Chapter 42: Ten Thousand Times Magic Power?

In the library.

At noon, sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows and fell upon the thick notebook in Xia Mingyu’s hands; he gently opened it to reveal hundreds of obscure, intricate black patterns.

These patterns were magical runes he had copied over the past two days using feathers made from Mao Fa.

Not only could he write them, but he could also rapidly reproduce them accurately during Yi Li Si’s hundreds of random questions.

The magical runes had no connection to one another, making their difficulty comparable to forcing a person from Blue Star to learn English, French, Russian, and Japanese all within a single day.

According to Yi Li Si, many magicians carry a thick volume called the Complete Book of Magical Runes, because they too often forget how to write certain runes.

Thinking of it this way, it was no wonder Yi Li Si had been reduced to a recording device—if he were in her place, he would have shattered his Dao heart outright.

“Language Comprehension, I’m sorry, Shi Si Yi Yi. I underestimated you.”

As Xia Mingyu flipped through the fruits of his labor over these two days, he silently apologized to his identity’s divine protection.

While learning the runes, he had felt as if guided by divine intervention—he could memorize them after seeing them two or three times; as for writing, being a clumsy hand, he simply let his mind wander while his fingers moved on their own.

Now, he finally had an answer to that question.

Shi Si Yi Yi + college student = the AlphaGo of the magical world.

“Yi Li Si, my next step is to learn how to write runes in empty space, right?”

Xia Mingyu asked the girl beside him, who was still mechanically repeating “I am such a failure,” as if turned to ash-gray.

"Yes, Your Highness. Once you master Void Writing and combine it with rune casting, you will be sufficient to advance to the rank of Magician."

Yi Li Si answered weakly, snapping back to awareness.

She was utterly drained, wanting only to return to her room, burrow under the covers, and cry her heart out.

Was her so-called extraordinary magical talent all a lie?

Master, you lied to me!

"But the most important issue is, Your Highness, your current magical power is still far below the standard required for Void Writing."

As Yi Li Si spoke, she mustered what little energy she had left and extended her finger, wrapped in white light, to write in the air.

Swish, swish, swish!

With a sound like pages being torn, a complex pattern glowing with white light appeared in the air—the basic magical rune “Water.”

After completing the drawing, Yi Li Si lightly poked the tip of her finger; the pattern dissolved into a clear stream of water that fell freely downward.

Thud!

A puddle formed on the floor.

“Please try,” Yi Li Si whispered.

Thank goodness this guy doesn’t make me mop.

Xia Mingyu muttered inwardly, then gathered blank magical power into his fingertip and began writing.

Swish, swish!

After a few sounds, the “Water Rune” was only partially drawn before Xia Mingyu could write no further.

Simply put, the white light at his fingertip had vanished completely, and he even felt a wave of dizziness, as if he’d stayed up playing video games for hours.

“Your Highness, Grand Magus Baise once said that magical power is a manifestation of life force; once depleted, it imposes physical strain,” Yi Li Si explained.

“My magical power can’t even reach one-tenth of what’s needed to draw a basic rune?” Xia Mingyu exclaimed.

“Your Highness, you’ve only meditated for two days—your current level of magical power is already astonishingly fast.”

Yi Li Si smiled bitterly, a trace of bitterness darkening her delicate face.

This rate of magical meditation was already slightly faster than hers.

For some reason, hearing him say this, she felt a strange discomfort, even a fleeting urge to be angry at him.

Fortunately, she still had her wits—she was just a fragile, helpless, pitiful little girl; how could she possibly challenge the kingdom’s heir, the one who ruled over fourteen million people?

“By the way, Yi Li Si, how many times stronger is your magical power compared to mine?” Xia Mingyu suddenly grew curious about her magical reserves.

Yi Li Si thought for a moment, then extended a finger as white as jade.

“A hundred times?” Xia Mingyu ventured.

Yi Li Si shook her head.

“A thousand times?” Xia Mingyu’s pupils sharply contracted.

Yi Li Si shook her head again.

“Ten thousand times!” Xia Mingyu blurted out in shock.

“Hmm, maybe eleven thousand or twelve thousand,” Yi Li Si replied uncertainly.

“Good heavens, how long will I have to meditate before I can become a Magician?!”

Xia Mingyu collapsed helplessly onto the wooden floor, questioning his entire existence.

If his meditation speed remained unchanged, would he really need to meditate for ten thousand days—nearly twenty-seven years—to become a Magician?

He had thought gaining a cheat would let him cast magic freely, achieve Magician rank in three days, become a Magic God in five, and hurl forbidden spells at will by day ten.

“Ah, Your Highness seems to have misunderstood,” Yi Li Si thought.

Though her rank was still Magician, her magical reserves had long surpassed, even exceeded, those of a Morning Star-tier magician.

Watching the black-haired youth’s dejected expression, Yi Li Si was about to explain—then suddenly remembered the blow she herself had suffered.

The girl fell silent.

Let him suffer for an hour—no, ten minutes. It was her small revenge as a weakling.

Moments later, after the misunderstanding was cleared, Xia Mingyu let out a long sigh of relief.

According to Yi Li Si’s assessment, he only needed to meditate with the Moonlight Meditation Method for about two more months to accumulate enough magical power to advance to Magician.

“Yi Li Si, is there any way to rapidly increase magical power?”

Though his current rate of magical growth was already fast by this world’s standards, Xia Mingyu remained unsatisfied—because in this dangerous world, beyond the “common sense” he had already acquired, power was unquestionably the most important thing.

“Yes. One is natural growth as the body matures, but Your Highness can no longer rely on this method.”

Yi Li Si glanced at Xia Mingyu’s tall frame and whispered.

“The other is through magical potions and magical crystals, but these are extremely expensive and nearly impossible to obtain—once they enter the market, they are bought up instantly.”

Xia Mingyu understood: one was innate advantage, the other was paying to win—but under his current circumstances, neither option was feasible.

Tap, tap, tap.

At that moment, the oak door of the library was gently knocked.

“Your Highness, I’ve come to bring you your meal,” came An Li Ya’s gentle voice from outside.

Moments later.

Xia Mingyu and Yi Li Si savored the meal An Li Ya had brought.

Today, the girl had brought a bowl of pure white mushroom soup, made from wild mushrooms, cream, and a few sprigs of green cilantro.

The soup was rich yet not greasy, exquisitely delicious; Xia Mingyu drank three bowls before finally stopping.

(End of Chapter)