Being Cool is a Lifelong Pursuit

Sometimes, having someone backing you up as a newbie isn't always a good thing.

For example, Lein knew of a time a friend went to the hospital for an appendectomy. The friend was too fat, and it took a long time to find his intestines. The surgeon was also a newbie, so he called for help. In the end, the attending physician arrived with over a dozen interns, all in white coats. The imposing sight terrified the family, who immediately started crying, thinking he was facing the death penalty...

Ahem! I've digressed.

As for Downs, the matter was neither big nor small.

Before Lein transmigrated, there was a famous Russian proverb: "No man, no problem." This reflected the Russian preference for physically eliminating problems.

It wasn't the same on the Chaos Continent.

"No man, a problem for a hundred years" was the most popular proverb.

The "End of Magic" had killed off all the royal Mages of various countries. However, these suddenly deceased Mages left behind Mage Towers with fully automated defense systems.

This created a dilemma.

If enemies foolishly attacked these Mage Towers during a siege, the towers would automatically retaliate and eliminate the attackers. This was a good thing.

But thirty years ago, there was a battle case: a misfired catapult stone hit the side of a Mage Tower near the inner city. The tower's defense system was triggered, first expanding its attack range, then unleashing a barrage of chain lightning indiscriminately, killing half the defending army of this count's city. Worse still, by the time the Lizardmen attacked, the Mage Tower had depleted its stored magic. This ultimately led to the fall of the entire city.

Since then, heads of state had been greatly troubled by Mage Towers.

Ganis said sincerely, "This is merely a request. If Your Excellency Quijote has the leisure to completely disable this Mage Tower, you may take anything within the tower for yourself. Furthermore, His Majesty Cervantes will offer an additional bounty of fifty thousand gold coins."

The half-elf paused. "If Your Excellency Quijote is willing to accept our country's offer and become our Royal Mage, taking charge of this Mage Tower, that would be the best outcome. Of course, this is merely our wishful thinking."

Ganis's posture was sufficiently humble. He knew that Downs had a Legendary Archmage backing him and never once doubted Downs's ability. This attitude left no room for criticism.

Downs hesitated. Young as he was, he didn't know how to handle this.

Honestly, he was a little tempted. After studying magic for so long, he wasn't sure of his actual skill level.

Downs instinctively turned his head towards the waterfall, wanting to hear his master's instructions. If his master told him not to go, he would obey.

The roar of the waterfall continued to pour down. When this sound was mixed with Lein's "school-wide broadcast," it sounded incredibly majestic. A presence known as "power" surged into the visitors' hearts, etching the sense of shock into their very DNA.

"Heh heh! A well-calculated move." Lein's words immediately made the entire envoy tremble with fear.

"We dare not!" Ganis immediately knelt down. "It is merely a matter of mutual benefit. Does Your Excellency Quijote not also need experience, Great Mage? We can also provide all the architectural blueprints for the Mage Tower, but we cannot know what modifications the previous owner, Mr. Madra, made."

Compared to the labyrinths of the evil factions, these man-made Mage Towers were considered predictable and solvable. Moreover, since they were all high-level mages, the magical traps inside would be difficult to breach Downs's protective magic.

The safety was almost guaranteed, and the potential rewards were likely substantial.

Such a trial, before the Age of Magic's End, would have been considered a mere outing by classical Mages.

Lein's lips curled into a smile. Unbeknownst to him, this action magically stirred the cascading water from the waterfall, forming a giant human face on the water, displaying the exact same smile.

This greatly frightened the powerful members of the envoy.

They glanced at it once, then lowered their heads deeply, not daring to look up again.

Lein's voice, like a verdict, echoed through the sky once more: "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Downs, you shall go."

"Yes!" Downs, with a leap in his heart, bowed respectfully towards the human face on the waterfall, which displayed majesty and powerful elemental control.

No one knew that Ganis's heart was even more stirred: "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles?" What a philosophical statement! If I hadn't sworn allegiance to the Cervantes royal family from the start, just for this sentence, to cultivate under such a great sage for a hundred years, even if I could only hear a few words from the great sage each year, it would be enough for a lifetime, and I could even pass it down to my descendants as a family motto.

Ganis's admiration for Lein, the Legendary Archmage, grew even greater.

He looked up and announced loudly, "In that case, we shall wait here for a few days. When Your Excellency Quijote is ready, we will travel to the capital of Cervantes together..."

"No need for such trouble." Lein's voice fell, and everyone saw a rock-like object on a nearby inconspicuous large stone suddenly move.

The next instant, this "stone" transformed into the fiercest flame, like a fireball, shooting towards Downs.

"Fire Bat!?" Ganis exclaimed.

"Ah!?" Instinctively, Famite placed his hand on the hilt of his battle axe.

Before anyone could react, this enormous bat, nearly half a person's height even with its wings folded, extinguished its flames and obediently perched on Downs's broad shoulder.

Lein's thunderous voice echoed by the waterfall again: "[Laifu] will accompany you. You shall depart now."

"Thank you, Master." Downs, incredibly excited, bowed in a standard posture while carrying the twenty-pound bat.

Little did they know, this display once again shocked Ganis and the others.

Famite asked softly, with a hint of uncertainty, "A legendary Fire Bat?"

Ganis nodded imperceptibly.

Last time, Master Natton hadn't mentioned anything about a legendary Fire Bat. Fortunately, Ganis was perceptive. He and his companions immediately understood that anyone who could use a legendary Fire Bat as a familiar must be "Master Level at minimum, legendary is not unusual, demigod is uncertain."

In short, two words: Awesome!

Such powerful magical beasts were the ears and eyes of a Great Mage.

The appearance of a legendary Fire Bat was equivalent to the personal presence of a Legendary Archmage.

In the eyes of Ganis and the others, whoever provoked Downs might find that great master crossing space and time to annihilate their opponent the next second.

No one knew that [Laifu] was already the only trump card Lein had left.

Firstly, a certain unlucky Legendary Archmage couldn't leave the valley. Secondly, without the so-called "Mage Towers," it was questionable whether Lein's sometimes-working magic could even be cast!

When Downs whistled, a sunny rainbow little white horse (Wind Rider) immediately trotted out of the valley and obediently became his mount.

Blinded by the rainbow light, Ganis and his party were rendered speechless.

Whether it was strong or not was another matter.

Looking cool was a lifelong pursuit!

Just look at the disciple of the Legendary Archmage.

This entrance, this presence, this aura – it was all maxed out!

Indeed, comparing yourself to others can kill you.

What else could they say? They could only bow in respect.