Chapter 17: The Learning Life (Part 1)
Spring passed and autumn arrived. In the blink of an eye, Linley had already spent over half a year at the Ernst Institute.
During his days at the Ernst Institute, Linley was like a thirsty traveler in a desert, eagerly and hungrily absorbing basic mage knowledge. In terms of wind-style magic, Linley’s understanding and strength continuously improved. And Dellinger would occasionally offer his own insights.
On this day, the sun was bright and clear.
After lunch, the four brothers of Dormitory 1987 all wore sky-blue robes, the standard uniform issued by the institute. Because of his long-term physical training, Linley’s slender figure looked especially striking in the sky-blue robe. No wonder a few young girls from the wind-style class often liked to chat with him after lessons.
At that moment, the four brothers were walking and chatting freely about all sorts of topics.
“Hey, Linley, we’re going to the freshman mixer this afternoon. Are you coming?” George said with a chuckle.
George was very enthusiastic about public activities, skilled at gathering information, and adept at making friends with other students. Though he had only been enrolled for half a year, George had already become something of a notable figure among the first-year students at the Ernst Institute.
“Not going,” Linley replied bluntly.
“Haha, I knew Linley wouldn’t join,” Reynolds said, laughing loudly beside him.
Yale put his arm around Linley’s shoulders and sighed, “I tell you, Linley, don’t train too hard. With your talent, as long as you put in a little effort, reaching the sixth rank within thirty years is no problem. So why push yourself so much? You should enjoy life. There are plenty of cute little beauties at the mixer.”
“Yeah, really cute ones!” Reynolds chimed in, his eyes wide.
Linley gave a helpless smile.
Reynolds, that innocent young man, had already been led astray under Yale’s influence.
“Yale, you lecher, don’t drag me along. Alright, I need to go train. Tomorrow is the end of the month, so I’ll hang out with you guys then,” Linley said with a smile. The last two days of each month were his self-appointed days off.
Yale, Reynolds, and George all knew Linley’s habits and nodded in agreement.
Linley immediately quickened his pace, jogging lightly and swiftly toward the back mountain of the institute. The entire Ernst Institute had thousands of students alone, along with many mages conducting research and experiments, as well as numerous service personnel. The institute was quite crowded.
Along the way, he saw many students in sky-blue robes.
“Roar~~” A low growl sounded.
Linley followed the sound and his eyes lit up. “A magical beast!”
Flowing mane, smooth cyan fur, sturdy and powerful limbs, and a pair of wild, cold eyes that held the wolf’s characteristic ruthlessness. The icy, metallic gleam of its sharp claws sent a chill down one’s spine.
The magical beast: Windwolf.
A terrifying beast known for its wind-like speed. In the Magical Beast Forest, the most dreaded encounter was with a pack of Windwolves. Once you ran into a pack, with their speed, escape was nearly impossible.
At this moment, a handsome black-haired youth sat atop this majestic Windwolf, looking around with evident pride at possessing such a beast.
“This guy is probably a fifth-year or sixth-year student,” Linley guessed.
In the Ernst Institute, quite a few people owned magical beasts. Aside from the specially hired mages, there were also some fifth- and sixth-year students. These students would buy soul-contract scrolls to tame beasts as mounts.
“It’s just a magical beast. Is it worth being so proud of?” Linley dismissed the black-haired youth’s smugness.
Leaving through the back gate of the institute, he entered the back mountain.
The back mountain of the Ernst Institute was vast. Long, long ago, magical beasts roamed here, but later, all the beasts were wiped out by the institute’s mages. Now, only ordinary wild animals remained.
Once in the forest, Linley’s speed suddenly increased.
The wind-style auxiliary spell “Swift” was naturally cast. Linley moved as lightly as a fallen leaf, nimbly weaving through the trees. After running a few miles, he reached his destination—a clearing near a stream.
“Squeak~~” Bebe called out to Linley again.
Linley smiled and instructed, “Going out to play again? Alright, but don’t wander too far.” He trusted Bebe. It had been a year since he first saw Bebe, and though the little Shadowmouse hadn’t grown in size—still about twenty centimeters long—its speed had increased significantly.
“A mage? If it were a warrior of the eighth or ninth rank, they might catch Bebe. But a mage? Unless it’s a Saint-level mage,” Linley thought, fully aware of a mage’s physical limitations.
Little Shadowmouse Bebe darted into the forest with a single leap.
“Grandpa Delling, come out and guide me,” Linley called out in his mind.
A wisp of mist flew out and materialized into Dellinger. Dellinger looked at Linley teasingly. “Linley, what’s up today? Usually, you just meditate and ignore this old man. Why are you looking for me now? I was sleeping soundly, and you’ve ruined my dream.”
Linley curled his lip.
Grandpa Delling might be a Saint-level Archmage, but after spending time with him, Linley knew that while he appeared kind and gentle on the surface, inside he was like a mischievous child.
“Grandpa Delling, I feel like I’ve reached the level of a second-rank mage. I want you to test me,” Linley finally stated his purpose.
“Second-rank mage?” Dellinger calculated with interest. “Oh, it’s been about a year and a half since you started learning magic from me. Alright, show me the basic spell ‘Shattering Stone’ at your maximum power, got it?”
Shattering Stone was a scalable spell. The first-rank earth-style magic included “Shattering Stone,” but even forbidden magic had a version called “Meteor Shower.” As an earth-style mage’s strength increased, the power of “Shattering Stone” naturally grew as well.
“Yes, Grandpa Delling.”
Linley immediately began chanting the spell silently. The tongue-twisting incantation had become so familiar that he could recite it without thinking. As he chanted, his entire soul entered a special state.
The earth-style magic power in his chest surged, and the elemental energy in the surroundings was drawn to him.
Suddenly, the ground beside him split open.
Five head-sized stones rose into the air, hovering above Linley’s head. These stones were enveloped in a faint yellow glow. As Linley’s eyes sharpened and he let out a low shout, the five stones shot toward a distant target, whistling through the air.
“Boom!”
The five stones, surrounded by the yellow glow, simultaneously struck a tree trunk as thick as a bowl. The trunk shook violently but didn’t break, and the stones fell to the ground.
“Hmm, very good,” Dellinger said, his eyes lighting up. “You can control five Shattering Stones at once, and their flight speed is decent. You indeed have the strength of a second-rank mage.” He was quite satisfied with Linley’s performance.
A smile crept onto Linley’s face.
He was one step closer to his goal.
He would never forget the words his father had said when he left: “If you don’t reclaim it, even if I die, I will never forgive you!” Those words hung like a sharp blade over Linley’s heart, constantly driving him forward.
At that moment, Dellinger chuckled again. “But Linley, you need to understand that a second-rank mage is nothing. According to mage rankings, first and second ranks are beginner, third and fourth are intermediate, fifth and sixth are advanced. Seventh-rank mages are called ‘Great Mages,’ eighth-rank are ‘Magisters,’ and ninth-rank are ‘Archmages.’ The seventh to ninth ranks are the truly powerful ones. You still have a long way to go.”
“I know,” Linley nodded.
“Alright, keep training on your own.” Dellinger re-entered the Coiling Dragon Ring.
Linley suppressed his excitement at reaching the second rank and calmly sat down cross-legged to meditate again. A strong person was built step by step, through every bit of effort accumulated over time.
About two or three miles away from Linley.
Linley’s wind-style magic teacher, sixth-rank mage Trey, frowned at that moment. “Hmm? The earth-style spell ‘Shattering Stone’? Judging by its power, it’s at the second-rank level. A beginner mage came to the back mountain to train? Who is it?”
Trey had just cast the wind-style spell “Probing Wind” and sensed the magical fluctuations from Linley’s spell two or three miles away. From the fluctuations, he could identify the spell.
Curious, Trey walked in that direction. As a sixth-rank mage, his auxiliary spell “Swift” was far superior to Linley’s. Trey moved like a wisp of mist, light and fast, gliding through the forest.
In just a moment, Trey appeared a hundred meters from Linley.
Standing beside a large tree, Trey observed Linley from a distance.
“It’s him?”
Trey naturally recognized his student. “This kid named Linley never says much in class. When others try casting spells, he always stands far away and never shows his abilities. So it turns out… this Linley kid is already a second-rank mage. If I recall, he’s still a new student. Didn’t expect him to be a genius.”
Linley could, of course, cast spells, so during class exercises, he always just watched from the sidelines. His refusal to participate in group activities had earned him a reputation for mystery among the students who knew him.
“Tsk, tsk. Having a genius like this among my students… Oh, this year’s first-year competition, I should win some prize money.” Trey’s face broke into a bright smile. But Linley, deep in meditation, had no idea that Trey was watching him from a hundred meters away.