Happy to Help

At that moment, the middle-aged examinee was taking his test with the staff member's cooperation.

He chanted the incantation steadily, but the farther he got, the slower he became, looking as if it took him tremendous effort.

Only after a dozen seconds did he wave his staff and condense a sheet of illusory light, which grew brighter and brighter.

Then, the light in the room seemed to be gathered toward his staff, as though its color had been stripped away.

Is this the second-circle Transmutation magic, [Light Gathering Spell]? Its manifestation is quite stage-worthy, but it lacks staying power... Lynn commented inwardly.

Sure enough, before the illusory light could fully take shape, it abruptly shattered. Immediately afterward, the light in the room returned to normal, while the man gasped for breath in great heaves.

The staff member raised his left hand, and the sapphire on his index finger glowed. Then the magic array engraved into the ceiling lit up, absorbing all the surging magic power.

Lynn's eyes lit up. Could it be that they replenish magic power through this method? This design is rather ingenious.

"Very regrettable, Mr. Black." The staff member walked up and patted the middle-aged examinee on the shoulder, seeming quite familiar with him.

Black said dejectedly, "It's been three months. The spiritual knowledge recorded in this [Light Gathering Spell] magic book is about to dissipate. Looks like I have no chance of learning it..."

Generally speaking, aside from magic books made with special methods that could be preserved long-term, most magic books would expire after several years, or even several months.

Moreover, during the process of reading a magic book, the reader would also continuously draw out the spiritual knowledge contained within it. This also meant that once a magic book was opened, its contents would become incomplete and could no longer be transferred to someone else.

If one still could not truly master the magic before the magical knowledge recorded spiritually in the magic book had completely dissipated, one would need to purchase the magic book again.

And the price of second-circle magic was not something just anyone could afford.

Judging by the clothing and appearance of this man called Black, he did not count as wealthy.

Lynn could not help feeling regret for him, but this was also the fate of most ordinary people who chose to set foot on the path of magic.

A road of gambling filled with unknowns and risks, costly, and enormously draining on one's energy.

At this moment, old Adolph stood up and beckoned to Black, signaling for him to come over.

"Mr. Adolph, I'm sorry you had to see me make a fool of myself again..." Black had not yet pulled himself out of his despondency, and he forced out a smile with effort. His somewhat graying temples revealed even more bitterness.

"Don't be anxious. There's still a chance." Adolph revealed a withered hand from beneath his loose sleeve and patted the man's shoulder, comforting him:

"Our Blue Tower has no age limit for recruiting members, unlike the White Tower. They only accept young people under thirty-five."

Barton gave a cold snort of anger when he heard that, while Lynn could not help twitching the corner of his mouth.

He can actually badmouth someone to their face like this? Still, I did gain another bit of knowledge.

The White Tower pursued innovation, so they definitely liked dealing with young people, and young people were more energetic, able to endure hardship and toil, making it precisely the best time for burying their heads in research.

They wouldn't also have performance evaluations or something, would they? Lynn felt his liver faintly aching.

Black gave a bitter smile when he heard this, nodded to the others, and said to Adolph, "Then I'll head back first and make the most of my time, before the magic book loses effect..."

His voice grew weaker and weaker. He shook his head and prepared to leave.

Lynn finally could not hold himself back. He spoke up and stopped him. "Mr. Black, I wonder if you could give me a few minutes to exchange some thoughts on using magic?"

Black stopped and looked at this young man with a face full of youthful immaturity in confusion, only feeling that he was the sort of newcomer who had just grasped one or two zero-circle tricks and had come to take the Apprentice Mage assessment.

But as a mage, he was naturally a little more alert than ordinary people. When he saw old Barton standing beside Lynn, he immediately felt that this young man's identity must not be simple.

As for that blond, blue-eyed youth in formal attire and leather shoes, Black had not really seen him before.

"No problem. My name is Black. How should I address you?"

"Just call me Lynn." Lynn did not want to waste too much time in front of the Magic Association's managers, so he went straight to the point:

"Mr. Black, I witnessed the entire process of you casting the 'Light Gathering Spell' just now. Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but you do not seem to understand the meaning of this magic."

From the way he chanted the incantation, one could tell that he was merely repeating it mechanically, like a student who had learned a text by rote.

This method might still barely be usable for zero-circle and first-circle spells, but the higher the circle of the magic, the higher its requirement for understanding the knowledge itself.

This kind of understanding was not about completely clarifying its operating principles like a scientist, sorting out its source, composition, and manner of operation thread by thread and strand by strand.

Rather, it was about understanding what method one should use to guide magic power and pry at the laws of nature, thereby achieving the magical effect one wanted.

For example, with [Darkness Spell], Lynn's understanding of it was "to completely expel the light within an area," thereby achieving the effect of creating darkness.

From this perspective, this magic was more like a "Light Expulsion Spell."

Black's expression became somewhat stiff when he heard Lynn's words.

He was actually a teacher at the town's middle school. After so many years of teaching and educating others, it had always been him who educated other people, and it had been a very long time since someone had pointed out his faults in public—not to mention being treated this way by a child.

In spite of himself, his words carried a bit of force. "Then what do you say I should do?"

The other four also turned their gazes toward Lynn one after another, waiting for what he would say next.

Among them, Barton and Adolph were quite interested. They had already witnessed Lynn's magical talent earlier, so naturally they also believed that he had his own unique insights into understanding magic. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to reach this level at such a young age.

As for that staff member, he was somewhat similar to Luke—confused, puzzled, and full of curiosity, while also feeling that Lynn's words were too direct and not tactful enough, making him seem extremely rash.

Together with his age, he was simply a wet-behind-the-ears brat whose head easily heated up and who loved gaining the advantage of the tongue!

Therefore, as someone familiar with Black, the staff member subconsciously carried a slightly provocative look in his eyes, hoping that Lynn would be stumped by Black and properly taught a lesson.

Lynn, however, replied calmly and unhurriedly, "Personally, I believe magic is not an act that can be achieved simply by memorizing incantations. It is more like a performance, except it pays great attention to 'principles.' Of course, these principles do not need to be too rigorous. They only need to convince oneself to complete the performance and satisfy the audience."

Principles, performance... It was not only Black; everyone present froze in expression when they heard this, as if lost in thought.

They had all been steeped in magic for many years, yet they had rarely heard of such a theory.

Light flowed through old Adolph's eyes as he looked at Lynn, feeling that this theory of his was extremely similar to a certain school in the Blue Tower. It was just that this school was very mysterious, and even he did not understand it deeply...

Black frowned and pondered for a moment, unable to figure it out, then asked instinctively, "Mr. Lynn, could you explain in detail? What exactly is the principle behind magic?"

Lynn immediately shook his head and said, "Getting tangled up in the principle is meaningless. The key is how to 'design the principle.' If people like us could figure out what the essence of magic is, then those scholars who have worked hard for thousands of years would have figured it out long ago."

What he was thinking, however, was that magic in this world was so fantastical that casually taking out any one example to his previous life would be enough to overturn the entire scientific community. How could an ordinary corporate drone like him possibly understand it?

Of course, not understanding had its own methods.