Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Felis’s advancement, although fraught with constant danger and ending in nothing more than barely acceptable, at least produced a result he could live with.

After he advanced, the reason his spiritual power could only be considered slightly below average among newly promoted mages was not because his foundation was shaky, but because, in order to expel those three pieces of trash, he had no choice but to sacrifice a large amount of spiritual power, with the consequence that his Mental Sea was left utterly empty.

But Felis could only do it this way.

He had already discovered that even if he did his best to keep his spiritual power from merging with those three things, they behaved as if they had tentacles of their own, constantly reaching out to touch.

Even though Felis kept trying to cleanse them away, the speed at which that filth polluted him was truly fast, and getting faster.

Felis tried several times to trap them, but each attempt ended up sending sheep into a tiger’s mouth... instead, it polluted vast stretches of his sea.

But this also allowed him to discover the one and only way to clean them out.

Although it required a tremendous sacrifice, it was the only method by which those three filthy things could appear at the same time, with all the residue gathering together in one place.

That was to send all his spiritual power, except for the basic amount needed for advancement, surging toward those things.

They might possess a bit of thinking ability and even act rather cunning, but that was still only instinct; they weren’t yet at the level where they could avoid a trap.

On the contrary, because of their stronger greedy nature, they would not let any opportunity slip by.

Felis knew this would make him look not much different from an outskirts mage... but judging from Russell’s habitually cautious, guarded attitude, for an unlucky bastard like him whose foundation wasn’t deep enough and who couldn’t even switch teachers, not standing out too much was not necessarily a bad thing.

If a person has something especially eye-catching about them, yet happens to lack strength and a reliable backing, that is exactly when they’re most likely to be thrown out as a piece of the Dare to Die Squad... it might be glorified as heroism, but Felis had no desire to play that part.

When there are too many downsides and you can’t avoid them all, you naturally choose the one that’s least harmful and most bearable for yourself... Felis felt he’d rather be taken for someone with no particular talents.

It’s not like he hadn’t borne that kind of burden before.

Besides, as a mage who could only live hidden away in a basement, he had no need to live such a glamorous life.

Although Felis couldn’t help mocking himself... he couldn’t deny that, throughout the first twenty years of his life, the person he envied most was someone like Russell, who drew admiring looks wherever he went.

In the dead of night, in his dreams, he always hoped he would be that center of attention in the Mortal World.

Yet when the opportunity actually appeared, the first thing he did was cross that option off the list.

As expected, life is full of a thousand different flavors; only when you’ve lived to a certain point do you finally learn who you really are.

He still envied Russell’s talents and Carpenter’s luck, but... compared to those external things, Felis finally understood that if he held fast to his own promises and pursuits, then as long as he endured the hardships, one day a flower belonging to him alone would bloom.

Maybe it wouldn’t be a profusion of blossoms like other people’s, maybe it would just be some unobtrusive wild grass or wildflower, but it would still bloom, with its own unique fragrance.

He, Felis, was now a true Mage.

He just needed more time to replenish his depleted foundation, that was all; could his days really be more painful than Gilbert’s back then?

Even if it never sees sunlight or rain, as long as there is a bit of light in the Darkness, wild grass can still quietly grow.

Thinking of this, Felis even forgot he was currently squatting, soaking wet, in water a meter deep... until Russell’s furious shout rang out: ”Damn it! Felis!

Move your fingers, do you want to flood my secret chamber?”

”Since when did it become yours?” Felis shot back without mercy, though his hands obediently began to move.

After all, he was the one who had summoned it... even though it had already turned into water, sending it back into the air was fairly easy for him.

He even understood why Russell was unwilling to do it himself: if that guy used his own Mana or a Magic Array in the secret passage, those relentless Observers might very well figure out the movement pattern of this mobile secret chamber.

Felis would very likely have to continue living in this secret room for a year or so, until all the Mid-High Rank Mages moved over to Sia Tower—no, to be precise, until the Hainarson Clan finished building their grand mansion.

Only then would he move directly into that place to live.

The best thing about this world was that unless the three Tower Masters who actually held power directly invoked the Magic Tower’s own authority, even if everyone knew Felis was idling around inside that mansion, no one could demand that the Hainarson Clan hand him over.

Of course, if someone was willing to charge into the Hainarson Clan together with him, and even stand up to testify publicly to the Tower Masters about Felis’s presence, they could lodge an official accusation... however, such tactics were only useful against families with no ability to retaliate.

Who doesn’t have a pile of filthy accounts stuck to their backside?

If anyone actually dared to kick off this kind of mutual denunciation and bottomless exposure of each other’s secrets, the inevitable outcome for everyone would be mutual destruction.

Such methods are usually only used when pressing the advantage to wipe the other side out completely... when the other side is already on the verge of total annihilation.

Eradicating the roots is something everyone does anyway; the only difference lies in whether you do it with a respectable façade or in a more ruthless fashion.

Besides, when everyone can see that he is the victim, no one would risk incurring Gilbert’s wrath just to curry favor with Prutt, who’s being tormented half to death by Aislin... Mages can be shameless for the sake of profit, but they will never be stupid enough to grab at a profit that’s poisoned.

As for that toxic Potion... ever since the day Prutt was almost pushed to the brink by Aislin, he somehow acquired a large batch of it from who-knows-where and started selling it.

Under Aislin’s pressure, which came at him from almost every direction and seeped in everywhere, he managed to hold on until now and even helped Rolando advance to the Sixth Ring, all thanks to that increasingly plump purse, with which he bought enough hands and eyes.

In particular, those mid-level mages of the Nicholson Faction who had originally been mere onlookers but were choked breathless by Principal Prutt during the chaos of the past few months, really made a killing this time.

After all, most of the so-called positions of real authority that Aislin had snatched from Prutt... were troublesome chores that the Ruth Faction absolutely refused to take on.

The students coming out from Archmage Ruth’s side were, of course, willing to take on some tasks to earn enough resources, but the precondition was that it could not affect their cultivation.

They absolutely would not allow all their daily time to be consumed by so-called work.

But, how should one put it... both Archmage Ruth and his students have always had very high standards for the apprentices they accepted, and with Ruth’s reputation for protectiveness behind them, even if their status within the faction wasn’t that high, they still had the right to pick and choose these jobs.

Thus, by this point, most of the menial work in the Tower of Dark Enigma had basically fallen into the hands of Nicholson’s disciples and grand-disciples.

In fact, from the day Felis became a mage, he had already gained half his freedom.

He could even, right now, go look for that West... this guy actually managed to keep his post in such chaotic circumstances; he truly is one of The Wise Ones... if he did, that man would obediently record his name in the registry.

Felis certainly wouldn’t do that... although it wasn’t very risky, it would still be a provocation.

Even though Kamente Tower had, surprisingly, maintained his stance as Tower Master of the Tower of Dark Enigma in this matter... although Sia Tower was caught up in internal strife, judging from Kamente Tower’s past behavior, any faction from over there was worth more in his eyes than the entire Tower of Dark Enigma.

Many people speculated that Kamente Tower was somewhat displeased about those people circumventing him and selling Mental Power Potions with severe side effects in the Tower of Dark Enigma through Prutt.

Yes, Mages aren’t stupid; just from Ruth and Nicholson’s attitude—let alone the obviously obedient behavior of most of their students—it was clear enough... the Potion was indeed extremely effective, but its side effects were also enormous.

Especially for apprentices, after taking it, the side effects might even outweigh the benefits.

Only people with stronger spiritual power could truly gain from it.

But for those whose lifespans were reaching their limit—especially official mages who had seen Rolando’s current condition—it was very hard to restrain that desire... so what if they became gloomy in temperament, even cold-blooded and wicked?

They were already on the verge of not being able to live!

So during this period, everyone in the Tower of Dark Enigma was in a strange state of choosing.

Faced with this situation, the three Tower Masters all remained silent.

From here on, it all depended on when Prutt would die.