You're a Magical Genius

"Knock, knock, knock!" Han Shuo stood outside Fanny's room and knocked on the door.

"Is that you, Brian? Come in." Fanny's languid voice drifted from inside.

When Han Shuo pushed the door open and entered, he saw Fanny's damp, pale-purple hair clinging to her fair neck, with a few crystalline droplets still hanging on her lovely face. She had clearly just bathed. A soft white robe wrapped her body, exposing a small patch of milky-white skin at her chest, and she held a towel in her delicate hands, drying her hair.

The room was simply furnished. Steam drifted out of the open bathroom at the back, spreading its warmth. Fanny sat upright beside a curved table, her bright eyes rippling like clear water as they swept over Han Shuo.

"Teacher Fanny, what did you want to see me about?" Han Shuo glanced around the room, then felt his heart stir at her captivating beauty. His expression, however, remained simple and honest, even a little timid.

"What about? Hmph, you were very bold on that warhorse today. I always thought you were timid and cowardly, Brian. To think that once lust took hold, you could do something that really made me see you in a new light!" Fanny scrutinized Han Shuo, giving a soft snort as she spoke with a frown.

Here it comes, Han Shuo thought, his expression growing even more innocent. He scratched his head, first holding his breath until his face flushed red, then drawing a deep breath and lowering his head to say quietly, "I'm sorry, Teacher Fanny. You're so beautiful, and you were so close to me on the horse. I didn't even know what was happening. I simply couldn't control myself. I was wrong. Please punish me, Teacher Fanny."

Smack!

Fanny angrily slammed a hand onto the table. Han Shuo recoiled two steps in "horror," looking at her with a timid, frightened expression.

"Damn it, you violated me! Do you understand?" Fanny glared fiercely at him, keeping her sharp rebuke low.

Han Shuo nodded meekly and said with a guileless expression, "I was wrong, Teacher Fanny. I'll take responsibility!"

"Ha! You'll take responsibility? How? Can you afford to?" At his words, Fanny laughed in fury, staring at him as she giggled, though there was no smile on her lovely face.

"Uh... then whatever you say goes. I'm entirely at your mercy!" Convinced that Fanny probably would not do much to him, Han Shuo sighed helplessly and spoke with an honest, earnest expression.

Now Fanny no longer knew how to deal with him. In her view, Han Shuo probably had not done it deliberately, and she herself had told him to mount the warhorse. Although that mishap had occurred, he could hardly be called heinously guilty. He was only a lowly errand boy, and deciding how to punish him really was rather difficult.

Seeing Fanny's brows draw together as she struggled to decide what to do with him, Han Shuo had an idea and suddenly said, "Teacher Fanny, didn't you say I was your experimental subject? Lately, I really have felt that something is wrong with my body, and there's something strange going on in my head, too. A couple of days ago, I heard Lisa reciting the Bone Arrow incantation. I tried reciting it myself, and I actually cast a Bone Arrow."

At these words, Fanny, who had been frowning in thought, started in surprise. She immediately looked at Han Shuo with delighted astonishment and said excitedly, "Really? Is everything you said true? Could you try casting Bone Arrow for me?"

Han Shuo knew Fanny was engrossed in necromancy and extremely curious about his physical condition. He also understood that he could not remain at Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts forever as a mere errand boy, so he took this opportunity to change her image of him a little at a time.

Sure enough, upon hearing about the unusual changes in his body, Fanny immediately forgot about deciding how to deal with him and temporarily focused all her attention on this matter.

"Of course!" Han Shuo smiled slightly, raised both hands, and recited softly, "Endless darkness, become a Shatterbone Arrow. By my will, destroy all before me. Bone Arrow!"

As the incantation ended, a sharp bone arrow suddenly appeared in the empty air before Han Shuo. Following his gesture, it flew toward the wooden wall beside him. Halfway there, however, it began wobbling off course before finally shattering with a crack.

"No, no. The incantation was right, but your casting gestures were completely wrong. When you raise your right hand, you should move it slowly upward. Your left hand shouldn't move in unison with your right." Fanny began instructing him out of habit, then suddenly realized what had happened. She gasped, staring at Han Shuo in shock, her lovely body trembling with excitement as she cried out, "Oh, heavens! You actually-you really can cast necromancy!"

"Y-yes. I don't know why, either. By the way, Teacher Fanny, could you explain the proper casting gestures to me in detail?" Han Shuo laughed inwardly as he addressed her with a puzzled expression.

"Of course!" Fanny was truly excited. She tossed her towel aside and strode over to Han Shuo on her long, lovely legs, beginning to explain everything carefully.

"Like this, like this-is this right?"

"Raise your hand a little higher. Keep your Mental Power concentrated. Don't relax it at all. Yes, that's the gesture. Mm, move your left hand a little slower. Cast it again and let me see."

"Endless darkness, become a Shatterbone Arrow. By my will, destroy all before me. Bone Arrow!"

Han Shuo recited the incantation. This time, after the bone arrow appeared, it flew in exactly the right direction, but just before reaching the wooden wall, it suddenly shattered again.

"Brian, your Mental Power! Pay attention to your Mental Power. You mustn't relax it at all. Only once the Bone Arrow has fully succeeded can you relax completely. Otherwise, it will burst apart halfway there. Try again."

"Endless darkness, become a Shatterbone Arrow. By my will, destroy all before me. Bone Arrow!"

As the incantation ended, the bone arrow shot forward as fast as lightning, never veering off course, and flew straight at the wooden wall. With a muffled thud, it pierced the wood and vanished from sight.

"Oh, heavens! Brian, you're a genius! You're absolutely a magical genius! I only guided you twice, and you've already successfully cast Bone Arrow. Ordinary students need one to three months to master this spell completely. You're incredible!" Fanny was utterly stunned by Han Shuo. She cried out and gesticulated wildly, looking excited beyond measure.

"Damn it, who's firing magic around? You nearly hit me! Huh? Brian? Teacher Fanny? Brian, why are you in Teacher Fanny's room?" Suddenly, Lisa's startled voice came from next door. One of her eyes peered through the broken hole as she cried out in surprise.

"It's nothing, nothing. I asked Brian here to practice Bone Spike Magic. Go to bed early, Lisa. We won't disturb you again." Fanny hurried over to the hole and said this with a light laugh. Before Lisa could speak again, she picked up the towel she had just tossed aside and plugged the hole.

Turning to look at Han Shuo in amazement, Fanny walked briskly toward him and said, "Stand still. Let me examine your body and see just what's going on."

"All right," Han Shuo answered calmly with a smile, thinking that he had only spent ten days or so mastering Bone Arrow in total. Judging by what Fanny had said, perhaps he really did have a talent for practicing magic.

"Hm? What's that strange smell?" Fanny had walked up beside Han Shuo and was about to examine his physical condition when she suddenly wrinkled her straight, delicate nose and asked in puzzlement.

Han Shuo froze, then abruptly understood. He looked down at his lower body in embarrassment and said with a troubled expression, "My room doesn't have a bathroom. I haven't washed, so there's still a lingering smell."

At these words, Fanny's lovely face reddened. She glared fiercely at Han Shuo and muttered, "Filthy." Then she pointed toward the open bathroom in her room and urged him with a frown, "The water's still warm. Hurry up and wash that dirty thing of yours!"

It really was still "flowing down." Even now, Han Shuo could feel traces of sticky liquid seeping uncontrollably from the slit below. Fanny's words suited him perfectly. The stickiness down there really was uncomfortable, so he cheerfully walked straight into the bathroom she had just used.

Inside the bathroom was a simple circular bathing pool, its warm water giving off steam. On a rack beside it lay several pieces of Fanny's sexy underwear. Just one glance at those tiny scraps of silk, thin as cicada wings, made Han Shuo feel as though another fire had suddenly risen from his groin.

Just as Han Shuo was staring fixedly at Fanny's discarded intimate garments with a burning gaze, she suddenly rushed in from the outer room. Looking embarrassed and flustered, she gathered them up. When she turned and saw his eyes looking almost ready to spout flames, she gave a soft spit of disapproval and muttered, "Despicable." She pinched his back hard before leaving with hurried, flustered steps.

Han Shuo stripped and lay in the circular pool. Breathing in the lingering fragrance Fanny had left in the bathroom and feeling the bathwater she had used, he found the moment wonderful beyond words and simply did not want to leave.

Han Shuo spent a long time bathing. Only after Fanny had urged him several times from outside did he casually wash his underpants and walk out of the bathroom with them clenched in his hand.

"It's getting late. I won't examine your body today. Hurry up and leave." Once Han Shuo emerged, Fanny spoke lightly, feigning calm as though nothing had happened.

Han Shuo nodded with a guileless grin and cheerfully headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave, Fanny suddenly called softly, "Brian!"

Turning to give Fanny a puzzled look, Han Shuo scratched his head and asked innocently, "What is it?"

"Nothing. It's just that you don't seem mad or dim-witted at all!" Fanny scrutinized him as she spoke in a peculiar tone.

"Sometimes my head hurts, and I don't know what's happening, but as long as I'm not provoked, everything is normal." Han Shuo's heart jolted. After answering, he hurried out of Fanny's room with a guilty conscience.