Learning Magic

"Irene, good news! Garen was accepted into Ernst Magic Academy.👻💥  🐼🐠"

They hadn't even reached home when his father excitedly shared the good news with his mother from a distance.

"Wonderful! That's wonderful! Come inside quickly. Dinner's ready—we can talk while we eat."

The family spent the meal laughing and chatting, all of them overjoyed.

After dinner, Garen went out for a stroll. By the time he returned, his mother had finished getting everything ready.

She took his hand and led him to a seat in the room.

"Son, today I'll teach you how to meditate. If you want to become a mage, you have to learn to meditate to cultivate your spiritual power and refine your magic power."

"Mom, you're a mage?"

Garen was astonished.

His home was in the middle of nowhere, with no one living nearby. He'd always thought his parents were ordinary people. At most, he'd assumed his father was a warrior of some level—after all, everyone on the Yulan Continent trained from childhood.

When his father had taken him for the magic test, he'd thought it was simply because his parents valued education. He hadn't expected his mother to be a mage.

My family background might be more unusual than I thought. Why would we live in a place like this?

He'd lived here for six years. From the few words he'd overheard his parents exchange, he knew their home was in the Rhine Empire, near a small town outside Blazing Sun City, more than ten miles from the town itself.

The Blazing Sun Desert lay not far from his home, and the Far East Prairie was dozens of miles to the east. It was the kind of remote place where not even birds would bother to land.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

With his mother Irene guiding him, Garen entered a meditative state with ease in less than half a quarter of an hour. It was much like the Qi-Gathering Stance: meditation also required a calm mind, free of distractions.

Sensing the countless crimson and azure specks of light around him, Garen officially embarked on the path of magic.

Ever since the magic test, his father had been gone for several days. Garen had no idea what he was doing.

Under Irene's guidance, Garen settled into a very regular routine for the next few days: warrior training in the morning, meditation at noon, and refining magic power in the evening.

One day, Clark returned with news for Garen. He'd found a merchant caravan traveling from the Rhine Empire to the Light Alliance and planned to have Garen set out for Ernst Institute with them in a little while.

The journey was simply too long, so they had to leave early.

After that, his parents stayed by his side, reminding him to study hard, eat well, and get enough rest once he arrived at the institute.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, a burly man riding a tall horse arrived at Garen's home.

"Garen, say hello to Uncle Luke. He's a captain in the Guard Team of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce and a Level 6 Warrior. You'll be traveling with him to Fenlai City, so make sure you listen to him."

"Hello, Uncle Luke."

Garen greeted him obediently.

"Garen, there's no need to be so formal. Your father and I were the best of comrades. We haven't seen each other in years, and when he finally got in touch, it was for something this important. Ernst Institute, huh? The lowest rank you can have upon graduation is a Level 6 Mage. When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a mage too, but I didn't have the talent. You'd better study hard and live up to your parents' hopes."

"Don't worry, Uncle. I'll work hard at my magic studies."

After inviting Luke to stay for a meal, Garen reluctantly left the home where he'd spent six years and set off on his long journey.

Riding a warhorse more than two meters tall, they soon reached Blazing Sun City.

A year and a half passed in the blink of an eye.

They'd traveled from south to north, setting out from the Rhine Empire, passing through the Yulan Empire, and then entering the O'Brien Empire. They'd traveled along the main roads within the empires, and the journey had been mostly uneventful.

"Up ahead, the Magical Beast Mountain Range is just a few dozen kilometers away. We're traveling near the North Sea, along the outermost edge of the range, but we still need to be careful. We'll take turns keeping watch at night. Come on, let's move out."

For a year and a half, Garen had traveled with the caravan. Uncle Luke had taken good care of him, even arranging a private carriage for him. By now, Garen had become a Level 3 Mage.

Garen

Warrior Level: Level 1 (12/200 EXP)

Magic Level: Level 3 (296/2000 EXP)

He'd only trained as a warrior now and then, and had reached Level 1 partly through those efforts and partly because absorbing magic power had automatically strengthened his body.

His Magic Level, on the other hand, was the result of meditating and refining magic power every day without fail for a year and a half.

He'd focused solely on refining Fire-style magic power. His mother had only given him a book of Fire-style magic incantations for Levels 1 through 6. Without Wind-style incantations, refining Wind-style magic power couldn't be converted into combat strength, so it would be a waste.

As the caravan of carriages rumbled onward, Garen felt a rush of excitement and nerves. The Magical Beast Mountain Range—he was finally going to see magical beasts!

An hour later.

Looking at the boundless sea to the north and the towering, dense forest to the south, Garen couldn't help but marvel. He'd never seen scenery like this on Blue Star in his entire life.

As they entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the carriages slowed down. Although caravans often traveled along this trade route, no one could guarantee that a pack of magical beasts wouldn't suddenly charge out of the forest.

They traveled for half a day.

"Moo!"

As the caravan passed a pool, a dozen Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls suddenly charged out of the forest.

Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls were Fifth-Level Magical Beasts. Their bodies could grow more than four meters long and over two meters tall, and their coats were bright red.

They probably lived in the forest and occasionally came to the pool for a drink.

When they spotted the caravan, the Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls' eyes reddened, and they charged at once.

"Careful! It's a herd of Fifth-Level Magical Beasts! Move the carriages north and shield the cargo! Guard Team, stay alert!"

This was an elite guard team, and every member was at least a Level 5 Warrior. There were thirty-three of them in all.

Although Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls were Fifth-Level Magical Beasts, they were powerfully built. Once they got up to speed, even a Level 6 Warrior couldn't stop them; a head-on collision would leave anyone injured.

But the warriors in the Guard Team had traveled far and wide, and every one of them was experienced in battle. They didn't show the slightest fear as the Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls approached. Some used their battle qi to kick massive boulders in their path, slowing them down, while others nimbly dodged the first charge.

Then they split into groups of three and surrounded the Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls. As long as the beasts couldn't build up speed for another charge, they wouldn't pose much of a threat.

Battle qi of every color flared: yellow Earth-style, blue Water-style, azure Wind-style, red Fire-style, white Light-style, black Dark-style, and purple Lightning-style. The Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls attacked the warriors in front, while those to the side and behind struck them with their greatswords.

In less than a few minutes, the Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls were covered in blood and sprawled across the ground. The caravan had wiped them out completely, with only a few Guard Team members suffering minor injuries.

The warriors skillfully dug out their Magic Crystal Cores, then cut away the choicest portions of the Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls' meat.

"Haha, Captain, we're in luck! A small herd of Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls—their Magic Crystal Cores will earn us some extra cash, and their hindquarters are deliciously firm."

The Guard Team had two captains: one was a Level 7 Warrior, and the other was Luke. Everyone else was a Level 5 Warrior.

The outer reaches of the Magical Beast Mountain Range were generally safe. Even if they encountered the most dangerous creatures there, the Wind Wolves, they could retreat while fighting them off, even if there were hundreds of them. Wind Wolves were usually only Level 4, and the strongest magical beasts on the outer reaches were generally only Level 5, like the Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls. Even then, they usually traveled in herds of only a dozen or so.

Of course, if they ran into a Level 8 or Level 9 Magical Beast that had wandered out, they'd be out of luck.