A Mother's Gaze

Orendo had not studied medicine or biology in his previous life. The only experience related to dissection he could remember was from his childhood in the countryside, when he and his friends had used little knives to cut open pitiful toads.

During the procedure, Orendo himself was actually a little dazed. At first, he had relied entirely on the Eye of Truth's guidance before he dared make the first cut.

Perhaps his personality really was suited to being a mage, or perhaps he simply liked using knives.

Later on, he took the initiative himself, while the Eye of Truth became a passive assistant. He meticulously broke down an entire demon imp into over a hundred pieces of varying sizes—limbs, organs, and even its green blood, which he collected in a bottle that had somehow appeared at his side.

This dissection, which lasted more than a gnomish mechanical hour, gave him a thorough understanding of the internal structure of a demon imp's body.

At the same time, the Eye of Truth continued to issue reminders:

[Analysis detected: the demon imp's pulmonary organs have been fel-corrupted. Hypothesis: this allows it to survive in the void.]

[Analysis detected: the demon imp's blood possesses extremely strong corrosive properties. Hypothesis: this is the power of fel.]

[Analysis detected: the demon imp's eyes contain abundant energy-rich fluid. Hypothesis: after removing fel's influence, they may be an excellent ingredient for magical cooking.]

[Analysis detected: demon imp...]

[...]

He had benefited greatly.

Hmm... he had also found the edible part of an imp—its eyeballs.

Finally, Orendo sorted the demon imp's now-component-like remains by category, put away his tools, and arranged everything neatly.

Only then did he look at the female mage, who had remained motionless throughout and merely watched him work, and softly said, "I have not failed your expectations. The work is complete."

She nodded.

Without making any other move, black holes resembling whirlpools appeared above the operating table and the immobilized, trembling imp.

The room was suddenly left with only her and the tense Orendo. It was empty, with nothing else remaining.

"Passable," she said. "Remember this. From now on, go to the library during the day. Return at night."

Orendo was stunned at first. He was delighted inwardly, but soon felt somewhat troubled.

He was delighted because he could already tell that the female mage had no intention of making things difficult for him. She even seemed inclined to teach him.

What troubled him was... he said, "My lady, I would also very much like to continue reading in the library, but I have finished all the books on the first floor. The second floor is only accessible after becoming a formal mage. I may not be able to go up there anytime soon."

"Take this." She suddenly tossed out a small object. It glittered as it flew toward Orendo, and the young Viscount Severosa hurriedly caught it.

Looking closely, he found that it was a bright silver button.

"Pin it to your clothes. It will allow you to enter and leave the Dalaran Grand Magic Library freely."

Orendo was instantly overjoyed.

[Detected...]

[Likely made of mithril, enchanted with at least two magical effects.]

[This is a magical creation beyond the host's current level.]

Even the Eye of Truth said so. There was no doubt that this was an exceptionally valuable item.

Orendo immediately wanted to thank her.

But he saw the female mage, who had shown little expression until now, reveal a faintly mocking smile. Yet it did not seem to be directed at him.

"The third wave." He heard her murmur softly.

"A big one has come... tsk, tsk... this is getting more and more interesting. But this is good too. Experimental material delivered right to my door—before, I couldn't catch them even if I wanted to."

"May I ask your name?" Orendo gathered his courage and tried to thank her, but before he could finish, she waved her hand and her figure gradually faded.

"Remember to read. Remember to return at night."

After saying that, she vanished completely in the time it took to blink.

The empty room was suddenly left with Orendo alone.

He silently opened his mouth, then swallowed the words he had wanted to say but never finished.

The next day.

Dalaran Grand Magic Library.

Second floor.

Orendo held several tomes that only formal mages were permitted to read.

Compared to the first floor, the second floor and above contained fewer books, but their contents were more profound, more complex, and more dangerous.

For instance, he was currently reading The Branch Method of Applying Time-Reversal Travel Theory to Precise Magical Practice, a paper written by Archmage Antonidas, the youngest member in the history of the Dalaran Council.

It was hard to imagine that Archmage Antonidas had been only twelve years old when he wrote this paper...

Using the most complex school of time and space magic as its starting point, the paper extrapolated the dangers posed by other schools of spells during casting and proposed ways to reduce those dangers.

As mentioned before, the study of magic was broadly divided into researching magical principles, spellcasting, creation, and several other aspects. Dissection was one part of researching magical principles.

Spellcasting, meanwhile, was an important means by which mages displayed their power. It was a magnificent yet delicate art.

In the eyes of the public, this step was even the reason mages were called mages.

How long would it take an apprentice attempting to step through the threshold of the Arcane Temple to complete the most basic offensive spell?

The answer was: not a short time.

Without the Eye of Truth's help, the Fireball Orendo had attempted to cast back then might have taken five or six minutes to form.

Even now, without the Eye of Truth's assistance, he would need about a minute to complete the entire casting process for Fireball.

That was already considered excellent.

Nielas Aran had said that in Stormwind, anyone who could squeeze out a Fireball within half a gnomish mechanical hour could be considered a mage...

Nielas Aran himself still needed two minutes to form a Fireball. Even without the Eye of Truth, Orendo could be considered a genius.

Not to mention that with the Eye of Truth's assistance, the process had been shortened to less than ten seconds!

That was because spellcasting truly was a difficult technique to master, a magnificent but dangerous technique.

The danger here did not apply only to enemies. It was equally dangerous to mages themselves.

Every year in Dalaran, mages suffered backlash from failed spells. They ended up in miserable states, and some even lost their lives.

For example... when using teleportation spells, some succeeded in teleporting their bodies but failed to send their limbs and heads along with them, dying on the spot.

Even with a Light Spell like the one Orendo had cast last night, there had been mages in history who failed their casting and created a blindingly bright flash, only to blind themselves.

In The Branch Method of Applying Time-Reversal Travel Theory to Precise Magical Practice, one of the solutions proposed by the then twelve-year-old Antonidas was to use time magic as a buffer against such spellcasting dangers.

It was a difficult yet bold idea. This was the section Orendo found especially engrossing, because he remembered that the mage players in the game from his previous life had all been skilled at time reversal to unleash bursts of damage...

He was too absorbed.

It was not until the Eye of Truth warned him that he realized someone else had come nearby.

[Host, a gaze has remained fixed on you for three minutes from the eleven o'clock direction to your left. Please be aware...]

Only then did Orendo turn his head.

He saw a graceful female elf standing not far away, looking at him with a very strange expression.

Hmm... how strange was it?

He felt that her gaze was like the look his mother used to give him when watching him study in his previous life!

At that thought, Lord Severosa's heart skipped a beat, and he stared intently at the breathtakingly beautiful female elf.

Holy shit!

Still asking for votes!