"Hiss—"
The corner of Lu Cang's mouth twitched.
Kumironi shot Iz a reproachful look. "Iz, why are you so rough with Lu Cang? I don't recall you having a habit of abusing children."
'Yeah, that's right.'
'Kumironi, give this child abuser a good scolding for me.'
'Going on about how 'a real battle isn't just you attacking the enemy, the enemy will also fight back'...'
'And then he attacks me with no sense of honor, no respect for his elders.'
'What kind of master acts like that?'
Lu Cang lay with his head on Kumironi's lap as she healed his injuries.
But this time, the healing wasn't as fast as when she had treated the fatal wound on Izparut's chest.
As the healing progressed slowly, Lu Cang's body still ached all over.
But Lu Cang could faintly sense that as the pain subsided and his wounds healed, his body's Qi and Blood and his Constitution seemed to be improving as well.
Iz scratched his head. "Well..."
"Potential has to be drawn out, you know. He needed to experience what a real battle feels like."
"Otherwise, if he thinks enemies won't fight back, he might get into trouble for it later."
Kumironi continued to soothe Lu Cang's wounds. "But no Mage has Izparut as their opponent for their very first spar."
"This was his first real fight, wasn't it?"
"Iz, no matter how you look at it, you went a little too far this time."
'That's right. Exactly.'
'Really let him have it, Kumironi.'
Lying on Kumironi's lap, Lu Cang glared sideways at Izparut, his eyes full of contempt.
This battle had filled Lu Cang with a sense of defeat.
In truth, Lu Cang had been greatly looking forward to defeating Izparut.
After all, what transmigrator doesn't have a few small dreams?
Like becoming the world's strongest Mage, sweeping aside all peers in his realm, suppressing all enemies across the heavens, and so on.
Even though he was just starting out and couldn't become the strongest Mage, nor could he suppress all enemies across the heavens...
...he should at least be able to try sweeping aside all his peers, right?
Besides, judging from the results of the promotion Ritual and the descriptions of Mages in the Common Sense Book...
...he should be considered an absolute Magic genius, the best of the best from any era.
On top of that, upon reaching Level 2, he had also received "Divine Level·Multiple Spellcasting."
Hearing Iz's request for a battle between peers, Lu Cang had naturally gotten the idea to beat Iz to a pulp first.
'I'll start by defeating Izparut, and then I'll sweep through the heavens!'
But he never expected...
...that he would be the one getting beaten to a pulp.
'Iz, you're really crushing a kid's self-confidence.'
Iz shrugged and spread his hands. "You can't blame it all on me."
"It's mainly that Little Lu Cang really sparked my competitive spirit."
Kumironi raised an eyebrow, her tone slightly teasing and mocking. "Oh? The legendary Izparut is getting competitive with a child?"
Iz shook his head. "That's not it, Kumironi."
He answered seriously, "At that moment, I genuinely felt that if I didn't get serious, I would lose."
"Besides, I believe Lu Cang is an opponent worthy of me taking seriously."
Hearing this, Kumironi paused, staring intently at Izparut.
She didn't say anything more, instead focusing on healing Lu Cang.
...
He had to admit, Kumironi's healing was incredibly effective.
His body, which had been covered in bloody gashes, didn't have a single scar left after the treatment.
Even the faint phantom pains he expected to feel when he thought back on it were completely gone.
'Did she heal not just my wounds, but my psychological trauma as well?'
'Kumironi, you're an amazing healer. As expected of a Level 5 Life Reconstructor.'
Lu Cang couldn't help but marvel.
Back in his room, Lu Cang couldn't help but think about what Iz had said that afternoon.
'So I need to think for myself, huh.'
'I've currently mastered a total of 14 spells.'
'Counting the Magic Enhancement Technique, that makes 15.'
'Come to think of it, I've learned so many spells, but I don't have a lick of theoretical knowledge about Magic.'
Thinking of this, Lu Cang...
...reached for his nightstand and took out the Ice Cone Skill book that he had set aside to gather dust after reading the Chanting Spell once.
He opened it to the first page.
And began to read from the beginning.
Now, looking back after having trained his Magic to the Beyond level, he had a whole new understanding.
History and Origin... weren't so boring after all.
...
He woke up the next morning to the same old schedule.
Reading at the library.
In fact, Lu Cang had already borrowed the Common Sense Book and was carrying it with him.
But beyond common sense, there were some things that needed to be cross-referenced.
So, during his morning study session, Lu Cang still preferred to go to the library to look up useful information.
After lunch...
...it was time to learn Magic with Izparut.
Training with Iz truly led to rapid progress.
In just one day, Lu Cang had trained all six of the new Tier Two Spells he had learned to the Beyond level.
"Heavy Wall," "Poison Vine Whip," "Wind Roar," "Sinking Shadow Swamp," "Rigid Barrier," and "Wave Elevation Technique."
These corresponded to evolutions in hardness for Stone Wall, poison for Vine, explosive power for his wind spell, viscosity for Shadow Swamp, strength for his barrier, and range for his water pillar.
This time, when Lu Cang fought Iz again...
...it was no longer as difficult as it had been yesterday.
It also seemed like Iz was controlling his power and holding back, but regardless, Lu Cang gained a great deal from these spars.
"Mage Mastery - Transcender" allowed Lu Cang to gain extra experience every time he cast Beyond Magic.
And the triple Casting from "Multiple Casting" allowed Lu Cang to gain triple the experience.
Add to that the 5x experience from practicing with Iz, and the occasional bursts of inspiration during combat that gave an extra boost to his Skill Proficiency...
...all this meant that every spell Lu Cang cast netted him hundreds of thousands, even millions, of experience points.
A single Casting was equivalent to a million repetitions of arduous practice for an ordinary person.
Meanwhile, during his battles with Iz...
...Lu Cang's application of his spells also became more adept.
He was gradually developing many skills he hadn't thought of before.
For example, generating a Stone Wall behind a "Rigid Barrier." After instantly blocking the enemy's initial attack, the Stone Wall could form a second layer of defense.
After the enemy smashed through the Stone Wall, another "Rigid Barrier" would be waiting behind it.
Layering them on top of each other like a sandwich cookie.
The triple layers of force mitigation could nullify the vast majority of attacks.
And "Silent Wind Swarm" combined with "Wind Roar"...
...could be used to instantly blast the Silent Wind Swarm at an enemy, dealing fatal damage in a flash.
Or he could use Wind Roar to instantly stir up a gust of wind, concealing the hidden Silent Wind Swarm.
Besides that, there were also combinations like "Sinking Shadow Swamp" and "Curse Arrow," "Stone Wall" and "Punching Pillar"...
Besides being powerful, Beyond Magic had another advantage.
That was... it was new.
They were almost entirely new spells; besides Lu Cang and Izparut, no third person had mastered them.
What no one knows is the hardest to defend against.
However, what Lu Cang didn't understand was... why could that guy Iz also use Beyond Magic?
'Could it be he has Skill Evolution, too?'
One day, two days, three days...
In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed since he came to this world.
He had completed his class change on the fifth day.
After that, his daily schedule was cramming world-view and common sense in the morning, and training with Iz in the afternoon.
Occasionally, Chi Cheng would come by and ask: "Wanna go hunt a Frost Sub-Dragon? Wanna go hunt a Destruction Sub-Dragon? Wanna go hunt a Flaming Sub-Dragon?"
But Iz seemed to feel a great sense of responsibility for him.
Every time Chi Cheng asked, he would refuse.
'Wait...'
'Isn't that your teammate?'
'You should at least go with him once. It's okay if I take a day off from training.'
That's what he thought to himself.
But in truth, Lu Cang also wanted to keep practicing.
He could feel his strength growing by leaps and bounds every day. The thrill of such progress was simply intoxicating.
Moreover, "Magic Void" had also successfully transformed.
Under Iz's guidance, "Magic Void" had broken through to become "Void Realm," which Iz rated as the strongest Magic Enhancement Technique for a Tier Two Mage.
And the only Mages who had learned "Void Realm" were Iz and Lu Cang.
Those Mages who had learned "Magic Tide" would, after reaching Tier Two, learn a weakened version of "Void Realm" called "Magic Blank."
Learning Magic from Iz was truly a wonderful feeling.
If nothing unexpected happened, Lu Cang felt he could keep learning from Iz forever.
The day after he learned "Void Realm."
Lu Cang went downstairs as usual, planning to grab breakfast and then go read, all the while wondering what new things he would learn from Iz today.
However, as soon as he reached the main hall, he found Iz and the others waiting for him.
That's right, waiting.
Lu Cang could tell.