Hopp: Am I a genius?

"Buzz~"

A humming sound, generated as primal mana was released, filled the air. A small, golden orb, emitting a faint golden light, appeared in Hopp's palm.

"This is... a Druidic cantrip? How did you learn it?"

Normally, even a genuine druid apprentice would struggle to sense the unique primal mana of druids without two to three years of practice.

Yet, not only had Hopp sensed it, but they had also spontaneously mastered a basic method of using it.

"Is this a Druidic cantrip? Does that mean I have a talent for being a druid?"

Karl's words made Hopp momentarily excited. The golden orb in their palm swayed and transformed back into mana.

"Wait! If I recall correctly, barbarians on the Giant Path learn druidic cantrips and cleric miracles at level 3. It seems you've picked up a few tricks because of that."

Straining to recall the information he knew, Karl quickly reached a conclusion.

Upon hearing this, Hopp's previously excited expression visibly dimmed. However, Karl immediately followed up with:

"But it's not impossible to use this as a stepping stone to multiclass into druid. If you join the Moon Circle later and transform into an owlbear, then go into a rage... tsk, I bet one claw swipe could kick down Brulon's city gates."

Similar to barbarians, druids had their own sub-class designations, distinguished by "Circles." The most common circles currently were the Earth Circle and the Moon Circle.

The former could adapt to different environments and gain corresponding druid spells through a mysterious connection with the earth itself.

The latter, on the other hand, excelled at transforming into various beasts, to the point where calling it mastery of the seventy-two transformations wouldn't be an exaggeration.

"What kind of training is needed to multiclass into the druid class?"

Pushing the thought of 'I might be a druid prodigy' out of their mind, Hopp looked at Karl, seeking some guidance.

Although they had always longed to live in Eldren, their understanding of druids was limited to the abilities of a few specific circles.

"Sorry, I don't know much either. My grandfather was a druid of the Moon Circle, but he didn't tell me much. The only thing I know is that druids generally have to choose their Circle when they formally take their oath, otherwise, they'll be stuck at level 1."

These words almost completely extinguished Hopp's hope of self-teaching druidism. Their spirits visibly plummeted.

Seeing Hopp's disappointment, Karl patted their companion's back and offered comfort:

"Don't be so sad. You can practice the druidic cantrip first. Adapting to spellcasting early might help you adapt to the druid class faster later on."

"No, you don't understand, it's different."

Clutching their chest, Hopp sighed.

"When I first discovered that I could sense natural magic, I really thought I was some chosen one. Sigh... but now it seems it might just be the influence of the Giant Path."

Giants and dragons were the earliest races to use primal mana. The Giant Path for barbarians also made its adherents more adaptable to primal energy.

'So, you were hesitating just now because you wanted to show off in front of me?'

Karl's mouth twitched slightly as he felt he understood Hopp a little better.

"Actually... when I was little, I also thought I was destined for greatness. I was determined to become a genius mage, but after taking the entrance exam for Arcanix, I came to my senses."

Adopting a tone of someone who had been through it all, Karl spoke again.

As a transmigator, Karl had once harbored a sense of self-importance.

He had once believed he would be the protagonist of fate, effortlessly overcoming everything and winning over all the beautiful girls.

But reality quickly brought him back down to earth.

Someone who barely scored 500 on the college entrance exam in his previous life wouldn't necessarily score over 700 just by reliving it.

There were things that sheer effort alone couldn't overcome.

"Huh? You originally wanted to be a mage?"

Hopp looked Karl up and down, finding it hard to imagine what he would look like as a mage.

"Wasn't I just beaten down by reality? When I was choosing my major, I also wanted to force myself to major in magic."

The mage profession was like the mathematics department in university back in his previous life.

While ordinary people could generally enter the math department, not everyone was truly suited for it.

Karl had taken a year to become an artificer, but there were still many classmates stuck in the mage apprentice stage in the mage major.

Mages in the D&D series didn't focus on innate talent or spiritual roots. The only factor limiting them from formally taking their oath was their intelligence.

"So, you're telling me not to get discouraged? Even if I can't become a druid, there are other options?"

Hopp looked steadily at Karl, their eyes gradually softening.

"No, being a druid isn't that demanding. In fact, as long as you revere nature, the possibility of taking the oath is quite high. If I hadn't gotten into Arcanix, I might have gone with my grandfather to become a druid."

After a slight boast, Karl continued:

"I'm telling you this just so you can adjust your mindset. Mindset is very important. Two of my classmates from the same intake couldn't formally take their oaths because of this problem. Even if they had, they wouldn't have gotten very far on this path."

When Karl first enrolled, he met two classmates he got along with quite well. Their test scores were similar to his, and they could have fun together.

The three of them had similar intelligence attributes, but those two chose to become mages.

Before Karl was captured by the mind flayer, those two were still trying to break through to become level 1 mages.

However, with their intelligence attributes around 12, level 4 was probably their limit.

After all, they didn't have a Mind Flayer Tadpole to help them cheat with physics, directly gaining a two-point Intelligence boost through a Psionic feat.

Seeing Karl's serious expression, Hopp nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry, from the day I sold myself into slavery and failed, my mindset hasn't been so naive. Alright, hurry up and replicate the Alchemy Jug, we're almost out of water at home."

Seeing that Hopp genuinely didn't seem affected, Karl nodded.

Closing his eyes, he brought his hands together in front of his chest, attempting to replicate the Alchemy Jug.

Blue magic flickered between his palms for a moment, but then dissipated.

Opening his eyes again, Karl looked at Hopp, who was watching him expectantly, and said with a dry voice, "My Spirituality is all used up. Replicating magic items will have to wait until tomorrow."

For a moment, silence fell upon the room.