In the year 9991 of the Yulan Calendar, Linley was attending classes at Ernst Institute.
Linley listened absentmindedly, while Delia next to him listened very attentively, and even Little Bebe poked his head out of his breast pocket, seemingly enjoying it.
Because this was a music lesson, and the teacher was Monica.
"Monica, really, she's from Saint-level, yet she has to be a teacher, and a music teacher at that," Linley thought to himself.
Linley met Monica shortly after the end of the grade-level competition, after defeating that Land.
At the time, Linley was practicing stone carving in the back mountain under Doehring Cowart's guidance when Monica approached him and offered to teach him Wind Element magic.
As a music teacher at Ernst Institute, Monica publicly claims to be only Sixth-level Magus, but with Doehring Cowart's reminder, Linley knows that this music teacher is a Saint-level.
Linley was naturally thrilled to Saint-level as his teacher, but the price was that he couldn't skip any music classes from now on.
Doehring Cowart dared not reveal his physical form in front of Monica, but that did not prevent the two from communicating through their souls.
"Linley, don't underestimate Monica, especially since her singing is quite profound!" Doehring Cowart said in a very serious tone.
"Grandpa Doehring, you used to say you were a master stone sculptor, how come you're interested in music now?"
"Knowing too much about your current strength won't be good for your future development. But I'm warning you, judging from the strength of your Divine Power, although Monica is only level nine, her mastery of Wind Element magic is definitely not shallow. Even when I was at my peak, I would have to take that singing voice seriously!" Doehring Cowart didn't want Linley to get involved in the Profound Mysteries too early, so he could only give him a stern warning.
Linley suppressed his dissatisfaction and listened attentively to Monica's singing.
Monica's music lessons were unique; she would simply hum melodious songs without accompaniment or sheet music. But this unusual approach attracted many music-loving students, and even people from outside the school would come to audit her classes.
Music classes are electives at the college, but Monica's classes are always packed.
Ernst Institute has strict examinations for its magic courses, stipulating that those who fail to reach level six within a certain number of years will be expelled; however, there are no such restrictions for some art, humanities, and history courses.
This was Linley's second time attending Monica's music lesson, and the first time he had truly settled down to listen attentively.
Gradually, Linley felt himself falling into a light sleep.
By the time I regained consciousness, the class had ended a few minutes earlier, and the people in the audience gradually came to their senses.
Monica has already left, which is typical of her teaching style. If she didn't leave soon, the students and people from outside the school would surround her, and some might even confess their feelings directly!
"Listening to Monica sing is always a treat!" Delia exclaimed.
Unlike Linley, Delia was very interested in music and had been attending Monica's class since she enrolled. After discovering that Linley was also in the class, Delia used her status to save a seat for Linley.
Of course, even if she didn't save a seat for Linley, Monica would still assign him a seat.
"Yes, Ms. Monica actually incorporated magic into her singing. I feel she's definitely more than Sixth-level Magus!" Dixie chimed in. He was next to Delia and also attended the music lesson.
Linley looked at Dixie with a puzzled expression. "I'm actually surprised that you would spend time in music class, Dixie."
Dixie said, "Monica's singing can soothe the soul. I always feel mentally exhausted after meditation, but listening to her singing helps me recover. Now I skip my usual Lightning Element classes that conflict with this class every week, and come here specifically to listen to Monica's singing."
Linley nodded in surprise. Since learning the Flat Blade Style stone carving, he had rarely meditated, so he couldn't feel the effect of Monica's singing.
However, he does feel much clearer-headed now.
"Monica's class is only once a week, Linley, remember to come! I'll save you a seat," Delia said playfully with a smile.
"Yes, I'll come."
After saying goodbye to Delia and her brother, Linley went to the back mountain, the place he had arranged to meet Monica.
"That Delia has a crush on you, you'd better seize the opportunity," Monica said as Linley approached.
Linley looked helplessly at Monica, who was sitting on a tree branch, acting like a young girl.
"Ms. Monica, Delia and I are just friends."
Monica shook her head. "No, I'm very good at sensing things. I can tell from her movements, heartbeat, and breathing when she talks to you that she definitely likes you. Of course, her feelings aren't that strong yet."
"Teacher, you were singing the whole time, and then you left right after class. How could you know what our conversation was like?" Linley retorted with his limited analytical skills.
Monica could not deny it.
This was Doehring Cowart's voice coming from the Coiling Dragon Ring: "She should be Saint-level expert specializing in perception. I used to know a Wind Element Saint Magus who had a similar ability; he could sense the movements and physical condition of all creatures within a kilometer and judge whether they were hostile."
Linley stood there dumbfounded after hearing this; at such a young age, he simply did not have the ability to fathom the realm of the Saint-level.
Monica's voice broke Linley's awkward silence. "Alright, last time I checked your Wind Element skills; you only know one spell, Wind Blade. Today I'll officially teach you a brand new spell, Wind of Perception."
"Wind of Perception? Isn't that something only a level three mage can use?" Linley had thought Monica would teach him the level two configuration of Wind Blade.
Even within the same type of magic, each level has slight differences. Linley's previous use of Wind Blade was a first-level magic configuration, but now that he is a second-level mage, he needs to use a second-level configuration to unleash its maximum power.
Among the first and second level Wind Element magic, there is only Wind Blade.
"Initially, I had relatively low talent for Wind Element magic. Later, I became engrossed in music and unexpectedly gained inspiration from singing, which ultimately led to a breakthrough in my understanding of wind. In the process of comprehending the mysteries of Wind Element Profound Mysteries, I accidentally made two breakthroughs in Wind Element magic. One was modifying the Wind of Perception to lower the threshold for casting it and make it more effective; the other was creating a completely new Wind Element magic spell, ' Requiem.'"
"Creation magic? And what are the Profound Mysteries?" Linley looked at Monica in shock.
As Doehring Cowart previously stated, although Monica is a soul of the Saint-level, her radiating Divine Power only indicates a level nine Divine Power, so she should be a Saint Warrior.
I never expected a Saint Warrior to be able to create magic.
Monica continued, "Requiem has a very high threshold; only Ninth-level Magus can cast it. However, this improved Wind of Perception can be used by level two mages, with an increased detection range, and it also possesses offensive capabilities at close range."
"Aggressive!" Linley repeated in surprise.
Monica raised her right hand and snapped her fingers with a crisp "smack".
In an instant, the trees within a ten-meter radius swayed violently, their leaves falling in a rustling sound; Linley felt his entire body tremble slightly, a sensation he had never experienced before, even his internal organs felt a clear shaking.
"Squeak!" Bebe poked his head out of Linley's pocket.
He had been sleeping since class ended, and was clearly awakened by the noise.
Upon seeing Monica, Bebe leaped onto a tree branch and jumped into Monica's arms.
Linley broke out in a cold sweat. Although the feeling he had just experienced was only for a moment, he knew clearly that it was not an illusion. Moreover, if the force had been just a little stronger, his entire skeleton and the surrounding trees would have been pulverized.
Seemingly giving Linley time to process things, Monica played with Bebe for a while without giving him any immediate explanation.
"Grandpa Doehring," Linley told Doehring Cowart through telepathy, recounting his recent experience.
"I don't know much about Wind Element, and as for its Profound Mysteries, that's something you can only access at least at level nine. Don't worry about that now. Monica's ability should be related to sound. Have you noticed that the distance between you and the volume of her voice are a bit off?"
After being reminded, Linley realized that Monica was five meters away from him in the treetop, but the voices sounded like they were right in front of him, and Bebe, who had just fallen asleep, was not disturbed at all!
"Is this the power of the Saint-level?"
"No, this is the Peak Saint," Doehring Cowart said. "The abilities Monica has displayed are beyond what an ordinary Saint-level could achieve. Although we don't know the exact level, it's definitely the Peak Saint."
"Are there different levels even at the Peak Saint?"
"Yes, I was at the Saint-level Limit back then. Sigh, it's too early to tell you all this. You'll know these things when you reach the Saint-level. You need to study hard. At the Peak Saint, there's not much difference between Saint Warrior and Saint Magus."
Linley was shocked by Doehring Cowart and Monica's strength.
Seeing that Linley had come to his senses, Monica smiled and said, "Are you ready?"
"Ready!"