Chapter 66

"Magic is a phenomenon, an independent magical effect; the caster's enemy is never nature. Nature and the elements are forever your allies and partners."

"The act of casting is, in fact, a reshaping operation on the magical energy and elements dispersed throughout the multiverse, ultimately manifesting a specific process in a specific area in a particular way."

"The manifested target can be a magical prototype from a senior mage, an innate ability of a magical beast like a great dragon that possesses natural casting capabilities, or even a natural phenomenon of a specific region. We mages understand it, analyze it, and recreate it. Do not think you can surpass nature, at least not before reaching the legendary realm."

In a small room, an old mage with white hair and beard was explaining the essence of magic.

Several disciples listened quite seriously, especially the little one, who held a pen with a red claw and carefully wrote and drew on the paper.

Suddenly, the teacher called a name.

"Little one, you are a Dragonblood Warlock born with the ability to cast. What does it feel like when you cast?"

The little one, Lord Lord Kuku, was stunned for a moment and quickly stood up.

"First, hold your breath! Then, huff-ha! Raise your hand, stare at the target, and whoosh—it's out!!" While speaking, he also mimicked the hand gestures.

"Boom!" He even imitated the sound wave of an explosion.

The little one spoke very seriously, but the more serious he was, the more ridiculous it became, which actually made the other mages laugh.

"Heh, just as Lord Lord Kuku said, magical beasts and warlocks cast relying on instinct. Judging solely by casting speed and quantity, we mages cannot compare. We are untalented latecomers, diligent ones who use knowledge and wisdom to make up for innate deficiencies."

Lord Lord Kuku listened very seriously; after all, this learning opportunity was something he had obtained with great difficulty.

"Warlocks and magical beasts rely on instinct to cast; it is their advantage, but they are also limited by their talent. In most cases, their growth speed and upper limits are far inferior to ours."

Lord Lord Kuku had worked in this mage tower for six years as a teaching assistant and servant before obtaining the chance to learn magic alongside the new apprentices.

Just as the teacher said, Dragonblood Warlocks naturally know how to cast, but not only is their growth speed subtle, their upper limit is also determined by the source of their bloodline.

The bloodline upper limit of a kobold warlock: being able to master the Ring-2 spell Scorching Ray is already the result of his more than ten years of adventuring experience.

And he has not awakened a new spell for seven or eight years; it seems his bloodline potential has been completely exhausted.

Although he still looks rough and unruly, in reality, he is not young anymore.

And the path of the mage he worked so hard to open was not smooth; or rather, it was extremely unsmooth.

"Little thing, the robes are yours to wash. Remember to send them to us after you finish."

"Lord Lord Kuku, my room is messy again. Help me clean it later."

"Homework, you know."

Originally being a servant, the other apprentices continued to "use" him quite naturally.

This was actually relatively friendly.

"Uh, sorry, didn't see you." There were also quite a few bastards who would walk over for no reason, step on you, and then watch you hop around for fun.

And the other apprentices would never help Lord Lord Kuku; after all, he was just a "clown."

A clown who had mastered at least one spell, including at least three Ring-2 spells, making people envious or even jealous!

Why is it that you, a warlock, only need to sleep for a night to learn a Ring-2 spell that takes me half a year of study and costs dozens or even hundreds of gold coins in resources?

Why is it that the same spell you release by instinct is faster, more accurate, and more powerful than mine?

Why is it that we must master incantations, gestures, and spell models, undergoing difficult and complex calculations to release a spell, while you can cast with just a single thought?

Why is it that you, clearly an inferior race, can enter the mage tower and gain the teacher's favor?

Why is it that you naturally know the Draconic language we need countless years to learn and master, and why does your occasional whimsical idea earn the teacher's appreciation?

"Lord Lord Kuku knows. Lord Lord Kuku will do it right away."

And facing bullying and exclusion, Lord Lord Kuku responded with a smile, pretending to be a simple and happy little kobold.

But in reality, having experienced more than ten years of adventuring life, he had already gone through too much.

He was an outlier, the only outlier to enter kobold society. If a real dispute occurred, most people would naturally stand on the opposite side.

If he wanted to study in the mage tower for a few more years, he could only endure and only pretend not to understand.

The weak party swallowing their anger might simply be because they could not bear the storm of conflict.

But even so, his studies were still very unsmooth.

"Lord Lord Kuku is indeed a fool." He felt a bit depressed; some innate deficiencies were too difficult to make up for.

Kobold intelligence is obviously on the low side. Even among the outliers, Lord Lord Kuku's intelligence was still lower than that of ordinary people, and mages make a living on intelligence and spirit.

Only geniuses in the eyes of ordinary people can become mages, and only geniuses among geniuses have the chance to become archmages.

And what Lord Lord Kuku lacked compared to other apprentices included culture, natural knowledge, languages, mathematics, and many other aspects.

Mages are scholars; even junior mages must study an academic field in a certain aspect, and all of these can become nourishment for learning magic.

He had nothing. Even when he occasionally had whimsical ideas or flashes of inspiration, they did not form a system. Without surprise, Lord Lord Kuku's learning progress became the bottom among the apprentices.

And this lag might be a good thing for him; at least it brought more mockery than hostility.

Six years passed like this. Some apprentices had already graduated, some had become teaching assistants, but Lord Lord Kuku remained the bottom apprentice and odd-jobber.

But perhaps even the Goddess of Fate could not bear to watch anymore; luck finally favored him. Looking back later, it might have been misfortune.

"I! Lord Lord Kuku! I can actually master Fireball!"

His warlock bloodline, which had been stuck for more than ten years, actually achieved a leap at this moment!

And whether one can become a Ring-3 mage who masters the Ring-3 spell Fireball makes a world of difference for a caster.

At this stage, a caster can already become a high-paid enforcer for a mercenary band and graduate independently.

Lord Lord Kuku did not intend to leave just yet. However, in the second month, he was kicked out of the mage tower!

A very valuable magical item was stolen, and some accused him of stealing it, while others remained silent.

"It wasn't Lord Lord Kuku! It really wasn't Lord Lord Kuku!"

Lord Lord Kuku, driven to madness by anxiety, explained himself to the owner of the mage tower, his own mentor.

【57】 "I know." The old mage, whose lifespan was nearly at its end, sighed.

"But some of them say it was you, and the majority hope it was you." Probably only the teacher truly understood Lord Lord Kuku, knowing he was not as innocent and foolish as he appeared on the surface.

Lord Lord Kuku fell silent and regretted it. Should he have shown off his spells? He only hoped to receive more attention and a little bit of respect.

Lord Lord Kuku fell silent, regretting it—he shouldn't have shown off his magic; he only hoped to gain more attention, to earn a little respect.

The point isn't whether Lord Lord Kuku stole or not, but that most people expected him to be the thief and expected him to be driven away.

When the majority of those around the teacher were placed on one side of the scale, even the former chief of the Mage Tower had to make a choice.

"This is a letter from my junior. He needs apprentices and combat power this time. Remember to hide it well, act even dumber, and learn a bit more." With that, the teacher, already half-retired, handed him a letter of introduction.

Lord Lord Kuku cried, crying very sadly.

While crying, he bowed several times to the teacher, then left the Mage Tower without hesitation.

Two years later, he returned once more, watching his teacher's funeral from afar. Leaving once again, he never returned to the city where that Mage Tower stood for the rest of his life.

"Is it so difficult to want to become a mage, to understand the knowledge of how the world operates?"

"I just wanted to become a mage, even the most shoddy and foolish one."

Li En, waking once more from the dream, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Lord Lord Kuku never regretted it; meeting the teacher and being guided onto the true path of spellcasters was perhaps Lord Lord Kuku's greatest happiness.

"Peeping! Snooping into other people's memories! You bad guy!" Kusra, sitting on the bed reading a book, was very displeased.

Li En took a deep breath; he felt a bit annoyed and hesitant, realizing his previous understanding of spells had been too childish.

Was the request he had always hoped to make really appropriate?

Approaching Lord Lord Kuku with a game-like mindset of "try if you can, forget it if you can't" and asking to learn magic was also a humiliation of his hard life.

"Want to learn spells? Sure. Lord Lord Kuku will teach you." Lord Lord Kuku, with a satisfaction (affection) level of minus twenty-something, actually agreed at once.

Li En's expression froze.

"As long as one is willing to learn spells, no matter who it is, Lord Lord Kuku will not refuse. I will not refuse!" The little one looked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

(End of this chapter)