Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 833 - 774: Constructing the World

The crushing defeat of his arrogant magic, and the rebellion of a student he valued, was not a blow that could be easily ignored. Despite the scholar’s calm demeanor at present, like an ancient well without ripples, Kristo could sense the depression buried deep within. Maybe he should say something to comfort him, to express his concern as a student.

"At least you’ve taught him well." Too well, in fact, so well that he could beat his own master, "You’ve fulfilled the responsibility of a teacher... So has your relationship been tense all along, even turning into opposition between societies? I’ve heard similar rumors from the Andrey News..."

"Actually, some steps were skipped." The scholar, who was peeling back his own wounds, seemed very open about it. He didn’t mind using his painful experiences as temporary teaching material to let Kristo understand something more.

"After defeating me, Apocalypse articulated his concept to me very proudly: Oblivion, and many more pieces of knowledge about what’s beyond the sky that I had never touched upon. Our relationship was like a reversal, he became the mentor of Advanced Magic, filling in the gaps in my knowledge of astronomy. I could see that he was longing for my approval, approval of his efforts, approval of the concept behind him."

"Let me guess, he was disappointed, otherwise you would maintain a more friendly relationship." Kristo sat on the edge of the Magic Well, waving his arms to let the water droplets of condensed magic dance in the air.

"I cannot endorse the proxy’s methods. I will not approve of my student entrusting everything to a concept whose origin he cannot find. He voluntarily became a puppet of a set of rules, even though his ’master’ has no brain in the literal sense. A powerful force that governs you will switch to another proxy with the disparity in knowledge. I taught them to be masters of power, yet they cower and kneel for stronger power. Posuwa’s fate has proven my point, and his stubbornness... as hard as his fists."

"If it were me, I wouldn’t heed the teachings of a loser either. Senior Apocalypse is as stubborn as you, a traditional old mage. You are my teacher. I can only see your discord as inevitable, just like the conflict between father and son."

"I indeed cannot counteract the power of the concept, but someone has. I thought my fight with Raymond would make him realize his errors. Mr. Raymond certainly took on the responsibility of the ceiling, making the high jumper knock his head." Kristo thought he had heard wrong; he detected a hint of schadenfreude in the scholar’s tone.

The disciple of Dragon Priest also lost to Holy Light, with the justice of Holy Light pounding Advanced Physics.

The scholar’s tone grew low again, "Despite his victory, Apocalypse continues to be willful, which makes me somewhat disheartened. The subsequent series of teachings made me realize that there is a lack in my educational approach. My students, all of them have deviated from my expectations."

"Is it a deviation for the better, or for the worse?"

"What do you think, is the example of Apocalypse good or bad?"

"It’s hard to describe."

The scholar chuckled with a tone of complaint as he introduced his students one by one, the most outstanding batch.

"The next apprentice after Apocalypse was Mirror. He had a natural sense of inferiority. I encouraged him to learn more from his excellent seniors, and then, he became Mirror—a genius’s clone, an outstanding imitator. He hid himself behind the mask of mimicry."

"I taught the Law that one should follow rules with actions matching knowledge. He created Decree Magic Spells, making everyone obey the rules he established, but he exploited loopholes, becoming a lawbreaker as a lawmaker. As an enforcer, his bias was harmful to his growth."

"Next, Miracle, whose talents aren’t actually outstanding. When I realized he was eyeing those external forces, I warned him that all power comes with a price. I thought I could help him establish correct values, but instead, he started making deceitful agreements with various Demon Gods, stealing power through tricks to avoid the consequences. It has to be said, in terms of letting me down, he’s indeed a miracle."

"Inspiration... he was a contemporary of Miracle. While I was dealing with the mess Miracle created, I didn’t pay much attention to him. I’m not even sure if anything I taught actually helped him. There’s not a trace of me in his casting methods, he is a student who baffles me."

"Plague doctor Lyle, oh my goodness, he is the child of an accident; I shouldn’t demand too much. You don’t need me to introduce him, you probably have a deep understanding. His talent is the result of being out of control."

"Finally, there’s you, Kristo..."

Blue Dragon subconsciously raised its head, gazing straight at the teacher.

"You’ve executed everything I entrusted to you wonderfully, becoming a node of the magic network like me, becoming an Arcanist. If I’d met you before Apocalypse, I would have been extremely grateful for your appearance. But after these students, do you understand that feeling? Your normalcy feels abnormal. I was always ready for you to cause me trouble, and now, I feel a kind of pathological loss."

Kristo laughed, rubbing his somewhat stiff neck.

"I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you too, teacher, I don’t like causing trouble."

"I hope so." The scholar loosened his grip on the staff, joining Kristo as their consciousnesses plunged into the magic network, "You have already gained the recognition of the magic network, now you need to learn how to become a manager of the magic network, that is, a World Builder."

In the magic network where consciousness converged, Kristo "sensed" the scholar’s movements, as if feeling his own automated body.

"My clever student, what can you discern in these tributaries of the magic network?"

"Of course, the flow of magic power follows the direction of mountain ranges, river currents; magic accumulates in the basins and radiates upon the hills. The magic network you’ve set up carries a sense of harmony that blends with nature. If the magic network were a painting, then you are certainly the finest painter."

Scholars denied the Blue Dragon’s flattery, but he was in a good mood.

"No, it’s not that I used the magic network to delineate the mountains and seas, but rather the other way around. Tectonic movement, river diversion, vegetation growth and decline, animal migration. This planet is alive, it changes its geography according to the energy of the magic network, choosing the shape best irrigated by the magic network. The magic network is like the nerves of this planet, able to guide its bodily movements."

"You mean, we can..."

"Command the wind and summon the rain, raise the sea bed, smooth the rugged terrain; the landscape of this world is guided and changed by our magic network, you can control the transformation of every mountain and river, as easily as maneuvering each cloud. We are World Builders, we have the ability to coordinate this world. Once you have mastered these powers, you don’t need a Magic Well; you could easily change the terrain anytime, as if you were in your own Mage Tower."

"Such great power..." The Blue Dragon was a bit excited, a familiar feeling surging within him, "It’s like having admin permissions in a dream game, so similar."

"But what you manage is reality. Changing climates, altering landscapes, giving sunshine and rain or storms and floods, if you wish, you can even draw down meteorites from the sky, unleashing celestial fire. You have great power, but also heavy responsibility. You must be careful with every change you make, as countless lives will be affected by your actions."

Kristo massaged his temples, "The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility? I don’t understand, if I can easily overturn their lives, why should I care about their reproach? Because, teacher, we are unimaginably powerful." Like the gods of the world.

The scholar did not chide Kristo’s insolence; he was even more reckless when the magic network was first constructed.

"Because someone cares. Putting everyone else aside, if your careless changes cause the extinction of certain animals, your father, the dragon, will come looking for you. So be serious, don’t be blindly arrogant, my student."

The mention of the dragon’s name startled the Blue Dragon, he had an epiphany, yet still said defiantly: "I’m not afraid of him; I know where the Dragon’s Nest is, I can simply flick my finger and send him rolling into the crust." Destroying his own home, Kristo seemed to have learned the essence of the Arcanists. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Unfortunately, you can’t. The sixth stage of Ascensessor’s path is the realm, stabilizing one’s territory with their power. If the lord’s power is strong enough, they can ignore the commands of you ’King’." In name, World Builders can command every piece of land, but there are always those who need to be wary of, especially since this is the era of Holy Light.

"Alright, if I can’t touch the land, the water should be fair game. Half of this planet’s oceans, I can feel the vast magic network buried deep in the sea, I can take deep control..."

"No! Don’t touch the water!!!" The scholar’s shout abruptly rolled Kristo out of the magic network. He leaned back, holding his head and looked at the teacher on the other side, the scholar’s reaction to the ocean was quite strange.

"I noticed before, the magic network nodes on land are bright as stars, but those in the ocean, they only flicker with a dim light. Teacher, you haven’t integrated half of the ocean’s magic network nodes into the system. What’s in the water?"

"The God of Slumber."

Well, that answer was not unexpected.

"But Triton has been sealed; he can’t affect us. Leaving half of the magic network unused is a waste."

The scholar shook his head, his warning gaze disturbingly firm, "I once thought the same as you, I managed the ocean’s magic network, until I was influenced... I changed."

"Corruption by the Evil God?" Kristo spread open his palms, the Dharma Seal of destruction on his left hand, while the right opened a portal to return to the Dragon’s Nest. He transformed himself into the consciousness of the magic network, bringing their mental worlds closer together, which seemed a worrisome transformation.

"I kept lucid, Kristo, lucid enough to be certain of my anomalies. I recognized the influence brought by the Evil God, it’s a cognitive distortion, occurring in my subconscious, making me... have a fondness for the Power of the Evil God." The scholar massaged his temples, reflecting on his behavior, "An innate fondness for Lyle, an obsession with reviving the dragon with an Evil God’s youth. When Serio, playing Yino, took my grandson’s place, I mistook that fondness as a blood-deep closeness. Had it not been for so many facts, I might still be in the dark."

"That’s also why I’m eagerly searching for an heir to the magic network. A World Builder should not be entrusted to someone abnormal like myself."

Kristo narrowed his eyes.

"That sounds more like an excess of self-consciousness, a sort of paranoia, teacher."

"Better to err on the side of caution. In any case, don’t go into the water, kid."

The Blue Dragon looked at the map drawn at his feet, at the fuzzy edges of the world, marking the ocean’s nodes, the dazzling pearls in the deep sea, Mosue.

"If the deep sea is truly as dreadful as you suggest, wouldn’t the white dragon Bouldrys and the merfolk be in great danger?"

"The water has its own rules."