I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 698 - 698 697. Court Mage (Additional update for Alliance

Chapter 698: 697. Court Mage (Additional update for Alliance Hierarch [Mysterious Primordial Qi])_1 Chapter 698: 697. Court Mage (Additional update for Alliance Hierarch [Mysterious Primordial Qi])_1 The explosion felt familiar to Shia, and she looked towards Baron Gerro’s back.

“Sorry, my guests here can be a bit noisy at times.”

Baron Gerro gave a wry smile, then he walked into the house with Lu Ban and the others close on his heels.

The stone-built house was not large, merely the size of a common residence. Lu Ban saw smoke billowing out from a room on one side.

The smoke had a foul odor, reminiscent of some excrement being heated to a boil, nauseating.

Shia raised her hand, and the wind suddenly surged, sweeping the smoke away in an instant.

She was then able to see the condition of the room.

A mottled wooden table stood in the center of the room, covered in burns, corrosion, and cut marks, the fact that it still stood on four legs seemed miraculous.

Atop the table lay countless bottles and jars, much more delicate than the table itself, clearly crafted by a professional artisan.

The semi-transparent bottles were filled with solutions and powders of various colors, some even changing hues continually, emitting an enticing glow.

It seemed that the source of the foul smell was the black solution being heated over a burning candle on one side of the table; it rolled gently over the flame, reflecting the image of the man in the room.

He had deep black hair cut short, about the same age as Baron Gerro, though his hair stood on end due to the explosion, giving him the classic look of a wild hairdo, his face was filthy with grime.

“Let me introduce Joester, my good friend. When we met, we were still playing with urine and mud.”

Baron Gerro coughed twice as he introduced him, and then he added.

“He is a Court Mage.”

Hearing Baron Gerro’s words, Shia turned her gaze to this man.

“Doesn’t look like it.”

Quickly, the young mage girl shook her head.

Since a Court Mage had appeared here, Shia naturally thought of the founder of the Gray Tower.

However, Joester still seemed somewhat immature, seemingly in need of many more years to become an independent mage.

Shia herself is more inclined to think that the Gray Tower’s founder was a group of people, not just one individual.

Because neither the Gray Tower nor the Magic Network could have been created by a single genius mage, it would only be possible to create such a grand miracle from scratch through the painstaking efforts of countless mages.

She was a mage, one who used reason to deconstruct the world, understanding that the laws of nature could not be arbitrarily changed by the will of one or two individuals.

Joester had no idea of Shia’s thoughts; he just stared at her blankly, his eyes wide, then he rushed toward Shia, speaking in an incredulous tone.

“Spellcasting without incantations, instant response, not even a ritual prepared, how did you do that?”

Clearly, he found Shia’s ability to dispel the smoke with a mere gesture unbelievable.

“Just a little trick.”

Shia didn’t respond directly to Joester’s question.

She wasn’t quite sure how mages cast spells before the Magic Network was established – it probably involved preparing complex rituals, specific incantations, and a strong enough sanity to withstand the pollution, according to what her teacher had vaguely mentioned.

At that moment, Shia noticed that the colors of Joester’s two eyes were somewhat different.

One was still the usual black, while the left eye had turned crimson, like blood.

“This is no small trick. You should know, according to Master Alheste’s theory, a spell is the manifestation of knowledge, while a ritual is the solidification of knowledge. The solidified knowledge is awakened and manifested through an incantation, that’s the operating mechanism of magic. It’s impossible to use magic without incantations and rituals!”

Joester seemed quite persistent, determined to understand how Shia’s spell worked just now.

Shia was considering whether or not to explain concepts such as the Magic Network to expedite Joester’s understanding of modern magic, when suddenly his eyes widened.

“No… don’t speak anymore… please, I beg you…”

Joester immediately covered his ears as if devils had begun whispering in his ears. His pupils were filled with blood vessels, and he knelt on the ground in agony, trembling all over.

“Joester.”

Baron Gerro immediately supported the young mage, only to see Joester’s eyes shedding red tears—that was blood.

He emitted some struggling, delicate noises from his throat, his entire body tensing as if something had grabbed him, continuing to convulse and spasm.

“Let me do it.”

Shia pressed down on Joester’s head, her fingers threading through his black hair. Accompanied by an almost imperceptible trembling in the air, Joester’s muscles relaxed; he closed his eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Lu Ban’s right hand also materialized a silver pen “Testament,” opening up Joester’s head.

Countless pieces of information popped out.

“It’s pollution.”

Lu Ban quickly came to a conclusion.

“He has accumulated a considerable degree of pollution, which will continuously corrode his will and body. In fact, even without any other accidents, he would likely rapidly decay and die within three years.”

“Is this what the original mages were like…”

Shia felt somewhat lamentful.

The mages of the Night Country in the past were like curious children, throwing all the supernatural powers they encountered into their minds, taking in as much as they could.

And this knowledge was pollution, which would lead to a reduction in sanity and the corruption and mutation of the body. That’s why many mages looked bizarre and even lost their human form.

Latter on, some mages tried to alleviate this situation. Some attempted to balance the pollution within their bodies by counteracting different sources of pollution, while others even developed a system that would not lead to loss of control. Some researched mental enclosures, placing the majority of their knowledge and pollution deep within their brains, only awakening it through specific methods when needed.

The former were known as Bloodline Mages, while the latter were the precursors to Court Mages.

In an even older era, it was said that these two types of mages had once erupted in a struggle for orthodoxy, but before it could escalate, they abandoned the conflict due to the invasion of the Demonic Tide.

However, once afflicted by pollution, it would continue to deepen. Even with great effort, these two kinds of mages only managed to delay death and madness to a certain extent.

Moreover, the more powerful a mage was, the more pollution they would bear, and when they fell due to pollution, the greater the harm they would cause. Therefore, if they could still retain their sanity, most of these mages would choose to venture into the depths of the Black Forest, where Demonic Beasts rampaged.

Legend has it that these powerful mages could leave behind a curse upon the world at the time of their death. Those disasters that surpassed mortal comprehension were formed in this way.

“Can such a person really establish the Gray Tower?”

Shia looked at Joester, who had already fallen asleep, and thought to herself.

*

Alliance Hierarch added more 2/2

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