Chapter 40: Honing

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After going through his first actual combat using magic for the first time this morning, Su Ye’s body, brain, and Tree of Magic had all reached their limits. He was even more tired than he was yesterday.

Under ordinary circumstances, a person would not be suitable for deep meditation if they were too tired as deep meditation required a person to gather their attention. If they were too tired, then it would be easy for them to fall asleep during meditation. This was something that happened to most beginners.

Thus, Su Ye was going to do a light meditation. The effects of light meditation were similar to that of light sleep, but there were several differences.

After he meditated, Su Ye entered the Magic Tower and saw that while there were no changes to the other areas of the Magic Tower, the leaf of the Tree of Magic had turned from black to yellow.

This was a sign that his Magic Power had depleted.

What made Su Ye happy was that there was a new young leaf at the end of the same branch. It would not be long before it would turn into a shoot and finally grow into a whole leaf on the Tree of Magic. He would then be able to carve a new Magic Array on it.

Teacher Niedern had said in his morning class that there were three basic ways that a leaf of the Tree of Magic would grow. First was an increase in Magic Power, second was becoming more adept at using spells, and third was increasing and growing one’s magical knowledge. For a person like Laker, who had grasped large amounts of magic knowledge, he would have at least five leaves the moment he became a Mage Apprentice.

Su Ye entered the Light of the Divine Realm joyfully and meditated.

Su Ye’s stamina, energy, and Magic Power completely recovered within ten minutes.

Sometime later, Su Ye sensed that his body had absorbed a sufficient amount of power from the Divine Realm. He did not immerse himself in the feelings of euphoria and instead returned to the Magic Tower.

Su Ye observed the leaf of the Tree of Magic closely. He was surprised to notice that not only had the leaf returned to its black, crystal-like state, but the Magic Array carved on the leaf had also become even more perfect.

“Indeed, the power of magic lies not in talents, but in continuous effort. The enough effort, an effort given with the right method!

“However, my speed of meditation is rather fast. Under normal circumstances, a person has to meditate for an hour to completely replenish their Magic Power. This should be due to the experience I have accumulated over the years.”

Niedern had charged into the office of the vice dean while Su Ye was meditating.

“Get out! Knock!” A stern voice rang out, not unlike the roar of a male lion.

Niedern’s look of excitement crumbled instantly. He obediently stepped out of the office and knocked three times before opening the door.

“You haven’t eaten, have you? Let’s order our meals together and chat as we eat.”

Behind the wide table, an elderly man wearing a long, purple robe spoke without looking up from his spellbook. He had black curly hair and a beard that was even thicker than his hair. It was like the lush crown of a banyan tree was hanging down from his chin.

“Yes, Teacher.”

Niedern obediently opened his spellbook and ordered his meal.

Thucydides slowly lifted his head.

Niedern’s heart trembled when he saw Thucydides’ eyes.

There was an ever-changing image in his eyes. Sometimes it was a giant earthquake, and at others, it was a massive tsunami. His eyes looked as though they harbored all of the calamities of this world.

Thucydides blinked. His eyes returned to normal. His brown eyes seemed to have the power to stop all conflict and restore all peace. Those eyes quickly calmed Niedern down.

“There are not many things that you would be happy about.” Thucydides sat up straight and placed his arms on the table as he looked at Niedern.

Behind Thucydides was a wide, transparent crystal window. Light fell in through the window, and the sunny sky could be seen outside. However, in Niedern’s eyes, it was as though his teacher was a divine pillar that held up the sky.

At this moment, Niedern felt as though he were a little piglet that had encountered a lion. He nodded cautiously and said, “I’ve discovered a genius in both magic and combat today.” He pushed his spellbook forward with both hands after he spoke.

Thucydides took Niedern’s spellbook. With a flick of his right hand, the process of Su Ye learning magic was displayed at ten times the speed.

He then moved his finger and increased the speed of the playback by 100 times.

“Very good.” Thucydides’ booming voice rang out within the office.

Niedern tried his best to suppress the surprise in his heart. Thucydides had said “very good,” which meant that Su Ye possessed enormous potential that might even surpass his own.

Thucydides waved his finger again and transferred the contents from Niedern’s spellbook into his own.

Niedern said, “I sent people to investigate after Su Ye advanced to the level of Mage Apprentice, and I have already sent the findings to you. I would like to think that you have already read it. Do I have to deal with Lawrence?”

Thucydides did not look at Niedern. He turned his chair and looked out the window. He tapped his index finger gently on the cover of his spellbook.

Thucydides only said sometime later, “No need.”

“What if Lawrence kills Su Ye?”

“Then he’ll be buried with him. Including his band of pirates and the noble backing him.” Thucydides’ voice was incredibly calm.

“Yes.” Niedern’s heart shook. Indeed, his teacher would never hold back against an enemy.

Niedern continued, “As we have always done, the Low-level Magic Meet will be held as per usual tomorrow. The Noble Academy of Athens has already sent us an official notice. The academy already confirmed the students representing us for the bronze and black iron levels. However, none of the Mage Apprentices are ideal. Should we send Su Ye as a representative? Those fools could not be compared to Su Ye even if they faced off against the cheetahs together. I think highly of Su Ye and want to hone him.”

“Sure,” Thucydides answered very quickly this time.

“He is currently too smart and has just learned how to wield magic. He will not want to get injured or disgrace himself. I will find a way to deceive… convince him,” Niedern said.

Thucydides nodded naturally.

Sometime later, Bear Gnomes that were only slightly shorter than an average man knocked on the door and entered to deliver lunch.

After lunch, Niedern was about to leave when he suddenly stopped. He let out a slight cough and asked, “Teacher, let me ask you a question. You have to answer within three seconds. If you cannot answer, you will be ousted… cough cough, you will lose your student, Niedern. You are traveling with a tiger, an eagle, a goat, and a rabbit and encounter a storm. Your Magic Power has been depleted, and all four animals are injured. Coincidentally, there’s a small island in front of you, but you can only bring one animal to the island. Which one will you choose? One… Two… Two… Two… Three!”

Thucydides only slowly revealed his answer a few seconds after Niedern dragged on his count of three.

Niedern was dazed for a long while.

“Does the teacher not care about losing me?” Niedern let out a long sigh. He rolled his eyes, placed his palm on his left chest, and walked outside.

Thucydides was silent in deliberation. He opened his spellbook again a moment later…

Su Ye did not waste any time after he finished his meal. He first prepared for his classes in the afternoon, then started to review the contents of the classes in the morning.

Su Ye finally went to his first afternoon class and listened to the lesson intently.

Su Ye would frequently check the material the teacher taught against the textbook while he was listening and note down any doubts or anything he did not understand immediately. He did not spend much time thinking about it in the moment.

Su Ye maintained his principle of training the brain. He did not take too many notes and only noted down an extremely limited number of key points or doubts.

Su Ye would stand up after every lesson to alleviate the fatigue of having sat down for a long period of time. He would then hold his spellbook up and quickly draw a simple mind map of the material of the previous lesson to supplement his memory.

Su Ye was feeling rather good after going through consecutive afternoon classes. Thus, he decided to continue following his study plan. He would prepare, listen, review, and do his assignments for all of his lessons per usual but allocate all of the time he could spare to studying for the few subjects he had picked out before.

The class was noisy. Su Ye finished up the mind map for the previous class. He started to think about what he should study during the self-study period at the end of the day.