Mana Attribute Affinities

Li Feng heard the Grimhold's front door close and silently curled his lip. He knew Dave had gone out to meet Becky, the girl he had secretly loved for years, and show off how impressive he was.

As it turned out, while walking Becky to the subway, they happened to run into a robber who snatched Becky's beloved bracelet. Feeling like a Mage himself, Dave stepped forward. He did not have to chase the robber far before subduing him and recovering the bracelet.

When he returned the bracelet to Becky, Dave spun a bunch of nonsense and invited her to come to Grimhold tomorrow to help the little girl with midterm review.

Who knew what Becky was thinking? Perhaps she was grateful that Dave had recovered her bracelet, because she readily accepted his invitation.

That left Li Feng somewhat annoyed. Why could Dave succeed with a girl before even revealing that he was a Mage, while Li Feng had been single for so many years in the Marvel Universe that he did not even know whether a girl's hand was smooth or rough?

What annoyed Li Feng even more was that Becky would be coming to the lab tomorrow. You became an apprentice, but what about me? Never mind casting a Vacuum Sphere—I had not even seen a hint of a Plasma Blast. Not only did I have to stop my magical training for a day while I was still working hard on Fire Conjuration, I also had to come to Grimhold and watch you two flaunt your relationship. Did you ever consider how this single dog feels?

Complaints aside, Li Feng continued practicing spells inside Merlin's Ring. After a while, he slapped his forehead and muttered in frustration, "I'm such an idiot. I forgot all about my own advantage."

With that, Li Feng sat cross-legged in the center of Merlin's Ring. He had suddenly thought of a way to rapidly increase his Mana.

What Li Feng did not expect was that, besides going out to comfort his empty stomach after ten years, Balthazar Blake also took advantage of Dave's time flirting with a girl to retrieve some magical equipment from the Arcana Cabana, including a gift he had prepared for Li Feng.

When Balthazar Blake and Dave returned to Grimhold, Dave carried several burgers for Li Feng's dinner and stared speechlessly at Li Feng inside Merlin's Ring. He turned to the surprised Balthazar Blake and said, "Austin's thirst for power is practically an obsession, isn't it? This guy is actually sitting cross-legged and sleeping inside Merlin's Ring?"

Balthazar Blake could not even be bothered to roll his eyes at Dave's words. Unlike a novice apprentice like Dave, he could see Li Feng's Astral Body.

Not only could Balthazar Blake clearly see Li Feng floating above Merlin's Ring, he could also sense Li Feng's Mana rapidly increasing.

However, it was precisely Li Feng's use of his Astral Body to rapidly increase his Mana that allowed Balthazar Blake to notice something unusual within Li Feng's soul. He felt that he needed to have a proper talk with Li Feng before deciding whether to give him his gift.

After telling Dave to study on his own, Balthazar Blake walked to the edge of Li Feng's Merlin's Ring and quietly said to Li Feng's Astral Body, "Austin, I need to speak with you."

Dave was a little confused. Bro, can't you see he's sleeping? Can you wake someone up from a deep sleep by talking that softly?

Before Dave could remind Balthazar Blake that he would not wake anyone up like that, Li Feng's Astral Body had already slipped back into his physical body. He stood and said to Balthazar Blake, "All right. I happened to want to talk to you too."

Dave: "..." What happened to being asleep? Or was your sleep quality so bad that even a mosquito flying past could wake you up?

As Balthazar Blake walked toward a corner, he quietly said to Li Feng behind him, "Although Mages are all experts at controlling energy, allowing us to cast all kinds of spells, generally speaking, Mages have spells they are particularly skilled at due to differences in their energy attributes."

Li Feng understood that. Just as Ancient One had absorbed Dark Energy and used it as the source of her Mana, she could still work wonders with unrelated spells such as the Mirror Dimension.

Or like Dave, who had turned the Tesla Coil into something musical in front of Becky. Although he could skillfully use Fire Conjuration, the spell he was best at was still Plasma Blast. That was related to his innate talent—or rather, Dave's Mana attribute was electricity.

Seeing that Li Feng understood what he meant, Balthazar Blake said seriously, "When I saw your Astral Projection gathering energy just now, I discovered that your Mana attributes lean somewhat toward..."

After hesitating, Balthazar Blake did not say the word "dark." Instead, he continued, "The time and spatial energy gathered by your Astral Body are not much of an issue. While it is rare for ordinary Mages to possess both Mana attributes at once, it is not unheard of. But I discovered that your primary attributes are related to souls and fire."

Li Feng froze when he heard that his Mana attributes included time and space. Then he realized that the so-called Time Energy was very likely the Quantum Energy of the Marvel Universe, and he had been exposed to quite a lot of it during his transmigration.

His entire body had felt as though it were being torn apart. Could there really have been only a little Quantum Energy?

As for spatial energy, Li Feng silently thought, Either it has something to do with Portals, or it has something to do with my soul crossing into the Marvel Universe. After all, without some spatial attribute, how could my soul have crossed into the Marvel Universe and then this world?

The fire attribute that came next was fairly ordinary and not worth Li Feng's attention. Only the soul attribute made him want to complain. Maybe that is also related to my transmigration. Otherwise, merely having a spatial attribute would not make transmigration realistic. Wouldn't my soul have been ground to dust by spatial energy during the crossing?

Since Balthazar Blake had specifically pulled Li Feng aside to point out the soul aspect, Li Feng understood that his soul-related Mana attribute was likely not just a minor one. It probably occupied the dominant position among his Mana attributes.

What kind of profession did a Mage skilled in soul spells have? Li Feng's first thought was a necromancer with little Skeleton minions, an undead wizard, and the like.

What Li Feng did not know was that the fire attribute Balthazar Blake had mentioned also leaned toward darkness. For example, ordinary flames merely injured opponents through burning and heat. But if Li Feng developed his fire attribute deeply enough, he would discover that his flames either directly burned the opponent's soul or tortured it.

Like Hellfire, a kind of flame that could not burn a person to death, yet made them feel as though their soul had been placed on a grill and roasted over and over again. It was truly the finest torture method for home or travel.

Seeing Li Feng deep in thought, Balthazar Blake understood that there was no need to say more. As for the dark lean of Li Feng's flames, he did not want to mention that either. After all, he had no intention of teaching Li Feng spells involving souls or the fires of Hell. He merely reminded him softly, "Mages who become involved with the undead never meet a good end. They toy with souls and desecrate corpses in life, and after death, they will surely go to Hell to receive punishment."

Li Feng could not even be bothered to ask whether this world had Hell.

In a world where Mages existed, was there any need to ask whether Hell existed? Besides, in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Morgana, who had mostly been a background figure, could use spirit-summoning spells. In a world without Hell, where would she summon undead beings from to rule the world?

And as for the Marvel Universe, there was Lady Death, one of the five great cosmic deities.

As Li Feng considered researching undead-summoning spells after returning to the Marvel Universe, he secretly thought, But Lady Death's jurisdiction covers the entire universe. She probably would not pay attention to someone as weak as me, right? I just wonder whether I can still return to the Marvel Universe. If I can't, that would be awful. Forget about the Infinity Stones being beyond my reach—if my hope of going home becomes remote, that would be truly tragic.

For now, Li Feng considered himself a mere rookie and did not dare show any interest in summoning little Skeleton minions in front of righteous Balthazar Blake. Had Balthazar Blake not pulled him aside for a lecture simply because his Mana was related to souls? If Li Feng showed interest in spirit-summoning spells, who knew whether Balthazar Blake would simply kill him to prevent someone besides Morgana from summoning undead beings to rule the world?

After confirming that Li Feng truly had no interest in spirit-summoning spells, Balthazar Blake patiently explained the dangers of Dark Energy. Then he took a matchbox-sized Magic Book from his pocket. As he enlarged it, he glanced at the Magic Gem on Li Feng's right hand and said, "This is the Magic Book I took from Sun Long when I imprisoned him. I'm giving it to you as a textbook now."

Before the delighted Li Feng could accept the Magic Book, Balthazar Blake pressed a hand on it and said, "However, Sun Long recorded a great deal of information on black magic in this book, so..."

At that, Balthazar Blake lightly tapped the Magic Book and said with a smile, "I've removed all the material on black magic and replaced it with fire-related spells instead. I hope you like it."

Like it? I love it. Of course, judging from the fact that a Fireball Spell could be successfully used through molecular vibrations and Mage Hand, Li Feng would have liked it even more if the Magic Book recorded the principles of Nuclear Fusion behind the sun's light and heat. A Nuclear Fusion Fireball Spell—what couldn't it burn to ashes? Just thinking about it is exciting.

Unfortunately, after flipping through the book for quite a while, Li Feng realized that he had been overthinking things. Aside from the Fireball Spell, whose principle involved intense molecular vibration, the rest were spells such as Flame Rain and Fire Wall.

The only spell that truly caught his eye explained the principle of flight by burning and expanding air, then ejecting that air from a nozzle.

Li Feng felt a little disappointed by that. It records the principles of jet flight using flame combustion, but I don't dare fly like that. My neck can't withstand such enormous thrust. And since it even records the principles of a high-tech jet engine, how can it not record a Nuclear Fusion Fireball Spell? Are you discriminating against Nuclear Fusion, or are you worried I won't understand it? Although I really don't understand it, can't I learn? I'm very studious, you know.

"Oh, and your Magic Gem," Balthazar Blake said, pointing at Li Feng's right hand. "Give it to me. I'll forge it into a ring for you, so you won't have to hold the Magic Gem every time you cast a spell."

Without a second thought, Li Feng handed the Magic Gem to Balthazar Blake and bowed. "Thank you very much." At the same time, he offered Sun Long his deepest gratitude in his heart.

Li Feng had snatched the Magic Gem from Sun Long, while the Magic Book had been war loot Balthazar Blake obtained from Sun Long. Now they all belonged to Li Feng. If he did not express some gratitude, he would be letting down that fellow countryman who specialized in delivering equipment.

The next day, Li Feng stayed inside Merlin's Ring, using his Astral Body to gather Mana. When he heard the Grimhold's doorbell ring, he knew that today's training had to stop. But just as Li Feng's Astral Body returned to his physical body, that tearing pain surged through him once more.