Why is this guy talking like I'm here to collect protection money?
My face immediately fell, and I was about to get angry, but then I became suspicious: "Isn't your business very prosperous? Why are you saying you have no money?"
Rod's face darkened. He glanced around, first gathering the perfumes piled on the counter, then walking over to the wall engraved with the coat of arms and tapping it a few times with his fingers.
An invisible wave of magical energy swept through the entire house, creating a hazy barrier between me and the outside world, and also blocking the sound of conversations inside from being heard.
I extended my senses slightly and tried to perceive for a few seconds. The sounds coming from the outside world were like a series of blurry bubbles rising from the bottom of the deep sea. The spiritual energy and magic power consumed also increased exponentially. In no time, I had accumulated enough pressure on my mind to exhaust most ordinary mages.
The same result would be obtained from looking in from the outside. I don't think anyone would be so bored as to try to carve a hole straight through the bedrock from the solid rock with their bare hands.
"You guys don't mind this, do you?"
Rod sat back down on his small stool, rolled up his sleeves and rested them on his outstretched thighs, his earlier playful expression gone.
"I've never seen a soundproof barrier structure before. Did you design it yourself?" I was more curious about that.
Rhodes nodded nervously: "When I was bored out of my mind, I tried resetting the equations. The improved structure is estimated to be half a degree stronger than the standard type, but its penetration and cracking speed have both decreased. It's a way of remembering my school days."
This isn't hard to guess. Mages often have peculiar quirks and needs, with soundproof barriers to prevent leaks during private conversations being among the most prominent. The standard and anti-decryption versions have been iterated hundreds of times, with numerous interference and deceptive elements added. It's a required course and fundamental skill for every academically trained mage. Everyone who learns it likes to add their own modifications, regardless of whether it impairs functionality; they just add it anyway.
As for what happens if the secret is leaked... well, let's take a lie detector test on everyone who was there first.
However, it is rare to see someone as carefree as Rhodes, who openly reveals the spells that need to be concealed and activates them as needed. Although there are patterns as a cover, it is still a spell that is directly exposed, which is much easier to break than a spell that is activated internally.
Especially with a foundation of basic knowledge and a reserve of refined mathematical techniques, one can guess the general type at a glance. If I really wanted to crack it, it would only take a few seconds at most.
Of course, a few seconds is enough time for a lot to happen in a close-quarters duel between mages. For me, it's enough to at least complete a full combo of three strikes with a staff, then dodge to a safe distance and still have time to sip some hot tea.
So I casually shrugged to indicate that it was fine, and Hikari, whose attention was completely drawn to the glittering glass bottles around her, didn't object at all.
Rhodes paused for a moment, then, judging from his flickering gaze, realized he was probably still immersed in the past.
Okay, I can understand. He was a top student in the alchemy school who graduated several years ahead of me in the academy. Now, he has not been able to successfully advance to become a respected intercity special-appointed mage or a restricted area patrol special-appointment mage. He has also failed to join a promising alchemy workshop. Instead, he is trapped in an informal wild mage association. Because he has no money, he can only hide in a corner of the city and try to make a living by selling small commodities and props. Anyone would feel depressed in his situation. This kid is an optimist, so I don't know if that's a good thing or not.
It is said that he was deceived by her beauty, and in the end they broke up over some trivial matters. He really lost both his wife and his army.
“About three months ago,” Rhodes finally began his story. I took notice and swatted away the rice candy Hikari was secretly offering to my mouth—this child seems to be getting younger and younger, now even playing cat-teasing games, waving the food back and forth in front of my nose and refusing to let me eat it. “Of course, it could also be that even earlier, a strange trend suddenly began to circulate in the [Arcane Research Center], claiming that the dawn of tomorrow would be followed by the darkest curtain of darkness, and only by following the guidance of the stars could one reach the light of day…”
"Wait a moment."
I interrupted, puzzled: "Isn't this a cult ideology that has long been banned? Its greatest use is only to scare children who won't go to sleep, saying that there are eerie monsters hiding in the night and that they will come and eat them if they don't sleep, and that only after they fall asleep will their special star rise in the sky and protect them for a peaceful night..."
"How can someone still live in the dreams of their childhood even after they've grown up?"
"So it was all a lie all along!"
Hikari chimed in loudly, her eyes wide with surprise.
Great, there's a child here who never grows up.
I rolled my eyes, somewhat speechless, and continued, "All mages who come into contact with spells understand one thing: there are no beings like gods in this world. Those who were revered as gods in history have been confirmed, upon tracing back, to be nothing more than grand mages whose strength was slightly greater than that of others in their time."
"The World Tree is not a creation of the gods, but a special plant that happens to grow to an extremely large size. The Goddess of Light and Darkness is a fabrication and embellishment by bards who are eager to swindle money. The so-called Mother Gaia is nothing more than unconscious tectonic activity and wildfires. Even distant stars have been explored, and the final conclusion is that they are large celestial bodies with only desolate and lifeless cold rocks..."
"Moreover, if gods truly exist, and if they truly watch over the people living on this land and love each and every one of them, as those sects that have vanished into the dust of history claimed, how could they have remained indifferent when the Black Tide surged forth?"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
