Warlock Apprentice

Angor only did one thing in the past week: rearranging Cleanse spell.

But when explaining to Sunders, Angor naturally omitted the part about how many combinations he worked out. He only concluded it with one simple sentence, “Rearrange the models, see their different effects and find out their connections with each other.”

Sunders nodded. “Knowing spells to the root is an essential condition for becoming a real wizard. At the same time, you should remember that such work is valuable, but it takes too much time. For now, you should focus on the ‘principle’ which builds the spell.

“Take Cleanse for example. Its ‘principle’ is a simple combination of wind and water, which is easy to comprehend, and you can cast the spell easily. For other cantrips, let’s say, another level-0 cantrip, Optic Confusion. For that spell, apart from understanding light and shadow, you also need to know the structure of the human retina and its blind spots.

“The root of a spell is not about its model, but fully understanding its ‘principle’.”

Sunders paused a little and continued, “This is why most wizards are scholars. The more you know, the world appears more real to your eyes. A spell is a tool that helps you defend yourself in this ‘real’ world. A spell and its principle are equally important, but still, you should mainly focus on learning the ‘principle’ before learning the spell itself.”

Angor nodded in acknowledgment. Mara also told him before that knowledge was the most valuable asset in the world of wizards. Since he was young, Jon always told him to regard knowledge above everything. Every element in your life was an additional chain that dragged you down while only knowledge was the crown on your head. In the wizarding world, knowledge became more important. Angor needed to improve his knowledge base too if he wanted to get stronger.

“So Lady Mirror saved you?” When listening to Angor’s story, Sailum’s expression shifted between surprise and fear drastically as if he was the one going through the disaster.

When Angor finished talking, Sailum also spoke about what he saw around the Phantom Island.

“Many people died. Some of them were blown over to the island and were killed by the magic, some fell off.”

When talking about dead people, Sailum put a hand on his chest in fear. “Thank god we stayed at Falling Cloud Stop. If we tried to join the crowd, we’d probably meet the same end.

“But the wind itself didn’t kill many people because most apprentices know how to fly. They won’t fall to death as long as they can maneuver in the air. What killed most people was the mysterious rhyme following the arrival of the world’s consciousness.

“At that time, almost everyone was pressed against the ground. We were fine on the leaf, but those in the air all fell from the sky, either dead or badly injured. You probably don’t know, but when we came down to the tree spirit garden underneath the island to look for your ‘body’, we saw the whole place covered by corpses. Broken corpses. Can you imagine? Body parts, white brain fluids, red blood, guts that already began to stink… they were everywhere. It was horrific.”

When speaking of this, Sailum remembered the terrible sight in his mind and wanted to throw up again.

“The rhyme was a deadly weapon, and at the same time, bringer of destiny,” Nausica spoke. “Too bad neither Sailum nor I learned anything. But I think I saw someone on the sky bridge succeeding.”

“Did you find destiny, Angor?” Sailum asked, “You were right beside the Sorcerer’s Garden, and the rhyme should be stronger over there. Did you get anything?”

Angor shook his head. “No, I found nothing.”

Sailum showed a “just as I thought” look and prepared some words to comfort Angor.

“But Toby did…” Angor pointed at the bird on his shoulder, and Toby quickly puffed up its chest and lifted its head high.

“Huh?! Did Toby learn something? No way!” Sailum’s jaw dropped open in disbelief.

Angor only nodded helplessly. “Professor Sunders said so. Toby comprehended the sequence of gravity.”

“Ha. A bird learned something when humans cannot. Anyone who hears about this will get furious,” Nausica snickered.

Sailum curled his lips and felt like crying again. “Oh come on! Does that mean I’m worse than a small bird?”