Chapter 218

Unable to complete an assignment that afternoon and having witnessed just how formidable Seriu could be, the Light Squad decided to behave themselves and stay on academy grounds without going anywhere else.

St. Velia Magic Academy was enormous. Siet, who had enrolled half a month earlier, became their tour guide and took Shu Li and the others all around the academy.

The library, classroom buildings, magic training grounds, potion hall, herb garden, magical formation research center, alchemy hall, magical beast breeding grounds... Whenever they reached a new place, they curiously went inside to explore.

New students were very popular with the older students, and after Shu Li's spectacular performance in the arena had made him famous in a single battle, people greeted him enthusiastically wherever he went. Some even volunteered to act as guides, giving them detailed explanations that helped the Light Squad quickly familiarize themselves with the academy's distinctive features.

Everyone was having such a good time that they didn't stop until Budno and Amanda clutched their stomachs and complained that they were hungry. Only then did they take a rail carriage across campus to the dining hall for dinner.

Because they arrived late, more than half the tables were empty.

No need to fight for seats. Wonderful.

The Light Squad ordered their meals and happily enjoyed the food.

After dinner, they returned to their respective rooms to rest.

In the living room, Shu Li stretched and turned to see Ace taking several books out of his storage pouch.

He had borrowed them from the library. There were ten in total, each as thick as a brick. If the academy hadn't imposed a limit on how many books each student could borrow, Ace probably would have taken a hundred.

"A hundred? Could you even finish them all?"

Shu Li had asked curiously at the time.

"These books are all very interesting. If I read them little by little, I'll finish them eventually." Ace's long, pale fingers brushed over the covers.

Shu Li leaned closer and glanced at a few titles.

The Mage's Guide to Self-Cultivation, Tales from the Alchemy Workshop, The Stories a Magical Beast and I Have to Tell, My Years as a Royal Mage in the Four Great Empires...

None of them looked like particularly serious books.

They seemed more like people's autobiographies.

Who would've guessed that Ace's hobby was reading novels?

Shu Li laughed inwardly, though he didn't dare let it show on his face.

"Um... I'm going to meditate in the magic research room. Enjoy your books."

That afternoon's battle had given him plenty of insights, and he needed time to carefully sort through them.

"All right." Ace nodded.

Shu Li turned and entered the magic research room.

The academy was extremely considerate. Every student was provided with a private magic research room equipped with a high-ranking defensive formation capable of withstanding attacks from a Grand Mage.

Shu Li hadn't gone inside yesterday. The moment he entered now, an intense concentration of elemental energy washed over him, instantly refreshing his mind.

The room wasn't large, only about twenty square meters. Apart from a half-meter-high pillar in the center, it was completely empty.

Shu Li closed the door and approached the pillar to examine it.

There were seven grooves at the top for inserting magic stones, each corresponding to a different magical element.

After thinking for a moment, he took wood, wind, fire, water, earth, and light magic stones from the storage ring hanging around his neck.

Once all six magic stones had been inserted into their respective grooves, the pillar suddenly erupted with dazzling light.

Shu Li instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.

When the light faded, an enormous and exquisitely elaborate magical formation appeared in midair, nearly covering the entire room.

The moment it began operating, the surrounding walls abruptly vanished.

What was going on?

Shu Li lowered his hand and looked around in astonishment.

He found himself standing in a vast space where elemental power was extraordinarily dense. Even without doing anything, he could sense six different colors of bouncy little slime-like blobs energetically jostling one another.

Was this... spatial magic?

Amazing!

Without another thought, Shu Li pulled out his low-ranking magic staff.

The Fireball incantation flashed through his mind, and the fire elements immediately surged toward him, gathering at the tip of his staff.

He casually flicked it forward.

Dozens of small fireballs shot out.

They traveled more than ten meters before colliding with an invisible wall. An enormous defensive formation appeared across the barrier, blocking every attack.

Shu Li lowered his magic staff and watched the sparks burst from the collision between the fireballs and the defensive formation, his spirits soaring.

This magic research room was incredible!

Ilio really had been right. Humans possessed limitless creativity and could always come up with astonishing surprises.

As someone who had once been human himself, Shu Li wholeheartedly agreed.

In his original world, humanity had created countless miracles. There had been no magic, but there was advanced technology that might as well have been magic.

Shu Li slowly closed his eyes and recalled the infernal flames he had cast during today's battle with Ludwig.

A mage's imagination determined the form their magic took after being released.

Ludwig's infernal flames had taken the shape of a vicious-looking western fire dragon. After charging forward, it had transformed into a rain of fire that covered a huge area, leaving its opponent nowhere to escape.

Fortunately, Shu Li was a Little Fairy. His reactions were sharp, his movements agile, and he was exceptionally good at running away. That was the only reason he had escaped unharmed.

An ordinary Intermediate Mage Apprentice would have been hit by the very first attack.

Ludwig had been far too arrogant and had misjudged his opponent, which was why he'd lost so thoroughly.

He had no one to blame but himself.

During their final confrontation, Shu Li had copied what he'd just learned, summoning the fire elements and condensing them into an even stronger, larger, and more realistic red fire dragon.

He was a Little Fairy who had seen a real dragon before. His imagination was far richer than Ludwig's, and he had incorporated the Dragon King Hamon's imposing presence and majesty into the spell.

No wonder Ludwig had been scared senseless.

Fortunately, Shu Li had never intended to kill him. Once he'd frightened Ludwig and knocked down his arrogance a few notches, Shu Li had canceled the magical attack.

After the match ended, another thought suddenly occurred to him.

Why not try an eastern dragon?

That was precisely why he had come to the magic research room.

No sooner thought than done.

Shu Li raised his magic staff again and silently recited the incantation for infernal flames, rapidly constructing the image of an eastern dragon in his mind.

Fire elements gathered before the tip of his staff, gradually forming a miniature eastern dragon.

Success!

Shu Li broke into a delighted grin and carefully examined the little fire dragon.

Hmm.

It was missing a claw, its body wasn't long and graceful enough, and the head looked a little rough.

It needed improvement.

He withdrew his magical power, and the little fire dragon dissolved back into fire elements that dispersed through the air.

Shu Li cast infernal flames again.

This time, he condensed an enormous serpentine fire dragon.

Its majestic head radiated power, its long body coiled commandingly through the air, and its claws were razor-sharp. Its presence was overwhelming, no less imposing than that of a western dragon.

Shu Li's excitement surged.

He swung his magic staff hard.

Engulfed in flames, the eastern dragon charged forward with unstoppable momentum. Its hundred-meter-long body created an even greater attack range.

It could charge straight ahead, sweep sideways, coil, twist, and constrict.

It was practically a magical weapon of mass destruction.

Defensive formations activated in every direction, producing thunderous booms.

The long fire dragon unleashed all of its power, transforming the entire space into a sea of flames.

Shu Li immediately withdrew his magical power.

The flames disappeared, and the space returned to tranquility.

He let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his face.

Now that deserved to be called infernal flames!

Thank goodness mages weren't harmed by their own magic. Otherwise, with a blaze that terrifying, he would've burned himself to ashes.

For the next hour, Shu Li experimented over and over again.

If fire elements could be condensed into an eastern dragon, couldn't they also form a phoenix, Vermilion Bird, Bifang, Yinglong, and other divine beasts?

He became completely absorbed in his experiments, using his six elements to recreate all kinds of divine beasts and monstrous creatures from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

In the past, Shu Li could never have managed anything like this.

Now, through meditation, he could recall the books, films, and shows he had once seen and reconstruct the appearances of those divine and monstrous creatures clearly in his mind. Then, using magic to reproduce them, he could make them astonishingly lifelike.

Shu Li tilted his head back to stare at the enormous Taotie condensed from earth elements and couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.

If he released this thing outside and claimed it was a ninth-rank magical beast, nobody would question it.

It would probably scare the kids half to death, wouldn't it?

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

He'd keep this one as a trump card.

Shu Li withdrew his magical power, and the enormous Taotie dissolved back into earth elements and dispersed.

At the same time, the space inside the magic research room began to change.

Solid walls reappeared around him, while the light from the magic stones embedded at the top of the pillar faded.

Shu Li puffed out his cheeks.

He hadn't even had enough fun yet, and the energy inside the magic stones was already exhausted.

It seemed that if he wanted to play longer in the future, he'd have to use high-grade magic stones.

Still, he'd gained plenty today.

That was enough for now!

He could continue experimenting when he had more time.

Judging by the hour, it was about time to return to the Elven Kingdom.

Yesterday, he had promised the Elf cub that he would visit him again today.

Shu Li left the magic research room and noticed that Ace was nowhere to be seen on the living room sofa.

Had he gone back to his bedroom?

Going to bed this early?

Shu Li scratched the back of his head and entered his own bedroom.

Having a roommate with such a regular routine was pretty nice.

He closed his bedroom door and took the clothes Fairies usually wore from his storage ring, planning to shower before returning to the Elven Kingdom.

Two minutes later, he had used magic to create a warm shower and was humming as he washed, the wings on his back fluttering gently.

Little did he know that in his roommate's bedroom, the Elven King, his disguise removed, was sitting elegantly in a chair and gazing mildly at the black-haired Elf kneeling before him.

"Ilio, there is no need for such formality," the Elven King said.

"No, my King. I'm apologizing to you in advance." Ilio knelt on one knee with his right hand over his chest, his expression solemn.

Just moments earlier, he had teleported into the King's bedroom to report the information he had gathered about the dark forces during this period.

Once the report was finished, however, he had suddenly knelt and begun confessing his offense.

The Elven King looked at him without speaking.

Ilio continued, "While I'm at the magic academy, I'll be teaching one of the classes as a magic instructor. So... my King, I may... become your 'teacher.'"

A subject becoming his King's teacher?

The reversal of their roles was practically sacrilege.

But what could he do when his King had disguised himself as a student?

He was helpless too!

The Elven King smiled faintly.

"You are pardoned."

Ilio blinked his deep blue eyes.

"Thank you for your generosity, my King."

"Is there anything else?" the Elven King asked.

Ilio's gaze shifted slightly before he asked curiously, "Can you teleport directly from the Central Court back to the Elven Kingdom?"

With his current strength as a Mage Sovereign, Ilio could only teleport as far as Adilan, the royal capital of the Dalia Empire. A single long-distance teleportation consumed an enormous amount of power, and he needed at least three days of rest afterward to recover.

The King was older and stronger than him.

Surely he could do it?

"No." The Elven King shook his head. "Even my teleportation distance is restricted by the laws of this world."

Ilio was surprised.

"Then yesterday... did you return to the Elven Kingdom?"

He knew that Sperien could use the Mother Tree's root system to travel freely anywhere on the continent.

After finally settling in yesterday, Sperien would undoubtedly have returned to the Elven Kingdom at least once.

And if he returned to the Elven Kingdom, he would certainly go see the King.

If the King wasn't there, how could he possibly maintain his cover?

The Elven King rose from his chair.

He could sense that the little one in the bedroom across from his had finished bathing, changed into Fairy clothing, returned to his smaller form, and was flying toward the window, preparing to rendezvous with the Mother Tree's roots.

The Elven King took several high-grade magic stones from his storage ring and, right in front of Ilio, tossed them onto the floor.

Ilio stared in confusion.

Half a minute later, his eyes widened in astonishment.

A magical formation had appeared on the floor.

It looked both familiar and unfamiliar.

"This is..."

The Elven King stepped into the magical formation and extended a hand in invitation.

"An improved teleportation array. Would you like to return to the Elven Kingdom with me?"

Ilio gazed at the Elven King in reverence.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped into the teleportation array, his eyes shining brightly.

"Teacher, please teach your disciple!"

That tone.

Those eyes.

That expression.

Absolutely shameless.