Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 368 The Three Rings
There are always unexpected events on a journey.

But this trip was probably made up of accidents and unexpected events from beginning to end.

"Damn it, another torrential downpour. Watch out for landslides and falling rocks. Find somewhere to take shelter from the rain."

"Watch out, lightning strike!! Medic/Priest! Come and save them!"

"Oh my god, another blizzard! Quickly tie the wagons together. Mages, start a fire! This time, let's make sure no one freezes to death or gets frostbite. Does anyone have civil engineering, alchemy, or earth magic? Let's build an earthen fortress, or at least a wall. Can't we just dig a hole?"

"Run! Geothermal heat is rising; the volcano might erupt!"

This damned demonic realm perfectly demonstrates what a monstrous place the "fire-ice circulation" high-elemental tides are all about.

If the team consists of only two or three strong individuals, they can probably proceed smoothly. However, as the number of people traveling together increases, the journey becomes more arduous and dangerous.

"Mudslide!! Avoidance mage, quick, quick!"

Those building the wall risked their lives, and those digging the pit rammed it with their bodies. The temporary ditch worked, diverting the small-scale mudslide in another direction.

At this moment, Rean was being tormented to the point of wishing for death. As the unlucky guy who adapted to the environment the fastest, he was doing odd jobs everywhere as a firefighter.

Every spellcasting is like gambling with one's life, requiring both precision and effectiveness, as well as overcoming environmental influences. In most cases, multiple spellcasters cast spells together, and the results are quite subtle; sometimes they all fail, and sometimes they all succeed, and then they conflict with each other.

Even so, the spellcaster's role in the team is far too obvious.

Contrary to expectations of "magic turrets," the spellcasters in the adventure party mostly use support and defensive magic. In most cases, the responsibility of output and killing is still taken care of by the melee fighters, and the team leader would rather use all the spellcasters' magic power on protection, logistics, and support.

Elemental (energy) shields, short-term flight, fossilization into mud, earthen walls, acceleration, reinforcement, bonding, gales, water creation, air purification, magic shields, and lightness spells—spells rarely used in daily life—became the spellcasters' primary tasks.

Using the rules, breaking the rules, and making the impossible possible—this may be the true purpose of a mage (rule master).

"In this respect, mages are finally better than warlocks."

The long growth period and talent requirements of mages, along with the high resource consumption and lack of stability in their subsequent growth, make them quite delicate in the world of spellcasters. In particular, warlocks not only have access to similar or identical spells, but also often find themselves in an even more precarious position due to the power of their bloodline and the enhancement of their spellcasting effects.

But the archmage's astonishing magical reserves, and the advantage of being able to acquire a large amount of academic magic given enough time and resources, were clearly on full display at this moment.

Reality isn't a game; high damage output doesn't guarantee invincibility. Facing various environmental influences, sufficient spell reserves mean a multitude of contingency plans. With more cards, it's naturally easier to play any game, and there's always a way to deal with any situation.

"Perhaps, while pursuing the upgrade of the ring level, I should also pursue the accumulation of spells to the third ring level, which would be about right."

What was bound to happen would happen sooner or later. Rean took this step in this magical realm, and as the fireball floated in mid-air, the magic around him also brought a small storm.

Rean was already at the half-step third ring, and he would naturally advance as long as he used the second thought line to analyze the fireball spell. However, Rean himself was not actually satisfied with this progress. Recently, too many things had occupied the second thought line, which seriously slowed down his progress.

"Is my spell list too weak? I look like a warlock who can only play with fire."

Within the caster's third ring, there are many useful spells, while Rean only has offensive spells.

Rean may have rushed things and overlooked the greatest advantage of mages compared to other spellcasters: they can continuously acquire new spells through learning, unlike sorcerers who have to outwit and outmaneuver sect leaders to gain favors, or users of divine spells who crave the "favor" of the gods.

"You've reached the third ring? Congratulations." Rean's progress has also earned the recognition of his senior brothers.

Despite their outward calm, they are not entirely at peace inside, considering the time and resources they have invested in becoming third-tier mages.

"Hmm, not bad luck. Fire element is very active here, and I happen to be analyzing fireball spells. The environment here has also enhanced my magic power."

The prerequisite for advancing in spells is learning higher-level spells, while also ensuring that one's magic power and physical body are capable of casting spells. Such surging fire elements are indeed a training ground for sculptors, and Rean's statement is not wrong.

Rean's words attributed the success to luck and circumstances, which made the other senior mages look at him more favorably.

Rean's caution was not superfluous. A major turning point in Kukun's tragic life was when he awakened the third-circle fireball spell as a sorcerer, which aroused the jealousy of the other apprentices.

Upon hearing Rean's words, Archmage Marton chuckled and shook his head. "You're a red dragon with the bloodline, how could you not have the casting magic of a third-circle spell? Do you really need the blessing of this special environment?"
However, he saw through it but didn't expose it. Before his mentor arrived, he asked him to take care of the junior student, since they were "family" after all.

The little incident passed quickly, and Rean's advancement was a great thing for him. Becoming a third-ring mage also meant becoming a true, official mage, and he could easily find work wherever he went (praise for the omnipotent fireball spell).

In many regions and noble families, the appearance of a third-circle spell is a significant turning point in a person's life, both for their own career and for their family, and is something to be celebrated in grand style.

But for Rean, this was just another useful tool he had acquired.

"Uh, something's not right."

[Host's Elemental Vision has been activated. This ability will continuously consume mana.]

[Physical elemental compatibility slightly increased, allowing for some degree of elemental interference.]

Rean reached out and saw the flow of elements, even vaguely able to interfere. This was not the exclusive domain of mages, but a common ability of "true elemental spellcasters." From this moment on, Rean did not need to strictly follow the standard spellcasting method. He could "create" small fireballs and lightning bolts, and use his will to modify the elements.

Rean asked his senior brother Marton. Marton said that this ability is not entirely linked to the spellcasting level. Generally, a mage can gain elemental vision at around the fourth or fifth rank, but interfering with elements generally requires a level of fifth rank or higher.

"Is this the Dragonborn?" Even archmages of the fifth ring or higher found this talent to be outrageous.

But this is actually the norm for those magical subspecies; they are naturally more talented as spellcasters than beastmen. But since Rean is so many levels above them, it's natural that the elements consider him one of their own.

Considering that Dulong already possesses the talent of commanding elements, perhaps this anomaly can be viewed as normal.

When Rean asked Marton to buy some materials on third-circle and second-circle spells, his senior brother did not refuse.

Rean, with his dual-track thinking, couldn't stop. After setting up another spell analysis process, Rean also turned his attention to team management.

The truth is, everything is normal without him. The "experts" of Glorious City are far superior to him, a self-taught individual, in every aspect.

Humans are highly adaptable, and once a threshold is reached, subsequent progress becomes much smoother.

Prior to this, Rean and his group had also found their target deep in a canyon.

"We've finally arrived at the Druid's Green Garden."

(End of this chapter)