Chapter 217: Open Sesame

"Fine."

Anxiwodasi's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible self‑satisfaction; he produced a few masterful moves and finally subdued the kid. Having lived for over a thousand years, it was his first time truly feeling how hard it is to be a teacher.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Which super‑magic technique do you want to learn first?"

"Fast casting," Lei En replied without hesitation.

As a combat Wizard, he often fights at close range, making it hard to free his hands for casting; mastering fast casting would let him suddenly unleash spells in battle, guaranteeing excellent results.

"A wise choice," Anxiwodasi nodded appreciatively.

"You don't know Fireball, but that's fine; Electric Blast Orb also has great potential, and as the first spell you specialize in, it will certainly suffice."

"My philosophy is to specialize in a few spells rather than fixate on a single one."

"Fireball is the most common choice, but it doesn't suit everyone."

"From the spell you just demonstrated, I can see you have a strong affinity for lightning; forcing you to learn Fireball would be the wrong path."

Anxiwodasi continued his patient, persuasive instruction.

"Yes, teacher," Lei En thought the same, without insisting on mastering Fireball.

"As long as you understand, that's enough," Anxiwodasi said, then reached into the void and produced an ancient tome over twenty centimeters thick, seemingly centuries old; its pages turned automatically with a rustling sound for a few seconds before stopping on a certain page.

Lei En looked at the page's contents and instantly saw a very familiar rune pattern.

It was the Electric Blast Orb.

Anxiwodasi lightly tapped his fingertip, and a magical glimmer flew from the book, forming a three‑dimensional Element rune in the air between them.

"Lei En, take a look—does this match the Element of your Electric Blast Orb?" Anxiwodasi asked.

The rune in midair resembled a hologram, magnified hundreds of times.

Every detail of the rune was rendered with exquisite precision.

Lei En stared in amazement, compared it carefully several times, and nodded, "Teacher, this Element rune is correct; there are no errors."

Anxiwodasi waved again, and the entire Element rune image fragmented into dozens of smaller structures.

He pointed to one of the rune structures and began, "This rune is the core of the Electric Blast Orb; it is what channels the lightning Element. Look here..."

Lei En listened attentively.

At the same time, he didn't forget to enable the recording function, capturing every word the teacher said.

After listening for a moment, Lei En was completely convinced.

The teacher truly lived up to being a Holy Soul Wizard; although he couldn't cast the Electric Blast Orb, his unfathomable magical knowledge gave him a deeper, more thorough understanding of the spell than Lei En himself.

Every detail of the rune's Element—core, control, cost, variation, operation—was explained with crystal clarity.

Moreover, the explanation didn't cling rigidly to a single rune; using this rune as an example, he extrapolated the relationships between the entire rune system and numerous spells, making it accessible and easy to grasp.

What had been a complex subject suddenly seemed no longer difficult after the teacher's exposition.

Lei En felt a sudden enlightenment.

Immersed in study, time flew by.

When Anxiwodasi stopped his lecture and announced that today's lesson was over, Lei En realized that an hour had slipped by unnoticed.

He felt a lingering desire for more; the hour's learning yielded great gains.

His understanding of the Electric Blast Orb had made a qualitative leap.

However, to fully master the spell's principles, he might need a few more lessons before attempting to apply the super‑magic technique, continuously experimenting and practicing to speed up casting.

Reaching a basic grasp of fast casting will take at least one to two months.

And this is only fast casting for the Electric Blast Orb; other spells wishing to use this technique will also require in‑depth study.

Anxiwodasi looked at Lei En and said, "A thirst for knowledge is good, but you must not be too eager. When you return, review today's material several times, combine it with casting, observe how it differs from your usual practice, and tell me tomorrow."

"Yes, teacher," Lei En replied, thinking this was the homework.

"From now on, each noon I will set aside an hour to teach you," Anxiwodasi arranged the schedule.

Lei En felt both delighted and apprehensive.

The teacher, as a Holy Soul Wizard and leader of the Weizelan Floating City, has precious time yet is willing to devote an hour each day to his own lessons—truly rare.

He had thought that a lesson every few days would already be great.

"Thank you, teacher."

Lei En quickly stood and expressed his sincere gratitude.

"You call me 'teacher'—I can't let that be in vain; I will naturally fulfill my duties as a teacher," Anxiwodasi said with a smile, nodding, and raised his hand to summon an Arbitrary Door in the room. "I've already informed Ao Xiliya to arrange everything for you in the tower; go ahead."

Lei En bowed, entered the Arbitrary Door.

Stepping out of the Arbitrary Door, he saw Ao Xiliya standing before him, calling out, "Xiliya."

"Hmm, follow me," Ao Xiliya said, "Each of the teacher's students has a residence in the Weizelan Tower; although you are a lord and may not usually stay in the tower, your allotted room will still be there."

"So this is the room‑allocation benefit..." Lei En followed her, looked around, and found himself in a corridor on a certain floor of the tower.

The bright corridor had several magical doors on both sides.

Ao Xiliya stopped before one door, raised her hand and pressed it; silver light glowed on the door as she said, "Each room can be set with a unique passphrase; come try it."

"Alright."

Lei En, as instructed, placed his hand on the central rune of the door, infused his soul energy, and received a mental feedback: whatever he said next would become the door's passphrase.

Even if others learned the passphrase, it would be useless, because the magical door also identifies the vocal timbre and locks onto the owner's soul‑energy traits; any mismatch prevents opening.

Lei En was astonished; this door was even more impressive than artificial intelligence!

He thought for a moment and said, "Sesame, open the door."

The door's rune flickered a few times, recorded Lei En's voice and soul traits, and then opened silently.

Ao Xiliya couldn't help but ask curiously, "What does 'Sesame, open the door' mean?"

"It's a spell from an amusing story," Lei En said with a smile as he entered the room. "If I get the chance next time, I'll tell you about it."

Ahead was a spacious living room, without any light fixtures, yet gentle light illuminated the whole space, all the furniture was present, and the most striking feature was the wall on one side of the living room, resembling a floor‑to‑ceiling glass window that allowed a view over most of the Floating City, offering excellent sight and pleasant scenery.

Lei En walked to the window and touched it, only to discover it wasn't glass but some unknown magical material that lets light pass in only one direction.

From inside one can see the outside, but from outside the inside is invisible.

Standing at the window, he could gaze out at his own castle, zooming the view to see centaur guards running on the slope outside the castle, practicing martial skills.

He walked around the entire suite of rooms.

Besides the living room, there were a bedroom, a study, a meditation chamber, an alchemy room, and a small magical training room, totaling roughly three hundred square meters—far too lavish for a single occupant.

In the land‑value‑scarce Floating City, a house this large costs dozens of Gold Shields per month in rent.

Moreover, magic was applied throughout the rooms.

Lei En observed carefully for a while and identified at least five rune formations: one for cleaning the interior, another for keeping the air fresh, one maintaining constant temperature and humidity, another protecting against intrusion, and so on; the meditation chamber had a formation that aids calmness, the alchemy room was stocked with tools, and the force field in the magical training room was impenetrable.

It could even summon a simple‑intelligence magical servant to help the owner with daily tasks such as tidying the room, serving tea to guests, delivering letters, and so on.

The energy for all the rune formations came from the core of Yi Se La inside the tower.

This is undoubtedly the dwelling that spellcasters have long dreamed of!

"How nice!"

Lei En relaxed, sat down, his body sinking into the soft sofa, and let out a sigh.

If he were not the lord of the Earl of Glamorgan, he would gladly reside in the tower long‑term, devoting himself to research and learning.

What a pity…

The fact that he could obtain this room and a place in the Weizelan tower was largely thanks to his status as Earl of Glamorgan, and he could not abandon it.

Ao Xi Li Ya pointed to the floor in the middle of the living room, where a complex formation lay.

"You can set the badge portal's destination point here."

Lei En hurriedly took out the Weizelan Badge and began operating it, thinking, "Isn't this just like a Hearthstone‑bound inn!"

After finishing, he looked at Ao Xi Li Ya and asked, "Where is your room?"

"Right opposite you."

"Then we're neighbors," Lei En chuckled twice. Having a stunning beauty as a neighbor always felt nice; it didn't have to lead to anything, the point was that she was gorgeous and pleasing to the eye.

Ao Xi Li Ya was a little puzzled, "What's so funny?"

"Ahem…" Lei En cleared his throat, masking his ulterior motive, and stood, saying, "Ao Xi Li Ya, could you give me a tour of the tower and the academy so I can get familiar with the surroundings, for example, where the Great Library is?"

He hadn't even reached Mo Du yet, and was already scheming about the Weizelan Great Library.

This so‑called world's largest library holds over ten million volumes of magical knowledge, and someday he intended to copy all the books into his Mobile Phone.

The textbook the teacher used earlier was already lying in his phone, waiting for him to read.

"I'll take you there."

Ao Xi Li Ya nodded and opened a random door directly.

Moments later, Lei En surveyed the Great Library: it lay in the middle‑lower levels of the tower, spanning ten whole floors devoted to collections, with thousands of shelves brimming with books, protected by rune formations; only the badge could activate borrowing, and the number of copies was limited to at most ten at a time.

The library where he had worked in his previous life had a collection only half the size of the Weizelan Library.

Lei En eagerly checked out a few books and began reading attentively at a nearby seat.

In reality, he covertly opened his phone, which kept copying nonstop.

Ao Xi Li Ya, unaware of the situation, thought Lei En's thirst for knowledge was even stronger than that of herself, a prismatic dragon.

Recalling their earlier conversation, she admired the profound knowledge Lei En possessed.

"He is only a twenty‑year‑old human, yet he cherishes time and pursues knowledge so earnestly; I cannot fall behind."

So Ao Xi Li Ya sat beside Lei En, reading together.

Lei En smelled the fresh, rain‑like fragrance on her, and felt a slight intoxication.

"Focus, focus!"

After a few hours, Lei En had copied all the nearby thousands of books into his phone, and had finished reading every one of the borrowed volumes.

He stood, stretched lazily, saw Ao Xi Li Ya still immersed in the sea of knowledge, and did not disturb her, giving her a slight nod, which activated the Weizelan Badge.

A portal opened before him.

Lei En stepped through and appeared in the courtyard of his own castle.

"Lord!"

The guards, seeing Lei En, promptly stood and saluted, while Ai Mi Li Si, who had been waiting all afternoon, rushed out at the sound.

When she saw the badge on Lei En's chest, she beamed and said, "Congratulations, my lord."

"Thank you."

Lei En waved his hand, entered the castle's great hall, chatted casually with Ai Mi Li Si, and Fa Bian, the wind‑elf, came forward, asking as they walked, "Anything I can help with?"

"My lord, Madam Xia Lan Wei has sent an invitation to the trade fair, scheduled three days from now; she wishes you to confirm your attendance," Fa Bian handed over an exquisite invitation.

Lei En took it and realized it was not only an invitation but also a brochure.

The brochure was only a thin dozen‑plus pages, each filled with text like a catalog, accompanied by colored illustrations.

The illustrations were not photographs, because Ai Lun E Si's photography technique was still stuck in the black‑and‑white era; they were created by spell‑projected images, clearly requiring great effort and expense.

"Madam Xia Lan Wei really has a sharp business mind."

Lei En exclaimed in admiration.

He took the invitation back to the study and perused it with interest.

The catalog listed items that would appear at the trade fair, covering a full range of types and exceptionally high quality; the brochure detailed each item's information and gave appraisals, with none valued below five hundred Gold Shields.

Lei En had attended two or three trade fairs before, always alongside Viola.

Seeing the items in the brochure, he had to admit that Mo Du's trade fairs were indeed of a higher standard than Longshande's, and several pieces of equipment caught his eye.

"My lord, will you attend this trade fair?" Fa Bian asked again.

Lei En thought it would be good to go and broaden his horizons, and also use his Soul Eye to observe the elite of Mo Du's various circles, perhaps he might find something.

He was about to reply, when the pamphlet in his hand flipped to the last page, and he stopped instantly.

The illustration on this page is a war hammer.

The war hammer's shape was something Lei En knew all too well; it was exactly the same as the Thunder God's Hammer!

(End of Chapter)