My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 93 - 87: What is the Orthodox Path of a Mage?

Chapter 93: Chapter 87: What is the Orthodox Path of a Mage?

A violent explosion erupted.

Fang Zhen saw the tree that had been struck by the Flaming Arrow snap at the height of a man. The five- or six-meter-tall tree broke instantly, its base bursting into flames.

’Crap. A wisp of smoke on the mountain, a happy new year for the local precinct!’

This was the first thing that popped into his head.

But he immediately remembered that Redstone Town didn’t have a police substation.

The fire was still burning. Worried it would start a forest fire, Fang Zhen quickly turned on the high-powered flashlight on his belt and ran over to see what he could do.

Even so, he didn’t forget to grab his Hunting Crossbow and the two bags of loot.

He jogged the thirty or forty meters to the burning tree.

The tree’s trunk, one and a half times the thickness of a grown man’s thigh, had been snapped by the single Flaming Arrow.

Fortunately, the Flaming Arrow was quite powerful and the explosion had been thorough. The upper part of the tree had been blown some distance away—perhaps due to the blast wave—and hadn’t caught fire. Only the stump and the man-high trunk were still burning, like a torch.

The magical energy had probably dissipated, leaving only a mundane fire. It wasn’t burning too fiercely, so there was still a chance to put it out. The surrounding area was covered in damp fallen leaves and soil, with no other trees nearby, so it was unlikely to cause a forest fire.

Only then did Fang Zhen let out a sigh of relief.

Matthew, unsure of what to do and perhaps a little frightened by the darkness, pulled his torch from the ground and ran over as well.

"Priest, don’t just stand there! Lend a hand before your critique of magic ends up burning down the whole forest," Fang Zhen shouted.

Matthew paused, then gave an "oh" of understanding. He wedged his torch into a nearby rock crevice and ran over to help Fang Zhen.

A few minutes later, Fang Zhen and Matthew worked together to drag away the top half of the broken tree, giving it no chance to catch fire. They then thoroughly extinguished the smoldering embers on the broken stump.

Luckily, it was a species of tree with very few upper branches, and most of its leaves had already fallen. Otherwise, they might not have been able to move it.

As for the remaining man-high trunk, it was still burning. Its light illuminated the surroundings, the flickering shadows dancing in the dark night creating an air of mystery.

Fang Zhen couldn’t extinguish the flames, so he decided to ignore it. ’Let it burn. There’s nothing nearby for it to ignite, and the fire will go out on its own when it’s done.’

In the darkness, the flames consumed the tree trunk, releasing the distinct aroma of burning resin and crackling from time to time.

Fang Zhen was a little tired, so he sat down on a nearby rock.

Matthew was more reserved. He wanted to sit but seemed to feel it would ruin his image, so he just stood there awkwardly. It was obvious he wanted to rest, though.

"Priest, you should rest too. Your Vestment Robe already got covered in dust back in the cave. It’ll need a wash sooner or later, so a little more dirt and dust won’t hurt."

Fang Zhen said with a chuckle when he saw Matthew was still hesitating.

"You have a point. Very well," Matthew said, dropping his formal pretense. He found a rock and sat down as well.

Fang Zhen turned off the high-powered flashlight on his belt.

Matthew looked at the flashlight, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"This must be an Extraordinary Item as well, right? Although it can’t be used for attack or defense, it’s very practical."

Matthew said.

Fang Zhen smiled. "If you want to buy it, I’ll give you a twenty-percent discount."

"You forget, sir, I don’t have a single Copper Rope to my name," Matthew sighed.

After this exchange, the conversation between them felt more natural than before.

"Sir, the quality of your Extraordinary Item is remarkably high. An accessory that can directly cast Magic is considered a relatively high-tier item among Extraordinary Items. I believe its value is over eighty Gold Ropes," Matthew said.

Fang Zhen nodded.

He didn’t tell Matthew that this Ruby Three-leaf Clover Pendant could store three charges of Flaming Arrow.

Otherwise, its estimated value would be even higher.

He had no idea where the Dogman Priest had obtained this Extraordinary Item, but it was the most valuable thing in the entire Dogman Tribe. Even if you skinned and butchered every member of the Dogman Tribe and sold them for parts, the total value probably wouldn’t match that of the Ruby Three-leaf Clover Pendant.

And now, this Extraordinary Item had fallen into his lap.

"Priest, I have a question." Fang Zhen fondly touched the three gems on the pendant. "How many of these Extraordinary Items can one person wear at a time?"

"If I managed to get a dozen or so Extraordinary Items, could I wear and use them all at once?"

"According to the literature, there is theoretically no upper limit to the number of Extraordinary Items you can wear," Matthew replied. "However, your body might not be able to handle it."

"My body couldn’t handle it?" Fang Zhen was surprised.

"Yes. You should have already experienced it. When you wear an Extraordinary Item, you can feel its power," Matthew said. "It’s both a sign and a form of feedback."

"Based on the texts I’ve read, these kinds of Extraordinary Items place a certain burden on your body. It’s best not to wear too many in the same spot. If you were to wear two or even three extraordinary pendants or necklaces at the same time, your aura would fall into chaos, and your body would become disordered."

"In severe cases, it can lead to organ failure."

"And even if you were strong enough to withstand the feedback, unleashing Extraordinary Power would become chaotic and could cause a magical backlash."

Fang Zhen understood.

It seemed the path to becoming a pay-to-win Magic Warrior—decked out with ten Magic Rings and eight or nine Magic Necklaces wrapped around his arms—was blocked.

’Well, that’s fine. That path always seemed a bit unorthodox anyway. I’m doing pretty well as it is,’ he thought, his mood improving again.

He could also see that Matthew was quite a learned man, knowledgeable about everything from Magic to the church and aristocratic politics. He made for a rather good advisor.

"Since we’re on the topic, Priest, you’ve seen Mages before. What are they like? Are they all skinny and frail?" he asked.

"Hmm? Why would you think Mages are frail?" Matthew looked astonished.

"Aren’t they?" Fang Zhen was also surprised by Matthew’s reaction.

Matthew couldn’t help but say, "Sir, a Mage’s power comes mainly from their Spiritual Power and the kind of Extraordinary Items you just used. And while some people are physically weak but have strong Spiritual Power, most of the time, a stronger body means stronger Spiritual Power."

"A strong body is what nourishes a more powerful spirit."

"Furthermore, as I just mentioned, to use more Extraordinary Items, one must have a powerful body to withstand the feedback from those items. The weak are incapable of this."

"I believe that, aside from your natural talent, the reason you possess such immense Spiritual Power is that your body is visibly taller and stronger than most people’s."

"Oh? Is that so?" Fang Zhen was a bit surprised. It felt like a stereotype had just been shattered.

But he quickly realized that this actually made more sense.

Although there’s a saying in Xia Country, "simple-minded but well-limbed," based on Fang Zhen’s years of observation, this phrase was very misleading and most likely wrong.

The most capable people he had met were all well-developed in both body and mind. He could count on one hand the number of people who were physically frail but mentally brilliant.

It made sense when he thought about it. The brain is part of the body. A weak body is like a low-power battery, and the brain is a particularly energy-intensive organ. It stood to reason that an insufficient power supply wouldn’t lead to higher efficiency.

This stereotype was probably a smear created by ancient Confucian scholars against Martial Artists.

Yet the grandmaster of the Confucian scholars himself, Confucius, was "nine chi and six cun tall"—equivalent to about two meters and twenty centimeters—and it was said "the Master’s strength could lift the bar of a state gate." He was a formidable figure who could lift a city gate by himself and command respect through his martial prowess. A classic example of being well-developed in both mind and body.

Fang Zhen felt like he had discovered another truth.

"Oh, I just figured that Mages spend all their time studying and researching Magic, leaving them no time to exercise, so they’d be a bit frail. After all, I’ve never actually seen a Mage, so I was just guessing," Fang Zhen said, patching up his earlier statement.

Matthew shook his head. "That’s not how it is."

"An average Mage might come in any shape or size, but powerful Mages, without exception, all possess incredibly robust bodies and an astonishing amount of stamina."

"People in the church privately call Mages ’Magic Barbarians,’ and not without reason."

"Moreover, the situation you described does exist to some extent. According to the texts I’ve read, ancient Mages were required to master two or three combat skills in addition to their magic. It’s just that the modern Mages have lost the ancient traditions of body forging and have become somewhat decadent. At most, they’ll temper their bodies a little, but very few have the time or energy to hone their combat skills."

"Even so, most Mages are still generally much stronger than ordinary people."

Fang Zhen felt as if he had been enlightened.

’Well, I’ll be damned. So I was misled all this time.’

’I knew it. It didn’t make sense for someone who could cast magic to be so physically weak.’

’So the path of the Magic Barbarian... bah, I mean the close-combat Mage I envisioned, is actually the true, righteous path!’

He had an epiphany.

Just then, a low rumble of thunder sounded in the sky, and raindrops began to fall, one by one.

It started to rain.

The night rain was cold. Fang Zhen was fine, as he was bundled up in thick clothes.

A raindrop hit Matthew’s neck, trickling under his Vestment Robe and making him flinch from the cold.

The fire on the broken tree also began to dwindle, looking as if it was about to go out.

Seeing this, Fang Zhen stood up.

"I am very satisfied with how tonight went. Thank you, Priest."

"I will seriously consider your proposal."

"But for now, let’s head back to the Redstone Home. We both need some rest."

...

「The next day, just as the sky began to lighten.」

About four hours had passed since Fang Zhen cast the spell last night.

On a hillside south of Redstone Town, bordering the Dark Forest.

Fang Zhen was there on his motorcycle. Before him stood Ande, Quade, and two miners from Redstone Town.

In front of Quade and the others were four cloth sacks.

Fang Zhen looked to be in good spirits.

Last night, after returning to the Redstone Home, he had rested for a while in the same room where they had talked. Matthew stayed in a separate room.

Before resting, Matthew had told him that the Tade Church’s guidance technique wasn’t just for activating Extraordinary Items. It could also be used as a form of Meditation to accelerate physical and spiritual recovery.

Fang Zhen had slept during the day, and with all the exciting events that had happened, he was too keyed up to sleep. So, he simply spent over three hours meditating with the Tade guidance technique.

Perhaps it was talent, or maybe practice makes perfect, but he was becoming more and more familiar with the guidance technique.

The guidance technique really did restore his Spiritual Power, and for some unknown reason, it also recovered some of his physical stamina.

Not only that, but he also felt that using the guidance technique even slightly accelerated the rate at which the Ruby Clover restored its Magic Power.

Then, in the morning, Ande had visited and brought the promised Cinnabar Ore.

Fang Zhen immediately grabbed his gear and loot and had Ande send men to deliver the Cinnabar Ore to their current location.

"Sir, are you really leaving?" Ande’s eyes were a little red.

This wasn’t necessarily because he was sad to see Fang Zhen go; it was more likely that Baron von Kleist’s scheme had kept Ande up all night.

"I have some personal matters to attend to," Fang Zhen said. "I feel that my connection with Redstone Town isn’t over yet. I’ll likely be back soon."

"Sir, to resist Baron von Kleist’s plot, Redstone Town cannot be without you. I implore you, you must come back!" Ande said.

After a pause, Ande continued, "What you said was right. Everything in this world has a price. If Redstone Town wants your protection, it must also pay a sufficient price."

"But Redstone Town truly has no money left."

Fang Zhen said, "Although I’ve developed some affection for Redstone Town, there are rules to doing business."

"I’m sorry, but I’m not willing to make sacrifices for free. That would only devalue me."

"I understand," Ande said.

"I thought long and hard all night and finally came up with something worthy of you, Sir—something that could serve as payment for your hard-fought battles to protect Redstone Town."

"There is, in fact, an Extraordinary Item in Redstone Town. You might be very interested in it."

Ande said, "It is..."