Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Squatting underground, Hill was quite satisfied.

Russell, really, apart from his slightly lacking aptitude, was perfect in other aspects.

But when he thought about it, with his bit of fate, this child would not fall short of Adrian!

Indeed, his birth gathered the favor of this world... although it might not seem much to outsiders, it was already the last bit of toothpaste squeezed out by the World Will.

Although pitiful, it was certainly rare.

In a sense, Russell was truly lucky yet unfortunate.

Lucky in that he indeed possessed fate, and it could even be said that, if various factors allowed this world to escape the clutches of devils, he could seize the opportunity to become a deity.

However, the unfortunate part was, although various powers existed, in the absence of others intending to fight for it, this world was destined to be occupied by the Styx.

The position of the World Master was already settled, and even his deputy position was already determined... the inclinations of the World Will varied in intensity.

Gilbert was the one greater than Russell.

Once he stepped to the forefront, the World Will would quickly entrust the last bit of its fate onto him.

Russell could only be the one possessing good luck, but never the best.

But if he did not intend to take the path of deities and only wished to be a mage, he would still be lucky yet unlucky.

Lucky in that as long as his will remained firm, with Gilbert’s presence, the world wouldn’t force him to change his stance.

Unfortunate in that he must first repay all the benefits the world had given him before he could leave to pursue his path as a mage.

In fact, this distinction could be seen from the archmages of Toril.

Elminster’s talents were incredibly outstanding, astonishing even the Goddess of Magic... But in the early stages, he got involved in too many paths of destiny for Toril, so in the later stages, even though he appeared old, decrepit, and just wanting to retreat, destiny kept sending all sorts of chaotic plots his way.

He cautiously toiled for so long, and it was not until the goddess of magic changed to Midnight that he had the chance to build his Ilminster Planet in the Stellar Realm.

This time with Edna’s incident, old Elminster, huddled in the Stellar Realm, was likely most worried about being pulled back to Toril by the Weave.

Although he was the chosen of the first Goddess of Magic, he still carried the Weave’s coordinates and had responsibilities in stabilizing it.

Hill was quite surprised he wasn’t pulled back... but evidently, although Midnight was very annoyed with Azuth wanting to act like her dad, she still trusted the Deity of Mages.

Thus, Azuth could directly take on the role of suppressing the Weave’s turmoil when she was in trouble.

Furthermore, concerned with world safety, Midnight really distributed many Weave coordinates to loyal followers, so the Weave no longer needed to regard the Chosen as heavily as the previous two goddesses had, seeking them out whenever an issue arose.

So, this was also why the Northern Seven Sisters didn’t complain much despite being neglected by the Goddess of Magic.

Indeed, their importance within the Weave system diminished, but neither did they have to bear too heavy a responsibility, at least not constantly fighting for it as when the former goddess was around.

Truth be told, Elminster could live so comfortably in the past century thanks to Midnight’s clear-cut, steadfast, and emotionally selective good nature... If it were the former Black Eye Mystra, how could she let him escape like that?

Who knows how many ways she would think of to drag Elminster back into her Bewitching Net!

Russell’s future was actually similar to Elminster’s.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t break free, but he could become a relatively free mage as long as he kept repaying debts and not involving himself out of personal desires.

Anyway, no one could completely sever themselves from their world, so maintaining a proper limit on the connection with the world would suffice.

No choice; if a mage wished to go further on the path of mages, they must reduce the tangled lines of destiny wrapped around them.

Hill was the same.

But his fortune lay in that, although he and Teraxil were inseparably linked, Teraxil’s threads of fate wouldn’t actively entangle him.

Thus, he didn’t need to worry about any causality with his world... The better Teraxil was, the better he’d be.

And as he ventured outside, every merit he contributed would be rewarded back to his world.

Unless one day Hill suddenly chose to become a deity of some world, nothing could take his fate and merits from Teraxil.

However, it was precisely because of a keen sense in such matters that Hill was always reluctant to accept students.

No choice, anyone that met his standards basically wasn’t ordinary.

Talents, a gift from the world, and if coupled with some fate... dense threads of causality were inevitable.

Hill really didn’t like adding trouble to himself.

Even if someone could earn his admiration and reluctant glances, those few were enough for him to resolutely turn away.

But Russell was somewhat different.

Let’s just say... as long as he adhered to the path of mages, he found it remarkably easy to extricate himself from all this trouble.

Although it needed quite some time to unlock from the world, this world, about to change masters, wouldn’t continue entangling with him.

Just like Elminster... retreat for a time, and reduce contact with emerging humans, and he would truly just be Archmage Elminster.

Hill was genuinely tempted this time.

He blinked and seriously pondered... he had helped the Styx so greatly, and according to the usual style of such primordial beings, the Styx would undoubtedly find a way to repay him.

So, could he perhaps...

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

Russell sighed, looking at Carpenter’s imposing back, he could merely caution sincerely, ”Carpenter, don’t overdo it.

Illusion Technique is still your foundation, never forget that.”

”Don’t worry, Brother Russell.” Carpenter waved, ”I’ll go with you to watch Felis’ promotion!”

This time, Carpenter wasn’t bragging.

She was truly ashamed.

Although Master Gilbert had warned her before, she still made the mistake!

Carpenter knew deep down that reaching this point, she was driven by one thing: her inexorable vanity.

To her, Illusion Technique was a life-saving straw.

It made her realize she also had decent talents, not just a misfortunate soul used for matchmaking.

The encounters over those years, and the suppressed emotions, filled Carpenter’s heart with resentment and dissatisfaction.

Thus, the day she knew she could become an official mage, she indulged in euphoria.

Even though she tried to control it, Carpenter couldn’t suppress her impulse to shock those who looked down on her before.

She genuinely couldn’t achieve the composure Russell had.

Realizing her mental journey, shame overwhelmed Carpenter... but with this understanding, she finally didn’t have to overvalue Illusion Techniques.

She wasn’t unable to learn other spells but was perpetually distracted.

Otherwise, why did she grasp the Dance of Light Spell so effortlessly!

Master Gilbert had hinted many times explicitly and implicitly.

Unfortunately, she was just consumed by vanity.

No wonder later the master left Russell to teach her, probably believing she got caught in a pointless vortex, not worth telling more.

Carpenter quietly pushed the door open to her room, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes: thus, had she lost her last chance due to her foolishness?