Overcasting

When Lu Cang woke again, it was already dusk.

Feeling a slight jolt, Lu Cang abruptly sat up.

He looked around.

Only to find himself sitting inside a bright, spacious carriage.

Iz, Kumiloni, Chicheng, and the Stone Person were all there.

Seeing Lu Cang sit up, Iz smiled and said, "You overcast and passed out."

"Your talent for magic is quite good, but you only just changed classes. No matter how high your talent is, your total mana reserves won't undergo a qualitative change because of it."

"Yet you still managed to cast twice while your mana was depleted."

"It seems your affinity with both the elements and mana is quite good."

Mana depletion?

Lu Cang recalled the last scene before he had passed out.

He had kept casting Lightning Strike Technique. Since it required no chanting, he had cast it without any restraint.

He had not paid attention to his mana at all.

Come to think of it, during the final two casts, he had felt as though his body were completely empty.

But casting had come so naturally that he had simply thrown out the spells, and they had still gone out.

So he had not realized there was a problem.

After all, normally, shouldn't it be impossible to cast spells without mana?

Iz continued, "Casting without mana can cause considerable damage to the body. In serious cases, it can even be fatal."

"But fortunately, we have Kumiloni, so it's fine."

"I also replenished your mana in time, so you'll be all right."

Hah... it could kill me?

You could've told me sooner, Lu Cang grumbled inwardly.

"Master... what if I really had died?"

Hearing Lu Cang's concern, Iz burst out laughing. "With Kumiloni here, even if you wanted to die, it would be difficult."

"Besides, experiencing overcasting once isn't a bad thing. It's a required lesson on the path of a mage."

Lu Cang looked toward Kumiloni.

Kumiloni still wore her elegant, composed smile.

Kumiloni... was she really that amazing?

For a moment, Lu Cang had the urge to blast himself with Lightning Strike Technique. Of course, the thought only flashed through his mind before he quickly snuffed it out.

Kumiloni smiled. "How does your body feel now?"

At Kumiloni's question, Lu Cang moved his body a little.

He felt good after waking up, without any sense of being drained dry.

If anything, it was the opposite.

His entire body felt incomparably comfortable, as though he had merely enjoyed a pleasant sleep.

"I feel very good."

Kumiloni said, "That's good."

Lu Cang glanced around. It was a fairly luxurious carriage, with lavish leather seats and a bright, open interior.

Lu Cang asked again, "By the way, where are we now?"

Chicheng, who was wiping his sword nearby, answered, "On the road to Rhein Town. It's the nearest town from here."

"We're almost there."

The bumps were extremely slight.

Lu Cang looked out the window and saw the fiery red sun sinking toward the western mountains, with empty plains all around.

Looking ahead, he could see scattered points of light.

And the carriage was traveling along a fairly broad road.

Though it was not as smooth as a cement road, it was still relatively even.

Lu Cang looked back inside the carriage.

Then he looked at Chicheng.

Come to think of it, his sword was terrifyingly huge.

If not for this spacious, brightly lit carriage, it probably could not even fit that greatsword.

Noticing Lu Cang's gaze again, Chicheng flashed him a broad grin.

Uh, more like a silly grin.

"Kid."

"My sword is cool, right?"

Lu Cang froze, not knowing why he would suddenly ask such a question, but he still nodded. "Yeah, very cool."

It really was cool.

The heavy, enormous greatsword bore red-and-black patterns and countless intricate details. Red and black lines had been carved across its blade, depicting a scene of war.

Just looking at the sword was enough to make one feel the immense strength of its wielder.

"Right? I specially had the greatest blacksmith in the world forge this sword for me."

The greatest blacksmith in the world?

...That really was impressive.

Lu Cang was skeptical.

"Are you interested in the Warrior class? Want to try changing your second class to Warrior?"

Lu Cang really was rather interested in the Warrior class. Actually... logically speaking, the more classes he activated, the more God-Tier Talents he would gain, right?

Lu Cang had indeed been thinking about getting a second class.

Just as Lu Cang was about to answer,

Kumiloni interrupted Chicheng. She sighed and said, "Chicheng, he only just changed classes into a mage."

"Besides, Lu Cang's magic talent is so good, and Iz is teaching him magic. Having him change into a Warrior now would be such a waste of his talent."

Chicheng scratched his head. "Got it, got it. I was just joking."

All right.

It seemed Lu Cang did not need to say anything now.

Besides, saying that he wanted to become a Warrior in front of Iz, who was eagerly trying to teach him magic, would probably break Iz's heart.

It would be like telling a math teacher that you preferred studying literature.

Logically speaking, he should have been more cautious and guarded after coming to this world.

But around these people, he somehow felt there was no need for vigilance.

If they had wanted to harm him, they would not have saved him.

Though they had only brought him out of the dungeon.

The process of leaving the dungeon had still been rather complicated. It had been a complete maze.

Without Iz and Kumiloni leading the way, who knew how long it would have taken him to find the exit?

And when he had first crossed over, his physical condition had not been good either. Without Kumiloni's treatment, he might truly have died there.

So, to Lu Cang, Kumiloni and Iz were already his lifesavers.

The slight wariness Lu Cang still had toward them was simply instinctive self-preservation from having just crossed over. He could not possibly lose all caution on his first day in this world, could he?

Obades's deep voice sounded. "We're here."

The carriage came to a stop.

So this Stone Person could talk.

From last night until now, it had barely said a word. Lu Cang had thought it could not speak.

Iz opened the carriage door.

Kumiloni and the others got out one after another. Only after getting down did Lu Cang realize

that the carriage was being pulled by four creatures that looked remarkably like rhinoceroses.

Unlike ordinary rhinos, their heads and bodies were covered in thick, hard scales.

Kumiloni placed a hand on one rhino's head and introduced it to Lu Cang. "This is a Dragon Rhino."

"Dragon Rhinos have incredible stamina and are very fast runners. Don't let their bulky appearance fool you— they can run on steep mountainsides that are nearly ninety degrees."

"When we travel separately, they are also each of our mounts."

Kumiloni smiled at Lu Cang. "But now that we have a new member, we'll need another mount."

Dragon Rhinos were probably very rare creatures, or Kumiloni would not have introduced them to him like this.

Kumiloni's voice was always gentle.

Listening to her, Lu Cang felt that she truly considered him part of the team, rather than some stray child they had casually picked up by the roadside.

The place where they got off was a brightly lit town, and quite a few people turned to look in their direction.

And somehow, before he knew it, a crowd had gathered around Izpalut.

Most of them were young people holding magic books. They surrounded Izpalut, chattering away as they asked questions Lu Cang could not understand.

Iz gave them a helpless smile and made a gesture indicating that he would be right back.

Then he led the crowd into a nearby building.

Kumiloni said, "Iz is always eager to answer people's questions about magic, so many mages come to him for guidance."

"He's popular, isn't he?"