The Hero Turned Into A Potato And The World Fell To Ruin

While Osar and Mervant were talking about their companions, Liu Ji finally managed to get his idea across to Yaine.

Yaine was silent for some time, then wrote down a string of somewhat complex incantations in her notebook. Syllable by syllable, she then taught Liu Ji how to pronounce it.

This spell was quite a mouthful, with many syllables sounding like a mix of several simple tones pronounced simultaneously. After several unsuccessful attempts, Liu Ji quickly realized that to fluently pronounce these syllables, he would need to be very familiar with the basic single-tone spells related to water elements.

Fortunately, the single-tones he had learned the previous night, although a bit rough, seemed sufficient. With some extra time and effort, he was eventually able to correctly pronounce the incantation.

After repeating the spell two or three times, the basic meaning of the spell became clear in Liu Ji’s mind—"pure water element aggregate."

After repeating it a few dozen more times, Liu Ji began to understand the concept.

Some more complex magical operations required the cooperation of multiple mages, but some powerful mages could perform such spells alone by first conjuring a pure aggregate of the element, then proceeding with the spellcasting.

In such cases, the aggregate had both the physical properties of the element and the characteristics of an elemental spirit. Liu Ji wasn't sure about other elements like fire or lightning, as they seemed too dangerous to handle, but he figured that in this state, water elements could indeed be consumed, or at least drunk.

Once he was sure of this, Liu Ji excitedly communicated to Yaine his strong desire to see her summon a "pure water element aggregate" for him to examine.

Though puzzled, Yaine, considering herself a teacher, could not refuse what seemed like a reasonable request from a student eager to broaden his horizons.

Thus, via vague gestures, she told Liu Ji that if they encountered a seaberry tree tomorrow, she could give it a try.

After all, in this desert, it was only in areas where seaberry trees could grow that water elementals might exist.

As for now…

Yaine flipped open the lesson plan she had prepared for today.

She had spent the entire day in Osar's back basket, and evidently, she hadn't spent the whole time sleeping.

Seeing the densely packed topics for today's lesson, Liu Ji felt a tingling in his scalp. Looks like tonight would be even more packed than yesterday.

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In the main hall of the ancient desert city, Myza sat in his chair, rhythmically tapping the armrest with his fingers.

Just as Calidora had said, he had been in the desert for far too long. So long that the world outside had changed dramatically, and he knew nothing about it.

"Ifrit Realm, Icy Peak Mountain, Kamose City, even Dragon City high above the Cloud Sea… All of these were destroyed decades ago?" Myza rubbed his forehead. "What about the Jade Coral Palace in the deep sea?"

"It has long been abandoned. The Jade Turtle race has been wandering in the deep sea for over two hundred years, their population continually decreasing as they are relentlessly pursued by the Tyrant." Calidora shook her head. "Before we came here, it seemed like there were only a few hundred thousand left."

"A few hundred thousand… They were once a billion-strong race." Myza unconsciously shut his eyes. "Damn it."

"Ha, a few hundred thousand left isn't bad at all. Everyone else on the continent has already been nearly exterminated by the Tyrant," Girunini, sprawled on the table, prattled. "When the major races united to oppose him, they were massacred so badly that their survivors weren't even in the tens of thousands. Those bastards refused to join the alliance, thinking these were just matters of our land and they'd be safe hiding in the sea. Well, heh…"

"Nini, they are victims too." Calidora prodded Girunini's face. "The ones we should resent aren't them."

"I know, I'm just angry," Girunini muttered. "If they had joined the fight back then, perhaps we might have won. Oh, and those dwarves too, they are all cowards."

Calidora stroked Girunini's hair, but didn't say anything.

Because when it came to specifics, her own race reckoned they could stay out of the conflict several hundred years ago, while Girunini's Miffy race was among the first to join the fight. Surely she harbored resentment toward the Dragonblood race, but she refrained from saying it out of consideration for Calidora.

As a race that was among the first to resist the Tyrant, the Miffys suffered horribly under the Tyrant's targeting. Girunini could be said to have lived her entire life in fear, while Calidora and Mervant at least had a relatively peaceful childhood in Dragon City. Girunini didn't even have a place she could call home.

"Um… So now, are there any races left on this side of the desert that haven't been struck down?" Myza asked.

"No, every race is basically struggling on the verge of extinction." Calidora sighed. "Maybe the wood elves are the only ones slightly better off. Although the great forest was set on fire, quite a bit of them survived."

"But conversely, they might be the most miserable," Girunini muttered. "Now they hardly ever move at all, usually maintaining a plant form. Filling the entire forest with flowers like before is a pipe dream, for they don't even dare to grow leaves now. The great forest once known as the Forest of Dreams is now just a dead land filled with dead trees."

Myza just listened silently, stroking his chin in contemplation.

Calidora waited a while, glancing at Girunini before she turned to Myza and asked, "Uh, Mr. Myza, do you think we should prepare early, collect the golems, and leave this place before the Tyrant sends more minions over?"

"No." Myza shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't wish to leave."

"You don't wish to leave?" Calidora was taken aback. "Why?"

"Well, how should I put it…" Myza sighed deeply. "Let's say, have you ever done a jigsaw puzzle? If you spent nearly a lifetime completing a whole jigsaw puzzle, and then someone tells you that a jerk came out of nowhere and smashed your lifetime's work to pieces, would you forgive him?"

"I think I'd probably kill him," Girunini muttered.

"Ha, coincidentally, that's what I reckon too." Myza chuckled. "So, I don't wish to leave, and besides, honestly speaking, I can't leave even if I wanted to…"

As he spoke, Myza stood up, walked to the door before turning his head back and saying, "Oh right, if you don't want to die, I suggest you also don't leave this city for the time being.

"Because for the next while, this desert will be more than you can handle."