Chapter 172: Three Years

Chapter 172: Three Years

The Crimson Mask, the symbol of Sein’s first successful creation of an advanced magic item as a magic initiate, broke unexpectedly.

It was impossible to remain unaffected by the loss.

The mask was not just a product of Sein’s intellect. It also represented several months of dedicated effort.

Yet, amidst the disappointment and regret, Sein felt a surge of excitement and determination.

His idea of engraving the enhanced Solar Eye magic spell onto the mask had shown promise, evidenced by his successful integration of two Solar Eye nodes.

However, the intense elemental nature of the Solar Eye magic spell demanded exceptionally robust materials for its host.

Even the specially enhanced material of the Crimson Mask could only sustain more than two Solar Eye nodes.

“Engraving thirty-six Solar Eyes on the mask may be unrealistic at this stage, six is entirely within my capabilities. Combined with the Solar Eyes I can already harness, that would give a total of twelve. Together, they could pose a threat to even full-fledged mages!” Sein mused, his excitement palpable.

At this moment, Sein looked like an alchemist who had lost his mind.

Selina’s concerned voice reached him, but Sein barely registered her words as he kept mumbling to himself.

The recent explosion in the lab had not impaired his brain. Instead, it filled his mind with a whirlwind of groundbreaking ideas.

He was a genius initiate, and his bold ambition of fusing magic and alchemy was redefining limits. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Wielding six Solar Eyes, he was accessing a promising power on a scale usually reserved for full-fledged mages.

The prospect of wielding twelve Solar Eyes was a venture into uncharted territory, potentially elevating Sein’s abilities beyond the typical reach of an initiate!

Sein quickly used the Cleanse spell to clean his robe and the soot from his skin before dashing outside the dormitory without a word to Selina.

Sein had to visit the commercial areas on the outskirts of the divine tower urgently to purchase a selection of lumen and pyro magic materials and a substantial number of magic metals for his upcoming experiments.

While he could acquire these materials on the commercial streets within the divine tower academy, Sein had noticed the items sold within the academy usually came with exorbitant prices.

Despite having the funds, he was not keen on spending unnecessarily, especially given the significant investment of time, effort, and resources that truth exploration demanded.

However, purchasing items outside the Divine Tower Academy presented a unique set of challenges not found within the academy’s stores.

This influx was due to the upcoming Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War, scheduled to occur in six months. It was a notable event that occurred only once every fifty years.

Although the majority of initiates at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring were relatively young, a handful of them had participated in the last Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.

Those seasoned initiates were now predominantly senior initiates or above.

The atmosphere was tense, with even these experienced individuals feeling a deep-seated anxiety about the upcoming war.

Their apprehension was palpable and had a cascading effect on the newer initiates.

Rumors and misconceptions about the war circulated, painting the event as a perilous battle that could result in significant loss of life.

While it was true that previous Inter-Divine Tower Academy Wars had seen some fatalities, they were not as catastrophic as some believed.

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s goal was to nurture, not endanger, its initiates.

The war was designed to hone skills and identify exceptional talent, preparing them for future roles as full-fledged mages and potential members of the mage armies in interplanar wars.

To support this, the divine tower provided participants with a disposable life-saving magic item that could quickly extract initiates from the trial area if they faced insurmountable opposition.

Despite these safety measures, the event still witnessed a considerable loss rate among participants from the major divine towers, averaging between twenty to thirty percent.

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, unfortunately, often saw higher casualty rates. This was attributed to a relatively smaller pool of top-tier initiate talent.

During the last war, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring faced a grim statistic with nearly forty percent of its initiates failing to survive the ordeal.

This stark statistic contributed to the apprehension felt by many seasoned initiates, with the mortality rate nearing half, likening participation to a perilous dance with danger.

Yet, the incentives for braving the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War were substantial.

Post-war periods typically saw a spike in the number of initiates becoming full-fledged mages across all major divine towers, including the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Not only that, survivors who endured until the end of the war were eligible for significant rewards.

These included academy merit points, energy crystals, and magicoins, with the scale of rewards increasing with higher rankings.

The potential gains were so substantial that they even drew the attention of full-fledged mages of Rank One and above.