Eight Techniques

Being treated like a child feels so strange.

I wish they'd treat me like a child when it comes to drinking too.

Finally having the freedom to act on his own, the first thing Lu Cang thought of was to cram the common sense he lacked.

At least to get out of the state of knowing nothing about this world.

Arriving at the library, it was surprisingly crowded.

He had expected it to be a deserted place.

Lu Cang approached a magic circle.

[Search Technique]

It's a convenient spell for searching books. I heard that it's permanently set up, so the magic circle will always be effective in one place.

All that's needed afterward is simple maintenance and a continuous supply of magic power.

Lu Cang's spirit rapidly searched within the Search Technique, and he quickly found the book he wanted.

Guide to World Common Sense

Heh...

What a plain and unpretentious name, but this is exactly the kind of book he needed.

Swish!

He selected it.

Soon, a book flew out from a distant bookshelf.

It landed in Lu Cang's hand.

Magic is so convenient.

After obtaining the Guide to Common Sense, Lu Cang found a place to sit down.

He read for an entire afternoon.

Skipping the world history section entirely, Lu Cang flipped directly to the occupation chapter.

Combat-specialized occupational classifications: Warrior, Mage, Archer, Defender, Healer, Assassin, Mechanic...

It was a thick book, and the records were comprehensive.

By the time he closed the book, it was already dusk, but he hadn't read much of it.

Lu Cang first studied the knowledge he cared about most, followed by the most basic common sense. There was still a lot of content he hadn't read.

Things like gods and faith, which he couldn't access for now, were skipped just like world history.

Thinking it was getting late, Lu Cang rented the book and returned to the inn.

On the way back to the inn.

Many adventurers started greeting him proactively. Lu Cang felt that they no longer looked at him as "the child accompanying Iz."

Instead, it was: "Yo, Little Lu Cang! Thanks for treating us yesterday!"

First of all...

My name isn't Little Lu Cang, it's Lu Cang.

Secondly... never mind.

At least this shows that he has found his place in Rhein Town.

No longer a pitiable child brought along by Iz and the others.

But an adventurer: (Little) Lu Cang.

Not long after returning to the inn, he was taken out again by Iz.

He was still his mentor.

As a mentor, he naturally had to impart knowledge of magic.

After cramming common sense today.

Lu Cang finally understood the level system division of this world.

Each profession is divided into levels 1 to 9.

Level 1 is the lowest, and level 9 is theoretically the highest.

However, the highest-level individuals in some professions have not yet reached level 9.

Each professional level has a corresponding title.

A level 1 Mage is called an Apprentice.

A level 2 Mage is called a Magic Master.

A level 3 Mage is called a Grand Mage.

Reaching level 3 already meant being considered a strong Mage, carrying enough weight to have a place in the regional Mage Association.

Level 4 Mages were known as: Magic Experts.

As for level 5 Mages, which was Izpalut's level, the title for this rank was: Magic Emperor.

The difference between level 4 and level 5 titles is too great...

Lu Cang couldn't help but complain.

Iz's strength in his mind had increased significantly once more.

A rare level 5 Mage in the world.

No wonder he said he was strong.

It made sense now.

Looking at the entire world, within a whole kingdom, there were only 1-2 level 5 Mages.

And they were all chief court Mages.

In that case, Iz was indeed very formidable.

He likely had no opponents in Rhein Town.

"Today we'll study Shadow magic, Shadow Arrow, and Earth magic, Earth Spike."

This was Iz's lesson for today.

"By the way, practice all the magic you've learned... to the limit of proficiency."

Limit of proficiency...

He meant level 100, right?

Iz, you truly teach according to aptitude...

Lu Cang was no longer completely ignorant of common sense now.

Lu Cang's top priority today was to catch up on commonly used knowledge.

The vast majority of Mages actually only learned to cast 1-2 spells without incantation in their entire lives.

Casting a spell without incantation required about 30,000 casts of that spell.

And for a Mage, it was absolutely impossible to only use one type of magic.

Mana recovery also took time.

When Lu Cang first advanced, he completely depleted his mana after casting Lightning Strike Technique more than ten times.

The typical mana pool for a level 1 Mage was only 5-10 times their post-advancement amount.

Recovering mana and casting spells day and night, one could cast spells 200 times a day.

However... for most Mages, mana recovery required meditation.

Well, effects like Magic Tide, which could operate automatically and restore mana at any time, were extremely rare.

And even Magic Tide only operated fully automatically from level 10 onwards.

Before level 10, Lu Cang still needed to control its operation.

If one spent all day casting spells and recovering mana, they wouldn't be able to do anything else.

And the most fundamental reason was that it wasn't worth wasting so much energy on low-level spells.

Advancing from level 1 to level 2 was something everyone could achieve.

More Mages would choose to save their energy for tier 2 spells.

Therefore, the vast majority of Mages mastered only 1-2 tier 2 spells without incantation in their lifetime.

This was probably the limit of a Mage's energy for their entire life.

And Izpalut's requirements for himself.

He had to learn two new spells tonight.

And, "by the way," he had to raise all learned spells to level 100 proficiency.

Heh...

If anyone else heard Izpalut's requirements, they would probably think he was crazy.

"Once you master these spells tonight, you can advance to a level 2 Mage tomorrow."

"You will likely become the fastest Mage to reach level 2 in this world."

Level 2?

Hearing Iz's promise, Lu Cang's heart was overjoyed.

Finally, finally, he could level up.

Lu Cang felt as if the next god-tier talent was already beckoning to him.

Just "God-tier · Proficiency Evolution" was already so awesome.

"Another one, and wouldn't that make me invincible?"

"All of them at maximum proficiency, huh..."

"Alright, Iz!"

"Then I'll be looking forward to it!"

"Darkness that clings to the bone, condensed into a lethal arrow, pierce!"

"Learned Magic--Shadow Arrow (LV:1)"

"Shadow Arrow Proficiency EXP+10000"

"Shadow Arrow (LV:5)"

Whoosh!

The Shadow Arrow pierced the straw dummy in front, leaving a patch of darkness on it.

Iz shook his head slightly after watching.

"Attacking a dummy is not as good as attacking me."

"Use your full strength and try to defeat me."

As he spoke, Iz took a step forward.

He had already replaced the dummy's position, standing far from Lu Cang.

"Master Iz, then please be careful."

BOOM!

Without any warning whatsoever, lightning struck down!

Lu Cang didn't use the "Shadow Arrow," which still required chanting.

Instead, he switched directly to the fastest instant-cast spell, "Lightning Strike Technique."

CRACKLE!

The exploding thunder burst above Iz's head, arcs of electricity crackling--

However... Iz was completely unharmed.

"The lightning isn't concentrated enough, the penetration is insufficient."

BOOM!

Without any pause, the second shot descended!

"The speed of the lightning is too slow. Lightning is an element second only to light. When calling upon lightning elements, don't do it from your body; try to directly draw upon the thunder."

Whoosh!

Swish, swish, swish--

Invisible Wind Blades were unleashed!

But they sliced past Iz's side. It wasn't that Lu Cang didn't want to hit, but Iz had completely changed their direction.

"The release of Wind Blades should follow the flow of natural wind. This way, the Wind Blades can be hidden within the natural wind."

"The biggest advantage of Wind Blades is their invisibility and concealment. If you release them against the flow of the wind, not only will their power be halved, but they will also be easily detected by the enemy."

Clink--

The Light Cross was caught by Iz with one hand.

"The characteristic of light is purity and speed. The greatest characteristic of the Light Cross lies in its purity. When condensing the Light Cross, do not mix in any other elements."

"Furthermore, the purpose of the Light Cross is not for killing, but for dispelling evil..."

BOOM!

Fireballs exploded around Iz.

"Fire is the most common form of damage, and this damage is divided into scorching, impact, burning adhesion, and explosion. In a Fireball..."

Every time Iz spoke.

Lu Cang's heart became enlightened. Each time he cast magic, he gained extra proficiency and additional effects.

And when he threw magic at Iz.

Even a normal cast would receive an additional proficiency bonus.

"Earth Spike Technique Proficiency EXP+50000"

"Fireball Technique Proficiency EXP+50000"

No way...

Is he some kind of experience log?

Why am I getting 5 times the normal experience by hitting him?

It felt inexplicably strange.

Magic was cast faster, and in the time it originally took to cast once, he could now cast twice or even three times…

Moreover, the elements had become exceptionally dense. Although he was currently recovering magic from the void, casting certain spells using ready-made external elements was faster.

As Iz had said, for Lightning Strike Technique, it was better to just call down lightning directly rather than using his own magic to release it.

If cast this way, the enemy would have almost no time to react.

But unfortunately, the opponent before him was Izpalut.

Perhaps it was due to the vast difference between a level 5 mage and a level 1 mage.

Even though Lu Cang felt his casting was already very fast, Iz could easily defend against it.

Now, thanks to the extra experience bonus and Iz's guidance…

Lu Cang's magic leveling efficiency could be said to be soaring…

With his magic almost inexhaustible, he bombarded Iz with spells from 7 PM until 4 AM.

After the final, massive Earth Spike broke through the ground and was shattered by Iz with a single kick.

The last "Earth Spike Technique" also leveled up to LV:100.

Lu Cang had spent an entire night.

Finally, "Lightning Strike Technique," "Ice Cone Technique," "Fireball Technique," "Wind Blade Technique," "Illumination Technique," "Light Cross," "Shadow Arrow," and "Earth Spike Technique"

all eight spells had reached level 100 proficiency.

Coupled with "Mana Void," which was constantly active and already max level, Lu Cang now had a total of nine level 100 spells.

Furthermore, each spell had a prompt for evolution.

"Ice Cone Technique (Evolvable)"

"Possible evolution directions: Control, Speed, Freeze, Power"

Seeing that Lu Cang had finished practicing the last spell, Iz brushed off his clothes, intending to call it a day.

And it was at this very moment.

Whoosh!

Three piercing ice shards, trailing long icy streaks, instantly appeared before Iz.

A sneak attack.