Sword and Magic and Taxi

So, the three of us are the only ones on the road? Ricas sat on the back of the shell-riding beetle, stepping on the gaps in the carapace with his feet, maintaining the same balance as the other two. He has never ridden any other creature than the opponents he encountered in the fighting arena. He is a slave, and from birth he is meant to be kept on the bottom, to be ridden by others. Although he is strong and agile, he just can't conquer the smooth shell of the beetle and has fallen off several times. Even when riding on it, the awkward posture always makes the other two people laugh.

There was no sarcasm in their laughter, just pure joy. Mike can be happy, he is a slave owner, why can Butcher be happy too? And, the big question is: Do you really have what it takes to bring me into a gladiatorial contest in the Temple Tower?

Yes, I promise. You will get the freedom you want. Zhao Mai meant something. He has a plan, a plan that cannot be shared - only secrecy will allow it to ultimately succeed. Therefore, he didn't even tell Butcher, unless he could improve his psychic ability even more, at least to avoid being easily spied on.

You can only participate in the competition if you form a group, and the minimum group size is three people. Ricas swayed, waving his arms randomly in the air. Please tell me you have at least one other slave.

No more. Zhao Mai shook his head: I don't have that much money to buy another slave. So, if necessary, I will play.

Ricas turned his attention to Butcher and said, Master is joking, right?

No, what he said is true. Butcher tilted his lips and shook his head. If you are really the strongest gladiator, then the two of us are enough. He is just a make-up.

Master Mike, you are the most honest slave owner I have ever seen, but I really want to run away now.

No matter how you run, the desert will catch you, and you will eventually have nowhere to escape. Zhao Mai turned back from the back of the beetle and said to Likas. I gave you my promise and you should take it.

Yes, Master. Ricas gradually found the trick, and the shaking became smaller. I'll make you a lot of money and refill your pockets. I wish I had one more teammate.

So you have a few things you must do. Zhao Mai threw a book into Likas's arms and said, You are responsible for looking after the road and taking us to Tire City. You are responsible for fighting. You are responsible for learning psychic powers. able.

Can I also learn psychic powers? Ricas' hands trembled and he tightly grasped the book in his hand. He knew the wonders of psychic powers, and his mixed bloodline also gave him some natural powers, but they had no other purpose than forming a fragile layer of protection for his own spirit and soul.

Powerful psychic abilities are necessary to achieve higher social status. Not to mention the priests, there is no one among the numerous Templar officials who is not a user of psychic powers. Although all Athas people can manifest their powers (that is, perform psychic powers), only through systematic and formal learning can their powers become powerful and surpass their own limits.

Several large city-states, such as Tire, have schools teaching supernatural powers. However, it was difficult for ordinary citizens to enter, let alone low-status slaves. Psychic power is the best way to punish and control slaves, so slaves will not be exposed to this skill. Ricas didn't expect that he would get such an opportunity, so he was naturally so excited that he couldn't help himself.

I don't know if you can read or not, but if you don't understand, you can come to me. If you can't, Butcher can do it. Zhao Mai put away the parasol above his head, exposed himself to the scorching sun, and then closed his eyes. Start meditating with your eyes closed.

He is learning psychic powers.

There is nothing that can be done about this. Atas's natural force is too weak. Only when the Witch King controls the city can he cast spells without restriction. Moreover, as long as he casts a spell, he will absorb the surrounding life force. Starting with vegetation, all living things will be affected, and then continue to destroy the vitality of the planet itself after biological extinction.

Some mages are able to recognize the harm caused by their spells, and then consciously control them to avoid irreparable damage. They are called guardians. However, even a guardian may cause irreparable and permanent damage to the environment due to an emergency or some kind of loss of control, and thus become a blasphemer. Once he becomes a blasphemer, Atas's will of the planet will infect the person, making it impossible for him to regain control and become a guardian even if he wants to.

Zhao Mai's own spell ability is relatively weak and will not cause very much damage. However, he draws out the force but does not cast spells, and has not yet been infected by the will of the planet. But even if the scale of spell casting is carefully controlled, over time the forest will turn into a desert, and the green will turn into yellow. This is how the entire sea of ​​sand in Atas came to be. This was entirely the arcane user's fault, but now even the druids were implicated. Now that the planet's ecology is irrecoverable, even the most careful druids, even those who follow the guardian's code of conduct, can only cause damage.

Spells are evil and become truth in this extreme environment.

But life always finds a way, and psychic powers are that way. In addition, Zhao Mai needs to conserve his physical strength to cope with the harsh natural environment, so he doesn't need to use the force of nature. Learning psychic powers has become his best choice to pass the time.

The Halfling Psionics Handbook says that the limits of physical senses help inspire psionic powers, and that the sun—for all its brutality—is the source of all Athas' energy. Zhao Mai placed himself under the scorching sun, accepted the irradiation of this source of power, and at the same time began to look inward and meditate. The unbearable pain challenged the limits of his body and caused the power within him to fight back. Before learning psychic powers, this power was pure natural force and his own desire to survive. But now, another force is growing, a force that bursts from his spirit and soul.

How is this energy generated? Why did it not appear before but can appear now? These are things that Zhao Mai can't understand. When learning about the Force of Nature, he also had similar questions: Where does life come from, why does there exist life, and what is the nature of the Force? These questions are just like mages thinking about the source of magic and priests pursuing the original intention of God; just like philosophers on earth constantly asking: Who am I, Where do I come from, Where do I want to go .

Problems will always exist, but we cannot ignore reality and stand still because of the existence of problems. The reality is that after having psychic powers, Zhao Mai can protect himself better, at least not so painful under the scorching sun. Moreover, he is also consciously guiding, allowing the natural force and psychic powers to begin initial cooperation. They both have the same purpose, to protect Zhao Mai from the harsh environment, so there is a basis for cooperation.

The desire to survive is quite powerful. Does it come from the body’s innate intuition of danger, or does it come from the mind and soul’s acquired fear of death? Zhao Mai doesn't know anyway. A phenomenon will trigger a series of questions, and these questions will ultimately bring only one result, which is to urge human beings to make progress in the process of continuous inquiry.

Whenever his psychic powers are enhanced, unimaginable joy lingers in his heart; whenever his natural force is enhanced, his body becomes stronger and freer. Precisely because of these two feelings, he was able to withstand the persecution of the desert environment and persist in long-term meditation.

However, being able to persist does not mean being able to ignore it. Meditation must end, because Zhao Mai needs to drink water and eat to make up for his body's consumption and avoid death. A powerful druid can use the power of nature to stop his own aging process; a powerful psychic can free his spirit from the shackles of the body and fly freely between heaven and earth. Zhao Mai is still too far away from that state, but he is moving in that direction step by step.

Likewise, their team kept moving towards the city of Tire.