Surviving The Fourth Calamity

If that’s the case, Hill can dispense with a portion of his skepticism.

Dragons are exceedingly proud creatures, and for a Red Dragon to take refuge in the Styx so quickly, within a few short years, seems all too sudden!

In the face of death, choosing then is their usual way... A Dragon Lich is the fate they are most unwilling to accept, so how could there be an Ancient Red Dragon willing to transform into a Nether Dragon so easily?

Compared to Bone Dragons, the only advantage of a Nether Dragon under the control of the Styx is likely the retention of independent will, with the capability to switch between spectral and physical forms.

But no matter how you look at it, it’s no longer a Red Dragon.

Despite placing such emphasis on its descendants, it would abandon its Chromatic Dragon identity, which leaves Hill perpetually puzzled.

Therefore, whatever play that dragon is enacting, Hill remains steadfastly in the Magic Tower, with no desire to involve himself at all.

Hill knows he is not adept at those schemes and conspiracies, but he can certainly do one thing: when things are unrelated to him and are uncertain, he won’t even observe from a nearby vantage point.

To enjoy the spectacle, it’s entirely possible to stay at a distance.

Hill resolutely prohibits himself from one day shifting from being an observer of the play to an actor within it.

His days have been so delightful!

But the thought of becoming someone providing entertainment to others makes Hill feel utterly uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Hill now understands a bit of what the Red Dragon is doing.

Then indeed, he can, after arranging Russell’s subsequent coursework, find an appropriate time to start Hilbert’s recovery schedule.

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Russell had not expected that upon waking from a vivid dream, he would not receive his mentor’s approving gaze, but instead nearly half a library’s worth of books.

Faced with his incredulous look, Hilbert continued unfazed: ”The Hainarson Clan has been rather turbulent lately. You’ve conveyed the matters I asked you to relay to your families, right?”

”Yes, I wrote them a letter,” Russell replied, frowning slightly.

Mages’ letters are sealed with their unique magical insignia, and furthermore, both of them know the Sound Illusion Technique, so there shouldn’t be any misunderstanding.

”Then don’t worry about anything else,” Hilbert said coolly. ”As long as they stay honestly within the family grounds, there won’t be any problems; Ulrich can now utilize the Intermediate Protective Magic Array.”

”Okay.” Russell understood what his mentor meant... As long as they stayed in the family estate, there would be no life-threatening danger.

This was enough.

Though it also subtly hinted at something else: for instance, if his and Carpenter’s families were to act foolishly on their own accord, they couldn’t blame the family for not ensuring their safety.

Russell glanced at Hilbert, who valued family above all, right there in front of him!

If even Gilbert would abandon them, he must be insane to care... Anyway, his own parents wouldn’t be that foolish; if siblings were to act stupidly, it would certainly be due to the lure of outsiders, disregarding even his own words.

Why concern himself with those who don’t believe in him?

And Carpenter, her sentiment toward her family isn’t even as strong as his; it’s decent enough if she just informs them once.

While she treats her family fairly well, it’s on the grounds that they don’t interfere with her own life.

Their mentor, who once sacrificed for his family, always assumes others would do the same... Russell and Carpenter reciprocate in kind.

Feeling hurt and distressed is unavoidable, but should those who are abandoned continue to suffer and struggle, giving more to those who forsake them?

Absolutely impossible.

”I probably won’t leave the Meditation Chamber for a year,” Hilbert said, glancing at the lad whose thoughts were unknown... Clearly not anything good, yet Hill quickly realized that even if Russell was mulling over something unpleasant, it wasn’t directed at him.

Calming instantly, Hilbert instructed in a bland tone: ”You must finish reading these books during that time.

Not everything needs to be memorized by heart, but when I check, I need to see your own understanding.

And Carpenter, I hope that when I meet her again, she will have become an official mage.

This little thing shouldn’t be an issue, right?

Hmm?”

Understanding what becoming an official mage entails, Russell wasn’t worried about Carpenter’s promotion.

They meet almost daily, so Russell could almost gauge how soon Carpenter’s Mental Sea might be filled and possibly expanded with spiritual power... Since his promotion, Russell understood why Master Gilbert was so accurate in calculating his various conditions.

A spiritual sea of different layers, when frequently in contact, can indeed perceive the shallow movements of a sea with just a thin layer of water from the more profound, expansive depths.

Waves from the shallow sea are so clear that no careful listening is required.

But Russell was worried about that half-library of books... Especially those thick Bronze Books; just glancing at the titles made him reckon it’d take him at least half a month to even comprehend their contents.

Russell often felt that Master Gilbert must have extraordinarily high comprehension, far exceeding ordinary people... Like himself, he knew his own comprehension wasn’t poor, yet he remained within the ordinary realm.

Gilbert was absolutely not.

Every time after receiving Gilbert’s teachings, Russell would need a long time to ponder deeply, to grasp the profound meanings in those words.

Initially, he thought this was a test from his mentor, but later realized their teacher genuinely believed in hearing, and thus understanding.

Yet Russell simply couldn’t achieve that, moreover needing to assist Carpenter in understanding her share.

Otherwise, Carpenter might end up sobbing into her pillow.

Though his thought-process speed did improve through this training, at times reflecting on the past made him feel he was quite a dullard, Russell still thought he was far from meeting Gilbert’s expectations.

He struggled as he said, ”Teacher, no problem with Carpenter, but the books... There’s.”

”Hmm?” Hilbert was a bit surprised. ”I considered your ability to handle it, so I didn’t give you content above the Third Ring; the zero to second rings don’t differ that much from the apprenticeship period.”

Russell tried hard to suppress the veins popping on his forehead: ”Teacher, perhaps you can, I...”

”As for me... hmm, I didn’t set your coursework according to my own pace.” Hilbert earnestly looked at the ungrateful brat, ”I merely gauged the average tolerance of others before arranging these lessons for you!”

Since both are children of the world, what Gilbert could achieve, Russell surely can too!

Although he chose to overlook that Gilbert might not have survived had he not been so intensely driven, Hill believed that after his coaching, Russell would be capable.

Russell tilted his head, couldn’t resist asking, ”Teacher, who did you use as a benchmark for me?”

Hilbert blinked: ”Umm... Archmage Ruth’s students.”

Just as he thought!

Within Archmage Ruth’s students, those who left an impression on Master Gilbert weren’t likely to be under Sixth Ring mages, right?

How could they be compared to someone like him?

Russell sometimes deeply suspected his mentor’s understanding of ”ordinary” people.

He likely knew some people couldn’t learn well but failed to grasp the varying levels among those who couldn’t.

Though Master Gilbert’s trust in him sparked some joy in Russell’s heart, he genuinely found it a bit tough.

Especially since he wasn’t yet adept at understanding the mages’ abstruse writing styles.

Russell very earnestly said: ”Teacher, I will study diligently, but I might really not finish.

Your books, the major issue is the difficulty lying on a different plane, some of the books are particularly hard to comprehend.

You might not sense this, but I... really still struggle a bit.”

Hilbert was indeed a little perplexed. He had skimmed through these volumes, even corrected some logical errors, but the content? There wasn’t anything profoundly deep!

”Which kind?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Russell turned, extracting several ancient-looking Bronze Books from the towering bookshelves behind him: ”These texts written on Bronze pages are somewhat too concise, necessitating a lot of thought and supplementation to unravel what they are truly articulating.”

Hilbert gently pressed a hand to his cheek, hesitantly asking, ”The Hainarson Clan has... really no grammar teachers left?”

Russell paused for a moment: ”Hmm? Was there one before?”

Turns out Ulrich dislikes his own family even more than Hill imagined!

Or rather, due to past incidents, that child no longer wishes to devote wholeheartedly to the family, is that it?

The ancient language grammar teacher of the Hainarson Clan was Gilbert’s eldest brother.

Ulrich never took over his father’s position, and Gilbert never saw an issue with it, given Ulrich indeed needed more time to study, being slightly less gifted.

But in his memory, Ulrich never claimed that if he didn’t teach, no one else could either.

Hilbert shook his head: ”Then, you should start by revisiting grammar books, taking Carpenter along... Just do the best you can.”