A Master Who Said To Hell with It

Knowing he had transmigrated, and that this world had Western dragons, it was perfectly normal for magic to exist too.

But hadn't Downs said magic had already been lost on the continent?

How had he managed to pull it off so easily?

Did he have to go touch an electric gate and court death too?

But what if trying it meant actually dying?

Lein grumbled inwardly without end, yet outwardly, he gazed calmly at his good disciple.

"Master! I did it! I succeeded!" Downs opened his eyes, shouting in indescribable excitement.

"I saw." Flickering lightning illuminated the face of a typical Strict Master.

Seeing Lein's unruffled expression, feeling his master's aura of a mysterious expert, and recalling how his master had used that mysterious artifact during the day to command the thick heavenly thunder with tiny Electric Serpents, Downs immediately thought: Master doesn't look very pleased! Clearly, I've only met the minimum standard in Master's heart. As expected, I still need to work harder!

Downs said excitedly, "Master! I'll keep working hard."

"Sleep." Lein was sparing with his words.

Noticing keenly that his master had not used the word "tomorrow" again, Downs decided that he had truly passed this time.

At least for now.

He happily drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, Lein nearly got up with dark circles under his eyes.

He had stayed up until the latter half of the night before finally falling asleep in a daze.

Even if it killed him, he could not understand why this kid had succeeded at "Meditation" so easily.

By rights, even in another world, weren't mages rare, one in ten thousand?

In less than one night, his disciple had already surpassed his master and become a real mage.

Since the outside world was in an age where magic had faded, who dared say a magic apprentice was not a mage?

But what could he, as the master, still teach?

It was no longer a question of whether Downs would become the guy demanding a refund. The question was how his master could keep teaching him.

After agonizing over it for half the night, Lein decided to just say to hell with it.

Before transmigrating, he had been both a college student and a part-time, failed webnovel author.

He had read so many transmigration novels. Even if he had no practical experience, couldn't he make stuff up?

Some kind of magic cultivation manual—he could just write it on the spot.

If the kid could not learn it, then his Comprehension was insufficient. It had nothing to do with him, the fake and shoddy master.

After washing up, they casually dealt with breakfast using some picked wild fruit, then master and disciple once again arrived at yesterday's small hill.

Downs respectfully knelt again. "Please guide me, Master."

Before beginning the lesson with his foolish disciple, Lein habitually layered on some armor for himself. His voice was low, carrying an inexplicable authority. "I'll emphasize this once more. I will not teach you magic. I only teach [Science]."

Uh, Master was at it again.

Yet Downs did not dare show even the slightest disrespect. He pricked up his ears and nodded seriously. "Master, then what is [Science]?"

Lein pointed into the distance and said in the most ordinary tone, "Everything you see is merely an appearance. Beneath it lie laws governing their operation. And [Science] is the most fundamental law by which this world operates!"

Downs's eyes abruptly widened to their limit. His heart pounded wildly, and he was so excited that it felt as though it might leap from his chest:

What an astonishing scope!

The magic I thought so powerful is only superficial. What Master teaches is the true power at the root of everything!

Master is actually this great!

No wonder he always thought I could not learn it.

No! I must study even harder and live up to Master's expectations!

Meanwhile, seeing Downs's expression of being awestruck without understanding why, Lein finally nodded in satisfaction.

"Master, did you comprehend all of this yourself?" Downs's voice trembled.

"No! Most of it is the wisdom of those who came before. I merely stand on the shoulders of giants." Lein brushed off his shoulder, as if he were only a speck of dust upon that giant's shoulder.

The more humble Lein was, the more infinitely lofty his image became in his disciple's heart, until it reached a height that could only be looked up at.

After a long while, Downs finally squeezed out, "Master, I know my current level is far too lacking. Could you tell me how many levels there are in using lightning?"

After speaking, he stared eagerly at his master, his mouth opening and closing slightly like a fish out of water.

Lein clasped his hands behind his back, putting on a profound air as he slowly began sharing the story he had just made up. "Sensing the existence of [electricity] is merely the most basic application. You may treat it as a [Trick]!"

What?

Downs's eyes widened at once. As expected! This can only be considered a small trick!

He continued listening intently.

"The second level is [application]. Electricity can be strong or weak! Powerful Electric Current naturally flows toward weaker Electric Current. If you can maintain the stability of that flow during the process—that is, stable voltage—you have entered the gate."

At this point, Lein was still maintaining a rigorous scientific attitude and doing his best to teach his disciple in simple terms.

Unexpectedly, things went off the rails next.

"The third step is large-scale application of electricity! Do you see that metal rod?"

"Mm."

Against the backdrop of Dark clouds churning in the distant sky, a metal rod stood atop the tallest hill in the village.

Lein extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand into the distance, forming a sword-finger gesture.

Lein was just about to say that thing was called a Lightning Rod, and that with it, the village's houses could be protected from lightning strikes, when a thunderclap suddenly erupted in the sky.

Before his good disciple, a massive bolt of lightning at least eight meters thick streaked across the sky, striking from the Dark clouds directly onto the tip of the Lightning Rod atop the hill, as though it had cleaved heaven and earth in two.

The scorching afterimage of lightning seared itself onto Downs's retinas, and it felt as though the entire world had begun to shake.

Violent lightning poured into the earth. Countless rocks and grains of sand on the hill exploded into the air in an instant, forming what looked like a wave in midair.

The surrounding trees creaked and groaned beneath the shockwave. Vast patches of grass shattered, becoming a green mist that rapidly dissipated and scattered in the gale.

A second or two later, the splattering clods of earth landed with a chorus of crackling impacts.

Had Downs not been utterly certain that this was his master's handiwork, he might have let out a terrified scream.

Not just the disciple—the master's brain had crashed as well.

He had originally thought that, as a fine young socialist, he could not Never Tire of Destruction and had to explain physics with a rigorous scientific attitude. But after witnessing this scene, even Lein began doubting whether he was teaching Science or magic.

Facing his disciple's eyes, which practically had the words "Master is fucking awesome" written all over them, Lein had no idea how to smooth things over.

"Master, is this also [Science]?"

"Yes! This truly is [Science]!"

Whether his disciple believed it or not, at least he, the master, believed it.

Believe first, show respect later!

Fine!

Actually, he did not believe it either.

Lein, who had decided to say To hell with it, said jokingly, "Theoretically, if electricity reaches an utterly outrageous level, then a single strike... could shatter stars!"