Spring Festival

Spring began in March on the Hells Continent. To celebrate the sowing and pray for favorable weather, a grand spring festival was held every year in late March. The Magic Academy also arranged for students to help with spring planting at nearby farms. But the academy's students, who were almost entirely children of nobles, gradually turned the event into an annual spring outing, naturally choosing the more scenic hills and fields near the academy instead. The academy tacitly accepted this change and eventually stopped organizing the event altogether. In the end, the Spring Festival at Tris Magic Academy became nothing more than an informal outing arranged by the students themselves.

Spring was when all things came back to life, and when young men and women began to feel stirrings of romance. So on this day, the girls dressed up carefully, while the boys prepared gifts and practiced what they would say to confess their feelings to the ones they admired. But halfway to their destination, the sky unhelpfully began to drizzle.

The rain, which was good for spring planting, caused no small amount of trouble for the young people, each with their own thoughts on their mind.

The girls' wide-brimmed hats could only shield their faces, keeping the carefully applied rouge from running. Their pretty dresses, however, were soon soaked and crumpled, and their hems were splattered with mud. Their gloomy faces drove off the hesitant boys, and by the time they reached their destination and took shelter in a rainproof shed, they had lost all desire to enjoy themselves.

Donald gazed through the steady curtain of rain beyond the eaves at the hills and woods soaked by the spring drizzle. He found himself missing Lant Island a little. The island held no celebrations for its Spring Festival; everyone simply went out to help the farmers sow their fields. The blacksmith's family was no exception. If it rained like this, the farmers would be delighted and would prepare an even heartier meal that evening to thank everyone.

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Father must be helping out right now, too. I wonder if it's raining on Lant Island as well. We'll have something good to eat tonight. Donald smiled without realizing it. The fragments inside his Divine Element had all grown into complete Divine Elements over the past few days.

"What are you smiling about?" Wesley was sitting beside him.

"I was thinking about Lant Island."

"I'll have to visit this summer. You'd better treat me well."

"Of course. You can sleep beside the forge in the blacksmith shop. I'll spread out the softest straw for you," Donald said with a grin.

"As long as you lay it out, I'll sleep on it." Wesley looked unconcerned. "Hey, don't you think Lucia seems a little different today?"

"How so?"

"She's not only dressed up today, she's acting all shy, too."

"Aren't all the girls like that today?"

"What do you know? She didn't dress up last year. Oh, wait, she didn't even come last year. I heard she's a cultivation maniac. What's she doing at the Spring Festival?"

"She's grown up this year," Donald replied casually.

"Donald, I think something's up with her. Do you think she's fallen for you?"

"What, giving up already? Where'd all your persistence and patience go?"

"Get out of here. I lost interest in her ages ago. I'll bet you she comes over to talk to you on her own in a minute."

"Don't joke around."

"What, afraid you'll get the short end of the stick?"

"Would she be willing to sleep on a pile of straw, too?"

Wesley glanced at Donald and muttered, "Maybe she would." Then he fell silent.

"What's a magic genius like?"

"Just look at me."

Donald gave Wesley a shove, and Wesley burst out laughing.

"On the Hells Continent, anyone who advances to Formal Magician before turning twenty is considered a genius. There are geniuses like that every year. I heard that several hundred of them from across Middle-earth are taken to the Magic Continent each year."

"Why do they go to the Magic Continent?"

"Because magical civilization is far more advanced there. Formal Magicians are everywhere. Oh, and I've heard there are Bluebird Magicians in their teens on the Magic Continent."

"Bluebird Magicians?"

"That means mages of Level Four or higher. No bird has ever flown across the Northeastern Mountains, and no mage of Level Four or higher has ever made it north of them, either. I really don't know how you've been taking your Magic Civilization classes... Oh, right, you haven't."

"You can reach Level Four or higher in your teens..."

"Don't worry. No one has ever advanced to Level Seven before turning a hundred, either—except the Divine Son."

"What's a Divine Son?"

"I'm beginning to understand what you meant about Lant Island being cut off from the world. The temples around the world seek out children with divinity, and every ten years they choose one and take them to Heaven. After living there for a year, they can become a Shepherd of God. Once every hundred years, a child of exceptional talent is able to live in Heaven for ten years and become a Divine Son, walking among mortals in God's stead. There seem to be eight Divine Sons and forty-six Shepherds of God in the world right now. Oh, Divine Sons are mages, too. They must be above Level Seven, though nobody knows exactly how high. It's not as if anyone would dare fight them."

"How come you're not at all pious about God?"

"I'm not a king. Whether it's Divine Grace or Divine Punishment, neither one's going to come after me."

"Then... advancing to Low-level Magic Apprentice in six months is pretty ordinary, right?" Donald finally asked what had been bothering him.

"Six months to become a Low-level Magic Apprentice might be pretty ordinary on the Magic Continent. Who knows? Why are you looking at me? It took me almost three years... Don't tell me you've advanced?"

Donald nodded slightly.

"Are you a monster?" Wesley shot to his feet and cried out. Then, apparently realizing he'd made a scene, he hurriedly sat back down.

Donald had actually advanced to Low-level Magic Apprentice after only half a month, but that was so unbelievable that he didn't dare tell Wesley.

"Have you built a spell? Which element?"

"I've gotten pretty good at the Six Yuan Fireball. I also have Divine Elements in a few other elements, but I haven't practiced with them yet."

"Forget practicing! The basic attack and defense models are the same. If you can use one element, you can use them all! Tell me honestly, how many Divine Elements do you have now?"

"One hundred and eighty..."

"How many are Fire Element?"

"All Five Elements... About a hundred and eighty each..."

Wesley stood up again, and this time he even kicked Donald. The people around them stared at him in surprise, but he pretended not to notice.

"I'm so mad! This is infuriating!" he said, then sat down again. He didn't ask anything else this time.

"Um... how many elements do you have Divine Elements in?"

"Not as many as you!" Wesley replied bitterly.

"How many, exactly? It matters."

"Two!"

"I came up with a Meditation Method. As long as you have Divine Elements in two elements, each meditation seems to add a few more Divine Elements, and it also increases their activity."

Wesley turned to stare at Donald as if they'd only just met.

"Seriously? Every time?"

"I think so. It hurts a little, though. Come to my dorm tonight and I'll teach you."

Donald suddenly felt that what he was saying sounded a little like a scoundrel trying to lure a girl in. But Wesley, who was usually lecherous, was taking him very seriously.

"Donald, what are you two talking about?"

Just as Wesley had predicted, Lucia came over and started talking to Donald of her own accord.