NOVEL NEXT Chapter 99: The Bell of Holy Rock City (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Nailisi, Saleen is alright. Bring him over,” Faerun’s said next to Nailisi’s ears.
Upon hearing that, Nailisi picked up Saleen and stood up on the horse, jumping down from it and onto Viscountess Lex’s carriage. This took only an instant and they did not hinder the progress of the team.
Saleen was laid flat in the carriage, his eyes closed. Nailisi asked anxiously, “Sir, how is Saleen?”
“He has overused his focus. He will be alright after a short rest,” Faerun said as he took out a small bottle and handed it to Nailisi. “This is magic liquid. Let him have some after he has regained conscious.”
The effects of magic liquid were a hundred times stronger than restorative water. It was a Grade 7 Water Magic and was even more effective than the Holy See’s holy water. However, the holy water from the Holy See could be created by a slightly higher-grade priest. On the other hand, there were not that many sorcerers.
Saleen had definitely been through dangerous times and sometimes, crisises did not require complex methods to be resolved. The Myers Goddess’ necklace could block out any external attacks and since his focus had entered inside, it had been studying the Figaro formula intently. Nailisi had not done wrong either. If Saleen had fallen from his horse, he might have broken his neck.
With his focus condensed again, the Myers Goddess’ necklace began to shine with an intense bright light. This showed that his focus had reached the level of a grand mage and was more or less the same as that of Viscountess Lex. Only then did Saleen understand why only grand mages could begin to study the Figaro formula.
This formula was much too complicated. There were eight thousand six hundred and forty symbols at the its principal level, not the over three thousand that Faerun had created at the start. These over eight thousand symbols were different from any other language, and all of them possessed independent meanings which explained the original meanings of worldly substances. No elemental magic would be able to fall outside this pattern.
Ground, Water, Wind, Fire, Light, and Darkness.
The six elements had four different faces and these formed the twenty-four basic symbols. These twenty-four basic symbols were constantly changing and each one of them had three hundred and sixty stages of changes which revealed the truth of the entire world.
The tens of thousands of years of human history on the Myers Mainland were insignificant in the face of these elemental changes. All of the drastic changes in the world were merely the cycle of life and death.
Within the space of the necklace, Saleen’s focus transformed again. Beginning with his left hand, it shifted into the form of a human, extending to his arm, followed by his body, limbs, head, hair, bones…
In reality, the human body was created by these six elements and not by some god. Saleen now understood completely why mages did not place their faith with the God of Light. It was because they understood the truths of the world.
The Myers Goddess was the true mighty goddess. She told her believers that humans had come from nature and would eventually return to nature. Any prayers were only for peace when it was time for them to return.
Saleen raised his arm and released an icicle. This icicle did not shoot out but began to spin in his hands. The water element’s structure was clearly recognizable through Saleen’s eyes. He controlled the icicle’s structure as it changed, and before he knew it, it had become an ice ball. Everything was so natural.
Sturdy ice changing into flowing water. Saleen was deep in thought as he continued to control the changes of the water ball. Before long, the temperature of it rose as it turned into a massive gaseous body. The water element was changing into gas. Saleen’s heart leapt. If water could be turned into gas like this, so what if he could not use the powers of the wind element?
So long as he rearranged the sequence of the water element, he could gain powers similar to that of the wind element.
The six elements were actually one! If he enlarged an icicle or even an ice spear, combined with the powers of the earth, wouldn’t that be a rock spear?
Fire power? Since rock could be melted into lava, could water do the same?
Saleen carefully controlled the ball of gas in his hand. As the ball grew hotter, he compressed it with a great amount of force, making it even hotter. However, he could not get the ball to alight in flame. The water element started showing signs of solidifying instead. He could not find the energetic feeling of the fire element.
Zzzzz….
Saleen could no longer control the ball of gas as it was on the verge of breaking down. He had no choice but to release it. The ball of gas started disintegrating into hundreds of bullets of air which emitted a sharp sound as they pierced through the air.
If he was able to control the shape, it would be a pseudo Wind Blade spell! A Wind Blade spell was not as powerful against an individual target as an Ice Blade spell, but it was everchanging and several of them could be released at once. Following the increase of a mage’s grade, the number of wind blades released together increased too. What was important was that the number of magic chords it depleted was still the same.
The Wind Blade spell was known as the multiple target spell with the smallest amount of energy usage. This was not without any reason.
Saleen was not satisfied giving up like this. He froze another icicle in his hands and started heating it up. This time, he did not compress the ball of gas, but instead, he allowed the water element to continue to break down.
Inside the space of the Myers Goddess’ necklace, Saleen could control the elements at will. Even so, it was unusually difficult to break down the water element. Saleen had not yet figured out how to reverse Figaro’s formula and could only count on his intuition, allowing the familiar water element to wobble so he could find the spaces between the elements.
The water element was forcefully broken down into wind element. Saleen could not control it and the gaseous ball dissipated. However, he had already developed a feel of the rules. The wind element was not only energetic but violent too, as if it were about to burst into flames. Saleen believed that if he had continued controlling it, this ball of elemental magic would have exploded in his hands with strength much greater than a Fireball spell.
This was a dangerous thing that was also extremely challenging. If he succeeded, he would be able to control four types of elemental magic: ground, water, wind, and fire. Once he was extremely aware of the rules of these four types of magic, the light and darkness types would be separatable and would appear before him.
Saleen had always been disappointed by the flaws of his magic chords. Now that a vast road was before his eyes, he needed to walk on it no matter how difficult it was.
The sounds of the clock had stopped a long time ago and Viscountess Lex and her team arrived outside of Holy Rock City. Holy Rock City had twenty-four city gates and the main door was the widest one. It was opened to reveal that there was no one on the streets. A guard of honor was waiting. As Saleen slowly opened his eyes, he heard a sharp voice speaking in an odd tempo outside the carriage. “Emperor’s decree: Bitter Water Prefecture Viscountess, empire’s royal, Lex De Grukos, having stayed in Bitter Water for ten years with many achievements, please enter the capital.”
We’re already at Holy Rock City? Saleen looked outside the carriage as it entered the city gate. He saw that the inner walls of the city gates had a magic array etched into them and were more than two meters across. If a Grade 5 mage was stationed here, the city gates could be sealed shut by the magic array and would become even harder to break down than the city wall.
Just as he was looking intently at the magic array, a head blocked the carriage window. Sika stuck her head in and asked, “Saleen, are you feeling better?”
The neat rows were thrown into disarray and the solemn mood was disrupted. Saleen said weakly, “Sika, I’m alright. Just follow us from the back.”
Nailisi supported Saleen and held him in her arms. Waving to Sika, she said, “Go, go. Don’t make things hard for the viscountess.”
Sika stepped aside unhappily, thinking in her heart, Wait until you show your true colors. I will chop off your tail.
Now that Sika knew that Nailisi possessed immense fighting strength and special abilities, she could only think about revenge in her heart and could no longer think about killing her. After all, Nailisi could be of great help to Saleen.
Saleen had no energy to mediate the fight between Sika and Nailisi. He barely had any energy left and could only lean against Nailisi to rest. He did not meditate, since he would have many other chances to do so. Taking in Holy Rock City for the first time was a one-of-a-kind experience.
After passing through more than twenty meters of thick city gates, there was an enclosure. A design like this had never been seen before the Fourth Dynasty. Surrounding the enclosure were four large fortresses with an alchemy crossbow on top of each of them. Even if enemies tried to enter through the city gates, they would be shot by these crossbows from all four sides. The entire enclosure did not have the murderous vibes of the army camp, but rather, an immense power that was similar to fortified metals. It prevented any form of exploration.
A normal person walking by here would not have felt anything. They would only have been able to see the elegant city gate tower of Holy Rock City which was etched with patterns on its stone and surrounded by an artistic air. The tidy streets were peaceful and quiet.
After passing by the enclosure, what appeared in their vision was a sea of green. Wooden construction lined the streets, hidden behind giant trees. This was a place for trading that was barely two hundred meters away from the enclosure.
Thriving. Saleen felt that he now understood the true meaning of thriving. Although Bitter Water Prefecture was elegant and wealthy, it did not have the thriving atmosphere of the capital. Almost a thousand years of wealth had accumulated here and built this city.
The carriage slowed down considerably and Saleen had the chance to observe things in detail. This was the main gate. It was not usually opened and was only opened during important occasions such as the emperor departing for an inspection or generals setting out on an expedition. The people who lived in this area were wealthier than the others in the capital. What caused Saleen to frown was that all the servants walking around were adorned in silk, velvet, and fur.
It was already midsummer, and anyone in a fur coat was either sick or a powerful swordsman who could not care less about the changing seasons.
These servants were humble on the surface but domineering on the inside. It seemed like the wealthy in the capital were no different from those outside. Saleen sighed. In comparison, he liked Bitter Water Prefecture more.
Saleen felt his heart become at peace as he came to accept that that was how the world worked. Back in the days when those mages had created this miraculous city, they certainly had not expected things to turn out like this. There was too much greed here, and the city was filled with tyranny, not pride.
Saleen had no idea why he was having such feelings but since having opened the Myers Goddess’ necklace, he had become unbelievably sensitive to different types of energies and emotions. It was almost as if he had been born with such insight.
Even so, Saleen was still excited. The city was basically a giant magic array, and this was something he could feel. This magic array was unusually precise and could control every street and building. Under the nourishment of the magic array, the trees within the city possessed elemental energy, and if the goddess had not fallen, her holy masters would have been able to cast their divine spells freely here. The powerful essence of life overpowered the atmosphere of corruption. This was the City of Miracles.