Leaving?

[Summoning Lv0 "0/1"]

The system notification sounded, and An Kai nodded, signaling to Sally Bukelin that he had learned it.

Sally Bukelin was puzzled.

She still remembered spending an entire week learning the [Summoning] spell!

And she was the Bukelin Duchy's acknowledged genius mage!

Even a genius mage like her had needed a week to learn [Summoning]. Could An Kai, a mage from the Desert, really learn it in just a few hours?!

When she had first begun teaching An Kai, Sally Bukelin had even prepared to spend months on it.

He was a barbarian from the Desert. Even if An Kai possessed extraordinary talent, she did not believe he could master [Summoning] so quickly!

"Warrior Hanks, I'm not tired. I can keep going..." Sally Bukelin said tentatively.

"No need. I've already learned it." An Kai smiled and shook his head...

[Summoning] had already appeared on his system panel.

All he had to do now was allocate skill points to the [Summoning] spell with a thought.

Using skill points would give him the optimal way to cast the spell. That was far easier than burying himself in grueling practice...

Without further hesitation, An Kai willed it...

[Skill points -1]

[Summoning proficiency +1]

[Summoning Lv1 "1/10"]

He glanced at his remaining 18 skill points.

After a moment's thought, An Kai chose to use them all...

[Skill points -18]

[Summoning proficiency +18]

[Summoning Lv2 "19/20"]

After testing his grasp of it, he found that, like his other spells, he could still cast it instantly.

An Kai stood and moved to one side.

Under Sally Bukelin's puzzled gaze, he activated [Summoning] with a thought...

A Six-Pointed Star Array suddenly appeared beneath An Kai's feet, and magical elements rapidly gathered around it!

As Sally Bukelin, the Bukelin Duchy's genius mage, watched in astonishment, light flashed, and a summoned beast appeared beside An Kai!

[Magic Rabbit: Lv3]

It was half a meter long and snow-white all over, with two large front teeth that reached its chin.

Its eyes were bloodred and fierce. Only when it looked at its master, An Kai, did its gaze soften.

After a single glance, An Kai manifested the Freezing Spell without hesitation, shaping it into a sharp sword of ice...

Shhk!

Under the shocked gazes of Sally Bukelin and Will-Bukelin, he pierced the [Magic Rabbit]...

With practiced movements, he skinned it, slit its belly open, and extracted a Magic Core...

Holding it in his hand, he silently commanded it to be exchanged!

[Skill points +1]

Without hesitation, he chose to put it into [Summoning] as well...

[Summoning Lv2 "20/20"]

An Kai thought, It really works!

He was about to use Summoning again when an understanding came to him...

Apparently, [Summoning] had a cooldown. He would have to wait roughly 24 hours before using it again.

"Ha... Hanks... was that... the [Summoning] spell you just used?"

An Kai looked up and saw Sally Bukelin staring at him in shock.

And she had even asked such a stupid question...

"Yes." An Kai felt that Sally Bukelin really was an idiot.

How could she even ask something like that?

Sally Bukelin and Will-Bukelin's reactions puzzled him. Hadn't he just used [Summoning] once?

What was so shocking about that?

It wasn't just Sally Bukelin. Will-Bukelin was acting the same way.

His mouth was open so wide that a fist could easily fit inside...

Little did An Kai know!

An Kai's casual actions had shocked the siblings as much as hearing, right then and there, that the king of the Bukelin Duchy had come back to life!

As the person who had taught him [Summoning], Sally Bukelin had never imagined anyone could learn this spell in mere hours!

And he could even cast it instantly!

Even more terrifyingly, he had succeeded on his first attempt and summoned a beast whose level was higher than his own!

All of this defied Sally Bukelin's understanding!

Her title of "genius mage" seemed like a joke in the face of An Kai's performance.

What shocked Sally Bukelin and Will-Bukelin most was the level of the beast An Kai had summoned!

Lv3!

Tier One, third stage!

That already exceeded An Kai's Tier One, first-stage strength!

Though they could hardly believe it, the detector did indeed show An Kai as being at Tier One, first stage!

The Bukelin Duchy's Mage Association had reached a consensus regarding the [Summoning] spell.

It could only summon beasts one full tier below the caster.

For example, Sally Bukelin, who was at Tier Three, had summoned a Tier Two [Typhon Giant]!

At that moment, Sally Bukelin carefully reviewed An Kai's actions throughout their journey.

She suddenly realized that An Kai's talent far exceeded her earlier estimates!

If she was a genius mage of the Bukelin Duchy, then An Kai...

Do the kingdom's genius mages have talent as great as Hanks's?

Sally Bukelin pondered this, comparing An Kai to a genius mage of the kingdom she had once met.

Within seconds, Sally Bukelin had to admit that An Kai's talent far surpassed that of the kingdom's genius mage!

Never mind anything else. Just his ability to cast spells instantly!

That alone put him ahead of countless mages who called themselves "geniuses"!

Having realized this, Sally Bukelin felt a powerful conviction take hold: An Kai's talent was wasted in the Desert!

If she brought him to the outside world, Sally Bukelin believed that, given time, An Kai could grow into the Bukelin Duchy's guardian!

Of course, all of that depended on An Kai being willing to leave with her...

"Warrior Hanks, have you ever considered leaving this place?"

Unable to suppress her thoughts, Sally Bukelin blurted out the question in a daze.

"Leaving?"

"Hahaha!"

For a moment, An Kai felt as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

Here in the Desert, he had food, drink, and resources.

There weren't so many rules restricting him, either. Why would he leave?!

Besides, the Mage Tower was still waiting for him to conquer it!

And if he left, where would he go?

To the Bukelin Duchy's capital, to get involved in these princes and princesses' civil war?

Or plunge alone into an unfamiliar country?

That was why An Kai found Sally Bukelin's question so laughable.

Besides, who did she think she was?

Did she think her pretty face was enough to make him pledge his loyalty?

An Kai laughed, his laughter full of mockery and disdain.

"Stay here and don't move. I'm going to take care of something."

Once he had finished laughing, An Kai left them with that instruction and headed out of the Oasis.

This time, he did not leave a Fireball behind to confine Sally Bukelin, because he had already decided to let her go.

He did have principles, after all...

Yet as An Kai simply walked away, Sally Bukelin felt an emptiness inside.

"Warrior Hanks, aren't you going to protect me with your fire anymore?"

For some inexplicable reason, Sally Bukelin asked that question.

The instant the words left her mouth, she felt her face flush, burning hot...

Hearing Sally Bukelin's words, An Kai waved a hand without looking back and continued walking out of the Oasis...

This time, he was going to inspect his gains...

Thanks to Zombie Juti, Zunti, and Xuyang for the monthly tickets.