Chapter 21: It's Him!
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Chapter 21: It's Him!
The Internet was on fire!
When the Keville Empire issued its mandatory dissemination decree, Pastoral Mages and Magistrates at all administrative levels had initially worried about how to fully propagate the Internet Divine Technique within a month.
Who would have thought that simply sending a Night Watchman to shout about it in the streets would be enough to spread the technique like wildfire?!
Now, in the Keville Empire, discussions about the Internet could be heard in every alley and marketplace. Those who didn’t know what the Internet was would feel too embarrassed to even greet others, let alone engage in conversation.
The unexpectedly smooth dissemination left many Magistrates frustrated—their meticulously crafted backup plans had died before they could even be implemented.
The ease of spreading the Internet Divine Technique boiled down to two key factors.
First, the zero barrier to entry.
Had the Internet Divine Technique still required a carrier like its first-generation version, its propagation would never have been this effortless. Even the cheapest magic artifacts containing trace amounts of Mithril were beyond the financial reach of the impoverished lower class, who struggled to make ends meet.
Now, with no carrier needed, even illiterate farmers with no prior exposure to cultivation could access the Internet simply by praying to the Internet God under the Empire’s decree.
With such convenience, how could it not spread like wildfire?
Second, it was driven by the people’s desperate yearning for magic and power.
In a nation where magic equated to status, authority, strength, and wealth… who wouldn’t want to learn it?
Yet, magic had long been monopolized by the upper and middle classes.
Now that the Internet Divine Technique had opened a learning channel, who would willingly remain stuck in the mud, toiling as a peasant for life?
Overnight, waves of magic fever, Battle Aura fever, and literacy fever swept across the Empire!
A visible, monumental transformation was now underway.
…
While the Keville Empire was undergoing this upheaval, the Felix Magic Academy remained relatively tranquil.
As one of the earliest birthplaces of the Internet Divine Technique—and home to the most culturally literate population—the nationwide spread of the technique merely meant an explosion of Forum posts, multiplying by thousands.
For the Apprentice Mages, however, their primary concern remained their studies.
Especially after the Felix Magic Academy suddenly ordered all Wood Spirit elective students to participate in a magic experiment two days prior—a directive that sent shockwaves through the institution!
In the world of magic, spells were broadly categorized into two groups: "Conventional Elements" and "Specialized Elements."
The Conventional Elements consisted of seven branches: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, Darkness, and Lightning.
These were foundational magics every Apprentice Mage had to master. Failure in any one would prevent them from passing the Apprentice Mage assessment, leaving them stuck with the title for life.
Only after becoming a full-fledged Mage could they choose to specialize in one or more branches.
As one of the Keville Empire’s top three magic academies, Felix imposed even stricter demands!
Beyond the seven Conventional Elements, the academy required all Apprentice Mages to take at least one Specialized Magic elective.
Currently, Felix offered nine Specialized Magic disciplines: Time, Space, Wood Spirit, Necromancy, Gravity, Psionics, Curses, Illusions, and Summoning.
Specialized Magic often means that it's easy to get started but difficult to master, lacking a systematic framework and unable to advance.
Of course, in contrast, its power is often bizarre and unpredictable, making it hard to defend against.
Therefore, the elective system at Felix Magic Academy holds more traditional significance than practical value.
For many magic apprentices, their understanding of Specialized Magic ceases to grow after graduation.
Only a rare few with exceptional talent can push its boundaries slightly further.
This slight progress is what transforms Specialized Magic into Conventional Elements.
Among the nine major branches of Specialized Magic, the Wood Spirit is particularly unique.
It is one of the few magical disciplines that can bring tangible benefits to instructors.
Essentially, apprentices who choose Wood Spirit often become unpaid labor for their mentors, tending to magical plants under the guise of "magic practice."
Thus, Felix Magic Academy's recent requisition of all Wood Spirit apprentices has inadvertently offended many magic instructors.
However, since the order was issued by the God of Magic, Dandell, no matter how reluctant they were, they had no choice but to accept it.
For a time, everyone grew curious—what kind of "magic experiment" could possibly require so many apprentices?
November 4, 1078, Keville Calendar.
Following the academy's directive, 374 Wood Spirit apprentices gathered in the "Magic Forest" hall on the eastern side of the campus.
Dorothea was among them.
However, the lively energy she once possessed was nowhere to be seen today.
She stood in the crowd with a melancholic expression, oblivious to the eager attentions of her peers.
This state had persisted for over half a month.
Or rather, ever since that night when she had angrily attacked a mysterious young man after failing to dissuade Daisova, she had been unable to feel joy—plunged instead into a nervous, fearful anxiety.
That night, her grandfather, Doman, had summoned her to his study and questioned her at length.
He pressed relentlessly for details about the mysterious young man—every word spoken, every expression made.
His demeanor made Dorothea realize she had made a grave mistake.
No one knew that Dorothea, who feared nothing, was deeply afraid of her grandfather.
Even though he bore the title "Child of the Forest" and was known for his gentle, amiable nature, rarely losing his temper, she still trembled before him.
When she was seven, he had gifted her a staff he crafted himself—one she still used to this day.
But no one knew that she had once peeked through a crack in the door and witnessed her grandfather standing upside down in his study, his hair transforming into countless roots burrowing into the ground, his body turning into a trunk, his limbs into branches.
The staff he had given her was a branch stripped from that very tree.
Its magic-conducting properties rivaled that of dragon horns.
"Hey, hey, Dorothea! Look, Grand Archmage Lucien is here!" A classmate's hushed exclamation snapped her out of her thoughts.
She inhaled deeply, suppressing her melancholy as she lifted her head.
But the moment her gaze landed on the figure behind Lucien, she froze as if struck by lightning, her scalp prickling, her hands and feet turning ice-cold.
Because trailing behind the Grand Archmage was none other than that mysterious young man.
"Silence!"
Lucien appeared to be in his forties, though his face looked no older than thirty.
However, when he spoke sternly, even without using any magic, the vast hall instantly fell silent.
Because he was the youngest Grand Archmage in the Empire!
And the most promising rising star with the potential to ascend to the realm of the God of Magic!
"This time, you will participate in a truly grand magical experiment. This experiment will be led by Mr. Yu Sheng'an. Remember, this experiment will determine whether you pass the Wood Spirit elective course—treat it with utmost seriousness."
Lucien's words stirred faint murmurs across the hall.
"Mr. Yu Sheng'an, I’ll leave the rest to you. I won’t disturb further!" Lucien bowed respectfully to Yu Sheng'an.
Yu Sheng'an nodded.
His gaze swept over the crowded hall of magic apprentices, and he took a slight breath before speaking. "From now on, your afternoon elective time belongs to me. I expect your full cooperation."
"Enough talk—let me announce the goal of this magical experiment: to screen and cultivate high-yield, drought-resistant, salt-tolerant, and sand-adapted crops. Go back and think carefully about which crops are suitable for magical modification. If you have ideas, submit a report to me. There will be rewards!"
As soon as he finished, the hall erupted in uproar!
The magic apprentices could hardly believe their ears:
This young man named Yu Sheng'an actually expected them—noble Wood Spirit mages—to cultivate crops?
This was utterly absurd!
The Internet was on fire!
When the Keville Empire issued its mandatory dissemination decree, Pastoral Mages and Magistrates at all administrative levels had initially worried about how to fully propagate the Internet Divine Technique within a month.
Who would have thought that simply sending a Night Watchman to shout about it in the streets would be enough to spread the technique like wildfire?!
Now, in the Keville Empire, discussions about the Internet could be heard in every alley and marketplace. Those who didn’t know what the Internet was would feel too embarrassed to even greet others, let alone engage in conversation.
The unexpectedly smooth dissemination left many Magistrates frustrated—their meticulously crafted backup plans had died before they could even be implemented.
The ease of spreading the Internet Divine Technique boiled down to two key factors.
First, the zero barrier to entry.
Had the Internet Divine Technique still required a carrier like its first-generation version, its propagation would never have been this effortless. Even the cheapest magic artifacts containing trace amounts of Mithril were beyond the financial reach of the impoverished lower class, who struggled to make ends meet.
Now, with no carrier needed, even illiterate farmers with no prior exposure to cultivation could access the Internet simply by praying to the Internet God under the Empire’s decree.
With such convenience, how could it not spread like wildfire?
Second, it was driven by the people’s desperate yearning for magic and power.
In a nation where magic equated to status, authority, strength, and wealth… who wouldn’t want to learn it?
Yet, magic had long been monopolized by the upper and middle classes.
Now that the Internet Divine Technique had opened a learning channel, who would willingly remain stuck in the mud, toiling as a peasant for life?
Overnight, waves of magic fever, Battle Aura fever, and literacy fever swept across the Empire!
A visible, monumental transformation was now underway.
…
While the Keville Empire was undergoing this upheaval, the Felix Magic Academy remained relatively tranquil.
As one of the earliest birthplaces of the Internet Divine Technique—and home to the most culturally literate population—the nationwide spread of the technique merely meant an explosion of Forum posts, multiplying by thousands.
For the Apprentice Mages, however, their primary concern remained their studies.
Especially after the Felix Magic Academy suddenly ordered all Wood Spirit elective students to participate in a magic experiment two days prior—a directive that sent shockwaves through the institution!
In the world of magic, spells were broadly categorized into two groups: "Conventional Elements" and "Specialized Elements."
The Conventional Elements consisted of seven branches: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, Darkness, and Lightning.
These were foundational magics every Apprentice Mage had to master. Failure in any one would prevent them from passing the Apprentice Mage assessment, leaving them stuck with the title for life.
Only after becoming a full-fledged Mage could they choose to specialize in one or more branches.
As one of the Keville Empire’s top three magic academies, Felix imposed even stricter demands!
Beyond the seven Conventional Elements, the academy required all Apprentice Mages to take at least one Specialized Magic elective.
Currently, Felix offered nine Specialized Magic disciplines: Time, Space, Wood Spirit, Necromancy, Gravity, Psionics, Curses, Illusions, and Summoning.
Specialized Magic often means that it's easy to get started but difficult to master, lacking a systematic framework and unable to advance.
Of course, in contrast, its power is often bizarre and unpredictable, making it hard to defend against.
Therefore, the elective system at Felix Magic Academy holds more traditional significance than practical value.
For many magic apprentices, their understanding of Specialized Magic ceases to grow after graduation.
Only a rare few with exceptional talent can push its boundaries slightly further.
This slight progress is what transforms Specialized Magic into Conventional Elements.
Among the nine major branches of Specialized Magic, the Wood Spirit is particularly unique.
It is one of the few magical disciplines that can bring tangible benefits to instructors.
Essentially, apprentices who choose Wood Spirit often become unpaid labor for their mentors, tending to magical plants under the guise of "magic practice."
Thus, Felix Magic Academy's recent requisition of all Wood Spirit apprentices has inadvertently offended many magic instructors.
However, since the order was issued by the God of Magic, Dandell, no matter how reluctant they were, they had no choice but to accept it.
For a time, everyone grew curious—what kind of "magic experiment" could possibly require so many apprentices?
November 4, 1078, Keville Calendar.
Following the academy's directive, 374 Wood Spirit apprentices gathered in the "Magic Forest" hall on the eastern side of the campus.
Dorothea was among them.
However, the lively energy she once possessed was nowhere to be seen today.
She stood in the crowd with a melancholic expression, oblivious to the eager attentions of her peers.
This state had persisted for over half a month.
Or rather, ever since that night when she had angrily attacked a mysterious young man after failing to dissuade Daisova, she had been unable to feel joy—plunged instead into a nervous, fearful anxiety.
That night, her grandfather, Doman, had summoned her to his study and questioned her at length.
He pressed relentlessly for details about the mysterious young man—every word spoken, every expression made.
His demeanor made Dorothea realize she had made a grave mistake.
No one knew that Dorothea, who feared nothing, was deeply afraid of her grandfather.
Even though he bore the title "Child of the Forest" and was known for his gentle, amiable nature, rarely losing his temper, she still trembled before him.
When she was seven, he had gifted her a staff he crafted himself—one she still used to this day.
But no one knew that she had once peeked through a crack in the door and witnessed her grandfather standing upside down in his study, his hair transforming into countless roots burrowing into the ground, his body turning into a trunk, his limbs into branches.
The staff he had given her was a branch stripped from that very tree.
Its magic-conducting properties rivaled that of dragon horns.
"Hey, hey, Dorothea! Look, Grand Archmage Lucien is here!" A classmate's hushed exclamation snapped her out of her thoughts.
She inhaled deeply, suppressing her melancholy as she lifted her head.
But the moment her gaze landed on the figure behind Lucien, she froze as if struck by lightning, her scalp prickling, her hands and feet turning ice-cold.
Because trailing behind the Grand Archmage was none other than that mysterious young man.
"Silence!"
Lucien appeared to be in his forties, though his face looked no older than thirty.
However, when he spoke sternly, even without using any magic, the vast hall instantly fell silent.
Because he was the youngest Grand Archmage in the Empire!
And the most promising rising star with the potential to ascend to the realm of the God of Magic!
"This time, you will participate in a truly grand magical experiment. This experiment will be led by Mr. Yu Sheng'an. Remember, this experiment will determine whether you pass the Wood Spirit elective course—treat it with utmost seriousness."
Lucien's words stirred faint murmurs across the hall.
"Mr. Yu Sheng'an, I’ll leave the rest to you. I won’t disturb further!" Lucien bowed respectfully to Yu Sheng'an.
Yu Sheng'an nodded.
His gaze swept over the crowded hall of magic apprentices, and he took a slight breath before speaking. "From now on, your afternoon elective time belongs to me. I expect your full cooperation."
"Enough talk—let me announce the goal of this magical experiment: to screen and cultivate high-yield, drought-resistant, salt-tolerant, and sand-adapted crops. Go back and think carefully about which crops are suitable for magical modification. If you have ideas, submit a report to me. There will be rewards!"
As soon as he finished, the hall erupted in uproar!
The magic apprentices could hardly believe their ears:
This young man named Yu Sheng'an actually expected them—noble Wood Spirit mages—to cultivate crops?
This was utterly absurd!
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