Falling Spell

Aifel gave a wry smile and handed over the sword.

John took the sword, gripped it in reverse, and stabbed it straight into himself.

Leo looked astonished.

This scene was beyond his expectations.

Yet Nova and the knights did not seem particularly surprised.

Aifel covered his forehead, his expression miserable.

Leo frowned. He could not quite understand John's actions.

Better to live in disgrace than die a good death.

John was so young. It should not have been impossible for him to repay those Magic Stones in the future, right? Why did he want to die?

Although becoming a Grand Knight was difficult, who was to say he could not become one?

And even if he could not become a Grand Knight, an Ordinary Knight could repay the debt in a few decades, could they not?

At that moment, Nova shook his head and said, "Danville, the knight organization is extremely strict and harsh when lending Magic Stones."

"If the Magic Stones you owe cannot be repaid after your death, they will seek out your Lineage and your family. If your Lineage and family cannot repay them either, they will turn them into slaves to settle the debt."

"Though the choice made by this knight called John is not one to be encouraged, he is probably doing it to protect his own Lineage."

Leo fell silent at that.

Just then, John coughed twice, gripped the sword again, and said, "...Danville, can you do me a favor and kill me?"

Everyone was somewhat stunned. Looking John over carefully, they realized that his earlier stab had likely gone into his armpit rather than his chest.

Cracks could be seen in the armor beneath his arm.

Nova: "..."

Aifel: "..."

The other knights: "..."

Leo took the greatsword from John's hand and raised it high.

John said, "Danville, strike down at my chest... No, my heart is here, so strike at my heart instead. No, that is not right either..."

John claimed he wanted to die, yet he did not look like someone who truly wished to die.

A gleam flashed through Leo's eyes, and the greatsword in his hand swung down.

"Don't, I don't want to die yet..." When the greatsword was only a hair's breadth from his neck, John seemed to want to say something, but before he could finish, Leo cut off his head with a single stroke.

Leo casually tossed the greatsword onto the ground.

These nobles spoke of noble glory and the like, but when death truly came knocking, did they not have even a shred of noble glory left?

Leo then looked at the other five knights.

They swallowed hard and hastily made their choices.

Three knights chose to sign contracts to borrow Magic Stones.

One knight chose to end his own life. Unlike John, though he was somewhat timid in the face of death, he was still able to do it.

"Lord Wizard Nova, here are three hundred Magic Stones."

After Nova accepted them, he removed the effects of Siren's Song from the three knights.

The remaining knight perhaps held onto a trace of wishful thinking, believing that he would not go mad again.

However, once five minutes had passed, he immediately returned to his earlier deranged state and charged at Leo.

But before he could get close to Leo, Aifel stopped him from the side and killed him.

When Aifel killed that knight, his expression was sorrowful.

The other knights shuddered inwardly at the sight, especially the three knights who had signed contracts to borrow Magic Stones.

At that moment, one of the knights who had signed a Magic Stone loan contract came before Leo. He dropped to one knee and said, "Wizard Danville, might you need a knight to serve as your attendant? I am willing to offer you my loyalty."

Nova said from the side, "Knights sometimes choose to pledge themselves to wizards, and the wizard will give that knight a corresponding amount of Magic Stones each month as payment for their service."

Leo shook his head and said, "I do not need an attendant."

Leo did not need one, and he did not have the money for one either.

Leo himself thought he had too few Magic Stones. How could he possibly spend Magic Stones to hire a knight as an attendant?

The knight's face immediately turned pale.

If he could not become a wizard's attendant, then the only path left to him was becoming a Grand Knight.

And becoming a Grand Knight was incredibly, incredibly difficult.

Watching his retreating figure, Nova said, "He chose to pledge himself to you because he hoped you could help him repay the cost of those Magic Stones."

"By the way, Danville, your spiritual energy has already reached the standard for condensing a Spiritual Seed."

"Yes, Wizard Nova."

Nova smiled and said, "With your spiritual talent level, you should be able to condense a Spiritual Seed quite easily."

Leo asked doubtfully, "Wizard Nova, can spiritual talent also help with condensing a Spiritual Seed?"

"Yes. The higher one's spiritual talent, the greater the success rate of condensing a Spiritual Seed, and the shorter the time required. Of course, this little difficulty is nothing. There are now potions on the market, such as Dawn Arcane Potion, that can increase the chance of condensing a Spiritual Seed."

After saying that, Nova continued discussing the experiment with Kamon.

Fula did not participate this time. Instead, she went to the side of the ship, leaned against the railing, and flipped through sheets of white paper in her hands.

At that moment, the sea wind suddenly grew fierce.

A sheet of white paper blew before Leo.

Leo caught it and subconsciously glanced at it.

The paper did not contain much. It recorded an unfinished spell.

Yet that single glance brought a gentle prompt into Leo's mind.

"Discovered the inferior-quality spell encyclopedia, 'Falling Pebble.' Record it?"

[Falling Pebble]

Quality: Inferior

Effect: Hold a stone in hand, then release it to fall

Cost: 10 Refinement Points

Leo had not expected that this feeling of merely "casting a glance through the crowd" would somehow complete a spell.

Though whether this could even be called a spell was still a question.

Leo picked up the sheet of paper, went to Fula, and said, "Wizard Fula, this is the sheet of paper you dropped."

At his words, Fula moved her fingertips. The paper fell onto the stack of white sheets beside her, and she gave a soft acknowledgement.

Leo did not mind Fula's rather impolite attitude. The Falling Pebble spell appeared in his mind.

Leo was very curious about why this thing could be considered a spell, so he began learning it.

As a result, once he learned it, he discovered that it truly could be called a spell.

The process of the Falling Pebble spell was to hold an object such as a stone in one's hand, raise it, then release it, causing the stone to smash down onto the ground.

But when the pebble fell, it was not in free fall. A stronger downward force was applied to it.

That downward force was the core of this spell.

Leo returned to his room and took out a coin. It was currency formerly used on the Twin Continents.

The only things at hand suitable for Leo to use as a medium for the Falling Pebble spell were these coins.

Leo tried casting Falling Pebble with this coin.

The spell itself was not difficult.

Leo succeeded after three attempts.

The first time, the coin fell normally, without any downward force.

The second time, the coin fell faster, carrying a faint downward force.

The third time, the coin plummeted violently. The downward force struck the wooden planks and even left a dent.

A gentle prompt also appeared in Leo's mind.

"Mastered the inferior-quality Falling Pebble encyclopedia. Obtained 10 Refinement Points."