Chapter 778: Endless Chain
Hence, after hearing Lin Li’s question to Sendros, the High Priest Zoquila suddenly interjected. In addition to temporarily interjecting and interrupting them, he also intended on testing Lin Li.
Lin Li didn’t think too much about it, since Zoquila sounded polite, and not in the least bit provocative—he thought that Zoquila was perhaps really interested in discussion. He didn’t mind being interrupted, and instead nodded and smiled. He then said to Zoquila, “You’re being too formal, High Priest. I’m very glad to discuss magic with you. However, I don’t know much about Necromagic, so I might have to consult you instead.”
Lin Li was not an arrogant person, and High Priest Zoquila had also shown him due respect. Of course, he would return the same respect. However, due to the fact that Zoquila was a Necromancer, Lin Li naturally thought that Zoquila wanted to discuss Necromagic with him. Although Lin Li had the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, and could be considered to have mastered the purest nomological power of Darkness, Necromagic was not simply the application of Darkness’ nomological power, but a product of the combination of Dark Force and vitality.
It was just like how Lin Li chose the traditional and orthodox method in Alchemy. Although he had reached a fairly high level in Alchemy, he was still far inferior to Angelano in terms of creating Alchemy Puppets. If they were to discuss Dark Magic, Lin Li could still make impeccable statements just based on his mastery of Gloomy Dark. However, Necromagic was beyond his abilities.
Zoquila’s face was still hidden in the shadow of his large hood, but he still seemed to be smiling. He then said in an unpleasantly hoarse voice, “It’s not about Necromagic, or any pure form of magic. It’s about magic theories.”
“Oh, in this case, please guide me, High Priest,” said Lin Li, who was much more interested after hearing that it was about magic theory. He did not think that Zoquila was deliberately provoking him, either. The so-called magic theory simply consisted of formulas and theorems that were applicable to the entire magic system. Through the magic theory had been summarized by the predecessors, the mages could have a deeper understanding of magic. If the problems that Zoquila wanted to discuss were something that he had yet to master, it would be a good learning opportunity for him.
After hearing Zoquila’s words, Sendros glanced at him with a hint of displeasure on his face. He was obviously clear about Zoquila’s intentions. However, before Lin Li arrived at the Darkness Shrine, he had already discussed the matter with the Darkness Council several times.
Actually, Sendros and the five high priests did not have any differing opinions about what to do about Lin Li, because they all recognized the value of Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk, and felt that they were crucial to the Darkness Shrine. However, the five high priests felt that they ought to be more careful and conscientious when dealing with the crisis this time.
Forget it, instead of trying to stop them by using my authority, it would be better to let them see for themselves just how incredibly competent this young chap is.
At the thought of this, Sendros decided not to intervene, and instead remained seated to watch the show calmly.
Seeing that Sendros didn’t say anything to stop them, Zoquila felt a little relieved, and he turned to look at Lin Li. Still behaving very politely, he said, “I’d like to ask you about Aegno’s magical damage chain formula. Although I have studied that for several years, I have only deduced the chain process to 67 steps using the formula. I seemed to have hit a plateau, and never got to achieve a breakthrough again. I wonder if you have any explanation or solutions for this, Master Felic.”
Aegno was allegedly the first dean of the High Elves Royal Academy of Magic during the Dark Age, and was the most noble magic theorist of the Dark Age. The hierarchical system of mages that was commonly used today was formulated by Aegno. There were a total of 25 levels from a mage apprentice to the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, there was a clear path for mages.
Apart from creating the hierarchical system, Aegno had also contributed greatly to the magic theory. The magical damage chain formula was one of his contributions. The so-called magical damage chain formula meant that when a target was hit by an offensive spell, there would be additional damage done if a second spell was cast at the right time. In theory, the effect could be repeated and perpetuated. In the end, the damage could even be increased to a daunting level.
According to that, Aegno created the magical damage chain formula to put this theory into practice to the greatest extent possible. It was said that Aegno managed to create a record of 213 chain magic damage combo done to the target using his own magical formula during the Dark Age. Using a combo of attacks below level-15, he even managed to make the damage nearly as powerful as that of Sanctuary-level attacks. After the Dark Age ended, even Geresco—that Geresco—failed to break that record, and the best he could achieve was 171 chain combo. However, that was the highest record so far in the history of magic.
However, in Lin Li’s opinion, there was too much emphasis on the quantity of chain damage attacks—so much that it had even somewhat ignored the significance of magic in actual combat. In actual combat, the increased damage would indeed allow one to win, but blindly pursuing the quantity of attacks would result in major losses. The continuous casting of more than 200 magic spells in a row would require a massive amount of time and mana that ordinary people could not afford. Even for those who could afford it, they could rather simply cast a Sanctuary-level magic instead of torturing themselves.
The real benefit of that theory was that it would allow the mage to familiarize themselves with the characteristics of various kinds of magic and master the effects they would have on each other. It was just a target that would serve as a motivation for the mages. In order to create a magical combo chain, one would have to do more than just cast the same magic spell continuously. Although Lin Li could cast the Thousand Miles of Ice twice within a short period of time, it definitely couldn’t be considered a magical chain.
Aegno’s magical damage chain formula was also mentioned in Geresco’s Book of Eternity, together with his record of 171 times. However, Lin Li knew that Geresco’s limit was far beyond 171 times. Perhaps he would be able to achieve 10 or 100 times that. Geresco’s explanation was very simple, but it was too boring. Lin Li felt that it was completely meaningless.
Hence, after hearing that Zoquila wanted to discuss the chain formula, Lin Li frowned slightly, and was somewhat disappointed deep down. He was keen on learning something from the discussion, but there was honestly nothing to learn about that formula. Given Lin Li’s current strength, it wouldn’t be hard for him to use the endless chain formula. However, there was no need for him to do it.
However, the Necromancer Zoquila thought that he had found Lin Li’s weakness when he saw him frowning. Although he didn’t feel any real joy, he still couldn’t help but secretly rejoice about how wise he was. He was not out to make Lin Li feel awkward or embarrassed. However, the matter was just very important, and had to be taken seriously. If Lin Li wasn’t competent enough, how could he feel safe about leaving the Darkness Shrine’s destiny in his hands?
After Zoquila said those words, silence filled the air in the hall, and the five high priests focused all their attention on Lin Li. Aegno’s magical damage chain formula had been extremely famous during the Dark Age, but it was almost unknown now. In fact, everyone knew that in actual combat, no one could cast a combo of more than 200 magical spells. However, the formula could show a person’s mastery of the magic theory to a certain extent, and it could also show one’s strength.
The strength of a person was not only determined by his level, because people of the same level were also divided by their strength. The mastery of magic, the judgment of timing, and the grasp of battle opportunities were all considered important factors that contributed to the strength of a person. For example, there were some mages who spent their entire lives immersed in magic books, and were full of knowledge. However, the lack of actual combat experience made it difficult for them to contend with the mages of the same level who had been through hundreds of battles. Meanwhile, some mages might have rich combat experience which allowed them to cope with battles, but their shortcoming of being unfamiliar with magic theory would show whenever they encountered a situation where their experience couldn’t be applied.
After listening to Lin Li’s adventures taking place over the past two years, the five high priests were rather certain of Lin Li’s actual combat experience. However, no one was perfect. As a young mage, he had limited time to study and research magic. Besides, he even allocated some time for forging. Hence, how could he have more time to consolidate his magic foundation?
Lin Li didn’t know what the five high priests were thinking. Although he found the topic to be extremely boring, he couldn’t choose not to answer it just because of that. He sorted out his thoughts and eased the frown on his forehead. “I can’t deny that the added damage caused by the magical chain is indeed an important mean for mages during battles. However, I think four or six would be the best amount for this magical chain. Aiming to achieve the highest number of spells launched using the chain formula would be rather inappropriate. Of course, when learning magic, the formula would help a mage understand and master his own battle tactics.”
Lin Li was telling the truth, but the high priests were in doubt of his words, especially when they heard Lin Li say that the best number of magical chain spells was four to six—they now felt even more worried about Lin Li’s strength. In fact, they were also feeling flustered. If it weren’t because they were worried about the Darkness Shrine’s destiny, they would think that Lin Li was right. However, they just wanted to deduce Lin Li’s abilities as soon as possible now.
However, out of respect for Sendros, the five high priests did not show any contempt and disdain for Lin Li despite being convinced that Lin Li wasn’t reliable. Zoquila sighed secretly, and got ready to say something to give them an out. However, just when the five high priests thought that Lin Li was stumped, Lin Li said something again.
“Speaking of the number of chain magic spells in a combo, if only the formula is used without consideration of the status of the caster, I’d say the answer’s an infinite chain. I hope you’ll give me some guidance, High Priest Zoquila,” Lin Li said humbly.
“In fact, Master Felic, achieving so much at your current age is already…” Zoquila suddenly snapped back to reality when he was halfway through his words, and looked at Lin Li in shock and disbelief. “W-wait, did you m-mention an… infinite chain?”
What a joke! Achieving the effects of the magical chain was not possible just by creating a Magical Storm, because that would just be magical damage. Otherwise, there would be no formula. In order to achieve the effect of increased damage by magical chain, the characteristics of each kind of magic, the inert duration of magical elements, and the duration of attack were all factors that had to be considered.
If compared to potions and alchemy, magical chains were like potions made with herbs with different properties. One could only formulate the perfect potion after mastering all the properties of each herb and knowing how they would affect each other.
Even Sendros who was already sure that Lin Li would be able to surprise everyone couldn’t help but be astonished when he heard Lin Li mention the infinite chain. Of course, Sendros also knew that magical chains were unlikely to be used during actual combat. However, that at least meant that Lin Li had already reached an incredible level in mastering that kind of magic.