I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 178 - 178 177. The heart that believes is your magic_1

Chapter 178: 177. The heart that believes is your magic_1 Chapter 178: 177. The heart that believes is your magic_1 “Prayer Magic?”

Lu Ban had seen quite a few magic-themed movies, but the vast majority of fantasy films did not go into detail about the magic settings of their worlds.

Either someone would chant some spell and then their wand would start glowing, and with a swing, a bridge would collapse.

Or they’d shout “Avada Kedavra” and a flash of green light would send someone to their death.

Or, they’d simply wear some kind of pendant, strike a few bizarre poses and reverse time.

As for how magic worked and was cast, it was all very idealistic.

Of course, the belief that “your heart is your magic” suggests that magic is in itself an idealistic thing.

He was somewhat curious.

“Do you still need to pray to use magic where you come from?”

“Yes, we need to pray to the deities after midnight, and then they will bestow upon us the spells that we can use for the day, during which these spells can be used without limit.”

Shia nodded slightly.

“However, this foreign domain is very far from my world, so the response of the deities is a bit slow. I can only unleash about seventy percent of my strength.”

She lifted her armored hand and flicked her fingers as if snapping them.

Ripples that Lu Ban could not see emanated through the space; he only felt a light breeze and had no idea what had happened.

“I just used a Detection Spell. It can sense any threats within a hundred meters… Hmm, something seems to be slumbering underneath the desert; I hope we don’t disturb it.”

“That’s amazing!”

Lu Ban applauded softly, then asked another question.

“So, can you make bread now?”

“…I, I did not pray for Create Food Magic.”

Shia spoke as if she were truly sorry.

“You can’t use a spell without praying for it first? Magic is such an inconvenient thing?”

Lu Ban found it quite marvelous.

“Magic is not something humans can easily meddle with; only deities can bestow transcendence. Before the Gray Tower was established, we suffered greatly from the Demonic Tide of the Black Forest. It was only under the leadership of the founder of the Gray Tower that humans gradually came into contact with divine miracles, turning magic, which was something only the Chosen by Gods could barely wield, into a wonder accessible to mortals as well.”

As Shia spoke these words, her tone was full of reverence; it seemed that the founder of the Gray Tower and his achievements indeed improved the living environment of the Night Country.

“So what spells did you pray for?”

Lu Ban asked again.

“That’s a secret.”

Shia didn’t answer.

“In the Night Country, what spells each mage can pray for and what they pray for each day is an absolute secret. Knowing what spells a mage can use that day means being able to specifically exploit their weaknesses; hence, even to my mentor, I would not reveal what spells I have prayed for today!”

She explained earnestly.

“Well, I hope you’ve prayed for some combat spells.”

Lu Ban didn’t probe further. The pinnacle of science and magic are no different—in other words, magic might be the process of things changing in a way that surpasses common understanding. He figured that what Shia mastered were probably spells akin to fireball or blizzard, similar to rocket launchers and mortars: when facing an enemy, annihilating them to ash would be the end of it.

“Speaking of which, could a person from another world, like me, pray to your gods for spells?”

He was a bit eager to try.

“This has never been tried before…”

Shia seemed perplexed by the question, pondering for a moment, then flipping through pages, searching intently for something.

The glow of fire highlighted the side of her face, her emerald eyes shimmering, a color Lu Ban had never seen before.

He waited a long time, possibly half an hour, and the armored girl was still leafing through the book.

Lu Ban felt he might not receive an answer any time soon, so he stood up to take in the scenery at the edge of the dunes.

Even when he was no longer beside her, Shia didn’t show any reaction, seemingly engrossed in the joy of reading.

Lu Ban pinched a handful of sand, this gravel was silvery, and its grains were finer than those of beach sand, easily flowing through his fingers without sticking to the skin.

Curious, he pinched some more and tasted it with his tongue.

“It tastes like sand.”

After spitting out the grains, Lu Ban looked toward the wasteland illuminated by the starry sky.

This world had no moon, nor the lights of a city, making the stars particularly brilliant. It was only now that he noticed there were no clouds in the sky at all, looking as far as the eye could see, the entire nightscape was like obsidian, pure and shining.

However, beyond the horizon, other than sand, there was only sand, the monotonous dunes forming the landscape, a stark contrast to the colorful starry sky.

“Do the people of this foreign domain all live in this desert? But how do they ensure water and food sources, do they really all eat insects? I saw a water reserve in the camel’s baggage, so it seems there’s more than just desert. There could be oases or the like.”

He pondered.

But none of that mattered for his current mission. The Nameless City, the ruins filled with treasure, must be within the desert. Considering the mission, he just needed to avoid encountering other Wasteland Hunters.

Returning to the campfire, Lu Ban saw Shia still flipping through a book.

“…Actually, I’m not that fixated on using a spell, you can stop looking.”

He patted Shia’s shoulder.

The girl continued reading.

Without any reaction.

“Uh, Miss Shia?”

Lu Ban waved his hand between her eyes and the pages of the book.

Still no reaction.

“Asleep?”

He leaned closer to take a look; the girl in armor had her eyes open, even continuing to flip through pages, but there was no response to Lu Ban’s calls.

Like some sort of puppet.

“…Is there a problem?”

Uncertain whether there were any ghosts or monsters in this desert that could turn people into puppets, Lu Ban hurriedly took out a crowbar and struck down hard on the back of Shia’s armor near her head.

Clang——

The crisp sound echoed in the desert.

Lu Ban saw Shia stop her page-turning.

Like a puppet suddenly turned into a human, Shia raised her head, her eyes once again filled with life as she looked at Lu Ban and then at the crowbar in his hand.

“What are you doing?”

She asked.

“You just…”

Lu Ban started to speak, then hesitated.

“It’s a spell.”

Shia offered an explanation.

“This spell is called Reading Magic. After casting it on a book, it allows my body to maintain a reading state and acquire knowledge while my own consciousness can rest and do other things.”

“?”

Was this really a textbook that had grown up and learned to jump into the brain by itself?

Lu Ban didn’t quite understand.

All he knew was that this would be super useful during class.

“Well, I just found a method to study magic, and now I can let you try it out.”

Shia spoke again, exciting Lu Ban.