Chapter 21: Numerous Troubles (II)

Tragedy!
After struggling to make it through to a magical world to learn magic, why must I be stared at like an enemy by some ten-year-old girl?!
“Thors, as an apprentice fire mage, you can’t even remember the complete sequence of fire elements. I’m very disappointed…”
Enough, Professor—this isn’t the first time you’ve been disappointed!
Besides, the periodic table of fire elements is half as thick as my thumb. I’m not Scott—how am I supposed to memorize it?!
By the way… could you stop using those tactics meant to motivate kids?
“Then, student Lavia, try filling in this section of the periodic table!”
Ugh.
It seems my professor is addicted to this trick…
“Sure, Professor Hode!”
The girl named Lavia Phaularia had stunning fiery red hair—fine and pure in color, resembling a blazing flame from afar. Her bright green eyes were the best proof of her Phaularia lineage.
Phaularia was the surname of an ancient imperial noble duke. Lavia’s grandfather, the Grand Duke of Phaularia, was renowned even among imperial dukes. This was thanks to his leadership in suppressing the riots and rebellions in Mosdith decades ago—he was one of the few dukes authorized by the empire to command a regular army.
No wonder the Phaularia family’s crest featured a ‘sword’ symbol.
After all, the empire was a country governed by a feudal system, with most armies under the control of various dukes and counts. In times of war, these dukes and counts’ armies served as the main force, similar to generals in our world.
The difference was that generals generally didn’t have the right to own lands, but this world was different.
In fact, the empire could also be seen as composed of numerous duchies of varying sizes, with the rulers of these duchies being grand dukes. Grand dukes were directly appointed by the emperor, while dukes and counts were assigned based on their contributions to the empire—there was no inherent hierarchical relationship between them. Let’s not go into that for now.
Lavia Phaularia was the granddaughter of the Grand Duke of Phaularia. Born in the major city of Newlan in the northwest, she was said to have magical energy fluctuations from birth, and her affinity for fire elements far exceeded that of ordinary people. Thus, the Grand Duke sent his most cherished daughter to the Rexox Academy.

Like most noble children, Ravia had been exposed to magic before coming to Riox. Of course, due to her age and status, the duchy’s magicians didn’t dare teach her much magic. Yet even so, her understanding of magic far exceeded that of ordinary people. Professor Hod recognized this early on. Ravia had the highest grades in the Fire Blue Magic class and was the most diligent student—her affinity, perception, and practical skills with fire elements far surpassed those of the other students… Even Ravia herself thought so! As is natural for children, they all wanted to be the students the professor valued most, and Ravia was no exception. Since starting school, she had answered almost every question Professor Hod asked perfectly. She remembered every fire-related magic spell and technique he taught, but… Recently, Ravia gradually realized that Professor Hod wasn’t asking questions because he valued her—he was doing it for someone else… A commoner with dark golden hair, quiet, unsociable, constantly distracted in class, and rude! That annoying guy’s name was Thos… To be honest, Ravia didn’t hold any contempt for commoners. This stemmed from the teachings of the Grand Duke of Phavalia, and she could tolerate a “rude commoner” walking ahead of her—even if it made her uncomfortable. But she truly couldn’t accept Professor Hod’s “behavior.” Perhaps due to her noble status, she felt dismissed and humiliated. However, her excellent noble upbringing didn’t fill her with jealousy. With a hint of dissatisfaction and curiosity, she began to pay attention to that boy named Thos… Just like the first time she saw him, he remained as cold as ever, which puzzled Ravia—when a commoner meets a noble, even if they don’t fawn over them, they should at least show courtesy, right? But that guy didn’t! He actually got off the carriage first, in front of all the nobles in it… He didn’t like to talk—well, he probably didn’t like talking to strangers. Aside from talking with Professor Hod, Ravia had never seen him speak to any other student in class, ever! What he did most often was daydream during class—Ravia couldn’t understand. Could there be something outside the window more interesting than the magic taught by Professor Hod?

Every time Professor Hode asked that guy questions, Lavia secretly hoped he wouldn’t be able to answer, and the results met her expectations: the guy hardly ever gave complete answers to Professor Hode’s questions. But seeing his indifferent expression, Lavia’s mood, which had been lifted by Professor Hode’s praise, immediately dropped. In short, Lavia didn’t see anything exceptional about that guy. If she had to say something… it was only that he seemed to have a good temper and didn’t care about others’ mockery and provocation. That was Lavia’s initial opinion, but three months later, she gradually realized that he wasn’t actually having a good temper—on the contrary, she now thought it was a form of indifference… That emotion often appeared in his eyes… Lavia remembered her grandfather once teaching that excellent nobles must learn to tolerate the rudeness of their subordinates or commoners. She had always remembered that… That guy’s behavior was similar to what her grandfather had said, but from his eyes, she could tell it wasn’t tolerance—it was disregard, coldness, and a lack of concern… Disdain? Could it be because he looked down on others? As a commoner? What right did he have? That guy, who had no merits other than his pretty hair color! Lavia bit her lip hard. That guy passed the Ancient Magic History exam only by taking a make-up test, just like many commoner students. But Lavia didn’t care about that. What concerned her was the increasingly strong aura of fire element around him. Lavia was sensitive to the aura of fire elements. She could sense that Professor Hode had the strongest fire element aura in the classroom, but after him, it was that boy named Thos, not herself… Could it be that that guy was more talented in fire-based magic than her? Or was it because she wasn’t trying hard enough? How could this be? She had never slacked off! Finally, one day during a potion-making class, Lavia witnessed the speed at which that boy named Thos cast fireballs… Fast! Extremely fast! In just the blink of an eye… And the energy contained in the fireballs he cast was much greater than hers… How could this be… “Lavia?” A puzzled voice called out beside her ear. “Huh?” Lavia snapped out of her thoughts and saw Professor Hode standing in front of her, holding his wand and smiling at her. Her ears turned red instantly, and she hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, Professor Hode. I… I…”

“Hehe,” obviously, with a student like Jiang Zhe around, Professor Hod had become quite immune to distractions in class. Holding the tip of his magic wand, he said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Lavia. I just want to ask you: when a fire mage is in danger, what spells should he use to save his life, considering only fire-based spells?”
Lavia thought for a moment before standing up and answering, “It’s [Flame Wave] and [Fire Resistance Ring], Professor!”
“Very good, excellent! Please sit down!” Professor Hod, very satisfied, told the student to sit, then glanced toward the back of the classroom and shook his head slightly.
To be honest, among the dozens of students in this classroom, Professor Hod valued two people the most: one was the current Lavia, and the other was Jiang Zhe, who was daydreaming in the back.
In Professor Hod’s view, the girl named Lavia was of the theoretical type. Such students’ diligence in class satisfied all the professors greatly. Of course, the power of her fire spells was not weak either, but it was merely average—far from meeting Professor Hod’s standards…
Perhaps in this classroom, only that child daydreaming in the back could satisfy Professor Hod. That child was of the practical type. He hated memorizing the sequence of fire elements or flipping through textbooks; he preferred to explore things his own way.
At first, the girl named Lavia had the strongest fire element aura in the class. But just three or four months later, that child named Sos far surpassed her, with such a strong fire element aura that even Professor Hod found it incredible.
Such a growth rate… Could it be that the child practiced only the fireball spell he knew, 24 hours a day?
For a beginner mage, how could that be possible?
Yet, that child named Sos did it!
Curious, Professor Hod once visited the child’s dormitory. At that time, the child was dozing on the sofa in the room, with three fireballs floating around him…
Professor Hod was stunned and filled with amazement.
This child was a natural mage!
He possessed incredible talent and intelligence beyond his peers—he was a genius!
Perhaps this child could truly accomplish what he couldn’t…
Professor Hod had already secretly taken Jiang Zhe as his apprentice. While teaching him true skills, he set standards for Jiang Zhe that were far beyond what ordinary students could achieve.

Overall, that child satisfied Hode greatly, but still…
Professor Hode felt puzzled—was his course really that boring? It shouldn’t be!
Sigh! If Thos could study as hard as Ravia and absorb all the theoretical knowledge, that would be great…
But after getting to know Jiang Zhe, Professor Hode gave up. This child simply wasn’t cut out to sit still and read…
And Jiang Zhe was unaware of all this. Apart from finding the girl’s hostile gaze confusing, he simply didn’t want to stay in the classroom—perhaps because he had spent too much time there in his past life.
Moreover, rather than Professor Hode’s theoretical knowledge, Jiang Zhe was more concerned about whether he could better control the fire element and reach the stage of compressing elements…
To be honest, Jiang Zhe didn’t like reading aimlessly. He preferred to look up books only when faced with problems—it was simpler that way!
However, it seemed Professor Hode wanted Jiang Zhe to actively seek answers and solve problems on his own. Aside from giving some guidance on key techniques, he usually let Jiang Zhe read by himself.
And as for where to go, was there a better place than the library in Riox?
Speaking of the library, Jiang Zhe couldn’t help but think of one person—a girl with light blue hair, Dia Palas.
She was a very quiet girl. For some reason, Jiang Zhe sometimes felt a sense of familiarity toward her, though he couldn’t explain it.
The two often met in a corner on the first floor of the library. As long as Jiang Zhe went there, he could usually find her, reading intently a very thick magic book—a type of literature Jiang Zhe would never touch.
Just like this…
“Hi!” Jiang Zhe’s greeting was always so simple.
“Hm?” The girl, who had been studying magic materials intently, raised her head in confusion. After seeing Jiang Zhe, she smiled slightly, stroked her messy hair on her forehead, and said gently, “I haven’t seen you lately, Thos.”
“That’s not surprising,” Jiang Zhe shrugged and sat down across from Dia, saying listlessly, “If I had a choice, I’d rather not come here…”
Dia smiled faintly, put down her book, and playfully held her cheeks, saying, “I know. You’d rather go to sleep than come here, right?” Then she lowered her hands and said gently, “Thos, I think that since you want to become a magician, it’s always good to acquire more knowledge, isn’t it? I remember you study blue fire magic. A few days ago, I saw a book titled ‘The Fire Element,’ which might suit you…”

“Pity me!” Jiang Zhe shook his head weakly.
Dia’s expression showed disappointment, but beneath it, there was also a hint of amusement. She had studied water-based blue magic and was highly sensitive to fire elements. She could sense a strong presence of fire energy in this junior, giving her the illusion of being close to flames.
“Is your professor Professor Hod? Where have you gotten to in your lessons?”
“I forgot,” Jiang Zhe scratched his head while flipping through a book. “I’m not very fond of theoretical stuff. It seems like a big gap from actually applying it skillfully. I prefer to face problems first and then solve them…”
“Giggle,” Dia smiled, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed at Jiang Zhe. “It’s been a long time since school started. Professor Hod must have taught you quite a few spells, right?”
“No,” Jiang Zhe replied without looking up, shrugging. “I only know one spell—Fireball!”
“Fireball?” Dia was stunned. Sensing the strong fire energy around the boy, she said in surprise, “Professor Hod only taught you one level-two spell?” She found it hard to believe.
“It’s not us,” Jiang Zhe said, lifting his head. “It’s just me. He only taught me that spell, saying he wouldn’t teach me any others until the Fireball I cast satisfied him…”
“How is that possible?” Dia was puzzled. Suddenly noticing Jiang Zhe frantically flipping through documents, she asked, “What are you looking for?”
“Techniques for compressing elements, something like that.”
“Compress… compressing?” Dia frowned in confusion. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, her eyelashes trembled as she stared at Jiang Zhe in disbelief. Even someone who didn’t study fire-based blue magic would know that compressing elements was one of the most crucial aspects for powerful fire attacks.
He… had already reached this level?
It had only been a short time…
Wasn’t he just in the first year?
Compressing fire elements—even third-year students might not be able to do it…
“Strange. Professor Hod said it was this book…” Jiang Zhe muttered, frowning as he flipped through the book.
After hesitating for a moment, Dia stood up, walked over to Jiang Zhe, and said softly, “Let me help you look!”
It had to be said that Jiang Zhe was indeed not suited to search through numerous documents for what he needed. Once the book was in Dia’s hands, she found what Jiang Zhe was looking for in just five minutes.
“Here!” Dia handed the book back to Jiang Zhe and sat down next to him, asking doubtfully, “It’s such an advanced technique, and extremely dangerous. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“I don’t know. Give it a try. I’ve already tried many times, but it always feels like there’s something missing. I had no choice but to look for information. I remember Professor Hode saying that a fire mage who hasn’t mastered compression techniques can’t be considered a qualified fire mage…”
“Yes…” Dia’s lips moved slightly as she watched her junior with curiosity. Something that even third-year students might not be able to do—could he do it?
After thinking for a moment, Dia gently encouraged him, “Sos, I believe you can definitely do it!”
“Mm!”
Two hours later, Jiang Zhe finally copied all the information he needed onto the parchment on the table.
Perhaps Jiang Zhe’s stretching disturbed Dia beside him. She raised her head, glanced at him, and asked softly, “Are you done copying?”
“Mm!”
“Then are you going back?”
“Yes!” Jiang Zhe shrugged and said, “What about you?”
Looking at Jiang Zhe and then at the documents still unread on the table, Dia smiled and said, “I’m a bit tired too…”
They returned the borrowed books to their proper shelves and left the library.
At that moment, two senior students came towards them. One of them said excitedly, “I wonder what kind of prizes the dean will give this year?”
The other student laughed and said, “It should be pretty good! Ryox is the largest magic academy in the empire!”
With that, the two passed by Jiang Zhe and Dia.
“What prizes?” Jiang Zhe was very puzzled.
“That’s a tradition of Ryox Academy,” Dia explained with a smile. “Every year, the academy organizes two exploration and treasure-hunting activities. The prizes are the wands, gems, and other items that enhance the power of magic they mentioned earlier, or scrolls and such…”
“Enhance the power of magic?” Jiang Zhe became interested.
“Giggle,” as if seeing through Jiang Zhe’s thoughts, Dia giggled and said, “But unfortunately, Sos, the academy rules state that only students in fourth year and above can participate in such activities…”
“Huh? Why is that?”
Smiling slightly, Dia explained, “The location of the activities is in the forest behind the academy. It may not seem like much, but the professor who taught me said it’s actually a barrier. Deep in the forest, there’s a magic array that leads to a distant forest. But it seems to have been abandoned for some reason. Still, many wild beasts appear in the forest, and sometimes magical beasts that can cast spells show up too. That’s why the academy strictly forbids students from entering the forest behind the ancient castle…”

“It seems that’s the case—when we first arrived at Riox, Professor Hode seemed to remind us of that,” Jiang Zhe nodded and said.
“And this expedition takes place in that forest—the professors of the academy hide prizes in various hidden spots in the forest and distribute maps marking all the locations where the ‘treasures’ are hidden…”
“Isn’t that simple? Why only allow seniors to participate? Just be careful of the wild beasts in the forest, right?”
“You fool!” Dia snapped. “There’s more! As I said, the maps will mark all the locations with magical items. What if two groups arrive at the same place at the same time?”
“…” Jiang Zhe realized it was actually a disguised test of the students’ magical skills.
“Got it,” Dia giggled softly. “If too many people participate, the professors won’t be able to handle it. Besides, how can first-year students defeat seniors? It would be troublesome if something goes wrong…” She added with a hint of regret, “Actually, I think it’s way more interesting than the ball. If the Goddess of Luck is on my side and I get a aquamarine stone toset in on my wand, giggling, then I’ll be even more confident of passing this year’s annual assessment…”
“It’s too troublesome to carry a wand around. I’m too lazy to bring one. Something lighter might be acceptable…”
“Negotiate? Giggling…”
The last few words were barely audible.