Oh, this rascal of a disciple—he never comes back, but when he does, he brings so much delicious food.
Would I, his esteemed master, be short of a little food?
I was!
Really!
For one thing, Lein wanted a treat. For another, he'd figured out that since this broken world had dragons, it was bound to have all kinds of ridiculous attribute counters and immunities, too.
If he wanted to get by in this world, there were plenty of things he'd have to face.
Now that he knew his monstrous eldest disciple was his greatest hope, Lein temporarily gave up on taking any more disciples.
After they finished the dragon meat, Downs knelt with a hint of trepidation, very wisely saying, "Master, I've returned. I know I'm still not qualified to become your Direct Disciple, but compared to all those difficult people and affairs out in the world, I'd rather serve at your side. I'd be happy if you felt like giving me a few pointers now and then."
Lein raised his eyelids. "Didn't your old lord give you a promotion and a fortune?"
Downs didn't dare hide anything. He answered honestly, "His Majesty Cervantes hopes to appoint me Royal Mage, with the status and待遇 of a Hereditary Viscount."
"Oh? Why didn't you accept?"
"I... I don't think that's the life I want." Downs told him everything that had happened over the past few days.
Neither Earl of Ramanque nor the royal adviser Ganis had looked down on him. On the contrary, the lavish treatment was far too much for Downs, leaving the young mage feeling as if he couldn't breathe. The key was that Downs felt these powerful figures were all focused on his teacher, rather than genuinely appreciating him for himself.
"So I hope to wait until I'm truly a mage who can stand on his own before I venture out into the world. Whenever you have need of me in the future, Master, my descendants and I will certainly obey. Until then, please let me serve at your side. Master!"
Downs bowed deeply. This time, he had truly pledged himself as both a disciple and a follower.
Lein half narrowed his eyes. He'd figured it out: people in this world were just fond of this sort of thing, trading their loyalty, power, and even their lives for extraordinary strength, knowledge, or status.
Giving up one's life wasn't just an expression. Often, these pledges of service lasted not merely one lifetime, but several generations, even dozens. True supernatural beings could imprint the power of a binding oath into their servants' souls, extending it to their descendants. Unless an even greater mysterious power helped break the contract, such bonds could last for countless generations.
Even without binding them through their souls, they could go with the mage-academy approach. It was still a matter of shared fortunes and shared ruin.
Forget Downs' whole life; the Quijote Family would most likely become followers of Lein's line.
Lein didn't agree right away. Resting his chin on his left hand, he raised his eyelids. "Heh! I thought you'd be content with your current position. Tell me, didn't Earl of Ramanque send you any beautiful maids?"
Downs' face turned bright red on the spot. "Well, I still think magic is more interesting!"
Lein slapped his thigh. "That's right! Women only slow down our spellcasting!"
No joke! If this brat had gotten laid before his master, he'd have kicked this rebellious disciple out of the sect, no matter what.
But now, everything was fine.
A glint flashed in Downs' eyes. He suddenly remembered how flustered he'd been when the beautiful maids had made their move, and instantly saw the light. "So women really are trouble!"
"Mm, women are a source of trouble. That's a certainty. You're too young to handle that kind of trouble, my disciple. If you run into one, let your master check her out for you first." Lein was spouting nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
"I understand, Master!"
As soon as he'd finished speaking, Lein patted his eldest disciple on the shoulder. "All right, then. Let's leave things at that for now. I'll keep you around a while longer. As I said, what I teach is only [knowledge]. How much you comprehend depends on your Comprehension."
"Understood, Master!" Downs replied, overjoyed.
Next came more feasting.
The Frost Resistance provided by Ice Dragon Meat was damn important. Lein reckoned that if he could gain ten points of Frost Resistance, he might be able to cross the Cold Pool and escape this wretched place.
The ideal was rosy, but reality was harsh.
It was like people from Sichuan in the Celestial Empire saying, "It's not spicy," while also having more proctology hospitals than anywhere else in the country. After succeeding at the check twice in a row, on the third try, Lein...
I'm occupying the toilet. Do not disturb!
Lein finally realized that some things couldn't be rushed, and that being a gambling addict rarely ended well.
All he could do was patiently nurse his stomach, then have a serving of White Dragon meat every other day.
Meanwhile, when Lein realized he'd accidentally scared off the Embassy sent by King Cervantes, his heart gave a nervous flutter. He had no idea whether his system would still work properly when facing a real expert, or whether it could keep that old monster—who was at least two hundred years old—completely in check.
If it turned out to be "too advanced to demonstrate," wouldn't his image as a reclusive master be exposed?
When Lein learned that a group of king-level big shots were waiting for him outside, he felt a little like he was about to jump into a crocodile pit. It wasn't like he'd be fighting crocodiles and eating their meat—he'd be serving himself up to them!
[Congratulations, Host. Your Legendary Fame in the human world has increased by 1. The rulers of several nations now know that an extraordinarily powerful human Legendary Archmage resides in the Vulture Dragon Mountain Range...]
Lein had mixed feelings about this bit of Legendary Fame.
King Cervantes had sent him a whole pile of gifts: luxurious mage robes, magic books from before the Age of the End of Dharma, and, most considerately, packed everything in waterproof boxes made of soft cartilage. (These amazing boxes, which seemed to be made of pig cartilage, were sealed yet lightweight, and could easily pass through waterways.)
If people eventually discovered that Lein wasn't strong enough to deserve his status, then the better he was treated now, the greater the backlash would be later.
Lein knew even better that his situation was a bit like playing League of Legends. As a jungler, the lane he ought to help most wasn't the one at a disadvantage, but the one that was ahead.
Promoting himself to Legendary Mage would probably be difficult if he relied on himself alone. The right path was to rapidly raise Downs' strength, so Downs could give his master an even greater boost.
So that day, Lein tried to guide Downs' talents in a particular direction.
"Downs, use this bucket to fetch some water."
His good disciple looked at the shabby bucket, which had a rotted, broken plank in its side. Though he didn't understand what his master was getting at, he did as he was told.
By the lakeside, the bucket couldn't hold any more water once it was a third full.
After spending over an hour explaining a pile of physical theories, Lein said with utmost seriousness, "[Science] is rigorous, and science is comprehensive. Many principles in this world are shared across different fields. So when you study [Physics] with me, you can't focus only on [Electromagnetism]. You'll need to explore subjects such as [Thermodynamics] and [Fluid Mechanics], too."
Downs was utterly lost. All he could manage was a sense of this sounds incredibly profound.
"Let me give you an example. [Smoke] is actually a solid, because it's made up of countless tiny particles. But [fog] is a liquid, because it's actually composed of countless tiny droplets. Yet in the field of electromagnetism, [fog] is a [conductor] that can transmit electricity. All right, too much knowledge at once is hard to digest. Go think it over carefully."
After explaining the concepts of conductors and insulators once again, Lein patted the seat of his pants and walked off.
Downs was left standing there in a daze.
Before you continue