leonardwarren Chapter 874: Strength Insights
Chapter 874: Strength Insights
Chapter 874: Strength Insights
After parting ways with Marylou, Sein and Reina spent another two years walking around Snow Spirit World before finally deciding to leave the medium-sized plane.
Marylou had been right—after visiting the greatest mountain range in Snow Spirit World, there was little point in exploring the other regions.
Snow Spirit World was a unique plane, blanketed in perpetual snow and devoid of both sun and moon.
Thick cumulus clouds shrouded the sky, blocking the light of nearby stars from reaching this world’s inhabitants.
Through the dense gray snow clouds, Sein and Reina could only catch the faint, hazy outline of a star above.
Without this layer of cumulus clouds, it would become apparent that this medium-sized world had only a single sun, much like the Magus World.
Only during the polar night phenomenon at the poles of Snow Spirit World did the gravitational forces of the plane spread the clouds apart, creating gaps that revealed the vast brilliance of the Astral Realm to its inhabitants.
Marylou was a Rank Two witch, the kind of mage Sein found easy to get along with.
Sein had met many mages during his time at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, but only a handful could truly be called his friends.
Though his time with Marylou had lasted just a few years, her vast knowledge and sharp insights as a spellcaster had left a deep impression on him.
Of course, another reason for his admiration was that Marylou, like him, belonged to the younger generation of mages.
Sein had not asked her age outright but his extensive understanding of the human anatomy, honed through countless body-tempering experiments, gave him the ability to deduce someone’s age.
By observing subtle details such as her eyes, skin, and nails, Sein was confident that she was less than a thousand years old.
The only flaw, if it could be called that, was Marylou’s noticeably gray hair.
Despite her relative youth, she had a surprising number of silver strands in her aquamarine hair. Fortunately, the pale color of her original hair made the gray less noticeable.
The source of Marylou’s gray hair was undoubtedly her practice of astrology.
The Astral Plane maintained a perfect balance, and the mages of the Magus World believed in the laws of energy and matter conservation.
No matter how one viewed it, the ability to glimpse the future was an extraordinary, almost heaven-defying power.
Yet, as with all things in the Magus World, such power came with a price.
For astrologers, the ability to grasp the trajectories of the future demanded a steep toll.
Marylou’s gray hairs were the price she paid for years of researching and practicing astrology.
The most common consequence of practicing astrology was a reduction in lifespan.
This was why astrologers in the Magus World seldom used their abilities without significant cause.@@@@
Even when approached with requests or pleas, their fees were notoriously exorbitant.
For these mages, it was truly a matter of trading their lives for wealth.
As for Marylou’s “extortion” before their departure, Sein eventually relented and offered her a potion with a wry smile.
In Lorianne’s world laboratory, Sein had never seen a creature quite like the Azure-Eyed Fairies.
Thus, he believed these fairies would be a valuable addition to her laboratory.
While Sein immersed himself in exploring foreign planes, Reina directed her focus toward the knight orders within the Ylli Knight Alliance’s territory.
Mages pursued truths within laboratories and strengthened themselves at experimental tables.
In contrast, knights in the Magus World typically honed their abilities through combat—endless combat!
The Ylli Knight Alliance, one of the most renowned sanctuaries for knights in the Magus World, was a place where martial prowess was revered above all else.
Here, not only the major knightly orders but even ordinary human kingdoms regularly held ring battles, arena duels, challenge matches, and the like.
Traveling alongside Sein, Reina practically fought her way through the Ylli Knight Alliance.
While Sein immersed himself in his experiments, Reina ventured into the arenas to warm up her body.
This purely martial pursuit was not without its dangers. After all, exceptional talent could never be cultivated in a sheltered environment.
Each year, the Ylli Knight Alliance saw many excellent ranked knights lose their lives in fair challenges or duels.
Such deaths or injuries were considered normal under the protection of laws. As long as there was no foul play or intentional murder, neither the major knightly orders nor the divine towers intervened.
With her strength and resilience, Reina dominated most of her matches against knights of the same rank, winning battle after battle.
However, she also suffered two surprising defeats!
The Magus World was indeed vast and brimming with countless geniuses.
Sein had the chance to witness one of these rare losses, while the other occurred while he was preoccupied with an experiment.
The knight who defeated Reina was an eccentric man clad in pitch-black heavy armor that concealed even his eyes.
Though he was also a Rank Two knight, the power he and Reina exhibited during their battle was on par with Rank Three beings!
That clash was nothing short of a spectacular showcase of peak Rank Two knightly prowess in the Magus World.
Even Rank Three Sky Knights observing the fight were astounded by the ferocity and destructive force displayed by the two combatants.
To put it bluntly, some of those Sky Knights might not have been capable of achieving the same level of devastation as Reina and her opponent.
The mages responsible for maintaining the arena’s energy barrier had underestimated the strength of the combatants. As a result, the barrier was shattered under the force of their blows.
Fortunately, the overflow of battle qi did not cause significant harm to the spectators or damage to the surrounding area.
Otherwise, the arena organizers would have faced severe consequences.
While Sein unraveled the mysteries of truth, Reina was also reaping the fruits of her labor.
The lessons she gained, especially from her two defeats, were far more profound than the strength insights she had obtained from participating in interplanar wars.