Chapter 205: Chapter 205: The Best of Both Worlds
The young mage sneered, "Hmph, what tricks are you trying to play?"
Dean Bruce smiled slightly, "Let's have a duel of magical knowledge. If you win, we can discuss the artifact, but if I win, you have to explain everything—fair enough?"
The young mage frowned, thinking for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'll see what you're capable of."
Dean Bruce started with a question, "Let me go first. Do you know of an ancient spell that can temporarily bind a soul to an object? What are the key steps involved?"
The young mage sneered, "That's easy. You need a pure crystal as the medium, cast under a full moon, and use the soul's power to activate the Soul Binding Spell."
"Correct," Dean Bruce nodded. "Now, if this soul-binding magic is used for evil purposes, is there a way to break the spell?"
The young mage hesitated for a moment before replying, "The crystal can be purified with the power of light, and at the same time, a powerful mental force can be used to strike at the bound soul, breaking the evil control."
"Well answered." Dean Bruce continued, "Now, what if the crystal is enhanced by a special magic and cannot be purified with the power of light?"
A glimmer of thought crossed the young mage's eyes. "In that case, you'd need to trace the source of the enhancing magic and counteract it with a magic of the opposite property before purification can take place."
"Good." Dean Bruce raised his voice, "Here's a new question. During the ancient magical wars, there was a spell that could make an entire group of soldiers invisible. What is its weakness?"
Without hesitation, the young mage responded, "The Group Invisibility Spell consumes a tremendous amount of magical energy. If you use magic to detect mana or interfere with magical fluctuations, the invisibility will fail."
Dean Bruce clapped his hands. "It seems you know quite a bit about ancient magical knowledge. Here's a tougher one. There's a magical array that can distort space, allowing a person to enter an alternate dimension. To break out from within the array, what must be done?"
The young mage fell silent for a moment, then slowly replied, "You need to find the projection of the array's core within the alternate dimension, then strike it with great force. At the same time, you must resonate your own magical energy with the magic of the alternate dimension to locate its weak point and break the array."
"Well answered," Dean Bruce said. "Now it's your turn to ask a question."
The young mage looked at Dean Bruce, a glint of challenge in his eyes. "There is a spell that can temporarily bring the dead back to life. However, the revived dead are uncontrollable and will attack those around them in a frenzy. What is the forbidden aspect of casting this spell?"
Dean Bruce felt a chill run through him. He knew this was a deeply evil spell, but he still answered, "The spell requires the caster's life force as a price. The forbidden aspect is that it cannot be cast in places where there is powerful magical interference. If attempted, the soul of the dead will be corrupted by the magic, becoming even more violent."
The young mage gave a slight nod. "Next question. There is a magical artifact that can control the flow of time. What is the price of using it?"
Dean Bruce thought for a moment before replying, "Using such an artifact to control time consumes the user's soul power. Overuse can cause the soul to dissipate, and after each use, temporal distortions appear in the surrounding space, which can lead to unpredictable dangers."
The young mage's gaze became sharper. "There is a spell that can completely erase a person's memory and rewrite new ones. What would happen if this spell were used on a large group of people?"
Dean Bruce's brow furrowed. "It would cause severe damage to the souls of those affected. Large-scale use would disrupt the causal laws of the world, potentially leading to a temporal collapse, even bringing about the destruction of the world."
After several rounds of questioning, both of them had gained new insights into each other's magical knowledge. The young mage looked at Dean Bruce. "I didn't expect you to know so much. However, that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on the artifact."
Dean Bruce met his gaze. "We can keep talking. Perhaps we can find a solution that works for both of us."
At that moment, the school's magical defense array suddenly shook violently, as though a more powerful force was attacking from the outside.
Both Dean Bruce and the young mage turned to look in the direction of the defense array, uncertain of what new development had occurred.
Outside the defense array, dark clouds gathered, and lightning flashed. A massive black vortex slowly formed within the clouds. Powerful magical energy surged from the vortex, relentlessly battering the school's magical defense array.
Dean Bruce's expression darkened. "What's going on now? Looks like we're in for more trouble today."
The young mage also frowned. "This energy didn't come from me. It seems like a third party is involved."
At that moment, the headmaster rushed over. "This is bad. The magical fluctuations are too strong. We need to stabilize the defense array first."
Dean Bruce nodded. "Headmaster, let's reinforce the array together."
The three of them hurried to the core of the defense array and began casting spells to channel magic into it. However, the power from the black vortex was overwhelming, and cracks began to appear in the defense array.
"We can't keep going like this; we need to find the source of this power," Dean Bruce shouted.
The young mage's eyes suddenly lit up. "I can feel it. This magic is connected to the betrayal my family suffered. Those traitors might be back."
The headmaster looked at him, "Are you sure? If that's the case, we'll need to join forces to fight them off first. We can talk about the artifact later."
The young mage hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, let's deal with the immediate crisis first."
Dean Bruce cast a spell, attempting to pierce through the black vortex and see what was inside. After a bit of effort, he saw several figures in black robes, each holding a staff glowing with an eerie light, constantly casting spells.
"It's black-robed mages. They must be after the artifact," Dean Bruce said.
The headmaster turned to the young mage. "Do you have any way to deal with them?"
The young mage thought for a moment. "We can try attacking from the side, disrupting their magical balance, and then focus all our power for a counterattack."
Dean Bruce and the headmaster agreed with the plan. The three of them quietly slipped through a weak point in the defense array and moved to the side of the black-robed mages.
They launched their attack simultaneously, sending a surge of powerful magical energy toward the black-robed mages. Caught off guard, the mages were thrown into disarray, and the force of the black vortex began to weaken.
"Now, counterattack!" the headmaster shouted.
The three of them unleashed their full magical power, charging toward the black-robed mages. Seeing this, the mages quickly focused their strength to resist. A fierce magical battle broke out outside the school, with flashes of magic lighting up the entire sky.
During the battle, Dean Bruce noticed that the magic used by the black-robed mages was unusual. It seemed to be a blend of dark magic and ancient forbidden arts.
"Be careful, their magic is strange and may have hidden attacks," Dean Bruce warned.
The young mage also sensed something off. "I'll disrupt their magic. You two cover me."
He cast a special spell, trying to interfere with the flow of the black-robed mages' magic. The headmaster and Dean Bruce stood guard, blocking the mages' attacks to protect the young mage.
After a fierce struggle, they finally discovered a weakness in the black-robed mages' defenses and successfully forced them back. The black vortex slowly faded, and the school's magical defense array ceased its violent fluctuations.
"Phew, it's finally over," Dean Bruce sighed in relief.
The young mage looked at Dean Bruce and the headmaster. "I owe you both. It seems we had some misunderstandings before. As for the artifact, I think it's time we have a proper discussion."
The headmaster looked at him. "That's right, we can find a place to talk in detail and clear up these misunderstandings."
They returned to the school and went to the headmaster's office. The young mage began to share the story of his family and the importance of the artifact to them.
"This artifact is a family heirloom, stolen by traitors many years ago, which led to the downfall of my family. I've been searching for it ever since, hoping to restore my family's honor," the young mage explained.
Dean Bruce thought for a moment after hearing this. "We understand how you feel, but this artifact is also crucial to our school's assessment process. Perhaps we can work together and find a way that meets your needs while allowing the school to continue using it."
The headmaster nodded. "Exactly. Perhaps we can find a way to share the artifact's power or, at the right moment, return it to you."
The young mage pondered for a moment. "In that case, we could try sharing the artifact's power first and see if it works."
Dean Bruce and the headmaster both agreed with this suggestion. They decided to work together on researching how to share the artifact's power, while also investigating the black-robed mages and the forces behind them, to prevent another attack.
However, as they continued their study of the artifact, they discovered new mysterious runes on it. These runes seemed to conceal an even greater secret.
"Bruce, what do you think these runes mean?" the headmaster asked.
Dean Bruce wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. He had no idea what these runes meant, but he couldn't let himself look incompetent.
So, he took a quick glance and, in an effort to save face, began to make up an explanation.
"Headmaster, I believe these runes might be related to an ancient form of spatial magic. Look at the way the lines flow—they seem to resemble a kind of spatial coordinate mapping. Perhaps this artifact doesn't just control the magical array of Ghostly Valley, but could also open a hidden spatial passage," Dean Bruce said earnestly, though in his mind, he was praying that he wouldn't be caught.
The headmaster furrowed his brow. "A spatial passage? That's a new perspective. But if that's the case, where does this passage lead? And what is its purpose?"
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