Chapter 157 Ancient Magic Script and Mission

One day, just after Shaoke had finished replying to letters from Mage Roman and several other mages who maintained correspondence with him, and was attempting to write in the Ancient Magical Tongue, he was interrupted by an unfamiliar visitor.

The visitor was an ordinary Third Tier Mage. After confirming the host's identity, he handed Shaoke a black scroll and hurriedly departed. He didn't want to face a mage shrouded in gray-black mist, especially one belonging to the Death Mage Corps!

The script on the black scroll was written in Ancient Magic Script using crimson ink. It simply stated that within three days of receiving the scroll, he was required to report to the military headquarters, where they would begin their first mission after joining the Death Mage Corps. It reiterated that the Spellcaster must arrive within the stipulated time. The consequences for failing to arrive within this timeframe were not explicitly stated, but Shaoke knew they were not something any newly joined Third Tier Mage, or even a Fourth Tier Mage, could withstand.

After casting a spell again to verify the scroll's authenticity, Shaoke stored the order away and continued his writing attempts.

Characters that seemed utterly bizarre to Shaoke slowly emerged one by one from the tip of his white goose quill pen with its blue-gold inlaid nib. Shaoke discovered that writing the Ancient Magic Script was different from both the contemporary common magical script and the older archaic magical script. While writing it, he realized these characters were almost formed by condensing the writer's mental power or magical energy. The ink, crafted from precious materials, served merely as a medium. Of course, this was largely Shaoke's impression. Without that ink, even if he could use his mental power to form the Ancient Magic Script, the characters would gradually collapse due to structural instability and other factors.

After forming a strange pattern, dozens of magic script characters suddenly contracted, coalescing into a single, peculiar character composed of those dozens. This newly formed character was the true Ancient Magic Script. However, as Shaoke lacked the ability to directly write this script, he relied on the guidance from books and this writing technique to experience its power in advance.

A single Ancient Magic Script character could represent a sentence, or even more. This was why ancient mages could cast some spells by chanting only brief incantations.

The Ancient Magic Script character representing 'the irritable, frequently raging multitude of flames in the sky' did not last long on the parchment. It soon collapsed due to the writer's lack of sufficient mental power, and the paper, blended from the skins of dozens of magical beasts, burned away to nothing.

When a written character collapses due to the writer's own limitations, it still causes spatial turbulence for the writer. This turbulence is no less severe than that caused by Spellcasting failure. This is a major reason why Low-rank Mages dare not attempt to write such powerful magical script.

After the silver light within his mental space calmed the turbulence there once more, Shaoke continued trying to use the writing technique. Although he knew his insufficient mental power prevented the Ancient Magic Script from lasting long, he persisted. He hoped this method would allow him to gain a deeper understanding of the intrinsic meaning of those magical characters and sense the unique fluctuations they emitted, thereby aiding his study of spells.

Two days passed in a flash. Shaoke reported to the military headquarters one day early. Only the Seventh Tier Mage was in the spacious room, sitting there, leaning over a table examining something in the light of several candles.

"Are you sure you want to begin the mission now?" the Seventh Tier Mage put away the items on the table and asked Shaoke.

"Yes. I wish to go now," Shaoke nodded, adding, "A day early doesn't cost me anything."

The Seventh Tier Mage scrutinized Shaoke carefully once more, then handed him a thin booklet. "There are no rules during the mission. Whatever means you use, as long as you obtain the token representing the target's identity, you can temporarily conclude the mission." He pointed to the booklet. "If you want to understand the details, examine what's written here carefully. It might help you." He then explained some points to note during the mission. Finally, he opened the passage leading to the underground Death Corps outpost and let Shaoke enter.

After a final check of the items he carried, Shaoke saluted the mage and entered the passage, allowing the stone door to close behind him, blocking his path back.

By the light of the crystal lamps on the stone walls, Shaoke finally reached the first underground chamber. A mage in a black cloak received him and directed him to continue downward, as he needed to reach the Death Corps outpost first, then proceed through its passages to the mission location.

After more than a magic hour had passed, and with Shaoke quickening his pace, he finally arrived at that vast underground space. Following the instructions from the mage who received him, Shaoke quickly found the passage leading to the mission area. Navigating dozens of forks from memory, Shaoke, after passing through a relatively low passage, arrived at another enormous chamber.

Although this underground space was not as large as the first one he entered, it impressed Shaoke even more. Nearly a hundred thick stone pillars, carved with countless magical scripts and arrays, were scattered within the space. Huge light-gates, set within tall stone frames also carved with magical script, were placed around these pillars. Occasionally, mages entered and exited through these light-gates.

"Is this your first mission?" a Female Mage guarding the passage asked, eyeing Shaoke's unlit staff with suspicion. After requesting and inspecting the documents proving Shaoke's identity, she pointed to a large light-gate. "Go through this one. The other end is the destination."

Seeing Shaoke was ready, the female guard added another reminder: "You're going to the mission area now? The mission won't start for another day. I think you should rest here for another day."

Shaoke considered for a moment, then decided: "I'd like to go over first to familiarize myself with the terrain. That should make things easier during combat." He added, "Besides, one day here isn't enough time to accomplish anything."

Hearing Shaoke's reply, the guard merely shrugged. She took out a transparent book and a pen made of the same material, handing them to Shaoke. "Write your name here. You need to do this every time you start and finish a mission. Hmm! You can use mental power or magical energy as ink."

Following her instructions, Shaoke thought for a moment, then channeled magical energy into the transparent pen made of unknown material and wrote his name in the book. Perhaps because magical energy served as the ink, the common magical script formed purple characters on the transparent pages. As he finished writing, the purple script slowly faded from the transparent book. Under Shaoke's somewhat nervous gaze, the magical characters representing his name began to drift slowly within the book, mingling with many other drifting characters. Soon, the characters—some silver, some purple—representing various mages' names gradually vanished, and the book returned to its original transparent state.

"If I obtain enough tokens representing other mages' identities, does that mean I can rest longer before my next mission?" Shaoke suddenly recalled a point of confusion and asked the female mage before him, hoping for an answer.

"Within one month, you must obtain at least one identity token not belonging to an Imperial mage. Only then is the mission considered complete," the mage explained, offering a slight smile. "For each additional token, you can rest for one more month. Hmm! The teleportation there is random. Good luck!"

With a last, lingering look at the vast chamber he had just seen, Shaoke slid his staff into the pouch on his back, tightened his cloak, and stepped into the light-gate, beginning his first mission since joining the Death Mage Corps. He didn't know if he would ever return here, or if he would ever again reply to letters from Mage Roman and Francis Walton Mage.

After Shaoke stepped into the milky-white light-gate and disappeared, the female mage sighed softly. She whispered another blessing for him, hoping this mage on his first mission would return safely, unlike the majority who died without any value in that so-called mission zone.