Mythology: Ragnarok

Holidays seem especially short when you have someone to accompany you. During these days, Agreed and Milton studied enchanting while traveling around Augustus, drinking and having fun. Soon the holiday was over and the two had to temporarily return to their respective colleges to report for duty.

Argreed arrived at the small attic of the Elemental Academy early and waited there. Soon after, Presidian also arrived at the attic. Upon meeting, Presidian greeted his disciple, "Good morning, my dear disciple! How was your holiday?"

Argreed replied happily, "Teacher, I had a very good rest during this holiday. I also made new friends and learned a lot of new things from them, and I even grasped a little bit about enchanting."

As Presidian was walking inside, he heard this and stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Good heavens, I asked you how your rest was, not how your studies were going. So what if you're on vacation? Why are you studying? Presidian really wanted to give Agreed a good beating and retort, "What the hell are you doing here?"

However, Presidian ultimately held back. After all, it was a good thing to be ambitious, but he was mainly worried that Agreed would ruin his health. No matter how interested he was in learning, he had to save his life first.

Without a word, Presidian immediately dragged Agred to the most prestigious royal hospital in Augustus and gave Agred a comprehensive physical examination to see if he was at risk of dying from overwork.

After the doctor gave a perfectly healthy medical report with no abnormalities, Presidian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Presidian took Agreed back to the academy to begin the next stage of their studies.

On the way, Agreed asked in confusion, "Teacher, I didn't know our academy had a medical check-up as a benefit. I'm in good health, right? Hehe." He grinned as he spoke.

Presidian was furious and slapped Agreed on the back of the head, yelling, "Good my ass! If you keep doing this, you'll ruin your body! You need to balance studying and resting! You better understand, do you hear me!"

Agreed immediately admitted his mistake, saying, "I know, I know, teacher. I promise I won't do it again next time. No, I promise I won't do it again next time."

Presidian's lips twitched. "You traitorous disciple, how come you blurted out your true feelings when you made a vow?" At that moment, Presidian secretly resolved that he would never allow Agred to cultivate recklessly again this semester.

So, during the following semester, Agreed still didn't know why he kept falling asleep suddenly, nor did he know why his soul had unintentionally developed resistance to hypnotic mind magic... But that's another story.

After returning to the college from the hospital, the two went back to the attic, and Presidian finally began his real teaching this semester.

Presidian cleared his throat in front of Agreed and said, "My beloved disciple, today I will formally impart to you the methods of magic cultivation. Listen carefully, this method is a secret that is not to be passed on. Without my permission, you are absolutely not allowed to spread this method in any form. If you are found to have done so, I will definitely expel you from the sect. Do you understand?"

Agreed nodded solemnly and replied, "I will obey your orders, Master."

Presidian continued, "The technique I'm about to teach you is called 'Soul Gathering.' It's a cultivation method passed down from the era of Tutankhamun, the god of magic. The reason all mages dream of this technique is that it can use the magic power of the elements to compress and develop a mage's soul, allowing it to be sublimated through a qualitative change! This method gives our limited souls a much wider scope for improvement. At the same time, this method can also slowly increase the soul by absorbing magic crystals. As we all know, the strength of the soul is actually determined by birth, and most mages' cultivation techniques only develop and enhance the utilization rate of the soul. But this method can strengthen the soul! This is a heaven-defying method that my ancestors painstakingly perfected. The most important thing to remember with this method is to avoid being impatient."

After hearing this, Agled simply asked, "Teacher, are you saying that this method already existed in Tutankhamun's time?"

Presidian nodded and asked in return, "What's wrong?"

Agreed shook his head, his eyes somewhat unfocused, and replied, "It's nothing, I'm just surprised that such an ancient method has been passed down to this day."

Presidian didn't think much of it. He then taught Agreed the Soul Gathering Technique step by step. Agreed quickly mastered it and integrated the technique into his understanding. This made Presidian marvel at Agreed's amazing comprehension once again, while also prompting Presidian to once again curse the family tree of everyone in the Church of Light.

Next, Presidian took out a magic crystal the size of a thumb and handed it to Agreed, saying, "The most important thing about Soul Gathering Technique is that it can absorb magic crystals to compress and enhance the development of one's own soul. So while I'm still by your side watching over you, our first learning goal is to thoroughly master this cultivation method, at least to ensure that you won't make any mistakes in your subsequent self-study."

Agreed asked, "Teacher, are you going to leave here for a while?"

Presidian shook his head and replied, "It's you who needs to leave here for the time being."

“Me?!” Agreed asked, pointing at himself in confusion.

Presidian explained, "In the last two months of this semester, you and other second-year students will be going to the Monster Forest controlled by Augustus to learn how to hunt monsters under the guidance of the academy's instructors. You will be unfamiliar with the place and will have to rely on yourself for everything. So I have to teach you everything I need to before then. I don't want my disciple to die there."

After hearing the explanation, Agreed nodded and replied, "I will certainly live up to my teacher's teachings and shine brightly in the Monster Forest."

At this moment, Presidian solemnly pressed his shoulder and instructed, "Promise me you'll come back alive. I don't need you to win any damn honors for me, I just want you to live well."

Agreed nodded, somewhat touched, to indicate that he understood.

Under Presidian's gradual guidance, Agreed mastered the Soul Gathering Technique. Now he only needs time to practice and refine it. The Soul Gathering Technique and the Styx Soul Forging Technique do not conflict with each other. In fact, they complement each other as if they were made in heaven!

One can continuously enhance the quality of souls, and the other can continuously enhance the quantity of souls. In time, Agred's soul strength will surely surpass that of all races, and even those so-called demon lords who specialize in soul cultivation cannot compare to Agred.

After learning the Soul Gathering Technique, Presidian gave Agreed a special lecture on the types of magical beasts and the techniques for hunting them. He even brought out a complete encyclopedia of all known magical beasts to provide Agreed with comprehensive instruction.

"My disciple, you must remember what magical beasts are. Our definition is a collective term for species that have not yet developed civilization but can use magic. Most magical beasts are new species that have mutated due to absorbing a large amount of magic essence. Although they have gained great strength and can use some special magic by nature, their brains are mostly eroded and damaged by magic essence, resulting in low intelligence. So as long as you are clever, magical beasts are not difficult enemies to deal with."

Therefore, the real threat in the Monster Forest is the intelligent races that are not defined as monsters, such as goblins, lizardmen, and dryads. Don't underestimate these alien races. Although they are far inferior to monsters in terms of physical strength and magic, they are intelligent! In addition, they are the original inhabitants of the area and are very united, so in some ways they are much more terrifying than monsters.

At the same time, and most importantly, you must remember that the statement that monsters are not very intelligent is not absolute. Many monster species are even more intelligent than humans. It's just that they don't have the habit of living in groups and are mostly solitary, such as vampires, werewolves, and parasites. So, never let your guard down when you encounter monsters, and never underestimate your enemy. That would be a very foolish and deadly thing to do..."