Traveler

With no other direction, Chen Yi could only place his hope on the Strong Projection.

This time, the keywords were limited to Mage, Fire attribute, and Scholar.

[Ding! Projection generated: Traveler, confirm?]

He glanced at the cost—3000 copper coins/hour.

Having confirmed the fee, this was indeed a big shot.

"Confirm."

This time, a middle-aged man who looked quite down on his luck was generated. His clothes appeared to have been patched up many times, and his style leaned towards Western.

"Greetings, sir. I am happy to accompany you for a while."

Despite his disheveled appearance, the Traveler did not forget to display his cultivation.

"Hello, sir." Chen Yi opened his mouth, but only managed to utter this one sentence.

Charmander turned its face away. Comparing goods makes one discard them.

The Traveler smiled slightly, not minding Chen Yi's manner of expression. Noble Etiquette was meant to restrain oneself, not to restrain others.

"Then, sir, what would you like to learn?"

Chen Yi explained his current situation to the Traveler.

After listening, the Traveler did not mock Chen Yi's overestimation of his abilities. Instead, he looked at Chen Yi with newfound respect.

He summarized what he wanted to say in his mind before speaking: "The issue with Fire spells is something many mages are constantly researching. Ultimately, problems arise with the medium and how to inflict damage quickly."

"Due to its unique nature, fire can only inflict a large amount of damage instantaneously through explosion."

Chen Yi naturally understood this. He nodded, as if placing his hand on a fire. Short-term contact could not cause a fatal injury.

Seeing that Chen Yi could keep up, the Traveler understood that he had genuinely researched it. "For fire to inflict damage, it needs to constantly attach itself to the opponent and continue burning."

"This situation is very difficult to achieve. Spells, after being released, can exist in the natural world only at the cost of consuming mana."

"Fire is no different."

As he spoke, the Traveler snapped his fingers, and a flame ignited in his hand. After the Traveler stopped supplying mana, the flame extinguished.

"Therefore, my suggestion is... to temporarily abandon research in this area for now. Wait until your knowledge is sufficient, and then consider this aspect."

Since the big shots in the magic world said so, Chen Yi naturally followed their advice.

Afterward, he began teaching about spellcasting. Under the Traveler's explanation, the structure that he thought was immutable and beautiful seemed to have room for optimization.

This is the difference between having a teacher and studying alone.

One person's plan is short-sighted!

Starting with the most familiar Fireball spell, the familiar structure was transformed beyond recognition. What was summoned was not a fireball, but a small bird made of flames.

The projectile speed and trajectory were both optimized.

The Traveler clapped his hands, happy for Chen Yi's excellence: "Sir, you might be the most talented person I've ever seen when it comes to spell structures. Now I truly believe that fire spells will be changed in your hands."

As he spoke, he took off his hat and bowed to Chen Yi. This was not because Chen Yi's status was high, but out of gratitude for potentially benefiting the mage world in the future.

Afterward, Chen Yi continuously absorbed the Traveler's knowledge. All the skills he had learned, except for the incomprehensible Spell Analysis and Blink, were optimized.

This feeling of continuous progress delighted Chen Yi, and he directly renewed his session for another two hours.

After the Traveler disappeared, Chen Yi stayed put to consolidate his learning and took out his notebook to verify his memories.

"As expected of a Strong Projection, these Copper Coins were well spent."

Whether it was the training from Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto before or the Traveler's teachings now, they all allowed Chen Yi to continuously improve.

These were not improvements in Base Stats, but rather in how to utilize his power.

"It's time to test my hypothesis."

Chen Yi did not choose to compete with players of the same level. He was confident he could crush these AI-controlled players.

Besides, the Copper Coins Chen Yi had invested in this could have equipped a player with a full set of Green Quality gear. It would be strange if he wasn't stronger than AI-controlled players.

"Simulated battlefield, a combination of Zombie King and Zombie Doctor."

As Copper Coins were spent, the Zombie King and Zombie Doctor from Chen Yi's memory were recreated, and the surrounding environment transformed into that of the Plants vs. Zombies World.

Without a significant breakthrough in his main attributes and without teammates, he would face the Zombie King alone!

"Roar!"

The Zombie Doctor shouted in a sharp voice: "Kill him!"

The Zombie King leaped forward. The next moment, dust filled the air, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the ground where Chen Yi stood.

Chen Yi, who previously could only dodge using Repelling Fire Ring, could now easily evade by relying on his physical burst techniques.

Mental Power tracked the Zombie King's position amidst the dust. Three firebirds instantly broke through the air and arrived before the Zombie King.

"Boom!"

Both the projectile speed and the scale of the explosion far surpassed the previous Fireball.

The explosion's shockwave scattered the nearby dust, and the Zombie King stomped heavily towards Chen Yi.

But as it ran, one foot sank directly into a small pit, and its massive body crashed to the ground. Before it could get up, arrows made of fire shot towards it.

The arrows pierced its body, and its originally stable structure began to swell.

Its body, modified with steel, slowly turned red under the continuous bombardment. The Zombie King, lacking agility, was unable to touch Chen Yi even once.

Two minutes later, the Zombie King lay on the ground, while Chen Yi remained healthy.

"Firebird still has room for improvement; the projectile speed shouldn't be in a straight line."

"The structural change method of the rocket collision needs optimization."

"The means available are still insufficient; I shouldn't limit the attack forms."

Seeing the Trainer who seemed to have become even stronger, Charmander immediately became anxious. If the Trainer was so strong, his Pokémon would feel insignificant.

Under Charmander's pleading gaze, Chen Yi nodded helplessly. Simulated Battlefield consumption x2.

The seemingly abundant Copper Coins began to slide down.

Player Wu Di received an anonymous email.

He had just returned from the Reinforcer and felt like he had lost love in the human world.

Wang Zhanbo said weakly, "Who is it, looking for me at this hour?"

After opening the email, he received 2000 Copper Coins, a Green Quality longsword, and a letter.

This was left for him by Chen Yi. Before his memory recovered, Wang Zhanbo's parents had taken great care of him, so he wanted to help this little brother.

Seeing the familiar tone, although no name was left, Wang Zhanbo knew who it was.

The letter didn't contain much, just advised Wang Zhanbo not to cast spells intelligently but to try to understand and master skills.

In essence, it was advising him to join the Scholar School, not just to stack stats.

The letter also lamented that Strong Projection and Simulated Battlefield were truly good things, unlike what other players said about them being a waste of Copper Coins.

Little brother Wang Zhanbo believed it!

When he wanted to reply, he found that the player was displayed as being in the game and could only leave a message.

"Hmph, my little brother is forced to hide and seek. It seems he has provoked someone he shouldn't have. When I emerge from my arduous cultivation, I will avenge him!"

"I, Wang Zhanbo, will show them who the actual Protagonist is."