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Chapter 156
Chapter 154: Lizardman Knowledge, Special Magic Enhancement: "Magic Rise"
In the deepest part of the Little Fang Tribe, in front of an old wooden cabin.
Several large ceramic vats were placed by the entrance. Some held plump, living fish; others were piled with herbs that emitted a strange odor; and one vat was filled with peculiar, multicolored stones.
Tang Zheng glanced at the surroundings of the wooden cabin, his eyes landing on the large ceramic vat filled with stones of various colors. "What's this?"
"Coloring Ore."
The Old Priest Lizardman spoke with a dull gaze, holding nothing back in his explanation. "When this stone is crushed, it can be used as paint to draw totems and patterns on the bodies of the tribesmen."
"Does it have any special effects?" Tang Zheng gave the multicolored stones another look.
"No." The Old Priest Lizardman shook his head.
Tang Zheng immediately lost interest. After briefly observing the wooden cabin, he had the Old Priest Lizardman lead the way inside.
This wooden cabin was clearly old. The wooden pillars supporting it were covered in moss and small vines.
Lizardmen are an amphibian demihuman race and prefer to live in humid places, but their houses were all built as two-story stilt houses. The lower level was a foundation of thick wooden stakes, while the upper level was where they lived.
The moment he stepped into the wooden cabin, a stale, putrid smell rushed to greet him.
"Scent Removal."
Tang Zheng wrinkled his nose.
A glow of magic power surged, and only after he cast "Scent Removal" twice did the thick odor in the room mostly dissipate.
He scanned the room.
There was nothing that could be called decoration; it was extremely crude. The walls were adorned with many necklaces and pendants made from some unknown bones, as well as an ugly and completely impractical shield made of shells.
Tang Zheng's gaze was immediately drawn to a bookshelf-like structure holding numerous scrolls made of some kind of beast hide.
There weren't many, but there were still several dozen of them.
"This is where all the knowledge of your Tribe is stored?" Tang Zheng's eyes lit up slightly.
The Old Priest Lizardman nodded blankly.
The various kinds of knowledge within the Tribe were supposed to be guarded and protected by the Elder Council, but since he was the only Priest in the entire Tribe, he was naturally the one left to watch over it.
Tang Zheng walked forward and casually picked one up. It was covered in a dense Lizardman script that looked like a mess of talismans.
"Take out all the scrolls related to magic and explain them to me one by one."
Tang Zheng flipped through one and immediately abandoned the idea of using "Decipher Magic" to read the script. He didn't bother wasting words and spoke directly.
Since the Old Priest Lizardman was here, there was no need for him to decipher it himself. Besides, "Decipher Magic" wasn't omnipotent.
Back in E-Rantel, Master Beronry had specifically told him about this magic's drawback. "Decipher Magic" could indeed allow the user to understand the meaning of an unknown script.
But it was only "understanding."
It couldn't provide an accurate description of certain details, so using this magic for scholarly research was not feasible.
Soon.
The Old Priest Lizardman selected six of the several dozen beast-hide scrolls, placed them before Tang Zheng, and began his explanation.
There was one on how to prepare herbs.
One on the study and use of faith-based magic.
One on a method to predict future weather.
One on how to raise and feed the fish in the lake, and so on.
Many things that Tang Zheng didn't even consider magic were treated as such by the Old Priest Lizardman, like the experiential method of observing future weather and the techniques for fish farming.
Tang Zheng ignored this miscellaneous content and first asked about the faith-based magic. As expected, it was all First-Tier and Second-Tier faith-based magic.
Most of it was support-based magic.
There wasn't a single Third-Tier spell, the only thing that might have interested Tang Zheng.
As for the herb formulas and such?
There was nothing commendable about them. In Tang Zheng's view, the herb-crafting process this Lizardman had mastered was on par with that of a human apprentice herbalist.
"No wonder the Tribe is so weak."
Tang Zheng shook his head, greatly disappointed. Seeing the Old Priest Lizardman pick up the last beast-hide scroll to introduce it, he listened patiently.
He was already starting to consider the next Lizardman Tribe.
"This is knowledge of magic enhancement. It requires more magic power and can be used to forcibly cast high-tier magic that one would otherwise be unable to use."
"To bring out the greatest effect of this magic enhancement, it needs to be combined with a magic ritual. The magic power cost is immense, making it an impractical magical method."
The Old Priest Lizardman spoke slowly and dully, his tone faintly revealing his low opinion of this magic. He continued, "And it also has some restrictions."
The charm magic only altered the target's perception of the caster, not his original beliefs. This magic enhancement was clearly not held in high regard by the Old Priest Lizardman.
However!
Tang Zheng, who had been completely uninterested, suddenly felt his eyes widen.
Magic enhancement?
Tang Zheng looked at the Old Priest Lizardman with surprise and astonishment.
This was the type of magic he had always wanted to master!
"Magic Enhancement" and "Reinforcement Magic," although just a reversal of words, were fundamentally different.
"Reinforcement Magic" referred to spells of the reinforcement type, such as those that increased agility, power, or resistance.
But "Magic Enhancement" was a means of strengthening the magic itself.
For example, Dual Magic, Triple Magic, Maximize Magic, Widen Magic, and so on.
As far as Tang Zheng knew, very few of the characters who had appeared so far could use these types of "Magic Enhancement."
In order to master this type of magical method, the Slane Theocracy had even created job classes like "Secret Arts Follower" and "Apostle of Surshana," the latter named after the God of Death, Surshana, one of the Six Great Gods.
"Explain this magic enhancement in detail."
A serious expression appeared on Tang Zheng's face as he spoke.
Tang Zheng frowned as he listened to the Old Priest Lizardman's slightly muddled speech.
Even if he could understand the other's words, the language systems of different races still had their differences. After listening intently, Tang Zheng finally understood his meaning.
"Magic Rise?"
Tang Zheng was slightly taken aback. In his memory of the game YGGDRASIL, there shouldn't have been a magic enhancement like this.
"Could it be 'Magic Tier Boost'?"
Tang Zheng knew a little about this magic enhancement. In the entire light novel series, the Bone King had only used it twice.
Once was against Shalltear, where he used "Triple Magic: Tier Boost: Magic Arrow."
The other time was against the Elf King's Primal Earth Elemental, where he used "Triple Magic: Maximize: Tier Boost: Silent Cast: Magic Arrow."
Because both battles involved the Bone King getting serious, and he used a string of magic enhancements combined with the lowest-tier "Magic Arrow," it had left a deep impression on Tang Zheng.
However!
The ability of "Magic Tier Boost" was to raise the tier of a magic spell, for example, raising a First-Tier "Magic Arrow" to the Tenth Tier.
There were no magical rituals or restrictions involved in this process.
But according to the Old Priest Lizardman, "Magic Rise" allowed one to use high-tier magic that they originally couldn't.
Of course.
The "high-tier" he was referring to meant raising a spell's tier by one. If a magic ritual was performed, it could be raised by two tiers.
It seemed like a degraded version of "Magic Tier Boost."
If that was all it was, Tang Zheng would naturally lose interest. Raising a spell by one or two magic tiers was of little significance to him and would be useless later on.
Because all magic had a total of ten tiers, no matter how much it was enhanced, the Tenth Tier was the peak; a breakthrough was impossible.
But the Old Priest Lizardman described it as "using magic one has not mastered," which was a clear difference from "Magic Tier Boost."
According to the priest's description, this "not mastered" meant one could bypass the caster's level. For example, a caster who could use Second-Tier magic could forcibly use Third-Tier magic, albeit at a much greater magic power cost.
"Magic Rise, Magic Rise..."
Tang Zheng murmured to himself, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Wait!
Could it be *that* magic?
Tang Zheng was stunned. He suddenly remembered that when the Undead Legion attacked the Lizardman Tribe, one of the lizardmen had used this magic.
It seemed to be the brother of the wielder of the Frozen Fang.
In addition, the priests of the five Lizardmen Tribes also seemed to have used this ritual to cast "Elemental Spirit Summoning," and they had even summoned a hybrid elemental—a Wetland Elemental Spirit.
"Can you use this magic enhancement?"
Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes at the Old Priest Lizardman before him. This old fellow was probably one of those five tribal priests from the future.
(end of chapter)
In the deepest part of the Little Fang Tribe, in front of an old wooden cabin.
Several large ceramic vats were placed by the entrance. Some held plump, living fish; others were piled with herbs that emitted a strange odor; and one vat was filled with peculiar, multicolored stones.
Tang Zheng glanced at the surroundings of the wooden cabin, his eyes landing on the large ceramic vat filled with stones of various colors. "What's this?"
"Coloring Ore."
The Old Priest Lizardman spoke with a dull gaze, holding nothing back in his explanation. "When this stone is crushed, it can be used as paint to draw totems and patterns on the bodies of the tribesmen."
"Does it have any special effects?" Tang Zheng gave the multicolored stones another look.
"No." The Old Priest Lizardman shook his head.
Tang Zheng immediately lost interest. After briefly observing the wooden cabin, he had the Old Priest Lizardman lead the way inside.
This wooden cabin was clearly old. The wooden pillars supporting it were covered in moss and small vines.
Lizardmen are an amphibian demihuman race and prefer to live in humid places, but their houses were all built as two-story stilt houses. The lower level was a foundation of thick wooden stakes, while the upper level was where they lived.
The moment he stepped into the wooden cabin, a stale, putrid smell rushed to greet him.
"Scent Removal."
Tang Zheng wrinkled his nose.
A glow of magic power surged, and only after he cast "Scent Removal" twice did the thick odor in the room mostly dissipate.
He scanned the room.
There was nothing that could be called decoration; it was extremely crude. The walls were adorned with many necklaces and pendants made from some unknown bones, as well as an ugly and completely impractical shield made of shells.
Tang Zheng's gaze was immediately drawn to a bookshelf-like structure holding numerous scrolls made of some kind of beast hide.
There weren't many, but there were still several dozen of them.
"This is where all the knowledge of your Tribe is stored?" Tang Zheng's eyes lit up slightly.
The Old Priest Lizardman nodded blankly.
The various kinds of knowledge within the Tribe were supposed to be guarded and protected by the Elder Council, but since he was the only Priest in the entire Tribe, he was naturally the one left to watch over it.
Tang Zheng walked forward and casually picked one up. It was covered in a dense Lizardman script that looked like a mess of talismans.
"Take out all the scrolls related to magic and explain them to me one by one."
Tang Zheng flipped through one and immediately abandoned the idea of using "Decipher Magic" to read the script. He didn't bother wasting words and spoke directly.
Since the Old Priest Lizardman was here, there was no need for him to decipher it himself. Besides, "Decipher Magic" wasn't omnipotent.
Back in E-Rantel, Master Beronry had specifically told him about this magic's drawback. "Decipher Magic" could indeed allow the user to understand the meaning of an unknown script.
But it was only "understanding."
It couldn't provide an accurate description of certain details, so using this magic for scholarly research was not feasible.
Soon.
The Old Priest Lizardman selected six of the several dozen beast-hide scrolls, placed them before Tang Zheng, and began his explanation.
There was one on how to prepare herbs.
One on the study and use of faith-based magic.
One on a method to predict future weather.
One on how to raise and feed the fish in the lake, and so on.
Many things that Tang Zheng didn't even consider magic were treated as such by the Old Priest Lizardman, like the experiential method of observing future weather and the techniques for fish farming.
Tang Zheng ignored this miscellaneous content and first asked about the faith-based magic. As expected, it was all First-Tier and Second-Tier faith-based magic.
Most of it was support-based magic.
There wasn't a single Third-Tier spell, the only thing that might have interested Tang Zheng.
As for the herb formulas and such?
There was nothing commendable about them. In Tang Zheng's view, the herb-crafting process this Lizardman had mastered was on par with that of a human apprentice herbalist.
"No wonder the Tribe is so weak."
Tang Zheng shook his head, greatly disappointed. Seeing the Old Priest Lizardman pick up the last beast-hide scroll to introduce it, he listened patiently.
He was already starting to consider the next Lizardman Tribe.
"This is knowledge of magic enhancement. It requires more magic power and can be used to forcibly cast high-tier magic that one would otherwise be unable to use."
"To bring out the greatest effect of this magic enhancement, it needs to be combined with a magic ritual. The magic power cost is immense, making it an impractical magical method."
The Old Priest Lizardman spoke slowly and dully, his tone faintly revealing his low opinion of this magic. He continued, "And it also has some restrictions."
The charm magic only altered the target's perception of the caster, not his original beliefs. This magic enhancement was clearly not held in high regard by the Old Priest Lizardman.
However!
Tang Zheng, who had been completely uninterested, suddenly felt his eyes widen.
Magic enhancement?
Tang Zheng looked at the Old Priest Lizardman with surprise and astonishment.
This was the type of magic he had always wanted to master!
"Magic Enhancement" and "Reinforcement Magic," although just a reversal of words, were fundamentally different.
"Reinforcement Magic" referred to spells of the reinforcement type, such as those that increased agility, power, or resistance.
But "Magic Enhancement" was a means of strengthening the magic itself.
For example, Dual Magic, Triple Magic, Maximize Magic, Widen Magic, and so on.
As far as Tang Zheng knew, very few of the characters who had appeared so far could use these types of "Magic Enhancement."
In order to master this type of magical method, the Slane Theocracy had even created job classes like "Secret Arts Follower" and "Apostle of Surshana," the latter named after the God of Death, Surshana, one of the Six Great Gods.
"Explain this magic enhancement in detail."
A serious expression appeared on Tang Zheng's face as he spoke.
Tang Zheng frowned as he listened to the Old Priest Lizardman's slightly muddled speech.
Even if he could understand the other's words, the language systems of different races still had their differences. After listening intently, Tang Zheng finally understood his meaning.
"Magic Rise?"
Tang Zheng was slightly taken aback. In his memory of the game YGGDRASIL, there shouldn't have been a magic enhancement like this.
"Could it be 'Magic Tier Boost'?"
Tang Zheng knew a little about this magic enhancement. In the entire light novel series, the Bone King had only used it twice.
Once was against Shalltear, where he used "Triple Magic: Tier Boost: Magic Arrow."
The other time was against the Elf King's Primal Earth Elemental, where he used "Triple Magic: Maximize: Tier Boost: Silent Cast: Magic Arrow."
Because both battles involved the Bone King getting serious, and he used a string of magic enhancements combined with the lowest-tier "Magic Arrow," it had left a deep impression on Tang Zheng.
However!
The ability of "Magic Tier Boost" was to raise the tier of a magic spell, for example, raising a First-Tier "Magic Arrow" to the Tenth Tier.
There were no magical rituals or restrictions involved in this process.
But according to the Old Priest Lizardman, "Magic Rise" allowed one to use high-tier magic that they originally couldn't.
Of course.
The "high-tier" he was referring to meant raising a spell's tier by one. If a magic ritual was performed, it could be raised by two tiers.
It seemed like a degraded version of "Magic Tier Boost."
If that was all it was, Tang Zheng would naturally lose interest. Raising a spell by one or two magic tiers was of little significance to him and would be useless later on.
Because all magic had a total of ten tiers, no matter how much it was enhanced, the Tenth Tier was the peak; a breakthrough was impossible.
But the Old Priest Lizardman described it as "using magic one has not mastered," which was a clear difference from "Magic Tier Boost."
According to the priest's description, this "not mastered" meant one could bypass the caster's level. For example, a caster who could use Second-Tier magic could forcibly use Third-Tier magic, albeit at a much greater magic power cost.
"Magic Rise, Magic Rise..."
Tang Zheng murmured to himself, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Wait!
Could it be *that* magic?
Tang Zheng was stunned. He suddenly remembered that when the Undead Legion attacked the Lizardman Tribe, one of the lizardmen had used this magic.
It seemed to be the brother of the wielder of the Frozen Fang.
In addition, the priests of the five Lizardmen Tribes also seemed to have used this ritual to cast "Elemental Spirit Summoning," and they had even summoned a hybrid elemental—a Wetland Elemental Spirit.
"Can you use this magic enhancement?"
Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes at the Old Priest Lizardman before him. This old fellow was probably one of those five tribal priests from the future.
(end of chapter)
