Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 87 The Surging Ether

Gob squinted at the Book of Sand, its pages swaying and bobbing in the ethereal waves, making the goblin's eyes dazzled.

In short, putting aside all the theoretical knowledge for now, the key information we can glean is:

Arcane Recollection allows you to quickly regenerate your ring position between meditation sessions.

That sounds great... but Geb doesn't care about the reward right now—let's just make sure we don't get swept away first!

He gripped the orange stick tightly (the goblin had another, more fitting word in his mind, but he didn't want to say it), his nails digging into his flesh.

Gebu held the thing and felt his arms slowly getting sore. He could barely hold this position for ten minutes.

Found… the 'key'? This Book of Sand doesn't describe what the key looks like or where it is; it just tells me to find it—

It's like finding a needle in a haystack! (Literally, it means finding a needle in a haystack.)

Is it really that hard to be a wizard?

No, this won't work, we need to think of a solution.

He looked up; the stick soared into the sky, its base plunging into a bottomless abyss, seemingly endless from top to bottom.

Try climbing up... maybe the wind/tide will be calmer up there, and the view will be more open.

Using both hands and feet, Gebu revived his childhood skill of climbing trees to steal bird eggs. He used his hands to stabilize his body and his lower body to exert force, climbing up like a caterpillar, his buttocks twitching.

As he climbed, he thought...

This orange thing is the same color as the anchor potion, so there must be a connection.

An anchor, as the name suggests, is a heavy object used to secure a ship at sea.

The description of this anchoring potion states that it can fix a wizard in a meditative world, allowing for prolonged periods of continuous meditation.

Now, this "anchor" helps to anchor itself in the etheric waves, preventing it from being blown away.

As he crawled, his arms started to ache, so Gebu used his wizard's hand to support his back, shook his arms, and stretched to improve blood circulation.

Observe, analyze, act.

Judging from the current situation, my area of operation is near the anchor point. This trial was arranged for me, so the "key" must be not far away.

After climbing higher, the waves of ether seemed to subside, and Geb's vision became clearer.

He tried to focus... to find the so-called "key" in the storm.

Where is it...? The goblin covered his forehead with his hand and squinted.

At first, the goblin couldn't see anything clearly; everything was a blur. The ethereal ocean of this meditative world was like a chaotic stew... Originally, the goblin couldn't see the tides; he could only judge the direction of the current by the scattered tadpoles of light...

Hmm? A tadpole of light?

Geb recalled the connection he had formed with the aggregated ether, or the tadpoles of light, when he was learning to summon magical creatures.

Old Man Eminte wrote that the aggregate ether has no human emotions, but Geb's intuition tells him otherwise.

Those light tadpoles are quite friendly to Gebu; they didn't seem to mind him at all... Give me another hand, brothers.

Gebu silently chanted a spell to summon the Great Eye—but the magical creature did not immediately appear at the summoned location.

Just as Gebu was wondering, the tadpoles in the tide scattered and broke away from the original ocean current. As if they had their own will, they gathered in front of Gebu—loosely forming the shape of a toad.

"Big Eyes, can you help me find the key?"

The toad turned and hopped away, leaving an orange dot of light where it landed.

One jump, one landing, one point of light.

Another jump, another spot of light.

Flowers of light lit up the sea of ether, like stepping stones in a river, guiding Geb's gaze forward.

Um... thank you for giving me directions, Big Eyes.

The toad's footprints lead into the distance; how do we get there?

Like a toad, it jumps.

Geb touched the stick in front of him; it seemed to be responding to the magic in the goblin's veins.

If you really are an anchor, could you tie me down? Don't let me run away.

As if understanding Gebu's request, the anchor rod heated up and melted in some places like cheese—sticking to Gebu's hand and even forming strands.

Ugh... How disgusting.

Gebu gripped the sticky thread, took a deep breath, and then aimed at the first point of light and leaped towards it—

The instant his body left the anchor point, a tremendous force blew him away! Geb didn't even have time to react. He rolled three times in the air, baring his teeth and claws, before plunging headfirst into the surging ethereal tide!

thump.

Help...help me!

Gob took a large gulp of flowing ether and coughed violently. He gripped the anchor point tightly, pulling himself forward... but the strength of a single goblin was no match for the entire magical tide, drifting with the current like an autumn leaf in a hurricane.

Just as Geb was panicking, he felt his feet touch something solid. The goblin quickly stepped onto the platform, lay down on it, and grabbed its bumpy back.

The Light Toad carried Gebu on its back, and Gebu was holding onto the silk thread. After a struggle, it finally returned to the anchor point.

"Cough cough...cough." Gebu grabbed the anchor point, relieved to have survived. Just as he turned to look at Big Eyes, the toad itself hopped away along the spot of light.

Hey! Just carry me across... I knew it wouldn't be that simple.

Geb looked back at the point of light. He was only a few steps away from it, but the etheric tide was too strong... He was swept away as soon as he left the anchor point and couldn't get across!

Gebu scratched his head. He couldn't be discouraged! He'd already overcome much tougher challenges. He needed to think things through.

Think about it, think about it...

In the world of meditation, all the trials do not test physical strength, but wisdom... You must first think things through in order to break through.

This trial tests... the ability to eliminate distractions and ignore interference.

That is, focus and mental strength.

What are you focusing on?

aims.

key.

Everything else is unimportant.

Geb closed his eyes and imagined a golden key.

The key was suspended in mid-air, at the end of the toad's footprints.

Wind and tides are products of the imagination in the world of meditation.

In other words, they are not real and are not important.

Just like the signals my senses transmit to me in the real world are merely bodily reactions, not all of them are necessarily useful.

Pain is a warning, pleasure is a reward.

But I cannot be deceived by these signals. I am the master of my senses, and they are my tools. I can choose to react to them, or I can choose not to.

At this moment, I choose not to be swept away by the tide.

The mind is more powerful than things.

Geb opened his eyes, slowly exhaled, and then jumped toward the first point of light.

The surging tide of aether lashed against the goblin's skin again, but he felt no pain... no, he did feel it, but chose to ignore it. Because Goblin knew that this aether wouldn't actually harm him; it was all an illusion.

Geb gently stepped onto the first spot of light.

Big Eyes was waiting for him in the distance.

The goblin crossed the Sea of Aether and looked at the Toad of Light... a tiny golden dot was flashing above his head.

Is that the key?

Hey, it's not that hard. Once you figure it out, everything else falls into place.

Full of confidence, Gebu took a step forward.

thump!

He slipped and missed the second point of light, plunging headfirst into the ethereal tide...

Cough...cough! I was wrong...I'll never pretend to be cool again!

...

4/6, a breakthrough!

Arcane Recall, GET!