I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 699 - 699 698. Silly Child_1

Chapter 699: 698. Silly Child_1 Chapter 699: 698. Silly Child_1 Sunset Town is a small town located at the kingdom’s remote border, where the Black Forest covers the majority of the area.

Many years ago, perhaps close to fifty or even a hundred, in any case, a long time ago, Sunset Town was a rather affluent town with vast fertile fields, flowing rivers, prosperity, peacefulness, an enviable pastoral life that for the villagers was merely an ordinary day.

Until the Demonic Tide came, time and time again.

That scene of the Blood Moon hanging high and monsters running rampant became the deepest nightmare in the hearts of all the elderly who still lived in Sunset Town.

The average lifespan in Night Country is relatively longer. If a person is disease-free and painless, and has not been subjected to the baptism of war, in most cases, they could live to be over two hundred years old. If they used magic to extend their lifespan, three hundred years was also possible.

Yet in a place like Sunset Town, people who were seventy years old were already extremely rare, and to live to one hundred was sufficient to be called long-lived.

Illness, monsters, all kinds of disasters striking—it was quite fortunate just to survive.

This town’s past prosperity had faded with the wind, leaving behind only its current decay.

The once abundant fertile land had been taken over by vines and twisted trees, clean water sources were polluted by the Black Forest, causing madness and hallucinations when drunk, and livestock were also contaminated by the land, leading to various mutations and even starting to attack humans.

In such a place, to say one could make any money was truly a huge joke.

“I’ve known Joester since we were children; he started dabbling in magic when he was about four or five years old. He had the talent to become a mage and quickly became an apprentice. My family did have some money, but after years of exploitation, that money soon ran out.”

Baron Gerro sat at the table, saying this, the liquid in his cup was wine so weak it resembled water. Most of the water sources around here were polluted, and drinking it directly would lead to mental derangement. Only after boiling could it barely quench thirst, but this grape wine had been fermented, so it had less pollution.

“But later on, Joester broke some taboos, and he was expelled from the Royal Palace. Probably because his talent was too good, the crime that should have led directly to his execution did not cost him his life; he was just banished to such a remote small town.”

“I happened to have completely failed in business at that time, all alone, so I simply bought this title and also took care of Joester a bit.”

He glanced at the mage who was lying on the bed, seemingly having a nightmare.

“Did you say his talent is very high?”

Lu Ban and Stone had gone out to check the situation in the town, leaving Cui Siter and Shia here to communicate with Gerro.

“Yes, normally, for a mage to reach Joester’s level, it would take at least forty to fifty years of study, but he achieved this at the age of twenty. It’s very rare, even looking back in history, there are few court mages as young as him.”

Baron Gerro seemed quite proud as he said this.

“That is indeed very impressive.”

Cui Siter echoed, glancing at Shia, but the young mage girl did not seem pleased, instead, she frowned slightly.

“I think, whether Joester is a once-in-a-lifetime genius or not can be set aside for now. According to what you say, he might have made a serious mistake.”

Shia spoke bluntly.

“What mistake?”

Baron Gerro sensed that Shia carried herself with considerable confidence, and just now she had displayed a spell that even Joester found marvelous, presumably marking her as a powerful Court Mage.

“Magic is knowledge, it is pollution, just like the water you drink; these things are subtle and gradual, eroding your body over time, and once they accumulate to a certain extent, they can cause illness.”

Shia commented, looking at the wine in Baron Gerro’s cup. Although there was only a little contamination in it, for common folk, consuming it over many years would undoubtedly lead to corrosion. The villagers and soldiers of this town had already been affected by the pollution from the Black Forest.

In Shia’s time, surveying water sources and land was of great importance, even for border towns near the Black Forest, where mages would use purification spells to ensure the safety of water and food.

However, in this era, there were clearly no such stringent measures, and the only Mage here was probably Joester, who lacked this awareness.

Even if the Demonic Tide never arrived, the lifespan of the people in this town would gradually decrease. Eventually, the entire town would either fall into madness, with inhabitants attacking one another, or the remaining villagers would move away, leaving it a ghost town.

“Similarly, when mages learn magic, it is a process of gradual accumulation of pollution. Those who think mages control such spells only after fifty years do so because they need time to digest, to bear, and to accommodate the pollution. He, however, has mastered so much magic in such a short time. I’m not sure about other things, but his body certainly can’t take it. He has essentially ingested the pollution that others would take fifty years to assimilate within just a decade or so, which will undoubtedly shorten his life.”

Shia’s words darkened Baron Gerro’s face.

He had never considered this possibility.

No wonder there had been so few previous mage prodigies because the truly intelligent mages understood that haste could not bring success. They would not rush to overwhelm themselves in a mere decade but would instead try to extend their lifespans as much as possible.

In this light, Joester’s genius actually highlighted his foolishness.

Confronted with knowledge, he resembled an ignorant child, straining to pick up every fragmented piece dropped on the ground, not realizing that those heavy fragments had already bent his back and could lead to death.

In fact, among the civilizations unaware of the horrors of the Foreign Domain, there were many such people.

“Speaking of which, you mentioned that Joester was expelled for breaking a taboo. What exactly did he do wrong?”

Cui Siter inquired again.

“He wanted to teach magic to commoners, which is a severe taboo among Court Mages.”

Baron Gerro replied.

At first, Cui Siter felt it was a measure to solidify class distinctions and keep the populace ignorant, but he soon understood why it was taboo.

Because magic itself is pollution, if commoners were to learn magic at will, pollution would spread. Everyone has different physiques and levels of understanding. If magic were abused, it would cause significant social unrest or even provoke collective insanity or worse disasters.

It seemed that Court Mages forbidding the teaching of magic wasn’t tyranny but a reasonable regulation.

“…So that’s why he wanted to research the Magic Network?”

Shia mused. She had arrived at Joester’s lab and saw a notebook fallen on the ground. She opened it, and although it was written in ancient Night Country script, Shia had learned some and could quickly understand it.

It appeared to be Joester’s notes.

She had only read a few pages when she heard Lu Ban’s voice coming from outside.