Salomon's Grueling Study Life (Seeking Investment!)

The Sorcerer Supreme was deeply helpless over Salomon's disappointing performance. When faced with Athena's request, The Venerable One could only reluctantly agree.

The Venerable One also believed that young people should learn more while they were young. It did not matter what they studied, as long as Salomon did not fall behind in his magic courses.

Master Gu Yi had to admit that at Kamar-Taj's headquarters in the Himalayas, almost no one possessed much refined artistic taste. At the very least, compared to Athena, everyone else paled in comparison—even The Venerable One, who had lived for over a thousand years.

Aside from the collections from around the world that had accumulated over the years, there was almost nothing at headquarters that reflected Kamar-Taj's long history and cultural depth.

Even if the bowl Salomon ate from was a Tang Dynasty tea bowl, it could not change the fact that Kamar-Taj's aesthetic sense was terrible from top to bottom.

Kamar-Taj emphasized ascetic cultivation. Their clothes were plain dark linen and cotton, and even the cafeteria food was boiled cabbage. Did The Venerable One really not know why so many people headed to the Hong Kong Sanctum to join the fun whenever it was time to eat?

Besides, Athena's gifts were exceptionally sincere. Either Pegasus or Aegis alone could benefit someone for a lifetime.

Now, she had given all of them to Salomon. This showed that Athena truly cared about him, which put Master Gu Yi somewhat at ease. At least, she did not have to worry about Athena leading Salomon astray.

However, Salomon had no interest whatsoever in learning how to fight with a shield and spear.

In his view, Aegis's greatest use was defending against attacks that the Shield of Seraphim and Ring of the Ragador could not block. He did not need to throw a shield around like Captain America. After The Venerable One's modifications, the Ring of the Ragador had become a spell capable of both offense and defense. Using another shield would be utterly superfluous.

Salomon also had serious concerns about Pegasus's safety. If he had to sit on Pegasus's back, he would definitely keep a Feather Fall spell ready at all times in case of an accident.

Athena was naturally breathtakingly beautiful, but that made things somewhat difficult for Salomon.

It was not that he had any particular thoughts about Athena. It was simply that these goddesses of Ancient Greece seemed rather unconcerned with privacy and barely distinguished between men and women. Since Salomon was going through puberty, he often had to cast Mechanized Mind on himself before he could calmly listen to lessons.

Every month, he had to make time to go to Mount Athena in New York to study sculpture and art appreciation, perform magic tricks for the children at Athena's orphanage, and study the courses ordinary students had to learn, such as mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.

The Venerable One was also quite satisfied that Salomon had found a teacher who taught science.

Along with the minor-language linguistics, alchemy, and Potions assigned by the Sorcerer Supreme, getting up early every morning to practice self-defense, and practicing the endless White Magic in the Book of Vishanti, Salomon felt that even when he had been preparing for the college entrance examination, he had not been this busy.

He also believed that his knowledge might be broader than that of a seventh-year Hogwarts student preparing for N.E.W.T.s—if Hogwarts even existed in this world.

With such an enormous workload, if he had not been able to use Scholar's Touch to instantly finish reading a book, he might have been so busy that he would not even have had time to eat.

Salomon now understood the hardships those great mages had endured while studying as apprentices.

Salomon now possessed two spellcasting systems. One was naturally the spellcasting system of Vishanti, while the other was the Torruel Crystal Wall System spellcasting system powered by Vishanti's magical energy. The two systems complemented one another, allowing Salomon to advance rapidly during the stage of a low-level mage.

Sometimes, when he looked at the three rings on his right hand, he found it rather unbelievable. Logically, Vishanti should not have easily forgiven a spellcaster like him who stole magical energy, yet Vishanti of The Trinity had let him go. Salomon could only guess that it had something to do with unlocking the Holy Marks. Those Holy Marks also had some inexplicable connection to the Kabbalah Tree of Life he had seen in his dreams, and he could only uncover their secrets himself.

To that end, he dug up Golden Dawn's modern research on the Kabbalah Tree of Life in the library, hoping to find some supporting evidence. This further increased Salomon's burden.

If he had not still been young, he would have been very worried about his hairline. Fortunately, The Venerable One understood the necessity of balancing work and rest, and gave Salomon one day off every week. On that day, not only did he not have to face the Dark Dimension, he did not even need to practice alchemy and Potions. He could lie in bed and sleep for the entire day without anyone disturbing him.

Naturally, Salomon's diligence had been noticed by everyone in Kamar-Taj. So when Salomon produced a Dimensional Bag he had made, no one found it strange—although this magic was somewhat different, it was not Dark Magic. It was simply that no one bothered to learn magic that could not increase combat power. If they wanted to retrieve something, they only needed to put on a Sling Ring and open a portal.

The Sorcerer Supreme was extremely pleased with Salomon's accomplishment, not only because he had embroidered exquisite patterns onto the leather satchel, but because Salomon had not focused solely on magic that could cause destruction or defend himself. He was interested in magic as a whole, rather than in using magic for combat.

These were two entirely different attitudes. To Kamar-Taj's mages, magic that could not be used in battle was not worth learning in great depth; learning one or two spells was enough. Salomon's attitude, however, was that whether it was good or bad, useful or useless, he wanted to learn it all—as long as it was interesting enough.

Naturally, studying magic with these two completely different attitudes produced different results.

In Salomon's view, a mage should be an all-purpose figure capable of handling any situation, able to produce an appropriate spell whenever necessary, rather than becoming a battlefield artillery platform—that was what sorcerers and psionicists were supposed to do, and had nothing to do with mages.

If one wanted a place on the battlefield, modern technology could accomplish that. Why go to the trouble of learning magic?

Salomon spent the winter of 2007 immersed in grueling studies, until Spring Festival arrived. The day held no special meaning for non-Chinese people, and Kamar-Taj headquarters would not celebrate it, but The Venerable One still gave the Hong Kong Sanctum a holiday so everyone could observe the festival.

As a result, Salomon received an extra day off that Saturday. Master Wong specifically came to find him that day, saying that he would take him to Chinatown in New York for a stroll.

Lowering his voice, Wong quietly said to Salomon, "Studying magic all the time isn't good either. You're still too young, and the tasks The Venerable One gave you are too heavy. You should experience more of ordinary society. I'm not badmouthing The Venerable One! I just don't want you to become a bookworm."

After the mission in Salem Town, Master Wong had successfully signed a contract with Vishanti. Wong had become quite arrogant now, and no one said anymore that he could not become a mage.

After signing the contract, his magical attainments had improved by leaps and bounds. He had now become a junior deacon at the Hong Kong Sanctum. One important reason he had come to find Salomon this time was that he wanted Salomon to see just how formidable he had become.

Grinning, Salomon tossed a satchel to Wong. It was a gift he had prepared for Master Wong. He had previously made several Dimensional Bags. Apart from one each for The Venerable One, Mordo, and himself, he had given the rest away. This remaining one had been made specifically for Master Wong. As Salomon's adventure partner, he was naturally qualified to receive a gift.

Master Wong was also very pleased with the gift—his allowance now had some surplus, so he could buy snacks to keep inside. This Dimensional Bag would allow him to get food anytime, anywhere.

"Let's go," Salomon said. "I'll need you to lead the way. I can't wait to have some Sichuan Cuisine."

P.S. Two updates today! Please invest!

Good night.