Trading and Learning

Although beating Sun Long senseless had felt great, Li Feng was a little worried now. Not that he feared Sun Long's revenge, but that he might disrupt Balthazar Blake's plan, anger him, and lose his chance to learn magic.

After all, in the movie, it was Balthazar Blake who dealt Sun Long the fatal blow. But before killing Sun Long, Dave had successfully used Fire Conjuration.

But now? Sun Long had been reduced to a complete bystander, knocked out directly by Li Feng's fists.

Li Feng had no idea whether Dave was still interested in magic. If he wasn't and still wanted to be an ordinary person, Li Feng felt Balthazar Blake would skin him alive, turn his hide into leather shoes, and tread on them forever.

For the sake of his precious, factory-original skin, Li Feng felt it was time to save the situation—for example, by teaching Dave how to cast magic right now.

Li Feng casually picked up a small scrap of paper from the ground and handed it to Dave. "Dave, want to see if you can summon fire? If you can summon flames out of thin air, your appeal to pretty girls—"

He refused to believe it. Dave was exactly at that age when boys racked their brains trying to get the girl they liked to notice them, just like male peacocks fanned their tails at the right time to attract females and show off their charm.

Besides, this was the United States, a country where nobody said much as long as you weren't married. Would Dave really give up using his identity as a Mage to attract girls? Li Feng certainly didn't believe it.

Li Feng did not need to finish. Dave had already thought of Becky Barnes, the girl he had always liked and had run into again earlier. Ten years had passed. Wasn't meeting again proof of fate? If he were a Mage, would Becky pay more attention to him? It seemed possible. And being a Mage seemed pretty cool. Of course, before that, he first had to make sure he was not hallucinating.

Dave glanced at Li Feng, then at Balthazar Blake, and decided to first see whether he could ignite the scrap of paper in his hand before making a final choice.

Li Feng patted Dave on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Pay attention to the first step. Clear your mind of distractions, strengthen your conviction, and believe that you can do it."

After saying that, Li Feng walked over to Balthazar Blake and watched Dave's personal performance. He let out a slight breath of relief inwardly. As long as this kid successfully casts magic, how far away can entering the Magic World be?

Balthazar Blake glanced at Li Feng. He did not think Dave would fail to cast magic. After all, Dave was Merlin's Heir, whom he had spent so long searching for. What annoyed him was Li Feng using women to tempt Dave into practicing magic.

At a time like this, Horvath had already escaped from the Matryoshka Doll and was stirring up trouble, preparing to release Morgana and destroy the world. Who had time for Dave to pick up girls?

Still, in order to make Dave interested in magic, Balthazar Blake decided to put up with it for now. Once Dave learned magic and destroyed Morgana, he could do whatever he wanted.

Perhaps Dave truly was a genius. After only a few attempts, he ignited the piece of paper in his hand. Startled, Dave immediately dropped it, waving his arms excitedly while pointing at the burning paper and saying to Balthazar Blake, "I did it! I did it!"

At this point, Balthazar Blake no longer said anything about taking the Matryoshka Doll and being even with Dave. He looked at him and said, "Yes, you did. If you want to study magic further, we need to find a place with fewer people."

As for how to prevent Horvath from finding the Matryoshka Doll, Balthazar Blake would need to set up a Magic Concealment Array.

Otherwise, did Balthazar Blake really think that making the Matryoshka Doll invisible, like in the movie, would stop Horvath from finding it? What a joke. Since Horvath had found the Matryoshka Doll before Balthazar Blake, he could definitely find it again.

Besides, Horvath had possessed the Matryoshka Doll for some time. For all they knew, he had already placed a tracking spell on it.

After hearing Balthazar Blake's condition for learning magic, Dave blurted out, "I know a place."

Not long after, the three took a taxi to a deserted area nearby. As Dave opened an iron gate, he said, "This used to be a Subway Turnback Station, but it's been abandoned. They let me do experiments here because some of them are pretty dangerous."

After entering the underground Grimhold, Balthazar Blake walked to a table, set down the Matryoshka Doll, and made it invisible. Then he took a matchbox-sized Magic Book from his pocket, handed it to Dave, and said with a smile, "I never had the chance to give this to you before. Your Magic Book."

Dave raised an eyebrow and gestured at the size he remembered. "Magic Books are bigger than this, as far as I remember."

Li Feng was a little envious. He really wanted a Magic Book too, though he did not know whether Balthazar Blake had any extras.

If he did, Li Feng would not mind trading the three spells he knew for one. Even a secondhand Magic Book would do. After all, it not only recorded everything that happened in the Magic World, but could also update itself in real time.

It even contained photos of Dave breaking into Balthazar Blake's mysterious house ten years ago, then leaving with a terrified expression.

That was incredible. Once Li Feng returned to his original world, not only could he keep track of Ancient One's movements at any time, he could also check whether any Sanctum Sorcerers had appeared near his home. That alone was enough for him to love it.

After giving the Magic Book to Dave, Balthazar Blake rubbed his hands together and prepared to draw Merlin's Ring, officially taking Dave as his magic apprentice.

As for Li Feng, all he could do was envy him. He quietly held the Magic Gem stolen from Sun Long in his hand and stared unblinkingly as Balthazar Blake drew Merlin's Ring, hoping to memorize how it was drawn on the ground.

Unfortunately, by the time Balthazar Blake officially accepted Dave as his apprentice and stepped out of Merlin's Ring, Li Feng had not memorized it at all, much less understood what Merlin's Ring actually was.

Taking advantage of Dave's search for protective gear, Li Feng walked over to Balthazar Blake, who was drawing a Concealment Array, and said, "Mr. Black, can I trade my unique spells for your instruction?"

To persuade Balthazar Blake to teach him, Li Feng added, "My unique spells include Astral Projection."

That's quite the claim. I've lived for a thousand years, and you're this confident? Other than the Portal I saw before, what other unique spells do you have? Balthazar Blake glanced at Li Feng and said with a smile, "Are you sure these are unique spells?"

"Of course." Li Feng answered firmly, then silently added, Unless Ancient One has been to this world and left behind her teachings, my spells are absolutely unique.

Balthazar Blake had long intended to teach Li Feng. Crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow, he said, "Before Dave finishes putting on his protective gear, tell me about your unique spells first."

As he spoke, Balthazar Blake deliberately emphasized the word "unique."

Li Feng understood the distrust in his words, but did not argue. Sometimes, slapping someone in the face with facts was the right choice.

"You've already seen the Portal spell, so there's no need to say more about that." Li Feng looked around, then sat down directly in a chair. As he performed Astral Projection, he said, "This is Astral Projection."

Ordinary people could not see Astral Bodies, but as Merlin's disciple and a Level 777 Mage, Balthazar Blake could clearly see Li Feng's Astral Body float out of his physical body. Meanwhile, the body continued breathing normally, though it looked like it had become a vegetable.

Balthazar Blake also understood that the Astral Body Li Feng spoke of was indeed related to the soul, but only related. A soul was a soul, and an Astral Body was an Astral Body.

Before long, Li Feng's Astral Body returned to his body. He stood up, scratched his head, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I also know the Mirror Dimension spell, but I've never practiced it. How about I explain the casting process to you in detail, and you try it yourself?"

By the time Dave returned wearing protective gear like a turtle shell, Li Feng and Balthazar Blake had already reached an agreement. Balthazar Blake was willing to teach Li Feng magic and would privately give him a Magic Book. Taking him as an apprentice, however, was out of the question. He did not have the time. If possible, he did not even want to teach Dave, because he now had a mad plan in mind.

The Mirror Dimension could completely isolate the real world. If Morgana were imprisoned in the Mirror Dimension, how could she perform the Summoning Ritual? She would not even have casting materials.

Not to mention that Morgana could not possibly complete the Summoning Ritual in the Mirror Dimension, but even if she did, so what? How could someone unfamiliar with the Mirror Dimension escape from it? Who would Morgana rule there? The Undead Army she had summoned herself?

Li Feng knew just how terrible this world was at using Otherspace. He remembered that in the movie, Horvath had been trapped in the Mirror World by Balthazar Blake and needed his subordinates' help to escape. So once Morgana entered the Mirror Dimension, she could obediently grow old and die in Otherspace.

Speaking of which, Li Feng could not help criticizing Balthazar Blake for letting Horvath go yet again. He had clearly imprisoned him in the Hungarian Mirror Trap, yet he and Dave simply walked away. What was that supposed to be? Li Feng thought it was called deep love.

As for how to remove Morgana's soul from Veronica's body, Balthazar Blake felt Astral Projection had given him inspiration. Astral Projection was not merely a simple active skill. Besides actively projecting one's own Astral Body, it could also knock another person's Astral Body out of their body.

Hadn't Ancient One nearly given Doctor Strange a heart attack by playing with his Astral Body?

As long as Balthazar Blake studied it a little, he might be able to knock Morgana's soul out of Veronica's physical body.

Once the deal was made, Balthazar Blake simply drew another Merlin's Ring on the ground. Fortunately, the laboratory Dave had found was large enough. Otherwise, there would not have been room for two Merlin's Rings.

Balthazar Blake tossed Li Feng a pair of leather shoes and told him to stay inside Merlin's Ring and listen as he taught Dave. Before Morgana was killed, Balthazar Blake's main student would still be Dave. As for Li Feng, he was merely an auditing student with no right to ask questions.

Li Feng did not object. What could he do even if he did? Fight Balthazar Blake? Only if he could beat him.

In the movie, Dave could release Plasma Blast after just a few attempts. Reality was not that simple. It took Dave an entire week before he successfully cast the spell once.

After Dave successfully used a Vacuum Sphere to defend against a Fireball, he declared that he was already a Mage and wanted to take Balthazar Blake out for something delicious, and maybe pick up some girls along the way. Really, picking up girls was only incidental.

Li Feng, meanwhile, chose to remain in the laboratory and continue struggling with Fire Conjuration.

Li Feng did not know whether he truly lacked talent for magic or whether his brain had not reached full capacity. In any case, while standing in Merlin's Ring and seriously studying Fire Conjuration with the Magic Gem on him, he had only managed to summon a tiny flame within one meter—a flame as weak as a match about to go out.

A flame that could barely light a cigarette could hurt someone? Give him a break.