This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 147

As Reiga emerged from the room, Zeller busied himself at the nearby desk. Matthew relayed the intelligence concerning the Withering Cult, also giving a brief introduction to Eli's situation.

Reiga, hearing this, displayed the air of an experienced individual. "Ah, young infatuation, it's indeed a tough nut to crack."

"I've seen that white cat myself. Honestly, she's quite attractive, with an inexplicable charm," Reiga added.

Matthew looked at Reiga strangely. "Do you even understand a cat's aesthetics?"

Zeller interjected, "Reiga's ex-wife had lineage tied to the Hellish Hairless Cats."

Reiga promptly objected, "She's not an ex-wife; we haven't divorced yet! And she isn't entirely hairless."

Zeller shrugged, "You're right."

Matthew eyed Reiga suspiciously, feeling like taking advice from this guy would only cause chaos.

He then shared his plan with the others. "I intend to completely eradicate the Withering Cult. After that, we can address the emotional entanglement between Eli and the little white cat."

"Lolan, can you delay your departure for a few days? I need you to keep an eye on them and help me watch over the forest," Matthew directed at Lolan.

Lolan nodded, expressing a hint of nostalgia. "Matthew, you're only in your twenties, yet your mindset is like that of an old father. But speaking of it, Eli is truly fortunate to have encountered you. If I had a trustworthy friend like you in my youth, perhaps I wouldn't have strayed onto the wrong path."

Matthew brushed off the lofty praise. "Are you referring to the demigod and the legends?"

"Speak up, what's your request?" he asked Lolan.

Lolan grinned mischievously. "Can you talk to Eckmonde for me, persuade him to revoke the Alliance's warrant against me?"

Reiga was astonished. "You're a wanted criminal of the Seven Saints Alliance?"

Lolan admitted, "A dozen years ago, I made a mistake, got involved in a case. Mainly accidentally angered a high-level mage, who seemed to be Eckmonde's relative. Consequently, I ended up on the Alliance's wanted list, labeled as a fraudster. Fortunately, it's been a long time, the amount involved wasn't significant. Hardly anyone remembers it now. But it still troubles me as I can't openly use my identity. Every time I operate under an alias, it's a regret for me."

"How much money did you swindle?" Matthew inquired.

"Not much, twenty to thirty thousand?" Lolan recalled.

Matthew found it odd. "A sum of twenty to thirty thousand wouldn't warrant being on a wanted list, would it?"

Lolan sighed, "It's not about the money; it's about the person."

"You defrauded his family?" Matthew quickly caught on.

Lolan coughed, "His daughter could indeed be considered a victim."

"At first, it was a chance encounter, casual fun. She assured me she wouldn't cause trouble, but a few days later, she changed her mind, dragged her father to my doorstep, pressuring me to marry her."

"Forgetting to leave behind the bracelet she gave me when I fled became the evidence of fraud."

The office fell silent. Matthew didn't press for further details. After a moment of thought, he said, "I can't guarantee Lord Eckmonde will grant me this favor. Our relationship is quite superficial, but I'll try."

Lolan made a heart gesture, "You go worry-free. I'll watch over Eli. With you absent, I promise he won't get into trouble."

This reassurance put Matthew at ease. With legends like Lolan and Richard present and Eckmonde's duplicate, Rolling Stone Town and Oakwood Forest should be safe for the short term.

He turned to the other two. "Is the situation in the south completely resolved?"

Zeller, writing documents, replied, "Last night, Red Earth Mountain sent an urgent letter. Their Lord declared non-aggression towards us. As a gesture, their army withdrew south of Jumping Horse River, freeing nearly a third of the Golden Plains, which we can either claim or maintain as a buffer zone."

Matthew nodded. "Kusules's response was swift."

Zeller echoed, "That's the power of the Seven Saints Alliance. Without lifting a sword, they scare off an ambitious dragon!"

"However, we have our hands full ahead. With the news spreading, many residents of the Golden Plains are expected to seek refuge here, including some petty nobles or soldiers seeking retaliation against Red Earth Mountain. We must handle these people carefully, preventing them from disrupting the existing order of Rolling Stone Town."

Reiga chimed in, "Yeah, I've got a lot to do next."

Matthew and Zeller glanced at him simultaneously.

The latter silently raised the Union Gazette to cover his face.

"Mrs. Wesley, coffee, please!" he casually shouted, as though nothing were amiss.

Suddenly, Zeller spoke up, "Matthew, I'm a bit uneasy letting you handle the Withering Cult alone. Take Reiga with you; he's idle anyway."

Reiga immediately protested, "What do you mean by idle?"

"As the Lord of Rolling Stone Town, aren't I the backbone of this territory? Without me, this domain would have dispersed long ago!"

Zeller just stared at him. "Are you going or not?"

"You can voluntarily go in a dignified manner or be persuaded by me, in a less dignified manner," Zeller added, "I recall Asmar and Brilyn are about to come out from behind the door, right? If you hurry, I'll have them assist you."

Reiga glared at Matthew, then dejectedly said, "Fine, I'll accompany Matthew for a stroll. I don't need to pack; I can leave now!"

Matthew intervened, "Wait, we can't leave immediately."

Surprisingly, Reiga, usually eager, became a bit disappointed.

At that moment, Zeller calmly remarked, "Speaking of which, about that young man Eli, do I need to find a Succubus for him?"

Seeing Matthew's surprised expression, Zeller explained, "I heard men who have experienced a Succubus find it challenging to fall in love with women of other races. Of course, it's hearsay."

"Or maybe we can try something else? Provide him with a different hobby?" Zeller suggested, "Like gardening?"

Lolan shook his head, "That won't work. He's a born romantic, crafting his own illusory traps and falling into them."

"Rather than saying women deceive him, it's more accurate to say he enjoys deceiving himself," Lolan remarked.

Reiga couldn't resist joining in, "How about revealing the true nature of women to him?"

"Get a bad woman to educate him?" he proposed.

Zeller retorted, "Are you afraid he won't fall deep enough?"

However, Lolan found this plan feasible.

The three debated vigorously, engrossed in their discussion.

Gradually, the intense atmosphere in the office gave Matthew the sensation of being in a community meeting.

...

Crucible House.

Today, Margaret wore a casual outfit with a cow-patterned design. She appeared a bit dispirited.

Yet

, during class, Margaret's voice remained firm, "Today is our third theoretical class, mainly about facing frontal spellcasting confrontations."

"In face-to-face spellcasting confrontations, what's the most crucial aspect? Chanting! We all know that the chanting time for 1st to 2nd-level spells is around 2 to 4 seconds; for 3rd to 4th-level spells, it extends to 3 to 8 seconds; 5th-level spells generally require 6 to 10 seconds; legendary spells take longer, easily half a minute or a minute."

"Despite various auxiliary spellcasting abilities—accelerated chanting, silent casting, instantaneous casting—these techniques are challenging to use against spells of the same level."

"Assuming you're a legend, of course, you can instantly cast spells below the fifth level, but legendary spells become difficult."

"By the way, bullying the weak isn't part of our curriculum. I'll only teach you how to face opponents of the same or higher levels."

"Hence, in direct confrontations with opponents of the same level, chanting is an almost unavoidable step."

As I was pointing out the three main points, focusing on 'Spell Insight,' 'Spell Ability Enhancement,' and 'Suerel's Chanting Method,' Matthew was jotting down notes with his quill.

"Swish, swish, swish!" the notes from Matthew's quill danced in the air.

Taking a sip of water, Peggy began her explanation one by one.

"Spell Insight is the most useful ability, essentially a spell itself. It allows you to discern what spell your opponent is casting based on the initial syllables of their chant, at least enough to determine the type of spell. Knowing what spell the enemy is using allows us to respond better. If they're conjuring a fireball, we counter with a 'Mold Energy Spell Reversal'; if they're summoning celestial beings, we prepare for an 'Exorcism of Extraterrestrial Beings'; if they're constructing an illusion, we can directly cast an Advanced True Insight Gem and see through it."

"In short, Spell Insight is fundamental in direct confrontations."

Matthew nodded involuntarily; it was a skill he lacked. Despite his good eyesight and hearing, he struggled to predict enemy spells due to insufficient training and a lack of solid magical knowledge. Usually, he reacted only after the opponent had finished casting.

In this regard, the system only served as an auxiliary, providing data visualization based on what Matthew perceived, rarely bypassing his senses to do more.

This was actually a dangerous signal! However, Peggy didn't give Matthew much time to ponder on this.

She continued, "The second point is 'Spell Ability Enhancement.' As the name suggests, it's the process of solidifying the combat spells you frequently use into your own abilities. Spells require chanting, abilities don't; that's the essence of spell ability enhancement. There are dozens of ways within the Alliance for spell ability enhancement, but personally, I only recommend two."

Peggy outlined the two methods, one involving a high-level mage to help solidify the target spell onto oneself, and the other requiring diligent training and consistent spell usage, aided by corresponding magical potions. She stressed the latter method's hard work but emphasized its effectiveness.

"Spells like 'Spell Countering,' 'Spell Insight,' 'Spell Reversal,' 'Copper Skin Iron Bone,' 'Strength of the Bull,' and 'Charge' are perfect candidates for enhancement. By the way, I can reveal to you that I have over 40 enhanced spells," Peggy declared proudly.

"Wow, that's impressive!" Matthew exclaimed.

But Peggy corrected him, "No. Only a quarter of those are results of my own diligent training; the rest were solidified by legendary or quasi-legendary mages I paid for."

"Those spells are the reason I'm drowning in debt," she sighed, feeling dejected.

And that brought her back to the first lesson, she added. "So, what's the most important thing for a mage?"

"Money! Money! Bloody money!" Peggy seemed very bitter.

It seemed her recent financing plans weren't going smoothly.

Matthew obediently listened, and thankfully, she swiftly moved on to the third part.

"The third section is today's key focus and what I believe to be the best chanting technique, derived from my teacher, Madame Suerel," Peggy continued.

Madame Suerel extracted some essence from the dragon language magic after deep conversations with dragons and merged it into human spell chanting, giving birth to 'Suerel's Chanting Method.'

"The key advantage of this chanting method is its clear intonation and rhythm, allowing the control of the chanting speed and rhythm, and subsequently, the control of the infusion and outflow of magical elements. It sounds a bit abstract; let me show you a comparison."

Then she conjured three images in front of Matthew, all chanting the classic spell, 'Fireball.'

Peggy tapped lightly, and the three began their chants, each showcasing different styles but with maximum volume.

She explained that the first was an untrained wilderness mage using the most basic chanting method, akin to a third-rate RAPPER.

The second was a formal mage apprentice using the current Alliance-promoted 'Mechanical Chanting Method,' which Peggy likened to chanting by a monk, utterly devoid of emotion, similar to electronic synthesized sounds.

"It's commonly used to train mage apprentices," she added.

The third image was Peggy herself. Her chanting astounded Matthew - it began with several high-pitched female voices but quickly transitioned into other tonalities, resembling a flowing stream or crashing waves, forming an 18-syllable fireball incantation in 3 seconds, akin to an opera!

"As I chant, you can see the flow of magical elements around my body," Peggy explained, revealing a diagram of magical element flow.

"Suerel's Chanting Method allows proactive control of the spell's progression, magical power, and element flow, enabling a spell to exert a more potent force. But that's not all; its biggest advantage lies in the 'Piercing High Note,' allowing self-interruption and the application of advanced techniques like 'Spell Grafting.'"

To illustrate, she displayed another scene of her chanting a different spell.

"Notice, I start with 'Gate of Otherworlds,' a standard fifth-tier spell that takes a long time to chant, even with assistance. Yet, halfway through, listen—" Peggy played the illusion of her chanting while setting it to 0.3 times the speed to help Matthew hear better.

Amidst the chant, there was a slightly abrupt whistle-like sound. Simultaneously, all magical elements around her reverted.

This meant that she had intentionally interrupted the spell's chant at 1/2 progress!

What followed was even more astonishing. After the whistle, Peggy's chanting continued. In 8 seconds, she completed the spell, but instead of the 'Gate of Otherworlds,' it turned into the 'Rain of a Thousand Arrows,' a spell focusing on physical piercing and throwing strikes at the target area.

Matthew felt a chill down his spine. If her opponent at that moment had used 'Spell Insight' and identified that Peggy was chanting the 'Gate of Otherworlds,' the counter would likely have failed against the 'Rain of a Thousand Arrows'!

Peggy stared at Matthew intently, "You smartly realize how powerful this chanting method is. Not only does it amplify spells, but the 'Piercing High Note' allows you to interrupt spells at less than 2/3 progression, and 'Spell Grafting' can clandestinely switch it to another spell under specific conditions. Once you grasp Suerel's Chanting Method, you'll have an absolute advantage in a mage's direct confrontation!"

"Now, sing with me! Ahhh!"

Matthew instinctively opened his mouth, "Ahh!"

"No, watch my mouth!" Peggy corrected him. "Also, pay attention to my chest; to use Suerel's Chanting Method, you must master diaphragmatic breathing."

"Come, open your mouth with me—"

"Ahhh!"

Following her guidance, Matthew adjusted his posture and breath, attempting, "Ahhh!"

Peggy pointed and gestured, "Right, not quite, now it's right, no, not quite, halfway there."

Soon, the magical classroom was filled with a chorus of "Ahh" that rose and fell interchangeably.

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