Chương 23: Xia En's First Time

[The magic trick to keep your hands cool when you squeeze a cup by the handle] [The magic trick to prevent eyelashes from falling out when rubbing your eyes] [The magic to stop toenails from growing into the flesh] ……

Looking at the huge pile of magic books that Frillian brought over, Shane's feelings were extremely complicated.

Young lady, your taste is quite unique.

"Heh heh, how about it? They're all great magic books, aren't they?"

The white-haired elf, completely oblivious to Shane's feelings, was still humming smugly.

ꐦ Oh well, it's good that you're happy.

"Let's go check out."

The elderly receptionist was also taken aback when he saw the huge pile of books that Frillie had brought.

The elderly man put on his reading glasses and compared the prices on a long price list to the items in front of him.

"There are 6 books in total. If we calculate the price at half price for all of them, it will cost a total of 19 silver coins."

"How many?"

"Nineteen silver coins, sir."

"..."

Xia En almost choked.

Half price and still so expensive!

Moreover, they are all strange and unusual everyday magic spells. If they were replaced with combat magic or powerful defensive magic, the price would be sky-high!

Maintaining a lawyer is indeed expensive.

After paying, Xia En only had one silver coin left. He squeezed his suddenly deflated wallet and sighed silently.

I need to find a way to make money.

Just as I was feeling down, I suddenly caught a glimpse of a low bookshelf next to the cashier.

There were only four or five books on the bookshelf, but each book looked to be twenty centimeters thick, comparable to a brick.

Xia En walked over with some curiosity and picked up a book.

[The magic of???] Type:?? Magic Effect:???

Status: Not learned What's going on? Why are there so many question marks?

Xia En squeezed his eyes shut and focused his mind to continue the identification.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he reached out to brace himself against the bookshelf, narrowly avoiding passing out.

He immediately realized that his mental strength was too low to utilize the effect of the "Great Wisdom Appears as Foolishness" spell, so he couldn't directly simplify and master the magic book in front of him, resulting in incomplete information.

"Are you interested in this magic book, sir? If so, you can get an additional discount of 1 silver coin on top of the half-price offer."

Get a discount of 1 silver coin?

I couldn't even be bothered to ask what the original price was.

"Grandpa, why are these books placed here separately? Is there something wrong with them?"

The elderly receptionist smiled upon hearing this.

"There are no flaws. These were specially displayed here. These books are probably the most powerful spells in the entire venue, but because they are so difficult to learn, ordinary mages would never be able to master them even if they spent their entire lives, so they have never been sold."

"I put it here to see if any magicians would like it, so I can keep it as a collectible."

Do you collect magic books?

Shaun glanced at Frillie.

Unexpectedly, Frilian didn't even glance at the "big bricks" next to her; she just kept looking at the magic books she had chosen and happily packed them up.

……

On the way back from the Great Library, Shane was somewhat absent-minded.

Even the oblivious Frilian noticed it.

"Don't regret not buying that magic book."

"The book you saw, even if I were to analyze it, would take me over a hundred years. After that, it would take several decades to practice until I could master it. For humans, such magic is simply beyond their capabilities."

"Some magic created in ancient times or even the mythological era is very difficult to analyze due to its complex theoretical logic and operating methods. Moreover, most of them have very strict conditions for use. From a practical point of view, they are not very attractive magic."

Shane nodded; Frillie's explanation was correct.

This is indeed the case for ordinary people. There are probably quite a few magicians who spend their entire lives trying to decipher a spell, only to make no progress until the very end.

This is a limitation of human lifespan.

But he's different. He possesses the ability to appear foolish but actually be wise, which allows him to simplify all magic into specific terms and master them directly.

Despite possessing such a powerful passive skill, his mental strength was too low to be of sufficient use, preventing him from fully utilizing his abilities.

What's the difference between this and begging for food while sitting on a mountain of gold?

Improving mental strength is of utmost urgency!

……

That evening, Xia En began to try his hand at cultivation.

This was his first time practicing, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

Following the method Frilian had previously explained, he sat cross-legged on the balcony of the room, facing the cool moonlight, and began to meditate.

The night breeze caressed his face, gradually calming his heart.

He carefully felt the blood vessels and bones in his body, trying to find ripples of magic within them.

10 minute has passed...

Half an hour has passed...

An hour has passed...

Xia En opened his eyes. He was almost asleep, but he didn't feel anything!

Is this correct?

[Goddess's Barrier], activated!

hum- A ripple of air spread out, and a transparent barrier successfully unfolded, encircling a one-meter radius around him.

Magic is usable.

Why can't I feel the "magical ripples in my body" that Frilian mentioned?

……

"Because you have absolutely no magical power, not even a little bit."

While flipping through the magic book in her hand, Frillie answered Shane's questions who had come to the room.

"You don't have the potential to become a mage."

"But the fact that you can use the goddess's magic shows that you have the talent to become a monk. You should consider following the monk's way of practice, reciting holy scriptures, increasing your faith, and becoming a devout monk."

impossible!

I will never practice the kind of magic that forces me to stay single for life!

"Is there really no other way to cultivate oneself?"

Frillie put down the grimoire she was reading, thought carefully, and said, "There is indeed another one."

Which one?

"It is a way of cultivation belonging to the sages."

"The methods of spiritual practice for sages?"

Shaun frowned. Among the pile of magical history documents in the library during the day, he didn't seem to have seen any records of sage training.

"The lineage of sages has been broken for over a thousand years, and I've only heard my teacher, Vlame, mention it a few times. This method of cultivation is similar to the meditation of a mage, but the difference is that the practitioner needs to try to control their mental power."

"Trying to manipulate mental energy during meditation? What kind of practice is this? How exactly does it work?"

Frillie shook her head.

The lineage of sages had long been severed, and she wasn't entirely sure about it.

Back in his room, Xia En pondered this so-called "manipulation of mental power" for a long time, and a guess began to emerge in his mind— He can manipulate his mental power to peel away words when he is focused. Is the cultivation of a sage simply the process of peeling away words?

Just like leveling up in a game, the more terms you peel off, the stronger your mental power becomes, and the stronger your mental power, the more terms you can peel off.

Ok……

It seems he'll have to go back to the maze and continue scavenging.