He still remembered that during the time Dax Migludia and his knights were clearing out a monster nest, someone had mocked him upon learning that Commander Dax had a close friendship with the so-called useless Lin Nuo of the Clemence Family.
They sneered that Lin Nuo, a good-for-nothing, wasn’t worthy of the noble Princess Amidina.
Originally, Dax had intended to proceed steadily, but upon hearing these words, he immediately launched a relentless night assault on the monster nest.
Victorious, Dax was the first to arrive here.
With a wave of his hand, the plant girls, fairies, and even a fallen angel—over thirty struggling monster girls he had captured—were all brought over in unison by the Knights of Clemence under his command.
“You all look down on my nephew Lin Nuo, so let me show you the price of those words.”
“I, Dax Migludia, detest wasting food more than anything! I clean every single grain from my plate!”
“After my nephew Lin Nuo has used their first times, the rest of you can line up behind him!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
“…”
That day, before Lin Nuo could beg his father to stop this madman Dax from coming in again, he first went to tell Xi in the Chapel, who was in the midst of lecturing her subordinates, saying things like, “Anyone who tries to cut in line or go twice, tie them up and start a new line. No backdoors allowed.”
Dax was then driven out…
Sigh!
Damn Dax!
If this guy, who was a complete scatterbrain and utterly unreliable, ever found him, it would be better to put faith in the light itself.
Besides, it seemed that he and Xi had known each other for a long time.
“Commander Dax, you’re still thinking about my Young Master?”
“The Young Master is resting at my place, recuperating… If he’s with me, there’s no need to worry. If you want to give him anything, just hand it to me.”
“…”
Xi’s voice, along with Dax’s, gradually faded away.
Buzz—
Not long after, as the Sanskrit-like incantations of magic resonated beneath him, Lin Nuo seized the time while Xi was away to activate the Retracing Magic Array, purifying the dark energy within him and refining his mana to an even purer state, drawing in the external rune symbols one by one.
Through this period of practice, he had grown more and more familiar with the “Array Core Master’s Memory” ability recorded in the Magic Book, and both his casting and learning of magic arrays had improved significantly.
Unfortunately, there was a lack of scrolls here containing more magic arrays; otherwise, perhaps his proficiency could have finally made the leap from “zero” to “one.”
If only Xi would let in some more Magic Compendium volumes, maybe in time, he wouldn’t always be under her thumb—he might even have a tiny chance to flip things and become the master for once!
But, she didn’t even leave him any clothes.
“If my mana were sufficient, I could replicate a magic array in a short time, as long as it’s not too difficult… Xi is monitoring my room, but a few days ago, I hadn’t shown this kind of talent—was it when I used the Heavenly Rain Enrichment River or in the bridal room with Amidina?”
“In other words, Xi at most knows I learn fast, but not exactly how fast.”
“This is the only secret I haven’t let her know.”
The Magic Book also had another technique, apparently a Healing-Type Magic Technique, but the second page bore only the cryptic words “Magician,” making it hard to explore for now.
Still, as long as he was sure it was a powerful ability, it was his last ray of hope!
‘As long as I want to walk this path, the road is beneath my feet…’
“Young Master~”
“…Hmm?!!” He snapped his eyes open.
A delicate jade hand covered her yawning mouth; wearing a light, sweet nightdress, Xi dangled her two white, petite feet off the bed’s edge, legs kicking back in the air from the wooden stool so she could lean closer to look at him.
With her arms resting on her knees, cheeks propped up by her palms, she gazed at him with squinting, languid eyes.
“You… When did you come in?!”
‘Do you walk without making a sound?!’
“I didn’t check the time… I think, right before you put on that face full of confidence that, given time, you’d escape the palm of my hand?”
“…..”
“So you’ve mastered the entire investigation magic array now? I never thought the Young Master would pick up magic arrays so quickly.”
“Gulp~”
“But you’re mine, and no matter what you do, as long as you ever have the thought of hiding from me, that’s absolutely not allowed.”
“…..”
Even the one thing he thought she wouldn’t discover—she’d discovered.
The path ahead seemed completely blocked.
“You… What are you planning now?”
Lin Nuo thought Xi would never let him secretly try to grow stronger.
To his surprise, she said nothing, just spread out her palm and handed over the storage ring in her hand, ignoring Lin Nuo’s suspicious look as she stuffed it into his arms and pointed, signaling for him to check it with his mana.
The space inside the storage ring wasn’t large, but astonishingly, it was filled with the magic scrolls Lin Nuo needed most.
Perhaps whoever gave him the ring didn’t realize that he could swiftly analyze magic array structures without even learning the source runes.
It contained everything from beginner to advanced arrays, including offensive, utility, and even healing types most mages never studied, and most of them were simple lower-level magic arrays.
“Does the Young Master want to start with harder mid-tier magic arrays, just like at Silver Tears Lake, to leverage your hidden strength and wait for the others to lower their guard before giving them a fatal blow?”
Xi said softly, “Taking such a risk is just the sort of idea someone everyone underestimates would come up with. But if anything goes wrong, the Young Master really could end up dead in an instant.”
“…..”
‘Silver Tears Lake…’
‘No way!’
‘She even knows about that!’
Feeling there was nothing left that Xi didn’t know about him, Lin Nuo suppressed the jumble of emotions in his heart and nodded very slowly.
‘I wanted to start with the basics too… But you know me, it’s not my first day here.’
“My mana just isn’t enough.”
At his current level, using mana recovery potions and pairing them with arrays to restore mana, he could barely unleash a powerful attack once; three uses of a normal array was his limit.
Like an eighty-year-old at death’s door, no matter how much brain platinum he took, he couldn’t muster any real strength.
So why not trade that for one youthful, vigorous, and forceful charge—burning with everything he’s got?
Not to mention, one strike might just pierce all the way through the enemy…
At least, he could test the waters, right?
“I know it’s not your first day.”
‘Exactly, so you know I’m weak!’
“Chirp!”
Fatty Bird hopped over and nodded, indicating that, indeed, he was weak.
Since Xi knew everything anyway, Lin Nuo didn’t bother hiding, lowering his head, mind buzzing with thoughts, until Xi’s jade hand suddenly entered his field of view, placing a finely-crafted bracer on his knee.
“With this, you’ll be fine.”
“Click—”
As soon as the bracer touched Lin Nuo’s hand, it seemed to have found its destined owner, as the mechanism inside the exquisite obsidian bracer automatically opened.
The bone-bladed edge on the side glimmered dangerously sharp and on the top was a miniature wrist crossbow inlaid with a rare Thunder Crystal.
“Chirp?”
Fatty Bird poked his head closer, just in time to see—
With a bit of mana, the crossbow could launch thunder-element projectiles, and with a snap, one shot out.
“Chirp chirp chirp!”
Startled, Fatty Bird’s plump body quivered in outrage, pecking at the bracer in protest.
Lin Nuo examined the bracer—its texture hard as diamond, the materials of every inch crafted with painstaking detail, and its understated design seemingly custom-made for him.
Holding Fatty Bird, not yet taking this gift, Lin Nuo’s gaze grew even stranger.
This is the kind of self-defense weapon that, if placed in an auction, merchants would fight for at sky-high prices.
“…Was this from Dax too?”
“The ring was from him.” Watching Lin Nuo react to the gift she had prepared for him—far more surprised than he was by Dax’s ring—
Xi’s brows arched, her sweet voice tinged with delight: “This bracer was made from a unicorn horn shed by a Magic Whale. As long as you touch someone with magic, it can absorb their mana…”
“Do you really think he could give you something like this?”
“….”
‘So… it’s from my own dear nun…’
And it can even absorb mana?
Lin Nuo barely had time to wonder about the even more mysterious origins behind Xi’s connection to Magic Whales when he realized the bracer, perfectly sized to fit his wrist, had already been fastened on by Xi.
As if inviting him to test the weapon’s properties, Xi relaxed, and an endless flow of mana poured into him.
At the same time, as ancient runes appeared on the bracer’s surface, a framework of dark purple mana emerged on the floor beneath.
Lin Nuo also realized—
Besides the blade and crossbow, there was even an embedded Multi-Element Magic Crystal inside, granting the bracer the magic artifact ability to steal mana within a certain range: the Magic-Devouring Ring.
“Buzz—”
Xi’s mana streamed continuously into him, even that Magic White Light, able to suppress the Blood Leech Curse but never activated by Lin Nuo’s own power, seemed to be drawn out by some subtle connection he could now faintly sense.
However…
“…That’s enough already.”
‘Really, if any more comes in…’
‘I’m going to burst!’
It’s… it’s about to overflow!
Xi’s lips curled into a faint smile as she stood up, her delicate feet tapping softly on the floor.
Before Lin Nuo could say anything, the Magic-Devouring Ring promptly shattered.
“This is made with magic stones that can be upgraded, so you can wear it all the time.” Xi said, “I hope the Young Master treats my things better than I sometimes treat you, only showing interest for three minutes before losing interest.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Seeing Lin Nuo’s confusion, Xi giggled: “I heard that bad men like you, when you get something new, always go from excitement to boredom eventually. I’m the same.”
“For example, after lifting my skirt, I often pout at the shadow paper with your likeness on the wall and say, ‘Honestly, it’s just so-so,’ then add, ‘After all, only the real Young Master can satisfy me for long.'”
“…..”
That skirt-lifting… are you serious?
You’re just too straightforward…
“Xi, you… hey!”
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