Chapter 10 Instant Cast Spell

"Ah." Duwei nodded, coming back to his senses. "Then find a room for her and let her undress herself." Duwei smiled and looked at the long-legged girl. "I don't mean anything else, I'm just interested in your leather armor."

"Damn brat! If you dare touch me, I'll make sure you..." the girl cursed.

Duwei walked up to her with a stern face, extending a finger boldly to poke her face. "Oh, I touched you. What are you going to do about it?"

The others were all tied up with ropes, and the bullish warrior was even chained by two knights with animal harnesses.

As for the long-legged girl, she was knocked out by the guards of the Roland family and thrown directly into Duwei's room—since the young master seemed interested in this girl, as subordinates, they saw it as an opportunity to please their master.

Ignoring the vulgar thoughts of those subordinates, Duwei focused his attention and prepared to thoroughly examine the magician alone!

The magician, stripped of his gray robe, stood before Duwei only in his underwear, his hands and feet bound with ropes. Initially, he attempted to threaten the young noble, "Do you dare treat a magician like this? Aren't you afraid of offending the Mage Guild?"

A slap was the answer he received, silencing the magician immediately.

Rubbing his slightly painful hand, Duwei realized his body was still too weak.

"If you cooperate and answer my questions, I'll consider letting you go," Duwei said, sitting on a chair and looking at the magician trussed up before him. "I didn't see you chanting any spells when you cast those fireballs earlier. Have you mastered the 'Instant Cast' technique?"

This was what intrigued Duwei the most!

The use of magic by a magician usually required chanting spells—a common knowledge from all the books Duwei had read. Though in this world, there were some exceptional top-tier magicians who could control spells with their thoughts, silently completing the incantations mentally—a skill known as "Instant Cast." However, such a technique required immense mental strength, precise mastery, and understanding of magic skills!

Usually, only renowned grand magicians on the continent could achieve this. The skill of instant casting was impossible for a mere low-level first-grade magician to master.

Of course, besides relying on one's own abilities to achieve "Instant Cast," there was another method—magic scrolls.

Magic scrolls were pre-enchanted scrolls containing spells. When a magician needed to engage in combat, they could easily throw out the scroll, instantly triggering the pre-stored magic within.

However, magic scrolls were precious magical consumables. Moreover, the higher the level of the spell, the more difficult it was to create a scroll! The most widely used magic scrolls usually contained only low-level spells. It was rare to find mid-level spells made into scrolls, and high-level spells were almost never heard of being made into scrolls.

Therefore, Duwei was intrigued by this lowly first-grade magician! Because from the battle just now, he didn't chant any spells at all! It seemed like the legendary "Instant Cast"!

Although, what he "Instant Cast" was just the lowest-level Fireball spell.

In this world, the level of a magician was strictly defined by the strength of their magic power and their mastery of magical skills.

Among these, the use of incantations was a crucial factor in assessing a magician's skill!

Casting spells required chanting incantations, a universally acknowledged fact. However, the same incantation could produce different results when cast by different magicians. Some highly skilled magicians had developed alternative methods for casting difficult incantations, allowing them to chant even the most complex spells in a special way, perhaps shortening a syllable or two. This gave them an advantage in battle!

Moreover, research results on certain magical incantations were often a magician's greatest secret, never to be easily shared with others. Otherwise, they would lose their advantage.

As for "Instant Cast"... it was something that could drive any magician crazy or make them sacrifice everything to pursue!

Duwei wasn't foolish; he didn't believe that this mere low-level first-grade magician had truly mastered the "Instant Cast" technique. His speculation was that this guy had mastered some sort of substitute method or something similar to "Instant Cast"!

Otherwise, if the magician before him was truly capable of "Instant Cast," he wouldn't have ended up tied up like a rice dumpling. In that case, the outcome of the battle just now would have been a total defeat for his own side.

This guy definitely had some little secrets! That's where Duwei's interest lay!

Faced with Duwei's questions, the magician's expression soured, and he seemed to avoid eye contact, keeping his mouth shut tightly.

Duwei shrugged. He didn't expect the other party to cooperate and spill the secrets right away.

They were in the kitchen behind the tavern, and currently, there were only the two of them. Duwei had all the time in the world to deal with him.

He began by carefully examining the spoils confiscated from the magician.

A magician's robe—Duwei glanced at it and tossed it into the nearby stove, turning the robe into a ball of flames, effectively using it as firewood. However, he took the silver leaf badge, playing with it for a while before also tossing it into the fire. This badge was a certification of a genuine magician issued by the Mage Guild... and to Duwei, a person from another world, it possessed a special property: anti-theft and anti-loss!

This badge, certified by the Mage Guild's magic, could only be worn by the magician it was issued to and couldn't be separated from the magician's body beyond a certain distance; otherwise, it would automatically melt away. Moreover, this badge emitted a faint magical fluctuation, serving as an anti-counterfeiting mark! This made it difficult for ordinary people to create a badge like this to impersonate a magician's identity.

So, this badge was of no use to Duwei. Watching the badge being tossed into the stove, the trussed-up magician showed a pained expression.

"You see, I don't really mean any harm," Duwei smiled. His young, pale face bore a devilish grin. "I'm just a young man with a keen interest in magic. If you're willing to answer a few questions, satisfy my curiosity, and I'll let you go."

The magician remained silent.

Duwei had no choice but to continue examining the spoils.

A small pouch, found under the magician's robe, contained several pieces of differently colored gemstones. While these were treasures to ordinary people, they were merely tools for storing magic power for magicians. Duwei glanced at them and casually pocketed them.

There were also two pieces of parchment, containing a few low-level magic incantations. Duwei's eyes lit up immediately!

Though he had read many books on magical knowledge, due to the strict regulations in the magician's field, no genuine magical incantations would ever be found in books! Books contained only theoretical knowledge about magic, but not a single real incantation, even the most basic Fireball spell!

Not even the lowest-level Fireball spell!

This ensured the ancient tradition of magician inheritance: a magician's knowledge could only be passed down orally and physically from master to apprentice! It could never be publicly disseminated!

"It's somewhat similar to the firearms control in 'that' world," Duwei evaluated in his mind: "In 'that' world, everyone can go online or read books to learn a lot about the characteristics, models, and principles of firearms, but it's impossible for individuals to handcraft a real gun purely by their own efforts."

"Oh, what's this?"

After tallying up the spoils, the only things left in front of him were several transparent small bottles, sealed at the mouth, containing various colored powders.

Duwei didn't dare to blindly open these bottles because the items carried by the magician could very well be dangerous! One of those bottles might contain a substance capable of turning people into stone!

"It seems my speculation was correct," Duwei sat up straight, smiling at his captive. "Your true strength isn't strong; you're a low-level first-grade magician. That's without a doubt. The 'Instant Cast' technique you displayed during the fight must be some kind of opportunistic substitute method, right? Now, I'll give you two choices: either you obediently tell me, satisfying my curiosity, and I'll let you go, or... you'll have to face some consequences."

The magician still attempted to play tricks: "You're a noble! Don't you think treating a magician like this is beneath your status?"

Duwei didn't respond.

A noble? So what?

In fact, Duwei had always felt somewhat skeptical about his inexplicable arrival in this world. In this completely unfamiliar world, he felt like he had no purpose in life! Losing everything from his previous world—ideals, friendships, family, love, everything that made up his former life...

Arriving in a completely foreign world, especially through such a brusque "cut-off," over the past few years, Duwei felt like his life was aimless and chaotic. He hadn't found even a hint of purpose.

Now, in this strange world, the only thing that sparked his interest was the field of "magic."

As for everything else... Duwei couldn't care less!

And for the sake of satisfying his curiosity about magic, he instigated his men to attack these strangers in the tavern. As for whether such actions were ethical? Duwei cared even less!

He, Duwei Roland, or the person from his previous life... was never a good person.