ke.

"Xueye, I noticed you wrote the fifteenth character more smoothly just now, but the ones after reverted to how they were before," Mage Roman said, patting the edge of the bed to invite Shao Ke up to talk, but he shook his head and declined.

"Hmm, I felt that too." Speaking of this, Shao Ke took out another stack of crystal paper to continue his practice. However, at his request, Mage Roman refrained from watching him write this time, as she had not yet studied Ancient Magic Script, and prolonged observation could harm her mental energy.