Chapter 21: Eight Arts

Being treated like a child is a truly subtle feeling.

It would be even better if they treated me like a child when it comes to binge drinking.

Finally having the chance to move freely, the first thing Lu Cang thought of was to make up for his lack of common knowledge.

At the very least, he wanted to escape the state of being completely ignorant of this world.

...

Upon arriving at the library, there were unexpectedly many people.

He had originally thought it would be a desolate place.

Lu Cang approached a magic circle.

[Search Spell]

A spell used to search for books—it was quite convenient. He had heard that through a permanent formation, the circle was left in one place to remain effective indefinitely.

All that was required afterward was simple maintenance to maintain the mana supply.

Lu Cang's consciousness searched rapidly through the Search Spell, and he soon found the book he wanted.

*A Guide to World Common Knowledge*

Heh...

What an unpretentious name, but exactly the kind of book he needed.

Swish!

Selection.

Quickly, a book flew directly out from a distant bookshelf.

It landed in Lu Cang's hands.

How convenient, magic.

Having obtained the guide, Lu Cang found a place to sit down.

He read straight through the afternoon.

He skipped the section on world history and flipped directly to the profession chapter.

Combat-oriented professions were categorized as: Warrior, Mage, Archer, Defender, Healer, Assassin, Mechanic...

It was a thick book, and the records were quite comprehensive.

By the time he closed the book, it was already dusk, but he hadn't read much of it.

The first thing Lu Cang studied was the knowledge he cared about most, followed by basic common knowledge; there was still a lot of content left unread.

Things like gods and faith, which he couldn't touch for the time being, were skipped just like world history.

Realizing it was getting late, Lu Cang rented the book and returned to the inn.

On the way back to the inn.

Many adventurers began to proactively greet him. Lu Cang felt that they were no longer looking at him with the eyes of "the kid following Iz."

Instead, it was: "Yo, little Lu Cang! Thanks for the treat yesterday!"

First of all...

His name wasn't Little Lu Cang; it was Lu Cang.

Secondly... never mind.

At least this showed that he had carved out a place for himself in Rain Town.

He was no longer a pitiful child brought along by Iz and the others.

But rather, Adventer: (Little) Lu Cang.

Shortly after returning to the inn, he was brought out again by Iz.

Iz remained his mentor.

As a mentor, he certainly had to impart magical knowledge.

After today's intensive study of common knowledge.

Lu Cang finally learned the division of the world's level system.

Every profession is divided into levels 1 through 9.

Level 1 is the lowest, and Level 9 is theoretically the highest.

However, the current highest-level practitioners of some professions had not yet reached Level 9.

Every profession level has its own corresponding title.

A Level 1 Mage is called an: Apprentice.

A Level 2 Mage is called a: Magic Scholar.

A Level 3 Mage is called a: Grand Mage.

By Level 3, one is already considered a powerhouse among mages, holding enough weight to have a place in the local Mage Association.

A Level 4 Mage is called a: Magic Expert.

As for a Level 5 Mage, which was Iz Palut's level, the title for this level is: Magic Emperor.

The gap between the titles of Level 4 and Level 5 is too large...

Lu Cang couldn't help but complain inwardly.

The strength Iz held in his heart rose even higher.

A Level 5 Mage, a rarity in the world.

No wonder he said he was strong.

It turned out there was a reason.

Looking across the entire world, within a single kingdom, there are only one or two Level 5 Mages.

And they are all the existence of Court Chief Mages.

In that sense, Iz was indeed incredibly powerful.

In Rain Town, he was likely an existence without any rivals.

"Today we learn Dark-attribute magic, Shadow Bolt, and Earth-attribute magic, Earth Spike."

This was Iz's curriculum for today.

"And while you're at it, practice all the magic you've learned... until they reach the limit of proficiency."

The limit of proficiency...

He must mean LV: 100.

Iz, you really do tailor your teaching to the student...

Lu Cang was no longer ignorant of common knowledge.

The priority for Lu Cang's tutoring today was the knowledge he would use frequently.

The vast majority of mages actually only learn the chantless casting of one or two spells in their entire lives.

Chantless casting requires casting that spell approximately 30,000 times.

And for a mage, it is absolutely impossible to use only one type of magic.

Mana recovery also takes time.

When Lu Cang had just promoted, he had cast Lightning Bolt more than ten times before completely exhausting his mana.

And the total mana capacity of an average Level 1 Mage is only about 5 to 10 times that of a newly promoted one.

If one were to recover mana and cast spells day and night without stopping, they could cast 200 spells a day.

However... for most mages, mana recovery requires meditation.

Well, effects like Mana Tide, which can operate automatically and recover mana at any time, are extremely rare.

And even with Mana Tide, it only begins to operate completely automatically from LV: 10.

Before LV: 10, Lu Cang still needed to control its operation.

If one were casting and recovering mana from morning till night, they wouldn't be able to do anything else all day.

Furthermore, the most fundamental reason was that it wasn't worth wasting so much energy on low-tier spells.

Going from Level 1 to Level 2 is something anyone can do.

More mages would choose to save their energy for 2nd-tier spells.

Therefore, the vast majority of mages master only about one or two chantless 2nd-tier spells in their lifetime.

This is likely the limit of a mage's lifelong energy.

And Iz Palut's requirement for him.

Tonight, he had to learn two new spells.

And, "while he was at it," he had to raise the proficiency of all the spells he had learned to LV: 100.

Heh...

If anyone else heard Iz Palut's requirement, they would probably think he was crazy.

"If you master these spells tonight, you can go and promote to a Level 2 Mage tomorrow."

"You should become the fastest Mage in the world to reach Level 2."

Level 2?

Hearing Iz's promise, Lu Cang was ecstatic.

Finally, finally, he could level up.

Lu Cang felt as if he could see the next God-tier talent waving at him.

Just "God-tier: Proficiency Evolution" was already so incredible.

If he got another one, wouldn't he be invincible?

"All to maximum proficiency..."

"Fine, Iz!"

"Then let's look forward to it!"

"The darkness that clings to the bone, condensed into a lethal arrow, pierce!"

[Magic Learned — Shadow Bolt (LV: 1)]

[Shadow Bolt Proficiency EXP +10,000]

[Shadow Bolt (LV: 5)]

...

Whoosh!

The Shadow Bolt pierced through the straw dummy in front of him, leaving a mass of darkness on it.

After seeing this, Iz shook his head slightly.

"Attacking a dummy is inferior to attacking me."

"Use all your strength and try to defeat me."

As he spoke, Iz took a step forward.

In an instant, he had replaced the dummy's position, standing at a distance from Lu Cang.

"Master Iz, then be careful."

Boom!

Without any warning or sign, thunder crashed down!

Lu Cang didn't use the "Shadow Bolt," which still required a chant.

Instead, he directly switched to the instant-cast, fastest spell: "Lightning Bolt."

Rumble!

Thunder exploded above Iz's head, with electric arcs crackling and flashing—

However... Iz remained unscathed.

"The lightning is not condensed enough; the piercing power is insufficient."

Boom!

Without any pause, the second shot descended!

"The speed of the lightning is too slow. Lightning is an element second only to light. When invoking lightning elements, do not start from your body; try to directly induce the lightning."

Whoosh!

Swish, swish, swish—

Invisible wind blades slashed out!

Yet they merely grazed past Iz's side. It wasn't that Lu Cang missed, but that the wind had been completely redirected.

"The release of wind blades must follow the natural flow of the wind; only then can you hide the wind blades within the natural breeze."

"The greatest advantage of wind blades is their invisible concealment. If released against the direction of the wind, not only will their power be discounted, but they will also be easily detected by the enemy."

Clang—

The Cross of Light was caught by Iz with a single hand.

"The characteristics of light are purity and speed. The greatest characteristic of the Cross of Light lies in its purity. When condensing the Cross of Light, do not mix in any other elements."

"Furthermore, the purpose of the Cross of Light is not for lethality, but for dispelling evil..."

Boom!

Fireballs exploded around Iz.

"Fire is the most common form of lethality. These damages are divided into heat, impact, burning adhesion, and bursting. In a fireball..."

Every time Iz spoke.

It brought enlightenment to Lu Cang's heart. Every time a spell was cast, he received extra proficiency—additional bonus effects.

And casting spells at Iz.

Even the most normal releases provided extra proficiency bonuses.

[Earth Spike Proficiency EXP +50,000]

[Fireball Proficiency EXP +50,000]

No way...

Was he some kind of experience dummy?

Why did hitting him yield five times the experience under normal circumstances?

It felt strangely eerie.

The speed of magic invocation became faster. The time it originally took to cast a spell could now allow for two or even three casts...

Moreover, the elements became exceptionally dense. Although he was currently recovering mana from the void.

When casting certain spells, utilizing the existing elements from the environment allowed for faster casting.

Just as Iz said, for Lightning Bolt, it was better to just call down lightning directly; there was no need to use his own mana to release it.

Casting this way meant the enemy would have almost no reaction time.

But unfortunately, the person before him was Iz Palut.

Perhaps because the gap between a Level 5 Mage and a Level 1 Mage was too vast.

Even though Lu Cang felt his casting was already extremely fast, Iz could defend against it with ease.

Now, thanks to the extra experience bonuses and Iz Palut's guidance...

Lu Cang's magic leveling efficiency was skyrocketing...

With mana that was almost inexhaustible, he bombarded Iz with spells from 7 PM until 4 AM.

After the final massive Earth Spike burst from the ground and was crushed under Iz's foot.

The last "Earth Spike" also reached LV: 100.

Lu Cang had spent an entire night.

He had finally pushed all eight spells—"Lightning Bolt," "Ice Cone," "Fireball," "Wind Blade," "Illumination," "Cross of Light," "Shadow Bolt," and "Earth Spike"—to 100 proficiency.

Combined with the "Mana Void," which was running at max level constantly.

Lu Cang now had as many as nine Level 100 spells.

And on every spell, there was an evolution prompt.

[Ice Cone (Evolvable)]

[Select Evolution Direction — Control, Speed, Freezing, Power]

Seeing that Lu Cang had finished practicing the last spell, Iz brushed off his clothes, intending to finish for the night.

And in that very instant.

Whoosh!

Three translucent ice shards, trailing long icy streaks, instantly arrived before Iz's eyes.

A sneak attack.

(End of Chapter)