Elrond Fao

Chapter 23: Elrond Fao

"Sis, why do you look so angry?"

Marina had just returned to the carriage compartment when her younger brother asked. She pouted and said indignantly, "Luo Ning is not a gentleman at all—he wouldn't even let me into his tent to rest!"

Young Malik glanced around. The space inside the carriage wasn't as spacious as a tent, but it was enough for the siblings to lie down and rest.

But soon, as the heir of the Green family, Malik understood what his sister meant, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Sis, Luo Ning only lost his right of inheritance because of Selena's death two days ago, and you still dare to enter his tent? Don't tell me you've read too many knight novels about heroes saving beauties, and now you want to sleep with him?"

"Hmph!"

Marina snorted unhappily. "Is that not allowed?"

Malik couldn't help but remind her, "Sis, don't forget, you're betrothed to Jamie of the Viscount Dennis family. It's fine to fool around with classmates at the academy, but don't get into Luo Ning's bed, or there might be trouble later!"

"I know, you talk too much!"

Marina rolled her eyes. "That fat bastard Jamie—just seeing his dead fish eyes makes me want to throw up!"

Malik rolled his eyes too. Who's calling who fat?

He lifted the window curtain to look at the night outside. "I'm really grateful to Baron Luo Ning for saving us this time."

"But I heard from classmates that he lost his right of inheritance, changed his surname, and was exiled to the remote Mountain Forest Town. I'm afraid life won't be easy for him from now on."

Meanwhile, Luo Ning lay on the carpet inside his tent, grinning and wincing as Chahar massaged him.

For the past few hours, he had been practicing with his sword, and now every muscle in his body was sore and swollen.

It wasn't that he had suddenly become so diligent—he was just using sword practice to avoid Marina's advances. But who would have thought the girl would actually sit there watching him for over three hours without leaving?

In the end, Luo Ning really couldn't swing the sword anymore. He tried to slip into his tent when she wasn't looking, but she still followed him, saying she wanted to come in and sit for a while.

Seeing Marina's attitude—like she had no intention of leaving once she sat down—how could Luo Ning dare let her in?

He had no interest in her, and besides, he had things to do at night...

In the end, Luo Ning had to refuse her head-on, which led her to call him ungentlemanly.

"Alright, Chahar, you can go rest too."

Feeling that the soreness in his body had eased considerably, Luo Ning told Chahar to stop. "Your technique is good. I feel much better."

Chahar stood up respectfully. "Then good night, Master. I'll be resting just outside. If you need anything, please call me."

After the manservant left, Luo Ning sat up and rotated his arms a couple of times.

"Girls from another world are way too direct!"

He shook his head and called up the system interface.

He didn't have to wait until midnight tonight, since midnight had already passed.

"Today is the seventh day. The check-in doesn't give attribute points automatically—instead, I get the 'Heartwarming Gift Box.'"

Luo Ning was curious what this Heartwarming Gift Box contained, so he opened it directly.

[Attribute Points +20, Energy Essence +20]

As expected... heartwarming, but not much.

It was about the same quality as the rewards he had designed back when he wrote the project proposal.

He glanced at his current attribute panel:

[Level]: 1 - Beginner Knight (100/100); 1 - Beginner Mage (25/150)+

[Attribute Points]: 50

[Energy Essence]: 220

This string of gains had been so plentiful that his Energy Essence had piled up to 220.

Luo Ning added the 50 attribute points to his Beginner Mage progress, and immediately felt his Mana Space expand again!

After the consumption from learning the Clear Wind Spell earlier, plus this new expansion, Luo Ning estimated he would need to spend quite some time re-refining his mana.

"Progress has increased to 75/150. I only need 75 more attribute points to break through to intermediate in both professions."

For ordinary people, going from beginner to intermediate—even for the slightly faster ones—took two to three years.

At Luo Ning's breakthrough speed, even the most top-tier geniuses would have to admit they were inferior.

After handling the attribute points, Luo Ning finally turned his attention to the Seven-Day Login Interface.

Today was the seventh day, and he could finally claim the Light Attribute Mage with the qualifications of a seventh-rank Archmage.

With a thought, he claimed the seventh-day reward, and the Seven-Day Login Interface turned into specks of light, dissipating from his vision.

From now on, only four interfaces remained before his eyes: Monthly Check-in, Attribute Panel, Achievement Master, and First Purchase Bonus.

Luo Ning guessed that after he completed the first purchase, he would be left with only the first three interfaces.

The moment his attention shifted from the dissipating interface, a magic array appeared on the ground before him, just like the one that had summoned Macken that day.

White light blazed brilliantly and dazzlingly. If the black tent hadn't been blocking the light, it would definitely have drawn the attention of those outside.

"This Summoning Magic Array is incredibly complex—even more intricate than the patterns on a Contract Scroll!"

Luo Ning exclaimed in amazement. With his current knowledge, having just barely touched the Spell Pattern of the Clear Wind Spell, he couldn't understand it at all.

The Spell Pattern of the Clear Wind Spell had only five nodes, and each node was connected by straight lines.

But the magic array before him was nothing like that. It had countless nodes, and if Luo Ning had to draw it, he didn't know where to start or where to end.

Beyond that, the paths between nodes in the Summoning Magic Array weren't straight lines. They had curves of varying arcs and folds at different angles—extremely complicated.

As he studied it intently, Luo Ning only felt dizzy, with a sharp, swelling pain rushing straight to his head.

How to describe this feeling? It was like an ordinary middle school student trying to deeply understand and derive the Fourier Transform Formula—completely overwhelmed.

Fortunately, a timely figure appeared and drew Luo Ning's attention. A slender man in a Sky Blue Robe materialized on the magic array.

He had gray-white hair that reached his shoulders. If not for his face, Luo Ning would have thought he was an old man.

In reality, he was quite young. Unlike Macken's burly, rugged build, this mage had a somewhat delicate appearance.

He placed his left hand on his chest and bowed to Luo Ning. "Elrond Fao greets you, Master. May light be with you!"

His tone was gentle, and the timbre of his voice made one feel inexplicably at ease.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mage Elrond!"

Luo Ning happily greeted this mage subordinate and briefly asked about his situation.

Simply put, in terms of past experiences, language, and writing, Elrond was the same as Macken.

The difference was that Elrond had some understanding of magical principles and how to craft Spell Scrolls.

Of course, this understanding wasn't very deep—roughly on par with Pedro's level.

Through Elrond, Luo Ning also confirmed one thing: the Purple Crystal obtained from Pedro was indeed a Magic Crystal Stone.

That meant for his First Purchase Bonus, he only needed to gather five more Magic Crystal Stones.

Next, Luo Ning asked how many spells Elrond currently mastered.

"Master, I currently know two spells: Flash Spell and Invigorate Spell."

Luo Ning's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Quick, show them to me!"

Elrond didn't refuse. He first extended a finger, and Luo Ning felt energy gathering at his fingertip.

He guessed that Elrond should be drawing a Spell Pattern.

"Master, this is the Flash Spell."

As Elrond's voice fell, a faint light flickered at his fingertip.

The light wasn't strong—like the desk lamp used during school days—but it could illuminate the tent brightly, much more than a candle.

Luo Ning raised an eyebrow. "This spell seems to do little more than light up the surroundings?"

Elrond nodded. "Indeed, but if my mana is sufficient later, I can increase its brightness to interfere with enemies."

Luo Ning gave a slight nod. The interference he mentioned should be something like a flashbang.

Elrond stopped demonstrating the Flash Spell and moved on to the second one.

This time, he aimed his palm at Luo Ning. As he cast the spell, a faint light fell upon Luo Ning.

In an instant, Luo Ning felt his entire body relax. The previous soreness was completely gone.

His eyes brightened, and he praised, "This spell's effect is excellent!"

Elrond continued, "When my mana is abundant, I can apply this spell to multiple people. It's said that powerful mages can use it to inspire an entire army!"

"Not bad!"

Luo Ning was very satisfied with this support spell, but he was a bit curious. "Don't Light Attribute mages have healing skills?"

In his impression, Light Attribute was always tied to the Church of Light and to healing the wounded.

Hearing this, Elrond shook his head. "Apologies, Master. I haven't mastered such a spell yet. Perhaps later, when my strength improves, I might come across it."

Luo Ning immediately thought of Macken, who had automatically mastered two combat skills when he advanced to Intermediate Knight. Maybe mages could do the same when leveling up.

"Wait a moment."

He focused his attention on the mage before him, and soon, Elrond's Attribute Panel appeared.

[Elrond Fao]: Beginner Mage (0/150)+

Luo Ning had accumulated 220 Energy Essences, enough to raise Elrond to Intermediate Mage.