A Sudden Twist (Please Bookmark and Follow!)

The half-elf girl fluttered her long lashes, her emerald eyes filled with curiosity.

She had been secretly watching Lynn for quite some time. She found him incredibly mysterious—his clothes were far too plain, making him seem utterly out of place among the others. He was practically the least wizard-like wizard she had ever seen.

But according to what she had read in books, people like that were often anything but ordinary.

For a girl participating in an outdoor Adventurer mission for the first time, Lynn held a strange allure.

She was eager to see what his magic was really like.

"Um, my name is Elaine. I'm a healing mage. Could we get to know each other?" she asked gracefully.

A healing mage? Lynn was secretly surprised. If mages were pandas among Adventurers, then healing mages were pandas among pandas.

The original owner of this body had only read about them in books. This was his first time seeing a living, breathing healing mage.

She was a walking healing potion!

"Lynn Lowell. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Elaine."

Lynn was somewhat tempted. If he could build a good relationship with a healing mage, everything he did in the future would become much easier...

At that thought, Lynn put on a warm smile.

The two of them stood at the very edge of the fan-shaped formation, looking completely out of place beside the mages around them, who were constantly chanting spells and hurling magic.

Of course, those people were too busy earning their reward to pay any attention to Lynn and Elaine.

Only Gray at the front glanced back, and after confirming they had not moved more than ten meters away from him, he turned his attention back ahead.

Just then, a sharp screech suddenly rang out from the front. A Crystal Monster had taken the initiative to attack.

But with Gray, a three-star Adventurer, present, it had no chance of breaking through the group's formation.

Gray extended his left arm. A small round metal shield was strapped to it, and he slammed it into the Crystal Monster.

Though it could not deal any effective damage, the vast difference in strength left the monster firmly pinned beneath him.

"Attack!"

The moment his words fell, the male mage who had attacked first stepped forward two paces. He murmured for a moment, and a layer of lightning enveloped his right hand.

"Boom!" Under the fierce blow of the lightning claw, the Crystal Monster's body instantly shattered.

Gray rose to his feet and shook his numb left hand, saying with some displeasure, "Don't casually use lightning-element magic on metal objects next time!"

The mage's face reddened as he silently retreated.

Lynn recognized it as a first-circle spell. Its offensive power was indeed far stronger than a cantrip's.

Unfortunately, with the mana pools of low-level mages like them, they simply could not sustain that kind of mana expenditure. Including the cantrips they had cast earlier, they should have had little mana left.

This was the second awkward thing about being a mage: without mana, a mage could not even beat a slime.

Sure enough, after casting the first-circle spell [Lightning Claw], the male mage missed another Fire Arrow and fell completely silent.

If I remembered correctly, he only killed three Crystal Monsters, right? Lynn thought.

That was already considered good. The others had killed, at most, only two...

Noticing that the mages' firepower had clearly weakened, Gray understood that they must be running low on mana. He turned to the male mage behind him and asked, "Didn't you bring any Mana Potions?"

The recovery provided by a staff alone was nowhere near enough. Only Mana Potions could restore a large amount of mana in one go.

The male mage stammered for a long while before finally forcing out a few words. "Too... too expensive."

Even the lowest-grade Mana Potion cost twenty silver coins. Of course he could not bear to use one.

This was also why mages rarely became Adventurers—the return on investment was simply too low!

Gray's expression stiffened. A three-star Adventurer earned far more than a one-star Adventurer, and he had not worried over such a small amount of money in a long time.

But they had only killed six or seven Crystal Monsters so far. How were they supposed to complete the job like this?

The Orc warrior swept his cold gaze over the group, feeling that these mages were truly useless.

Then his eyes passed over the healing mage girl and landed on Lynn.

Had this kid been standing around without doing anything the whole time?

Lynn met his gaze and said with a smile, "Mr. Gray, I don't have much experience with missions, so I'm still not used to it. I was adapting just now."

"Then are you done adapting?" Gray sounded somewhat disdainful. As an experienced Adventurer, he could tell a lot from Lynn's appearance.

This kid was not professional at all. He did not even have a staff—what kind of mage was he?

He even pessimistically thought that if Lynn encountered unreliable teammates during future missions, he might very well die at the hands of monsters.

"Of course." Lynn nodded. "Please look after me, Mr. Gray. I'm still not familiar with using this spell. It requires focused control, so it's difficult for me to dodge attacks at the same time."

The only first-circle offensive spell he currently possessed was the [Frost Ring] granted by the system. Based on the knowledge that had come with it, it was a spell requiring continuous control, and the caster's body would be quite vulnerable while using it.

"Fine." Gray gave a brief reply.

Seeing Lynn act like this, the other three mages all looked somewhat disdainful.

Mages were indeed fragile, but casting a spell only took four or five seconds. Controlling spells was also basic training for mages. If one could not even manage that, what was the point of being a mage?

They had already decided that Lynn was a clueless rookie. He had been frightened stiff by a mere two-star monster and had done nothing for so long, yet now he was pretending to be calm.

The thought of him failing to cast even a first-circle spell under everyone's watchful eyes struck the three of them as rather ridiculous.

The capable male mage was just about to speak up and stop Lynn, lest he disgrace mages in front of the warrior.

Suddenly, the male mage's eyes widened.

To his astonishment, countless tiny ice crystals rapidly gathered in front of Lynn, radiating a rich aura of mana.

That amount of mana... was a first-circle spell!

Several seconds later, a ring formed of frost slowly revolved around Lynn in midair like an obedient pet.

The male mage's mouth slowly fell open. This was actually a concentration spell?

Unlike instant-cast spells, this type of spell could last for a considerable amount of time, but its mana consumption was equally astonishing.

It was practically a luxury item among spells.

Unless someone was born rich, a low-level mage's mana pool simply could not sustain this kind of spell for long.

"No, that's not right..." Beside the male mage, a small Halfling mage seemed to notice something. With an incredulous expression, he said, "Did he... not chant a spell just now?"

A spell without chanting!? Only then did the male mage realize it, and his eyes widened even further.

Chanting spells was the most common and basic method of casting magic, but it was not the only one.

It was just that the other methods were several times more difficult.

He gritted his teeth with difficulty, feeling that the magical talent he had always been proud of was utterly insignificant before Lynn.

But at least there was still room to catch up! The male mage silently encouraged himself. As long as he worked hard to earn money and enrolled in a magic academy someday, he would be able to learn even more profound magical knowledge...

"Crack, crack—"

He suddenly snapped back to his senses and looked toward Lynn again. Another ring of ice crystals had begun gathering beside him.

"Dual casting..."

The mages could no longer suppress their shock. Even their voices trembled faintly.

Not only them—even Lynn himself was deeply astonished.

This was his first serious attempt at casting magic since crossing over. He felt that mysterious power course through his body and even his soul, lifting his entire being to a new dimension.

It was a wondrous experience unlike anything he had ever known!

Thus, drawn by instinct, he unconsciously replicated what he had just done and actually cast a second Frost Ring!

"This is truly amazing. I completed the spell without even realizing it..."

[You spread magical knowledge among the crowd. "Wisdom" Inspiration acquisition progress: 1/3]

Lynn's eyes lit up. This was truly an unexpected gain.