Forecasting the Future

Chapter 47: Predicting the Future

Events unfolded beyond Amber Xiu's expectations, forcing him to drag Headless Bro back to his castle.

With his drinking spree interrupted, Headless Bro shifted his attention to the Paladin Allen Watson, under the guise of "seeing if the new generation of Paladins has gotten any stronger."

Amber Xiu only had time to issue a warning: "Don't kill him." Then, he became busy.

According to the customs of Alchemy City, after the unfortunate Administrator reported the news, it would take at least five hours for the members of the Alchemist Council to receive it. Then, it would likely take another one to two hours for them to decide who would negotiate with Amber Xiu.

Amber Xiu had seven hours left. If he wanted to gain the greatest advantage during the negotiation, he needed to prepare within this time.

Amber Xiu brought out a large pile of Magic Materials, even dragging the Apprentice Mage Harvey, who was locked in a cell, to act as labor.

Harvey, utterly bewildered, assisted Amber Xiu in setting up a massive magic circle.

At first, he didn't understand what Amber Xiu was doing, but as the magic circle gradually took shape, Harvey recognized some of its functions.

"Sacrifice... predicting the future... mana channel... materialization..."

The more he knew, the more sweat beaded on Harvey's forehead.

This was a unique Magic Ritual of the School of Prophecy, something Harvey had only read about in books. The effect of the ritual was simple and direct: offer a sacrifice, and then one could predict the future to a certain extent. The more precious the sacrifice, the more specific the predicted future would be.

Harvey's limbs felt stiff.

What could be more precious than sacrificing a life? Clearly, he was the sacrifice about to be offered. The Lich had finally lost his patience and wasn't planning to let him freeload in the castle any longer, eating, drinking, and reading magic books for free.

So, should I resist?

Harvey began to hesitate.

He hadn't been locked in the castle for these past few days without considering escape. He had been constantly reading books to improve his spellcasting abilities as much as possible. And surprisingly, Harvey had made significant gains.

The School of Prophecy was a niche among niches, but Amber Xiu's library contained a considerable amount of related material, which Harvey devoured greedily. Compared to when he was first captured, Harvey felt like he had undergone a complete transformation.

So, can I put up a fight?

Every Magic Ritual was extremely precise; any mistake could lead to the ritual's failure and cause a violent backlash. Perhaps he could exploit this. If he got lucky, he might even severely injure the Lich.

Harvey didn't expect to kill Amber Xiu. A Lich wouldn't die until his phylactery was destroyed. He only wanted to destroy Amber Xiu's current body and escape the castle while the Lich was regenerating.

Calm down, I can do this. The key points of this magic ritual are... here... if I modify this slightly...

While Amber Xiu wasn't paying attention, Harvey quietly altered the structure of the magic circle.

It was a very minor alteration, not enough to destroy the entire Magic Ritual, but it was just the beginning. Harvey began to make various small adjustments, leaving a trail of "weaknesses" in the magic circle.

If Amber Xiu didn't notice and truly used this magic circle for the sacrifice, he would suffer a violent magical backlash. Even if it didn't blow up his body, it would cause his internal mana to go berserk, creating an opportunity to escape.

Everything was ready, and Harvey had prepared himself mentally, just waiting...

"Hey, why are you standing in the sacrifice position? Go to the ritual master position," Amber Xiu said.

Harvey: "Ah?!!!"

Amber Xiu continued, "What 'ah'? I'm telling you to preside over the ritual. You've read so much material from the School of Prophecy these past few days, you can't even figure out the effect of the magic circle? That would be truly disappointing."

Harvey asked incredulously, "Don't tell me... don't tell me I'm not the sacrifice?"

Amber Xiu said mockingly, "What are you thinking? Of course, the more precious the sacrifice, the better the effect. You're not even worth ten thousand Gold Coins, and the cost of this magic circle is nearly two hundred thousand Gold Coins. Using you as a sacrifice would be a waste, wouldn't it? Know your own worth, little fellow!"

Harvey: ...

Although he wasn't going to die, Harvey still felt a little insulted. Not much, but it was annoying.

No, this isn't the time to think about this.

He had tampered with the magic circle so much. If he were to preside over the ritual, wouldn't he be the one to die?

Harvey suddenly felt like a clown in a circus.

Amber Xiu watched Harvey dawdle until his legs went weak with fear, then sneered, "Alright, stop pretending. Do you think I didn't know about your little tricks just now? Stand there with confidence, you won't die."

"Ah? You knew?" Harvey exclaimed in surprise.

"Nonsense. Your skills are still far from adequate. The moment you started tampering, I had already readjusted everything on my end."

Harvey was even more surprised and asked strangely, "Why would you do that? It's not just for the sake of making me look like a clown, is it?"

After interacting for a while, Harvey didn't think Amber Xiu was a Lich with malicious intent. Every action he took was so... economical. He wouldn't waste anything if he could avoid it. The cost of this Magic Ritual was so high; he definitely wouldn't let him mess around just to tease him.

Harvey felt the need to clarify, even if it might anger this peculiar Lich.

"Of course, it's for testing. You're an Apprentice Mage of the School of Prophecy, aren't you?"

After seeing the perfect, error-free version!

Harvey readily admitted, "I never intended to hide it. Besides, Master Ultraman, you are also a Mage walking the path of the School of Prophecy, aren't you? Your library has so many rare, unfindable-elsewhere tomes related to the School of Prophecy."

Amber Xiu shook his head and said, "No, I've already given up."

"Why?" Harvey asked, completely confused.

Amber Xiu didn't answer and retorted, "I'll ask you, if you predicted that you would die tomorrow, what would you do?"

"This..." Harvey hesitated for a moment, then said, "I might spend my last day recording all the knowledge I've learned."

Amber Xiu smiled and said, "You see, that's the difference. I can't calmly accept fate, so I simply gave up."

Harvey mused for a moment before asking, "But I'm just a captive. What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Of course, you're going to work for me. Your lord has already explicitly refused to pay your ransom, so you have to work for me to pay off your debt. I'll pay you two Gold Coins for hosting this ritual, which will cover your food expenses for one day."

Harvey: ...

Two Gold Coins for that meager hardtack? That's more outrageous than robbery!

Amber Xiu didn't care if the price was reasonable or not and continued, "Alright, back to business. I allowed you to tamper with the magic circle earlier because I wanted to see how much you understood about it. I'm very satisfied now.

"Harvey, you are no longer an apprentice. You are now a formal Mage of the School of Prophecy."

Upon hearing Amber Xiu's words, Harvey couldn't help but feel excited. Regardless of their positions, receiving recognition from Master Ultraman was definitely something to be proud of.

Amber Xiu commanded, "Alright, get to work."

With that, Amber Xiu reluctantly poured a large amount of Gold Coins onto the altar for the offerings. There were at least three hundred thousand Gold Coins, causing his ribs to ache. Most of the advance payment for Withering Rose was gone just like that.

Harvey: ...

So the Gold Coins were the offerings. It didn't seem entirely logical, but seeing Amber Xiu's Soul Fire tremble, the offerings didn't seem wrong either.

Harvey stopped getting distracted and began to earnestly preside over the ritual, asking, "Master Ultraman, what do you wish to divine?"

Amber Xiu said very seriously, "The secret of the Alchemy City sewers."