Chapter 7: The Little Cat is Asleep

"The moon is beautiful tonight."

Felix sat on a stone bench in the flower garden, intoxicated by the fragrance of the roses. Elves are sentimental by nature, even if his bloodline is diluted.

The moon in the sky was full, casting a moonbeam like water that washed away the last trace of artifice.

The gentle evening breeze brushed his cheeks, lifting strands of his hair. Felix suddenly felt lonely but enjoyed the feeling.

Most magic users are loners. They spend a lot of time in meditation, documenting experiments, and reading books. They distance themselves from crowds, from the world, and walk the path of magic alone.

Getting used to loneliness and enjoying it is a process every magic user must go through.

Felix wasn't exceptionally talented. What enabled his achievements in a short time was his mature soul. A person's mental strength is largely determined by their willpower, and in this respect, Felix outpaces other magic users.

"Logical thinking and comprehension are my strengths. My biggest advantage is learning to look up at the stars," Felix said softly, raising his right hand. He channeled the scarce magical power within him. Without needing any spells, he connected directly to external magical elements, and a small flame sprang up from his palm.

This was the most basic elemental magic, "Lighting Spell," and performing it meant you were qualified as a magic apprentice.

"The magic network is a lever, and magical power uses this lever to interact with external elemental forces to finally cast magic," Felix continued to channel his magic power and reinforced the magic network with his mental strength. The weak flame in his hand flickered and then 'pop,' rapidly expanded into a fist-sized fireball.

"By strengthening the magic network with mental force and increasing the output of magical power, a level 1 'Lighting Spell' turns directly into a level 13 'Fireball Spell.' What an interesting experiment," Felix said, a slight smile curling his lips as he waved his hand to disperse the magical elements gathered in his palm.

He felt like he understood something. Although he couldn't immediately turn this into power, it was only because he lacked a deeper understanding of the magical system.

"The spell is just an aid for magic users to form a magic network. Strong enough mental strength can eliminate this step, creating what is known as instant-cast magic," Felix stood up slowly. He hadn't received any formal magical education; everything he knew, he had figured out himself. This was both his misfortune and his greatest luck.

He had not been poisoned by systematic education and had learned to analyze the entire magic system through his own understanding.

Fulcrum, lever, leveraging external energy. 

The cumbersome steps that traditional magic users have to learn were simplified by him, forming a new system according to his understanding, although it was not yet perfect. Everyone starts as a frog at the bottom of a well; it's only when some jump out that they realize the world is not confined to that one space.

"Two-dimensional space is forward, backward, left, and right; in three dimensions, you begin to understand up and down. The so-called fourth dimension must be the realm of the gods," Felix strolled leisurely through the garden. The small courtyard was quiet, with no one to disturb his thoughts.

"Play to my strengths, avoid my weaknesses. My advantage lies in my understanding of the entire world. Two different systems of civilization have given me a broader perspective than others. I don't have ample time to gather magical power; perhaps I can use external objects as a new fulcrum for leveraging power," Felix felt fortunate because he understood from the start that the world had dimensions beyond forward, backward, left, and right—there was also up and down.

Although he hadn't touched the sky, Felix had successfully jumped out of that well. Had he become a toad squatting at the edge of the well? Well, he'd be the most elegant toad in history, then.

When the first ray of morning sunlight entered the room, Felix was already awake. He had always been an early riser; being fond of one's bed is not a good habit—except, of course, after engaging in certain 'interesting' activities.

A beautiful maid brought hot water and carefully helped him dress. This earned Mrs. Elizabeth, whom he had never met, a bit of his goodwill.

Breakfast was tasty sweets, likely all foods that Mrs. Elizabeth enjoyed. Felix silently speculated that Mrs. Elizabeth would be a voluptuous beauty.

Although he wasn't restricted in any way, Felix still returned to his small courtyard after breakfast. A well-behaved kitten should be home-loving, and only a naughty one would go around causing trouble. Felix believed that many people in the capital would be happy to see him run into some 'accidents' outside.

Even though the mansion wasn't large, Felix felt a sense of chilliness. Maybe there was no particular reason; it was just a pure feeling.

Besides an old butler who seldom spoke, the Marquis's mansion housed only thirteen young and beautiful maids. Thirteen was an interesting number, and Felix liked it. On his way back to the courtyard, Felix ran into the cook of the mansion—a plump woman with arms as thick as his thighs.

This cook, named Sawal, eyed Felix suggestively and discreetly told him that Mrs. Elizabeth enjoyed sweets and was accustomed to strolling in the garden after dinner. If the weather was hot, the beautiful Marchioness would even spend a little time in the swimming pool.

Clearly, this was not something a responsible cook should say.

Felix was stunned but didn't show it. He looked at Sawal, the cook, with a slightly shy expression and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"What an interesting cook."

Back in his room, Felix felt utterly aimless. At least until Mrs. Elizabeth decided what to do with him, he didn't want to attract too much attention. So he lay by the window like a bored fourteen-year-old, aimlessly flipping through a book called "Flowers and Old Soldiers."

Salma, the beautiful maid, told Felix that Mrs. Elizabeth usually returned to the mansion before three in the afternoon. After saying this, the lovely young girl blinked and looked at Felix's handsome face with a shy gaze.

"What an incredibly beautiful boy," thought the pretty maid. Her mind inevitably drifted to the mature allure of Mrs. Elizabeth's body. As the Marchioness's personal maid, she had, of course, attended to her during her baths. Those incredible curves made the beautiful young girl feel both envious and yearning.

Comparing Mrs. Elizabeth's image with this strikingly beautiful boy before her, a ripple of emotion swelled in Marsha's heart. For some unknown reason, her cheeks suddenly flushed, making her look exceptionally charming.

The sky began to darken.

A gentle breeze accompanied a light drizzle, sweeping away the post-autumn heat and bringing a refreshing coolness. Felix felt a wave of tiredness and lay by the window, resting his head on "Flowers and Old Soldiers," and quietly drifted off to sleep...