Spider Web

At the instant the spell was cast, Suye felt the Magic Power Tree inside the Magic Tower light up. The Magic Array Diagrams on the Magic Tree Leaves were activated, and magic began flowing through the diagrams.

The Magic Array Diagrams erupted with endless white light, shot into the sky above the Magic Tower, and vanished.

Two and a half seconds after Suye finished chanting the spell, the surface of the Magic Ox Rope suddenly became cloaked in a faint white light. It jerked violently, like a flying venomous snake, and shot straight toward Niedern's neck.

"You..." Niedern was startled. A ring on his left hand flashed, and a pale-yellow, egg-shaped shield enveloped him.

The Magic Ox Rope smacked against the outside of the egg-shaped shield, then coiled into a ring and tightened around it like a living snake.

The egg-shaped shield did not move at all. The Magic Rope was completely helpless against it.

Suye sensed that something was wrong with Niedern's mood and asked, "Teacher, did I do something wrong?"

"The Magic Rope is mainly used to restrain enemies. Why did you aim it at my neck?"

"Wouldn't strangling them with the rope be more effective?" Suye asked in confusion.

Niedern was silent for several seconds before saying, "You have quite a talent for harming people."

Only then did Suye ask, "When you used the Magic Rope before, was it only to bind someone's hands and feet?"

Niedern said, "Most people begin fighting as Black Iron Mages. Black Iron Spells are far more powerful than apprentice magic, so using the Magic Rope to kill people is very inefficient. Of course, that's different if one possesses a special talent."

Suye nodded and said, "I understand. Every type of magic has a wide range of applications, but its optimal use cases are relatively narrow. Take this Magic Rope, for example. To a Magic Apprentice, it might be a lethal weapon, but to a Black Iron Mage, its power is limited and it isn't suitable for combat. It's only suitable for tying things up."

"Well said." Niedern praised him.

"Can I try again?" Suye asked.

Niedern thought for a moment and said, "Wait a moment."

As he spoke, a pale-white, one-meter-tall short staff appeared in Niedern's hand. The staff was slightly curved, and an Amethyst the size of an eyeball was set into its tip. Three spiral tree knots covered its surface, and faint light shimmered within the spirals of each knot. He chanted a spell, and the Amethyst emitted a faint glow. Just one second later, three Magic Array Diagrams appeared on the ground in front of Niedern.

The Magic Arrays emitted blue light, and a colorful leopard emerged from each diagram.

The Three-Headed Cheetah stood quietly within the Magic Arrays, their tails swaying gently as their gloomy gazes fixed on Suye.

Niedern put away his staff and said, "This is Summon Leopard, the most common apprentice Servant Summoning. Only a Black Iron Mage can use it. Each leopard has the strength of an ordinary Warrior Apprentice. I'll have them refrain from actually attacking you, but they'll still move. You aren't allowed to use magic yet. Experience this feeling first."

The moment Niedern finished speaking, the Three-Headed Cheetah slowly walked out of the Magic Arrays and roared at Suye in unison.

Suye had seen these animals at the zoo, after all, and Niedern had said the leopards wouldn't attack him, so he wasn't afraid.

The Three-Headed Cheetah kept growling as they approached Suye, slowly circling around him.

When one of the leopards circled behind him and vanished from sight, Suye's mind entered a state of heightened defense. He instinctively sensed danger. Every muscle in his body tensed, and his throat went dry.

Niedern said, "Remember this feeling, then ease it! Mages and warriors are different. Warriors undergo prolonged combat, while mages spend more time studying and have few opportunities for actual battle. The masters have conducted statistics: among Apprentices, Black Iron Mages, and Bronze Mages, more than fifty percent die from panic and mistakes rather than insufficient strength. Even if your talent were ten times stronger, you could still die beneath an ordinary warrior's spear if you encountered a sudden attack and made a wrong judgment or panicked."

"Your performance is good. Now, keep feeling it." As Niedern spoke, he moved a finger, and the Three-Headed Cheetah began pouncing at Suye from different angles.

Suye found it difficult to remain still. He instinctively rolled across the ground and dodged the leopards.

"Don't move. Feel the wind as the leopards brush past you. Feel the bloodlust of their claws. Feel the stench of their teeth. Feel the savagery in their eyes! Only by constantly experiencing and feeling these things can you remain calm when you encounter an opponent and avoid making mistakes."

Suye hurriedly steadied himself. He double-tapped with the thumb and index finger of his right hand, shifted his body, adjusted his breathing, and regained his composure.

At the same time, Suye's mind raced.

"Teacher is having me experience the leopards' strength. This is the simplest desensitization therapy. It could be called psychological resilience training, or even a form of antifragility. As long as I keep experiencing this stimulus, over time and through enough repetitions, I'll grow stronger. This threat won't affect my state of mind anymore, allowing me to perform better."

Suye used the most basic Spider Web Learning Method to connect new knowledge from the outside world with his existing knowledge, forming a web of knowledge. This structure also fit the brain's own structure particularly well. It not only allowed him to remember and understand things more quickly, but also convinced his brain to stop guarding against this knowledge and accept it, thereby increasing his confidence and giving him a better state of mind and greater learning efficiency.

Having understood the cause and effect, Suye immediately calmed down and quickly asked himself Lakin's Question.

"What should I be doing right now?"

"Be aware! Observe! Feel!"

The corners of Suye's mouth lifted into an extremely faint smile.

Teacher had said that he had found the same answer again. A sense of security he had never experienced before welled up in Suye's heart, making it easier for him to act.

In the next instant, Suye seemed to become a visitor standing outside an animal cage at the zoo. The muscles throughout his body relaxed, but his gaze was clearer than before, and his thoughts were sharper.

Suye noticed the changes in his body, observed the ferocity in the leopards' eyes, smelled their foul stench, felt the wind carried by their pounces against his skin, and listened to the sounds of their footsteps...

The Three-Headed Cheetah kept darting past Suye like predators hunting, but they stopped after brief touches, at most brushing against Suye's robes or hair.

Niedern stared intently at Suye, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

He had seen at a glance that Suye had no combat experience. There was absolutely no way he was a powerful mage or a divine soul possessing his body. A person's reaction when faced with danger could not be faked, and anyone who had experienced combat could tell.

Suye's ability to adjust his state within a few seconds and stop being tense or panicked was not enough to make Niedern incredulous, because that was merely an ordinary level of excellence.

What truly made Niedern unable to believe his eyes was that, after adjusting his emotions, Suye immediately made the correct judgment and rapidly observed, felt, and experienced everything.

"Could he possess the talent of beastly intuition? No, the feeling he gives me is even more sophisticated than beastly intuition. A genius!"

Niedern thought for a moment. The Magic Book suddenly floated up on its own and turned toward Suye.

Every movement Suye made was recorded by the Magic Book.

Only Suye himself knew that this had nothing to do with beastly intuition. It was merely a habit he had developed by repeatedly using Lakin's Question after enduring countless failures and delays.