Chapter 19

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Andrew was surprised to find that Mary and Tim were a step behind him when he returned home. They were still on the road.

‘They’re probably collecting various awards at the school.’

He wasn’t in a hurry. He casually sat on the sofa and picked up a newspaper to read. About half an hour later, with the sound of hurried footsteps, Mary excitedly pushed the door open, followed by Tim, who appeared much more composed.

“Dad! Did you know? This time, my brother got the first place in the Academy’s Grand Competition!”

“How is it? Isn’t it amazing!”

“And I’ve also won several matches in a row in the competition of the apprentice realm!”

Tim, who followed behind, only smiled faintly.

“Yeah, now our family’s financial conditions are much better than before. The scholarship this time is worth tens of thousands.”

“Thank you for your hard work.” Andrew had a serene expression, which astounded Mary.

“Dad, you’re too calm.”

Andrew was about to say something when there was a knock on the door again.

“Who is it?”

Tim patted his head.

“I’m sorry, I forgot we brought our Academy’s teacher here.”

After saying this, a middle-aged man with a full beard entered the room. He was dressed in a dark green robe.

‘An intermediate mage?’

Andrew sensed him.

“This is my mentor, Mr. Kant.”

“He is also a mage who cultivates both the wind and fire elements.”

Tim hurriedly introduced him.

The middle-aged man called Kant also walked quickly to Andrew.

“Mr. Smith, I feel that your Tim has great potential. It would be a pity to graduate just like this.”

“I have an acquaintance in the southeast province’s United Academy. I can write a recommendation letter. What do you think? If Tim continues to study here, he won’t be able to maximize his potential.”

This teacher said quite sincerely, while Andrew only nodded calmly.

“Regarding this matter, you can just ask Tim yourself.”

He said indifferently. Having Topa with Tim, it would be the same whether he joined the United Academy or not. Andrew was too lazy to chat with this teacher. He directly walked into the study and prepared to continue fiddling with his intermediate spells, this made Mary and Tim feel a little awkward.

“I’m sorry, teacher. I don’t know why, but recently, my father’s temper has been a little strange.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Since your father said that you can make the decision yourself, then Tim, are you willing to go to the United Academy?”

The teacher didn’t mind. Instead, he looked at his proud disciple and asked.

…

“Mr. Smith, you’re here.”

“Mr. Smith, your magic is fantastic!”

Andrew wore a robe as he walked into the Association’s library. The mages who saw him all greeted him, their eyes filled with admiration. These people were quite sincere because, in their eyes, this mysterious Fellow was far more diligent than anyone else!

Andrew nodded his head in acknowledgment. Then, he went to a smaller secret room in the library, which held research materials for various fire element intermediate spells. Then, he casually pulled out an intermediate spellbook called ‘Whip of flames’. After flipping through it, he revealed a mysterious smile.

‘The way this spell is cast is rather interesting.’

Andrew pondered. The flame whip was formed by seven runes, which was a moderate number. They were magic compression, flame release, burning, flame shaping, burn strengthening, armor piercing, and small burst. After casting, it would form a substantial whip that was continuously formed by flames.

‘It’s no wonder this thing is so unpopular. You can cast a spell from afar, but if you use this flame whip, you’ll have to personally go up and beat people up, not to mention…’

After reading the last part of the spell introduction, he was even more speechless.

‘If you want to maintain this magic, you must constantly outline the flame-shaping runes in your mind. Every time you sketch out a rune, it can extend the duration of the flame whip by two seconds.’

‘But it also means that some people who don’t have enough spiritual strength to cast this spell will not be able to divert their attention to cast other spells.’

Andrew’s attitude was very simple. He would not abandon any knowledge. As long as it was an intermediate fire element spell, he was prepared to learn it all. In the past half month, he had almost mastered all the simple spells in the Association’s library.

Andrew flipped through the various points to note in this book ‘Whip of flames’. Then, he simulated meditation in his magic node for about half an hour, when he opened his eyes again, a whip of fire that slithered like a snake slowly appeared in his hand.

He was still in the library, so it was not convenient for him to test the power of this spell.

What Andrew was curious about was that the flames seemed to have substance. When Andrew touched it himself, it was like he was holding onto a slightly hot rope. Once other things came into contact with it, they would immediately be surrounded and burned by the flames on it.

‘Interesting.’

After using the fire whip, Andrew finally understood how deceptive this spell was! This was because he had to continuously condense the runes that were shaped by the flames in his mind. At the same time, he had to pour magic power into it to maintain the shape of the flames. After a few seconds, he had already used up several times the magic power of other intermediate level spells.

‘Eh, what’s going on?’

Andrew was suddenly stunned. As he continued to draw the runes shaped by flames, he noticed that the power of the fire spirits was gradually changing.

Previously, Andrew had already been able to use the power of the fire spirit to strengthen his spells. However, this time, the power of the fire spirit did not rush out of the node, but gradually gathered in a certain direction and merged into one.

‘What happened?’

Andrew was a little puzzled, but he could instinctively feel that as the fire spirit that had been scattered gathered, the quality of the magical power in his body seemed to have increased once again. The fire magic power in his body had already been affected by the uniqueness of his spiritual structure and the essence of the fire spirit a few times. Moreover, he had also cultivated a large number of fire spells, causing the quality to increase explosively, far exceeding that of mages of the same level by more than ten times. Now, it could be upgraded again!

‘Could it be because of the effect of the special rune of the fire shaping?’

Andrew’s mind spun quickly. He recalled the secret hidden in the rune released by the fire earlier and guessed.

He immediately put in all his spiritual power and quickened the speed of sketching the rune of the fire shaping in his mind. As expected, the speed of the gathering of the fire spirit was getting faster and faster. Even after the rate of the gathering had reached more than half, Andrew could feel that the energy of the fire whip in his hand was gradually becoming stronger!

‘As expected, this is how it is!’

‘That’s right. If the special rune in the beginner spellbook is the release of flames, then the special rune in the intermediate spell is this flame shaping?’

Andrew recalled quickly.. He was very certain that he had discovered a major mystery regarding magic.