Eli's Invitation

For the next two days, Lynn kept to a rhythm of work and rest, studying the second-ring spell "Day and Night Obscurity" in an orderly fashion.

A new ring-level spell was extremely difficult the first time one studied it. This meant he was stepping into an entirely new realm; once he grasped this knowledge, his mana pool would rise by a large margin, and the power with which he used magic would increase as well.

Lynn settled his mind and immersed himself fully in the mysteries of magic. Two days later, he finally learned "Day and Night Obscurity."

Feeling the mana surging within him, and that unprecedentedly broad field of vision, as though he had climbed to a higher floor, Lynn could not help letting out a long breath.

At the same time, the Codex of Origin appeared soundlessly, its pages turning.

[You have fully mastered "Darkness"]

The 2nd-ring [Darkness] was a Transmutation spell that could create an area of darkness that could not be dispersed by natural light.

For Lynn, who now possessed the Dark Elf inheritance's "Darkvision," this area of darkness had almost no effect on him. Instead, it had an extremely strong restraining effect on creatures that could not see in the dark.

In that case, all the spells required to unlock the Fusion Magic "Illusionary Aura" should have been gathered.

[Fusion Magic · Illusionary Aura unlock progress 4/4]

[Fusion materials: Dancing Lights; Faerie Fire; Darkness; Day and Night Obscurity]

[Effect: Freely manipulate light within a certain range]

[You have fully mastered "Illusionary Aura"]

Lynn closed his eyes, feeling the vast amount of knowledge pouring into his mind, and at the same time, like a scholar who had studied it for years, he understood it thoroughly.

When he opened his eyes again, a divine gleam seemed to flash through his clear black pupils, while the magical formula for "Illusionary Aura" was etched into his mind.

A few seconds later, the scene before his eyes underwent a strange change.

It was clearly evening, yet the orange-red light inside the room suddenly became as bright as noon. Then, under the control of his will, it instantly turned pitch-black, like midnight.

It really is a convenient spell... Immediately afterward, Lynn realized that the abnormality in his room might very well be noticed by passersby on the street opposite, and he cut off the spell at once.

He sat before his desk, lost in thought. Just what category did this "Illusionary Aura" belong to?

Transmutation, which "changed the original rules of things," and mental spells, which "controlled and interfered with the target's mind," both seemed somewhat fitting.

Perhaps because it was fused from multiple different types of magic, its traits were hard to classify all at once.

However, this sort of situation was also very common in the magical world. After all, magic itself was extremely profound, and people could only classify spells based on certain traits they used or displayed.

As research into magic continued to develop, a relatively rigorous method of classification gradually evolved.

In terms of function, magic was divided into eight categories: Evocation, Conjuration, mental, Necromancy, Transmutation, Divination, Abjuration, and Arcane.

Among them, the eighth category, Arcane, had only been proposed in the past ten years, and mainly referred to a type that cast spells with pure mana.

There was still considerable controversy in academic circles over this. For example, his 0-ring cantrip [Mana Wave] had always been classified under Transmutation, but quite a few scholars believed it fit the current definition of Arcane magic better.

Lynn had already decided that once he advanced to Initiate Mage, he would register [Frost Ring] and obtain the magic patent rights.

As for [Illusionary Aura], he intended to keep it hidden for the time being. After all, Fusion Magic was unheard of, and with his current weak strength, revealing it too early would only invite trouble.

At this thought, the corners of Lynn's lips lifted in a smile. He decided he would go to the Magic Association tomorrow for the Initiate Mage assessment; this would have no small impact on both his income and his status.

He looked out the window directly opposite his desk, relaxed his mood a little, and began admiring the tranquil beauty of dusk.

Several rows of Red-Branch Wutong Trees were planted along the street opposite, just at the time when their branches were lush and their leaves abundant.

When his gaze fell on those trees with crimson leaf veins and emerald-green leaves, he suddenly saw a little head quietly poking out from among the layers upon layers of foliage.

It was actually an owl with brown feathers.

The little fellow poked its head about among the leaves until it noticed Lynn's gaze.

It suddenly widened its eyes, tilted its head, then, as though struck by sudden realization, flew toward Lynn.

???

Lynn simply watched as it flapped its wings and flew straight in through the open window.

Between its two talons, it was tightly clutching an envelope made of brown parchment.

He took the letter from the little owl's claws and looked at it curiously as he asked, "Is this for me?"

Naturally, the other party would not answer him. After dropping off the letter, it flew away as if fleeing.

Lynn examined the envelope, and only when he saw the crest in the shape of a magic hawk stamped on the bright red sealing wax did he suddenly remember something.

He opened the envelope. After the white paper unfolded, lines of elegant handwriting leapt onto the page.

"Dear Mr. Lynn:

It has been many days since we last met. Have you missed me?

Under your guidance, I took a great step forward on the path of magic. Because of that, I successfully learned a second-ring spell and smoothly passed the Initiate Mage assessment.

Thanks to Charlotte's introduction, I successfully became a disciple under her teacher. Unlike other Mage Towers, the Green Tower reveres the ancient master-apprentice inheritance system. Teacher Farino is a very distinctive old man. When he does things, he moves like thunder and wind, with more ru—(crossed out) drive than many young people.

However, because Charlotte's beast transformation brought very serious side effects, she has been staying behind closed doors these past few days. I'm a little worried about her.

Oh right, I'll secretly tell you something huge! That evil Druid Rigel we encountered deep in the Whispering Forest was actually once Teacher Farino's disciple, Charlotte's junior apprentice brother!

I hardly dare think back to how Charlotte must have felt at that time, watching helplessly as her own classmate fell into depravity, and then being forced to kill him with her own hands!

Brown Star bless us! I hope no one I know ever suffers such a tragic fate!

No, all good people should not suffer such misfortune.

Ah, I'm getting further and further off topic... Actually, the reason I'm writing to you this time is to invite you to a banquet. There's something important I want to ask of you!

The time is the evening of Sunday, April 26.

Please be sure to come!

See you Sunday! Mr. Lynn!

Oh, I almost forgot. The address for the dinner is No. 10 Amber Street, Upper District, Roan City.

From your dear friend, Elaine Frey.

Written on Sunday, April 19, 993."

April 19? Wasn't that yesterday? I remember [Animal Messenger] is a second-circle spell, right? With the distance from Roan City to here, it should have arrived in an hour...

Lynn could not help suspecting that because Elaine had only just learned "Animal Messenger" and was not yet skilled enough, the little owl that had delivered the letter had gotten lost.

He shook his head with a smile, his gaze falling on the two words "Frey," thoughtful.

As he recalled, when Elaine introduced herself, she rarely took the initiative to mention her surname. After all, the Frey Family did not wish for its children to act ostentatiously under the family name.

In other words, this letter, which seemed relaxed in its wording, had been sent in the name of the "Frey" Family.

He casually picked up the envelope and glanced at it, only to find there was also a small card inside.

On the square card, half the size of a palm, a tall, thin human figure had been sketched in simple, clean strokes, then filled in with appropriate colors.

It was a young man dressed in a deep-blue formal suit. Although the face was completely blank, Lynn recognized him at a glance.

Wasn't this him...

He turned the card over and saw a line of small words Elaine had written on the back:

"I had a formal suit custom-made for you. It will be delivered to Iris Inn on April 23. Please keep an eye out. If it doesn't fit when you try it on, you can go to the tailor shop in Colin Town to have it altered..."

At the end, she had even thoughtfully left the address of the tailor shop in Colin Town.