The origami spirit, now with its own name, happily fluttered around Lance. It still couldn’t express itself through facial expressions, but with limbs filled with magic, it wobbled and twisted, using this movement to express its joy.
“But—” Lance’s suddenly elongated tone caused Star to freeze mid-air.
“Master?” The spirit noticed the change, and even its voice became soft.
“You cannot tell Mira that you have a name,” Lance instructed.
Star suddenly drooped. The joy from moments ago was gone, and the paper-folded legs and feet hung limply, weak and pitiful.
It had been planning to tell Mira the next time she came, that it now had a name.
But the master said not to tell her.
Lance withdrew his gaze from the origami spirit. It was good that he had remembered to specifically remind Star. If it told Mira it had a name, the clever and quick-witted girl would immediately realize that Lance had been back here.
In this tower, there were only him and Mira.
“Did you remember?” Lance reminded again. “You absolutely cannot tell Mira.”
“Yes, Master,” Star replied weakly, still floating in the air with a limp posture.
Lance felt the magic supporting his legs was about to dissipate. He nodded in satisfaction, taking a few quick steps toward the Moon Gate. As he gazed at the azure “pool,” he remembered something.
He turned to Star: “I’ve given you new energy, enough to support you to move freely in the tower. Star, go to the top of the tower and see the status of the lightning chamber in the living room.”
Star took note of Lance’s words.
“Be careful,” Lance added. “These magical corridors connect different planes in the tower. If you fall into one by mistake, it could be troublesome.”
…
When Mira lifted the curtain, she saw Lance struggling to dress.
The clothes were made by him using magic. It was a loose robe that covered his body but didn’t completely conceal the wound.
He lowered his head and, with his hands behind his back, tried to tie the straps at the back.
Due to his lack of mobility, his movements were quite clumsy.
Mira watched for a while but couldn’t stand it any longer.
She walked over: “Let me help you.”
Lance didn’t refuse. He turned around, and Mira quickly tied the straps for him. Since she only knew how to tie a bow, Lance’s back was soon covered with several butterfly knots.
“I’m going to the foot of the mountain today,” Mira said while tying the bow.
“You want me to use teleportation?” Lance immediately understood her intention.
Mira grinned: “If it’s too much trouble, you can leave it to me.” With her newfound powerful medium, she no longer needed to worry about being unable to cast spells.
The blue dragon sighed silently.
“Alright,” he said. “Take out the medium.”
Mira obediently took out a scale.
“Teleportation is a spatial magic, and it’s one of the more difficult high-level spells,” Lance began explaining this long-forgotten spell to Mira.
“The result of this spell is to transport the caster from one place to another. It looks simple, right?”
Mira nodded. She had walked through the teleportation gate herself, and honestly, it felt just like walking through one door and coming out the other.
“Teleportation is a spell where the caster connects a straight line in space with energy,” Mira said, trying to describe the feeling. “Is that right?”
“It’s a line segment,” Lance corrected.
“The two teleportation gates at the start and end points are the endpoints of the line segment?” Mira quickly understood. “So first, we determine the two endpoints, and then connect them.”
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“Correct.” Lance placed the medium in Mira’s palm. “This is a composite spell. Mira, tell me, what spells do you think make it up? You can guess freely, but give me your reasoning.”
Mira closed her eyes, imagining it in her mind.
“Observation spell? Since it’s a line segment, we definitely need to know the position of the endpoint. The observation spell can help us determine the distant location, which can prevent us from landing in a cliff or a river.”
Lance was very satisfied with Mira’s answer; that was indeed one of the components. “That’s one.”
Mira opened her eyes. “There should also be a spell for connecting the line, but I can’t think of which one. The part of this spell that’s been lost is probably why we can’t cast teleportation, right?”
“Spatial Composition Magic,” Lance answered, clearing her confusion. He continued, “This spell itself has three tiers of composition magic and is used for creating small items like storage bags.” His gaze fell on the ring on Mira’s finger.
“That’s it.”
“This spell is still in use,” Mira said, somewhat puzzled. “The middle and high-level ones are the key, right?”
“Middle-level magic is usually used to construct teleportation gates, while high-level spatial connection magic is the core magic used to create towers.”
As Lance explained, Mira suddenly understood why her mentor, Karl, had failed to challenge the Tower Mage.
He probably didn’t know teleportation magic.
“Determine the endpoints, connect the line segments, and that’s it, right?” Mira asked, eager to try.
“No,” Lance shook his head calmly. “There’s one more important point, the key to this spell.”
Mira froze. No wonder Lance had said this was a complex composite spell. In her understanding, even double-spell combinations were already very difficult. And now, Lance was saying there was an even more crucial element.
She fell silent, pondering his words.
“Is it another lost spell?” If it was a lost spell, she probably wouldn’t know about it, right?
“It’s a very common spell,” Lance hinted.
Common, yet crucial. Mira recalled her experiences traveling through space.
She entered the teleportation gate, stepped in, and stepped out in a very short time. Because space was compressed, the energy within must have been under extremely high pressure.
“It’s a protective spell,” Mira thought of the answer. “Very common. But its level is high, or perhaps the powerful medium filters out any potentially harmful compressed energy.”
Lance smiled in satisfaction.
“So that’s why you said I needed a powerful medium.”
“If it’s suitable, I’d prefer your protective spell, created by your magic, to be strong enough.” Lance extended his hand.
“Give me your hand.”
Mira looked at his palm. For a brief moment, she noticed that his palm lines were faint, but his life line was unusually long.
But this wasn’t the time for such thoughts.
She gently placed her hand on Lance’s.
“I’ll help you feel it,” he said. “Afterward, you’ll need to try it on your own, but don’t step into the teleportation gate you create.”
Mira nodded repeatedly. She understood. After all, she was still a beginner. If something went wrong, she might be squeezed into a pulp by space.
Mira’s hand felt soft. There were thin calluses on her knuckles, a mark left by her life as a magic apprentice.
Lance was different. His human form resembled a pampered nobleman. His skin was soft, like it could be pinched and water would come out, but his body was full of strong muscles.
Mira’s confusion didn’t last long, as she was soon distracted by the magical fluctuations emanating from his body.
“Try to control the energy and keep up with me,” the blue dragon said. “Remember to filter with the medium.”
Mira nodded and quickly focused, moving in sync with the changes in Lance’s magic.
She held his hand, feeling the magic they were both channeling as their simple movements merged together.
Joint casting.
Mira recalled a term she had seen in her books. This was probably it, right? Only casters with a very high energy compatibility could maintain this kind of casting state with their partner.
Though, it was also possible that Lance’s energy was guiding hers. After all, he was stronger.
“Concentrate,” Lance reminded her.
Mira had no choice but to put more attention into controlling the magic.
She felt the spell’s combination, and Lance’s chosen endpoint was the same alley as last time, though the process of connecting the endpoints was now more led by Mira.
This was magic she had never cast before. Lance patiently guided her as Mira controlled the energy through the medium, matching his pace, blending together slowly, weaving a passage that connected the start and end points.
“Protective spell.” Once the passage was constructed, Mira quickly focused her attention on herself and recited the incantation for the protective spell. She had cast this spell many times, and it was impossible for her to make a mistake.
Just as the soft energy wrapped around both of their bodies, for a brief moment, Mira saw the great dragon soaring through the clouds.
“Mira, stop!” Lance immediately sensed something was wrong.
The energy was changing, like the transformation of magical bread. This spell, only usable with scales, had also undergone a change.
Suddenly, everything went dark.
Shouts, cries, and the sound of running footsteps.
Mira opened her eyes again. She was now in the small town at the foot of the mountain, with Lance collapsed beside her.
His legs were injured, and he couldn’t stand up.
“Lance?” Mira called his name and saw the blue dragon slowly open his eyes.
He furrowed his brow, surveying his surroundings.
They had been transported to the other side.
“Are you okay?” Mira realized the unexpected situation, and now the more important thing was Lance’s condition.
He was hurt.
“I’m fine.” Lance propped himself up, trying to stand, but Mira hurried to help him.
“Wait, there’s another one.” The shouting and footsteps approached them.
Mira felt Lance’s muscles suddenly tense.
He narrowed his eyes, sizing up the two soldiers who ran in.
“There’s a stray here. Grab him!” one soldier shouted.
“Wait,” the other one stopped his comrade, his gaze falling on Lance’s legs. “It’s a cripple,” he said. “They don’t keep cripples.”
The two soldiers looked him over, confirming that Lance’s legs were indeed injured.
“Let’s go. We’re done here. Looks like he’s strong, but he’s a cripple.”
Mira heard their words and felt something was wrong.
She quietly cast a detection spell and followed behind the soldiers.
A plundering was happening in the streets, but they weren’t stealing money or food. They were capturing the young and able-bodied men from the town.
Many young men were tied up, their mouths covered, and thrown onto carts.
Mira saw Elin.
The one she had shocked before. The descendant of a hero.