Chapter 66 – In the Sea of Stars

The mages finished their portion of the midday meal—though they were still somewhat unsatisfied. Since the light rain outside persisted, the group remained in the tavern. After a long while, a young mage in a red robe finally landed on the dock. He glanced out at the sea, then looked around the dock.

This was likely the third member of the new class. Ansel had mentioned that the three were mages with affinities for the Light, Earth, and Fire elements.

Given his ability to fly proficiently even before entering the Magic Academy, it was clear he came from a mage family—if one ignored the slight stumble upon landing.

Haitie waved to him from the window. The Fire Mage entered through the door. He had short, deep red hair and eyes of the same color, with a rather delicate, doll-like face. After meeting his fellow first-years and realizing he was the last to arrive, he blinked his long-lashed eyes and explained, “I’ve never flown this far before. I think I took a wrong turn and landed at another dock. I couldn’t find anyone there…”

Tiki snorted coldly, “Don’t even know the way.”

The Fire Mage wasn’t offended, scratching his head awkwardly. “I’ve never traveled far from home.”

Lin Wei observed this class with interest—a somewhat spoiled mage girl, an introverted mainland boy, and a somewhat clueless yet good-natured doll-faced mage.

“By the way, you haven’t told us your name yet,” Tiki said to the Fire Mage.

“My name is Shui Lan,” he said, pronouncing a syllable that was quite awkward in the human tongue. His gaze lingered on the pewter jug in the center of the table. “I’m thirsty—is this water?”

Before anyone could stop him, he naturally picked up a cup, filled it, and brought it to his lips, muttering along the way, “The containers on the mainland are so strange.”

The mages at the table watched him without speaking. Some thought he would put the cup down once he smelled its contents, while others, like Lin Wei and Tiki, watched with a hint of amusement.

To everyone’s surprise, he drank it straight down, as if it were just a cup of water!

Tiki’s green eyes widened. “You…”

Shui Lan’s expression froze for a moment, then his brows furrowed tightly. He clutched his throat with his right hand, gasping for breath. “My throat burns—it’s on fire! Why would you leave a potion on the table?!”

Tiki: “…”

She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, and let out a heavy sigh.

The Fire Mage looked horrified. “Is it poisonous—am I going to die?”

Lin Wei also sighed, looking at the pitiful Fire Mage. “Your name is Shui Lan?”

“Yes. If I die now, and you have to erect a tombstone for me—’Here lies the unfortunate mage Shui Lan, killed by a potion carelessly left on the table by his companions.’ Oh, and my name is very hard to write. It’s like this…”

“Shut up,” Lin Wei coldly interrupted as Shui Lan gestured on the table with one hand while clutching his throat with the other. “Are you from the Valley of Flame?”

“Yes—my brother is also at the Academy. I wanted to see him. I was really looking forward to coming here…” The Fire Mage let out a sad hiccup, his eyes glistening with tears.

“So,” Lin Wei looked him up and down, “you can hear, see, and speak… and you just drank a whole cup of strong liquor without hesitation—you’ve lost your sense of smell?”

“You can even tell that?” Shui Lan’s eyes filled with admiration, as if he’d already forgotten the burning in his throat.

This time, it was Xipo who spoke, his tone helpless. “Lucas, and Tiki, you’ll need to keep an eye on him—don’t let him eat or drink anything randomly.”

Tiki nodded in deep agreement.

“Wait,” Shui Lan finally caught on to something in his words. “I still have a future?”

“You’re not going to die,” Tiki said, looking at him with disdain. “Mainland stuff can’t kill a mage.”

The farce finally came to an end. The Fire Mage, with a newfound sense of joy at being alive, began to listen to Xipo, the longest-standing student at the Academy, as he explained some of the Academy’s rules. Meanwhile, the tavern owner, who had witnessed everything, felt a complex mix of emotions: it seemed mages weren’t all that terrifying after all.

Lin Wei subtly moved his chair closer to Duan Yu. Propping his chin on one hand, he looked at the person beside him and whispered, “Another mage from an Elemental Valley—I thought your personalities were all the kind of…”

He had already met Duan Yu and Ah Lan, whose personalities were slightly cooler than most, with extraordinary strength, keen instincts, and terrifying judgment. As companions, they often gave off a calm and reliable vibe.

“Who would have thought there’d be one like…” Lin Wei searched for the right words and finally found the perfect description: “…like this.”

He recalled what Adele had said before—that among these families, only the Valley of Flame was still thriving. If it could be described as “thriving,” it must be a large family. Add to that the generally cheerful nature of Fire Mages, and it wasn’t so strange that they’d produce a descendant like this.

The personalities of mages were somewhat linked to their elemental affinities. This was most evident in the gentle and quiet nature of Water Mages and the cheerful and outgoing nature of Fire Mages, though there were occasional stubborn and rigid Water Mages, as well as hot-tempered Fire Mages.

And as for Shui Lan’s lost sense—smell—compared to sight and hearing, it was almost negligible, barely affecting daily life, though it did make one slightly slower on the uptake.

The group would stay here for the rest of the afternoon, as it was likely that other mages had been delayed by the Seasonal Tide and couldn’t return to the Academy. They could take these mages back with them when they left.

The rules of the Magic Academy, compared to the etiquette and regulations of the Imperial Capital, were few, but there was still enough to talk about for a while. Since Xipo had taken on the task of explaining things to the new class, Lin Wei and Duan Yu were free to do as they pleased.

Haitie, for her part, didn’t seem to mind. She sat with Tiki, while Lucas and Shui Lan listened intently. Tiki, however, clearly wasn’t paying much attention, occasionally whispering something to Haitie—the two girls had quickly become close.

Lin Wei had an appreciation for beautiful things, and the sight of the two girls whispering to each other was undoubtedly charming and lovely. If only Lady Tiki didn’t occasionally glance at Duan Yu and whisper to Haitie, “He’s so handsome—isn’t he?”

He gritted his teeth. While he didn’t intend to make a fuss with Tiki, he couldn’t let her keep staring so brazenly either.

The Young Duke called the tavern owner over to settle the bill, then tugged on Duan Yu’s sleeve. “Let’s go outside… I want to show you something.”

Of course, Lin Wei politely and symbolically asked the others at the table if they wanted to join them for a walk. Since the explanation wasn’t finished yet, Xipo and the three new first-years naturally stayed behind. Haitie, her blue eyes glancing between Lin Wei and Duan Yu, shook her head.

—Good girl.

Outside the tavern, the rain continued to fall, the faint sound of thunder echoing in the distance. The desolate dock was shrouded in mist, the scenery blurred.

“Where are we going?” Duan Yu asked.

“Take me somewhere uninhabited, somewhere open.”

They rose into the air, flying through the rain and mist, over the scattered towns near the harbor, and eventually landed on a deserted mountaintop—Duan Yu’s flight magic was clearly far superior to Shui Lan’s, as he always landed steadily, even while carrying Lin Wei.

Satisfied with the surroundings, Lin Wei blinked at Duan Yu. “Do you remember when I said I’d have a dragon—one bigger than Old Ansel’s?”

“I remember,” Duan Yu replied.

Without using a crystal as an aid, Lin Wei began chanting the incantation for the Gate of Contracts.

This was the highest form of the Gate of Contracts, and the incantation was far more lengthy and complex than usual. As the chant neared its end, a massive archway formed in midair, composed of countless runes. Gray-black light swirled within the gate, and faint cracks could be seen in the soul passageway.

Lin Wei’s consciousness sank into the gate, entering a silent gray world. Soul orbs of varying sizes flickered faintly in this world, like stars in the night sky.

He guided his consciousness upward. At first, the soul orbs were densely packed, but as he ascended, they became fewer and fewer, while their light grew more concentrated—high-level souls corresponded to high-level beings, and the level of the Gate of Contracts determined how far the soul passageway could reach.

The summoner’s soul consciousness continued to rise until the orbs were nearly nonexistent, and he finally stopped when he encountered an invisible yet faintly oppressive soul barrier.

The orbs scattered around him now were the highest-level souls the Gate of Contracts could connect with—the Dragon Clan.

The summoning rippled through this space, attempting to resonate with one of the souls. Lin Wei had spent countless efforts in his past life trying this over and over again, so he was quite familiar with the process.

After a while, one of the soul orbs quivered slightly and drifted toward him.

Lin Wei’s consciousness guided it back, passing through the vast Sea of Souls to the entrance of the passage connecting the soul world to reality.

His consciousness returned to his body, and he opened his eyes to look at the floating Gate of Contracts.

A heavy breathing sound faintly emerged, followed by a long dragon’s roar that stirred his heart.

Just as noble ladies could always pick out their own cat from a group of similarly white-furred, blue-eyed felines, a summoner remembered every detail of their summoned partner.

That breathing and that roar—there was no need to confirm the soul. A deep sense of familiarity welled up from his memories.

“Sandra…” Lin Wei murmured the name.

Whether by coincidence or fate, even as time flowed like an overturned hourglass and his life began anew, the soul that had followed him from the Sea of Souls was the same as the one from his past life.