Chapter 77 – The Created

Under the Elemental Storm, the barrier was compressed to an extreme degree. Supportive spells were cast one after another onto Sandra. The Giant Dragon let out a long roar and finally accelerated again, flying away from the area filled with thunderous roars.

The Valley of Wind was located in the southern part of the continent, a long journey away. Even though the speed of the Giant Dragon was much faster than that of a Mage’s flight, it would still take a good half day to arrive.

Ah Lan lowered her head, her pale fingers tightly gripping the dragon scales, her breathing rapid.

“Why did they die?” Since it wasn’t the time for caution, Lin Wei directly asked the question.

“I don’t know—either they finally couldn’t suppress the ‘Source,’ or something is killing them,” Ah Lan’s rationality was still intact.

She said “something” instead of “someone”—each Elemental Valley had at least one or two Archmages, and the place was filled with deadly elemental turbulence. She truly couldn’t think of anyone in the Magic World who could walk in there.

“How did the people from the Valley of Ice die? Do you know?” Duan Yu suddenly asked Ah Lan.

Ah Lan slowly shook her head: “Their branch hasn’t had anyone come out for over twenty years. The younger one isn’t yet old enough to attend the Academy… We only found out about this when the elemental turbulence started to spread.”

“Doesn’t the Magic Association care?” Lin Wei frowned and asked.

“The Magic Association only maintains order among Mages,” Duan Yu answered him. “These kinds of matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Astrology Tower.”

“But they didn’t do anything,” Ah Lan’s hair was blown into disarray by the fierce wind, her expression very indifferent. “Everyone saw that the Astrology Tower didn’t take any action and felt reassured, thinking that they had already reached a conclusion and that this wasn’t a big deal. The Astrology Tower has been protecting the Magic World since the end of the Dark Age, resolving many dangerous situations. But in the Valley of Ice, over a dozen of our students died inside. I suspect that Mages had perished there before, but no one escaped, so we never heard about it.”

After hearing this, Lin Wei finally understood why Mr. Sylvester, upon hearing this news from Winston, immediately went to find Adele—they both went to the north together.

Unlike Lin Wei and the other two, who relied on Sandra’s barrier to withstand the Elemental Storm, Adele simply said something lightly on the coast, raised her hand, and pressed down, opening up a calm passage—this was likely the “control of rules” Great Prophecy of the Astrology Tower.

He finally began to piece together some clues from this series of events. It seemed that this major incident was closely related to the five Elemental Valleys and the Astrology Tower—if the disappearance of the Valley of Ice family wasn’t a natural decline, then there might be another party involved. Now that the Valley of Wind was also facing a crisis—the other Elemental Valleys must also be in danger!

He asked Ah Lan, “What will you do once you reach the valley?”

“If they’re going to die, then I’ll probably die soon too,” Ah Lan said indifferently.

Lin Wei was left speechless by her resigned attitude towards death.

“We were born for this,” Ah Lan suddenly added. “We’re not like those Mages outside who have no attachments. We were created to guard that place for generations, to suppress the Source. No one can resist fate.”

Her tone carried a sense of unwillingness, and if one listened closely, there was even a hint of hatred—she despised her own fate.

But Lin Wei keenly noticed another unusual word: “created.”

Ah Lan emphasized this word when she said it, and the disgust in her voice was very apparent. He realized that this word might be of great significance… Her use of “created” might not refer to the “Creator God’s” creation.

He repeated softly, “Created…”

The emotionally charged Ah Lan let out a short laugh. “This isn’t some secret that can’t be told.”

Duan Yu turned to look at her, hesitating to speak.

“We’re not Mages, we’re not even human—humans wouldn’t live happily in that damned place,” Ah Lan’s eyes were full of mockery. “I have a brother who’s only a few years older than me. He’ll take over as the clan leader and guard the Source. If the family lives peacefully, I can stay in the Magic World for the rest of my life without having to go back—I was happy about that. I almost forgot what I really am.”

Lin Wei frowned as he looked at her, who seemed somewhat deranged. She suddenly reached out her hand, and her fair, slender fingers turned into a translucent blue. “If I want to, I can almost merge with the elements. People in the Elemental Valleys can remain unharmed in the turbulence, more powerful than any other Mage. Almost everyone eventually becomes an Archmage—not because we’re highly talented, but because we’re essentially no different from the elements themselves.”

“We’re just a lump of magical elements molded into human form—I don’t know if there’s a Creator God in the outside world, but we have our creators.”

After saying this, which stirred up a storm in Lin Wei’s heart, she fell silent.

Lin Wei hesitated and looked at Duan Yu.

The Mage sitting beside him met his gaze and slightly lowered his eyes, then extended his right hand to him, just like Ah Lan had.

The beautifully shaped hand gradually turned into fine golden fragments starting from the fingertips.

He tacitly confirmed Ah Lan’s words.

Lin Wei said softly, “Change back.”

The Mage withdrew his hand and didn’t look at him anymore, only saying, “You’re scared.”

His voice was as cold as ever, but there was a hint of helplessness and disappointment in it.

“No,” after a while, Lin Wei suddenly realized that Duan Yu had misunderstood something. “I’m not scared of you.”

He reached out and took that hand, carefully examining it—a beautiful hand, flawless in every way.

He said softly, “I’m scared that you’ll disappear.”

He knew the Magic World was facing a crisis, and he knew the five Elemental Valleys had mysterious origins. But only now did he finally feel a sense of fear welling up in his heart.

“What exactly is going on—why ‘created’? You have to tell me,” Lin Wei said.

He tentatively held the hand, feeling its slightly cool temperature.

“You should remember the records from before the Dark Age, when magic was flourishing,” the Mage said.

Lin Wei nodded. The Chronicles of Time described the prosperity of that era.

“There were many people on the continent, but few had magical talent. If it had been like that back then, magic couldn’t have flourished.”

That’s right—Lin Wei realized this for the first time. The Magic World had a small population, residing in the Floating Sky Capital. As long as they didn’t unite to attack towns, they wouldn’t have any impact on the continent.

“Magic has been declining,” Lin Wei said. “Isn’t it because of the wars during the Dark Age?”

During the Dark Age, many spells and texts were lost. From the origin of magic to the Dark Age, thousands of years of magical achievements were wiped out. Although the Dawn War was won, the continuation of magical traditions remained difficult.—This was recorded on the title page of the Chronicles of Time.

“That’s one reason,” Duan Yu said. “Another reason is the concentration of elements. Without sufficient elemental concentration, magical talent is hard to come by, and the number of Mages will continue to decrease.”

“So?”

“Something likely happened during the Dark Age that made the magical elements unable to coexist,” Ah Lan suddenly spoke up to answer for him. “The once dense elements of various types began to clash, and the continent was engulfed in an Elemental Storm. Countless people died, along with the Elves, Dwarves, and other races. Their casualties were severe, and since their reproduction rate was already weak, they gradually went extinct. Only the Humans managed to survive.”

“To quell the Elemental Storm, the concentration of elements had to be reduced—only when they were diluted to a certain extent could they coexist peacefully, with only occasional small-scale storms, like the Seasonal Tide.”

“The five Elemental Valleys became the places where the elements were sealed. Even a single Elemental Valley contains more elements than the entire Magic World possesses now. And our families are the tools. Those elements are terrifyingly pure, and the power of Mages can’t have any effect on them. Only something equally pure, or even more pure, would work. Because no matter how vast a Magic Array is, it will eventually be depleted. No matter how miraculous an alchemical product is, it will eventually break. To make the seal last forever, without breaking or failing—what could be more reliable than people passed down from generation to generation?” Ah Lan said coldly.

Lin Wei felt a slight returning grip on his hand. Duan Yu said, “So we were created—perhaps modified. Many magical achievements from that time are unimaginable now. We share the same origin as the ‘Source’ and can withstand the turbulence. We continuously input the purest power into the sealing array, maintaining it fully open, to suppress the Elemental Storm and prevent it from spreading outward.”

After hearing all this, Lin Wei sighed. “How many more secrets does your Magic World have…”

“I don’t have any more,” Duan Yu answered him.

Lin Wei: “…”

This Mage had changed. Not only was he not human, but he had also learned to dodge and clarify himself.

Lin Wei sat opposite the Mage, carefully examining him again—and thinking about all his traits… This guy was extremely aloof. If Lin Wei hadn’t taken the initiative to approach him, if Mr. Sylvester hadn’t cared so much about his students and forced them to share a room, making them get used to each other, they might never have exchanged more than a few words in their entire lives. This person’s indifference to outsiders was almost disdainful, and it hadn’t changed even after his eyes were healed. It wasn’t because he was arrogant about his strength, nor was it because he was bad at socializing. It was because he knew he was different from everyone else, and he would never have much interaction with them—from the way his family was created to the fate that awaited him.

The Mages’ dream of traveling the world had nothing to do with him. Even if he traveled with his peers, they would eventually part ways, and he would return to “that damned place.”

“I’m sorry,” Duan Yu was the first to speak, his dark golden eyes reflecting Lin Wei’s figure. “When you asked about the Elemental Valleys before, I hid these things from you.”

“I’m forgiving,” Lin Wei put on a reluctant expression of forgiveness. “This level of concealment is still acceptable—any more would be too much.”

His forced expression didn’t last long before he couldn’t keep it up. He leaned over to tease Duan Yu. “You didn’t tell me—were you afraid that I’d think you’re different, that you’re not normal, that I wouldn’t be able to accept it and wouldn’t stay with you, huh?”

—His words were utterly unreasonable and shameless, full of self-importance and exaggeration. The Mage, who wasn’t good with words, truly didn’t know how to respond.

But that guy’s style changed very quickly. His deep violet eyes softened in an instant, and his fingertips lightly scratched Lin Wei’s palm. “It’s okay… No matter what your origins are, since you were born like everyone else, of course, you should have the same things as everyone else. If you really can’t understand the emotions and relationships of people in the outside world, I can slowly teach you.”

Ah Lan, who had been completely ignored, glanced between the two of them. “…”

She truly couldn’t understand the emotions and relationships of people in the outside world either, and she found what was happening before her eyes particularly difficult to comprehend.