Chapter 28: Flashes of Flame (II)

Breaking that shackle…
The shackle that had bound countless magicians…
Could that child do it?
With a soft sigh, Professor Hodde lay on the sofa in the hall, gazing blankly at the ceiling.
After a long while, Professor Hodde slowly stood up, walked over to the closet in the hall, and hesitantly placed his hand against it. A faint light flashed, and gradually, a set of drawers appeared on the closet.
Professor Hodde slowly pulled out the drawer. There was nothing inside except for a seemingly very old notebook…
The notebook, wrapped in thick, waterproof cowhide with simple patterns and slightly yellowed parchment, indicated it had a hidden history.
Hesitantly, Professor Hodde flipped through the notebook. On the left side of the pages, a row of words was scribbled diagonally.
“To my disciple Hodde Kendy, Barrett.”
“Hah!” As if recalling something interesting, Professor Hodde gently touched the handwriting on the notebook, shook his head slowly, and sighed, “I’m sorry to disappoint you, mentor…”
After another soft sigh, Professor Hodde continued to flip through the notebook. Though he already knew by heart the magical knowledge and techniques recorded within it.
Mentor Barrett…
Professor Hodde seemed to see again that noble guest who changed his life—Mentor Barrett…
It was on a snowy day. He wore a brown coat and a ridiculous traveling hat, with deep-set eyes and sparse stubble…
“Do you really want to teach me magic?”
“Well… consider it payment for your father’s barrel of apple cider. Tell me, what magic do you want to learn?”
“I… I want to learn the most powerful magic!”
“Haha, little Kendy, there’s no such thing as the most powerful magic in the world of magic!”
“Liar! What about forbidden spells?”
“Huh? You know about forbidden spells? Where did you hear about them?”
“It’s… it’s from your notebook. I… I stole it while you were drunk…”
“Heh! That’s not something you should do…”
“I’m sorry…”
“Hahaha, don’t be afraid. Look up, little Kendy. Heh, it’s good to be eager to learn. Well… how about becoming my disciple?”
“I… I’m just the son of a commoner, and… and…”
“And you’re bullied by the kids in the village? Is that it?”
“…”
“Hah, then do you hate them?”
“I… I don’t know…”

“You’re honest, child! But if you want to be my apprentice, don’t harbor resentment toward them… There’s only a limited capacity in the human heart. If your heart is filled with anger, where will there be room for magic?”
“I… if you’d let me borrow that notebook with all those amazing spells in it, I… I wouldn’t hate them…”
“Ha, you little rascal! Want to see that notebook? You’re still too early! Enough, stop looking so unhappy. When the time comes, I’ll give it to you, little Kandy, but it’s too early for you now… Don’t worry. It might be ten years, or twenty years—who knows? Maybe you’ll go further than I will…”
“Go? Where, Master?”
“To find something…”
“What is it?”
“The true essence of magic!”
“The true essence of magic?”
“Yes. Those fools think my theories are wrong. They don’t understand at all! Right, they won’t understand. Those fools just use magic blindly; they don’t grasp its true nature! Incantations, gestures, tools—all of these can be ignored, discarded. I want to prove to those fools that we know too little about magic. There must be more we don’t know…”
“What’s wrong, Barrett…”
“Call me Master, you little rascal! Enough, stop thinking about those annoying things. Alright, little one, I’ll teach you a spell, and then you practice hard. Oh, and don’t disturb me while I’m researching!”
“Weren’t you going to teach me a spell?”
“Aren’t I teaching you now?”
“Okay…”
…
“Master, I… I cast a fireball!”
“Oh, I see!”
“…Won’t you praise me a bit?”
“Praise you? Oh, right, right. Truly amazing, little Kandy. You learned meditation in just a month and even managed to cast a fireball…”
“It was twenty-two days! And I learned meditation a long time ago!”
“Oh, is that so? Right, right… Ahem, see, the Master is at the most critical stage of his research. If disturbed…”
“Oh…”
…
“Are you leaving, Master? Isn’t your research not yet complete?”
“Ah! It’s because I’m one of the Royal Magi. There’s nothing I can do. King Sassen has issued a call for Royal Magi…”
“A call for them?”

“Yes, the empire is going to attack Thessalonica. As a member of the Royal Magicians… well, there’s no choice. If I don’t join, I won’t have enough funds for research, but if I do, I lose my freedom…”
“And your research…?”
“I can talk about it only when I return—of course, if I can return at all…”
“Mentor…”
“Hahaha, what’s that expression of yours! Of course I’ll return, oh, right, I left you a gift in your room, under the pillow. Go get it! Well… I’m off now. Delaying the deadline isn’t fun at all…”
“Mentor…”
“You’re a man now, little Kandy. Hahaha, I’m leaving!”
“Take care, mentor…”
“Mm!”
…
“Boom! Boom!” A loud noise from not far outside interrupted Professor Hod’s memories.
Professor Hod glanced helplessly at the door, sighed deeply, then shook his head. He carefully closed his notes and put them back in the drawer. With a gentle wave of his right hand, the drawer disappeared back into the closet, as if it had never existed.
“Boom! Boom!” The noises outside continued. Professor Hod shook his head and said helplessly, “That reckless brat better not set the house on fire…” Then, as if remembering something, a smile appeared on his face.
“That brat… huh, he wants to go further than I have, Thos! Break those shackles, step through that gate, and prove that the path we’ve taken is the right one!”
Meanwhile, in the open space behind the house, the brat in Professor Hod’s words—Jiang Zhe—was practicing, sweating profusely.
[Flame Flash]—only after truly understanding this magic did Jiang Zhe realize just how powerful it was.
This seemingly ordinary magic wasn’t actually a pure spell; it was a combination of multiple magical techniques, making it extremely difficult to master.
After all, mastery didn’t mean just being able to cast it. Its advantage lay in low consumption and high damage. But this high damage was only in comparison to fireballs. As for sheer lethality, many level-four spells were likely stronger than it, not to mention level-five and level-six spells.
Yet [Flame Flash] had one very special feature: it had no spatial [damage range].

Whenever magic is cast, from the caster initiating the spell to the target suffering damage, there is always a certain time interval—just like fireballs or water arrows. Generally, most green magic cannot ignore spatial distance; only spells such as illusions or curses possess the ability to do so. In fact, “damage range” is also an important indicator for measuring a spell’s level. Maintaining a certain distance from the opponent to ensure safety is something every magician knows well, and of course, they do just that. I doubt there’s any magician who would foolishly run into a knight’s attack range. With similar strengths, the key to why magicians can consistently defeat knights lies in distance! In battles between magicians, distance is like a double-edged sword—just like a mirror: you can see them, and they can see you; you can attack them, and they can attack you as well—it’s all relative. Why are curses and illusions so difficult to defend against? It’s because these spells can ignore spatial distance when being cast, with some advanced curses requiring only an instant pause. Generally, green magic cannot ignore spatial distance; only mental spells can achieve this. However, the spell [Flame Flash] completely overturns our established understanding of magic. Imagine this: when your opponent uses a fireball or similar spell against you, and as he eagerly waits for it to hit you, suddenly a burst of flame erupts from his own body—what a sight that would be! Or imagine your opponent confidently activates a shield to withstand your flames, only for your flames to explode right inside that shield—what a scene that would be! As long as you have sufficient mental strength and a wide enough [perception range] and [aura range], shields are completely useless against your flames! The same goes for barriers—except, of course, for fire that can absorb barriers. This difficulty in defense is what makes [Flame Flash] such a terrifying spell! Moreover, we know that fireballs can be cast multiple times because their cost is very low. I doubt there’s any magician with enough mental strength to cast forbidden spells repeatedly; even in the hundreds of years of magical history, no such astonishing feat has ever been recorded.

The spell [Flame Flash] belongs to the low-consumption category—it requires at most the mana cost of a third-level spell but can deliver the base damage of a fourth-level spell. It doesn’t consume too much mental energy, meaning it can be cast multiple times, just as Professor Hodde demonstrated to Jiang Zhe.
However, compared to lower-level spells like Fireball, the casting speed of [Flame Flash] might make most mages sigh in frustration, as it’s far too slow…
Yes, you read that right—it’s really slow!
Take Jiang Zhe, for example. It takes him almost thirty seconds to fully cast this spell, which is its drawback, as it’s merely a combination of several magical techniques without any incantations. Compared to Jiang Zhe’s two and a half seconds to cast Fireball using incantations, [Flame Flash] is incredibly slow…
But I guess Jiang Zhe understands what “practice makes perfect” means, without me having to say it!
Professor Hodde casts [Flame Flash] in just an instant, and its power far exceeds Jiang Zhe’s!
So what’s left to say? Practice!
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The open space behind Professor Hodde’s house was hardly quiet all day long.
“Snap! Snap! Snap!”
“Snap! Snap! Snap!”
Louder than his rapid breathing were Jiang Zhe’s snapping fingers, which he did repeatedly. It wasn’t for show—it helped him focus quickly, especially when his mental energy was scattered due to mana depletion.
“Huh!” About ten yards away from Jiang Zhe, Allen sat on a giant rock, chin in hand, watching his roommate with irritation. “I thought something had happened… Hey, did he get some kind of shock?” He then turned to look at Scott, who was intently flipping through magic manuals under a tree.
“Hmph!” Scott snorted lightly and pushed up his glasses.
Obviously, Scott’s gloominess made Allen feel uncomfortable. He twisted uncomfortably, suddenly stood up, and said irritably, “Okay, okay, training, training. We can’t let him leave us behind, can we?” With that, he headed back to the house, holding his head in both hands. Soon, he returned with his large knight’s sword, tapping Scott’s shoulder provocatively with the hilt and laughing, “Practice? Buddy?”
“Oh?” Scott slowly raised his head. The reflection in his glasses carried a hint of danger, scaring Allen into stepping back quickly. He hurriedly said, “No, no, just a friendly spar, just a spar…”

“Hmph!” Scott let out a soft snort, glancing at Jiang Zhe, who was sweating profusely in the distance. After hesitating for a moment, he stood up, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and said indifferently, “Alright, I’ll play along with you…”
“Hey!” Allen pouted in dissatisfaction, then suddenly felt as if his whole body was restrained. He widened his eyes and said, “Hey? Is it already starting?”
Scott pushed up his glasses and pointed at Allen with his right hand. A spell was softly recited, and Allen was immediately entangled by black thread-like objects.
“Hmph! Can you really say to your opponent, ‘I’m not ready yet?’”
“That’s true!” Allen chuckled, then took a deep breath. A faint red light flashed across his body, and the black threads restraining him instantly broke apart and disappeared.
What strange power!
Muttering to himself, Scott quickly stepped back a few steps and pointed at Allen again.
[Curse: Restriction]
[Curse: Slowness]
[Curse: Blindness]
[Curse: Loss of Strength]
“Hey, that’s too unfair, man!” Allen wandered around like a blind man, voicing his dissatisfaction toward Scott.
Hmph! Scott smiled faintly. Suddenly, as if sensing something, his expression turned serious, and he stepped back several steps. A deep groove, as thick as a finger, appeared on the snow where he had been standing.
“Hehe, it seems you’ve forgotten something, buddy. The one standing in front of you isn’t just a knight who can only deal close-range damage—it’s a battle mage…” As he spoke, Allen swung his massive sword violently. With a whooshing sound, a visible wave, like a moon blade, shot out from his sword.
“Whoosh!”
The sharp energy, as sharp as a wind blade, left behind grooves as thick as fingers on the snow along its path, causing snowflakes to fly everywhere.
“What’s this?” Scott was clearly surprised.
“A slashing attack!” Allen said confidently, holding his large knight’s sword and laughing. “I heard that powerful knights can use their strength to deliver slashes as sharp as wind blades. Well, I gave it a try. Hehe, if it can be done with strength, it’s nothing for me!”
“Oh? What an unmodest statement…” Scott smiled while pushing up his glasses, then said indifferently, “But it’s surprising that you were able to find my location under these circumstances…”
“Hey, that’s why I say—the one standing in front of you isn’t a knight, but a future battle mage!” Still affected by blindness, Allen kept his eyes closed, but his right hand pointed precisely at Scott.

“The methods used against knights won’t work on mages, buddy. I can clearly ‘see’ you!”
“…” Scott was stunned for a moment before shaking his head and saying, “Yeah, I almost forgot. I’m not treating you like an ordinary knight… That’s what makes it interesting!” With that, he bent down, carefully placed his magic book under the tree with his left hand, adjusted his glasses, and said, “Come on!”
“Bang! Bang!”
“Hey! Buddy, it’s my turn to win once!” As he spoke, Allen swung his broadsword fiercely across the ground, the force being so strong that it made the weeds bend tightly against the soil.
“Pfft! Pfft!”
“Dream on!” A black aura, like black lightning, enveloped Scott’s hands. The tree trunks hit by this lightning-like black aura turned withered and yellow in an instant.
[Curse: Aging]
“Hey, why use such a dangerous curse on me?”
“I believe you won’t die!”
“Can you stop believing that so much? Hey, are you coming again?! If you do, I won’t hold back… I… Thors, switch someone else!”
“Hah?” Jiang Zhe, who was practicing Flame Flash not far away, shook his numb right hand and watched Allen scrambling around as chased by Scott, saying jokingly, “Don’t think I didn’t hear you, Allen. You started it first. Now, deal with the consequences!”
“Hey, you’re really unfair… Hey! Are you still using [Enhanced Damage]? Do you know it hurts a lot to get hit like this… Ugh…”
“Hehe.” Hearing Allen’s cries, Jiang Zhe let out a deep sigh, then glanced down at his right hand, which kept trembling due to prolongedmagic power depletion.
“Thors!” With a series of crackling sounds, several girls appeared before Jiang Zhe’s eyes.
“Allen!” Lisa looked around and finally spotted Allen jumping around.
Seemingly hearing Lisa’s call, Allen swung a powerful strike that scattered Scott’s black lightning-like energy.
“Hey, buddy, leave some dignity for me!”
“Sure!” Scott smiled, but his attacks remained fierce, leaving the momentarily relaxed Allen in a flurry.
“Hey, you…”
Interrupting Allen, Scott frowned and sneered, “Next time you face an opponent, do you also plan to say, ‘Hey, leave some dignity for me, or should I just kill you?’?”

“…If the other person is willing, I don’t mind!”
“Hmph!”
“Hey, come on, stop it—someone might really die…”
But Scott eventually stopped, realizing that at some point, Lelira had already stood not far behind him.
“S-sorry…I distracted you…”
“…” Turning to look at Lelira inexplicably, Scott suddenly lost interest. Pushing up his glasses, he said indifferently, “It’s fine. I was just playing around with him anyway…”
“Playing around with [Aging]?” Allen muttered with a frown. “Next time, you’ll need to use a magic sword. Let’s see how you handle that…”
Meanwhile, Dia and Ravia also approached Jiang Zhe.
“Magic can’t be mastered in just a day or two, Sos…” Dia said gently as she handed him a clean white towel.
“Thank you!” Jiang Zhe bowed slightly and took the towel to wipe his face.
“Take a break, Sos. Professor Hod is preparing lunch. I think it will be ready in about twenty minutes. Rest for a while…”
As soon as Dia finished speaking, Ravia glanced at Jiang Zhe, who was sweating profusely, and said with a complex expression, “Practicing that magic all morning? Just at an apprentice level of mana reserves… What an terrifying recovery speed… If only I had your talent…”
“Enough, enough,” Jiang Zhe said impatiently, waving his hand. “All these ‘what ifs’—don’t you get tired of playing these tricks every day?”
“You…” Seems embarrassed by being exposed, Ravia’s cheeks turned slightly red as she stammered, “W-what tricks? It’s so unfair that you, a mediocre guy like you, have such enviable talent! Do whatever you want—I just… I…”
“Really?”
“I… Of course! If it weren’t for the professor, I wouldn’t bother urging you! Don’t forget, you’re my future enemy… my future rival!”
“Oh oh…” Jiang Zhe nodded as if suddenly understanding.
“You!”
“Alright, alright,” Jiang Zhe shook his head and handed the towel back to Dia. He said to Ravia irritably, “There are still twenty minutes, right?”
Seemingly understanding the implication in Jiang Zhe’s words, the anger in Ravia’s eyes instantly turned into satisfaction.
“If practicing alone feels boring, then let me be your opponent…” As she spoke, ripples appeared beneath Ravia’s feet.
“The Flame Flash spell is very dangerous…”

“Idiot! Of course I’ll use the Fire Absorption Barrier! Come on, stop talking!”
“Ah, okay. Don’t blame me if you get hurt…”
“Who… who would blame you?”
Meanwhile, Argus stood at the gates of the Sasan Empire’s palace, tilting his head and smiling wickedly in that direction.
“What are you doing here? Are you going to get in or not?” Apparently because Argus had been standing there for too long, a guard approached with suspicion in his eyes.
“Oh, sorry, sorry. I’ll go in now…” Argus apologized repeatedly, wrapped in his coat.
“Hmph!” The guard frowned, glanced at Argus’s thin coat, and snorted with disgust and contempt.
“Ignorant humans…” After entering the city, Argus turned back and gave the guard a casual glance, a faint smile on his lips.
Finally…
It’s finally starting!