Chapter 22: The Moment of Promotion

So sleepy...

High-intensity spellcasting is also mentally draining.

In fact, since around 6:00 AM, he had practically toured the entire town of Rain.

Then in the afternoon, he concentrated intensely on reading to cram up on general knowledge.

And at night, he practiced spells frantically.

He should have been exhausted long ago.

But in reality... so far, Lu Cang's feeling was actually quite alright.

He was indeed very sleepy.

But he didn't have that feeling of extreme mental fatigue.

Is this the enhancement brought by being a mage?

Since he was already a mage, it was only natural that his mental strength had increased.

But... he was truly sleepy, the kind of sleepiness where he could just have a comfortable, deep sleep.

The Hall of Promotion was closed for the night. Although Kumironi could preside over a promotion, knocking on someone's door in the middle of the night would be too impolite.

While he was looking forward to becoming a Level 2 Mage, it wasn't something that had to happen right this second.

Anyway, sleep first.

Deal with it after waking up.

...

After waking up.

All was calm.

Nothing unexpected happened, which allowed Lu Cang to breathe a slight sigh of relief after getting out of bed.

In his past life, he had watched plenty of movies and read many novels.

When there are unfinished business, one always gets that feeling that something inexplicable is about to happen.

It seemed his worries were unnecessary.

It was his fifth day in this world. As he climbed out of bed today, he finally felt a sense of belonging to this world.

Lu Cang looked into the mirror, flashed a confident smile, and gave himself a silent pep talk: "A Level 2 Mage, huh?"

"Very good!"

After washing up and tidying his clothes, he walked downstairs.

Izpalut was in the hall again.

It seemed that as long as Lu Cang went out, he would "respawn" in the hall.

What kind of fixed NPC was this?

"Yo, Iz! Morning!"

Iz's breakfast today was pomegranate...

A strange breakfast.

But everyone in an otherworldly realm has different dietary habits, and Lu Cang respected that.

Lu Cang himself chose soy milk and biscuits.

There were no fried dough sticks in this world...

So Lu Cang chose biscuits as a substitute.

"Are you going to the Promotion Hall today?"

Kumironi appeared out of nowhere, joining the table quite naturally.

Hmm...

Level 5 Healer—Life Recreator.

Having crammed general knowledge, Lu Cang also had a deeper understanding of the different professions.

"Haha, kid, you're actually going to reach Level 2 so quickly!"

"Even faster than Iz!"

Akari also popped up from somewhere.

He clearly wasn't there just a moment ago.

And this guy sat right down next to him, acting completely like an old friend.

Did he drink someone else's wine only to show up and say hello the next morning?

Kumironi: "If Lu Cang is going to promote, I should go along too."

Akari played along enthusiastically: "Oh oh, Kumironi, are you going to preside over the ceremony personally?"

Kumironi spread his hands slightly: "Well, I'm the only one who can, after all."

"Kid, you're really lucky!" Akari said, patting Lu Cang on the back.

The force was so great that Lu Cang nearly gagged on the biscuit he had just swallowed.

But suddenly, Akari froze.

"Wait... if both of you go to accompany his promotion today, who's going to fight the Dark Sub-Dragon?"

Kumironi and Izpalut both looked at Akari in unison.

Akari blinked.

He sighed, then rolled up his sleeves.

"Fine, fine, I guess it's up to my invincible War Emperor to solo the Dark Sub-Dragon."

Kumironi gave a faint, bitter smile: "It's not exactly a solo fight; Obadus will be going with you too."

"With Obadus there, there shouldn't be a problem."

Level 5 Warrior—War Emperor.

Generally, the strongest warrior in a kingdom is Level 5.

As for a Level 6 War Saint, there might not even be one on an entire continent.

This team composition was indeed unexpectedly luxurious.

Akari complained, "Speaking of which, you guys didn't show up yesterday when we agreed to go kill the Sky Sub-Dragon together."

Kumironi scratched his cheek, his eyes wandering, looking apologetic.

Oh~

Lu Cang observed their expressions.

*Kumironi, oh, in your eyes, helping an old lady harvest crops is more important than killing a Sky Sub-Dragon?*

Speaking of which...

This warrior named Akari spent every day looking for Sub-Dragons to kill.

"It's not just you, Kumironi! Even Iz didn't come!"

"That was a Sky Sub-Dragon! The kind that flies in the sky! Are you really going to let a warrior go alone to hack at a flying Sub-Dragon?"

As Akari spoke, his expression became increasingly arrogant.

As if he had caught them in a blunder, he leaned on the table and questioned them both.

Iz's gaze also began to wander...

"Magic... I've made a new discovery..."

"Huh?"

"A very important discovery..."

Lu Cang bit into a biscuit soaked in soy milk, watching the scene calmly.

*Iz, even an 8-year-old like me can tell you're lying.*

It was obvious he had stood them up because of something completely unimportant.

*I didn't expect you to be this kind of person, Iz.*

"Well, if it's an important discovery, there's nothing we can do."

Huh?

He actually got away with it?

*Akari! This guy is lying! His eyes aren't even looking at you!*

*He definitely wasn't studying magic yesterday!*

"Fine, then I'll go kill the Dark Sub-Dragon by myself today."

No, there's also Obadus.

Even though he never speaks and has no presence, he is still a member of your team.

Although Lu Cang really wanted to say it out loud.

In the end, he just watched Akari's departing back and kept the words in his heart.

Lu Cang: "Um..."

"It's fine, Obadus will go along. Don't worry about him."

"Even though he's an idiot, his strength is quite high."

"If it's just a Dark Sub-Dragon, even he alone will be fine."

Eh... is he that strong?

Though, he didn't know how powerful a Dark Sub-Dragon actually was.

"Let's go."

"The Promotion Hall should be open by now."

Only then did Lu Cang notice they had finished eating.

They ate fast.

Lu Cang hurriedly finished his soy milk and followed them.

...

【Promotion Hall】

It was unexpectedly crowded.

"Is that... Izpalut?"

"No way? He's at the Promotion Hall?"

"Is he going to promote to Level 6 Mage?"

"A Mage Saint?"

"Izpalut is going to become a Mage Saint?!"

Izpalut's arrival was accompanied by the screams of the people around him.

It seemed that Izpalut promoting to Mage Saint would be a terrifying event.

"No... the Promotion Hall here shouldn't have the conditions to allow Iz to reach Level 6."

"The one promoting might not be him."

"But, he is accompanied by Kumironi."

"Uh..."

The person who had just said it might not be Izpalut froze, then shouted in horror: "Holy crap! Izpalut is promoting to Level 6 Mage Saint!"

*Izpalut, you really are famous...*

Iz gave Lu Cang a helpless smile.

Iz led Lu Cang to the ceremony official.

The official rubbed his hands nervously, appearing somewhat intimidated by Izpalut's presence.

"Please prepare a Level 2 Mage promotion ceremony for this child beside me."

The one speaking to Iz was an old man, who appeared to be the highest-ranking person there.

But even facing Iz, he still seemed somewhat apprehensive.

"You mean..."

"Him?"

The old man looked at Lu Cang.

"Yes, him."

The old man trembled slightly; he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but also seemed to feel a sense of regret.

Perhaps he was regretting the loss of an opportunity to preside over Izpalut's Mage Saint promotion ceremony.

"Please, come this way..."

Upon hearing that it wasn't Iz promoting, the surrounding crowd seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but Lu Cang could simultaneously sense a great deal of disappointment from many around him.

Was Iz's promotion really that terrifying?

Lu Cang followed the old man to a glowing crystal ball.

"Place your hand on it."

Well... seeing a crystal ball like this, one could probably guess to put a hand on it.

Sure enough.

Lu Cang did as instructed. After pressing his hand against it, the crystal ball reflected a verdant green color.

The old man, however, took a sharp breath.

He looked at Iz and asked, "When did he promote to Level 1 Mage?"

Iz: "The day before yesterday."

The day before yesterday?

Are you telling me this child only took three days to prepare for a promotion to Level 2?