Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Hill leaned back in his chair, staring at the floating crystal ball in the air for a long time.

Eventually, he began to smile slowly, grateful that nothing in this world tempted him with greed.

Hill was even willing to give up the Druid's treasure trove to Agleya, so what else was there that he couldn't bear to part with?

He glanced at the crystal ball again and quietly postponed his plans for the magic ship.

He decided to stay and keep an eye on Agleya for the coming year.

Seeing the reckless way Black Staff behaved, it seemed that the Toril Gods would have to intervene.

Even though he was quite certain that Black Staff Kaelborn was on the brink of death, Hill couldn't ignore the hostility that was coming his way.

The Universal Uncertainty Card, even for a person with decent luck, often results in drawing the Death Card, which means putting one's life on the line, and even if one survives, the financial loss is not small.

If only Hill couldn't resist the temptation…

Kaelborn had no idea just how good Hill's luck really was.

But he wasn't actually considering using that card to kill Hill.

With Agleya, a deity, by his side, Hill, who was more than legendary as a mage, was not so easily caught in a death trap.

But it never occurred to him that Lynn or Terry, who had no means of resistance, might be the ones to see this map.

Yet it was the first thing that Hill thought of.

The waves of hatred and anger that arose from his heart were the aftermath of Hill's fear.

He had underestimated his opponent.

This mad Mage Lord, who no longer feared the hatred of giants and elves, how could he fear Hill and Agleya, who had only a slightly more substantial divine power?

However, Hill once thought Kaelborn would not lightly offend such a close neighbor for the sake of his wife and children's future life.

But it seems Kaelborn is more concerned with his son's splendid future than with living a good life.

He probably thinks that in the prophecy, his children survived all the pain bestowed upon them and went on to a glorious path with immense strength.

Then, the pain didn't matter, right?

What a cruel man! To have such high hopes for his children, yet not plan to make any effort for them?

Indeed, as long as Laila herself didn't make any big mistakes, and with her sister Elaströ, the Supreme Lady of the Silvermoon Alliance, and their Northern Seven Sisters there, the three of them would always be safe in terms of their lives.

It's just that life wouldn't be easy.

And his way of doing things might not incline the members of the Northern Seven Sisters to be very fond of those children.

Their sympathy lay with their sister; how could they care about Kaelborn's children who had caused so much trouble for everyone?

The future of those two children is likely to be very dark.

Is Kaelborn worried that his children will not grow adequately without enough setbacks?

Hill always saw the best in people; he actually believed in such twisted fatherly love!

He stood up and looked towards his vast library, slowly pulling out every book on protective magic.

During his time at Silvermoon City University, he went out of his way to attend every course given by Dean Yun Derell of the Protection Academy.

Although the mage wasn't of a higher level than Hill, his understanding of the theories behind protection magic greatly exceeded that of Hill.

"Protection Magic Concentration," "Protection Magic Mastery," "Magic Guard, Engraving, and Magic Glyphs," "Magic Territories," "Dissolve and Dispel Magic," "Plane Defense and Magic Barricades."

He also found magi books related to force fields from the Cursing System. Although Dean Lodar Abel was a magician, he was very skilled at controlling force fields.

"The Origin of Matter and Magical Energy" and "Positive and Negative Energy Interaction" were also textbooks that Hill needed to review.

Lastly, there was the Enchantment Department.

Even though the female dean lacked emotional intelligence, she was good at teaching.

She preferred courses like "Personal Charm and Attraction," but aside from the basic enchantment spells, she taught the course "Manipulation and Forced Training" rather well.

So even though it was tiring, Hill managed to complete her year-long curriculum.

Indeed, knowledge is always useful.

Hill methodically gathered the relevant magic books and slowly integrated what he had learned, considering how to use nine spells to establish an unbreakable defensive circle around himself.

He always thought his defenses were strong, or to be more precise, Hill, having a thick skin, sometimes didn't bother casting too many protective spells on himself.

Hill had tried before—what could easily slice through Terry's nails was nothing more than a means to scratch his skin.

But this is a world where even the Platinum Dragon God had once fallen, he should have long forgotten about that bit of defensive power.

Although he has never felt excessive superiority, Hill, indeed, had become a bit proud. Sometimes the pride born from arrogance may prove difficult to detect.

While flipping through the book, Hill suddenly couldn't help but laugh. What was this? Is there always a big stick coming from an unpredictable angle to strike?

It was as if life feared he wouldn't learn what it meant by inviting disaster!

Agleya was slowly communicating with her own amber acorns, being a Water Element deity of kindness, she would quickly find her direction.

And Terry, after learning various cocktail mixing methods from Lynn every day, he still had to fly back to his cave to check things out, he too was searching for the secret of his divine artifact pendant.

Hill had List copy all the travelogues and music-related books from his study and send them over to the study room in Lynn's residence, so he also had things to do after the tavern closed each day.

Lynn's biggest complaint about Terry the bartender was that he actually allowed these customers to stay in the tavern all night.

So, from that day forth, it was changed to closing at 10 PM.

The patrons who liked to stay the night at the tavern with just a cup of ale were very dissatisfied, but none dared to make a peep while Terry was being scolded by Lynn, head bowed in an obedient manner.

This was something Hill originally planned to let Terry and Agleya handle by themselves.

Compared to a comfortable tavern, those people without much money would not choose to stay in the large dormitory provided by Agleya.

The two relief houses designed to propagate Agleya's kindness and tenderness were only utilized on the women's side.

These passersby, even if they didn't have much money, still had enough for a cup of ale; otherwise, such individuals were unlikely to travel on this road.

Terry wasn't making money and even caused a slight impact on Agleya's enterprise, Hill had been waiting to see how the two planned to handle this matter.

Unfortunately, Terry found even a single copper coin to have significant value, while Agleya was utterly indifferent to such concerns.

The deities of Teraxil, not relying on or needing faith, are quite sluggish when it comes to such affairs.

Probably the only one who could think of these things swiftly was the God of Monarchy and Nobles.

Upon hearing List relay Hill's thoughts, all he could do was laugh and let go of the matter.

After all, Agleya was still young, and there was no need for her to become a discerning and powerful deity so soon.

Feeling secure about the Puzzle Lock, Hill once again immersed himself in the world of magic.

His Magic Book, Chapter Five, also began to slowly take shape.

Hill thought for a long time, and with his abilities, simple absorption or resistance to spells were actually of little use. What he should do was to strengthen himself.

And this strengthening would be best not limited to himself.

Just like the Semi-Divine Artifact Painting he had placed in the Floating Castle, group enhancements were more meaningful.

So, he first wrote down a series of group beneficial spells.

Hill used himself as a template for these beneficial spells.

For instance, the first spell was Group Fox's Cunning, which could bestow a tenth of his own intelligence to companions within 10 meters around him. Hill felt that if a normal person was rated at 100 points, he should get a bonus of +15.

Then came Group Bear's Endurance. Hmm... for this one, Hill thought a boost of 20 was definitely not a problem, and if his health bar could be visualized, it would probably surge significantly...

After that, there was Group Cat's Grace. As an Elf with an Elven Bloodline, Hill was also strong in this aspect. If a normal mage could gain a +4, then Hill could likely add a +8?

The fourth was Group Increase Elemental Resistance. Typically, this spell could offer a 20% increase in all element resistances, but this spell could be modified according to the current environment, using different proportions of magic materials, which was very suitable for Hill.

What he needed most was fire resistance! Fire resistance!

The fifth was the mental fortitude barrier to strengthen the resistance of the Mental Sea, Mind Barrier: Prevent the targeted creatures from being affected by spells and effects that target the mind and remove all negative effects caused by such spells.

These beneficial spells nearly maximized Hill's attributes in every aspect. Then came the addition of external forces.

Hill penned down a spell he felt most secure about, Higher Banishing Wall: Erect a hard-to-detect transparent barrier in a 9 cubic meter area around the spellcaster. Any material passing through it will be treated with a higher spell of Dispel Magic.

Then there was a spell he could only use on himself, Reinforced Bones: Eighth-Level Spell. Immunity to Blindness, Deafness, Heavy Hit, Attribute Damage, Disease, Toxin, Daunt, Electric Shock, and all spells affecting physiology and breathing; half damage from acid and fire; increase in strength by 10%, reduction in agility by 10%, and speed halved.

This spell was very useful, but the biggest trouble wasn't that it was hard to learn even amongst Eighth Ring spells but that every casting required Mithril.

Many people knew this spell, but few were willing to use it.

Hill didn't care about that. He was naturally exempt from all Earth Element spellcasting materials.

What was truly important was the following: Elminster's Glorious Refinement.

This was a Ninth Level spell that Hill had spent a great deal of money to copy from Silvermoon City, from a student of Elminster. According to the mage's level, for each level, it could produce a silver-white light orb, each of which could absorb a spell equal to or below the caster's level.

It could also be flexibly controlled to absorb specific spells or not to absorb others.