The Villain Young Master Just Wants to Live a Buddhist Life

The infighting between the two factions of contributors.

As the largest and most authoritative newspaper in the country, Great Sage Daily has an audience that spans the entire nation.

Over this past month, everyone across the country has learned that the children of the Kingdom's Twin Swords have all chosen St. Marian.

They also learned of the reappearance of the Hero's son.

What some of the public is particularly concerned about is whether that son of the Hero has actually inherited the Hero's power?

If he has, then does his appearance mean that the prophecies of the seers are about to be fulfilled, and that calamity will rise once again?

Chapter 22: Victor and Robert Attempt to Repay Debts

The storms of the outside world cannot blow into St. Marian.

There is not that much scheming and calculation among the young mages.

The first Sunday of the open Traveler Street passed quietly amidst frequent complaints.

Following that, the freshmen welcomed the first class of the fifth week.

Professor Sylph entered the classroom right on time as always. However, she no longer uses the Silence Card, because the freshmen have already learned their lesson.

"Starting from this week, we will learn how to use summoning spells consecutively in a duel!"

Summoning spells have casting times and casting intervals.

Magic power has output power, maximum continuous output time, and a magic power cap.

The less residual magic power there is, the lower the output power will become.

Therefore, how to utilize limited magic power to release multiple summoning spells within the same time frame as quickly and stably as possible is a point that duelists especially need to consider.

What this mainly involves, in reality, is magic power management and time management.

In other words, it has requirements that go beyond the basics of arithmetic!

The famous Dragon Egg Mage Da Vinci once said that arithmetic is the foundation of all magic!

Whether it is actual combat or research, nothing can be separated from arithmetic!

Over this past month.

Dark has made an assessment of his own magic power.

His total magic power is still rising rapidly, having already exceeded the standard value for a third-year student.

And even in an unrefined state, his magic power quality is already approaching that of a second-year student.

As for his output power, it is somewhat exaggerated.

With the common summoning spells he has mastered now, there is no need to worry about "output congestion" caused by continuous casting.

As the undisputed peak among the freshmen, Dark's casting time for common summoning spells has already been compressed to under ten seconds, and the cooldown for summoning spells is the same.

This means that within one minute, he is already able to release three summoning spells!

Which is to say, using three Magic Spirit cards that can be activated via common summoning!

"Consecutively using three Magic Spirit cards via common summoning within one minute"—this is one of the final assessments for the freshman summoning class.

Being able to complete an entire year's worth of coursework in less than a single month, it is no wonder that Dark is favored by the professors.

Today's summoning class is still being held together with the students from the Knight Academy.

Dark sat in his usual spot, taking in the entire classroom at a glance.

The knowledge Professor Sylph is teaching now is all something he has already mastered. So, there is basically no need to worry about triggering "Greed" during class now; "Sloth" is something that needs attention, but he usually brings a book to read.

And because what he reads is all related to the class, the professors know about it and turn a blind eye; some even take the initiative to discuss things with him.

For instance, the book Dark is reading right now is "Mind Mage Red's Summoning Forum—The Differences Between Magic Spirit Summoning and Other Magic Summonings."

It introduces a brand-new concept called "Bond," which is considered the foundation of "Mind Summoning."

When this concept first appeared, it was once met with ridicule and mockery from many mages.

Mages believed that the intelligence level of a Magic Spirit was at most 2, half a level lower than the 2.5 of a familiar, and that being able to command them to attack and dodge was already the limit. As for communicating with a Magic Spirit or building a mind bond—that was simply wishful thinking!

But all of that changed after Red ascended to the throne of the National Magic Duel Champion that year!

The power of the mind began to be valued, and mages started to treat Magic Spirit cards as "life"; the obsessed would even talk to their Magic Spirit cards.

The fanatics even injected their souls into magic cards, attempting to build "bonds" through the heterodox method of raising the intelligence level of Magic Spirits, enabling the Magic Spirits to erupt with power beyond their panel data!

Dark has not yet reached the stage of touching upon this, and the book in his hands mainly discusses how to communicate with Magic Spirits and receive responses from them, in order to reduce the magic power consumption and casting time required to summon them.

To shorten the casting time for summoning Magic Spirits to the limit, it is necessary to master the knowledge in this book.

"I heard that in the next Magic Theory class, Professor Kazel will teach us how to create our first Magic Spirit card... Once that succeeds, I'll be able to use this knowledge."

Dark could not help but let his imagination run wild; what would his first Magic Spirit be?

Just then, he suddenly saw Robert and Victor from the Knight Academy whispering to each other, seemingly plotting something?

Victor and Robert were also huddled in a corner of the classroom, though they were on the side closer to the back door.

Robert glanced toward the window like a thief and whispered, "Didn't I tell you that sitting in the very back makes it harder for professors to call on you? Look at Dark, he hasn't been called on much lately!"

"Are you talking about Dark?" Victor whispered back. "Regardless, we absolutely cannot lose any points! We must earn a combined forty points today!"

Robert slammed his hand down. "Don't worry, 10+10+10+10, that's forty points! It'll only take two classes!"

Victor: "That's good then..."

Professor Sylph: "Gaude, you answer this question! How do you breathe correctly during the transition between two summoning spells?"

Victor: "..."

Professor Sylph: "I expect you to pay more attention in class! Five points deducted!"

Victor: "Robert, what do we do!"

Robert: "It's fine, don't be nervous. We have three classes today, so even if we lose another fifteen points, it doesn't matter!"

Victor: "Fifteen points, surely we won't be that unlucky, right?"

Robert: "Relax, Victor, that's not easy to do."

The Summoning class ended under the icy gaze of Professor Sylph.

In the Magic Theory classroom, Professor Kazel entered five minutes early. However, the students didn't quiet down; in fact, some had the audacity to ask loudly, "Professor, are you really going to teach us how to create Magic Spirit cards today?"

"Of course." Professor Kazel slowly pulled a Magic Card from his sleeve, his lips moved slightly, and he activated it.

A heavy wooden crate suddenly appeared on the podium.

Professor Kazel clapped his hands and asked, "Is there any student who can help distribute the materials in this crate?"

"I will!"

Amidst a few responses, Emma quietly rose from her seat and began distributing the materials.

The students who had shouted the loudest were instead just sitting there happily watching.

Professor Kazel smiled. "Metis, one pack per person is enough."

Emma: "Understood, Professor."

Dark was the last to receive his materials. It was a pack sealed in a transparent bag, and it even contained two blank Magic Cards!

It was clear that the base cost of this pack alone exceeded 20 academic points!

Chapter 23: Dark Demon's cat also climbed into the box

"Alright! Let's begin the lesson."

Professor Kazel walked to the center of the podium after the bell rang.

He looked at the students in the classroom, who were like little lambs waiting to be fed, and couldn't help but reveal a smile as warm as sunshine.

"I believe you have all heard some things from the upperclassmen. Just as you suspected, today's Magic Theory will move into practice—the first creation of a Magic Spirit card!"

"Awoo!"

Whether they were from the Noble House or the Knight Academy, the students were howling with excitement.

They had been at St. Marian for a month, and only now were they beginning to create the first Magic Spirit card of their lives!

The students had long been impatient, so their excitement was inevitable.

Of course, if this were Professor Sylph's class, they wouldn't dare to be this rowdy...

Professor Kazel gave them two minutes to calm down before continuing with a smile: "Excitement is fine, but don't let it make you slack off during class. Today's lesson is of profound significance to every young magus. A magus's first Magic Spirit often becomes a close companion that stays with them for life."

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers, and a Magic Spirit card shimmering with a faint light appeared between his thumb and forefinger.

Then, without him even chanting a spell, a Magic Spirit with snow-white wings, a small horn on its forehead, and golden eyes—resembling a small kitten—emerged naturally from the card.

"This is my starter spirit, the Snow-Feather Golden-Eyed Beast."

"Professor!"

A girl from the Knight Academy suddenly raised her hand to ask a question.

Professor Kazel nodded, and the girl continued: "Is our topic for today this Snow-Feather Golden-Eyed Beast?"

Professor Kazel replied humorously: "Of course not. It seems the upperclassmen didn't spoil too much for you. Our topic for today is—Magic Phantom Beast!"

"Magic Phantom Beast?"

Dark's hand, which had been flipping through his textbook, came to an abrupt halt.

The students also began to whisper among themselves.

The so-called Magic Phantom Beast was a formless phantom beast; according to legend, it was ethereal, elusive, and even invisible to the naked eye!

"No way? (°°)"

Diana asked foolishly, "Doesn't the book say that a Magic Phantom Beast is a phantom beast that the human eye cannot see?"

Professor Kazel smiled and said, "The root form of a Magic Phantom Beast is indeed invisible to the naked eye. But as long as we put in a little effort, we can make it visible, and this—is what a Magister does. Alright, set your textbooks aside; what I'm going to teach today isn't written in those books."

He wrote the large characters for "Magic Phantom Beast" on the blackboard, then drew a rough outline in the center that resembled a small kitten.

"Before a Magic Phantom Beast is seen by someone, its form is indeterminate. It could be a cat, a dog, or even a dragon! The Magic Phantom Beast seen by each person may manifest in a completely different form."

"However, a Magic Spirit is different from a real phantom beast. From the moment it is created, the Magister will have a perception of it. Once seen by the Magister, it will be permanently fixed into the form that the Magister perceives."

"As for what form it will take? That depends on the expectations deep within your heart."

"In today's class, I will teach the method for crafting a Magic Phantom Beast Spirit Card from start to finish. You each have two sets of materials in your hands; if things go smoothly, you might even end up with two Magic Phantom Beasts. If you fail... well, you'll end up with nothing at all!"

As soon as his voice fell, the murmurs that had previously filled the classroom vanished without a trace.

Even Victor and Robert couldn't help but tense up.

They selectively forgot about their biggest current troubles.

Professor Kazel no longer cited classics or recounted rumors during this lesson; he explained the steps for crafting a Magic Phantom Beast Spirit Card in meticulous detail and wrote them all out on the blackboard.