Death Threat

It could work like this? Lynn struggled to suppress the upward curl of his lips.

The gains from sharing the Magic Web were even greater than he had expected. He had originally only wanted to build connections and profit by renting out the Magic Web, but he had never imagined it could also provide magical affinity.

In other words, could he gain more affinity by binding different types of spellcasters?

That would make learning magic twice as effective with half the effort in the future!

"Lynn, what an incredible ability! My mana pool suddenly doubled—no, it may have grown even more! And mana is automatically flowing into my body. This is even better than what a staff can do!"

Elaine danced excitedly, having received a solid foundational magical education and fully understanding what this meant.

He... he had actually broken the rules of the world! Even those Archmages could not accomplish such a thing!

Elaine took a deep breath to calm her excited emotions. Then, lifting both sides of her nightgown's skirt, she gave Lynn a deep curtsy.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lynn. You have shown me an entirely new path! This is practically a miracle!"

Lynn had not expected the effects of sharing the Magic Web to be so exaggerated. Though it could not compare to his own benefits, it was enough to raise Elaine's talent by several levels.

A mana pool represented a spellcaster's magical affinity and could only be expanded through continuously learning magical knowledge.

And the larger one's foundational mana pool was, the higher that spellcaster's ultimate potential.

If Elaine had originally only been capable of reaching the level of an Elite Mage, then she could now touch the threshold of an Archmage.

"May I ask what sort of payment I should offer?" Elaine blinked anxiously. She did not think she had any good way to pay for such a miraculous gift without drawing on the Frey Family's resources.

Lynn pondered for a while. He had originally intended to charge gold coins directly, but that would be somewhat wasteful for a noblewoman of such high status.

"I need you to help me do three things, though I haven't decided what they are yet. We can discuss them later. Don't worry, I'll try to keep them within your abilities."

Only then did Elaine let out a sigh of relief, though she immediately smiled bitterly to herself. Including the two times Lynn had saved her life, she already owed him far too much.

Lynn added, "The Magic Web's effects have limits. With my current condition, I can only maintain it within a fifty-meter range."

Of course, he believed that as the [Psionic] path continued to level up, his Magic Web would be able to reach much farther.

"Understood." Elaine could not hide her excitement. She felt more and more that taking the initiative to approach Lynn had been an extremely correct choice.

This impoverished-looking novice Adventurer actually hid such an astonishing secret.

"Then... good night?" Lynn put on a show of yawning, though he truly was somewhat tired.

Elaine quickly nodded, smiling as she wished him good night. Then, hugging her staff, she jogged out of the room.

It seemed someone would be too excited to sleep tonight?

Lynn smiled and shook his head. After closing the doors and windows, he lay back down on the bed. Drowsiness swept over him, and he soon fell asleep.

"Kehehehe..."

What the hell was that sound!?

Lynn's hair stood on end in fright. He immediately began forming the spell structure for [Blink Step], ready to flee at any moment.

By the extremely faint light in the darkness, he suddenly saw a figure standing at his bedside!

Lynn's entire body tensed. He instinctively rolled inward to evade it while reaching for the switch by his bed.

The mana ore lamp lit up instantly, its faint blue glow illuminating the entire room.

Bluish-black skin, an ugly face with fangs—it was none other than the Orc warrior Gray!

But he had become extremely strange. His body was twisted, his back hunched, his limbs bent at unnatural angles. He let out inhuman shrieks, his bulging eyes fixed on Lynn.

Holy shit!

Lynn was so frightened that his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

How had he gotten in? Lynn looked toward the door and found that its brass handle had been forcibly twisted off.

Brother, that's some insane brute strength...

"Kill those... mages..."

Before Lynn could finish forming the [Blink Step] spell structure, Gray suddenly pounced. His fingers twisted like ghostly claws, carrying overwhelming brute force as he tried to tear Lynn to pieces.

How could he, a mere apprentice mage, possibly withstand an attack from a veteran warrior!?

With a thunderous clang!

White light suddenly filled Lynn's vision. After a moment, his eyes adjusted, and he saw Gray right before him, yet blocked outside a transparent barrier. His claws struck wildly as though hitting steel, every blow bouncing away.

Was this a first-circle spell, [Shield Spell]? No, no, this effect was definitely beyond the first circle!

"So it really is Dark Magic..."

Lynn turned toward the voice and discovered a familiar person standing at the foot of the bed, someone whose presence instantly filled him with a sense of security.

"Mr. Barton, why are you here?" Lynn was both shocked and delighted. He hurriedly got up and fled to the old man's side.

Old Barton nodded slightly, then raised his right hand and revealed the magical bronze ring on his thumb.

After a brief, forceful chant, blue-violet light flared over Gray's body, forming something like a transparent barrier. Gray immediately became unable to move.

A second-circle [Hold Person]? But immobilizing a veteran warrior so effortlessly definitely exceeded the level of the second circle.

Barton walked halfway around Gray, deep thought filling his aged yet sharp eyes.

He beckoned for Lynn to come closer.

Lynn had not yet fully recovered from the terror of seeing a ghost in the middle of the night, so he cautiously moved over.

The old man frowned at him, blowing his beard and glaring. "Brat, what? You don't trust my magic?"

"No, no, no." Lynn was somewhat embarrassed. He stepped closer and examined the mutated Gray. "Mr. Barton, what exactly happened to him?"

"Ah, how tragic..." The old man shook his head. His wrinkled fingers pinched the back of Gray's neck, then yanked hard. He actually tore an ugly parasite out from inside Gray's neck, bringing out a stream of foul-smelling black blood.

Its entire body was pitch-black and glimmered with an ominous green light. It was still alive, writhing desperately, with a ring of tiny sharp teeth around its head that made Lynn's scalp tingle.

Barton produced a glass bottle from somewhere with his other hand, stuffed the worm inside, sealed the lid, and even gave it a few shakes.

"This is a Soul-Eating Worm, an evil magical creature that can only be summoned through Dark Magic.

"It can twist the mind of its host. Hmm, this thing reminds me of some unpleasant people."

"What people?" Lynn asked curiously.

"The Corruption Cult. They are traitors to the Green Tower, a group of complete lunatics."

The Green Tower? The Corruption Cult... Lynn silently memorized the name.

"The two of you carry some kind of evil mark. Those cultists were probably trying to use it to attract magical creatures and create an accident."

Seeing Lynn's expression change, he raised a hand and patted Lynn's shoulder. "Don't worry. That mark can only last for one day. You are safe for now."

"As for this fellow..." He looked at Gray and snorted. The flesh on his round face trembled slightly. "A fool corrupted by evil! I'll bring him back to the Magic Association and interrogate him properly!"

As he spoke, he took a bottle of pale pink potion from his pocket. Through the glass, Lynn could see bubbles still rising inside.

Barton poured the potion into Gray's mouth in one gulp. After a few breaths, the Orc closed his eyes.

"Sleeping potion, essential for home and travel." Barton shook the empty bottle and said humorously.

Then he walked over to the table, sat down in a chair, and leisurely poured himself a cup of water.

"The Magic Association's people will be here soon." He smiled at Lynn. "Before then, I'd like to have a talk with you."

Lynn's heart tightened at those words, and his body immediately tensed.

"When that Orc attacked you, you were preparing a spell, weren't you? Spell-structure casting? The magical structure was rather unusual too..."

As expected, Lynn's heart, which had just begun to settle, tensed again. His magical methods truly were completely exposed before such an experienced mage.

"The complexity of that spell did not seem like that of a first-circle spell, but the amount of mana matched. Interesting, very interesting."

The old man's eyes shone brightly, as though he had discovered an entirely new subject of study. Yet instead of continuing to question him about the details, he said:

"Lynn, you are a young man with great potential. Rest assured, I will not pry too deeply into your secrets. Every mage possesses some mysterious knowledge, more or less. That is nothing unusual.

"I merely wish to entrust a task to an outstanding young man like you."

The old man gave a playful wink with his right eye. "The reward will depend on how well you complete the task. For example, I could personally make you a second-circle spellbook."