novellaaa Chapter 6 Get him out of here!
Chapter 6 Get him out of here!
"Boom—!"
Suddenly, the ground of the entire Blackrock Town began to tremble violently!
Everyone tensed up, wondering what had happened.
"Look!"
On the magic circle, the huge stones engraved with runes slowly rose from the ground and hovered half a meter above the ground, drawn by an invisible force.
The runes on the stone began to shimmer with a faint light.
People in the square quickly retreated, fearing that the magic circle was about to explode.
Jack, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed as if he had seen a ghost, a chill running down his spine.
He could clearly feel streams of energy surging from beneath the magic array.
"This is magic gathering!..."
"Impossible! He didn't even chant a spell... how could he possibly channel magic power?" Jack stared at the boy's back in front of the magic circle, his face full of doubt.
However, reality didn't give him any extra time to think.
"boom--"
With a deep rumble, a pure flame, more than three times thicker than before, burst forth from the center of the large fire-gathering array, like a volcanic eruption.
Immediately afterwards, the flames spread along the patterns on the array plate, instantly transforming into a huge fire ring with a diameter of over ten meters.
"It's over! The formation has overloaded and gone out of control!"
Feeling the immense fire element that erupted in an instant, Jack was terrified.
In his mind, such a violent burst of magic would definitely destroy the entire square! He instinctively covered his head and fell to the side, afraid of being swallowed by the sea of fire.
However, the anticipated scene of flames engulfing everything did not occur.
Jack opened his eyes with trembling hands, only to see that the huge fire array, which was more than ten meters wide, did not emit a single spark!
They burned with extreme quiet and stability, as if precisely restrained by an invisible, absolute barrier.
The townspeople, who had been shivering from the cold, suddenly felt a wave of heat, like the warm spring sun, wash over them.
The snow on the square melted instantly, and even the dark clouds over the entire Blackrock Town seemed to be forcibly dissolved by this heat.
The whole town was warm and spring-like.
It was even a bit hot.
"It's done!"
Romberg snapped his fingers lightly.
Modifying this code based on ley lines was indeed a bit complicated, as it involved advanced spells he had never encountered before, and he wasn't entirely confident about it to begin with.
However, it seems that the system is even more powerful than he imagined. With the source code as a foundation, it was compiled successfully on the first try.
It seems that creating magic code out of thin air is not so easy; we need to study the magic code that explains the origin of this world more thoroughly.
"The magical flames have been reignited!"
The tavern owner, Gil, was the first to cheer. Looking at the fire array, which was several times more vibrant than before, he excitedly rushed forward and grabbed Rom's shoulder: "Rom! Well done! You rekindled the magic circle!"
As Gil cheered, the entire square instantly erupted in cheers.
The bearded mayor was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes.
He felt the terrifying heat wave wash over him, so hot that he took off his heavy animal-skin hat, wiping the sweat from his brow as he shouted:
"As expected of Archmage Hamelin's disciple! Good heavens, this magical flame is so hot, it's like being transported back to the height of summer many years ago! With this level of magical protection, even if a large number of magical beasts come tonight, they absolutely won't dare to approach Blackrock Town!"
The townspeople around also threw down their weapons and cheered, some even taking off their heavy cotton-padded coats because they were so hot in the freezing weather.
"This...this is absolutely impossible..."
At the edge of the crowd, Jack stared intently at the towering ring of fire and swallowed hard.
He didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but the intense heat was undeniable.
Even his vest was completely soaked with sweat.
Such rapid and skillful spellcasting, such a pure fire-gathering array without any leakage of magic power... For him, a second-tier mage who had studied in the city, this was simply unheard of!
Seeing Rom, dressed in simple coarse cloth and without even a staff, Jack's worldview was greatly shaken.
"How could such a country bumpkin possibly repair and reconstruct a large-scale magical defense array with his bare hands?! In the magic academy of Red Dragon City, this is something that only a third-tier or higher archmage proficient in elemental arrays could accomplish!"
Jack was suddenly startled, and a thought flashed through his mind.
"Could it be... that this kid used a high-level [Spell Scroll]?!"
The more Jack thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was the only possibility.
Some powerful mages can pay a certain price to seal their spells and magic in specially made scrolls.
The user does not need to be very powerful; they can release the sealed magic simply by using the scroll.
However, this method is extremely extravagant because the sealing process generates a huge loss of magical power, and such scrolls are usually only affordable for high-ranking nobles or armies.
"That kid must have just used a large-scale fire-gathering spell scroll!"
Jack seemed to have found the answer, but then broke out in a cold sweat.
Such a scroll is definitely not something a penniless apprentice like him could afford.
This can only mean that it's that old guy Hamelin!
Could it be that Hamelin has actually become so powerful that he can casually create and seal large-scale array scrolls?!
"Damn it... the guild's information that Hamelin is only a first-tier mage is definitely wrong! This old monster is hiding his true strength!"
Just as Jack was having second thoughts, the bearded mayor suddenly turned around, his previous meekness gone, and pointed at Jack, shouting sternly:
"Honorable mage guest! Now that the grand formation is repaired, Blackrock Town will not allow you to stay overnight!"
"We have a powerful mage here who truly protects us; his name is Hamelin! You just spoke rudely to Master Hamelin; now, please leave immediately!"
"Get out of Blackrock!"
"Get out! We don't need you!"
The townspeople around them mustered their courage, grabbed spears and pitchforks, and indignantly pushed Jack out of town.
Jack was pushed so hard he stumbled and almost fell in the snow several times.
He swallowed hard, looking at the sky that wasn't completely dark yet, and knew he couldn't stay any longer.
"You...you ignorant scoundrels! Just you wait!"
After uttering a few harsh words, Jack wrapped his robes tighter and fled Blackrock Town in a sorry state amidst the wind and snow.
Watching Jack's disheveled figure, the mayor gratefully moved closer to Rom:
"Rom, we were foolish just now! Master Hamelin was seriously injured, and we in Blackrock Town must never forget our gratitude!"
I will have someone bring out all the medicine and food in town. Please be sure to take it back so that the master can properly recover!
As he spoke, the town mayor immediately called several able-bodied young men home to retrieve their belongings.
Luo Mu remained calm, but he understood perfectly well.
It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm. These powerless mountain people simply longed for a sorcerer who could protect them and help them survive.
They worship whoever can light the fire array.
"No need for that."
Rom said calmly, "Just hand over this year's Blackrock Town offerings directly. Teacher Hamelin's injuries will probably require magic crystals to heal."
"Yes, yes, yes! It's only right!" the mayor agreed repeatedly, and immediately turned around to order people to open the town's small treasure vault.
A moment later, the town mayor came over carrying a small wooden box and opened it somewhat hesitantly:
"Romu, this winter has been long and the weather has been bad, so people haven't been going into the mountains to hunt as often. This... this is all the offerings the town has managed to scrape together; there are only five low-grade magic crystals left. Please don't find them too cheap..."
Inside the wooden box lay five translucent stones, each about the size of a fingertip, emitting a faint red glow.
This is a magic crystal, a product of magical crystallization deep within the earth.
Magic crystals are usually found in mining areas or condensed inside the bodies of magical beasts.
In this world, it is the most coveted resource for mages, because magic crystals can not only be used to make potions to quickly replenish mages' magic power, but also to create various high-level items.
This is exactly what Rom urgently needs.
He needed to verify whether this magical crystal could be converted into the system's [mental computing power].
As long as computing power is continuously available, he can program more spells.