Soul of Searing Steel

The power of magic was the power of the world.

It was a power that existed everywhere in this world. Human used their soul to control the power, turning it into reality based on their own ideals. Based on theory, it was a technique that could create any possibility. This was the initial form of magic itself.

The casters from the beginning were known to be sages which were born with strong souls and high intelligence. They were able to identify things which regular folk were unaware of in their lives.

They believed that the ‘Psion’ world was a gift from heaven. Using their own talent, they gathered ‘psions’ and turned them into ‘psionic power’. Using this power, they created clean water out of thin air and raised fires. All these abilities were used to benefit their tribes to live on through the ancient era.

Psion was their original name. This class was no longer the typical one in the current era, which depended only on their strong souls and mental strength. Even though they were no longer the common class in this era, it does not hinder them from having an honorable status. In the kingdom located in the Western Mountain region, there were three great psion families. Their bloodline could be traced back to thousand years back without any interruption. Although psions were rare in this era, the long-serving history and legacy gave them great strength and power.

In this era, the usual method utilized in the world of mages was to resonate their souls to manipulate the energy that flowed within the world. Utilizing this method, they could use the power to complete their desired task.

To use their senses to detect, to use their wisdom to understand, and to use their mind to control. Being a mage was no easy task. The difficulty to become a full-fledged mage was comparable to a knight which had to train day and night. To further understand the theories behind elements and magic attributes, they had to spend time to research, perform numerous calculations and conduct analyses. Only with all these efforts, could mages immediately form the spell that they need during critical moments.

The statement above was only the basic criteria to become a mage. Before achieving this state, most of the people had to awaken their own talent to be able to ‘feel’ the presence of this energy.

Son of Andre the hunter, grandson of Edward the scholar, Ivan Makarov was performing this task.

Within Winter Fort Academy which was located on Mount Nissia, close to a hundred students from the first batch which consisted of children and teenagers were sitting on their respective placements. All of them were pulling a long face looking at the different models of magic tools.

The test to identify magic talent was not as simple as taking out a crystal ball to test just like how it was portrayed in a fairy tale. Ivan already knew this fact, yet today he could not hold his temper and ranted, “Why is this so bothersome?”

There was a black box with the size of half the table in front of him. In the middle of the box, there was a shining red light which was slowly moving around.

This magic tool was named as [Sensing Maze for Beginners in Magic]. At the center of the tool was dense elemental magic sealed within. Those with a certain level of talent in magic could ignite a small flame within the tool by looking at it in high focus. There was a small 3D maze within the box. The goal of all contestants was to control the magic light which represented themselves to the center of the maze.

This examination was able to test out the affinity of elements, spirit, intelligence and the focus duration of each contestant. Thus, the item was named as Sensing Maze for Beginners in Magic. Those who were able to clear this task would have no problems advancing to become an Upper Silver-tier mage. Even those who were incompetent could also enter the realm of Silver Tier. It is unlikely for them to be stuck as apprentices only.

Ivan’s elemental affinity was not bad. The red light which represents himself was very bright. He was at least a few times brighter compared to the students around the same age near him. However, his willpower to focus was not up to par. The red light flickered quite erratically. When he was more impatient, it was even more apparent.

After being taught by his grandfather for the past few months, Ivan knew that his control was not brilliant. He then chose to extinguish his light and closed his eyes while taking a deep breath.

His sister’s talent was way above himself. She was chosen by the instructors after a few minutes to choose the courses which she would be interested to attend. He could not lose out too much as a brother.

After calming himself, he tried to focus on the black maze once again. This time, he was able to guide his light to pass through the complex maze, reaching the center of the tool.

It was a successful attempt.

Joshua was standing on the stage within the examination hall, monitoring those who were trying hard to figure out ways to solve the problem in front of them and those who were feeling very restless. His eyes were calm. Ying and Ling were following behind him, accompanying their master to monitor the hall.

The newly fixed stage still had the smell of paint. After taking a deep breath, Joshua turned around his body and headed towards the pathway to the observatory located at the top of the academy. The Divine Armaments followed him.

Master does not look very happy.

As they walked through the pathway at a quick pace, Ying felt her master’s emotion. As she turned and looked at her younger brother, Ling nodded his head as well, acknowledging that he felt the same way.

Why?

The same question was raised in both hearts. It was very hard to understand.

Today, Winter Fort Academy was formally open. There were hundreds of people attending the test. Those talented young people had come forward to join the academy, becoming a part of the force of Moldavia. Those were the future leaders of Moldavia, filled with passion and hope.

Under such circumstance, why does our Master feeling unhappy? 

Both Ying and Ling shook their head, feeling that something was off.

As the moved forward to the observatory, Joshua stood on the snow-filled building and looked towards the south. As he looked towards that direction, both of his eyes were calm.

Previously, he was not unhappy about anything. It’s just that looking at the environment filled with hopes and dreams, stirred his emotions from within.

At the foot of the mountain, there were numerous groups of people slowly advancing. Under Joshua’s command, numerous mages and knights utilized their power to open a path from the main city towards Mount Nissia. The path was still filled with snow. Occasionally there will be someone who provides guidance for them throughout their journey without getting lost in this white land.

The path stretched all the way to the south, passing through the falling snow. It was as if the pathway was leading them to the edge of the world.

In Joshua’s eyes, not only did he see the dust of snow dancing within the vast sky, he also saw numerous misty white particles which represented the element of ice and the process of freezing. The white magic energy was rapidly increasing in density every second.

This phenomenon existed because of the blizzard storm. It also represented the forecast where the Dark Tide is approaching. Being chosen by Nostradamus, this place had one of the thickest magical energy. It was easier to detect these small changes in Winter Fort as compared to other places.

The arrival of Dark Tide signified a battle approaching.

From the invasion of a magic tide from the multiverse, the dimensional barrier of the world would slowly weaken. The world would enter a new chapter where the fate of people would drastically change. The dimensional gate which could not be easily seen in a hundred years would repetitively reproduce. Interdimensional wars between different worlds would occur and become more complicated as time passed.

Opportunities existed within every disaster. It would be one of the best generations and could also be one of the worst timelines to live in. Joshua came to the Mycroft continent by accident. All the big events had not happened during the time he reached here. At this moment, the prelude would come to an end. A new age of turbulence would soon arrive. Joshua knew that he would have to once again face all calamities, meeting old rivals.

At this point, there no way to identify whether he was very excited or extremely looking forward towards the future. He recalled all those students with sour faces but eyes filled with passion and hope in the examination hall.

At this point, Joshua could only lament.

The future of this young generation could be brilliant. Yet, the introduction of Magic Rising would bring forth great changes. Different catastrophic events would befall them. Who knows after then years or more, how many of them would be able to live to see another day?

A he turned his head, he saw a pine tree located at the foot of the mountain.

The green leaves on the tree retained its appearance even in the chilling wind and snow. Even if it was frozen and caused the branches to bend, it still does not stop it from standing straight in the white cold world.

Why do I have to think so much?

Joshua suddenly felt that his lamentation was a bit laughable.

Since when was he such a benevolent guy?

Shaking his head, Joshua laughed at his own behavior.

Just like the pine wood, these trees needed the hone themselves in the cold. The small buddings would need to face difficulties as well. Human should be exposing themselves under pressure to become a better man. Everything in the future will be part of their own life. It was not something that Joshua should worry about their behalf.

No matter what type of difficulty faced, the buds still had to germinate seeds. Even the buds could break the hard rock as they grow. Joshua believed that all this young generation would break through the darkest day, growing strong and stand by his side one day.

Ying and Ling also noticed that their master’s feeling turned out to be quite positive at that moment. When the three of them wanted to leave the observatory to go back to the examination hall, a dimensional disruption spread across the land.

A blue wave rippled in the air and Nostradamus appeared in front of them.

“Joshua.”

Before the warrior replied, the old mage said with a serious tone, “You are right.”

With a rapid and direct tone, he said without letting anyone interrupt, “The Dragon’s Calamity had begun.”

Dragon’s Calamity?

Ying blinked her eyes. This word was quite familiar to her. Ling tried to recall the conversation they had. Suddenly his expression changed and responded.

At this point, Nostradamus took out a magic map. Without any waste of time, Joshua moved forward towards the side of the old mage.

This magic map was the clone of the map which was hung in the room of the warrior. The magic of the map could connect to the database of the Imperial Royal Mages Guild to display all sorts of information.

Under the influence of his magic, changes were made on the map covered with blue and green patches. At first, the blue area where the oceanic cities were located turned red. After that, small red dots covered all the area of the coast.

“At this point, the southern kingdom is facing an invasion at all sides.” His message was very simple. “This news had spread throughout the world.”

“Is this the latest status?” Joshua could understand what the red dot meant. He frowned and asked, “Do you have more detailed information or video clip messages?”

“Of course I have.”

After finishing his sentence, magic energy gathered on the map. Nostradamus easily creating a link through the magical map and broadcasting a display which looked like a video in the air.

In the display, it showed a certain coast in the far south. The peaceful blue sky was now covered with dark clouds. Tsunamis were made and a corrosive magic energy gathered in that area. This energy was like a huge hand covering the skies, creating green lightning which could lighten up the dark sky. As the dark cloud slowly covering the land, small black dots dashed out of the clouds, heading directly towards the coast.

From the brilliance of the lightning, a black body was shown by the light provided.

These were all dragons.

The berserk dragons covered in dark purple aura were flapping their strong wings, dashing out of the dark clouds to attack the human kingdom in front of them. Their loud roars were terrifying, as if they wanted to destroy everything with their roars alone.

Not long after the dark cloud appeared, there were pillars of light piercing through the dark cloud, dispersing the darkness that covered the land. Under the strong pressure, the berserk dragon could only cry in pain and fall into the vast land and sea, turning into minced meat.

The coastal city had already prepared their defensive mechanisms. The plot of the Pentashade Dragons was long known by the people in the southern area. They had already evacuated most of the civilian, turning their city as the first line of defense against the incoming dragon assault, formulating a plan for a counter-attack.

After looking at this scene, Joshua felt a bit nostalgic.

In the past, he was once a member of the coastal city, facing the dragon’s raid. He was once at the southern land, leading his troop battling against numerous dragons.

“Joshua, what you have said was true. The dragon had planned this for a long time. They had at least prepared for a few hundred years.”

The great mage said, “This is another calamity. Luckily the Empire had prepared themselves for this.”

Joshua shook his head.

This was nothing compared to the things that would happen later on.

“This is only the prelude.”

Joshua said it to himself. As he walked towards the examination hall, he said, “This is only the dispute marking the beginning of a new era.”

4th Arc, The End of Dragons’ Sin. (End)