Chapter 71: The Storm is Coming
"These damn bird-people! They just retreated without a word! Do they treat the alliance agreement as waste paper?!"
The Elf Archer watched the retreating Skywing Clan Warriors and wished he could shoot an arrow at them right then. His grip tensioned the bowstring until his knuckles turned white with rage.
All the demon races from across the continent had already made the front-line battlefield hellish, and now, at such a critical moment, the Skywing Clan had withdrawn entirely. He watched their winged silhouettes disappear into the distance.
"Something's wrong. Logically speaking, those from the Skywing Clan don't run from battle."
Kraft muttered to himself, also watching the retreating Skywing Clan figures in the sky. His weathered hand moved instinctively to rest on his sword hilt; countless skirmishes had formed this habit.
He currently fought with the allied forces to defend the Elf Forest, and six months of battles had greatly improved his instincts.
Now, these Skywing Clan members flew collectively towards the northwest, and dread settled in his gut.
When he and Serie and Kurtz had parted ways, he had heard them say they planned to explore the Dwarf Ancestral Land, which sat in the northwest, exactly the same direction the Skywing Clan now headed.
This direction ran completely opposite to their Divine Kingdom.
Something must have happened over there! The more he thought, the tighter his chest became with worry.
But at this moment, Kraft could only pray silently; he had no other option. His fingers traced the worn leather of his sword grip, betraying his concern.
He could only hope Eric and Norn stayed safe.
...
Meanwhile, Kurtz and his group had settled down in the treasure vault. The ancient chamber stretched around them, its ceiling disappearing into shadows that even the illumination stones couldn't pierce fully.
Since they couldn't move the stone platform anytime soon, they might as well study the magic books here on the spot to see if they could find any solutions.
Moreover, this space gave them enough room to move freely; although various equipment and treasures occupied considerable space, the rest provided more than enough room for daily training.
"Look at this, Kurtz."
Serie came over, holding a magic book, and sat down beside Kurtz.
He could smell the scent from her robe, which was almost mountain-like.
"What is this?"
Kurtz followed her gaze and discovered that this magic book recorded a spell that could condense water into ice. The pages showed diagrams of ice formations and runic patterns he'd never seen before.
"Oh! Isn't this ice-attribute magic?"
"Yes, a northern race wrote this book and listed many ice spells." Her fingers felt the worn leather binding.
Serie hadn't expected to find magic spells that Kurtz had already created here. Her golden eyes flickered with something of admiration, though she'd never admit it.
Did this man's creative talent have any limits?
He could create magic spells from other races out of thin air; again, this defied everything she understood about magical development.
"Do you see any useful spells inside?"
At this moment, Kurtz and Serie still used Ice Wall most for ice-attribute magic; for offensive spells, they only had Ice Spear, which, although powerful, couldn't match Arrow Rain's effectiveness.
Light Arrow created numerous projectiles, and each arrow packed power, which made it much more helpful than all other offensive magic. This technique had become their signature move.
Serie felt glad that she had taught Kurtz Light Arrow first; otherwise, they wouldn't use the currently very effective improved version. The memory of that first lesson brought a slight warmth to her expression.
"How about this? It enhances your spell that froze the stream. If you cast it with full power, freezing a lake or the sea wouldn't pose a problem."
"That's an exaggeration. It would probably only freeze a few thousand meters, not enough to freeze the sea." Kurtz shook his head with a wry smile.
Why did this sound like a watered-down version of an ice age?
Kurtz felt learning this was pointless; they had rarely seen any decent lakes or rivers along their journey, let alone the sea, and he focused on magic with real value to their survival.
"How about this? Frost Breath freezes enemies instantly?"
"No, no! It doesn't feel as effective as Light Arrow." Kurtz shook his head repeatedly.
"How about one that conjures ice spears in the air?"
"Does it create as many as Light Arrow?"
"No, it can only condense one at a time."
"No way!" He acted stubborn like a child, which made Serie's eyes twitch.
"Hmph!" Serie felt irritated. "You won't learn this, you won't learn that, what exactly do you want to learn?"
Her frustration drove her to lightly kick this ungrateful human with her small foot; it didn't hurt much, but he understood he was annoying her.
"Ah, if you knock on my head three times, then it'll have that flavour."
"What do you mean? Why would I knock on your head three times?" Serie's confusion was genuine, her head tilting slightly.
"Because that means I'll be at your bedside at three AM tonight!"
Kurtz lied without batting an eyelid; after all, this was another world, and he wasn't afraid of that patriarch crossing realms to enforce rules on him. Everyone here would miss the reference anyway.
"I don't understand!" Serie's expression shifted to familiar exasperation.
Serie simply stopped trying to figure out what Kurtz meant; this man always liked to say incomprehensible things anyway.
She closed the book and tilted her head, looking at Kurtz with those golden eyes: "Don't you find these magic books interesting?"
"I do! Look," Kurtz held up the magic book in his hand, "I'm studying right now, aren't I?"
"Let me see."
Serie moved closer, her golden hair falling into Kurtz's field of vision, along with the pleasant scent from her body. Her closeness sent an unexpected warmth through him.
"Hmm... Is this creation magic?"
"To be precise, it's magic for creating inorganic substances." His voice remained steady despite her closeness.
"Inorganic substances?" Her breath warmed his cheek as she leaned in to read.
"Like this gold coin or this gem, they all fall under the category of inorganic substances." He gestured to the examples in the margins illustrated.
"You want to learn this magic and then create gold coins and gems anytime, anywhere?"
"Yes."
This was a lie.
Kurtz actually deceived her. The falsehood sat uncomfortably in his chest, but some secrets were too dangerous to share.
He wanted to use this magic to explore deeper applications, such as creating organic substances and life magic. The power to create, to extend and to preserve life.
However, for now, he did not mention it.
Just like when Serie stumbled upon him experimenting with the life-extension magic last time, these were his private matters.
Serie cast a suspicious glance at Kurtz, her slender fingers lightly tapping the page: "Creation magic isn't that simple to learn. Most objects you create only last for a very short time."
Serie's meaning was clear: creation magic makes things that only persist for a brief while; they might return to nothingness before you even get to use them.
Currently, no records of permanent creation existed, at least Serie had never heard of any.
"I know," Kurtz said with a smile, turning a page, "but it says here that people once used it to create permanent objects, though only simple metals and minerals."
"I see, I didn't know that." She now found this genuinely interesting.
"But what I'm more curious about is, does magic for creating life exist?" He feigned a casual sigh, actually asking indirectly if Serie had heard of similar things.
"Yes, the Dwarves even have a legend about attempting to dabble in the power of creating life, a power exclusive to the Goddess." She said.
Kurtz's heart skipped a beat. His pulse quickened despite his efforts to remain calm.
This was exactly what he was looking for.
"What happened?" he asked, feigning calm while his mind raced with possibilities.
"I don't know." Serie straightened up, her golden hair shimmering in the illuminating stone's light.
"Legends are just legends, and besides, they have even less authenticity than the holy sword Auerge. I think people just made it up."
Kurtz nodded thoughtfully, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the book page in his hand.
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