Chapter 13: Enlightenment and Performance Techniques

Whether it is Mu Yan's description or Xia Duo's own understanding, the profession of Mage is more like the scientists before Xia Duo's transmigration, only that the "scientists" of Faerun can obtain the power of Magic from their research.

Xia Duo might not be a qualified scientific researcher, but the mindset of a modern person is absolutely the most suitable for becoming a Mage.

Mu Yan paused for a moment after speaking, seemingly to give Xia Duo time to think, but soon moved on to the main topic—

"Next is the enlightenment of a Bard. Unlike other spellcasting professions that require contact with Magic for enlightenment, a Bard's enlightenment only requires selecting a poem you like, becoming familiar with it, and performing it. When you are uncontrollably obsessed with it and call out to it, Magic will manifest from the poem."

Xia Duo understood that there must be some tricks to obtaining Magic; otherwise, wouldn't just any devoted performer be able to become a Bard? That was clearly impossible. But the problem is that to become a Bard, the prerequisite is having a certain foundation in performance.

Xia Duo gave a bitter smile in his heart. Before his transmigration, he was not an actor; he was just an ordinary web novelist. So, how should he begin his enlightenment?

"You can also choose a poem from your hometown. The most critical thing is that you like it yourself and identify with the emotions in the poem. Let's try it once first," Mu Yan suggested.

There were many poems Xia Duo could think of that he liked, but at this very moment, the first one that appeared in his mind was the line—"A lonely stranger in a foreign land, I miss my family all the more on every festive day."

Yesterday was the Midsummer Festival in Faerun, and the people in Savile Town were full of joy, but the liveliness was theirs and had nothing to do with Xia Duo. On the contrary, the more lively the atmosphere, the more Xia Duo thought of his own hometown.

——【A lonely stranger in a foreign land, I miss my family all the more on every festive day】

Xia Duo recited it once in Chinese, seven characters in each half, reciting it with cadence. Although Mu Yan could not understand what it meant, Kara-Tur, or rather 【Daxia】, was modeled after Huaxia on Earth, and Mu Yan could appreciate the beauty of the hometown language from the intonation and structure of this poem.

And as a level 15 Bard, he could even more easily distinguish the emotions contained in this poem of Xia Duo's.

A poem of homesickness, is it?

He did not interrupt Xia Duo, and after reciting that line, Xia Duo did not continue with the rest of the original poem, but recited it again, over and over, until tears blurred his vision.

Clap, clap, clap—

The sound of Mu Yan's applause startled Xia Duo. He realized he had lost his composure in front of an outsider, so he quickly reined in his emotions and looked at Mu Yan with some embarrassment.

"Very good, you are very talented!" Mu Yan praised.

To be able to reveal one's true feelings during enlightenment on the first try, such a sentimental person is simply a natural-born Bard.

However, Xia Duo understood that opportunities like today's were becoming fewer and fewer. He no longer counted on returning to Earth, but wanted to strive to survive in the world of Faerun; such sentimentality was of no benefit to him.

It was safer to try his best to conceal his true feelings and emotions.

Moreover, Xia Duo suspected whether Mu Yan had cast some kind of Emotion Magic just now; otherwise, how could he have lost control of his emotions so easily? However, he did not ask Mu Yan about this.

Mu Yan seemed very satisfied at this moment. "Reflect well on the emotions and feelings from just now. Later, I will cast a 【Light】 spell, and you will use the emotions from just now to experience this Trick and call out to it."

"Yes," Xia Duo agreed.

It was just a Trick, so Mu Yan did not need to make any preparations. Almost as soon as the thought occurred, the Spellcasting was successful. A white ball of light the size of a basketball appeared inside the tent. Xia Duo immediately thought of the Light spell that had cost him 5 Gold Coins on his way to Mu Yan's place just now.

The emotions he had brewed in his heart dissipated by more than half, but Mu Yan was still watching him, so Xia Duo had to bite the bullet and try to "experience" this Light spell. It was just that "experiencing," such a highly emotional term, was very difficult for Xia Duo to grasp.

What exactly counts as "experiencing"? Praising it in one's heart? Talking to it? Or some kind of mental connection? Xia Duo had no idea; he could only stare fixedly at that ball of light, shouting in his heart—Move!

Of course, this ball of light could not possibly obey Xia Duo's commands; this was a ball of light controlled by Mu Yan's Spellcasting. Mu Yan's purpose was merely to let Xia Duo become familiar with the Spell so as to receive a response from Magic, but whether the first Spell Xia Duo obtained would be 【Light】 was something he could not control.

Mu Yan kept the ball of light produced by the Light spell suspended in place, watching with great interest as Xia Duo communicated with Magic. This reminded him of the scene when he received his own enlightenment in his early years; at that time, he did not have as good conditions as Xia Duo.

Back then, his adoptive father simply had him recite poems and learn performance; as for personally casting Spells to help him get started, that was absolutely impossible.

Now it just depended on whether Xia Duo could get started. Mu Yan was still looking forward to this clansman of his embarking on the path of a Bard.

……

Time passed bit by bit. Except for eating and going to the bathroom in between, Xia Duo had been "staring" at that ball of light, but he was never able to receive a response from Magic.

In fact, the concept of a "response from Magic" itself was very mysterious. Having tried for almost an entire day, Xia Duo was already a bit discouraged; perhaps he was truly not suited to become a Bard.

The next day, Lao Nier and the others did not come looking for him. The results of the Mage Tower assessment would not be known for another day, so Xia Duo could only continue to receive Bard enlightenment at Mu Yan's place.

Besides "staring" at the ball of light and calling out to Magic like yesterday, Mu Yan also began to teach Xia Duo techniques for recitation and performance. Compared to foolishly staring at the ball of light, Xia Duo preferred learning performance techniques.

To put it another way, performance is disguise. Survival in an alien world is not easy, and disguise can become a means of protecting oneself.

And Mu Yan also noticed Xia Duo's thoughts, so he added a lot of content to the guidance on performance, even including some unique methods of spies and Scouts.

In just a day or two, it was naturally impossible for Xia Duo to fully master these techniques, but he tried his best to keep them in mind, leaving them to be slowly familiarized with in the future.

By the afternoon, Xia Duo had basically given up on "staring" at the ball of light and devoted most of his energy to learning performance techniques from Mu Yan, and Mu Yan did not express anything about this, still wholeheartedly guiding Xia Duo.

In the evening, Xia Duo, who had just finished "staring" at the ball of light, had a sudden inspiration and prepared to "communicate" with Magic alone. From yesterday morning until now, Xia Duo also had some new understandings of Magic.

Those in Savile Town who could only cast level 0 Tricks did not necessarily understand more than Xia Duo, and in these two days of "staring" practice, Xia Duo felt that his concentration had improved quite a bit.

It is said that one of the most basic elements for a Mage's Spellcasting is concentration. He could completely improvise a bit instead of being limited to the path Mu Yan had planned for him.

Perhaps he might succeed!