Kingdom Map

Suye glanced at the basic magic lessons, feeling he hadn't memorized them firmly enough, but this content was of utmost importance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Horton resting and had a flash of inspiration.

Suye put on an act and said, "Horton, how did you do in today's basic magic lesson?"

Horton felt a headache coming on and replied, "I can roughly understand it, but I can't remember it."

Suye immediately smiled and said, "I think it's fine. Let me tell you, today's lesson is easy to remember. Imagine a map in your mind, with the Greek Peninsula and the Aegean Sea in the middle. At the border between the blue ocean and the yellow-brown land, a towering white Magic Tower stands tall—that's the internal visualization form of us Greek mages. On the clouds around the Magic Tower, a Rainbow Horse-drawn carriage keeps running endlessly. The Magic Carriage is the common flying Magic Artifact for us Greek mages."

"Above the map, that is, to the north, is a vast expanse of ice and snow. In that snowy land, all kinds of beasts are scattered—polar bears, Arctic foxes, giant whales—all howling wildly. These animals are the internal visualization forms of the Nordic Mages, called beast souls. In the ice and snow, large ships break through the ice as they move forward, which are the common flying Magic Artifacts of the Nordic Mages."

"To the right of the map, the east, is a large green plain. Two great rivers cut through the plain, and between them stands a Large Copper Lamp. When you rub it, poof, out pops a Lamp God with a head, arms, an upper body, but no lower body—that's the internal visualization form of the Persian Mages, the Lamp God. A Flying Carpet flies around like a Mad Dog—that's the Magic Flying Artifact of the Persian Mages."

"Below the map, to the south, is a vast desert, desolate as can be. In the very center of the desert stands a Great Hourglass, tens of thousands of meters tall, almost touching the sky. That hourglass trickles down golden yellow sand, representing the internal visualization form of the Egyptian Mages, the hourglass. Then you'll notice pyramids surrounding the hourglass, flying back and forth—these are the common flying Magic Artifacts of the Egyptian Mages."

Before Horton could speak, Suye continued, "Right now, you're using one map to contain the mage systems of four countries. Now, connecting the Greek mages' Magic Tower, the Nordic Mages' beast souls, the Persian Lamp God, and the Egyptian hourglass—isn't it clearer and more vivid?"

Horton nodded vaguely and said, "Right, the big Magic Tower, the beasts in the snow, the Lamp God between the rivers, the hourglass in the desert—then what?"

"Then you keep studying, keep it up!"

Suye patted Horton's arm, then closed his eyes. In his mind, the map of the Four Magical Countries created with the image memory method appeared. He savored it again, felt he remembered it quite firmly, and continued flipping through the Magic Book to find the next Knowledge Point.

After a while, Suye patted the dazed Horton again and said, "Horton, your Meditation Class doesn't seem to be going too well, does it?"

"Mm." Horton looked at Suye with a bad feeling.

"Then let me tell you about drawing Magic Array Diagrams..."

Suye suddenly turned into a chatterbox, using the break between classes to explain three Knowledge Points.

When the bell for the last Self-Study Class rang, Suye finally stopped and said, "Horton, let's work hard together and study. You can do it!"

Horton was filled with gratitude and said, "Thank you, Suye. After you explained it to me, I feel much better. Otherwise, I still wouldn't understand."

Suye said, "When you can explain it to me, that's when you'll truly understand. Keep it up."

Horton quickly shook his head and said, "Forget it, how could I explain it to you? Just keep explaining more to me in the future."

"No problem!" Suye said.

Since there was no teacher supervising, the Self-Study Class was noisy. Some diligent students left the classroom to find quiet places to study.

Suye picked up his Magic Book and went to find teachers one by one, asking about the content to review today and what to preview tomorrow.

When he came back, the Self-Study Class was almost over.

Suye ignored everyone else and seriously wrote the review and preview content on the blackboard.

As soon as the bell for dismissal rang, the students scattered, though a third of them were still studying.

Suye didn't leave. Instead, he followed Horton to eat and then to the competition grounds. Along the way, he rambled on about a few Knowledge Points from today's lessons. Some points he got stuck on halfway through, so he quickly flipped through his book to figure them out before continuing.

Horton was extremely grateful but felt Suye was acting a bit strange.

Still, since Suye was so serious, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Suye didn't overdo it with Horton. Once Horton started practicing his Combat Skills, Suye immediately headed home.

After walking four or five streets, the Plato Academy was no longer in sight. A carriage suddenly stopped ahead.

"Good evening, classmate Suye."

A grinning Horton suddenly jumped down from the carriage, followed by two burly young men.

If this had happened yesterday, Suye would have been flustered, but now, looking at the two strong young men, he judged them to be at most apprentice warrior level and smiled faintly.

The Magic Ox Rope was already tied around his waist, hidden by his belt.

"Good evening to you too, classmate Horton."

Suye was ready to pull the Magic Short Sword from the Ruined Space at any moment.

Horton wore an exaggerated smile and said, "You said the other day you'd treat me to a meal at Dolphin River. My father found out. He said, how could you let a classmate pay for a meal? So today, he booked a Private Room at Dolphin River to host you alone. Would classmate Suye be willing to go?"

Suye, who had been thinking of a way to escape, paused and asked, "Really at Dolphin River?"

Horton smiled arrogantly and said, "That kind of place might be a rare visit for you, but for our family, it's just an ordinary restaurant. My father should be waiting by now. You're not afraid to go, are you?"

"Your father is already there?"

Horton said impatiently, "Of course. Do I need to lie to you?"

The two men behind Horton stepped forward half a step, staring intently at Suye.

Suye realized Horton was telling the truth and smiled. "If it's Dolphin River, I'd really like to see it."

Horton sneered and said, "Then get in the carriage. Let's have a nice dinner together!"

He stressed the word "nice" heavily.

"Sure, sure. Classmate Horton, you're so enthusiastic." Suye smiled and voluntarily stepped onto the carriage.

Horton signaled the two young men with his eyes, telling them to keep an eye on Suye.

The two young men nodded slightly.

The four of them sat down. The driver cracked his whip, and the four horses pulled the carriage forward.

Suye looked around the carriage and said, "Horton, I didn't expect your family to be so wealthy. Ordinary craftsmen can't make carriages—only mages can. This carriage must be worth at least a hundred Golden Eagles, right?"

"A hundred Golden Eagles? Suye, you really have a sharp tongue. My father paid a full three hundred Golden Eagles for this carriage!" Horton made no effort to hide his pride.

Suye said in surprise, "Is that so? If an ordinary carriage costs this much, how much would a mage's Magic Carriage go for?"

Horton sneered and said, "Country bumpkin. The cheapest Magic Carriage costs at least two thousand Golden Eagles, and that's for one that only seats two people."

"I see."

Suye deliberately kept up the chatter to distract Horton, while secretly glancing outside the carriage several times. Seeing that the road was indeed heading toward Dolphin River, he relaxed.