Chronicles

Dustless Shield was a fairly simple spell. Its function was to draw in the natural power around it and gather it around oneself to form a defense.

Because this force of attraction created a chain reaction, some nearby dust would be drawn in as well. Some spellcasters even used it as a cleaning spell, hence the name Dustless Shield.

It offered good defense against blunt weapons and blades, and could also be used to block poisonous gas, but it was inadequate against arrows.

All in all, Dustless Shield was extremely suitable for novice spellcasters to learn, and it was quite practical as well.

The magic circle imprinted in the spellbook was the mental power structure of Dustless Shield. One only needed to shape their mental power into the corresponding structure, then use a special method to vibrate natural power. Like drawing water from a vat through a pipe, one first had to take a breath, and the entire spell would activate.

Some spells, such as Dustless Shield, could be activated simply by using mental power to stir them. Others required special vibrations, which was where incantations came in. Some particularly unusual spells even required the corresponding casting materials as a catalyst before they could take effect.

"The structure isn't too complicated, but my mental power may not be enough." Adam used his mental power to sense the Dustless Shield Anthony had stored in the spellbook, silently studying it.

He had only just condensed the Nether Soil. Most of his mental power was now being used to maintain its expansion. He could spare a little to command the birds, but it truly was not enough for casting spells.

Most professions also did not recommend that practitioners in the maintenance stage engage in actual combat. It would seriously delay their progress into the next stage.

What surprised Adam was that the moment he opened the door, intending to fetch a bucket of water and wash up before heading to the Reflection Tower to study, someone was already waiting outside.

It was someone Adam had never seen before. Upon seeing Adam open the door, the man bowed and set the gift box in his hands before him.

"Master Adam, please forgive my presumptuous visit. My master left in too much of a hurry yesterday and did not prepare a gift for you. He has now made up for it, and I hope you will not take offense."

Holding the gift, the man also glanced to one side. A carriage was parked not far away, with a coachman standing beside it. When the coachman noticed Adam looking over, he hurriedly bowed.

"My master saw that Master Adam's travel arrangements were somewhat inconvenient yesterday, so he arranged a carriage for you. You may give it any orders you wish." The man wore a polite smile.

Adam was somewhat surprised. He glanced at the crest on the carriage and confirmed that it belonged to the noble who had sought an audience with Alva yesterday.

He found out who I am that quickly? Adam guessed.

That noble had clearly not been welcome in Alva's eyes, and he had something to ask of Alva.

They probably did not know that Adam's relationship with Alva was not as good as they imagined. By now, only the nominal relationship of master and disciple remained between them.

This gift was likely half an attempt at winning him over and half an investment. Faced with such a gift, there were two choices.

The first was to refuse it. That would earn him favor with Alva. The noble might become angry, but out of consideration for Alva's dignity, he would not make things too difficult for Adam.

The second was to accept it. That would bring immediate benefits. Even if the noble knew Adam was not close to Alva, as long as he demonstrated the genuine skill of a spellcaster, the noble would instead increase his investment. The drawback was that Adam would be marked by this noble, and Alva would come to dislike him even more.

In such a situation, Adam naturally put on an equally polite smile and reached out to accept the gift.

He chatted amicably with the man for a few moments. After unsuccessfully trying several times to persuade him to stay, Adam watched him depart in another carriage.

"What's your name?" Adam walked over to the coachman. The man looked honest and simple, with calluses on his hands and neat clothing. At Adam's question, he immediately replied, "McLaren End. What are your orders, sir?"

"Could you help me fetch a bucket of water from that well over there?" Adam asked with narrowed eyes and a smile. That smile seemed capable of reflecting into one's soul, so that even after growing old, one would still uncover it from the depths of memory.

No one could refuse a request from someone wearing such a smile.

"Yes, sir." The coachman immediately took the wooden bucket and ran in the direction Adam had pointed.

Adam's smile vanished. His fingers tapped against the carriage's wooden shaft as he looked at the brown horse pulling it.

He bears ill will toward me? Adam's senses were now exceptionally sharp. The man who had delivered the gift had not felt much toward Adam, and after meeting him, had decided that Adam was a fine young man and would unconsciously speak well of him.

Yet when Adam smiled, this coachman had turned his head away in something like shame. Ever since meeting Adam, he had carried a trace of malice toward him.

Jealousy, or conflict between noble families? Adam guessed. He weighed the gift box in his hand, opened it, and found a card inside. The signature read Doug Rom Alfred.

The box contained some pastries, as well as VIP vouchers for various shops. At the bottom was a pouch of money.

Adam handed all of it over to Maggie, who had gotten busy again. For the moment, he had no use for any of it.

The neighboring residents had risen early. After returning from shopping, Maggie seemed much more spirited. She had even brought Yalis a bottle of wine, saying it had been given away by a shop along the street, though she had still paid for it afterward.

News that the Kubo Family's nephew had made something of himself had spread through the entire neighborhood in a single morning.

When Adam boarded the carriage and headed out, he could clearly feel that even more eyes were looking at him.

Adam smiled at that. Who would not enjoy the astonishment of others and their envious gazes after achieving fame and success?

Adam certainly did. Yet he knew very well what the foundation of it all was, and what he ultimately sought.

"Sir, shall we go to the Ratu Family or the church in the southern district?" McLaren asked in a low voice.

"No. Go to the Central Clock Tower." Adam glanced at McLaren and caught the flicker of surprise on his face.

This coachman clearly has a problem. Adam quietly changed his bearing, one hand touching the spellbook in his robes as he lowered the curtain before him and tapped the seat again and again.

McLaren, driving the carriage in front, felt a chill run down his back. Something not especially strong, yet steadily present, pressed against his heart.

The status of a coachman depended mainly on whom he drove for. For example, Doug's coachman, Walker, was the person Doug trusted most.

Logically speaking, even if that noble, Doug, had investigated Adam's identity, an externally assigned coachman should not know too much, much less ask about his destination in such an inquisitive tone.

He wants to know about my relationship with the Ratu Family. Adam gradually guessed the coachman's purpose.

It seems I can pay the Rom Family a visit later. Adam looked out the carriage window. If some of his plans could receive a noble's assistance, they might proceed much more smoothly.

Adam got off beneath the Central Clock Tower and told McLaren that he could leave for now, as long as he waited outside the tower at four in the afternoon.

Looking up toward the distance, Adam saw several birds perched in a nearby tree, pecking at food. Smiling, he took out the gold coin bound by a fine chain, gripped the chain, and let the coin hang upside down beneath his hand. Guided by mental power, he stepped into the clock tower.

This time, Adam could clearly see the chain in his hand hanging straight upward as though it had been abandoned, floating in midair as if he himself were suspended upside down.

As the gold coin fell, Adam arrived in the Reflection Tower.

He saw Xilin at the entrance again. This time, she had not wrapped up her hair. Her sky-blue hair cascaded down, covering most of her body.

"Master is still asleep. You will need to wait for a while. You may go to the tenth floor and read for a bit, but do not touch any books with spell fluctuations." Xilin pushed open the door, carried a tray inside, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Adam sensed an inexplicable hostility from Xilin. Turning the gold coin in his hand, he did not meddle and obediently followed her instructions, heading to the library on the tenth floor.

Most books without spell fluctuations were geographical atlases or story biographies.

As Adam walked past the bookshelves, he suddenly noticed a bookmark caught halfway inside a book, so he pulled it out.

"Chronicles of the Holy Sound Kingdom." Adam stroked the cover and opened the book to the page marked by the bookmark.

"The year 1396 of the Holy Sound Kingdom... forty years ago?"

"Count Ronnie of the Loken Kingdom disappeared at the border between the two nations. Using this as a pretext, the Loken Kingdom launched the First Northern Inquiry War against the Holy Sound Kingdom, and relations between the two nations became completely hostile from then on."