Chapter 35: The Tribulation
"I've got a schedule for you. Master Kilroy's tired voice echoed in Gwen's ear as Alicia would bring you later today. β
Gwen didn't expect to receive her master's letter so soon, so at 6 a.m., a message bloomed in her ears and pulled her out of her sleeping embrace, much to Gwen's surprise.
She looked around the dormitory and saw that Yue and Avia were sleeping soundly, and Gwen realized that her master was considerate enough to send her a private text message. She cleared her head, replied "thank you", and quietly got dressed and put on her school uniform.
Training programs and courses.
Hopefully life can return to normal.
It wasn't until the morning assembly, where Principal Bartlett introduced their new mentor, that everything was fine.
Unsurprisingly, Alesia stayed until the end of the year, replacing those who had the misfortune to leave. If nothing else, Gwen knew that Alesia also wanted to spy on Yue, and in Alesia's eyes, his nickname was already Apprentice No. 1.
After Alesia, new instructors were introduced.
The first woman was a nondescript person.
The next retired former teacher.
Gunther then introduced himself.
The radiant mage appeared like a demigod in the human world. Soon, his presence filled the auditorium, and his presence made the place shrink.
Someone screamed, and then the whole hell erupted.
Gwen rolled her eyes, wondering if Gunther's charisma was a side effect of his radiant radiance.
Her introduction to astrology illustrates that the long-term use of specific elements alters a person's body and mind. Xiaoyue is hot-headed, and her body is resistant to heat and cold. Jun is calm-headed and cold-resistant. Deborah has a well-proportioned body with very little fat, and her once-fair complexion is now honey-colored. Elvia channels positive energy, so this must be the reason why she became an angel. Alicia's personality is the embodiment of fire, and Master Henry's face resembles a stump, although that may be his age.
Gwen wanted to know how her own physiology would be affected, what her physiology would be. Maybe she'll get two red dots on her face and start shouting "Pickup!", or, Gwen thinks more terrifyingly, she might turn into an anorexic shadow and be forever hungry.
"Oh, my ......" Xiao Yue wiped the stubborn saliva next to her pink little mouth I never knew my type, but ......"
They watched as Gunther introduced him under a pseudonym. Returned veterinarian, just entered the education industry, please take care of me, etc. He declares that he, like Alexia, is a mage, an awake-renounced juror, with the gift of a quasi-elemental plane of brilliance, between fire and the positive plane.
"Wow... "It's rare, like a rarity in a million," Elvia said, why are we looking for teachers who can be principals in private schools?
Yue shrugged, "Maybe Bartlett is well-connected, all the old men are military personnel, and most of them served during the Coral War. Some of them are certainly big names now. β
Then, to their surprise, Alicia stamped onto the stage and grabbed Gunther by the arm.
"He's my husband," she announced.
The crowd fell completely silent.
Then there was an uproar in the hall, and both boys and girls were crying out in frustration and disappointment.
Behind the teachers, Gwen saw Headmaster Bartlett Fispalm.
"Yes ... Instructor Alicia is right, she's my wife!"
Gunther recovered immediately. He grabbed Alexia by the waist and raised their hands triumphantly. "They looked like the president and the first lady were at a rally," Gwen giggled. She would never want to compete with Gunther on the same platform. The dictionary definition of having the upper hand is to share the attention with that person.
For some reason, people began to applaud. The sound spread all the way to the auditorium.
When the fiasco finally ended, Gwen returned to class.
Continue to teach theories, conduct experiments and demonstrations. New teachers and old students alike. Gunther instructs one of Gwen's classes, Elementalism 202, to play the role like a fish in water, with the children eating every word as if it were gospel coming straight from the horse's mouth.
Gwen met with Alexia after class. She sends her a silent message telling Gwen to leave Yue and Elvia's company.
"It's your schedule, little sister. When they met on the rooftop, Alicia handed over a small notebook, "Your resources will be distributed by Margs Bartlett." See if there are any problems. β
Gwen took the notebook and flipped it open. It's blank.
"Oh yes, this is the inscription that disperses the ward. Alicia playfully stuck out her tongue before teaching Gwen the spell.
Gwen quoted the glyph and watched as the words came to life. Master Henry sends her a letter encouraging her to work hard and beware of her emptiness, asking her to prioritize lightning. The next few pages have references to books recommended by her master, primers and theories related to magic, and more. When Gwen finalized her schedule, she was surprised to find that her weekend training was not with Alesia, but in a familiar location.
"Master knows my grandfather?" asked Gwen suspiciously.
"Master Surya made a few things from his master, you know," said Alessia, saying that if you tell us that you are his granddaughter, you will most likely not be harmed by a powerful Yas. β
"Are they familiar?"
"I don't know," Alexia admits as possibly comrade-in-arms. In the early 70s, not many military mages survived, and those who survived were the ones who worked together. β
Gwen flipped through the book until she found a strange section, two of which were outlined in purple, with a simple name: "Field Work β Black Cat".
"Any idea what this is?"
"Oh, that. Alicia smiled nostalgically, Master also had an old comrade-in-arms, Mark, who ran a mercenary mission company. He solves the customer's problems that the government does not want to deal with, or does not have the resources to allocate. Gunther and I both worked for Black Cats while we trained. The work experience was very good and I met a lot of interesting people. β
"School is on vacation......" Gwen sulked, even though she understood the need to perfect her craft. No amount of practice in hidden rooms and guarded fields can compare to a weekend of them killing real monsters in the Green Zone. Presumably, this "black cat" also offers a similar fare.
"If you can get the job done, you still have two weeks left," Alexia continued, saying Gunther completed his entire mission in four days. β
"Wow, somehow, I don't find it strange. β
"It's also an opportunity for you to make money. Alicia laughed and said, I remember Gunther doing almost 200 HDM companies. β
Gwen's heart pounded at the sound of crystals clanging.
"What about you?"
"I have completed all the requests for conquest," Alexia replied earnestly.
"And ......"
β... Then there would be nothing. β
"Of course......" Gwen didn't want to pursue Alexia's trauma. In fact, sending Alesia to a diplomatic mission could lead to the burning of buildings and the charring of corpses.
She continued to flip through her notebook. It is handwritten, carefully drafted, and has activities and goals for each day. She flipped through the dates until November, when she found the names of Yue and Elvia.
"What is this?"
Alicia herself ate a male goose.
"It looks like training for a team game. β
"Why?" asked Gwen, though I thought of an answer,
"It seems to me like 3 5 3 format, but two evokes? you won't have tanks, unless
Alicia's eyes sparkled.
"Looks like my little sister is going to play the magician for the first time!"
Gwen flipped through her notebook until mid-2003.
"International tournaments," she said aloud, "3 5 3 or 5 5 5 champions, or MVP, is the minimum I would expect from your talented player." We look forward to your goodies, Gwen. β
"We?" Gwen reread the line.
"Maybe Sofina is in there too?" suggested Alessia.
"Is it feasible for someone like me to compete at a high international level?" Gwen asked earnestly. Her knowledge of spells was mediocre at best, and she hadn't yet applied a phenomenon in spells. "Who is involved in these activities?"
Alicia pointed to herself.
"About 15 years ago I swept the singles and 3 5 3 ......"
This singular pronoun caught Gwen's attention. She guessed that it was technically possible if Alesia could enclose the other team in a huge AoE. Alesia and Manatir have twice as much affinity as Mana.
Alicia gestured towards the courtyard, where they could see Gunther's new fan club following the glowing mage.
β...... The guy was an all-star in his time, and he swept singles, 353, 555, MPV companies, and factories. β
Gwen found no surprises in this revelation.
"What is Gunther's school of magic?" Gwen asked.
"He's a summoner mixed with hallucinations," Alessia replied, adding that his usual list of spells included signature spells that he and Master had created for his radiant talent. β
"It sounds complicated," Gwen muttered, unable to imagine the process, like a senior science student trying to discern the mechanics of the Large Hadron Collider.
"You never want to see Gunther angry," Alexia said, without a hint of laughter I don't know how he did it, but he could summon a beam as thin as your finger, but it was powerful enough to melt a mineral's confession's shield. β
"He's going to shoot lasers?!" Gwen gasped. But this speculation is also unreasonable, even with gigawatts of energy, laser cutting takes time and heat to cut objects.
"What is a laser?" Alexia bowed her head when she heard the foreign word.
"Beams?"
Alicia shook her head. She pursed her lips, trying to explain the astronomical phenomenon.
"Just as the quasi-elemental plane of your void is made up of empty matter, there is no light, and radiation is the heart of the star β it is a combination of positive energy and fire. Our astrologers say that our sun is a door into the center of the quasi-elemental radiation plane, neat, right?"
"That's neat. Gwen looked down at the courtyard. A mage who shoots the sun's heat with a laser? This doesn't seem like a lethal ability. How powerful are Gunther's "light" spells?Do they have time to reach their goal?How can an opponent deal with something like this?
"How is he in battle?"
Alicia tilted her head with a nostalgic look.
"Gunther doesn't fight much these days, he's more of a manager, or rather a deterrent to trouble, ha! Once, a few years ago, Master asked us to conquer a group of particularly nasty trollsβugly earth elementals with the ability to regenerate. During the fight, one of them grabbed me and knocked me unconscious. He broke my foot......"
She grabbed Gwen with her mouth open.
"Don't worry! they're growing back. The owner has a chance to regenerate. Anyway, just as I gritted my teeth, there was a hissing sound, and when I looked up, the troll's face was gone. Like, it's gone, the troll's face is there, there's a smoke hole. Perfect cylindrical holes. I didn't even hear Gunther summon his radiant waves! I couldn't even see a beam!"
Gwen kept her mouth shut.
"So that's what Gunther was like two years ago. His light can pierce the face of a level 6 troll. One hit."
Gwen could barely imagine. In comparison, her lightning explosion must have been a feather duster. "Does someone as powerful as Gunther have any fail-safe devices or anything like that......"
"What do you like to do?" Alexia blinked, her brow furrowed.
"Like, what if his abilities are out of control, or if he's controlled by thoughts like I am?"
"Then we'd better run!" laughed Alessia, her naΓ―ve and kind nature not recognizing Gwen's paranoia. "For me, though, it's much easier to summon a meteor shower than for a psychic mage to penetrate Gunther's ego. β
Gwen thought enviously that her brother Apollo had been reborn.
She wondered how Gunther dealt with the snake. If the snake were in the city, would he be the one who put the snake down? Is there anyone like him? half-human, half-god, walking among men, playing political fart and giggling. How would he feel when he knew that a million names weren't worth a dime?
Gwen shuddered. She should be glad Gunther looks like a big shot.
"So... When do I start planning?"
"Technically, it starts today, but it's important to take it in stride. β
"How closely should I track it?"
"I think you'll see Master every two weeks. He will test you. β
Gwen touched the notebook in her hand. She had the distinct impression that this was not a timeline for one donor, but two, a judge and an overzealous Opa company. If she religiously follows this, she will have an hour a day. Her Saturdays and Sundays were gone. Her school vacation plans with Avia and Yue have come to naught. Her extended summer vacation will be a seven-day bootcamp.
However, despite this, Gwen observed a masochistic dizziness. If her saint is willing to put fate on her back, then she must have the patience to bear the burden of love and expectation. For a person who has been neglected for a long time, a little faith in fatherly love is enough to revel in happiness.
Gwen's schedule began the next day.
6 a.m.: Wake up, do laundry, have breakfast.
7 a.m.: Morning run in the suburbs, 6 km of steep and downhill roads.
8 a.m.: Get ready for school
9:30 a.m.: Classes begin after gathering.
11:30 a.m.: Break
12 noon: Class
1 p.m.: Lunch
1:30 p.m.: Internship
3:30 p.m.: School ends, extracurricular training begins, management basics
4:30 p.m.: Break
5 p.m.: Basic Theory & Practice
6:30 p.m.: Dormitory dinner
7:30 p.m.: Combat practice with Alexia and/or Gunther.
9:30 p.m.: Back to the dorm, wash, get ready for bed
10:30 p.m.: Can't sleep because Elvis Presley and Xiaoyue have endless problems
11:30 p.m.: Finally falls asleep because Gwen can't keep his eyes open.
12 midnight: Sweet, sweet oblivion.
Gwen woke up and thought it was a Monday or Tuesday, only to find out that it was a Thursday or Friday. She blended day and night, and every terrible morning she was acknowledged in the face of a mountain climb from Jubilee to Grabby to Wentworth Park.
However, there are few pleasant surprises along the way. During a morning run, she meets a recovered Deborah, who walks up and down the mountain as if she were on flat ground. They jog together, enjoying the runner's climactic moment, and then synchronizing their schedules to share their morning routines. Deborah tells Gwen that she is working on her enhancement spells in an attempt to reach the next layer of Bronze Skin for better defense and Bronze Flesh Elemental Resistance.
At the same time, Xiaoyue and Alesia are training together. The Witch in Red finally hinted at Yue about the possibility of becoming an apprentice. A few weeks later, Yue joined Gwen to study the Elemental Theorem and the Fundamentals of Mana. Later, she discovers that whenever Gunther trains with her, Alesia trains with Yue. This parallelism made her happy and happy, which alleviated her anxiety about Yue's future.
After the middle of the year, the girls had to say goodbye to Jun and Henry, who were now preparing to enter school and begin their military service. To the children's surprise, Alicia matched, and both managed to get into the department that best suited their talents. During the Viper Incident, Jun was honored for his bravery and entered an officer training school. Henry entered the intelligence service, where he was given the opportunity to focus on divination. Gwen gets a half-day break at the boy's farewell party, and the two friends promise to meet outside of school when they are younger.
By the end of July, she had mastered the basics of magic and was soon approaching her first milestone: a special ritual for all the magicians. This was held at her grandfather's estate, where both Opa and Master spared no effort to create a complex and expensive Circle of Calling. According to a cheeky Yue, this is the moment when all fledgling magicians lose their proverbial virginity. Gwen will receive her first calling, their first companion, a life that is connected to their existence - a familiar one.