[Third update, bonus chapter for forty monthly votes! During the double-vote period, please keep voting!]
"Mentor Leo!"
Merlin stood outside the door and called out loudly.
"Come in."
Leo's voice came from within, and Merlin pushed open the door and entered.
"Mentor Leo, may I ask why you summoned me?"
After entering Leo's room, Merlin bowed slightly, then raised his head and asked in confusion.
Leo's two hollow, deathly gray eyes were still chilling. Fortunately, Merlin had seen them several times already and could barely meet his gaze.
Buzz.
Leo did not answer. Instead, he waved a hand, and dense runes appeared across the wall behind him. Merlin could clearly see a scene within the runes—it was the scene of him killing the silver-haired old man in the cave.
"This..."
Merlin's heart tightened as he stared intently at Leo's nightmare-like face.
"Hehe, Merlin, there's no need to be nervous. The Gray-Robed Mages in the Mission Hall gave this to me. One of my students has become a Six-Element Spellcaster, so naturally those Gray-Robed Mages had to let me know."
Leo seemed to see through Merlin's thoughts at a glance. He barely managed to reveal a "smile," but Leo's "kind smile" looked even uglier than crying, making Merlin's scalp tingle.
"It was only luck..."
Merlin lowered his head and spoke softly.
"This was not luck. Those Gray-Robed Mages all said that since you had constructed six Zero-Level Spells, you had already given up on yourself and would no longer think of becoming a First-level Spellcaster!"
"But I see things differently. Not only will you not give up on yourself, you will instead do everything in your power to construct First-Level Spells and become the only Six-Element Mage in the Dark Spirit Domain in hundreds of years. Am I right?"
Leo's expression