Chapter 1199: Master of Inscription
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
However, despite being a young man in his early twenties, Lin Li was already a Sanctuary powerhouse, which was also the reason that others assumed that his attainments in inscription were mediocre. After all, inscription required a great deal of energy to study and learn. Even if a person started learning inscription from a young age, two decades might not be enough for them to accomplish great achievements, not to mention in the case where a large amount of time was spent on learning magic.
Hence, after the big shot of the Octopus Clan said that, Cantory’s expression immediately became smug as if he had already seen Lin Li’s feeling embarrassed and being in a wretched state. Although it seemed to have no direct effect on Lin Li, and Cantory wouldn’t get any real benefit from it, he felt that it would be good to vent some of his anger.
As for the big shot of the Octopus Clan, he didn’t have any special expression on his face apart from his usual arrogance. After all, for someone like him, defeating a human in the field of inscription didn’t seem to be something to be particularly proud of. In fact, if it weren’t for the Cantory, he would not have bothered to waste his precious time on such a human who he could tell at first glance had little attainment in inscription.
While hearing the provocation of the big shot of the Octopus Clan, Lin Li didn’t have much of an emotional fluctuation. He merely glanced at them indifferently before saying, “I don’t have anything that can convince you, but if you have something that convinces me, you may show it to me.”
Cantory gloatingly thought to himself, Hah, he really doesn’t know any better! If he’d simply fled without saying anything, it would’ve been fine. Unfortunately, he clearly doesn’t want to give up, and he wants to see our strength. However, in this case, it is the same as accepting the challenge, and I’m afraid Felic will only continue embarrassing himself further.
The big shot of the Octopus Clan guffawed loudly twice. As if he had seen through Lin Li’s intentions, he said, “Sure, I’m in a good mood today. I shall show you what inscription really is.” After saying that, he strode out of the store.
They soon arrived outside the store, and the Sea Clan members nearby who had received the news also gathered over there at this juncture. Although not all of them were from the Octopus Clan, they were still from the Sea Clan, after all, so when they heard that someone of their clan was about to teach a human a lesson, they naturally didn’t want to miss the opportunity to witness the exciting scene.
After going out of the store, the big shot of the Octopus Clan cast a disdainful glance at Lin Li, and without saying anything else, he bellowed. In an instant, eight magic arms appeared out of nowhere. They did not take any magic materials, and simply began to draw some mageweaths quickly with ink that they inherently produced.
In the beginning, the movement of the eight arms could be seen, but they soon became phantoms that seemed to stir up a mass of fog in the middle of the rod. Magic patterns and magic runes also began to appear on the road.
At the same time, a mana fluctuation also appeared in the center of the road before increasing rapidly. Soon, the bubbling stream turned into a massive flood. Towards the end, the mana fluctuations forced the surrounding Sea Clan members to look around, and they couldn’t help but retreat one after another.
In space, a large number of magical elements was attracted by an invisible force, and they were accumulating to form a massive Elemental Storm which connected to the mageweaths on the ground. The top of the Elemental Storm was just like a massive vortex that covered the sky and distorted the space.
It could be seen from the phenomena alone that the mageweath that was being drawn was definitely not ordinary. Although Cantory did not research much on inscriptions, he could still feel them. Hence, when he looked at Lin Li, the smugness in his eyes got more and more intense.
However, to Cantory’s disappointment, there wasn’t the slightest surprise and panic on Lin Li’s face, even though the latter was also watching the drawing of the mageweath. It was as if it was just a very ordinary thing. That made Cantory feel secretly resentful as he couldn’t help but think, How pretentious. Let’s see how long you can keep pretending. Let’s see if you can continue being this smug when it’s your turn to draw the mageweath.
At this juncture, Lin Li did not even pay attention to the look in Cantory’s eyes. Instead, he watched the big shot of the Octopus Clan perform. Although his attainments in inscription were so high that he felt that watching the big shot draw the mageweath was akin to adults watching children fight, he couldn’t say that the Octopus Clan was useless.
Lin Li noticed that the big shot of the Octopus Clan had used a unique technique to draw the mageweath, which was something that the humans couldn’t learn at all. For example, he would start drawing on different positions at the same time without making the power of the mageweath appear to conflict with each other. However, it was impossible for humans to draw it like that, because humans only had two arms each, so the sequence of drawing would be important.
Although humans could also cast the Magic Arm spell, such as the Hand of The Mage that Lin Li had once used, it was still the same as using one’s mind on the drawing of mageweaths. The Hand of The Mage that mages cast could basically only be used to make a grasping action. There was no way it could carry out complicated tasks like drawing a mageweath.
The eight magic arms of the Octopus Clan were considered a type of affinity spell of theirs. Those eight arms were a part of their body, just like their normal arms. Hence, there was no need for deliberate manipulation. When drawing mageweaths, the effect achieved by the eight arms was akin to a few people drawing mageweaths together with incredible efficiency.
Of course, the magic arms of the Octopus Clan were not only used to draw mageweaths, but could actually be compared to powerful magic weapons. Each magic arm possessed great power, and ordinary people would not be able to resist an attack launched with brute force. They could also make multiple magic hand signs to cast multiple magic spells at the same time without stopping.
That was also one of the important reasons that the Octopus Clan could become one of the seven hegemons of the ocean. It was not that others showed them respect only because they could draw mageweaths. In the ocean, great strength was revered, and the Octopus Clan had gained their current position entirely because of their powerful strength.
The other thing that Lin Li was interested in was the magic ink that the big shot of the Octopus Clan used to draw mageweaths. Usually, inscribers would use a variety of magic materials to prepare different types of customized magic ink that was to be used for drawing different mageweaths. For example, if one wanted to draw ice element mageweaths, they would have to add ice element magic materials to the ink. Likewise for fire element mageweaths.
However, the Octopus Clan had the ability to generate magic ink that was attached to their own mana with unparalleled magic affinity and stability. More importantly, the magic ink was suitable for almost any type of mageweath, and they could exert the corresponding power of the mageweath without letting the impact be affected by the attributes.
In addition, the magic ink generated by the Octopus Clan also played a huge role in improving the success rate of drawing mageweaths. If inscribers added a drop of the Octopus Clan’s magical ink when preparing their own, there would be a high rate of success because it would correct all the deviations in the original formula, preventing a failure of the mageweath. Hence, if the other inscribers could get a vial of the Octopus Clan’s magical ink, they would put it away and cherish it like it was a precious treasure. Even the loss of a single drop would be really heartbreaking for them.
In the blink of an eye, the mageweath drawn by the big shot of the Octopus Clan was almost completed as he was at the final stage of drawing. The entire space began to tremble slightly. Immediately afterwards, the eight magic arms ended the drawing with the last few strokes. The large Elemental Storm in the sky above the mageweath also suddenly started rotating quickly. It even surged towards the mageweath.
With a loud boom, the ground seemed to shake a few times, and the sky was instantly clear again. A mageweath that was exuding the light of mana finally appeared in front of everyone.
As soon as the mageweath was formed, everyone around it, be it humans or those of the Sea Clan, unanimously gasped in shock. Although not all of them had studied inscriptions, they could feel the powerful might that emanated from the mageweath. Everyone could feel the terrifying power contained in the mageweath, and it was as if a calamity was brewing within, threatening to erupt at any time.
“This is a true Master-level mageweath!” Those who had studied inscriptions could not help but gasp in amazement with zealous gazes at this juncture. For them, to be able to see a Master-level mageweath being created out of nothing was akin to a mage watching a battle between two masters fighting. They could learn a lot just by watching.
With a look of enthusiasm, Cantory said to the big shot of the Octopus Clan, “Harquess is indeed very impressive. The mageweath that he casually drew contains such terrifying power. This is probably a peak Master-level masterpiece. No wonder he’s known as a rare genius of inscription among the Octopus Clan.”
Cantory had always been known as the best of his generation in the Gilded Kingdom, and he had always been showered with compliments. However, he wasn’t stingy with his compliments for Harquess today. That just proved that they indeed had an extraordinary relationship, and that Harquess had a prominent status in the Octopus Clan.
After complimenting Harquess, Cantory turned to look at Lin Li, and smugly said, “President Felic, you might not know this, but this is Harquess, the beloved son of Monarch Hegel, who is also an inscription genius. His attainment in the field of inscription has reached the peak of the Master-level, and he’s only one step away from reaching the Guru-level. What do you think of this mageweath, President Felic?”
Hearing Cantory introduce Harquess, the surrounding crowd had already gotten into an uproar before Lin Li even reacted. Harquess obviously enjoyed great fame, and had a high status in the Sea Clan. He was respected by the rest of the Sea Clan too, and in fact, many of the female members of the Sea Clan even began screaming and swooning near him hysterically like they were smitten fans of an idol.
Harquess seemed to have been very flattered by such a scene, and the arrogance and conceit on his face seems to have intensified after hearing that compliment. With some contempt in his gaze, he looked at Lin Li, and said, “President Felic, my mageweath has been completed. Now, isn’t it time for you to show us yours too?”
After hearing Harquess’ words, everyone fixed their gaze on Lin Li. They had already found out just now that Harquess was drawing the mageweath to compete with a human in inscription. However, after seeing the mageweath that Harquess had drawn, everyone was already looking at Lin Li with disdain and contempt.
What a joke, he’s just a human, and he actually wants to compete with the genius of our Sea Clan in inscription. He must be overestimating his own abilities. Almost all of the Sea Clan members felt the same at this time. Everyone knew that the Octopus Clan had superior attainments in inscriptions. Besides, Harquess was also an elite of the Octopus Clan, so there was no way Lin Li could compete with him.
Seeing this scene, Cantory naturally felt much more comfortable, and he was just waiting for Lin Li to admit defeat or make a fool of himself. He didn’t think that Lin Li was proficient in inscription. Just like what everyone thought, Felic could not have any significant attainments in other aspects, since he had spent most of his energy on magic since he had already become a Sanctuary powerhouse despite being only in his early twenties.
However, when faced with their mockery and contempt, Lin Li kept a straight face. In his opinion, the mageweath that Harquess drew was indeed unique, especially since it was enhanced with the talent that was unique to his clan. Hence, it allowed his mageweath to be rather outstanding even among all Master-level mageweaths.
Among the inscribers Lin Li had met so far, Harquess’ attainments in inscription could be considered the best. Even without the enhancement of his talent, Harquess’ knowledge in inscriptions alone was enough for him to be considered a Master of Inscription. However, for Lin Li who had just started to get in touch with Divine Smith level mageweaths, he really wasn’t that impressive.