Looking at Beibei, Lei Lin said with a smile, "Beibei, your senses are pretty sharp!"
"Not only are there quite a few magical beasts around here, but the more interesting thing is that the species are all mixed together—an odd assortment!"
He couldn't help reflecting that although he'd never deliberately searched for Misty Valley, he'd spent several years adventuring in the Magic Beast Mountain Range and had never come across this place.
Now that he was adventuring with Lin Lei, they'd simply walked along and ended up here. As expected of the protagonist!
He glanced at Lin Lei and said, "This place is interesting, but there are too many magical beasts, and they're strong. Even with Beibei around, you might not be safe. Let's leave for now!"
There were plenty of magical beasts in Misty Valley, and they were strong, but it was still a peripheral area. Even if Lin Lei wanted to go in and take a look, Lei Lin could handle the situation.
Even so, he'd said that for two reasons. First, it made more sense; after all, no one deliberately went looking for trouble. Second, he wanted to see whether this would change the plot!
Lin Lei readily nodded in agreement. "All right, let's go, Brother Lei Lin."
Lei Lin froze, wondering if he'd really changed the plot.
But just as Lin Lei and the others were about to leave, Beibei suddenly started squeaking again. "Squeak, squeak! (Boss, look at that little plant! It's so pretty, like a little blue lantern!)"
At Beibei's words, Lin Lei instinctively glanced at the spot its little paw was pointing toward. Then he suddenly froze, his heart starting to race.
After taking another careful look, he immediately asked Doehring, the spirit who'd been summoned to accompany him, "Grandpa Doehring, is that the Blue Heart Grass you mentioned before?"
Doehring, who'd been awakened, looked toward the little blue plant and furrowed his brows. "Hmm, it really is. You're pretty lucky, kid!"
Noticing that something was up with Lin Lei, Lei Lin followed his gaze. When he saw the Blue Heart Grass, he let out a surprised "Oh." "Oh, that's Blue Heart Grass!"
Lin Lei asked, "Brother Lei Lin, you know about Blue Heart Grass?"
Lei Lin nodded. "Yeah. Lin Lei, you're a student at Ernst Magic Academy, for goodness' sake. How can you not even recognize Blue Heart Grass?"
Doehring: "..."
Lin Lei: "...o((⊙﹏⊙))o Am I supposed to know about it?"
Seeing Lin Lei's bewildered expression, Lei Lin explained, "I'm not especially talented at magic, so I've always been researching alchemical items, magic arrays, magical beast bloodlines, and other things that can improve the efficiency of magic training."
"Blue Heart Grass is an excellent catalyst that can aid bloodline research. Unfortunately, there's very little of it. I've had a request posted with the Adventurers Guild for a long time, but I haven't managed to get much."
Lin Lei: "Bloodline research? A catalyst?"
Lei Lin: "..."
"I'm a leading alchemist among the younger generation! The Lightning Robe and Thunder Punishment—the electromagnetic gun—which are currently the most popular alchemical items among low-level adventurers, are my signature works."
"I've even organized the Bloodline Research Enthusiasts Seminar several times to discuss how Blue Heart Grass can help catalyze bloodline research. I'm quite well-known in the field. You really haven't heard of me?"
"As a mage, you haven't been putting all your time and effort into refining your magic power and meditating, have you?!"
Lin Lei: "(;一_一)"
It wasn't that he'd really spent all his time on magic training. He'd just spent all his other time training as a warrior!
As for the Lightning Robe and Thunder Punishment, those popular alchemical items among low-level adventurers, he'd certainly heard of them. But he was broke!
As long as he stayed broke, he could resist any temptation!
He also glanced unconsciously at Lei Lin's gray warrior's outfit. Since Lei Lin had always fought with warrior techniques and only used magic for support—and even then, only occasionally—Lin Lei had always thought of him as a warrior.
"Brother Lei Lin, aren't you the continent's greatest magical genius? Why do you always fight as a warrior, and why don't you have more magic equipment?"
Lei Lin laughed. "I train in both magic and martial arts. I'm a seventh-level warrior, too. The reason I've been fighting with warrior techniques is mainly that the magical beasts we've run into lately have been easy enough to deal with that way."
"Why waste the effort on more complicated magic?"
"Besides, my elemental affinity is just average—only medium. So being a warrior is my main path! I only train in magic when I have the mental energy for it. Before I knew it, I'd reached the seventh level. Hahaha!"
Lin Lei, Beibei, and Doehring exchanged looks and fell silent. Their mouths moved, but they didn't know what to say. "I only trained in it when I had the time" and "Before I knew it, I'd reached the seventh level"—was that any way for a person to talk?
Lin Lei could only wonder why he couldn't "train casually" and become the greatest genius in history. He could only lament that the world of geniuses was just that unreasonable!
Lei Lin seemed not to notice the expressions on Lin Lei and Beibei's faces and continued, "As for magic equipment..."
"Magic equipment isn't necessarily inconvenient. My outfit might look ordinary, but it's simple and stylish. It doesn't have the usual flashy look of magic equipment, but..."
As he spoke, magic power surged around Lei Lin. Streams of magical light instantly appeared across his otherwise plain outfit, making it shine brilliantly. Threads of lightning emerged on the fabric's surface, then linked together with the light to form three magic arrays—two in front and one behind—that surrounded him.
The understated Black Gold Straight Blade in Lei Lin's hand—Judgment Blade—also lit up with streams of light and lightning before floating automatically to the center of the magic array behind him. The pressure it gave off made the nearby magical beasts feel oppressed.
Beibei squeaked and darted behind Lin Lei's neck in an instant.
"The Lightning Robes on the market have decent defenses and can even defend automatically, but their cost has been cut so much that they can only withstand attacks up to the fifth level."
"Thunder Punishment is also mainly aimed at practitioners at the third and fourth levels. Only in burst mode can it deal effective damage to experts at the fifth or sixth levels."
"But this adventurer's set I custom-made for myself—the Thunder God Set! I won't even get into the materials. Here's the important thing: its offensive and defensive capabilities are based on the strength of my own magic power and battle qi."
"Using my Judgment Blade as ammunition to unleash its power, it can deal effective damage even to a ninth-level expert, as long as it has enough time to build up energy. My teacher, Sa'er, personally tested and confirmed its attack strength!"
"On top of that, the set is engraved with practical spells for temperature control, cleaning, fire control, water gathering, and more, to meet all sorts of adventurers' needs while they're out in the wild!"
Hearing this, Lin Lei couldn't help showing an envious, longing expression, which secretly pleased Lei Lin.
Still, he couldn't help feeling a little helpless. The Thunder God Set was far too useless to him!
Before you continue