Immature Big Boy

Alona had to be given credit: she was a woman of her word. Although the lessons had been progressing at a breakneck pace these past few days, she had often given Lanlos extra instruction under the pretext of supervising his work, and whenever she had time, she even tutored him personally.

Of course, every time this happened, Lansan's resentful stare made Lanlos feel thoroughly uncomfortable.

Thanks to the Keystone's precision, which far surpassed anything a mortal could achieve, Lanlos's progress in studying the Arcane had recently taken off like a rocket. In just two weeks, he had etched a whole series of practical first-circle spells into his mindscape. In terms of learning speed alone, it was practically cheating.

Well, he was using projections to copy what he saw, then saving the memories of any reproductions that were good enough. His mana ran dry every day, but memorizing one spell a day was undeniably an absurd pace. And as his mana was spent and replenished, his body's magical affinity gradually increased, while his mana recovery rate and maximum capacity slowly grew as well.

This clearing in the back hills had practically become Lanlos's private territory. Thanks to the Sunwell's light, the darkness wasn't impossible to see through, so he liked to spend his free time here, relaxing in the quiet while discreetly building up his strength.

What he didn't know was that his habit left many people who wanted to observe or approach him with no way to do so.

In today's class, Alona didn't teach the students anything about the Arcane. Instead, she guided them in exploring the professions of Enchanting, Inscription, and Alchemy. As she put it, the incantations used in Enchanting and Inscription shared similarities with the Arcane, while analyzing the properties of different materials in Alchemy could also be a great help when casting spells.

A competent spellcaster didn't need to excel in these fields, but they did need to understand them.

As she put it, understanding the source of a mage's power meant understanding the connection between the Arcane and everything in the world.

After all, in theory, the Arcane was a force capable of creating anything.

This also showed Lanlos that the Farstrider had changed its approach to education. In the past, apprentices had signed up for specialized subjects such as Alchemy and Inscription on their own. Perhaps thanks to Alona's efforts to promote Lanlos's concerns about foundational education, those issues had begun to receive attention, and these specialized courses had become part of the standard curriculum and examinations for every apprentice.

If the apprentices find out I'm the reason behind this, I wonder if I'll survive the next day.

It was also why, over the past few weeks, Lanlos had found himself calling Alona "Mentor" more and more naturally. It wasn't just her strength that earned his respect; her knowledge and attitude impressed him even more.

Though he greatly admired her, Lanlos hadn't followed her instructions and studied those professions. It was embarrassing to admit, but the only spending money he had was borrowed from Lansan...

Lanlos rummaged through his empty pockets and let out a heavy sigh. They said even a penny could bring a hero to his knees, and life without money was just too hard...

Rustle!

A sudden, faint sound came from the bushes behind him. In an instant, the lazy look in Lanlos's eyes sharpened.

Under the moonlight, a shadow stretched longer and longer as it crept toward the boy's feet. Along with a series of low growls, pale fangs and claws glinted coldly in the dimness.

A Mana Spring Lynx.

The tension in Lanlos's body eased. Lynxes were a little smaller than cheetahs. Although both were carnivores, lynxes ate very little, usually feeding on wild rabbits and mice. Sometimes they even ate fruit to cleanse their palate. There were even rumors that they occasionally caught Mana Wyrms and took a few bites...

All in all, they were relatively docile animals and popular companions among the students on Sunstrider Isle.

Besides, the elves generally got along well with nature, and in most cases, Mana Spring Lynxes wouldn't attack them unprovoked.

The back hills weren't very large, but many creatures still lived there. Lanlos had run into plenty of these little cuties over the past few days.

But something seemed off about this one.

With a soft smile, Lanlos took a piece of dried meat from his pocket and stepped forward.

"Grr!" The lynx let out a threatening growl and stared fixedly at Lanlos, who had stopped in his tracks. Its golden, slit-pupiled eyes radiated a clear warning.

Lanlos's brows furrowed. The languid look faded from his eyes as he carefully studied the creature's posture.

Then, an extremely faint animal cry sounded from the nearby woods, like a frightened, feeble youngling calling for its mother.

"Grr!" Its hesitation vanished in an instant. The lynx's natural advantage let it catch its cub's call faster than Lanlos could, and worry and fury drove it to cast aside its doubts and spring toward him like lightning.

With a ferocious beast attacking him, Lanlos couldn't just stand there. He shifted sideways to dodge the straightforward leap, and as he murmured an incantation, the air around him began to flow several times faster.

An invisible wave of energy shot from Lanlos's fingertips. The next moment, it reached the lynx's feet just as it was about to give chase.

A seemingly slight but unexpected force immediately disrupted its momentum. The lynx cried out as it tumbled headfirst into the dirt. A dull thud rang out, and just hearing it was enough to make one feel the pain.

But Mage Hand alone couldn't scare the lynx off. Its eyes, filled with fury, seemed almost ablaze, forcing Lanlos to reach for his mana again.

As the lynx got back to its feet, a translucent streak of light slipped into its body. It stiffened briefly, then exhaustion washed over it like a tide.

Its legs went limp, and the lynx toppled straight to the ground. Its eyelids felt as heavy as lead; no matter how hard it tried to stay alert, it couldn't.

Sleep Spell. It took root in the mind, inducing confusion. Though it couldn't always put its target to sleep outright, making them dazed was easy enough. It cast quickly, took effect fast, and was difficult to resist, making it one of the best control spells among the lower-circle magic.

"All right, come on out." Lanlos let out a sigh of relief and spoke without looking back. Clearly, the sleeping lynx wasn't his target.

The youngling whimpered from the woods again. A shadow darted across the moonlight—it was trying to escape while it had the chance!

"I'm not bad-looking. So why's my charm so low?" The normally gentle lynx had turned ferocious, and now the culprit was running off without even a word of thanks. Lanlos's pride took a massive hit.

Unnamed

Life: 98%

Mana: 41%

Spirit: 73%

Strength 11, Agility 13, Intelligence 14, Constitution 10, Perception 12, Charisma 15

Once he confirmed that the other party was no match for him, Lanlos immediately reached out to "detain" him.

Mage Hand!

The stranger, who was running at full speed, suddenly felt something snag his ankle. Before he could even think about it, his body pitched forward against his will. With a startled cry, he slammed into the muddy ground.

"Yip!" The next moment, a small, nimble creature leapt out of his arms, giving a clear, high-pitched growl in its babyish voice before hurrying to the sleeping lynx.

Just as I thought.

Watching the kitten-like cub lick the other lynx's face, the elven mage understood. Then he glanced at the stranger's Charisma and his gaze slowly turned cold.

Crackle!

Blue-white sparks danced in Lanlos's hand. He held them just a hair's breadth from the stranger's cheek, the crackling current seeming eager to give him a little treatment.

The first-circle spell, Shocking Grasp, didn't deal much damage, but an electric shock caused the muscles to contract and go numb. It required touch, but once it landed, it could easily give the spellcaster a huge advantage.

"The academy has rules against hunting any of the creatures on Sunstrider Isle. Break the rules, and you'll be expelled..."

"I didn't hunt them! I, I was just..." Before Lanlos could finish, the troublemaker who'd fallen nearly jumped to his feet. Luckily, Lanlos withdrew his hand in time; otherwise, he would've been dropping the boy to the ground with a jolt.

Emotional. That was Lanlos's first impression. The boy's handsome face was filled with panic at the threat of expulsion, but Lanlos showed not the slightest pity.

Charisma 15? That's it? That's all you've got?

"Mana Spring Lynxes are the property of Sunstrider Isle, belonging to the Sunstrider Court. What you've done shows disrespect to His Majesty the King and constitutes a serious violation of public property." Lanlos was practically green with envy as he sternly berated the boy, whose Charisma was twice his own. "You have ten seconds to explain. Ten, nine..."

"Wait..." The barrage of accusations left the boy feeling suffocated, dizzy, and barely able to breathe. The magic Lanlos had just demonstrated was fairly rudimentary, but his intimidating expression and words made the boy instinctively equate him with authority.

What represented authority on Sunstrider Isle? Mentors, of course. If a strict mentor caught me red-handed, would an explanation only make things worse?

"Five seconds left." Though it sounded like a warning, there was no mercy in Lanlos's icy voice. The boy had no time to think.

"I, I just thought they were cute and wanted to take a cub home to raise... I never meant to hurt them! Never!"

This kid doesn't look much younger than me. Why's he so green? Does High Elf education only care about the arts and not social skills? That excuse is so flimsy I can't even bring myself to tear it apart.

Catching the boy's evasive glance, Lanlos silently shook his head. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not..."

"There. Clear as day." Cutting off the boy's defense, Lanlos looked at his waist.

Feeling his gaze, the boy hurriedly pulled the ornate curved blade at his waist behind him. His Adam's apple bobbed unnaturally.

"You're a ranger, right?" Lanlos sighed. He'd reached that conclusion based on the boy's decent Agility. While reflecting on how extraordinarily sheltered the boy seemed, he recalled what he'd learned about Sunstrider Isle over the past few weeks. "The latest batch of ranger students enrolled two years ago. So no matter what, you should know the academy's basic rules. Students aren't allowed to carry issued weapons except on the training grounds or with permission."

"And that's a fine blade, too. Tsk, tsk. It'd slice right through a lynx's fur."

"No, that's not it! They said... I only carried a blade for self-defense... I, I never meant to hurt them!" At Lanlos's reminder, the boy realized in horror that he'd nearly committed a serious offense. If he were found guilty of hunting a Mana Spring Lynx, he'd definitely be punished. And if his name became public under those circumstances...

Absolutely not!

Seeing the boy turn pale, sweating and trembling like a leaf, Lanlos gave a self-deprecating smile. Why was he so full of spite? What kind of achievement was it to bully a kid?

"Who are they?"

Silence. A long silence. The boy simply stared at Lanlos, apparently amazed by his "mind-reading" ability.

"You just said it yourself." Even Lanlos's thick skin couldn't stand the boy staring at him like that, especially when the boy was a guy.

"I, they..." After hesitating for a long time under Lanlos's wise gaze—so at odds with his age—the boy explained, from beginning to end, why he'd come here.