"——That's the 'Water Element' of this world, accelerating towards a certain place, rapidly converging!" said Dean Charlie. "This is what the president sensed when he clashed with the three Earth Fire Scholars of the Magic Guild, a 'trend' that seemed completely irreversible and would ultimately collapse."

Andrew's mouth dropped open: "Wha...what?"

All along, Andrew thought the problem in the Flame Realm was that there was less and less water and more and more fire, leading to an increasingly unbalanced state.

But what Dean Charlie said sounded like: the water in this world hasn't actually decreased; it's just flowing concentratedly towards a certain location, causing most other areas to enter a water-scarce state?

This was something Andrew had never thought of!

He couldn't help but ask, "What does 'water concentrated in a certain place' mean? What does this imply?"

Dean Charlie said, "On your water route from the Shield of Flowing Fire to Warm Fire City, have you seen the dam? You can understand it as: there's a dam somewhere in this world, and it has accumulated an enormous amount of water, so much that once released..."

Dean Charlie didn't continue.

But Andrew felt a chill run down his spine.

To cause such drought everywhere in the Flame Realm, the amount of water accumulated at this unknown place is undoubtedly astronomical. And once released instantly, it would certainly be a force capable of world-ending destruction!

But where exactly is this place?

Why does it absorb the world's water?

And why is there a phenomenon of accelerated Water Element convergence?

Is the accelerated convergence of Water Element connected to the recent sudden dual-fire war initiated by the Magic Guild?

——Andrew couldn't help but voice all the doubts in his mind.

The response was: "I don't know." Dean Charlie shook his head, "Even what the president sensed wasn't much. All that is known is that everything is likely related to the Magic Guild, after all, the president sensed all this through contact with the powers of the Earth Fire Scholars."

"Is it still related to the Magic Guild?" Andrew pursed his lips, frowning.

Trying to analyze all the intelligence obtained about the Magic Guild so far—

The source of the Dragon Awakening Potion "Blood Refining Plan"...

The new version of the Dragon Transformation Combat Techniques...

The phantom behind Capella...

And the intelligence just learned about "the world's water hasn't decreased but is converging at one place"...

Andrew vaguely felt he had grasped something!

But still, it seemed he couldn't really connect all the pieces of intelligence together.

The understanding of the Magic Guild was still inadequate!

Just then, Dean Charlie continued, "After the president sensed this trend, he was actually a bit anxious. He didn't say it out loud, but I can feel it. He thinks Andrew, you might become our trump card, but is worried that if he told you about the risk of the 'Dragon Awakening Potion' in advance, you might not dare to accept the special training, and that's why..."

Andrew then understood why the president and Dean Charlie didn't inform him about the risks of the Dragon Awakening Potion beforehand.

After a moment of silence, Andrew nodded and asked, "So, Barbara didn't go through special training?"

"No." Dean Charlie shook his head, "Andrew, you are the first and currently the only one who has received the potency of the 'Dragon Awakening Potion.' The young miss once expressed her willingness to try and see if she could pass the special training, but the president refused her. If I remember correctly, that was before the young miss married into the Royal Court. At that time, the Dragon Awakening Potion was riskier and closer to the original Blood Refining Plan."

Dean Charlie finished speaking and closed his mouth, not saying more.

The apologies that needed to be expressed were expressed, and the explanations that needed to be made were made.

Dean Charlie did not expressly say, "I hope you, Andrew, will still join us in the Royal Court negotiations," but looked at Andrew quietly, waiting for his response.

"...I can continue to accompany you to the Royal Court." After considering for a moment, Andrew said. "On the condition that there can absolutely be no recurrence of things like what just happened."

By now, Andrew's voice was devoid of any anger or sadness.

Only calm.

Going to the Royal Court was still a must.

The words "not going to the Royal Court" spoken earlier were somewhat childish in the end.

Andrew also knew he couldn't just drop everything when Barbara still needed to continue to the Royal Court.

But deciding to go to the Royal Court now, compared to his earlier mindset, was somewhat different in the end.

Previously, Andrew somewhat considered the Warm Fire Commerce Association as his "own people," much like Barbara and the Wildfire Territory.

Now, however, he quietly adjusted his mindset and only regarded the Warm Fire Commerce Association as a "partner." He would work well with them but would not trust without reservation.

This wasn't a bad thing.

Maintaining a certain distance in cooperation might actually be a more mature way of collaboration.

"Of course! Things like that won't happen again!" Headmaster Charlie immediately assured, secretly breathing a sigh of relief in his heart.

With his experience and strength, he could naturally feel that after this incident, both sides had more or less developed some estrangement.

"But this is already the best outcome."

Headmaster Charlie sighed inwardly, "Both the President and I were indeed a bit reckless this time. In the end, we underestimated Andrew; we didn't expect him to quickly pass the first step of special training, nor did we expect him to be this resolute and firm..."

A slight smile reappeared on his face, and Headmaster Charlie asked politely, "So, about what I asked before, Andrew, how exactly did you neutralize the effects of the 'Dragon Awakening Potion'—"

Andrew thought for a moment and also smiled again—a polite smile—and said, "Oh, that wasn't something I could accomplish on my own. It requires gathering the strength of everyone to collectively neutralize the potion's effects. Moreover, one cannot just passively endure; it is essential to actively counterattack while enduring the pain."

This answer was, of course, somewhat reserved.

But at the same time, it was the most Andrew could share without exposing his secrets.

"I see..." Headmaster Charlie mused, "Joint power and counterattack? I somewhat understand the counterattack, but what do you mean by 'joint power,' Andrew? Is it using the Magic Array to combine the powers of multiple mages?"

Even as the head of Warm Fire Academy, Headmaster Charlie was not without his knowledge gaps.

He was completely unfamiliar with the path of a Magic Lord, which had never existed in the Flame Realm before.

The only reliable method he could think of as a mage to combine power was through the use of a Magic Array.

"I didn't use a Magic Array," Andrew said, "But the method is not what's crucial; what's important is uniting everyone's power to fight against the potion's effects. As long as that can be achieved, any method can be used, right? Of course, this is just my experience and might not be useful for others, just for reference."

Headmaster Charlie realized Andrew wouldn't say more, but this was already quite substantial.

He looked into Andrew's eyes seriously and said, "Thank you. I will convey this to the President."

"Of course," Andrew smiled, "No need for such formality, Headmaster."

In the adult world, many things are unspoken but understood.

Andrew was well aware that the commotion caused by the first step of special training should end here.

The Magic Airship took off again.

Under the incomprehensible gaze of the female assassin on the western side of the dividing line, the airship, which had already descended to less than five hundred meters from the ground, suddenly ascended once more.

Female assassin: "..."

She watched as the Magic Airship rose into the turbulent fire element currents in the red-blue sky and then accelerated, continuing at full speed towards the Northern Royal Court. After standing silently for a while, she contacted the Scholar's Fortress via the "Fire God Space": "I'm not doing this mission anymore; you three find someone else to do it. I'm leaving first."

Saying this, she did not wait for a response and directly dragged the Axe Spear, leaving the scene.

Although she was no longer carrying out the task of monitoring the airship, the direction she chose to leave was still towards the Royal Court in the north! She simply no longer traveled alongside Andrew and the others in the Magic Airship.

After a brief interlude, everything seemed to return to its original course.

Inside the airship, Andrew first went to the training room's shower to wash off the sweat from the first step of special training.

Soon, he officially entered the second step of the special training program.

Previously, Headmaster Charlie had mentioned that the second step was much simpler compared to the first step.

In reality, upon entering the second step, Andrew found out that it was not truly simple, just that it had no risks.

If anything, this second step was even more complex than the first.

Because essentially, this second step of special training was to have Headmaster Charlie impart President Beiru's "Counterattack Technique" on his behalf.

Although the Counterattack Technique is not any particular form of Fire Magic, it is more profound than any magic.

It is essentially a tactical system on "how to apply magic in actual combat"!

"The purpose of the first step in special training was for you to quickly achieve 'Whole Power' under the stimulation of the potion.

After obtaining Whole Power, the next step is to master a system of tactics that can transform Whole Power and magic into actual combat power—this way you can truly be considered an eligible Tier Four mage. A mage with real combat capability!"

Headmaster Charlie explained, "Let me first explain to you the core concept of the 'Counterattack Technique', then we will slowly detail the specific training methods."

Andrew nodded, fully concentrated, and listened attentively.

The more he listened, the more he felt that the name 'Counterattack Technique' seemed ordinary, but its connotation was indeed extraordinary!

It was like opening a new door, allowing someone previously focused on business fire suppression for the first time to truly appreciate: practical combat is so intriguing, yet so vast and profound!

The same Water Magic, when used for business fire suppression and actual combat, turned out to be two completely different concepts!

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