Surviving The Fourth Calamity

When the first whisper of autumn wind lightly brushed Silvermoon City, the crazed giant dragons suddenly started to collectively rush toward the North.

Many other giant dragons also suddenly appeared on the Ferun Great Land, hoping to block their kin who might still be saved.

The power of Dragon Madness suddenly weakened, and aside from the dragons under control, others could manage to keep their sanity for short periods on the ground.

It seemed that the Dragon Lich Samarst had encountered some trouble.

The mourning of the dragons spread across the continent; many of them had lost friends and relatives.

Even the Chromatic Dragon couldn't help but appear to check if her nearby kin were still alive, but most could only sigh and emit a mournful roar.

The two giant dragons hiding in Silvermoon City also roared past every day, seemingly testing their limits outside the Puzzle Lock.

But judging from their woeful return an hour later, it was not yet time to completely end it.

Although it was unclear what had happened, the people of Ferun were already accustomed to the emergence of a hero or several heroes after every few intervals.

The bards had already begun planning a journey to the North, hoping to find out what happened before the dead of winter arrived.

The Son of Destiny was truly terrifying, such that even the most powerful beings, even with Divine Power, could only stand by and watch.

Without the right person, it was impossible to uncover the truth.

Even though all the deities knew the location of the High Elf city that originally caused the Dragon Madness, it couldn't be found when one went there.

The city, now fallen into a temporal rift, was unreachable by anyone except the specific choice of the World Will, not even by Coron, Father of Elves.

The residence of Samarst, hidden by the Chromatic Dragon Queen in the wilderness fortress of the North, was unknown to anyone.

Ironically, the vanished Elf City, the original inventor of the Dragon Madness Puzzle Lock, sacrificed the lives of the entire city's elves to bring down the mightiest dragon from the altar.

While obtaining the Dragon Madness Puzzle Lock, Samarst also left his only vulnerability there.

So, even without Samarst's power, this band of heroes could still come to dominate for a period.

The tragedies and comedies governed by the Tablets of Fate were indeed captivating, but Hill definitely did not want to be an actor in them.

He hurried to learn everything he wanted and decided to leave Silvermoon City for the Undead Swamp before the dead of winter.

The year 74 also was an autumn of much turmoil, and as people discovered the severe losses suffered by the most threatening giant dragons, they started their own plotting.

It was only because the Toril World was so powerful that demons and devils could only cause trouble in certain regions; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many ambitious individuals daring to borrow the power of demons and devils.

The troubles of the next year were mostly the result of these cities' scheming and infighting, perfectly suited for leaving the city to stay in the wilderness.

As long as Hill wasn't tempted, no one could drag him into the fray!

Hill decided to temporarily give up on the interesting Alchemy Products to first focus on making out the fourth chapter of his Magic Book.

After much thought, Hill chose Levitation Skill as the first spell for this chapter. He was still not over the idea of a Floating City and wanted to try and create a simplified version of it.

The second spell, naturally, was Flight Art.

The third was Precise Teleportation Spell.

The fourth, Hill chose Wall of Thorns; having many Thorn Demon Plant contracts, this spell was significantly strengthened for Hill.

If he truly wanted to summon a mansion that existed in reality and not just enter a Dimensional Space, he needed to increase his defensive capabilities.

The fifth was True Sight. This spell could reveal the true essence of things.

Hill really didn't want to entertain guests who hid their true intentions; this spell could help him fend off many unwelcome visitors.

The sixth was Blind. In essence, it covered the whole area with illusions and could not be detected by detection spells.

The seventh was Phase Door. Hill didn't know what the results would be, but he was really eager to try if his house could also go through invisible paths through wood or stone.

If he could accomplish that, even if it was just a small villa, Hill would have no regrets.

For the eighth spell, Hill used Early Warning Spell.

All of this was for the service of the ninth spell: Luxury Mansion Art, which bore a lot of Hill's hopes.

But Hill left the ninth page incomplete; he couldn't complete this step in Silvermoon City.

Especially when many Archmages were present.

The adventure invitation from Black Staff Kaelborn was of interest to many, but since they did not trust each other, the discussion had to be set in Silvermoon City.

Although Elaströ's methods were also ruthless, her credibility was still believed by many.

Kaelborn's Black Tower, only a fool would enter it.

But what Hill found terrifying was that these archmages had not come forth during the dragon rampage.

The Legendary Mage who was willing to hold public lectures, teaching ordinary mages how to counter the dragons, was apparently the most proactive in attitude.

The others involved in dealing with the dragons were the magicians closely related to Silvermoon City.

Instead, it was the temptations of benefits offered by Black Staff that drew these people out.

Hill sat on the bench in the courtyard, looking up as the autumn leaves danced and turned yellow. He couldn't help but think of the President of the Wizard Association in Teraxil.

If he were in the world of Toril, he would be considered a warm-hearted person!

At the very least, he would be willing to do things for his own world.

Even if he simply didn't want to owe his world anything, that still felt somewhat humane.

The mages on the side of Ferun, although they also had leaders like Elaströ, seemed to be more selfish and ruthless.

At times, Hill could sense that for the high mages of this world, merely refraining from killing wantonly was enough to be considered good.

Even when they held power, it was like controlling the clouds with one hand and ruling the rain with the other, treating ordinary people's lives as pawns.

As for the safety of the world, there were countless Deities after all!

The mages of Toril had already handed over the stewardship of the world to the Deities.

So, even though the Giant Dragon disaster wasn't over yet, they were already planning to take advantage of the Dragons' distractions to form groups, explore the lost city, and seek treasures.

Black Staff Kaelborn wanted the city, but not the others.

The reason meetings had to be called was to ensure that there was at least a peace treaty before exploring dangerous regions.

As for what conspiracies and schemes, assassinations and treasure looting might happen after the exploration, that was a matter for another time.

Hill was actually quite puzzled by the recent events. The teachings he had received from a young age, as Fran had always told him, were that mages could remain indifferent to politics but must not ignore the welfare of humans.

That was the foundation of a mage, not to be forgotten even when transcending the mortal coil.

Hill really wanted to know where his maternal grandfather was and if he would appear in Toril.

If he appeared in this world, what would he think of the mages of Toril?

Autumn had not yet ended, and as the leaves continued to flutter peacefully, an ear-shattering explosion came from the north.

At that time, Hill was listening to the last part of a lecture at the university. With winter approaching, many classes were about to end.

In Silvermoon City, even with Puzzle Locks, most people could only stay at home during the dead of winter.

When spring came, the cycle of courses would start again.

Hill no longer needed to attend university classes daily, having listened to all he needed.

In the future, he could also, like the other Archmages, only come to Silvermoon City for lectures during conferences.

The instructor in front was also startled; a mage's perception was high, and he could sense that the explosion came from a very distant place.

But such a violent noise made one wonder if a big city had been blown away.

Among the bewildered people, confusion was resolved by Elaströ's voice.

A gentle yet powerful female voice spread throughout the city: "Citizens of Silvermoon City! The Dragon disaster is completely over.

There will no longer be any Dragons driven mad by Dragon Madness!

The perpetrator of all conspiracies, the Dragon Lich Samast, has been destroyed.

Citizens of Silvermoon City! Rejoice!

But also sincerely thank our heroes: the warrior, Dorn Greybrook, and the team of heroes led by the Magician Karasondrys!

Thank them for never giving up on finding the truth behind this terrible event, thank them for risking their lives to bring peace to the world!

Citizens of Silvermoon City! Offer your most heartfelt blessings and prayers to the heroes!"

The instructor standing at the front of the classroom cheerfully shouted, "Today is a good day; let's end the lecture here! The courses covered previously will not be charged."

He joyfully walked out, intending to celebrate with someone.

Hill suspected he might have dragon friends to make such a foolish decision.

He felt the instructor would deeply regret it by evening, as today's lecture was on fifth-ring spells.

Every person had basically copied one spell each.

After a moment's thought, Hill simply packed up his pen and paper and headed home.

There was a little fellow at home that needed to be awakened.

When Hill reached Terry's side, he first picked up his own chessboard. He looked at the beautifully crafted chess piece adorned with a golden dragon design and the delicately patterned obsidian chessboard, happily packing it away.

Such natural yet slightly intimidating patterns were really rare; fortunately, Terry was still young and the dragon's pressure wasn't strong.

Hill first lifted the powerful sleep spell on Terry, and then, when the awakening spell was ineffective, he shook the bell hanging nearby with a smile.

Sure enough, no matter what race, even one's own snoring sound could startle them, let alone this amplified version.

Terry instantly flapped his wings and charged forward, then collided with the wall ahead.

Hill gently waved his right hand, restoring the cracked obsidian wall to its original state, laughing as he watched Terry, who was moaning and covering his head with his wings: "Good afternoon, Terry. It's time to get up!"