Chapter 202: Curse-Type Magic
After decisively overcoming the four relentless Quasi Mages from the Divine Tower of Land Academy in the valley, Sein found his subsequent escape and evasion considerably smoother and significantly less stressful.
True to his nature, Sein was not one to shy away from retaliation.
Finding himself traversing the Divine Tower of Land Academy’s territory without the immediate threat of powerful senior initiates or Quasi Mages, he seized the opportunity to accumulate points.
Half a year had elapsed since the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War began.
Even junior initiates, through diligent occupation of resource points, could have amassed a modest score by this stage.
Sein made regular passes by several large and medium-sized resource points.
Although it was a little difficult for him to penetrate the heart of the resource points, picking off isolated initiates on the outskirts posed little challenge.
The strength of the Divine Tower of Land Academy’s initiates lay not only in the number and caliber of their senior initiates and Quasi Mages, but also in the solid average abilities of their intermediate and junior initiates.
While the collection of a few dozen points might seem trivial against Sein’s existing total, these small gains accumulated into a significant sum.
Unlike before, Sein refrained from delivering lethal blows to every initiate he encountered while navigating the Divine Tower of Land Academy's territory.
Previously, this tactic served to conceal his presence.
Now, with his whereabouts known, such extreme measures were no longer necessary.
Sein also held a concern he was reluctant to admit—his aggressive tactics could potentially provoke a unified retaliation from all initiates in the trial space.
The unforgettable image of thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, of hostile initiates on the hilly battlefield was etched deeply in his memory.
Continually making enemies was not a wise move.
Given his current situation, Sein would remain conspicuous until the end of this regional academy war unless he resolved the issue of the golden light emitted by his divine tower badge.
***
Years later, the spectacle of the golden pillar of light traversing the Divine Tower of Land Academy’s territory remained a vivid memory for many initiates.
This event became a shared experience for an entire generation across the five divine towers.
The ripple effects of Sein’s actions extended well beyond this incident, influencing several subsequent sessions of the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.
The deans from various divine tower academies convened after the conclusion of that war. Their purpose was to revise and update the war’s rules, a direct consequence of Sein's unprecedented tactics.
One notable outcome of this meeting was the major divine tower academies’ decision to recall and re-encrypt the divine tower badges of the initiates, thereby enhancing their security and functionality.
***
For a month and a half, Sein traversed the Divine Tower of Land Academy’s territory.
Having already journeyed through the Divine Tower of Shadow and Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder’s territories, he noticed that the Divine Tower of Land Academy’s territory was larger with more resource points.
Moreover, it boasted the most skillful and highest number of initiates.
This led Sein to ponder whether the Divine Tower of Land Academy would eventually top the rankings without direct conflicts between the various regions.
Upon leaving the Divine Tower of Land Academy’s territory, Sein entered the Divine Tower of Cipher’s territory.
Here, he immediately sensed a noticeable decrease in the intensity of pursuit.
The Divine Tower of Land Academy was indeed formidable, but its main force was engaged on the eastern front, battling the initiates from the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder.
As Sein approached the border of the Divine Tower of Cipher’s territory in the west, the pursuing initiates from the Divine Tower of Land Academy faced a dilemma—whether to risk entering the Divine Tower of Cipher’s territory.
While the overall strength of the Divine Tower of Cipher ranked near the bottom among the five divine tower academies, it was still a well-established divine tower academy.
Furthermore, several of its initiates had earned notable acclaim in the field of occultism.
***
Upon entering the Divine Tower of Cipher’s territory, Sein maintained his usual approach and journeyed straight across.
A few top initiates from the Divine Tower of Cipher tried to intercept him upon discovery.
Having already traversed the Divine Tower of Land Academy’s territory, Sein found these initiates insufficiently prepared to halt his progress.
However, his encounter with two twin female initiates skilled in occult arts changed his perception of the initiates from the Divine Tower of Cipher as weaker opponents.
“This must be a curse-type magic spell... I’ve only read about it before. I never expected to actually encounter initiates who’ve mastered it,” Sein mused, turning into a streak of light across the sky. He clutched his left chest, coughing with a pale face.
For the first time, he faced an attack that could breach his magic shield.
The elusive and formidable nature of curse-type magic spells led Sein to a renewed realization of the profound and boundless complexities of magical mastery.
The impact of these two female senior initiates on Sein was more profound than an alliance of two Quasi Mages.
Ultimately, Sein could not defeat them.
He hurriedly unleashed the Solar Eye spell from his mask. Only one of its six rounds struck them, the others were thwarted by an enigmatic mirror.
The mirror, emitting a strange, mystical aura, did not seem like a conventional magic artifact.
When Sein prepared to unleash more rounds of Solar Eye spell to eliminate the twins, the girls dissolved like ripples on water, reappearing amidst a group of initiates from the Divine Tower of Cipher.
The pale expressions on the faces of the twin female initiates indicated that enduring Sein’s powerful strike was no small feat.
Yet, Sein missed his opportunity to continue his assault.
With a small sigh and a hand over his left chest, he left the scene.
***
Sein’s journey through the Divine Tower of Cipher’s territory took a mere twenty days.
This brief transit highlighted the smaller scale of the Divine Tower of Cipher’s territory compared to the Divine Tower of Land Academy’s expansive territory.
Upon exiting the Divine Tower of Cipher’s territory, the golden light pillar continued southward, eventually reaching the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s territory.
The landscape here had transformed significantly since Sein’s departure half a year ago.
One of the notable areas in the Verdant Spring zone was the Scorched Lumenstone Mountain Ridge, a large resource point in the northwest.
It was here, atop the mountain, that Tom, an intermediate initiate, expressed his curiosity to Mark, a senior initiate.
“Didn’t we hear about a major conflict scheduled to erupt half a year after entering the trial space? Why hasn’t anything happened up to now?” Tom inquired with a puzzled tone.