This Was Genius

The loud crash in western Plint echoed all the way to Eagle Claw Manor, north of town.

Baron Ul was still on his way back from paying his respects to Hord when the manor steward received the report. He immediately sought out Young Master Cyril, who was conducting "important research" in the back garden.

In a corner of the garden, Cyril and Duggan were crouched beside an enclosed Firefly Breeding Zone.

Several fireflies, their tails glowing faintly green, flitted about inside a specially made mesh cage.

For the past few days, the two of them had been spending all their time together studying various insects. Duggan was great in every way, except that he was a bit stingy and reluctant to part with his bugs. For every test, he wanted to use something they already had.

Cyril held a magnifying glass and intently observed a larva perched on a leaf, while Duggan rapidly jotted something down in a little notebook beside him.

They had selected this larva not long ago, and were now trying to cultivate it.

"Young Master Cyril," the steward said, hurrying over, his voice a little urgent. "We've confirmed that the loud crash came from the western outskirts! It was an enormous commotion! They say... a massive stone pillar, over ten meters tall, appeared out of nowhere!"

"The western outskirts?" Cyril jerked his head up, a flicker of worry crossing his face.

Didn't He Xi live near that stretch of woodland on the western outskirts?

"A stone pillar? Was anyone hurt?"

"We haven't received any reports of casualties yet," the steward replied quickly. "But there are a lot of townspeople gathered over there now. They're all talking at once, and things are getting a little chaotic."

Cyril immediately stood and brushed the dirt from his knees. "I have to go see!"

The steward looked troubled and reminded him, "Young Master, Baron Lord is already on his way back. If he returns and finds you haven't been training at the manor, but have gone out to watch the commotion instead... I'm afraid..."

Cyril froze.

His father's stern face appeared before his eyes.

He had already skipped the training grounds for several days to help Duggan with various insect communication tests... If his father came back and found out that he hadn't trained, and had gone off to look at some inexplicable pillar as well...

"But..." Cyril hesitated. "If Father asks me about it when he gets back and I don't know anything, won't he be even angrier? Won't he think I'm useless?"

He was caught between a rock and a hard place—if he went, he might get scolded; if he didn't, he might get scolded anyway.

Either way, he was bound to get an earful.

Just then, Duggan closed his notebook and said, "Cyril, let's go take a look. We might find something interesting."

Cyril's eyes lit up.

Of course! With Mage Duggan there, he would surely be able to figure out what was going on with the pillar. Cyril could learn what had happened and then explain everything to his father.

"Great! Esteemed Mage Duggan, sorry for the trouble!" Cyril replied at once.

The clearing on the western outskirts was now packed with people, and the torches illuminated the enormous stone pillar as bright as day.

When Cyril arrived with several guards and Duggan, he saw a scene of frenzied activity: a crowd of townspeople were wildly digging around the base of the pillar with shovels and hoes! Dirt flew everywhere, and their chants shook the air!

"Dig! Keep digging! There's definitely treasure underneath!"

"That's right! With a pillar this big sticking out of the ground, there has to be treasure underneath!"

"Move aside! Don't get in the way of me striking it rich!"

Cyril stepped forward and called out, "Everyone, calm down! I'm Cyril Eagleclaw. What happened here? Please stop digging for now."

The crowd quieted for a moment. But when they saw that it was only Young Master Cyril, and not his father, Baron Ul, several of the men digging the hardest immediately raised their voices.

"Young Master Cyril! We found this treasure first! Even Lord can't just take it from us!"

"That's right! He can't take it! Finders keepers!"

"This is a treasure belonging to Plint Town!"

Looking at the townspeople, who had been blinded by the thought of treasure, Cyril felt both annoyed and amused.

He patiently explained, "We don't know where this stone pillar came from. Digging around it recklessly could be dangerous. Step back and let Esteemed Mage Duggan take a look."

"A mage?" The crowd stirred, their eyes all turning toward the dwarf standing beside Cyril.

"A mage, sir?" A burly man holding a shovel eyed Duggan suspiciously. "Him? That little guy? Young Master Cyril, don't let a dwarf fool you! There's definitely treasure underneath this pillar! Brothers, ignore them! Keep digging!"

As the men started to raise their shovels again, Duggan gave a slight shake of his head.

He held out a hand and murmured a few obscure syllables.

"Zzz—"

A humming sound rang through the air.

The Wind Cicada appeared once more.

"Whoosh—!"

A fierce wind, swirling with currents of air, burst forth from in front of Duggan!

"Whoa!"

"Good grief!"

The townspeople at the front stumbled backward with cries of alarm. Their shovels clattered to the ground, and they landed on their backsides in the muddy earth.

The others watching were buffeted about as well.

The scene fell silent in an instant.

Duggan recalled the Wind Cicada and nodded to Cyril.

Cyril silently marveled at how impressive it was, then quickly signaled to the guards to keep order and move the townspeople back.

Only then did Duggan walk up to the enormous stone pillar and reach out to touch it.

He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the elemental fluctuations lingering in the air.

"Hmm..." After a moment, he opened his eyes. A look of understanding flashed across them, but was soon replaced by even greater confusion.

"Well, Duggan? Was this... was this caused by a spell?"

"Without a doubt," Duggan said with a firm nod. "It's a very pure fluctuation of earth magic."

Cyril was utterly astonished. "Earth magic? One spell could cause such a huge commotion? No wonder everyone wants to become a mage... If only I could..."

Duggan hurriedly waved a hand, cutting off his self-pity. "Cyril, don't get the wrong idea. The spell itself is actually very basic."

"Basic?" Cyril stared at him in disbelief, pointing at the enormous stone pillar, over ten meters tall. "A basic spell? How... how is that possible?"

"It's Earth Spike Technique," Duggan explained, wearing a strange expression. "A beginner-level earth attack spell. It's usually used to thrust up from the ground and impale an enemy. It's not very powerful—usually, it can only pierce a thigh."

Cyril was even more confused. "Then... what about this...?"

"That's the strangest part!" Duggan said, pointing at the pillar, his voice edged with amazement. "With a normal Earth Spike Technique, you'd be lucky to produce a stone spike half a meter tall!

"Even a high-ranking mage casting the spell could only produce a spike two or three meters tall at most, if they wanted to maximize its power—and the magic it would consume would make it extremely inefficient! They have much more effective options, like Rock Lance."

He walked around the pillar, marveling at it. "Something over ten meters tall like this... I've never heard of anything like it."

"Then how was this done?"