Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Hmm?" Lou Guanyue seemed surprised Pelan would ask that. "You don't want to turn me into an Undead anymore?"

"Yeah, I do." Pelan nodded, taking a sip of milk while half-muttering, half-complaining, "But you don't look like you're going to die anytime soon."

He couldn't quite figure out why Yue was sticking around, but Pelan guessed he probably wanted to stay here to wait for news about Austin's treasure.

But now Pelan wasn't so sure.

Lou Guanyue was a formidable martial artist; Pelan had never doubted that. He was fully capable of searching for the treasure himself.

Yet he didn't seem to have any plans to leave the forest. Could he be waiting for the treasure to reveal itself?

"Then why do you want to teach me magic?" Lou Guanyue countered.

Then he saw Pelan blink, his eyes holding a hint of cunning and a childlike playfulness Lou Guanyue had never seen before.

"I think you want to learn magic from me," Pelan said.

It was a baseless feeling. Pelan thought the Martial Saint must be curious about Necromancy, after all, it differed from common elemental magic, and the way magic runes were constructed was different.

Well, Yue probably didn't even know the method for constructing runes yet, since he hadn't fully grasped the basics of magic.

But Yi Lao would help teach him that. It was a very patient teacher, even if its words were often sharp.

After staring at Pelan for a long moment, Lou Guanyue suddenly smiled. "Alright, I accept."

He was very interested in this cultivation method—completely different from the qi-absorption practiced by cultivators. Here, mages didn't need to undergo heavenly tribulations to break through realms; as long as they could fully cast a spell of the next level, they were considered to have advanced successfully.

Compared to the grueling tempering of a martial artist, a mage's cultivation seemed more like studying.

Pelan wasn't surprised, but seeing him nod still made his heart leap with something like elation.

He stood up from his chair, ready to go find Yi Lao to give his new student some basic lessons.

"Not bad, Pelan! You've finally come to your senses!" Yi Lao's tone was different from usual, faintly tinged with excitement. "Knowledge and inheritance are eternal duties. No mage wants their life's work to be lost. Ixuhuels's magical philosophy also needs to be passed down; it allows more people to remember this great existence!"

As it spoke, it "looked" toward Lou Guanyue. "Hey, kid, even though you can't quite be called a magic apprentice yet, you must always keep Ixuhuels's magical philosophy deeply engraved in your mind. You have a responsibility to pass this knowledge on to the next generation."

The corner of his mouth curved up slightly as Lou Guanyue listened earnestly. "I'll remember always."

Yi Lao was quite satisfied with his attitude and continued, "Before you formally start learning magic from your teacher, let me first fill you in on some basic magical knowledge."

"A mage's achievements rely at least half on talent. Because any mage who wants to master the power of magic must communicate with the elements, and not just anyone can do that."

"Some talentless fellows, no matter how hard they practice magic, can only barely be considered apprentice mages." Yi Lao paused, then added, "Of course, even without talent in magic, it doesn't prevent someone from becoming an excellent alchemist. It just requires sufficient effort and sacrifice."

"Alchemist?" Lou Guanyue felt Yi Lao's words carried a deeper meaning. Pretending not to notice, he casually asked, "Are alchemists more powerful than mages?"

Yi Lao chuckled. "Not necessarily, but they are certainly richer than mages, and they also burn through more money than mages."

Lou Guanyue blinked. "Pelan seems to be an alchemist? I heard people in the town call him that."

Pelan: ...

Meeting those pitch-black eyes, Pelan said to him in a serious and affirmative tone, "You should call me 'Teacher'."

Lou Guanyue: "...Alright, Teacher Pelan."

Yi Lao came before Pelan. "Kid, your teacher is indeed an exceptionally skilled alchemist. You'll learn alchemy in the future too, but all that is still far off for you now. Before you learn your first spell, tell me, what is your magical affinity?"

"Blazing fire, agile water, free wind, or steadfast earth? Or perhaps a rarer variant, like light? Oh, hopefully not light, otherwise you probably won't be able to learn Necromancy. After all, I've never seen a light-affinity Dark Mage."

On the Yakalanst continent, those who used Necromancy or practiced other Dark Magic were called Dark Mages.

"I don't know." Lou Guanyue spread his hands, looking utterly innocent. "As Teacher knows, I've lost my memory now."

Pelan tilted his head slightly, his gaze quite serious as he looked at Lou Guanyue, but ultimately said nothing.

In a place Lou Guanyue couldn't see, Pelan shook his head slightly.

Having no church for one's magical enlightenment was nothing to be ashamed of; there was no need to make excuses to embellish it.

As a teacher, he wouldn't look down on a student just because the place of their enlightenment lacked a church.

Pelan carved the magic array onto a stone he had picked up, his thoughts drifting slightly.

He would have to properly counsel his sensitive student when he had the chance. Everyone had the right to learn magic; Yue didn't need to feel inferior about his origins.

"Is Teacher angry?" Lou Guanyue withdrew his gaze from the hallway, a hint of dejection on his face.

"Kid, put away your unnecessary worries. In all these years, I've never seen Pelan get into an argument with anyone. He's most likely gone to prepare the magical items to test your mental strength and elemental affinity for you," Yi Lao said dismissively.

As soon as the words were spoken, he saw Pelan's new apprentice fall into thought, showing a trace of distress.

"What if my talent isn't good? Would Teacher still be willing to teach me?"

Of course he would!

The reason he's teaching you magic probably has little to do with that. Otherwise, with Pelan's personality, it would be strange for him to take on a student at all...

Yi Lao grumbled internally but didn't expose Pelan, instead offering comfort. "...I can sense that you possess very powerful mental strength. And the higher one's mental strength, the faster and more efficient the conversion of absorbed elements into mana becomes."

Generally speaking, those born with stronger mental strength had higher magical talent.

Of course, this wasn't absolute, because mental strength could be increased through extensive meditation and practice.

Not long after, Pelan emerged from his workshop.

He placed the stone used for elemental sensing into Lou Guanyue's outstretched palm. "Hold it."

Lou Guanyue looked at it curiously. It was clearly just an ordinary stone. Could it really be used as a tool to test attributes?

As if seeing his doubt, Pelan explained, "I don't have a detection crystal ball. This stone has magical script I engraved on it. Release your mental strength to touch it, and the stone will emit a glow closest to your own innate affinity."

Lou Guanyue nodded and, at Pelan's indication, released a wisp of mental strength to carefully touch it.

In his old world, he had an affinity for metal and fire elements. He wondered if he would be closer to these two elements.

A flicker of anticipation rose in Lou Guanyue's heart.

One second, two seconds...

Half a minute passed, and the stone still showed no change.

Pelan: ?

For a moment, he even began to doubt whether he had drawn the magic array wrong.

Lou Guanyue also noticed something was off. He turned to Pelan with hopeful eyes, "Teacher, what is my attribute?"

Pelan was silent for a moment. "Give me the stone first."

The ordinary stone, once in Pelan's hand, suddenly emitted a strong black glow.

The magic circle was not the problem.

Pelan tossed the stone back to Lou Guanyue. "Try again."

Lou Guanyue did as he was told. From what had just happened, he could guess that he probably couldn't sense elements or use magic.

This was likely the world's way of rejecting an outsider. But he could still feel spiritual energy in the air, though he wasn't sure if that was what Yi Lao meant by 'elements.'

Sure enough, even after trying again, the stone emitted no light.

"What a strange thing!" Yi Lao exclaimed in astonishment, the pages of the book fluttering rapidly as if searching for an answer to this puzzle.

Once more, Pelan was perplexed.

Did his body possess some hidden power from that ancient and mysterious tribe he came from, making him imperceptible to magic?

Seeing Lou Guanyue's somewhat dazed expression, Pelan chose his words carefully. "For most people, their magical power is like a vividly colored river, easily identifiable—red for fire, blue for water."

A flicker of panic crossed Lou Guanyue's face. Before he could speak, Pelan continued, "But there is another possibility. It's said that before the Great Cataclysm, during the chaotic era when gods still walked the earth, the magical power of living beings was not yet separated and was 'colorless.' Perhaps your ancestors were survivors from before the Great Cataclysm."

Lou Guanyue nodded blankly, though he knew very well he wasn't the case Pelan described.

But playing along to hide his true nature might be for the best.

"The chaotic era? That was truly an epic, magnificent age, both wondrous and frightening," Yi Lao let out a long sigh.

"Boy, if you really are a prehistoric survivor, your being alive even with your life force cut off wouldn't be so strange. After all, that's a myth only sung in poetry. No one knows the specifics, except for the great Necromancer Saint."

Lou Guanyue was surprised. "Was Ixuhuels a great being from the time of the Great Cataclysm?"

"Don't say the Necromancer Saint's name so lightly!" Yi Lao said disapprovingly. "He wasn't active in that era, but he did subdue a legendary figure from before the Great Cataclysm."

Pelan was shocked. He had never heard Yi Lao mention this before. Anyone worthy of the title "legendary" in that era must have been a being close to a god.

"The Necromancer Saint..." Lou Guanyue murmured, a thoughtful look entering his eyes.

The author of this magic book, that Ixuhuels... could he be a god?

Author's Note:

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Yi Lao: Ixuhuels' number one fan~

This chapter mainly fleshes out the world view and magic theory. Soon, Pelan and his student will go on an adventure together~