Chapter 779: Inspecting
“Yes, infinite chain, but only in theory, of course. After all, the mana and mental strength of humans are limited, and even if there were hundreds or thousands of spells in the chain, they would still eventually run out,” Lin Li said calmly as if he weren’t talking about anything incredible.
In fact, he really wasn’t. With the Book of Eternity, the enlightenment he had gained in the Seven-Realm Spiral of the Sky Castle, and the knowledge he gained from Balak’s magical crystal, his knowledge was far beyond what an ordinary level-23 Legendary-mage should have. In fact, in terms of knowledge, Lin Li was probably not inferior to an actual Sanctuary-level mage.
After hearing Lin Li’s definite answer, everyone in the room was still in disbelief. However, Zoquila had really worked hard on the theory of the magical chain, so when he heard Lin Li emphasize it being a theoretical concept, he looked forward to hearing more, and was less doubtful.
“Actually, it is not that difficult to establish the formula of the infinite chain. The key is to find the right trick. The formula of the infinite chain that I built begins from the level-10 Hammer of Flames. There’s nothing much to say about this spell, and I’m sure everyone knows that I chose it because its duration is very short, but it has a certain activation effect on the fire magical elements. Next, it would be Fireball, Wind Slash… and Flaming Storm. After Flaming Storm, I chose Thousand Miles of Ice…” Lin Li said quickly. He explained rather clearly the characteristics of various magic spells and the way they would influence each other.
Upon hearing Lin Li’s words, Zoquila couldn’t help but nod profusely. However, when he heard Lin Li mention the Thousand Miles of Ice all of a sudden, he felt puzzled and astonished. Everyone knew that the fire magic and ice magic would indeed cause some additional damage to the target. However, the magical chain was different—it was meant for a continuous increase in damage done by the fire element (in this case). Wouldn’t the addition of ice element magic cause all of the previous efforts to go in vain!?
At the thought of this, Zoquila quickly interrupted Lin Li as he asked in bewilderment, “Master Felic, it seems to be inappropriate to add Thousand Miles of Ice.”
To put it bluntly, he was saving Lin Li some face by using such phrasing. After all, Lin Li was a distinguished guest of Sendros. If it had been someone else, he would have definitely cussed at him.
Apart from Zoquila, everyone else was also staring at Lin Li with doubtful gazes. Although not all of them were experts in magical chains like Zoquila, they were still rather clear about the basic rules of the famous magic theory.
However, Lin Li seemed to have already expected Zoquila to doubt him. He simply smiled a little, and calmly said, “This is the trick that I’ve mentioned. After going through 20 chains, the fire magical element would be accumulated to a huge degree, but its activity would decrease with repeated activations. So, I chose to use Thousand Miles of Ice and not another individual attack. The purpose of spell is to increase the activity of fire magical element. Although the fire damage would be slightly reduced by using this magic, it would provide convenience for the subsequent chains.”
As the magical chain progressed, there would be reduced activity in the selected magical element. When dealing with that issue, Zoquila would choose to increase the level of the magical chain, just like many other mages who studied the magical chains. However, Lin Li unexpectedly chose to sacrifice part of the magic damage in exchange for elemental activity. Zoquila thought about it for a while, and felt that it seemed to be true to a certain extent, for Lin Li’s method also eradicated the issue of continuous increase in level of magic.
“Next… would be a repetition of what I mentioned earlier. However, the bearing point will have to be replaced by Snowstorm after two cycles. Next, repeat the cycle again… Actually, as long as the critical points of the inertness of the magical elements are deduced, it will be simple to build the formula,” Lin Li said casually. Although he told everyone that it was theoretical, he would be able to create a magical chain rather easily. However, there would basically be no chance to do so in actual combat. Like what he mentioned before, four to six times would be the best. Otherwise, one would be looking for trouble.
“In that case, Master Felic, I’d like to ask where the problem lies in this magical chain formula that I’ve established.” Although Zoquila had already deduced the chain formula established by Lin Li, he also knew that Lin Li had the Book of Eternity. He thought that perhaps there would be some answers and information about the magical chain that Geresco used back then, and Lin Li had merely just memorized the concepts.
However, Lin Li’s subsequent answers soon made Zoquila convinced. With just a few simple modifications, the entire magical chain formula would immediately become more fluid and smooth while theoretically achieving the effect of the infinite chain. Indeed, as Lin Li mentioned, the key was to master a trick in order to solve all problems. However, discovering that trick was definitely not a coincidence. It required a thorough understanding of magic, coupled with precise calculations, in order to make it the key to solving problems. Otherwise, it would only result in more trouble.
Zoquila stood up and bowed to Lin Li before keeping mum again. Even though that was not enough to prove that Lin Li had the ability to resolve the crisis that struck the Darkness Shrine, Zoquila believed that Lin Li at least had sufficient knowledge in terms of magic theory, and that there was nothing else he could test him on. It was a mind game that was also a good test for deducing a mage’s understanding and mastery of magic.
Although Zoquila had nothing else say, the other four high priests were still worried. In fact, Zoquila was not entirely reassured, either, but he simply couldn’t think of what he could do to test the young mage Lin Li further. Well, he couldn’t possibly challenge him to a fight.
Lin Li was rather bewildered as well, and thought, Didn’t he say that he’d like to discuss a question with me? Why did he stop after mentioning a game-like magical chain?
Lin Li didn’t think that his knowledge was all-encompassing. In the Book of Eternity, Geresco said, “Knowledge is the most devout belief a mage can have!” There were no limits to the amount of knowledge one could have. Hence, Lin Li had always been passionate about learning opportunities.
Previously in the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li was fortunate to have received the personal guidance of Pope Rosario, and thus learned a lot about Power of Light and Holy Light Magic. Hence, Lin Li came to the Darkness Shrine with the intention to learn in addition to accepting Sendros’ invitation. He hoped that the learning opportunity would allow him to gain a better understanding of the nomological power of Darkness.
Just when the atmosphere in the hall made everyone feel a little awkward, the Lich Gergila, who was wearing a golden crown on his head, shook his head a little, and said in a peculiar tone, “Master Felic, the things you’ve mentioned just now are indeed really inspiring. I also have a question for you. I wonder if it’s convenient for you to answer me.”
“Oh! I’d be happy to discuss with you, please tell me what it’s about.” Upon hearing Gergila’s words, Lin Li was instantly rejuvenated as his peculiar voice was rather ear-piercing. He knew that Rosario was willing to give him some pointers because he had gotten rid of the Viper’s poison for Rosario. Although Lin Li was acquainted with the Darkness Shrine, there was no way they would tell him everything unless they owed him a huge favor. Hence, discussing problems was a rare learning opportunity for him.
The Lich Gergila stretched his slender branch-like fingers out and touched the golden crown on his head. He then slightly complacently said, “We all know that the levels of magic are divided according to the difficulty of casting spells. Each level corresponds to the mage’s level as well. However, there are some magic spells that greatly surpass others of the same level in terms of mana consumption.”
Another word for those magic spells that Gergila had mentioned was Forbidden Curse, and most of them were advanced spells. After some simplification, the difficulty of casting would be reduced, and the mage who initially had yet to reach a higher level would then have the ability to cast such advanced magic. However, in order to maintain the power of the magic and to make up for the reduction in difficulty of casting, the simplified magic would require more mana than the original version. One reason any of them was called Forbidden Curse was because its power was far beyond the level it belonged to. Another reason was that it couldn’t be used easily by mages, and if the necessary standards were not achieved, the huge mana depletion would cause harm to the caster.
“The mana depletion by this type of magic is too excessive. Although it is powerful, it will also put a heavy burden on the caster. Mage Felic, do you have any special opinions about this?” Gergila continued. His question was a better method for testing a mage’s abilities compared to Zoquila’s question. It was not only a test of the mage’s mastery of magic, but also involved the mage’s ability to modify and improvise advanced magic.
Mana was the crux of a mage’s survival on the battlefield, and the mana of every mage was limited. Under limitations, using less mana to cast more powerful magic was undoubtedly a huge improvement to a mage’s strength. Since Gergila wanted to further test Lin Li’s abilities by asking that question, it would be impossible for him to be clueless on it. In fact, out of the five high priests, Gergila was the best at modifying the use of Forbidden Spells. He would call his modified Forbidden Spells which saved more mana Minor Forbidden Spells.
“Master Felic, this may be a bit generic, and can’t be explained clearly in a short time. Let me give an example to facilitate our discussion about this issue. Let’s take the level-23 Forbidden Spell, Thunderstorm Disaster, as an example. I’m sure you know of this spell and its power. However, the consumption of mana is too overbearing for a level-23 mage.” Since Gergila wanted to test Lin Li, he definitely wouldn’t talk about a low-level magic, because that would defeat the purpose of the test. After all, Lin Li was a level-23 Legendary-mage, and many of the so-called Forbidden Spells had no effect on him at all.
In terms of the difficulty of spell casting, the Thunderstorm Disaster belonged to level-23, but the consumption of mana was close to the peak of level-24 magic. If no modifications were made, a large amount of mana would definitely be depleted instantly during casting. The Thunderstorm Disaster was close to its ultimate form in the Legendary-realm, and was genuine Domain Magic. Using this magic, it would be easy to destroy a city in an instant.
Thunderstorm Disaster had already been modified and reduced. Apart from being extremely talented and having a strong foundation in magic, understanding and mastering magic would be essential for making further modifications to reduce the mana consumption.
Gergila was not deliberately trying to put Lin Li on the spot. After all, they knew the value of Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk. Even the Brilliance Shrine was trying hard to get close to Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk. How could the Darkness Shrine sit back and do nothing? However, Gergila and the other high priests knew that Sendros hadn’t invited Lin Li simply for the sake of forging close ties. Instead, he wanted to entrust the fate of the Darkness Shrine to Lin Li in hopes of letting him help them survive the crisis.
That definitely made Gergila and the rest worried, for pinning their hopes on a young mage would mean sending the Darkness Shrine directly into desperate straits. Gergila did not expect to find out if Lin Li was trustworthy or competent enough just through those tests. Unless Lin Li showed Sanctuary-realm power, it would be impossible for him to help. Hence, he hoped for Sendros to give up after seeing Lin Li’s performance in the tests.
The other high priests shared the same thoughts, especially after hearing that he had used the Thunderstorm Disaster as an example. They were sure that Lin Li wouldn’t pass the test. Every magic spell used by mages had been perfected through several modifications made after numerous trial-and-error processes. Making fundamental modifications would be even more difficult than creating a new spell.