Chapter 22: What Do You Plan To Do With That?!
Chapter 22: What Do You Plan To Do With That?!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
If it wasn’t for the Archmage’s honest back into his gaming addiction, Baiyi would not have realized that his plans had long been hijacked by those louts. Did they not start this discussion (read: game) to better decide what was best for Mia’s exam?
Now look at what happened!
Though, to be fair, the amount of fifty gold coins were just about the correct amount to achieve exactly nothing.
That was why purchasing raw materials to craft gears from scratch would be the most economical option. But then again, with just fifty gold coins, Baiyi doubted that anything of real strength could be procured. Well, it couldn’t be helped. If they needed more money they would have to find some other means to get them.
I won't worry about it. Baiyi thought to himself. It was just a silly tournament between students. He doubted that anything legendary would make an appearance, like say— the Genuine Monarch Bow 1 , or the ashbringer, 2 or even the mystical Happy Fire. 3
Baiyi kept his strange disguise as he went into a vendor's shop. Coming out from the shop with a bunch of basic materials, he continued to the accessory shop next door. The change he was left with after he bought the materials were enough for only two or three cheap accessories. He then snuck back to the Academy before the City Patrol got a chance to question him.
The whole trip did not take much time, it was certainly quick enough for him to return before the students' classe ended. He carefully hid his Curtain Cloak (TM) from sight and then headed back to the Girl’s Dormitory.
Battle cries made up of pejorative nouns and degrading adjectives blared in his mind. Most importantly, the glorious exclamation of "HOLY SHIT!" 4 could be heard from the Lich’s side. The scene was becoming more and more chaotic— it was a sign that the winners were going to be revealed very soon.
Seriously speaking, they were being massacred by the Lich so hard, all they were missing was sad music playing in the background and the slow motion effect. How noob can you guys be? Crystal Maiden was already on her deathbed and yet she was still continuously flicking Butterfly? 5 And a prophet with six Battlefuries 6 ? No wonder the so-called Justice’s side was losing so hard!
And then those losers had the guts to come forward to request for another battle!
"Hasta la vista, we will be back! .... In fact, we're back already! Justice will always prevail, it’s just that Justice is also a late bloomer. Right, Sir Hope? Another round, come on!"
Come on, your ass. You’re gaming while there is a far more important issue at hand. You dare to call yourself Justice? Baiyi was practically shouting at them in his mind. I don’t have enough mental strength to host another game anymore, so can we get back to the real issue?!
"Right! Back to business, everyone!" The Archmage declared solemnly— although he looked suspiciously smug judging from the look on his face.
Immediately after saying that, he pulled Baiyi to the side. "I’m telling you, I’m on a gacha streak. I’d just used 3000 Saint Quartz 7 to pull three super-super-rare servants! The Random Number God is smiling upon yours truly, my child."
Or maybe he isn’t smiling at you so much as examining you very closely before he decides to smite you just like how one watches a mosquito closely before smacking it to death. And don’t refer to me as your child, sir.
After promising each other to battle again the next day, the Voidwalkers finally settled down, looking like they were ready for an actual discussion.
Baiyi fidgeted with a wooden bracelet that he bought with two pieces of silver coin. I intend to enchant this with a protective barrier that deflects fire magic. It also recharges over a period of time. The reason for this is simple, to these fledgling students, fire magic packs the most punch so I expect it's going to be making an appearance frequently.
As for this beautiful bow clip, I plan to enchant it with a simple tracking magic that tracks not only Mia’s position but also her status, at all times. He held up a tacky red bow clip that was outdated and unfashionable.
Finally, he held up an unimpressive copper necklace. And lastly, this necklace is to be made into a special talisman that facilitates instant short-range teleportation. With it, Mia would be able to dodge any critical hit while the bow clip would allow me to continuously locate her every position even when she's teleporting.
He set the necklace down and watched the crowd expectantly.
The Walkers were rendered speechless. After a while, the 11th Walker, the Blacksmith, finally spoke out. "Sir, with all due respect, don’t you think your methods are a bit… too conservative?"
Conservative, Baiyi replied in a tone that was slightly too defensive. Conservative as in conserve Mia’s life, you mean. We need her to stay alive.
He was appealing to the Walkers’ innate sense of self-preservation. Most of the Walkers, who had lived as exceptional fighters and beings, had always relied on their survival instincts to protect their own lives. Their instinctive magic and fighting techniques had always placed defense as top priority. After all, you could only do anything if you could stay alive.
Once the need for defense was fulfilled, it was up to each individual Walker to decide what offensice techniques they were going to use. When it came to offensive tachniques, there were many different kinds and varieties, with different school of thoughts and ideas on how one could increase their damage output.
That had always been most of the Walkers’ default method. Moreover, it was the trend that mainstream magic practitioners had been using. It was so popular that academic journals were written about it.
"True, this is not only safe and conservative but it’s also the most orthodox out of all growth methods. However," the taciturn Walker, the Shadow, spoke. "The exam is coming up in about two months time. We are running out of time to train her."
She was right. Baiyi had been providing only the most orthodox seal formation magic, as well as very conventional gears and equipments. The result of such cultivation would be a fighter with great stats all around and little to no flaws for the enemies to exploit.
It was also the same method he was trained in when he was under the tutelage of the Archmage, "the Sage Emperor of the Magi" himself. Therefore, it was perfectly logical for Baiyi to use the same method to tutor his own apprentice, Mia, despite the fact that he had been trained by the other Walkers as well.
Yet, the Shadow had a point in terms of strategy. The orthodox method required the most time for growth and time was not a luxury a student facing an exam in two months would have.
"Well, if blitzkrieg is what we need, I suggest enforcing her combat staff," The Scholar chimed in, speaking from his own growth experience no doubt.
"Oh please, by staff you mean her decorated wooden bat? Yea, strengthen that, add more fiber to it and we’ll see how well that goes," the Lich sneered. "It isn’t the Great Sage’s Staff, like what you used to possess, you know. I get that you people became legends and whatever through this slow-growing method and that is how you all like to train others… But this time, I think my way is so much more practical. You know, like, forging a soul-immolating magic into one of her equipment to erase the existence of her enemies."
"Ooh! Just add a bit more material on the side and she’ll be able to summon a demon from the deepest abyss to do the fighting for her. Those poor kids would have no idea what hit them," the Devil added. "After all, enslaving demons is no longer forbidden, right?"
"Yes, that ban was lifted two centuries ago. Yet, it remains one of the most loathed and scorned magic," The Apprentice countered. "What’s more, the Academy would not be pleased to see it being used on schoolground. Using this magic would definitely turn Mia into a social outcast!"
To be fair, the Lich and the Devil both had a point in their suggestions. Mia’s combat equipment is far from the likes of The Book of Servitude or Souls of the Enslaved. Mia’s magic was similarly pathetic. Lumos 8 ? Basic Elemental Transmutation? Basic Appraisal? …a bitch slap would hurt more than any of those.
In Celestial Fortress Academy, chool-taught offensive magic such as Fireball and Hydromissiles would only be taught to students of third year and above. It was a pragmatic decision, the reason being that the students' foundation had to be stable before one could start learning more advance techniques.
The problem was that it inevitably gave certain students— be it students from families with enough money for private lessons or students who are naturally gifted and intelligent in magic— an edge over students like Mia the Mediocre. They would no doubt have more advanced techniques hidden in their sleeves.
Compared to them, Mia’s abilities were all, at best, average, unless one of the abilities was being adorable, which she definitely excelled in. In other words, if she had not met Baiyi, she would have been curbstomped in the exam.
After a lengthy discussion among the Voidwalkers, the decision had been slightly altered. Instead of going for a completely defensive approach, Baiyi had to enchant raw materials with offense magic at the expense of the effectiveness in defense. The offense magic that they had decied on was the ice-based Aurora’s Mercy, a magic invented by a Walker going by the alias the Explorer. Its potency was not too devastating in the Voidwalker's opinion but nonetheless it was deemed satisfactory for the upcoming tournament as a critical super-attack
It was also the best option they had given the limited amount of materials that they possessed. Being a Guide-type magic, this technique could be enchanted through a constant stream of mana, regardless of the amount. It was perfect for the awkward situation that Baiyi was stuck in at the moment. All he had to do additionally, was to reduce the damage slightly (to avoid killing someone accidentally) and to decrease its magical output.
With Aurora’s Mercy as her trump card, Baiyi would not have to worry about her not being able to strike back at foes more powerful than she was. Combined with some impromptu spells the Walkers invented that would be easy and handy for all manners of situations, Mia’s attack would improve by a large margin.
All Baiyi had to do after that was just strengthening the might of those tools.
Another problem arose when Baiyi realized that he needed an artifact for that technique. He only had the bow-clip, the bracelet and the necklace. He needed something to be enchanted with Aurora’s Mercy and those run-of-the-mill artifacts would not be able to withstand two techniques at the same time.
Just then, something caught his eyes as he was scanning Mia’s room.
It was a hammerhead shark plushie.