Chapter 268: Chapter 267 East Coast Situation Chapter 268: Chapter 267 East Coast Situation Richard pursed his lips and quickly activated Wind Force from the No. 1 Ring, gripping the White Jade Plate with increased force. In the next instant, he heard a “crash” as the White Jade Plate shattered outright.
Yes, it shattered, not cracked, but broke into numerous pieces.
The multitude of pieces hung suspended in midair, not yet having the chance to fall, when a large ball of flames suddenly emerged from the center, quickly coalescing into a fireball over ten centimeters in diameter, emitting strong energy fluctuations as if it could explode at any moment.
Richard was taken aback and quickly cast a spell to control the air around it, gathering it to encase the fireball, ready to move it out of the laboratory.
But just as he had moved it a few meters, the fireball exploded with a bang.
It was like a muffled thunderclap resonated throughout the main laboratory as the air barrier confining the fireball was torn apart, the shockwave spreading the flames vigorously in all directions.
Although the flames extinguished less than half a meter away, failing to start a fire, the shockwave continued to spread like a strong wind that swept through the entire main laboratory, akin to a heavy punch slamming into the ground.
The entire main laboratory shook, dust “rattling” down from the ceiling, while in the corner, Pandora’s bed, where she had been sleeping, “crashed” and collapsed.
Culture dishes in the laboratory’s wall cabinets teetered precariously, “bang, bang” they clinked, and a multitude of instruments on the experiment tables fell over haphazardly, the lighter ones tumbling to the floor, while things as light as papyrus were blown away.
The commotion took quite some time to settle.
Richard looked at the scene in the laboratory and fell into a long, silent reflection, then mused that perhaps he should create a specialized magic laboratory with protective setups, otherwise another accident might destroy his main laboratory. He had already blown up a house once in Cuijin City; he couldn’t afford another explosion in White Stone City.
While reflecting on this, Richard felt something and turned his head towards the corner. Pandora was sitting up huffily, holding her pillow and glaring at him. Obviously, she was angry about the bed collapsing, her expression telling Richard that this incident wouldn’t be easily dismissed.
“Tomorrow, I’ll buy you an even better bed,” Richard said to Pandora.
“Hmph!” Pandora snorted disdainfully and then… turned her head, lay back down, and contentedly fell asleep hugging her feather pillow.
Is there anything that a better bed can’t solve?
Richard watched Pandora’s reaction and couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a piece of paper spiraling down from the sky, and he instinctively grabbed it. His eyes scanned over the document, recognizing it to be the auction invitation from Great Scholar Socrates, which had previously been placed on the table.
He had already perused this invitation while in the carriage; it contained some details about the auction happening soon, although his desire to attend wasn’t very strong.
Because as far as unlocking the secrets of the White Stone Tower was concerned, he wasn’t overly eager, and his attitude was similar to that towards the cultivation of Divine Blood and the research on Drifting Bottles.
That is, it could be considered a diversion, but he would not be fully invested, keeping the main objective clear. According to the plan he had already made, for a long upcoming period, his primary work would be studying magic runes, until he achieved a significant breakthrough.
So, should he go to the auction or not?
Richard pondered for a moment and finally decided…
“Let’s go then,” Richard spoke aloud.
Because he suddenly realized that going to the auction not only helped with the secrets of White Stone Tower but also with his research on Magic Rune Magic.
At the auction, not only could one bid on relics left behind by the Black Spirit Empire, but also obtain Magic Rune Magic Tools to decode and study.
He had to admit that Magic Runes were indeed very profound. Early simple studies could be solved with the “Monroe Chapter,” but to delve deeper, the “Monroe Chapter” seemed a bit insufficient.
And the many books borrowed from White Stone Tower Academy mostly discussed theoretical knowledge with very little on specific Magic Runes.
It was like someone telling you that there’s a Magic Rune that’s very powerful and strong, which can ignore any enemy’s attack. But they don’t tell you what exactly this Magic Rune looks like, how to inscribe it, or how to activate it!
To make continual progress in Magic Runes, one must find ways to obtain Magic Rune Magic Tools for research.
The reason for this was related to the general atmosphere or situation on the East Coast.
In the East Coast region, most wizards and Wizard Apprentices focused on studying and researching Shape Energy Magic—because it was the simplest to get started with, had the widest range, and was most widely applicable. Essentially, the first spell learned by a Wizard Apprentice was always Shape Energy Magic, of which Fireball Technique and other Fire Element spells were the most popular.
This led to the common association of wizards with flames in the minds of ordinary people.
Apart from Shape-shifting Magic, there was Transformation Magic.
These spells seemed stronger than Shape Energy Magic, especially some Transformational Construction Magic spells that could change one’s bodily structure to gain certain abilities. Although possibly powerful, not everyone could accept them.
For instance, a spell called Steel Bones made one’s bones as hard as steel, greatly increasing defensive power. However, the side effect was the flesh being constantly worn down by the steel skeleton, feeling as if countless knives were being inserted into the body. Additionally, the body’s weight significantly increased, and agility was noticeably reduced.
And there were even more extreme spells like Maggot Barrier and Rotten Skin, which were more potent than Steel Bones, but the cost was more than most people were willing to pay.
Therefore, many people wouldn’t choose Transformation Magic as their main spell, but rather, learn one or two powerful spells with minimal side effects to use as a trump card.
After all, not many wizards took pleasure in altering their own bodies.
Wizards are humans too.
Next came Spirit Magic and Prophecy Magic, which only a few people studied and learned.
The reasons were that these two types of magic were quite specialized; entering either field was rather difficult with a high threshold, and only those with sufficient strength could master them;
The last reason being that, during the process of transmission from ancient times, much was lost, resulting in many incomplete legacies and spells that required individual discovery to complete. The time and effort required, along with the high learning cost compared to Shape Energy Magic, made them seem hardly worthwhile.
As for other magics like Space and Time Magic, no one on the entire East Coast dared claim even a small achievement. These spells were not only incredibly difficult to start and had high thresholds, but also, during their transmission from ancient times, nearly 99% of the knowledge was lost. Only fragments remained, which some Wandering Wizards used to swindle and deceive.
Thus, if a person claimed to have researched Space or Time Magic, it essentially amounted to admitting they were a charlatan.
This was the state of affairs on the East Coast.