After an unknown period, Enleiko gradually regained consciousness. The intense muscle spasms caused by the electric shocks resulted in overall soreness. He initially attempted to struggle to sit up, but the tingling sensation from the nerves told him it was best to lie quietly without moving. Enleiko had intended to check on his companions, but turning his head proved to be quite challenging in his current state. Relying on the only useful organ, his ears, Enleiko roughly confirmed that all four companions were nearby. From the rhythmic sounds of breathing, Enleiko could ascertain that they were all unharmed and still unconscious.
Reflecting on this challenging journey, Enleiko couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing. Unexpectedly, they had found the destination so easily. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, it seemed that the days ahead with Chris, the apprentice mage, would be even more challenging.
However, the thought of Chris's magical power made Enleiko unusually excited. There were two reasons for this excitement. Firstly, having such formidable strength as support increased the likelihood of realizing his desires. Initially, he had worried that even if there were mages in the world with the power to solve his problems, they might not be willing to help. Mages who reached the level of extraordinary sanctity were among the most prominent figures in their respective countries, and it was difficult to impress them. Moreover, their dedication to advanced magical research might prevent them from addressing his relatively simple issues. However, Chris, the mage, appeared to be different. As long as she was pleased with flattery, she was likely to lend a helping hand.
The second reason was that it resolved another long-standing concern of his—what learning magic could achieve. Witnessing the magical duel between the old wolf and Chris, Enleiko was deeply impressed. It was a power that could alter the landscape. Obtaining such power, or even the pursuit of it, was exhilarating in itself.
A few faint sounds reached Enleiko's ears, indicating that another companion had awakened.
"Who is it? Who's awake?" Enleiko inquired.
After a long while, Kate's weak response finally came.
Enleiko was genuinely delighted; there was nothing more joyful than having a friend by one's side during lonely moments.
The two engaged in casual conversation, partly to fend off loneliness and also as a means of recovering energy. However, they consciously avoided discussing the mistress of this laboratory. After all, in the face of uncertainty, it was unwise and dangerous to criticize a potentially mad sorceress in her own castle.
Kate had initially clung to the virtues of knightly education—honesty and bravery. Asking him to compromise with something conflicting with his philosophy of existence was quite challenging. However, after traveling alongside the old wolf for several days and experiencing the earth-shattering duel, he finally understood his father's often-quoted knightly saying: "Unwavering commitment to beliefs is unconditional, and steadfastness in actions is guaranteed by formidable strength."
As the conversation ran dry, they eventually circled back to the recent duel they had experienced. The impact of that duel was too profound for them, leaving them with numerous questions that needed mutual exploration.
"Kate, do you remember if Grand Mage Chris ever chanted an incantation while using magic?" Enleiko posed a question that had puzzled him.
"You noticed too! Whenever she uses magic, there's no incantation; just those sharp cries."
"I really wonder how she manages to use four types of magic simultaneously. She can't have three heads like the three-headed wolf, right?"
"Also, Enleiko, did you notice? Grand Mage Chris gathers magical energy astonishingly fast, almost without any casting pauses."
"Yeah, and what about that black sphere she emerged from? I've never heard of anything like it."
The two continued listing their observations.
The intense electric shocks not only paralyzed their muscle nerves but also seemed to affect their digestive organs. For a whole day, they didn't feel any hunger.
After a day and night of adjustment, the four could finally struggle to stand. Enleiko surveyed their surroundings; they were in a colossal room, at least fifty meters in length and width, and over ten meters in height. The walls were constructed from oak stones. Besides them, the room was empty. Everyone wondered about the purpose of such a massive room. Was it really a room? Even if it were a training ground, it seemed excessively large. The space could be used for horse racing.
With difficulty, they reached the door and opened it. The scene in front of them left them speechless. If there were words to describe this strange laboratory, a giant's castle would be the most fitting. The laboratory had dozens of rooms around a giant circular square, similar to the one they had emerged from. In the center of the square were several rows of long tables, and Grand Mage Chris sat at the table in the middle.
After a long journey, the group finally approached Chris.
"Oh? You're awake," Chris said, having noticed them long before.
"Respected Grand Mage Chris, regarding the learning I proposed earlier..." Jerry began.
Without letting him finish, Chris interrupted, "If you can afford the cost, I might consider teaching you Thaerbot."
"I'm just a newcomer, penniless!" Jerry secretly rejoiced. Earlier in the day, the thought of Chris agreeing to teach him Thaerbot had made him anxious. The bitter experience of teleportation had made him wary, and he was determined to find a way to decline Chris's offer. Now, hearing Chris's response, he was almost ready to laugh out loud.
"Maybe this way. Although it's my greatest regret not to learn such profound magic, I have had the privilege of experiencing this great magic personally guided by a magnificent mage. I dare not expect the great mage to waste precious time teaching a foolish person like me. I only hope to gain your approval for this trial at the cost that a pitiful person like me can afford."
"Hehehe, passing the trial won't be easy; I'm a strict person," Chris's sharp laughter echoed eerily in the vast enclosed space.
Hearing this laughter, Jerry felt a wave of relief. Things seemed to be going well.
"I have some savings at home, would that work?" Jerry subtly signaled if the issue could be resolved with money.
"Give money?" Chris tilted her head, supporting her cheek, and after a moment of thought, nodded, "That could be convenient, a direct approach."
Watching the two of them enthusiastically discussing, Kate and Enleiko exchanged a glance.
It seemed that the powerful mage Chris was indeed a rogue mage, much like Victor Mage. She not only lacked the dignity expected of a mage but also the most basic professional ethics.
Watching Chris and Jerry negotiating, Enleiko and Kate could only shake their heads in sighs.
Surprisingly, Chris still respected business ethics, allowing Jerry to haggle. This surprised all four, including Jerry.
In the end, Jerry secured Chris's approval for the price of 25,000 gold coins.
Mage Chris signed Jerry's apprentice trial manual, and Jerry promised to deposit the money into Chris's account as soon as he got home.
"Now, what about me?" Clearly uninterested in Chris's magic after the shock of the electric shocks, Bertina worried that she didn't have as much money as Jerry.
"Oh, I have a task for you," Chris seemed to have decided on Bertina's test project.
"You just need to cook for me for a month and help with the laundry, and I'll let you pass," Mage Chris proposed her conditions.
When Bertina heard this, she jumped with joy, while Jerry's face revealed a disappointed expression.
"Follow me, I'll show you the work you have to do," Mage Chris said, standing up and leading the way.
Reaching a door, she waved her arm, and the door opened naturally. Inside was a room identical to their original one, but with a complete set of kitchen utensils. However, despite the kitchenware, the hall still felt too spacious.
"This is the kitchen," Chris said without turning her head, then turned around and walked out.
Arriving at the entrance of another room next to it, she stopped, but this time, she didn't open the door.
After opening a small window on the door, you could see another identical room where those thorny dragons caught last night were kept.
"You also need to prepare the feed for these test subjects."
Ignoring Bertina's blushing face, Chris continued to lead the group to another room.
Upon opening the door, a strong foul smell hit them. The enormous room was stuffed with various underwear, shirts, pants, coats, dresses, and robes.
"These are the clothes you have to wash. I never had time to do it myself, so I'm counting on you," Chris casually said before walking out. A sound of a young girl fainting came from behind her.
After carrying Bertina back to the original room, Jerry stayed behind to look after her.
Enleiko and Kate gathered their courage and decided to face the formidable sorceress directly.
Mage Chris leaned back in her chair, closely watching the two trial participants in front of her.
As the two young people nervously awaited a response, they felt distinctly different under the sorceress's sharp gaze.
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Kate felt like facing a master swordsman, where every part of her seemed full of vulnerabilities.
Enleiko had an even worse feeling; he seemed to have returned to the days of facing a picky customer in his family's grocery store. Unfortunately, he wasn't a shop assistant now but the merchandise itself. Chris even seemed to be holding a list of goods in her hand.
After hearing Kate and Enleiko's requests, Chris analyzed and studied the two repeatedly.
"The tall one has some potential, being a disciple of Kallens. I'll give him some face; he can be used for magical experiments. This foolish boy seems easy to fool. Let's play around with him; if he's desperate to please me, maybe I can get some unexpected benefits. As for the short one, completely unsuitable for practicing magic. I don't know who picked him, it's absurd. However, his physique is quite excellent; he can endure some experimentation. Decided, he'll make a good test subject," Chris internally confirmed her arrangements for the two. Unfortunately, Enleiko and Kate had no idea that, from this moment on, they, along with the dozens of thorn dragons in the cage, had become experimental subjects.
"You must be Kate! I'm not sure if you're suitable for my training methods, and I have no idea about your magical abilities. For Kallens' sake, don't make things difficult for yourself. I'll let you pass," Chris said, employing a strategy of apparent willingness to capture.
"Well, Mage Chris, I genuinely want to learn magic. I'm willing to pay any price for your guidance," Kate eagerly responded, completely oblivious to stepping into a trap.
"Got one with unlimited demands," Chris secretly rejoiced.
"Alright, give it a try. But once I decide you're not up to it, you're expelled, understood?" The cunning sorceress declared from her elevated position.
"As for you, Enleiko, I'm intrigued by your issues. However, be prepared! Experiments can be dangerous," Chris turned to Enleiko.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes," Enleiko, filled with a series of surprised responses, had already fallen into the second trap of his life.
After lunch, prepared by the unfortunate Bertina, she woke up under the sorceress's cold water. Much later, Enleiko and the others learned that Chris could only perform this basic water magic, mixed with ice cubes. Watching Chris direct Bertina to do this and that, the other three trial participants couldn't help but sympathize and recall the childhood fairy tales where young, pitiable girls were mistreated and forced to do heavy chores by castle witches. It turns out, those stories had some basis in reality.
After the meal, poor Bertina was tasked with washing the dishes. Surprisingly, the sorceress had a moment of mercy. Chris actually taught the unfortunate girl how to manipulate water magic delicately for cleaning. The specific method involved enveloping the items to be cleaned in water, then controlling the water flow to continuously rotate and changing the rotation angles. However, Bertina couldn't reliably use this advanced technique; it was a magic derived from a light magic for priests by Chris, which enhanced water's activity, providing strong cleaning capabilities.
Much later, after Bertina became the High Priestess, she still vividly remembered this challenging memory, but she never told anyone. Thus, later generations speculated about this experience and recorded it in a different form, passing it down in this world.
The sacred scripture contains the following passage: "High Priestess Bertina, Prophet Enleiko, Holy Knight Kate, and Unified King Jerry obtained the teachings of the Father God in the God's Forest. High Priestess Bertina was tasked to bring the divine gift—Holy Water—to the mortal realm, Prophet Enleiko was tasked to spread the sacred teachings to the people, Holy Knight Kate was tasked to destroy the existing system, and Unified King Jerry was tasked to establish a new order."
Religious scriptures undoubtedly carry subjective perspectives, and later meticulous historians documented it as follows: "The two great figures, Bertina and Enleiko, who played substantial roles in establishing the new religious system, along with the contributions of Kate and Jerry, first met during their journey in the God's Forest. The reasons behind this encounter are widely debated. However, it cannot be denied that Bertina learned the method of creating and using Holy Water during the journey in the God's Forest. The discovery of Holy Water held significant meaning, triggering miracles that transformed the religion from an upper-class ruling religion to a universal one. The rapid spread of the Father God doctrine directly benefited from the effects of Holy Water. However, what remains puzzling is that the initial rise and rapid spread of the Father God doctrine did not originate from the homeland of the four wise individuals, the Kingdom of Sophion, but from the enemy kingdom of Caoqi."
History is sometimes just like that.
Bertina's ordeal began, but soon she was too preoccupied to dwell on her own suffering. The plight of Kate and Enleiko was horrifying.
Chris had only mentioned to Kate that she would train her according to the methods recorded in an ancient magic book. Watching Chris carefully flipping through that black-covered magic book, the mentally pure knight's descendant was genuinely excited to have the chance to experience ancient training methods!
Little did they know that the magic book was a record of training magic warriors from a magic kingdom that was destroyed five hundred years ago. In the current world, magic and aura belonged to two completely different systems of power. Although there were some dual cultivators proficient in both magic and aura, they couldn't use both powers simultaneously. Just as Chris couldn't simultaneously use four elemental magics, becoming a bottleneck in power usage. She had long wanted to experiment in this aspect, but finding suitable subjects was challenging. The subject needed to have decent martial arts skills, something Chris couldn't teach herself, and excellent magical potential. The material was hard to come by, but now it unexpectedly presented itself. The notebook she obtained earlier detailed how ancient methods combined magic with martial arts to train magic warriors. However, it involved completely stripping the user's consciousness, turning them into a fighting machine. Her invented and improved special meditation and mental training methods had not been tested and were uncertain if they would work. Fortunately, there was another test subject here. Might as well try it on him.
The poor guinea pig was now decided.
"Kate, in a sword duel, what are the dominant factors for achieving victory? Share your thoughts," Chris inquired.
Kate didn't understand why Chris posed such a question, but having encountered similar questions since childhood, he responded, "Strength, speed, skill."
"Be more specific," Chris instructed.
"Strength, the improvement of speed, and the application of skills all require assurance of strength. Speed includes both attack and reaction speed; it reflects strength and demonstrates skill. Skill involves the technique of grasping strength, the technique of timing for offensive and defensive maneuvers, the technique of understanding changes in techniques, and the technique of recognizing the opponent and oneself," Kate eloquently explained.
"Very good, very good," Chris nodded. "When it comes to duels, the basic principles are the same, whether it's martial arts or magic. It's just that most magicians tend to overlook the improvement of speed and skill. In duels between magicians, it becomes a contest of strength, as you are well aware. However, you witnessed my duel with the magic wolf. You should understand the role that speed and skill can play."
Reflecting on that earth-shattering battle and reaffirming Kate's words, the two seemed to have some understanding.
Chris continued, "So, instead of pursuing maximizing the power of one type, it's more effective to focus on efficiently deploying all abilities. It's more effective because the second method has greater flexibility. I believe there's a similar saying in sword duels, right?"
"Yes, my father warned me, 'Against a formidable enemy, it's more effective to use a combination of offense and defense than relying on a powerful finishing move.'"
"Hehehe, as I thought," the space filled with that piercing laughter once again.
"The power of magic can be combined just like martial arts. Do you want to try a new magical attack method?" Chris employed the standard seductive tactics of a witch.
There's nothing that can incite the enthusiastic emotions of someone as pure-hearted as Kate more than this, to the extent that Kate couldn't escape this fanatical pursuit throughout her life.
As a result, Kate embraced those training methods that seemed akin to suicide, relishing in them and never getting tired.
These training sessions can be roughly divided into two types: magic endurance training and simultaneous use of magic and martial skills.
Magic endurance training aims to quickly approach a magician, thus training to defend and reduce magical damage using minimal mental strength. The emphasis is on speed, agility, and low requirements for the magic level. The motto is: escape if you can, dodge if you can't escape, endure if you can't dodge.
Simultaneous use of magic and martial skills involves maintaining a certain meditative state during the attack.
So whenever Kate was seen being roasted like a freshly baked chicken or being electrocuted to the point where she couldn't even walk properly, only hopping around, or when she spontaneously combusted due to desynchronization during simultaneous magic and martial training, and then suffered the gruesome aftermath of being extinguished by Chris's ice water, Bertina couldn't help but feel fortunate for herself. Fate varies for each person, and it seemed the gods were kind to her.
Despite enduring such torment, Kate had significant gains. Firstly, he learned low-level magic from all four elemental systems, and his original fire magic reached an upper-intermediate level. He also acquired defensive water magic, "Crystal Wall of Water," defensive wind magic, "Wind Guardian," Chris's invented earth magic, "Earth Wall," and an attack magic Chris invented, "Glacial Torrent," which involved the water and ice combo. Additionally, he learned the wind attack magic, "Wind Blade Technique." Furthermore, levitation and the wind wing technique were no longer exclusive to Jerry.
Seeing Kate's progress, Jerry was truly impressed, but of course, it was just admiration. For someone like Jerry, the gap between admiration and action was quite substantial.
If you think Kate made the greatest gains, you might be surprised. In fact, there was someone else, and it wasn't Enleco. He was currently in the most miserable state, first being bewildered by Chris's strange potions, then enduring constant electric shocks. Surprisingly, the one with the most significant gains was Bertina. Through a fortunate coincidence, she discovered that the detergent water improved by Chris had extraordinary healing and regenerative capabilities. Through continuous practice, her mastery of this magic deepened. Of course, practice subjects were never in short supply – besides the constantly injured Kate and Enleco, the mountain-like pile of clothes was her eternal pain.
Among the three trial participants, Enleco was the most unfortunate. His training was straightforward – taking various inexplicable medicines. As Jerry was the only one with free time, he often assisted Chris in preparing and brewing medicines. One day, when Jerry lost his appetite, indicating that the next day would be unfortunate for Enleco. Those medicines were of no help to Enleco's problems; on the contrary, they often left him in a state of confusion. Consequently, Enleco began to question Chris's sincerity.
In a state of confusion one day, Enleco surprisingly requested a change in the training method from Chris.
Later, Chris readily changed the training to meditation under the condition of enduring electric shocks. Now Enleco truly missed the previous training method, and Jerry, the only one with free time, was assigned to supervise Enleco during the training. His main responsibility was to maintain the stability of the frequency and intensity of the electric shocks. Just by observing Jerry, who used to have a poor appetite three to five days a week but now could only eat a tiny bit every day, you could imagine the effectiveness of the training.
In the ten-plus days of electric shock training, Enleco did make some gains. His mental power had increased dozens of times, reaching the level of an upper-level mage in terms of mental power alone. Chris explained that in the state of electric shocks, maintaining a meditative state and practicing for a day was equivalent to practicing continuously for three months under normal circumstances. However, when Kate tried the same method, he found that he could barely use magic. It turned out that maintaining a meditative state under electric shocks tended to disperse mental power rather than concentrate it.
Therefore, electric shock meditation not only did not benefit Enleco's original problem but also worsened it. Consequently, Chris actively proposed a change in training. However, a terrified Enleco, like a startled bird, adamantly refused.
Over the course of more than two months, during which Bertina completed her initially assigned cooking duties, though only half of the clothes were washed. Therefore, she had to continue staying. Of course, she still handled the cooking tasks. The relationship between the individuals and Mage Chris became more familiar during this period.
Enleco and Kate had wanted to ask Chris numerous questions about the magical battle that brought them many uncertainties. Finally, one day, unable to contain himself during dinner, Kate straightforwardly brought it up with Mage Chris.
"Professor Chris, I've always been puzzled. How do you cast magic? I've never seen you utter an incantation," Kate asked directly.
"I do utter incantations!" Chris replied, raising her right hand, and as usual, in a sharp voice, a fireball leaped out.
"Is that sound the incantation?" Enleco asked. In fact, he had been harboring this thought for a long time.
"Yes! If you recite an incantation at the fastest frequency, it becomes like this," Chris answered.
"So, the reason your voice sounds like that is because..." Bertina inquired.
"Something gained, something lost." For the first time since they met, Chris showed a hint of a disappointed expression.
"How do you simultaneously use four elemental magics?" Kate further inquired.
"I don't use them simultaneously. It's just that my magic-switching speed is quite fast," Chris responded.
"Can I achieve that?" Kate was always most interested in any method that could enhance his strength.
"Of course, just undergo a small surgery to split your mental power. If you want to try," Chris suggested.
"Mental power split!" Kate's face suddenly looked bizarre.
"Of course, if you don't split your mental power, how can you maintain four different meditation states, unless you have three heads like that magic wolf," Chris added.
"Your ability to consecutively cast spells is based on the same principle, right?" Enleco quickly shifted the topic away from the discussion about mental power split because he feared it might lead to talks about undergoing mental split surgery. Now he understood how Chris's "madness" came to be.
"Yes, simultaneously gathering and casting spells involves two different meditations, along with the assistance of magical instruments," Chris explained.
"You're truly a great mage, inventing such a unique magical concept," Kate exclaimed.
"It wasn't my invention. The inventor was an assistant hired by my magical teacher," Chris remarked, rolling her eyes.
Hearing this, the four trial subjects fell silent for a moment.
Finally, Bertina, who reacted first, asked, "Who is your teacher? And who is that great assistant?"
"My teacher is the mage instructor Naga. You should all have heard of him. As for that assistant, she's an extremely disgusting character," Chris expressed a deep sense of disgust.
"Great Mage Naga, I know him. So, the assistant must be Cisselia, the Grand Mage of the Montita Kingdom," Kate, being a noble, had a better understanding of interpersonal relationships.
"Not Cisselia, although she's quite annoying."
"If these magical concepts were invented by that assistant, then in any case, he should have become a fairly famous mage," Kate commented.
"That guy's biggest wish is to live an easy life, indulging in women, fine wine, and food. His favorite things are pleasure and delicacies, and he fears fame and socializing. What he detests the most is practice and discipline. His skills in deceiving and groping women surpass his proficiency in magic. Not a single female disciple of the teacher has escaped his clutches," Chris angrily disclosed, revealing all her embarrassing experiences without realizing it.
After hearing Chris's description, Bertina's face turned red, and Kate was left in shock, finding it hard to believe such a person existed. Enleco, on the other hand, had a foreboding feeling.
"What's this guy's name?" Jerry asked.
"Victor," Chris said, and just as the words left her mouth, a series of eruptions echoed through the air, with soup and food flying in all directions.
Watching the four trial subjects coughing heavily and the table of now inedible food, Chris didn't seem bothered by the premature end of dinner.
"It seems this Victor has some connection with you four," Chris said in a very gentle tone.
"No, it has nothing to do with me. Victor is just Enleco's teacher," Jerry, being a cunning businessman, accurately seized the opportunity to betray his friend.
"Yes, yes," Bertina nodded repeatedly. It seemed that her long-term priestly education couldn't resist Chris's formidable influence.
Although Kate didn't say anything, judging by his hurried escape from Enleco, it appeared that he had gained a further understanding and improvement regarding his father's lesson about "perseverance in action."
Enleco had suspected from earlier that the guy Chris mentioned might be his teacher.
Chris, despite using a very gentle tone, the fiery gleam in her eyes and the electric sparks between her fingers hinted at an imminent outburst.
"Enleco, I just remembered a surefire way to teach you magic, hehehe... hehehe." Sharp laughter tore through the air. From the laughter, everyone could tell that Chris was genuinely delighted.
But Enleco couldn't hear anymore because he had fainted at the very moment.