Chapter 29: Surging Darkness (1)

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Zhe had been living in the village called Rio for two months. During these two months, the only thing he had to do every day was practice the spell Flash Flame.
It must be said that Flash Flame was indeed Professor Hod’s proudest spell—mastering it in just two months was truly difficult.
Of course, Jiang Zhe hadn’t achieved nothing during these two months. At least his casting speed had improved significantly compared to two months ago. But compared to Professor Hod’s almost instantaneous speed, Jiang Zhe was still far behind—at least he wasn’t satisfied with himself.
However, in Professor Hod’s eyes, Jiang Zhe was already doing very well. Of course, in front of Jiang Zhe, Professor Hod obviously wouldn’t say such things…
“Too slow! At this speed, the opponent will definitely notice!”
“What is this? Flash Flame? My most proud spell becomes something like this in your hands? The speed of gathering elements isn’t fast enough! You need to be faster…”
“Yes, focus… concentrate your mind! What are you thinking about? If your opponent is a real magician, you’re dead!”
“Mm, just like this… focus, concentrate the fire element, Flash Flame! Right, good… What’s this? The speed is a bit faster, but the intensity of the flame is far too weak. I remember you should have reached yellow flame by now, right?”
“Okay, okay, take your time… Remember, the advantage of Flash Flame lies in its ability to ignore certain spatial distances. Even if the opponent is hiding behind a big tree or a boulder, as long as you can sense their location, you can still attack them!”
Behind the house, Professor Hod wore a plain robe, arms crossed, watching Jiang Zhe in the field as he cast Flash Flame over and over again, then giving his evaluations and suggestions.
This was Jiang Zhe’s only “lesson” during these two months.
Not far from them, Lavia sat on a rock with her legs crossed, staring intently at the flames that appeared repeatedly.
“Flash Flame…” murmuring this phrase, Lavia suddenly regretted choosing the path of fire magic. She could tell that the spell Professor Hod was teaching the boy was clearly a very advanced spell—and most likely Professor Hod’s strongest spell.
But sadly…

“Lavia, I’m sorry, but I don’t think Flare Magic is suitable for you. Although you have enough control and mental strength to learn it, Flare Magic isn’t an ordinary spell—it can’t unleash its full power with a single cast. Moreover, your mana reserves aren’t enough to allow you to use it more than three times. That’s why I think it’s not right for you. Compared to Thos, you know more spells than him. Besides the common ones, you also master enchantment, transformation, barriers, and so on… For a mage, it’s not enough to just know spells; one must practice and refine them constantly, keeping them firmly in mind… It’s not true that the more spells you learn, the better—it all depends on your mana reserves… So, Flare Magic isn’t suitable for you. You should choose a path that suits you better…”

“Huh!” With a hint of regret, Lavia let out a soft sigh. She glanced at the boy practicing magic in the field. Strangely, if it were in the past, she might have felt hostility because Professor Hode favored that boy more, but now…

“Idiot…” Watching the boy in the field look depressed after being scolded by Professor Hode, Lavia smiled faintly.

“Alright, Thos, now try treating me as your enemy and attack me! Go!” Professor Hode’s sudden words startled the distracted girl.

“Attack the professor?” Jiang Zhe, out of breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“What’s that expression?” Professor Hode laughed as he looked at Jiang Zhe, swaying the wide sleeves of his robe. “Come on, kid!”

“Well…” As he spoke, Jiang Zhe’s gaze locked onto Professor Hode. In his eyes, Professor Hode seemed completely unprepared.

“What are you hesitating about?” Clearly dissatisfied with Jiang Zhe’s hesitation, Professor Hode frowned. “I said, treat me as your enemy! Hurry up and attack me!” As soon as he finished speaking, the professor’s expression suddenly changed, and a faint glow flashed around him before he vanished in an instant.

“Boom!” Almost the moment Professor Hode disappeared, a burst of yellow flames erupted where he had stood. Soon after, his exasperated voice came from another direction.

“You little rascal! Trying to cheat?”

“Hehe…” Jiang Zhe smiled sheepishly. Earlier, he pretended to be hesitant, but in reality he was quietly gathering fire elements. Yet even so, Professor Hodde noticed it. In his urgency, he hastily used Flash Flame, but unfortunately, it still couldn’t keep up with the professor’s Flash magic.
“Although it was cheating, you should have understood by now,” Professor Hodde said with a smile, clearly unfazed by his apprentice’s earlier offense. “Flash Flame is a magic that’s hard to defend against, but its limitations are also obvious—namely, its speed. Without speed, Flash Flame is nothing more than a combination of fireballs and flames… Try again!”
“Yes, Professor, but…” Jiang Zhe hesitated, looking puzzled. “But Professor, at least cast some defensive magic. What if it hits me…?”
“What if it hits you?” Professor Hodde smiled slightly. “That requires you to be able to hit me first. Don’t worry—flames below the cyan level have no effect on me…”
“No effect?” Jiang Zhe clearly found it hard to understand what the professor meant.
Seeming to notice the surprise in Jiang Zhe’s eyes, Professor Hodde shook his head and said with a smile, “Enough thinking. You’ll experience all this eventually. Now… here it comes!”
“Yes, Professor!” Jiang Zhe nodded, staring intently at the professor standing not far away. Then, he slowly raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
With that crisp sound, a burst of flames erupted where the professor had stood. And just a second before the flames appeared, the professor had already disappeared.
“Hahaha, good! You hit the target perfectly, Thos. Your perception skills truly surpass ordinary people. What remains for you now is still the issue of speed. No one can help you with that. Thos, you can only rely on continuous practice and exploration, focusing your mind, strengthening your mental power, and improving your control…”
“Snap!”
“Snap!”
“Good, you’re already very skilled. What’s still lacking is more practice. Thos, there are no free lunches in this world. The more effort you put in, the more achievements you’ll gain. In the world of magic, there are no shortcuts!”
“Snap!”
“Snap!”
“What’s wrong? Why has your speed slowed down, Thos? Tired already at this level? I know what you’re thinking—you want to rest, right? It’s okay, you can say it… Hey!”
“Snap!”
“Snap!”

“Oh? No rest? Very good… But where were you aiming just now? Look carefully—I’m standing right here! Where did you hit? Concentrate! The more tired you get, the more you need to focus. As a competent magician, you must ensure every spell delivers the desired effect; otherwise, your opponent will prevent you from attacking again!”
“Slap!”
“Slap!”
“Very good… Tired, aren’t you? Have you reached your limit? Thors, let me tell you—mastering a single spell is only the most basic requirement for a magician! Hmm, very good… You can cast it at any point, but to do that, you must maintain peak mental clarity and focus… I’ve only said a few words, yet your speed has slowed down again. Faster! Even faster! Can you hear me?!”
“Yes… Yes, Professor!”
In just ten minutes, Jiang Zhe felt on the verge of collapse. The mental fatigue from depleted magic power, the nausea in his chest, and the agonizing pain that seemed to tear at his soul—all of these made sweat stream down his forehead nonstop.
All magicians knew that running out of magic power could severely damage a magician’s mental state, and in severe cases, even threaten their soul. But for Jiang Zhe, who couldn’t enter a meditative state, this was the only way out…
Yet still… he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open, relying solely on his senses to locate the professor…
“Hey!” Yet Professor Hod, looking at his apprentice, couldn’t help but show a hint of satisfaction. He had noticed that although his apprentice was trembling from exhaustion, his targeting became more accurate with each attempt, and his movements were eerily consistent, as if he were casting the spell mechanically.
“Very good…” Professor Hod murmured an approval only he could hear, then called out firmly, “That’s it, Thors. Remember this feeling. True magic doesn’t require unnecessary movements or fancy visual effects. All you need to do is defeat your opponent quickly. Magic isn’t a circus act! lethality is what matters most! No matter how much we deny it, the fundamental purpose of dark magic remains destruction! Anything without destructive power doesn’t deserve to be called dark magic! I don’t care what you plan to do with this spell in the future. Since I’ve chosen to teach you, I’ll teach you wholeheartedly, and you must learn with dedication…”

“Yes… yes, pro… professor! Huh… huh…”
About twenty yards away, Ravia hugged her legs and watched the boy on the field, observing him struggling to stay upright despite his exhaustion as he continued practicing…
“That’s the way to do it… Don’t waste your talent, Thos…” murmuring, Ravia suddenly felt a cool breeze on her face. Looking up, she saw light rain falling. After a moment’s hesitation, she softly called out, “Professor, it’s raining…”
“Hm?” Professor Hod raised his head to look at the sky and said puzzledly, “It’s just light rain. It’s fine!”
“But… but it might get worse…” As she spoke, Ravia glanced at the boy with concern, her eyes filled with hesitation and struggle.
“Huh?” Professor Hod looked at Ravia in confusion, then suddenly smiled oddly and shook his head. “You’re right! Thos, Sason wasn’t built in a day or two. Let’s take a break first…” Saying this, he looked up at the sky and frowned at the dark clouds.
“What’s wrong, Professor?” Ravia asked, having walked over to him.
“Nothing, just a vague sense of bad omens…” Professor Hod turned around and teased Jiang Zhe, who was squatting on the ground, gasping for breath. “What’s wrong, Thos? Waiting for Ravia to help you up?”
“Of course not!” Jiang Zhe stood up with a wry smile. Seeing Ravia’s worried expression, he said oddly, “What? Really going to help me?”
“Help you?” Ravia sneered twice, refusing to give him any face. “A guy like you should just die from falling!”
“I knew it…”
“Hehe!” Watching the two kids bicker, Professor Hod smiled and shook his head, then looked up at the horizon with a serious expression.
What exactly was this sense of unease in his heart?
Meanwhile, about 140 to 150 miles northeast of the Sason Imperial City, Argus and Argus BartClarkfield looked up at the cloudy sky and said calmly, “Is it here, Clark?”
“Yes, my respected master!” As soon as those words were spoken, a vague white figure slowly appeared beside Argus. In just two or three seconds, the white figure gradually took shape—a tall warrior clad in thick blue-gray knight armor.
He was Clark, Clark Simmonley, the equally mysterious servant like Argus!

“That white pigeon lies asleep in this land!”
“Oh, I see…” Argus glanced around, his expression puzzled, and hesitantly said, “If I’m not mistaken, this should be [Therand], right?”
“You’re absolutely correct, my master!” Clark bowed slightly, his voice coming through his ancient blue-gray horned helmet. “One of the most prosperous human cities hundreds of years ago—Therand!” He looked around, switched his obsidian sword from his right hand to his left, then pointed with his right hand toward the distance. “That over there must be the famous Therand Castle, but now, it’s probably just ruins…”
It indeed was ruins—at least around them, there was no sign of prosperity. Withered trees, foul-smelling river water, and scorched land—it was hard to believe such a barren place could exist in the once-fertile eastern continent.
“What a pity…” Argus shook his head with a faint smile and said softly, “Legend has it that Therand was cursed by the [Land Cursed by the God of War]. On an unknown day, the God of War became enraged and cursed all those who lived on this land, forcing them to fight each other without discernment. Everyone lost their ability to think, only wanting to kill one another… Interesting! Interesting!”
“Hmph!” Clark snorted disdainfully. “The curse of the God of War? How can such a wretch be called a god?! A god? He’s just a coward who hides in the shadows and manipulates others with words!”
“Aren’t you glad about that?” Argus smiled faintly, crouching down to touch the black soil, murmuring in a strange tone, “Gods don’t exist. All that exists are demons…” He stood up and said firmly, “Find him, Clark!”
“Yes, my master!” Clark nodded sharply and took out a black horn from his bosom, blowing into it.
“Woooo…” After a dull sound from the horn, a yellow flash streaked across the ground where they stood. Soon, a huge purple pentagram slowly appeared on the ground. In the dim purple light, a pale figure rushed out, looking around in confusion. Then another, and another…
They were… undead! Undead in the guise of soldiers!
As Argus observed them, Clark said in a low voice, “Go and find the bottle buried in this land, my soldiers!”

The countless undead soldiers nodded “woo-woo” and then darted into the ground; the hard soil posed no obstacle at all to them.
“Quite convenient, hehehe!” Argus smiled slightly.
In response to his smile, Clark said in a deep voice, “Yes, master… My army is ready to serve you at any time!”
“I know, I know,” Argus nodded slightly before shaking his head and saying softly, “But now isn’t the time… Don’t rush. I have a feeling that day will come soon, very soon… Of course, I’ll remember our agreement…”
“Thank you, master!” Clark replied in a deep voice.
It seemed there was some truth to the legend that undead knew everything—half an hour later, a group of undead emerged from the ground, one of them holding a golden bottle the size of a palm.
It was clearly a small bottle made entirely of gold, with a very simple and ancient design. If it hadn’t been made of gold, no one would have picked it up even if it had been left on the ground.
The only striking feature of the bottle was the pattern painted on it—a scene resembling a battlefield, with countless people fighting. But among them weren’t just warriors; some even fought with rakes and sticks. Their faces in the painting looked fierce and seemingly mad.
Above them, a huge white pigeon flew in the air, its eyes smiling as it watched the battle below, chirping as if mocking or amused.
“That must be it!” Clark said in a deep voice, snatching the golden bottle from the undead and presenting it to Argus.
“Hehe,” Argus glanced at the pattern on the bottle and said with a smile, “It seems like it’s not an easy opponent…”
As soon as Argus finished speaking, Clark’s deep voice came through, “Master, rest assured. This guy is a coward with little strength. He definitely won’t dare go against your wishes!”
“Good!” Argus said simply, unscrewing the bottle cap without hesitation before throwing it on the ground.
At first, the bottle showed no reaction, but after about ten seconds, it suddenly trembled, and then a rolling gray smoke began to emerge from its mouth.
“I’m out! I’m out again! Hahaha!” Hoarse voices came from the gray smoke, a sound that made one feel uneasy deep in their heart.

“That bastard… that bastard let me out? Hahaha, I’ll thank you. How about this—let me kill you with my own hands as a thank you? I think that’s a great idea, hehehe…”
“Oh? Kill me?” Argus looked up at the gray smoke in the air and smiled faintly. Then he said to Clark beside him, “This guy’s voice is even uglier than yours. Are you all like this?”
Before Clark could respond, an angry voice came from the smoke, with a giant bird’s head seemingly glaring at Argus.
“You bastard! How dare you say my voice is ugly? You! I’ll kill you and tear apart your soul…” The hoarse voice paused, and the bird’s head formed from the smoke looked at Clark doubtfully. “You… Simmonly?”
“This guy really hates it when people say his voice is ugly, even though it is indeed ugly…” Clark explained quietly to Argus. Then he raised his head and shouted, “If you don’t want to be sealed back in that little bottle, get down from there, Hampa!”
It seemed that the guy named Hampa was somewhat afraid of Clark. The smoke in the air churned, and when it settled, it took the form of an old man with white hair, who appeared kind-hearted. But his small eyes and flickering gaze ruined his good impression. Now, he was staring at Clark and Argus with those bird-like eyes, filled with suspicion.
With disgust, Clark frowned and said in a low voice, “This is my new master!”
“New… master…” Hampa looked at Clark in disbelief, then turned to Argus, fear showing in his eyes.
Seeming to notice Hampa’s fear, Argus smiled faintly and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Argus BartClarkfield, Clark’s master, and soon your master too… Of course, you can choose to refuse!” He glanced at the small golden bottle at Hampa’s feet.
“Hmph!” Beside Argus, Clark gripped his Obsidian Knight Sword and threatened, “Don’t be ungrateful!”

“Yes, yes…” Hampa nodded hurriedly, stealing a glance at Argus in the process. Sensing the terrifyingly powerful dark force emanating from this man as he spoke, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He quickly lowered his head, crouched down, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said obsequiously, “I can feel the mighty dark force within my master. It’s an honor to be able to serve him…”
“Good to know!” Clark said gloomily. It was clear he really didn’t like this guy.
“Very well!” Argus smiled slightly, stepped forward to help Hampa up, and said softly, “I believe you’ll never regret the decision you made today… Your name is Hampa?”
“Gley Hampa, ranked thirty-third…”
“Hmph!” Clark snorted discontentedly, a sound that made Hampa shudder.
“Is that so?” Argus casually shook his head at Clark, then turned to Hampa, who still had his head bowed, and said with a smile, “I have a task for you. I think only you can accomplish it…”
Hampa looked up, overwhelmed with pleasure, glanced secretly at the silent Clark, and said in a hoarse voice filled with joy, “I wonder what my master wants me to do?”
“It’s simple,” Argus said with a sinister smile, “It’s just your old specialty…”
Seeming to understand, Hampa chuckled and nodded repeatedly. “Please rest assured, master. This is exactly what I’m best at!”
“Very good!” Argus smiled and patted Hampa’s shoulder, then raised his head to gaze at the dark clouds in the sky, his expression cold.
It won’t be long before it’s our era…
An era of darkness!