Second-Tier Spells

"So it was him. I heard Rhein Town had another legendary mage. The younger generation really is something."

"Looks like the future of our Mage Association is bright."

The man crouched down in front of Lu Cang, lowering himself even more than Lu Cang.

"Hey, little guy, have you thought about joining the Mage Association?"

Lu Cang looked at Iz.

Iz answered for him. "Fizer."

"The Mage Association's minimum age for admission is sixteen, isn't it?"

The man called Fizer beamed and turned to answer Iz behind him. "But our association values talent more than rules, don't we?"

"As long as someone's a genius, we can make an exception."

Iz tapped the table, firmly refusing. "He's still a child. Whether he wants to join the association is something he should take his time deciding for himself."

"Fine, fine. If that's what you say."

As he spoke, Fizer pulled a blue business card from his pocket.

"Little guy, if you decide you want to join the Mage Association, you're welcome anytime."

"Show this card at any Mage Association branch, and someone will be there to receive you."

With that, Fizer stood up.

He waved to Iz before finally leaving.

Lu Cang asked, "Iz, who is he?"

"The president of the Mage Association on this continent."

"A level-six mage."

Huh?

Level six?

That morning, he'd gone to cram more basic knowledge about this world.

A level-six Magic Saint was already a terrifying presence on this continent.

"What did he come to see you about?" Lu Cang asked without restraint, taking advantage of being a child.

Normally, asking too much about something private might make people uncomfortable.

But it was different when you were a child.

"It's nothing I need to hide."

"He came to talk to me about the war."

Lu Cang tilted his head. "War?"

That was a sensitive topic. He could already imagine the devastation.

"Yeah."

"After Harvest Moon comes October."

Lu Cang recalled what he'd read about Moon Star that morning.

"The month of war and fire. The Moon Star is Bani."

Iz scratched his head and sighed. "This month brings blessings for war and boosts morale. Army-level spells become more powerful, troops march faster, and orders reach the soldiers' minds sooner..."

A month that encouraged war.

How cruel. Wars of all sizes mostly broke out during this month.

The victors of wars fought during this month received even greater rewards.

And the losses suffered by the defeated were also reduced.

It didn't make logical sense, but it was a fact written in the books of common knowledge.

"He wants me to take part in an upcoming war."

Lu Cang asked, "What do you plan to do, Iz?"

"I turned him down."

"I don't plan to get involved in any of this world's wars."

So Iz was a pacifist.

"He was trying to persuade me as part of his duties as association president. He knew he wouldn't be able to convince me, so he also provided some other useful information."

Lu Cang asked curiously, "What kind of information, Iz?"

Iz glanced at the transparent sheet in his hand and shook his head. "You don't really need that information right now."

Iz stretched, then changed the subject.

"Let's go practice some new spells."

Lu Cang replied, "Okay!"

He'd come to see Iz because he wanted to learn second-tier spells.

And now that he'd become a level-two mage, he should be able to learn the follow-up knowledge Iz had mentioned about Magic Enhancement.

Besides...

The feeling of practicing spells with Iz was impossible to forget once you'd experienced it.

Every cast boosted his proficiency by five times!

No wonder everyone wanted Iz to teach them.

Without Iz, even practicing magic felt a lot less interesting.

They returned to the training grounds in Rhein Town.

This time, Iz rented a larger area.

The training grounds were divided into free and paid areas.

In the free area, everyone practiced together. The space was relatively small, there were no wooden dummies to attack, and people simply cast spells into open space.

The free area had staff on hand to protect everyone. They were usually level-two defenders, there to prevent accidental injuries.

The paid option was to rent a whole area.

Generally, there were also guards in the paid areas, and you could even request level-three defenders.

But with Iz there, they didn't need any.

"Compared to the simple effects of first-tier spells, second-tier spells have slightly more complicated variations."

"Repeat after me."

Lu Cang and Iz chanted one after the other: "Heavy earth, surge forth! Form a thick and sturdy rampart, rise up into a broad and mighty wall!"

Rumble—

The earth churned, and the ground surged upward! A stone wall formed in front of Lu Cang!

"You have learned—Stone Wall Technique"

"Stone Wall Technique Proficiency EXP+10000"

"Stone Wall Technique (Second Tier) (LV:3)"

LV:3?

Looks like second-tier spells required more experience to level up than first-tier spells.

No wonder they said most mages spent their entire lives learning only one or two second-tier spells they could cast without chanting.

"Haha, looks like I don't need to teach you the theory. I was worried second-tier spells were too complicated for you to cast directly by chanting."

He felt like he'd just been underestimated a little.

Lu Cang chanted again...

Rumble—

Sure enough, second-tier spells were different from first-tier ones. It took until the seventh cast for it to reach LV:10 and gain the ability to be cast without chanting.

However, Lu Cang didn't show off Multiple Casting.

Otherwise, he'd gain triple the proficiency and level up very quickly.

"Good, you've mastered Stone Wall Technique. Next, let's learn a wood spell: Vine Strike."

Strike what?

Lu Cang didn't understand at first...

"Wild-growing vines, let your vigorous life burst from the earth! Wave your roots and strike!"

Thump!

Dozens of vines burst from the ground, countless tendrils whipping and thrashing wildly!

A wood spell.

It was a branch of magic he hadn't studied before...

"This spell is more difficult than the others. Give it a try."

Lu Cang nodded and imitated the chant he'd just memorized—

"Wild-growing vines..."

Boom!

As he finished chanting,

three vines burst through the ground and whipped at the air!

"Next, Fountain Technique."

Teaching Lu Cang spells was a light and pleasant task.

Izpalut had also taught for a while at Loins Magic Academy.

For a mage who'd just reached level two, it often took more than ten days to learn a second-tier spell from scratch.

Even so-called genius mages needed at least the time it took to drink a cup of coffee, or even to take a lunch break, to figure it out.

Compared to Lu Cang... the gap was considerable.

Even Iz, who never looked down on any student, felt exceptionally happy when teaching a genius.

Having a good student just made a difference.

"Good. Repeat after me..."

Whoosh!

A whirlwind erupted in an instant—

Wind Blast Technique had been mastered, too.

The ease of learning a spell with just one chant was something he'd only ever experienced for himself.