Chapter 210: Discovering Clues and Creating Magic
"No, Flamme." Ayla's voice suddenly sharpened. She squatted down, her finger brushing against an inconspicuous black stone half-buried in the sand and gravel on the ground.
The stone's surface was smooth, with an unnatural charred blackness. "Look at this."
Flamme leaned in to look and immediately realized.
This was not a natural stone.
This was clearly the residue of some building material that had melted at an extremely high temperature and then naturally cooled.
There was even a faint trace of dark magic erosion remaining on it.
"This is the material from the elf village's buildings!" Her voice trembled slightly with excitement.
Flamme remembered that Teacher Kurtz and Teacher Serie's secluded cottage had similar materials.
Finally!
It wasn't empty, they had finally found a clue.
Moreover, the magical aura of this residue had not completely dissipated, indicating that the incident had not happened too long ago.
Hope ignited like wildfire in both their hearts.
They immediately began to search meticulously around this residue as their center.
Soon, a little further from the elf village, they found more similar charred stones, as well as collapsed and broken ancient trees, and some building ruins that hadn't been cleared away in time.
Evidently, this elf village had just been destroyed, and the demons hadn't had time to thoroughly clear and cover up all traces.
"These damn bastards!"
Ayla looked at the ruins before her. Even for an elf with somewhat weaker emotions, murderous intent surged within her at that moment.
Just then, several figures flashed out from behind a pile of rocks in the distance. The horns on their heads indicated their demonic identity. It seemed they were a demon squad clearing the last traces.
"Who's there?" The leading demon was the first to spot Flamme and Ayla standing at the edge of the ruins.
However, when he saw the faces of the two—or rather, when he saw the magical aura emanating from them—his eyes instantly widened.
In his vision, the magic around the human girl, though not abundant, was extremely dense, while the elf beside her possessed an incredibly vast amount. Such a quantity of magical power could only be accumulated by an elf mage who had lived for hundreds of years.
These were definitely not beings they could provoke at their level. They might even be mages on the level of the Seven Sages of Destruction.
"Retreat first!"
The demon turned and fled without hesitation. Although the other demons didn't understand why, seeing their captain in such a state, they instantly reacted and desperately fled in different directions.
"Want to run?" A cold glint flashed in Flamme's eyes. How could she let these executioners escape so easily?
She immediately cast a spell, one of the spells Teacher Serie had taught her: Vine Thorns.
Rumble!
The earth began to shake.
Countless thick magical thorns instantly burst out of the ground. They grew wildly and then precisely wrapped around the few demons who were slightly slower in their escape.
These two unfortunate souls were caught off guard and were instantly tightly entangled by several thorns. The barbs pierced their flesh, instantly incapacitating them.
However, the leading demon and two other quick-witted individuals quickly cast spells to temporarily repel the thorns Flamme released, just before the thorns could entangle them.
They dared not fight. Using the surrounding terrain as cover, they disappeared from sight in a few leaps.
"Damn it!" Flamme swung her staff unwillingly.
Her spell's range was limited. The opponents scattered and fled, and also cast spells to obstruct, ultimately allowing a few of them to escape.
Ayla, on the other side, had already appeared directly in front of the two demons who were tied up like dumplings by the thorns.
Kurtz once invented a unique mental magic for interrogating demons, which could directly use mental shock to destroy the demon's will, forcing them to reveal everything they knew.
When he questioned Grausam, he used this magic.
However, this magic had significant side effects. After only a few questions, the target would completely lose the ability to speak, eventually becoming mentally incapacitated.
Kurtz originally did not intend to pass on this magic, but seeing that Ayla was Serie's disciple, he still taught it to her.
So Ayla did not hesitate and used this mental magic on the two demons.
The initially somewhat clear eyes of these two demons instantly became vacant, clearly indicating that Ayla's magic had taken effect.
"Answer my questions." Time was pressing, so Ayla directly asked, "Who sent you? What is your purpose? Where is your next target?"
"General Balzert's orders!" One of the demons instinctively replied. "He is responsible for clearing out elf villages in the northwest direction, leaving no survivors, and also erasing all traces to prevent discovery."
Balzert?
Flamme walked over quickly, her brows tightly furrowed.
She had never heard that name before.
"Is he one of the Seven Sages of Destruction?" she asked in a low, solemn voice.
Flamme remembered Teacher Kurtz and Teacher Serie mentioning that the Seven Sages of Destruction were the seven most powerful demons, each possessing immense power.
Although for the other teachers, these so-called Seven Sages of Destruction might not be difficult opponents to deal with, for ordinary mages, they were already formidable foes.
Flamme was no exception.
However, she remembered that whenever the two teachers mentioned the title of the Seven Sages of Destruction, Teacher Serie would inexplicably glare at Teacher Kurtz.
Sometimes she would even say, "This is all your doing."
Flamme was very puzzled by this, but she dared not ask too many questions.
Now, facing a situation where one of the Seven Sages of Destruction might be personally leading a team, she was not confident of victory.
"General Balzert is not one of the Seven Sages of Destruction," another captured demon replied blankly. "Although General Balzert is powerful, he is not yet one of the Seven Sages of Destruction. The Seven Sages of Destruction are beings like Macht and Bose. General Balzert is merely one of His Majesty the Demon King's direct legion generals."
Not one of the Seven Sages of Destruction.
Flamme and Ayla exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of understanding in each other's eyes.
Since he wasn't the top-tier combat power among the demons, that was good news.
However, being able to command such a large-scale covert operation and handle it so perfectly that they only found clues now, this General Balzert was certainly not to be underestimated.
"What is your next target? Where is that Balzert now?" Flamme pressed on.
"General Balzert usually leads teams himself to purge elf villages. His next target is an elf village about three days' journey to the northwest."
Having obtained crucial intelligence, Flamme and Ayla no longer hesitated and quickly dealt with these two demons.
"Let's go quickly!" Flamme urged. They had to arrive before the demons and prevent another tragedy.
She absolutely could not allow the tragedy of her own village to happen again before her eyes!
Flamme made a silent resolution.
"Let's use flight magic! Walking is too slow," Ayla suggested.
Both she and Flamme knew flight magic, but they rarely used it during normal travel, mostly relying on walking.
Flight magic consumed a considerable amount of a mage's magical power, so most mages would not use it unless absolutely necessary.
"Alright."
The two immediately set off, speeding towards the northwest. Along the way, Flamme's brow remained furrowed.
The scene of the demons immediately fleeing upon seeing them replayed in her mind, and this had already happened once before.
She vaguely recalled Teacher Kurtz's teachings:
Demons can perceive a mage's magical power through their magical senses, thereby choosing a more advantageous fighting style.
The two teachers never concealed their magical aura because they were very powerful and familiar enough with demons not to easily give them a chance to escape.
But she, as she was now, could not do that yet.
She was not strong enough yet.
"The aura of magic—" Flamme murmured to herself, a thought flashing through her mind like lightning. "Since demons can perceive the strength of an opponent by the magic they emit, can I disguise my magical power?"
She pondered as she flew.
If she could completely suppress her own magical power, making it impossible for demons to detect, or even more subtly, disguise herself as a weak existence...
Lure the enemy in?
"Sister Ayla," Flamme suddenly spoke, "you know the technique of suppressing your life aura and merging with nature. So, can magic also achieve a similar effect?"
Ayla's eyes flashed with surprise at her words. "Elves can indeed, to a certain extent, merge with nature through their innate talent, thereby reducing their presence, but that's more like a disguise. What do you mean?"
"I want to use magic to suppress or disguise my magical power, to make myself appear weaker."
Ayla instantly understood what she meant.
This was to prevent demons from easily detecting her strength through their senses.
"Flamme, your idea is very bold. But for a mage's fundamental magical power, to completely suppress or alter its external form is extremely difficult. I have never heard of magic with a similar effect. Perhaps it would require an entirely new magical framework and formula."
"That would be equivalent to creating magic," Flamme interjected.
"Exactly! It's complicated! Besides Teacher Serie and Teacher Kurtz, I haven't seen any other race capable of creating such entirely new magic. In fact, a large part of humanity's current magic system is derived from the magic that Teacher Kurtz created. Ah! You should know about this, right? About Teacher Kurtz's matters?"
Ayla suddenly remembered that she hadn't asked Flamme if she knew that Teacher Kurtz was humanity's oldest mage.
"Yes, I know! And I've also seen the original magic book that Teacher Kurtz helped compile."
"That's good! Anyway, it's a challenging thing."
"I know it's difficult," Flamme's eyes were firm, carrying an unyielding spirit, "but what just happened is the best example. If our magical power weren't so obvious, perhaps we could approach our targets better, instead of having them flee as soon as they see us. And just like Teacher Kurtz, he always gives off an unfathomable feeling. It's tough to concretely perceive how terrifying the power hidden within him truly is."
Flamme recalled Teacher Kurtz's seemingly ordinary yet terrifyingly powerful figure, which was precisely the realm she aspired to.
She clenched her fists, and a clear goal formed in her heart.
"I want to try and create a new magic! A magic that can hide or disguise one's magical aura!"
Ayla looked at the determination in Flamme's eyes, merely smiled, and said nothing more.
The growth rate of this human girl and her talent in magic always surprised her.
She suddenly understood why Teacher Kurtz also wanted to take her as a disciple.
After leaving the bustling wedding, Kurtz and Serie's journey continued.
They did not deliberately quicken their pace; they maintained their leisurely rhythm.
In Kurtz's hand, the bouquet symbolizing good fortune was preserved by a solidification spell and lay quietly in his backpack, becoming a special presence on this journey.
A few days later, they arrived at a large human city renowned for its magical research.
Humanity's first magic academy was located in this city, and simultaneously, the first magic book co-authored by Saint King Noen and God-Slayer Kurtz was also preserved here.
In the center of the city stood a magnificent white building, with ancient magical runes and a relief of an open book carved above its main entrance.
Clearly, this was a building similar to a library.
"Want to go in and see?" Kurtz looked at the tall building before him, a faint hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
Serie nodded. In truth, she had little interest in human books, but since Kurtz wanted to see them, there was no harm in accompanying him.
Upon entering the library, a solemn atmosphere enveloped them.
Beneath the towering dome were layers upon layers of enormous bookshelves, extending as far as the eye could see.
The sheer scale of the bookshelves suggested that all books in human history were likely stored here, perhaps even including some foreign texts.
There were many people inside, scholars in white robes or apprentices consulting books, who would deliberately lower their voices when conversing to avoid disturbing the solemnity of the place.
Serie was quite satisfied with this quiet environment.
She strolled casually, her gaze sweeping over the book titles on the shelves, mostly uninteresting things like history and philosophy.
"Are there no books on magic?" she asked Kurtz, who was currently flipping through a history book.
"Probably upstairs! After all, magic isn't something that can be openly displayed like this."
Serie nodded in agreement.
She still believed that magic was a special existence, not something just anyone could learn.
Although this notion had softened considerably under Kurtz's influence, her core belief remained unchanged.
The two walked up the stairs, but were stopped at the entrance.
"Ahead is the magic books area. Only mages are allowed to enter. Please show your mage qualification certificates!" one of the guards said.
"Hmm... What's a mage qualification certificate?" Kurtz frowned.
He suddenly understood how Frieren felt in the original story when she was stopped and asked to show her mage certificate.
[End of Chapter]
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