Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Carpenter couldn’t understand Russell’s melancholy; her spell mastery was not advanced enough for her to comprehend the vast calculations and deep understanding it took to exhaust both of them simultaneously, despite their apparent difference in strength, and even have similar rest periods.

Russell, of course, wouldn’t think it was because their teacher paid them special attention.

Gilbert was considered a diligent teacher but definitely not to the point of being wholeheartedly dedicated.

This only proved that apprentices were completely transparent before mages, without any room to hide themselves.

Now, Russell shuddered at the thought of his plans about what he should do after entering the Magic Tower before being taught by his family elder.

Even if something about him was discovered to be amiss, based on his observations of Gilbert during this period, the teacher probably wouldn’t do anything to him but would certainly stop teaching as seriously as now.

He would be just like those apprentices struggling daily in the Magic Tower, relying only on himself... Could it be that those kids’ teachers don’t have a status equal to Gilbert’s?

Surely there are, and quite a few.

Russell could tell from their completely different Mage Robes that not all apprentices in the Tower of Dark Enigma had cotton robes.

There was also a type made of blended cotton and black taro hemp cloth.

He guessed these were ordinary apprentices who met the standard but hadn’t been taken under the wing of a capable mage.

A few seemed to have just entered the Magic Tower, even wearing apprentice robes made solely of black taro hemp; Russell guessed these were the ones sent in by their family for money.

Probably because they hadn’t been assigned to a mage yet, these people were still wearing the ordinary robes sold by the Tower of Dark Enigma.

Russell lowered his gaze to his curious little sister peeking out from the soft sofa cushion.

During this time, he indeed figured out why Gilbert had become a bit more attentive to Carpenter: Carpenter’s lack of talent wouldn’t catch their teacher’s eye, but her warm personality would.

In the mage world, intelligence and capability are indeed the baseline, and those who enter the Magic Tower are even at the edge of that baseline... So, what teachers consider is whether the student’s personality suits them.

”Carpenter.” He gently tapped the daydreaming girl’s head, ”How have you been learning these days? Have you memorized all the books?”

”Um... um!” Carpenter replied, a bit hesitantly.

”What’s unclear?” Russell’s tone became a bit more serious, ”You must ask questions if you have any.”

”No...,” Carpenter said hesitantly, ”Brother Russell, why do I find the most troublesome Illusion Technique easier to master than the two simplest ones taught by the teacher?”

”Huh?” Russell was taken aback.

Carpenter gently pointed a finger at herself, chanting softly... then Russell couldn’t help but twitch his lips: damn, it really was his mother’s face.

”What are you thinking about when casting the spell?

Did you choose a specific person in your mind?” Despite his shock, Russell thought of the key question.

The primary purpose of the Dismaying Gaze spell is to make the enemy lose their fighting spirit, so the spell’s effect is to let the opponent see their most beloved person in their mind.

Although Russell indeed loved his mother, he couldn’t actually be sure if she’d be the person he loved most... Discovered as having Mage Aptitude at three years old, he was sent to live in the apprentice building next to the library, resulting in complicated feelings towards his family.

After all, regardless of how fervently his family loved him, some uncontrollable ’desire’ always mixed in.

As an apprentice with strong spiritual power, unless they deceive themselves, they could always read that desire from those undisguised gazes.

Yet parents do indeed love them, which leaves people a bit conflicted... if he saw Carpenter, Russell thinks he wouldn’t even ask such a question.

Russell genuinely could not be sure if he was seeing the true effect of the spell.

”Feels a bit off, doesn’t it?” Carpenter said, slightly melancholic, ”When I use it on myself, I mostly see you, but a few times I’ve seen my mother, and once even my father, which really scared me.

I always feel something’s not right.

Isn’t it supposed to choose who you love most?

I clearly feel... compared to my parents, I might love my innocent little sister more.”

”Perhaps ask the teacher next time?” Russell seemed to agree with her, ”Having finally discovered your talents, you can’t afford any odd errors.”

”Um!” Carpenter nodded vigorously.

-----------------

Hill had overheard the conversation in the public hall.

So, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes slightly: did he need to teach them how to view their lives too, besides teaching spells?

What child wouldn’t love their parents?

Even with the internal struggle over who loves whom more and who besides oneself is loved most, any teenager surely desires love from their parents.

But because of adolescent rebellion, they especially care about the differences between gain and loss... even teenagers showered with immense parental love can suddenly stop expressing love for their parents, which is perfectly normal.

Hill understood this: when he was truly a teenager, although he was too straightforward to immerse himself in beautiful images like his classmates, he was still very willing to devote fervent feelings to his beloved sports.

Though his favorite changed daily, there was always something he liked.

Until he passed that adolescent phase did he turn back sweet-talking to his parents... but Hill had seen friends who could not acknowledge their love for their birth parents even past 30.

Hill pondered for a moment but couldn’t figure out how to tell the two 16-year-olds that there was nothing wrong with the spell’s effect, only a problem with their belief that their dearest didn’t include their parents.

How troublesome could teenagers be? Just look at himself.

Yet when the two children stood before him, Hill still hadn’t figured out how to solve this issue.

Thus, when Carpenter hesitantly voiced the question, Hill decisively said, ”The spell’s effect isn’t wrong.

You don’t need to worry about whose face the enemy sees, as long as the result is correct.”

Carpenter seemed undeterred, but when she cautiously raised her head, she saw Hilbert’s expressionless, slightly impatient face, and so she closed her mouth.

”Teacher...” Russell quickly spoke up, ”Many apprentices have disappeared recently, and I saw some apprentices who weren’t registered... Has something happened with the Tower of Dark Enigma?”

Hill thought for a moment, and decided to tell them the news related to the Iron Dragon... but only the surface details.

”So, teacher, it has nothing to do with us, right?” Russell asked seriously, ”Even if someone actually caught that Iron Dragon, it wouldn’t affect our future, right?”

His words slightly rose in pitch at the end, seemingly a statement but could be considered a question.

It felt like, if Hill chose not to answer, the question mark would quietly disappear.

This child was indeed interesting.

Hill suddenly felt he might be getting on in years... previously, he’d just find kids’ probing questions annoying.

”Indeed, it doesn’t impact you.” Moreover, he surprisingly felt soft-hearted, even responding to such a question.

Hill leaned slightly against the chair back and softly said, ”For the next twenty years, it’s not a concern for you; focus on learning spells well.”

”Yes, teacher!” Russell and Carpenter solemnly responded in unison, ”We will study hard.”