The Final Lesson?

Lein did not dwell on it too much. He was starving and wolfed down the grilled fish.

Honestly, he was getting a little sick of this reclusive, hermit-like life.

The valley was fairly well supplied. Lein had found some mineral salts, and after tinkering together some activated charcoal, he managed to produce a little fine salt by boiling brine.

A small amount of fine salt was enough to make do. The grilled fish was not exactly bad, though eating too much of it got tiresome.

Lein had already begun looking forward to the carrot and tomato seeds he had planted earlier.

He had hopes, but not much.

These were not the fruits and vegetables of the Celestial Empire on Earth, cultivated and selectively bred over generations. The carrots he had dug up before had all been somewhat bitter.

Downs, however, watched Lein boil salt as if he were witnessing alchemy...

Over the next several days, Lein came up with all sorts of ways to torment Downs.

"Good memory is no match for bad handwriting. There's no paper here, so I'll give you a week. Copy the definitions of voltage and electric potential thirty times. Carve them into the Stone Wall." Lein casually pointed at a black Stone Wall at least half the size of a basketball court. "Each character must be no larger than a Chaos Gold Coin, and about five millimeters deep."

With that, Lein tossed him a small knife.

Under Lein's instruction, Downs naturally knew how deep five millimeters was.

After Lein left, Downs tried carving with the knife. The moment he started, he realized something was wrong.

The Stone Wall's texture was strange. Its surface seemed somewhat soft, but once the blade sank two millimeters in, the resistance increased geometrically with every additional millimeter.

Downs, who had once been a Knight Apprentice, used every ounce of strength he had just to drive the first stroke into the wall deep enough to meet his teacher's requirement.

"No! This is wrong! Master's instructions must hold deeper meaning! Why would a mage need a small knife? This knife must be Master's trap. Think... Keep thinking! Master first had me scale fish, then control fire elements to grill fish, and now this is the Obsidian Wall..."

Downs pondered for a while. It was as though an imaginary light bulb lit up above his head. "I understand! Master is using this method of training technique to make my elemental control more refined. I'm not supposed to use the knife. I'm supposed to use the fingers of [Electric Claw] to copy the principles thirty times, stroke by stroke!"

It had to be admitted that even if a certain master did it himself, he could never achieve the kind of fancy work that someone with Downs's overflowing talent for technique could produce by carving with a knife, given his "gifted hands."

For seven days straight, Lein paid no attention to his disciple at all.

Other than sending him to carve the Stone Wall, he had him handle live fish and help with kitchen chores. He did not teach any new principles of physics.

Downs was not annoyed in the slightest. He settled his mind and used electric blade-fingers to engrave the definitions in Chaos Language, inch by inch.

Happy times always passed quickly.

These past few days, Lein had been living a life where meals were brought right to his mouth without having to work. He truly found it a little hard to part with.

On the eighth day, Downs came to hand in his assignment.

If Lein had been a true High-Level Mage, he would have noticed the faint magic power radiating from his disciple, as well as the fact that the words on the wall had not been carved with a knife, but engraved with an electric blade.

Lein casually tossed out a comment. "Not bad."

What he did not know was that Downs truly let out a long sigh of relief inside. Master's standards are so strict. Even after reaching this level, all I got was a "not bad." It seems someone as untalented as me must work even harder.

Downs bowed respectfully. "Master, may I ask what I will learn next?"

Very abruptly, Lein said with a cold expression, "I'll teach you one more law of physics. Once you successfully comprehend it, you will have graduated."

Downs's face filled with shock. "Ah! No, this... Master, this is too sudden. I feel I still have far too much left to learn."

"Do you still think you are a magic apprentice too weak to kill a chicken?" Lein's gaze sharpened.

"I..."

"Throughout history, anyone capable of mastering three spells of Level 1 or above has been recognized by the world as a Formal Mage. I told you before—masters can only lead you to the door; cultivation depends on the individual." Lein clasped his hands behind his back and tilted his chin forty-five degrees toward the sky, looking utterly proud and unruly. "First of all, I am not your official master. I merely took a passing interest and gave you a little guidance. Besides, what I teach is science, not magic. I have no obligation to train you into some Archmage."

At the end of the day, Lein was trying to push Downs away because he felt guilty.

With this damned teaching method, he truly had no idea how far he could teach Downs. Comprehension was a fickle thing. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. If Downs could attain enlightenment every single time, that would be absurdly overpowered.

After all, this lousy system had not provided a single proper spell or even one Spell from beginning to end. Since he could not systematically create a complete set of magic, this "Archmage" persona of his could easily be exposed.

The moment Downs got stuck and could not comprehend anything new, while Lein was unable to teach him further, that would be the end of it.

Besides, Downs had initially emptied his family fortune and sold his inherited Precious armor for more than fifty gold coins. Now that Downs was about to become a Formal Mage, Lein could accept that money with a clear conscience. But if he kept teaching him and Downs somehow struck it lucky enough to become a legendary High-Level Mage, then Lein would be the one taking a massive loss.

Lein did not know the prices outside, but since no High-Level Mage had appeared in the world for a hundred years, the value of a High-Level Mage definitely should not be equivalent to one set of Precious armor.

Anyway, once Downs became a Formal Mage, he would have to acknowledge Lein as his master wherever he went.

A former Knight Apprentice like Downs truly had no more wealth left to squeeze out.

Rather than take such a huge risk, it was better to stop while he was ahead.

Lein's words made Downs's lips tremble for a long while. At first, he was confused, but he immediately decided—this was an inviolable principle of this reclusive Archmage. It was not that Master Lein refused to teach him; it was that his talent was too poor to catch Master's eye.

"Master, may I ask, how can I become your Direct Disciple?"

Lein gritted his teeth and decided to raise the standard sky-high so the boy would give up. "Talk to me once you become a Legendary Mage."

Downs's breathing immediately quickened.

A Legendary Mage! That was an existence whose name would be sung by bards for eternity. As expected, only someone that great would be qualified to become Master's Direct Disciple?

"I-I understand. If that day truly comes, I will prepare an incomparably grand Apprenticeship Ceremony." Downs bowed deeply.

"Heh heh! An Apprenticeship Ceremony... Once, a king laid his entire Treasure Trove before me, and I still refused it because his child lacked the talent." Bragging cost nothing, so Lein bragged to the heavens.

In any case, to prevent Downs from losing his mind and coming back again, Lein desperately piled extra conditions onto the boy.

Lein refused to believe that this kid could become a Legendary Mage while also managing to rob an entire kingdom's Treasure Trove for him.

Downs immediately understood: Master might accept or reject the Apprenticeship Ceremony depending on his mood, but the proper formalities had to be observed. At the very least, it would take the wealth of a kingdom's Treasure Trove to match Master's status.

Downs still did not know that his master was fundamentally an Add Money Hermit. He saluted with utmost seriousness. "Master! Your disciple understands. Then... please guide me through my final lesson."