From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 631 The World of High Demons
Unlike magic that repeatedly fails and requires super magic to overcome the enemy's resistance, this is different.

Ivy's close-combat ability seemed unaffected; the massive Titan had its legs severed by the Beast Bite Sword in a single exchange, collapsing to the ground and howling in pain.

Upon seeing their leader fall, the Titan first struck by Evie's Disintegration Technique roared and charged back the way it had come. It seemed that besides these four Titans who had gone out to pursue humans, numerous other Titans lived on this land. They were likely a tribe, leading a life of enslavement to the Kelids.

"Don't let him get away! Please!" Among the Kelids who had been casually picked over like snacks by the Titans, one suddenly knelt down before Ivy, kowtowing on the ground in a panic. "There are many Titans living in the caves nearby, and the rest of our tribe still live with them! If he goes back, they will all die!"

It seems Ivy's prediction was correct; these tattered Kelideans were indeed slaves of the giants, and from time to time, they were also chosen to be eaten as livestock.

The mithril staff named Heart of the Mountains is well-suited to unleash its power in this mountainous region.

Ivy slammed it into the ground, and the surging elemental magic immediately responded to Ivy's magic.

The giant, who was running desperately with his two thick legs, suddenly felt his legs give way and he collapsed to the ground.

However, instead of a solid rocky ground, he was met with a pool of wet, soft, and bottomless mud. The more he struggled, the deeper he sank, and the mud that was pulled out of the mire with his struggles quickly turned back into rock.

In just over ten seconds, the hill giant raider that had once carried the Kelideans on its shoulders like livestock became completely still, turning into a corpse covered in a thick layer of rock.

"Ah!" Another unrestrained exclamation erupted from the Kelids.

Ivy looked in the direction of the sound and saw a well-dressed Kelide lying on the ground, with the culprit standing next to him holding a stone.

"Explain yourself." Ivy used magic to silence the hill giant leader who had lost both legs, preparing to ask these natives for the whole story.

"He's a traitor!" The young, dark-haired Kelid gasped for breath, unable to tear his gaze from the scene of the massacre, a sight that had appeared countless times in his dreams but had suddenly become reality.

“I am the chief… the chief’s son, Aldin. Since his death, I have done my best to take care of everything in the tribe…” The young Aldin struggled to his feet and said with his head down.

"Enough! Aldin!" The Kelid who had previously knelt and kowtowed to Evie to stop the giants from escaping stopped Aldin. The two looked very similar, perhaps brothers or something.

“You’re not looking after the tribe at all; you’re taking those young men to their deaths! I’m sorry, sir… I am his brother, Tokum. Before Father died, he didn’t designate any of us as chief…” Tokum bowed respectfully to Ivy. “Our tribe lives in caves, living… alas. You’ve seen it all… we have no dignity whatsoever, we’re just existing… the giants make us work for them, hunt… butcher the prey, or sew clothes… if there’s not enough prey, we have to jump into the giants’ cauldrons ourselves and become their food…”

"So, this is why you Kelide people abandoned the open areas and moved to the mountains?" The android Five emerged from behind a tree, recording everything with its own eyes. "The pressure of survival will make humans abandon their original lifestyle. Okay, I've written it down."

The androids' blatant insults failed to provoke any anger. Under the rule of the giants, these mountain Kelids had no dignity whatsoever, and therefore paid no heed to the androids' near-insulting words.

"The pressure of survival not only makes people abandon their original way of life, but also makes them betray their tribes and join the giants who treat them as food." Aldin kicked the man he had previously knocked down with a stone. "If we were all eaten by giants, do you think they would still need a translator like you? Scum!"

"If you weren't always thinking about escaping, we could all be living better lives!" The traitorous translator, clutching the wound on his head, was kicked to the ground, but he didn't show any fear or timidity. Instead, he retorted fiercely, and during the process, he repeatedly looked in Ivy's direction until their eyes met.

"My lord! My lord!" the traitorous translator cried out, quickly crawling towards Ivy. "A person of your stature wouldn't rescue a group of slaves for no reason. You must have other motives, right? I'm very clever! I can help! Just let me live! I just want to live! What's wrong with that!"

The traitorous translator tried to pounce on Ivy and hug her leg, but stopped just a step away. It wasn't that he didn't want to go any further, but that he was bound to the spot by Ivy's magic.

"Are you Kelideans? This is Newmelia?" Ivy first wanted to confirm the accuracy of Xiao Wu's guess.

The former chief's two sons exchanged a glance, wondering why Ivy had asked such a question: "Yes, this is considered Newmelia, but we haven't been able to leave these mountains for many years..."

“Very well, do you have anything that fell from the sky?” Ivy wasn’t quite sure how the locals in Newmeria described the wreckage of a starship.

“He’s referring to Tianjin.” Fortunately, Ivy’s android companion was understanding enough. “If you have something similar, or can provide relevant information, my companion shouldn’t hesitate to offer a little help. I believe you’ve all seen that killing those hill giants wasn’t much harder for him than crushing an ant.”

The interstellar ship that disintegrated above Numelia was enormous; its largest fragment was the size of a city, while the smallest fragment was the size of an adult's fist.

The metals that make up the interstellar spaceship have many amazing properties: they are lightweight, hard, wear-resistant, and corrosion-resistant. Even the most skilled blacksmith cannot easily turn a piece of this celestial metal into a weapon according to his own ideas.

However, the Kelids, who had lived on this land for thousands of years, found their own way, making Celestial weapons one of the best-selling commodities in Nymeria. But they had to be melee weapons; the Technological Alliance and the various warlords of Nymeria, large and small, all tried to strictly control the outflow of Celestial remnants, because an endless arms race had already begun within Nymeria. The probability of civil war on this land was gradually increasing, or rather, its civil war had never ceased.

The Kelids, enslaved by the giants, shook their heads blankly. These tribal barbarians, born in caves and never having seen the vast world, had no chance to come into contact with the specialties of Numelia.

“In fact, there are clues to this.” The android noticed Ivy’s disappointment and tried to offer some words of comfort. “Almost all of the Celestial Gold carries a huge amount of radiation, which has caused irreversible distortion and mutation of the entire Newmelia ecosystem. The plants we see here are all plants that look very normal, which means that we are still a very long way from the debris field of the fallen star.”

Ivy wasn't disappointed. As long as the Silver Mountain of Newmelia (the largest remaining structure of the interstellar spaceship, which is said to have most of its internal compartments intact, and even the walls still seeping addictive engine oil) didn't suddenly take off and run away, he would eventually get to see the high-tech products of Glalieon from thousands of years ago.

“Alright, let’s ask about the other thing that brought us here.” Ivy organized her thoughts. “I’m looking for a creature that seems different from its kind, possessing unusual powers related to ice.”

While the fragments of Heathcliff's soul corrupt mortals, they also bring demonic power. Once mortals succumb to the pleasure derived from this power, it becomes extremely difficult for them to regain control of themselves.

The two chieftain brothers of the Kelids exchanged a glance: "The target couldn't be clearer... He is the chieftain of the giants, possesses terrible ice magic, and is tall and fierce, and never lacks guards when he goes out."

“Very well, it seems I need to help you break free from the giants’ enslavement.” Ivy nodded. “Let me introduce this giant chieftain.”

“We can help!” said Aldin, the chief’s impulsive son. “The Kelids don’t ask for handouts! We fight for our freedom! My father was the tribe’s shaman, and he passed on some sacred knowledge to us—the tribe’s magical secrets. There’s a special ritual that allows us to channel the power of our ancestors. I can use this power to weaken the giants and then strengthen the tribe’s warriors. As long as we find the right weapons, we can be your allies!”

Ivy remained noncommittal; he didn't feel he needed the help of a group of starving barbarians. However, one thing struck him as odd: magic seemed far too prevalent in Grallion.

A small tribe of barbarians, numbering no more than fifty in total and enslaved by hill giants, still possesses magical knowledge passed down orally.

Furthermore, judging from Aldin's expression, his confidence in completing this shamanic ritual magic indicates that he has a fairly comprehensive understanding of his spellcasting abilities. When did spellcasters become so commonplace?

I'm not sure, let's wait and see. Maybe it's some kind of survivor bias in the statistics. Is it because Ivy herself is a high-ranking mage, so she encounters more spellcasters?
“No, Aldin…” Aldin’s brother Tokum expressed a different opinion, “We should preserve the tribe’s strength and serve the master to repay his kindness. He needs us alive to help collect the Heavenly Gold.”

Tokum noticed Ivy raise one eyebrow and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He continued, "We can also use the power of our ancestors to summon the animals in the mountains to fight the giants. This will not only disrupt the enemy and give the adults an advantage in their attack, but also preserve the tribe's strength as much as possible, so that they can play a greater role in the future."

So, according to Tokum, he could be considered a shaman? And capable of guiding ritual magic?

Two spellcasters appear in a tiny tribe?
“Balsago!” Another voice broke the silence, this time from the traitorous translator who had been immobilized by Ivy’s full-body binding spell—the “Petrify All” spell. “The giant chieftain’s name is Balsago! He trusts me completely! I can lure him out of the cave!”

What's going on here? Ivy thought psionic magic would be more practical, since it's more idealistic and easier to break through spell resistance. But why does it seem like it's been traded for a significantly reduced duration?
“He knows a little magic, sir,” Aldin spat angrily onto the ground. “But he can only use it to escape… Someone captured him once before, but he somehow broke free of his ropes and killed our warriors. Since then, he’s been inseparable from the giants… His words are completely unreliable! He will definitely betray you!”

Alright, Ivy completely understands now. Grallion is truly a place brimming with magical energy. A small barbarian tribe has actually produced three individuals capable of casting spells.

"Does your database contain information about the proportion of Glalieon spellcasters? Five?" Ivy decided to ask the android from the Tech Alliance.

The ratio of spellcasters was also a concern for mages in Faerûn, as it was related to the probability that mages who had achieved some success but could not live long would find a suitable apprentice.

The proportion of spellcasters of different types in the population is also different. The highest proportion is divine spellcasters, with about one in six thousand mortals having the aptitude to guide divine power; then there are sorcerers whose blood flows with magic, with about one in twenty-six thousand having the ability to guide the power of their own bloodline; and then there are those who are willing to take the risk of contacting the sect leader to become a contract sorcerer, with about one in three hundred thousand succeeding.

Mages, on the other hand, are the very few among the few. They must pass three difficult selection processes: their own talent, a qualified mentor, and complete education without being killed by magical accidents along the way.

However, because the proportion of sorcerers was greatly influenced by specific social trends and education levels, the sorcerers who conducted this study in Waterdeep City ultimately did not produce a very specific figure.

But Ivy was still certain that spellcasters were an extremely small minority in Faerûn.

“Spellcasting is not a rare talent in Grallion.” The database of the androids gave a completely different answer from that of Faerûn. “At least one-fifth of the people in Grallion possess some form of magical ability, whether it is the innate spells shared by their race, the magical bloodline that has been awakened but not trained, some form of magical education, or other forms of magical connection. However, only one-twentieth of them are practical spellcasters who can use magic in practice.”

Five percent of the spellcasting population, very good. Ivy finally understood why his magic was always exempted. The magical energy of this world permeates every living being, and it is further amplified among demons and giants, who are already extraordinary beings.

(End of this chapter)