Chapter 9 Escape
"Mr. Leiden!" After his emotions recovered, the two of us still remained silent, but this time it was Brain who broke the silence.
"What's up?"
“The mask on your face, what is that for? to cover the wound on your face?”
"Ah..." Indeed, if someone was wearing a half-faced mask, that was either to cover up the scars or to attend a costume ball. But to be honest, I didn't want anyone to mention about this mask.
"Almost" I muddled through, but Brian seemed very interested, and he continued to ask.
"Wounded in a magical battle?" If the damage was caused by the sword, there was usually only one scar left. Few people would wear a half-faced mask to cover the scar, unless the scar was too big!
"Well!" I said casually, then stood up. It was ready, I was ready to release my magic. I knew very clear that our current situation would not sustain us for a second completion of magical memory, at least Brian would not hold up that long. If we failed this time, we would probably be like those magicians who ended up sleeping here forever.
I told Brian to stay far away, it was not the time to hide the strength now. I had to try my best. I checked the broken ice wall, half of the damaged area had recovered in 3 to 4 hours.
A series of eight fireballs rushed towards the ice wall. The strong heat flow seemed to be melting the entire cave. The aftermath of the explosion was drifting in the ice cave. The ice was melted into water by the heat flow. The water was dripping like rains from the ceiling of the ice cave.
A series of eight fireballs, twelve fire flame eruptions and four flame arrows. That was the limit of my capability. Obviously, the ice wall was melted down a lot by my magic. But this still cannot create a channel to the outside world. The thickness of the ice was far beyond my expectation. Although six to seven meters of ice was melted, the ice wall still seemed endless.
Although six to seven meters of ice had been melted, it still seemed bottomless.
I powerlessly sat on the ground filled with mixtures of water and crushed ice.
Though the magic consumed too much of my energy, it was the frustration and hopelessness that were depriving of my willpower. I knew that I had no chance to escape from this ice coffin. At least I can’t escape from this ice coffin with only my power! Would I die with these bodies?
“Mr. Leiden” I didn’t know when did Brian come behind me. I looked back at him, with a bitter smile on my face. The boy looked at me with admiration, but his face was filled with fear and despair. Then he looked up at the ice wall in front of us. As the ice was melted by my magic, the bodies of magicians started to detach from the ice. Now they were soaked in water and crushed ice.
"Master..." Brian rushed forward and picked up his master from the bodies. He looked around, probably was looking for a place to bury the body. But he cannot find a proper place in the ice cave. Finally, he closed the magician's eyes with one hand and put the body down.
"Are we going to die here, right?" Brian tried to calm down, but he could not hide the fear in his voice.
"We will not die!" I grabbed him shoulder, and stared at his eyes. "We are not going to die, unless you yourself want to die! " The young boy seemed frightened by my determination. He could only keep nodding his head, unable to say anything.
I have cleared all the frustration in my mind. Though it was useless to create an exit from the ice cave with fire magic. It did not mean that we could not get out of here. I suddenly came up with a question. Why was the ice layer so thick?
The only reason must be there was a glacier outside. No other reasons could explain the ice being so thick! And to be sure, there was no glacier in the mountains of Maltlin. If the thick ice was not formed by nature, there was only one explanation for its existence—magic!
Ordinary magic may temporarily freeze the cave, but it's impossible to keep such a thick ice layer which could withstand fire magic! The only reason is that Lewis opened an entrance to another world, creating the ice coffin with the power from another world. Meanwhile, because of the unnatural combination of the two worlds, “arbitrary door” would be disturbed in its forming.
However, if the “arbitrary door” type of magic was used outside of the ice cave, people could get in here through the “arbitrary door”! I suddenly realized the trick Lewis used to defeat so many magicians. I’d been wondering how his army managed to destroy the magician crusade. Now I knew, he didn't need to fight at all. He just sent the magicians to the ice coffin with a pre-arranged teleporter scroll or something else.
But how did he manage to do that? It's really hard to connect the two worlds. If I was to escape from this damn place, I had to know two things - how did he manage to connect the two worlds and where was that connection point in this cave?
I walked around anxiously, the temperature was decreasing rapidly, the ice water on the ground had condensed back into ice, and the water on my clothe and pants had turned to ice already. If this continued, I would not be able to maintain my temperature by my magic! The boy, he was even worse. Because I couldn’t apply magic on him to keep him warm.
Was it necessary to do that? No, that's all over. Did I swear to forget about everything? But...
Brian came to me, shivering. I looked panicked now, that’s why the boy wanted to speak but was afraid to do so.
"Mr. Leiden!" he said, but I ignored him. I was in a conflicting situation now, struggling in my mind.
A cloak covered over my shoulders. It was my cloak. I had put it on the ground to use it as a cushion. When I was standing up to use magic, I handed it to Brian. I touched it with my hand. The boy kept it well, it was completely dry.
I turned around and saw the boy's face, his hair and eyebrows were covered with a layer of frost, his face turned as blue as his lips, and his eyes could not focus!
"Back to you... Mr. Leiden... I have kept it very well. The cloak didn't get wet at all. " The young boy was limping in front of me. He cannot hold up anymore! I held up his body and tried to pinch him, but it didn't work. Unless we moved to a warm place as soon as possible, the boy would never open his eyes again!
…
"Wake up! Brian! Wake up! " I slapped his face hard. As his body temperature increased, the cold, blue body was showing signs of life again. His face turned to pale from purple, and his lips turned to ruddy from purple, but his mind had not yet recovered, and he was still in a coma!
I didn't know since when I began to care about the boy’s life. Perhaps deep in my heart, I've overlapped him with my past - this teenager was just like me. It was foolish to attempt revenge on a Necromancer with his mere magic power - just like what I did in the past!
"Master!" The boy's body waked up, and he suddenly embraced me, holding me so tight, just as if I would disappear in front of him. "You're still here. It's great! I had a dream that you were frozen in the ice by the Necromancer. Don’t you feel it was very interesting!? I dreamed you were dead! "
"Wait! Brian, It's me. Wake up, it's me. I'm Leiden " I didn't struggle, I just patted him on the back. "We are safe now. We have come out of that ice cave... you be okay! "
He slowly released his hand. It seemed that he had sobered up. It's normal for people to have such reactions when they just woke up from dreams, being unable to distinguish between dreams and reality—but how could he mistake me as his chubby master?
Mr. Leiden... It's you! " He apologized and stepped back. "Sorry, I just mistook you as my master. I'm sorry... my master... he used to wake me up like this. His eyes began to be watering.
"It's okay. It's okay." I cut him off with a smile. "Luckily you woke up. Don't be like this, your master wouldn’t want to see you cry! He is blessing you in the heaven and hoping you live a happy life…" I stopped talking because Brian seemed determined.
“Mr Leiden, I have a request…can you… teach me magic ?”
I hesitated, but I can’t resist the look in his eyes, with full of hope, and deep in the eyes I can see the flame of revenge.
“I can be your Master.”
Chapter 9 Escape
"Mr. Leiden!" After his emotions recovered, the two of us still remained silent, but this time it was Brain who broke the silence.
"What's up?"
“The mask on your face, what is that for? to cover the wound on your face?”
"Ah..." Indeed, if someone was wearing a half-faced mask, that was either to cover up the scars or to attend a costume ball. But to be honest, I didn't want anyone to mention about this mask.
"Almost" I muddled through, but Brian seemed very interested, and he continued to ask.
"Wounded in a magical battle?" If the damage was caused by the sword, there was usually only one scar left. Few people would wear a half-faced mask to cover the scar, unless the scar was too big!
"Well!" I said casually, then stood up. It was ready, I was ready to release my magic. I knew very clear that our current situation would not sustain us for a second completion of magical memory, at least Brian would not hold up that long. If we failed this time, we would probably be like those magicians who ended up sleeping here forever.
I told Brian to stay far away, it was not the time to hide the strength now. I had to try my best. I checked the broken ice wall, half of the damaged area had recovered in 3 to 4 hours.
A series of eight fireballs rushed towards the ice wall. The strong heat flow seemed to be melting the entire cave. The aftermath of the explosion was drifting in the ice cave. The ice was melted into water by the heat flow. The water was dripping like rains from the ceiling of the ice cave.
A series of eight fireballs, twelve fire flame eruptions and four flame arrows. That was the limit of my capability. Obviously, the ice wall was melted down a lot by my magic. But this still cannot create a channel to the outside world. The thickness of the ice was far beyond my expectation. Although six to seven meters of ice was melted, the ice wall still seemed endless.
Although six to seven meters of ice had been melted, it still seemed bottomless.
I powerlessly sat on the ground filled with mixtures of water and crushed ice.
Though the magic consumed too much of my energy, it was the frustration and hopelessness that were depriving of my willpower. I knew that I had no chance to escape from this ice coffin. At least I can’t escape from this ice coffin with only my power! Would I die with these bodies?
“Mr. Leiden” I didn’t know when did Brian come behind me. I looked back at him, with a bitter smile on my face. The boy looked at me with admiration, but his face was filled with fear and despair. Then he looked up at the ice wall in front of us. As the ice was melted by my magic, the bodies of magicians started to detach from the ice. Now they were soaked in water and crushed ice.
"Master..." Brian rushed forward and picked up his master from the bodies. He looked around, probably was looking for a place to bury the body. But he cannot find a proper place in the ice cave. Finally, he closed the magician's eyes with one hand and put the body down.
"Are we going to die here, right?" Brian tried to calm down, but he could not hide the fear in his voice.
"We will not die!" I grabbed him shoulder, and stared at his eyes. "We are not going to die, unless you yourself want to die! " The young boy seemed frightened by my determination. He could only keep nodding his head, unable to say anything.
I have cleared all the frustration in my mind. Though it was useless to create an exit from the ice cave with fire magic. It did not mean that we could not get out of here. I suddenly came up with a question. Why was the ice layer so thick?
The only reason must be there was a glacier outside. No other reasons could explain the ice being so thick! And to be sure, there was no glacier in the mountains of Maltlin. If the thick ice was not formed by nature, there was only one explanation for its existence—magic!
Ordinary magic may temporarily freeze the cave, but it's impossible to keep such a thick ice layer which could withstand fire magic! The only reason is that Lewis opened an entrance to another world, creating the ice coffin with the power from another world. Meanwhile, because of the unnatural combination of the two worlds, “arbitrary door” would be disturbed in its forming.
However, if the “arbitrary door” type of magic was used outside of the ice cave, people could get in here through the “arbitrary door”! I suddenly realized the trick Lewis used to defeat so many magicians. I’d been wondering how his army managed to destroy the magician crusade. Now I knew, he didn't need to fight at all. He just sent the magicians to the ice coffin with a pre-arranged teleporter scroll or something else.
But how did he manage to do that? It's really hard to connect the two worlds. If I was to escape from this damn place, I had to know two things - how did he manage to connect the two worlds and where was that connection point in this cave?
I walked around anxiously, the temperature was decreasing rapidly, the ice water on the ground had condensed back into ice, and the water on my clothe and pants had turned to ice already. If this continued, I would not be able to maintain my temperature by my magic! The boy, he was even worse. Because I couldn’t apply magic on him to keep him warm.
Was it necessary to do that? No, that's all over. Did I swear to forget about everything? But...
Brian came to me, shivering. I looked panicked now, that’s why the boy wanted to speak but was afraid to do so.
"Mr. Leiden!" he said, but I ignored him. I was in a conflicting situation now, struggling in my mind.
A cloak covered over my shoulders. It was my cloak. I had put it on the ground to use it as a cushion. When I was standing up to use magic, I handed it to Brian. I touched it with my hand. The boy kept it well, it was completely dry.
I turned around and saw the boy's face, his hair and eyebrows were covered with a layer of frost, his face turned as blue as his lips, and his eyes could not focus!
"Back to you... Mr. Leiden... I have kept it very well. The cloak didn't get wet at all. " The young boy was limping in front of me. He cannot hold up anymore! I held up his body and tried to pinch him, but it didn't work. Unless we moved to a warm place as soon as possible, the boy would never open his eyes again!
…
"Wake up! Brian! Wake up! " I slapped his face hard. As his body temperature increased, the cold, blue body was showing signs of life again. His face turned to pale from purple, and his lips turned to ruddy from purple, but his mind had not yet recovered, and he was still in a coma!
I didn't know since when I began to care about the boy’s life. Perhaps deep in my heart, I've overlapped him with my past - this teenager was just like me. It was foolish to attempt revenge on a Necromancer with his mere magic power - just like what I did in the past!
"Master!" The boy's body waked up, and he suddenly embraced me, holding me so tight, just as if I would disappear in front of him. "You're still here. It's great! I had a dream that you were frozen in the ice by the Necromancer. Don’t you feel it was very interesting!? I dreamed you were dead! "
"Wait! Brian, It's me. Wake up, it's me. I'm Leiden " I didn't struggle, I just patted him on the back. "We are safe now. We have come out of that ice cave... you be okay! "
He slowly released his hand. It seemed that he had sobered up. It's normal for people to have such reactions when they just woke up from dreams, being unable to distinguish between dreams and reality—but how could he mistake me as his chubby master?
Mr. Leiden... It's you! " He apologized and stepped back. "Sorry, I just mistook you as my master. I'm sorry... my master... he used to wake me up like this. His eyes began to be watering.
"It's okay. It's okay." I cut him off with a smile. "Luckily you woke up. Don't be like this, your master wouldn’t want to see you cry! He is blessing you in the heaven and hoping you live a happy life…" I stopped talking because Brian seemed determined.
“Mr Leiden, I have a request…can you… teach me magic ?”
I hesitated, but I can’t resist the look in his eyes, with full of hope, and deep in the eyes I can see the flame of revenge.
“I can be your Master.”
