Chapter 12

I snorted.

Mel found it funny too. "I fought with the Kunlan Rangers back in the day. That name had been passed down for centuries, and it was an ancient mercenary company with a glorious history. That's why the current commander is still dead set against registering it as a company, though a lot of the members want it to become a private military company... But nobody in the Kunlan Rangers uses mechanical prosthetics, so I'd only heard that some military companies modify their members like this, implanting Magitech components in their bodies to improve their combat abilities. This is actually the first time I've seen it."

"They weren't sick or injured, and they still cut off perfectly healthy body parts and replaced them with machinery?" I found it hard to accept.

"Right!" Mel looked thoroughly disgusted too. "Huh? Which country was it? I forget the name. Ah, whatever. Anyway, they take pride in being 'modern' and 'mechanized' over there. They don't just allow it; they actively encourage their citizens to do it."

"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember too. Representatives from other countries criticized them at the Grand National Defense Joint Council." I tapped my forehead. "It's an emerging country. I didn't remember its name either. All I know is that they hate magic and dislike traditional knights and warriors too. Once, even the Temple of Light Knights wanted to visit for their national day celebrations, and they actually turned them away. If you ask me, the God of Light's believers are just good-tempered. If it were me, I'd have thrown a forbidden spell at them."

"Exactly. They just keep doing whatever they please. The young people on their streets think mechanical limbs are beautiful. I've seen photos in the media, and it really was a wild spectacle. Their taste is downright twisted," Mel said, still looking disgusted. "If they saw a mage, I bet they'd gang up and attack on the spot."

"Tsk, radical modernizers. People like that have always existed. In their eyes, magic and martial techniques are a blight from the old era, while every product of technology is beautiful beyond compare. Even if it were a feces fermentation machine, they'd throw themselves at it and call it baby," I said. "Haven't we learned enough from history? Nothing should be taken too far. Wasn't one 'Lightless Age' enough? Do they want a second one?"

Historically, although the "Lightless Age" literally referred to a time when technology rose rapidly, traditional magic and knightly martial techniques came under criticism, temples and mage academies were brutally suppressed for a time, and people briefly forgot the past, it was, in fact, a disaster for the entire world, without question. Fortunately, people soon realized that; no one with any sense who knew how to learn from history would want to go through it a second time. Leaving aside the severe pollution caused by excessive technological development, the mass deaths of ancient species, the near extinction of rare magical creatures, the temporary disappearance of elves, the dwarves, tribal people, and highlanders-humanity's close kin and friendly neighbors of old-nearly going to war with us, the breakdown of public order in cities, and a whole host of other serious problems, life had only just begun to improve in this divine era, and some people had already forgotten the pain once their scars healed. Someone really ought to blast them with a forbidden spell!

"So this cyborg must have been hired to break someone out of prison," Mel said. "I wonder who they're after."

I crouched down too and put my hand on his head, but when I probed him, I found that there were definitely mechanical devices in his brain as well. They were still working, and I guessed they were Magitech devices meant to increase the cyborg's magic resistance, so I couldn't use the Soul-Searching Technique on him.

"You know the Soul-Searching Technique? That's necromancy!" Mel said in delighted surprise after hearing me out. "Wow, that's amazing!"

"I happened to learn it from an old book... I chanced upon an ancient mage's journal once." His praise made me a little embarrassed. "I'll write the spell down for you when we get out, though there aren't many chances to practice it. It's best not to use a spell that forcibly reads memories on living people. An ancient text recorded the results of an experiment, and it would pretty much turn a person into an idiot."

"Then wouldn't using it on the dead make it less effective?"

I shook my head. "Although it depends on the deceased's mental strength, in most cases, using it right after death won't affect the results. If the person was a top-tier archmage in life, we might still be able to read information from his bones thousands of years later."

"Xipei, you really have read so many ancient texts!" Mel said admiringly.

I smiled. "That's the one perk of being a fellow of the Federation Academy. I can borrow whatever I like from the Grand Library."

"Hmm, looks like I should go there more often too. The Grand Library really is an amazing place." As Mel spoke, inspiration suddenly struck, and he said excitedly, "I should consider moving to the capital!"

"Really?" I said in delighted surprise. "Then we'd have all the time we wanted to study spells together!"

"You're right! We could be together!" Mel nodded. "That's a brilliant idea! It's settled!"

Chapter 12

Just thinking about how much time I'd have in the future to spend with Mel at the library, doing research together and talking about spells every day, made me as excited as I'd been the first time I successfully cast a spell. Back then, I'd gazed at my fireball in a daze, my heart completely full. And now... this was Mel! Was there anything in the world more joyful than being with Mel? If my hands hadn't still been trapped in magic-suppressing shackles, I would definitely have hugged him in my excitement!

Mel was beaming too, full of visions of the future. "Just imagining it makes me feel like I can't wait! I should have come to the capital sooner! Oh... why didn't I meet you at that summit three years ago? I really regret it. Why didn't I go to the Grand Library sooner? Maybe I would have moved here three years ago! Just look, now that's what I call living! Countless magic books, more new spells than we could ever learn, and most importantly, you'd be there with me! We'd make new discoveries every day! Xipei, I really want to give you a hug! This is the best thing that's happened to me this year... no, in the past ten years!"

Ten years... This might be one of the best things in my whole life! With Mel around, I felt as if the whole world had grown brighter. I believed there wasn't an academic problem the two of us couldn't solve together. Even when I thought of those oddball officials at the academy, I found their flab endearing.

"Come on, let's finish what we're dealing with first." With that, Mel returned my shadow to me. I directed it to stand up and join us. The enemy's shadow could no longer be controlled after its owner died-Shadow Dance could only control the shadows of living things, or Mel could have just found a building back then and had its shadow crush the enemy to death.

He used a simple tracking spell, and we found that the enemies ahead had split into two groups and turned into different cell blocks. There seemed to be trouble on both sides, because we couldn't figure out what they were after—I guessed the guards might not know either. After all, the capital's prison held quite a few dangerous people, and important prisoners from all over the Federation were sent here. It wasn't just the guards; I guessed the intruders would need some time to find their target too, which meant we needed to split up for the moment.

"Hmm..." Mel frowned reluctantly, his eyes fixed on me and the corners of his mouth visibly drooping.

"Let me think... Oh, right, Mel, we can use Mind Link!" I suddenly remembered.

"That's right!" Mel was overjoyed. "How could I have forgotten?"

Mind Link was also a mental spell, and a very simple one at that-even a junior mage apprentice could cast it. It was just so rarely used that it was perfectly normal for Mel not to think of it right away. It required both participants to have equal mental strength, and they also had to trust each other, or the one with weaker mental strength was liable to get a headache. That was why Moli had flatly refused to learn it. She said a phone was enough and insisted on teaching me how to use one. She also said her monthly period was painful enough already, and she didn't want to add headaches to it... Tsk, why couldn't she have resolved to strengthen her mental power and surpass me instead? That child. When I criticized her for it, she'd had an indescribable expression, like a banshee being interrogated by a paladin.

A moment later, we headed off in different directions, one to the left and one to the right, but by then our minds were linked. It was actually the first time either Mel or I had used the spell. Through Mind Link, we shared our vision too, which was rather amazing. I could see two different places at once, yet I could tell which one was in front of me, with no fear of mixing them up. The link was very stable, so both fields of vision were exceptionally clear. I could even sense slight changes in Mel's emotions, and I guessed he could do the same.

See? This was clearly more comfortable and convenient than a phone!