“Is your boss pretty?”
William just looked at Bryant, his expression, his demeanor.
Although his hair wasn’t white yet, the yellowed teeth and sleazy smile made it hard for William to feel any goodwill towards him.
Under normal circumstances, William wouldn’t judge someone by their appearance, but when Bryant asked, “Is your boss pretty?” he had already judged him. It was clear he was trying to facilitate some kind of relation between Walker and Alice, probably with ulterior motives.
First off, William had no particular liking for Walker, and being Alice’s mentor, he was naturally very concerned about who she chose as her boyfriend. He did not want his disciple to end up with an unreliable man.
Bryant’s behavior only increased William’s distaste!
“She’s extremely unattractive!” William said decisively, “I have seen her in her daily life. Well, she might look okay with makeup on, but the time I saw her without makeup, it scared me.”
“Uh—” Bryant showed a bitter expression, responding, “I have heard that modern makeup technology can almost be considered a form of modern ‘magic’. From what you’re saying, it seems to be true.”
William nodded, appearing to agree strongly.
At this point, Bryant realized that he and William were having a pleasant conversation, and couldn’t help but quietly ask, “Young man, do you know what my disciple thinks of that Turner family girl? He hasn’t been fooled by her, has he?”
William shook his head, saying, “I’m not too sure, I haven’t had much contact with your disciple.”
Wearing a worried expression, Bryant said, “I guess he might have been deceived by her. That kid is too innocent, lacking societal experience. You know, these days even unattractive girls can attract people through makeup. Thank you for telling me this today.”
“No problem.” William responded with a smile, though internally, he felt that if his disciple Alice were to find a boyfriend, it should be someone who matched her status and had good moral character. He didn’t have a high opinion of this Walker.
Bryant slowly stood up and said, “I won’t say much about other things, but regarding this shop, I plan to buy it tomorrow. You can continue working here; I find you quite likeable.”
William looked at Bryant somewhat surprisingly, this guy was planning to buy his bookstore?
In any case, Alice wouldn’t sell, so he just had to ignore it.
After saying this, Bryant left the bookstore with his hands clasped behind his back.
And just like that, only William remained in the bookstore. He locked the front door, walked upstairs, and brought down pens and paints.
The previously drawn Aura Field seemed a bit outrageous for the current era; it was better to replace it with a new one.
William sat at the oak table, placing his right hand on the surface and lightly swiped, the previously drawn magic circle vanished instantly.
Simultaneously, the anomalous energies in the environment quickly dissipated, and the previously activated ancient large energy field gradually lost its response.
All the Soulmancers in the entire world were confounded.
What just happened?
Hadn’t the energy been revived?
It fell silent again in just a few days!
Panic and cries of dismay arose everywhere.
If the resurgence of energy had never happened, the Soulmancers would have taken it in stride, but just a moment ago the energy was so abundant, and the next second, they could feel the energy around them dissipating.
It felt like someone who had won fifty million dollars in a lottery but got robbed just before they could enjoy their fortune; the extreme fluctuation between joy and despair was what hurt the most.
Inside the bookstore, William didn’t feel anything amiss, as the state of energy didn’t affect him in the slightest. His primary concern was creating a place for his disciple Alice to train.
Having erased the previous magic circle, William dipped his brush in paint and began drawing anew.
He wasn’t a Soulmancer himself and rarely drew things like Aura Fields. However, his understanding of the truths of the world was unparalleled, with every stroke capable of mobilizing the energies of heaven and earth.
He drew the magic circle extremely quickly. As he finished the last stroke, the sky above the entire New York City suddenly brightened, with thousands of rays of rosy clouds piercing through the sky as if a miracle was unfolding before their eyes.
This sudden miracle caused the Hudson River to instantly radiate a brilliant glow, its waters turning clear and transparent, all the pollutants disappearing. Every corner of the city came to life; wilted trees sprouted fresh buds, growing towards the center of New York.
All the Soulmancers were moved to tears by this astonishing sight, feeling the dissipated energy congregating once again.
Having completed the magic circle, William calmed his mind, keenly feeling the rejuvenated energy surrounding him.
“It feels… no different from before?” he thought to himself.
He had used the simplest drawing method and the most basic magic circle structure.
“No, no, no! I have to redo it.” William casually erased the magic circle he had just drawn.
The smiles on the Soulmancers’ faces hadn’t faded yet before they slowly became frozen.
What happened again?
Why did it dissipate again?
Holding the pen, William pondered for a moment. If he gathered all the mysterious energies present in the world in the bookstore, it would undoubtedly attract many people, which would be very troublesome.
“Forget it, let’s just draw a better one that directly alters the entire world’s energy distribution, so they won’t all rush to this one spot,” William said. At this point, he was somewhat carried away, completely forgetting the promise he had made to himself not to use his power to change the current world order. 𝒷𝒹ℴ𝓿𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂
He went upstairs to look for red paint but couldn’t find it after searching for quite a while. After coming back down and hesitating for a moment, he extended his left index finger, allowing a drop of bright red blood to fall into the palette.
The previously simple palette instantly emitted a faint golden glow, and the ink within it also took on a light golden hue.
Picking up the brush and dipping it in the paint, William began drawing again.
As this stroke descended, mysterious energies between heaven and earth surged like a flood bursting through a dam. Centered around the bookstore, countless plants sprang up abruptly, and some buildings were slowly cracked open by growing large trees.
Students in class were frightened and ran out of their classrooms. Fortunately, the trees took some time to break through the concrete of the buildings, so very few houses collapsed.
William immersed himself fully in the magic circle. When it was completed once again, the renowned rivers, great mountains, national parks, and ancient landmarks around the world seemed to awaken from their slumber. In the secret bases of some mystical organizations, withered mystical plants miraculously revived. Dormant energy lines emitted energies more powerful than before, and long-sealed mystical objects were reactivated.
At the summit of Ravenwood, an old mage of the Arcane Society suddenly opened his eyes, saying to an old friend beside him, “This energy is more than ten times more abundant than the last time! Could it be heralding the start of a new age of mysticism?”
The elder beside him responded with a wry smile, “What good is more abundant energy? Nowadays, mystical techniques and secrets have become rare. Even some high-level Soulmancers struggle to find complete methods of improvement. The world is undergoing drastic changes, and some ordinary people might awaken their inner powers. Without regulation and control, this could lead to great chaos.”
The old mage sighed and said, “Perhaps this isn’t a bad thing. We should send our students to experience the world of the ordinary people. If a great chaos does indeed erupt, let them help maintain order. If all is well, have them return in a month.”
After completing the drawing of his magic circle, William put away his brush. He hesitated for a moment but eventually decided not to clean the paint off it. He feared that if the paint ended up flowing into the rivers, it might cause unpredictable changes.
After placing the drawing tools back on the second floor, William inwardly praised himself for his prudence. However, the moment he pushed open the front door, no matter how composed he tried to remain, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Was it really that over the top for just a small magic circle?”