Zhang Yuan still had his wits about him, so he naturally wasn't going to lose his mind and go on some grand treasure-hunting adventure. Still, his actions weren't entirely aimless.
As a veteran player, Zhang Yuan could recall the Easter eggs in Baldur's Gate as easily as reaching into his pocket. As luck would have it, a small treasure was waiting for him to uncover it near the Friendly Arm.
Although the area around the Friendly Arm was relatively safe, he cast the deliberately retained Mage Armor on himself just in case. Then he raised a torch and headed toward the likely location.
The location in his memory was a sparse grove directly south of the Friendly Arm. Its only landmark was the two large, round stones below.
After circling the possible location, Zhang Yuan did find a tree with two stones beneath it. However, at this late hour, the dim light of a torch was nowhere near enough for a more thorough search.
Fortunately, he had prepared for this. Having determined the general area, Zhang Yuan decided to use the spell he had prepared specifically for this purpose:
"Scio, Didici, Pecto!" (I know, for I have pondered it with my mind.)
When the incantation ended, a beam of light shone directly from his hand toward the front. Zhang Yuan intended to use the effects of the identification spell to trigger the treasure's magical radiance and pinpoint its location.
Unexpectedly, there was no response at all. No magical radiance reflected from the pile of stones—only the dumbfounded face beneath the torchlight.
That's impossible. Did I remember wrong? Could the identification spell not be used this way? Or is there no Easter egg here at all?
Various guesses mixed with anxiety and irritation, churning Zhang Yuan's mind until he felt dizzy. Just then, squeaking noises came from inside the tree trunk.
A squirrel poked out its little head. Startled by the light from the identification spell, it stared at the tall creature standing at its front door and muttering something to himself.
Already in a foul mood, Zhang Yuan saw the little thing and was about to wave it away, but he remembered his familiar. He changed the raised hand into a gentle caress instead.
Who could have expected the other party to show him no respect at all? It twisted its butt and burrowed back into its little nest.
Huh? It's your honor to receive this lord's affection, and you dare reject me?
Unable to let it go, Zhang Yuan stubbornly shoved his hand into the squirrel's hole. No matter what, he was going to give it a good petting.
"Let's see if I don't rub you bald." Muttering to himself, he rummaged around inside the hole. He failed to catch the squirrel, but scattered the little creature's winter provisions everywhere.
Suddenly, Zhang Yuan felt his fingertips touch something. Unlike the dry, warm sensation of branches and pinecones, it was cold and hard, with a metallic texture. It was as though lightning had struck his mind, and the possibility it implied made his entire body tremble.
He immediately moved the torch to the mouth of the hole. Ignoring the little creature's terrified shivering under the firelight, he frantically sifted through the pinecones and branches with his other hand, completely unaware of the scratches covering it.
Perhaps Lady Luck Benshaba had finally departed, satisfied, and fate wasn't going to toy with him again. At last, Zhang Yuan found his target at the bottom of the hollow.
It was a ring made of a bright yellow metal that looked like gold, with a ruby set into it. After searching for it so long, Zhang Yuan eagerly slipped it onto his left hand.
At the same time, he suddenly felt an inexplicable force surge from his left hand into his mind. Its capacity instantly expanded dramatically.
His mental sea, which had previously been able to hold only two sets of first-level spell models, could now accommodate four full sets. This meant that his spell slots had doubled, practically equivalent to advancing an entire level.
After his emotions had soared and plummeted, Zhang Yuan leaned against the tree and took several deep breaths. He silently recited, "Do not be elated by external things, nor saddened by personal gains or losses," several times before finally calming his excitement.
Once he had regained his footing, Zhang Yuan unexpectedly saw the little squirrel glaring at him angrily. In a good mood, he awkwardly glanced at the hollow he had turned upside down and the pinecones scattered across the ground.
This little thing was his lucky star, after all. Besides, it had suffered losses because of him. So Zhang Yuan did what he could, picking up the fallen pinecones and putting them back into the hollow. He even smoothed out the messy little nest with his hand.
"I'll properly thank you another time." Without caring whether the little squirrel understood him, he turned and returned to the inn.
Everything had gone perfectly. There had been a few minor twists and turns, but the Ring of Sorcery had finally fallen into his hands. Combined with the newly purchased scroll, once he finished learning the spell recorded on it, he would be a powerful—first-level mage—by tomorrow morning.
The idea was good, but the very first step went wrong. When he picked up the Shadow Magic Scroll and prepared to record it in his system's spellbook, the system did not react in the slightest.
Now he was completely dumbfounded. In the game, clicking "transcribe" was enough to learn a spell automatically. Besides, hadn't the system granted him so many spells at the beginning? Why was it useless when he needed it?
No matter how many times Zhang Yuan examined the scroll, nothing changed. If he hadn't been reluctant to part with it, he would have considered tearing it up and swallowing it.
Left with no other choice, Zhang Yuan could only rely on himself. He tried deciphering the scroll, but the result was an unsurprising failure.
As someone with no foundation of knowledge or relevant training—not even a self-taught mage—he had no idea of the principles behind the unknown spell structure or how it functioned. He couldn't reproduce it in his mind, either.
Having no choice but to give up, Zhang Yuan decided to ask for help. He went downstairs to the counter. Fortunately, Banterley, the owner, was still on duty. Under the old mage's curious gaze, Zhang Yuan stepped forward and honestly explained the difficulty he had encountered while transcribing and memorizing the spell.
This time, Banterley was genuinely astonished. Rising onto his tiptoes, he looked Zhang Yuan's novice-mage self up and down before asking skeptically, "Are you saying you suddenly awakened your spells without any foundation or relevant knowledge? Four of them?"
Afraid that the truth would sound too outrageous, Zhang Yuan concealed the spells he had never released in public and replied, "Yes. I had never come into contact with spells before, nor had I studied any related knowledge."
Banterley sounded uncertain. "Are you sure you awakened the mage class? If you're a sorcerer, then everything makes sense."
Zhang Yuan was just about to defend himself and explain his situation when the other party interrupted him.
"No, that can't be. You're definitely not a sorcerer." As he spoke, old Banterley stared at Zhang Yuan's face and shook his head repeatedly.
Zhang Yuan froze for a moment, then began cursing inwardly. He knew all too well what Banterley's reaction meant.
(In D&D, the magic cast and used by mages and sorcerers is actually the same, but the two classes cast spells differently. Mages must choose the spells they need for the next day and memorize them the night before; once they go to sleep, they cannot change their selection. Sorcerers do not need to study. They automatically learn new spells upon leveling up, do not need to memorize them, and can freely cast any spells they possess after waking each day. Generally speaking, mages have a more comprehensive spell selection, but preparing spells is troublesome and they have fewer spell slots. Sorcerers can cast more conveniently and have more spell slots, but their spell selection is limited. However! None of that is the most important part. The most important thing is that sorcerers cast with Charisma rather than Intelligence! In other words... all sorcerers are beauty-obsessed.)
MMP, MMP, MMP. Why are you shaking your head? Are you looking down on this handsome man? Zhang Yuan raged inwardly as his square face stretched into a horse face.
Seeing his displeasure, the old mage laughed heartily. "Man, what's shameful about making a living through your own abilities? Look at me—I also relied on my own efforts to achieve what I have today, and I even married the prettiest girl in our village."
Zhang Yuan glanced sideways at the old mage. You? Your village? The prettiest girl in your village?
Completely unwilling to imagine what the gnome village belle supposedly looked like, Zhang Yuan went straight to the point. "Sir Banterley, I'm certain I awakened the mage class, but I have no foundation whatsoever. How can I learn new spells?"
Old Banterley found himself stumped as well. He picked up the pipe from the counter and began smoking, filling the air with such heavy fumes that Zhang Yuan wrinkled his nose. Why do all old mages like smoking pipes? According to the background information, some shameless old legendary mage also never goes anywhere without one.
The old mage, deep in thought, suddenly raised his head. "I remember now."
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