Talent Revealed

"How did she know?"

He hadn't told Lori about this matter. The incident on the training ground, too, was attributed to the aftermath of the battle as an excuse.

Lu Fei wanted to conceal it, but Lori's firm gaze made him understand that this wasn't the time for lies.

"Um, Lori, I'm not sure if this counts as a talent. Right after waking up, I felt like my eyes had changed somehow, as if I could see information about objects."

Lu Fei stammered uncertainly.

"Oh? About eye talents?" Lori murmured with a hint of joy.

Generally, talents related to eyes were not weak. These individuals could become extremely powerful with just their own eyes and could even write an epic story.

However, from what Lu Fei said, it didn't seem like an especially powerful ability.

Observing information about objects could be achieved with ordinary divination magic.

Lori didn't believe that his abilities were limited to just that. After all, he had absorbed the energy of the entire Spirit Testing Crystal, coupled with his own magical power.

These energies had reached the level of legendary powerhouses. If released all at once, it would be enough to destroy most of the Rite territory, equivalent to the territory of a small country.

So either Lu Fei was lying, or he simply didn't understand his own talent.

Lori leaned toward the latter. She couldn't find a reason for Lu Fei to lie.

Apart from his innocent nature, it was mostly because of their slave contract.

No one could release the contract, not even the gods, except for the master themselves.

If the master died, the slave would also die. Both life and freedom were in Lori's hands.

With this contract in place, everything about Lu Fei belonged to Lori.

His life, his purpose of existence, all belonged to her.

After a moment of thought, Lori suddenly chuckled.

'It seems I'm too impatient. Lu Fei has just awakened, so it's natural that he wouldn't understand his abilities well yet. I'll help him develop them slowly later.'

Seeing Lu Fei's uneasy look, Lori felt like he was a pet at a loss.

Her tone softened slightly.

"Alright, Lu Fei, don't be nervous. We'll slowly understand more about your talent later. Now, let's talk about your tasks for the future: starting from tomorrow, in the morning, you'll study theoretical knowledge in the library with others, and in the afternoon, you'll come to me for magic lessons."

Hearing Lori's plan, Lu Fei was delighted. This was exactly what he had hoped for.

He needed someone to systematically teach him about the world's knowledge.

"Okay, I'll definitely work hard."

Lu Fei promised earnestly, his determined demeanor making Lori slightly raise an eyebrow.

...

In the library, an old man with a white beard yelled angrily at Lu Fei, "How do you know nothing? Can't even write a word! Are you a barbaric orc from the wilderness?"

Lu Fei's pointed ears twitched slightly. This was the first time he had been scolded like this in his life, and it felt uncomfortable.

The old man with the white beard was named Haf Purman, the teacher Lori had arranged for Lu Fei.

After arriving, he tested Lu Fei's level of knowledge first to facilitate later teaching.

Naturally, Lu Fei knew nothing when asked.

This directly ignited Haf's anger. As a scholar, he despised ignorant people the most, especially those who couldn't even reach the level of a three-year-old child.

Helpless, he could only start teaching from the most basic things.

An hour later, Haf's expression calmed down, and his tone became gentle.

Two hours later, Haf was full of satisfaction, occasionally praising Lu Fei.

Three hours later, Haf became joyful. Lu Fei was the most trouble-free student he had ever taught.

He understood everything at once and remembered everything he was taught.

"Alright, Lu Fei, let's stop here for today. We'll continue tomorrow, remember to consolidate the knowledge points. I'll ask you questions tomorrow morning."

Haf stroked his white beard.

"Okay, Teacher Haf, I will." Lu Fei stood up respectfully.

Although Haf had a bad temper, he was still a good teacher, making knowledge easy to understand.

In the afternoon, Lu Fei arrived at a courtyard, the place he had agreed to meet Lori.

He waited for nearly an hour before Lori leisurely arrived.

With swaying steps and a leisurely appearance, she made Lu Fei grit his teeth.

He felt like Lori had deliberately made him wait so long.

"Lori, what kind of magic are you going to teach me?"

Although Lu Fei felt unhappy inside, he had no choice but to follow her to learn magic.

Lori sat leisurely on the stone bench, a faint gleam of light flashing on her finger as a thick book appeared on the table. It was adorned with exquisite patterns, occasionally emitting a radiant glow, making it look extraordinary.

"Here, this is for you."

Lu Fei picked up the book and flipped through a few pages, embarrassingly realizing that he couldn't understand it.

Seeing his expression, Lori chuckled softly, her melodious voice echoing in the pavilion.

"Hehe... If Haf hadn't told me, I wouldn't have believed that you don't even recognize the words"

Catching a glimpse of Lu Fei's slightly darkened expression, Lori lightly covered her mouth with slender fingers, once again displaying the demeanor of a noble young lady.

"Well, it's okay if you don't recognize the characters. I'll teach you."

With that, the magic book in Lu Fei's hand floated over to Lori.

Lori glanced at Lu Fei and moved her body slightly to the side, saying, "Come here, little sprite, sit next to me so you can learn some characters while I teach you. Haf said you're very smart, and I also want to see how smart you are."

Seeing the space left for himself, Lu Fei felt a bit embarrassed but didn't dwell on it. If even a little girl could be so open, how could he hesitate?

Sitting on the stone bench, he felt a slight warmth, perhaps just an illusion.

Lori's faint fragrance occasionally wafted over, disturbing Lu Fei's nerves.

Glancing sideways at Lori, he found her staring at him, her gaze resembling that of someone observing a pet.

"Lori, is there something on my face?" Lu Fei asked irritably.

Ignoring his unfriendly tone, Lori started her lesson with a smile.

For her, Lu Fei was an interesting person.

Despite being a slave, he didn't have the mentality of one, nor did he show reverence for those in authority. When interacting with him, she always felt a casualness, as if there were no 'slave' shackles on him.

Lori didn't dislike it. On the contrary, she even liked it. At the same time, she wanted to know why Lu Fei was like this. Despite being as weak as a chick, he exuded an inexplicable confidence. Where did it come from?

Lori became curious but didn't rush to explore. After all, Lu Fei couldn't escape, and they had plenty of time. Good things were worth savoring slowly.

"Lu Fei, do you know how magic is formed?"

"I don't know."

Sharp and clear, the morning's questioning by Haf had already given Lu Fei the basic quality of being a poor student.

Lori glanced at him, wordlessly running her fingers through her silver-white hair.

"Now, listen to me. How much you remember depends on you."

"The power of magic comes from nature, which is composed of various elements. These elements include gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, ice, poison, light, darkness, void, time, and more. When we use magic, the fundamental core is the reasonable application of elemental power."

"Just like this," Lori said, conjuring a blazing red fireball in her hand. "This is the power of fire elements in action."

"By using one's spiritual power to manipulate the fire elements in nature, you can create such a fireball."

Listening to this, Lu Fei suddenly thought of the term 'mana' and curiously asked, "So, what is the role of mana in magic?"

Lori didn't expect Lu Fei, this novice, to ask such a valuable question.

"That's what I'm going to talk about next. If a person only uses their spiritual power to manipulate elements, they can only manipulate a small part. However, if they use their internal mana to manipulate, it will become like this."

With that, Lori's fireball rapidly expanded, instantly turning into a huge fireball over two meters in diameter.

The scorching temperature distorted the air in the stone pavilion, and Lu Fei's face was covered in sweat, instantly evaporating.

For a moment, he felt like he was standing over a lava pit.

Crack!

The huge fireball in Lori's hand disappeared without a trace.

She looked at Lu Fei and asked, "Do you understand the role of mana now?"

Lu Fei pondered. He felt mana was like a catalyst, stimulating the activity of elements.

It was also like a magnet, attracting the free elements in space.

But to describe its effect, using a lever might be more appropriate.

One's spiritual power was the downward force, mana was the lever, and the elements in nature were the objects being leveraged.

The stronger the spiritual power, the more elements could be leveraged.

The more mana, the more elements could be leveraged.

Spiritual power and mana complemented each other, developing together along a coordinated curve.

But there might be exceptions. What would happen if someone had immense mana but weak spiritual power?

"Lori, I feel mana is like a catalyst, igniting the elements in nature to burn more quickly and intensely."

Hearing Lu Fei's words, Lori nodded.

"That's not wrong to say. However, mana is not just a catalyst; it can burn itself."

"If there are no natural elements around, one's own mana is the only source of magic."

Lu Fei took Lori's words to heart. This was all very important knowledge.

"Now that you understand spiritual power, mana, and elements, what you need to know next are the incantations, gestures, and magic circles used in casting spells."

Lori uttered a chant softly.

Before her, flames reflected, and a small fire dragon appeared, shooting rapidly into the air.

Then, her fingers traced an orange-red magic circle in the air, and another small fire dragon erupted from it.

Finally, Lori made various hand seals, each time conjuring a small fire dragon...

"Lu Fei, do you understand?"

"The same magic, but different casting methods," Lu Fei answered.

Lori raised her eyebrows lightly. "Well said. It seems you are indeed clever. As I said, the same magic can be achieved through different methods. It depends on personal habits. Some people are better suited to casting spells with incantations. Dragonkin are among them, and their dragon language magic is based on this."

"Magic circles were originally passed down from demons in the abyss and devils in hell, and the word 'magic' is closely related to them."

"And gestures were mostly spread to mortals by gods, initially to help them better utilize divine power."

"After countless years of research and evolution, these things have become better means of casting magic."