Huihui seemed to feel Durin's help and became more confident, so she quickened her chanting speed. As flames and hurricanes erupted together, the people around who were not familiar with magic instantly understood how terrifying this magic was and retreated far away.
As the magic gradually increased with the chanting, sweat formed a line near Huihui's temple, but the terrifying magic power that erupted from the turbulent flames that covered the sky and the sun made her smile with unprecedented excitement.
As a dazzling red light flashed from the front end of Huihui's staff, the expanding light suddenly condensed together to form a dazzling ball of light.
Almost at the same time, Huihui's pupils suddenly opened.
“Dance! Dance! Dance! The collapse of my wish, the source of my power, a collapse that no one can match, will burn everything in the world and descend from the abyss! I will show you the most powerful means of attack that humans can use... This is the ultimate attack magic—Explosion!”
On the plain, a beam of light shot out, like a meteor piercing the sky...
After that, the evil magic showed its effect, and with a roar that shook the air around it, the most evil destructive magic bloomed on the plain.
In order to avoid being blown away by the strong storm, Du Lin even had to bend down and keep the magic recorder as stable as possible.
When the smoke disappeared, a crater more than 20 meters in diameter had formed in front of Huihui, demonstrating the terrifying power of the explosion.
"Kah! Zat and Aya are back to their positions. Lawrence, check if the slime is injured. Helena, how is your magic power? If it's not enough, give me some magic crystals to restore it immediately. I'll reimburse you later."
When everyone followed Durin's instructions and completed their respective tasks, Helena, who played Huihui, fell down on the spot without any affectation. It was obvious that even for a high-level magician like her, the explosive magic she had just cast was exhausting.
... ... ...
"Very good, today's filming is over. I will remind you to start the subsequent filming after the new actors are arranged. Now go back and have a good rest. It's even okay to play in Northrick. If you want to go home, let me know in advance so that I can prepare the positioning of the teleportation magic."
Around the afternoon, Du Lin, who had finished filming the battle part in just one morning, thought about it and decided to make some adjustments to the plot. After all, the lack of post-production technology such as CG special effects made it impossible to implement many of his ideas. For now, he could only try his best to shoot the film with existing resources.
While Du Lin was using magic to help Lawrence move the slime, Aya, who was eating her lunch box, suddenly said, "Magic is so powerful. Can we learn it too?"
After hearing his words, everyone looked over at him. Apparently, Aya was not the only one who was curious about magic.
After thinking about it, Du Lin said, "Although not everyone can use it, at least everyone has the opportunity to use it. Just like everyone's mind is different, everyone's ability to sense elements is also different. The first step to being able to use magic is to be able to sense the elements. We call this the comprehension of the heart of the elements."
"The Heart of Elements?"
Surprised by Durin's words, even Lawrence, who had no interest in this topic, looked over with curiosity, so Durin simply said, "Since you are so curious, I might as well test you to see if you are qualified to use magic."
Chapter 18 The Magical World
Chapter 18
Du Lin is now in a fantasy world where magic exists. Similar to most fantasy worlds, magic here is also a privilege that can be mastered by a small number of people.
Although elements are almost infinite in abundance, only a small number of people who possess elemental perception and can build magic channels in their bodies to release elements can make use of them. After learning the systematic magic system, such people can grow up and become what is usually called a magician.
"The magic power in this world is almost endless, so even if you don't build a magic channel like a magician, you can still absorb this magic power unconsciously. In this case, a little training can strengthen your physique beyond the limit. This is the principle of knights training themselves to make themselves stronger."
As Du Lin spoke, he glanced at Zat. Although he was just an ordinary level 2 swordsman at the moment, in the southern territory where there was a general lack of combat, a level 2 swordsman could already be considered a mainstay. At least in the Edward family, except for the captain of the guard who was a level 3 swordsman, the rest were just ordinary apprentice swordsmen.
After hearing Durin's words, Zat realized that the training of a knight and the growth of a magician were similar in nature and could not help but ask, "Can I use magic, too? To be honest, aren't there those novels where the protagonist practices both magic and martial arts? I always think magic swordsmen are very cool..."
In response, Du Lin said helplessly: "You're overthinking it. Although both are based on elements, the magician's elemental control and the swordsman's use of magic are completely different systems, just like the gap between liberal arts and science. Uh, anyway, Zat, you should be the least likely person here to learn magic."
"Eh?! No way..."
Obviously he didn't expect to be excluded so quickly. A disappointed Zat sighed helplessly and sat on the ground, while others gathered around him with interest, obviously very curious about such a magical thing as magic.
Therefore, knowing that he had to speak up, Du Lin recalled what he had learned in the Mage Tower, and then said, "In short, everyone has the potential to become a magician, but whether or not one can use magic depends on one's aptitude. For example, I have good aptitude, and I have mastered all four major elements and other special elements, becoming a great magician at the fastest speed. For example, Helena has average aptitude, and in the end, she can only comprehend the magic of the element of fire, and her control over the elements can only allow her to barely reach a high level."
"What are you doing?! Don't think that everyone in this world is a freak like you!" Helena couldn't help but complain about Durin's words: "My instructor clearly said that people like me who control a single element will be promoted faster. Although the path is single, magic is easy to learn but difficult to master. The more elements you have to match, the more distractions you will have. It should have been like this... But who knew that a guy like you who only knows all subjects could still soar up like a cheat!!"
After hearing Helena's words, everyone looked at Durin in surprise. Wen Li asked curiously, "Does that mean Lord Edward is a genius?"
In response to this, Durin, who usually didn't bother to show off to the people in the castle who didn't know magic, could only nod and say, "I guess so. After all, those old guys were vying to take me as their disciple, but I rejected them all, hahahaha."
"Rejected? Why?"
Seeing Wen Li's confusion, Helena spoke before Du Lin could answer, "Because he has no interest in magic at all. From the first day he entered the Mage's Tower, he didn't put his mind on magic. Instead, he went to the Alchemy Tower, the secondary branch of the Mage's Tower, all day long. Magic is so interesting, why waste time on alchemy with no future?! Or why did you become a great magician earlier than me when you have no interest in magic?!"
"... ..."
Not knowing how to respond to Helena's complaint, or perhaps having heard enough of her complaints before, Durin ignored the girl's resentful expression and continued, "In short, the elements are mainly divided into four main elements: wind, fire, water, and earth. Other secondary elements are separated from these four elements. These four elements are the ultimate truth that magicians pursue. To observe whether a person has the qualifications to comprehend the elements, generally, identification instruments or magic arrays are needed, but for a great magician like me, I can find out with just a little test."
As he spoke, he reached out and grasped Winry's wrist, and muttered to the girl's nervous expression: "Well, the magic circuit in your body is barely open, but the elemental compatibility is almost non-existent. It's a pity, Winry, you don't have the talent to become a magician."
"is that so... ... "
Although she showed a lost expression, Winry quickly adjusted herself. After all, she had never expected to be able to use magic since she was born, and now it was just confirmed.
And Durin quickly continued to test, and finally confirmed that among the people present, Winry, Zat, and Lawrence did not have any magical talent, and apart from that, Aya...
"How about this?! Can I become a magician?!"
Du Lin couldn't help but frown at the girl's expectant look. Although he had long realized the weirdness of this girl who suddenly appeared, he still didn't expect her to be so weird. After all, no matter how unobstructed a person's magic circuit is, it is impossible to be completely smooth. There will be some stagnation due to impurities in the body. But the girl in front of him not only has no impurities at all, but is also unobstructed.
And the most important thing is that the other party’s compatibility with the elements is almost zero!
Yes, this is an extremely rare loser between a genius and a waste!
"... ..."
Not knowing how to evaluate the other party, Du Lin thought about it and finally said, "After I invent the magic power bank, you should be able to be a 100% mobile fast charger."
"???"
Soon, ignoring Aya's expression of "I don't understand, but does that mean I'm great?", Du Lin prepared to let everyone go back to rest. Thinking back to the magic talent test just now, another layer of haze rose in his heart.
Yes, magic is ultimately too limited. Something that can only be used by a few people cannot promote the progress of civilization, let alone the cultural prosperity that Durin imagined.
So how can we make magic, a privilege enjoyed by a few, available to everyone, so that ordinary people can also enjoy the benefits of magic? Although Du Lin has no idea about this for the time being, he knows that this is a question he must find an answer to.
Chapter 19: The Headless Horseman
Chapter 19
"Traces of the undead appeared in the southern border?"
Du Lin, who had just posted a task to recruit female adventurers in the Adventurer's Guild, had just sat down when he received this information from the receptionist.
Facing his surprise, the girl just continued silently, "There have been rumors for a few days. Because there have never been any powerful monsters in our southern border, once this kind of terrifying undead creature appears, we will remind adventurers not to leave the city for a short period of time. After all, the last lich incident has caused us huge losses. Now there are fewer and fewer people willing to become adventurers. At this time, we can't let important adventurers get into trouble again."
After understanding the reason why the other party told him this, Du Lin thought about it and asked, "Does anyone know what kind of undead it is?"
The undead have different strengths depending on their type. For example, the lich mentioned earlier is one of the top undead. Basically, those who can become liches were at least great magicians in their lifetime. Although the elemental compatibility will continue to decrease after they transform themselves into liches after death, they can still use magic through other means, or simply use necromancy.
In addition to the lich, there are various kinds of undead, from skeleton soldiers to skeleton dragons, and their level of danger can be figured out just by listening to their names.
In response, the receptionist realized that this young man seemed to know a lot about the undead, and immediately said: "The one who was witnessed this time is the Headless Horseman..."
"Headless Horseman?!"
All of a sudden, everyone, including Du Lin, showed surprised expressions.
Yes, the Headless Horseman is also one of the top undead, but unlike the Lich who represents an entire race, the Headless Horseman refers to only one existence, that is Beldia, the strongest knight of the empire who died on the battlefield in the north hundreds of years ago.
Unlike the perennially peaceful South, the North is bordered by the unexplored Demon Realm, so all kinds of demonic tides and monster sieges occur almost all year round. In order to resist this crisis, the most elite knights and warriors of the entire empire are gathered at the northernmost defense line.
Beldia was naturally one of them. Having reached the level of a fifth-level swordsman at a young age, he was one of the most dazzling talents at the time. His swordsmanship was unrivaled, and he was even called the most likely mortal to become the first to enter the sixth level of a knight, a field that had not yet been explored.
That's right, like magicians, the knights and warriors in this world are also divided into six levels. Because sword weapons are the most widely used, the six levels are apprentice swordsman, swordsman, sword master, sword soul, sword saint, and the last one which has not been named so far. The reason why it has not been named is because no one has been able to break through to the sixth level. Otherwise, the name of the sixth level of magician, the Great Sage, would have been named by the first Great Sage.
As the human with the greatest chance of breaking through to level six, Beldia had won a large number of military honors on the battlefield. Originally, he would have been directly appointed as the Knight Commander of the Empire once he returned from the border. Unfortunately, in a head-on battle with the Undead, he was targeted from the very beginning of the battle and was eventually killed in a sneak attack. His body was also turned into material for spellcasting by the Lich and resurrected as a Headless Knight.
Since then, the legend of the Headless Horseman has appeared in the Empire. It is said that he was transformed into an undead on the battlefield and resisted the control of the lich. After killing the lich that tried to control him, he fled the battlefield. But then, due to the bloodthirsty nature of the undead, he could not suppress his impulse and turned into a demon that slaughtered all living beings.
Because hundreds of years had passed, most people regarded such rumors as boring legends. However, the occasional sightings of the Headless Horseman seemed to tell everyone that the murderous monster had never left and had been wandering around the empire's borders.
At this moment, hearing what the receptionist said, Du Lin couldn't help but ask with interest: "Can I ask where this was witnessed?"
"Uh... this..."
When the receptionist showed a slightly subtle expression, a fierce quarrel suddenly came from the adventurer reception seat in the distance. Faced with this rare excitement, the group of adventurers who were originally idle immediately gathered over excitedly, wanting to see what was going on. Du Lin and his friends were naturally no exception, and they squeezed into the crowd with curiosity.
In the crowd, a young-looking woman was arguing with the administrator of the Adventurer's Guild with an excited look on her face, and it was obvious that she was very anxious.
In contrast, facing the woman's anxiety, the manager just shook his head silently and showed a helpless look. Regarding this scene, Du Lin hurriedly asked the people around him and got this reply.
"That woman who came from nowhere suddenly came to the Adventurer's Guild and directly asked for a Grand Mage-level adventurer. Please, go to the Mage's Tower to find a Grand Mage. There is no way there is a Grand Mage in our Southern Adventurer's Guild. Even though the administrator clearly told her that it was impossible for a Grand Mage-level adventurer to accept her mission, she still refused to leave. I don't know what happened..."
"I see."
Nodding, Du Lin, who learned of the situation, thought about it and observed the woman in the distance again. Her body was wrapped in a brown robe, and her inner part could not be seen. Her long hair was revealed from the cloak. Although he could not see the front, Du Lin could feel that it was a young woman, but the word "young" seemed to be in quotation marks, because he could not sense any breath of life from the other party.
"The Undead? In this day and age, are there actually Undead who dare to come to the Adventurer's Guild openly?"
Muttering to himself, before the people around him could react, Du Lin had already walked through the crowd and came in front of the woman and the manager. Facing his sudden intrusion, not to mention the stunned woman, the manager immediately said: "You have nothing to do here, don't come over."
Hearing what the other party said, Du Lin just shook his head without paying attention, then glanced at the woman wrapped in a cloak and said, "I heard that you are looking for a great magician?"
Unexpectedly, Du Lin would say such a thing. The woman raised her head in surprise, revealing her lovely face under the cloak, and asked in confusion: "Who are you...?"
In response, Du Lin said calmly without any hesitation: "If you want to find a great magician, I might be able to help."
Chapter 20: Lich Wiz's Request
Chapter 20
After leaving the crowded Adventurer's Guild, Durin, who had accepted the woman's commission, finally caught up with the other party alone. After all, since the client asked for a great magician, it must be a magical issue, and there was no point in someone who was not a great magician catching up.
After the surroundings became deserted, the woman walking in front hurriedly asked in surprise: "Can you really lead me to find the great magician?"
Because the other party came too close all of a sudden, Du Lin, who was a little out of breath, quickly pressed the other party's shoulder and nodded, "Don't worry, since I have accepted your commission, of course I will help you complete it. Also, my name is Du Lin Edward. Can I ask why you must ask a great magician to take the task?"
Although magicians have great privileges in this world, this is due to the small number of magicians, not because magicians themselves do not have any ability to destroy the world.
The explosive magic that Durin had used to assist Helena before seemed very powerful, but it actually consumed a lot of magic power. There were very few magicians in this world who could maintain mental stability while ensuring such a huge consumption of magic power.
Therefore, most of the magicians in this world will neither go to the battlefield nor become adventurers. They are more likely to conduct various researches in their own magic towers, or solve some national problems for the empire.
From the above description, it can be seen that the magicians in this world are more responsible for scientific research than combatants. This is also the reason why magicians cannot be seen in the Adventurer's Guild. After all, letting a scientific researcher be a civilian handyman is really an overkill.
In this situation, if a person suddenly ran to the Adventurer's Guild to look for the Great Magician, it was probably because he was stupid or there was something very urgent going on.
In response, the woman who put down her cloak was a little nervous after hearing Durin's words, but she still said quickly: "My name is Wiz. I'm sorry, because the matter is urgent, I can't explain why I want to find a great magician for the time being, but please don't be afraid, and please believe me, I really want to find a great magician who is proficient in magic to solve a problem of a friend of mine."
"Friends? How can a lich like you have friends?"
“… … .”
Unexpectedly, Durin would reveal his identity directly. While Wiz was stunned, Durin explained directly: "Although your robe conceals the part of your aura that belongs to the undead, it also conceals the aura of the living. Ordinary people may not be able to confirm this, but to a magician of my level, an undead like you is as conspicuous as a bright red pair of underwear hanging on the windowsill."
"Well... ... ."
Although she felt that Durin's metaphor was very subtle, Wiz still took a step back immediately. However, after seeing that Durin did not seem to react to her identity, she asked in surprise: "So you are a great magician, and you are so young... Wait, Durin Edward, are you the genius magician who became famous in the Mage Tower five years ago?"
"You know me?"
"Yes, after all, I wasn't a lich five years ago. I was accidentally transformed into a lich a few years ago because of a magic experiment."
"I see... .."
"But aren't you afraid? You know I'm a lich..."
"Although I'm a little surprised, I'm not scared. After all, judging from your appearance, you were at most a high-level magician when you were alive. Although I don't know how you transformed into a lich, you are at most a half-baked magician now. Of course, if you were a lich-level necromancer, I would still be very afraid, but you don't have a strong smell of the dead."
Yes, although becoming undead will bring eternal life, due to the decay of the body, a lich will often become weaker after death than when he was alive. This is why many senior magicians know how to transform themselves into undead, but few people try it.
After all, even if the law prohibits humans from transforming into immortals privately, if becoming immortal can bring stronger power and make oneself immortal, then I am afraid that countless people will take the risk. However, unfortunately, reality is reality after all. There is no perfect profiteering, only equal exchange.
To become an immortal, one has to give up some of one's own strength and wisdom. This is why very few people in this world would voluntarily transform themselves into immortals.
Of course, if they choose to give up practicing elemental magic as human magicians and instead learn necromancy, the talents brought by the undead can allow them to reach higher realms faster, but most people will not be interested in necromancy.
"Then you don't plan to inform the church and the Knights..."
"No, because it is meaningless and a sheer waste of time. After all, a fellow like you is unlikely to cause harm to human society. Only some fanatics in the church will rush at you like crazy."
After hearing Durin's words that seemed to have understood him thoroughly, Wiz was surprised for a long time before he heaving a sigh of relief and said, "Great! I was worried that I would be hunted down after my identity was exposed... You are right, I am indeed a lich, and the friend I hope you will help is none other than the Headless Horseman you should have heard of."
"The Headless Horseman?"
With a surprised expression, Durin naturally knew who the 'Headless Horseman' represented. After all, people of this generation had basically heard of the rumors about the Headless Horseman when they were young, and had a deep impression of that powerful and terrifying existence.
He also felt very lucky. After all, he had originally planned to find the legendary Headless Horseman to be his actor, but he didn't expect that this time he would have both the Lich and the Headless Horseman together.
Soon, from Wiz's narration, Durin finally figured out why she went to the Adventurer's Guild to look for the great magician.
Just as the rumors say, the Headless Knight Beldia, once the strongest knight, was assassinated by the undead army on the battlefield, and his corpse was transformed into the undead. He is also one of the most powerful undead, the Headless Knight.
But the story that followed was not as the rumors said. In fact, the Headless Horseman was simply unable to resist the lich's order to transform him into an undead. He turned into a puppet that slaughtered humans and fought on the battlefield for a long, long time. During that long time, the Headless Horseman's emotions as a human were gradually erased, and he almost became a complete zombie.
What changed all this was just a coincidence. The lich who originally controlled the Headless Horseman died for some reason. Under such circumstances, the lich should have left behind a mark that controlled him and passed it on to his disciples or other liches. However, it seemed that everything happened too quickly, and the mark of the Headless Horseman who controlled one of the strongest undead beings disappeared from this world.