Knock, knock, knock~
The sound of knocking interrupted Li De's thoughts, but the impact of his first glimpse into this otherworldly realm lingered.
Vina entered the room with his lunch, greeting him before skillfully arranging the meal on the round blue-heart sycamore table nearby.
"Lord Li De, please enjoy your meal."
"Thank you."
Li De sat down and, as if remembering something, asked the girl who was about to leave, "Has anything unusual happened in the city recently?"
Hearing Li De's question, Vina felt a flicker of joy. Although she was a maid, Li De rarely engaged in conversation with her.
"Lord Li De, I heard that the Mage Guild is planning to hold a magic symposium in November. All three Grand Mages of the Mage Guild will be attending."
"Anything else?" Li De adjusted his plate. He wasn't particularly interested in meetings.
Recalling the scene he had witnessed from the window earlier, he continued, "Have there always been so many beggars on the streets?"
Vina quickly shook her head. "No, Lord Li De. Recently, the beastmen in the southern part of the Far Mountain Range have started another war. The number of refugees has increased."
She then added hastily, "If you dislike it, I can immediately have someone drive away the beggars near the mage tower."
Most mages had peculiar temperaments, and although Vina was reluctant to drive away the poor beggars, if they angered Li De, their lives might be at risk.
Li De shook his head. From the scene on the streets, he could roughly gauge the political, economic, and social state of the Nolan Empire or Green City.
The lofty nobles, the influential slave traders, the cautious commoners, the brutal mercenaries, the pitiful beggars, and the kind but timid shop owners.
This was not a stable world.
"No need. If there's extra bread, you can give some to them, but don't give too much. You may leave now."
Hearing Li De's words, Vina quickly understood. Although her master was kind, he was also well-versed in human nature.
If they gave too much to the beggars, large crowds would gather, and it would become difficult to manage.
Their mage tower was not the city lord's mansion and had no responsibility to care for beggars.
"Yes, Lord Li De."
Seeing that Li De had no further instructions, Vina pursed her lips and left with her head down, her steps slightly dejected.
Li De was fully aware of the maid's thoughts but said nothing.
It was fine to occasionally give some food to the beggars, but he couldn't help on a large scale.
His current identity was too dangerous. A mage showing occasional kindness was understandable, but doing so frequently would make him stand out.
This was the city lord's responsibility, not something for a mage to meddle in.
Sitting at the table, Li De began his meal.
For vampires, human blood was the true sustenance. Human food couldn't provide vampires with sufficient nutrients, though it wouldn't harm them either.
The Vampire Progenitor had maintained the habit of eating meals on time to conceal his identity.
But Li De, at his core, was not a vampire. He enjoyed good food, so what had been a mere task for the Vampire Progenitor became a pleasure for him.
The lunch was quite lavish: a glass of milk, a large piece of magic-infused roasted meat, two large pieces of bread, two side dishes, and a plate of dessert.
The most valuable item was the roasted meat, which came from a magical beast. Only such meat could contain such rich magic.
In Green City, this piece of magical beast meat could sell for at least fifty silver pucks.
An average worker's monthly salary was only ten silver pucks.
The meat in his lunch could feed a family of three for a year.
In "Glory," the currency was divided into copper pucks, silver pucks, and gold pucks, with an exchange rate of 100 copper pucks = 1 silver puck, and 100 silver pucks = 1 gold puck.
Copper pucks were the basic unit of currency. One copper puck could buy a black bread on the street, roughly equivalent to 1 RMB in purchasing power.
However, the comparison wasn't entirely accurate. Although "Glory" was a magical world, it was set in a medieval European context with low productivity, so purchasing power differed.
As an elite member of the Green City Mage Guild and a baron of the Nolan Empire, Li De received a monthly subsidy of 20 gold pucks.
Additionally, the areas near the Crimson Mage Tower were under his protection, earning him about 10 gold pucks in protection fees each month.
Some friendly nobles also provided him with a monthly fee for his protection, amounting to another 20 gold pucks.
Thus, Li De's monthly income was around 50 gold pucks, while maintaining the Crimson Mage Tower cost 20 gold pucks, leaving him with a surplus of about 30 gold pucks.
Eating a luxurious meal of magical beast meat was nothing to him.
The magic-infused roasted meat melted in his mouth, the rich magic coursing through his body and invigorating every cell.
It felt like a spa treatment, with every cell in his body rejoicing.
"This is the vegetarian version of a luxury indulgence."
Li De felt incredibly comfortable. No wonder the price of magical beast meat was so high.
After eating the magical beast meat, the other foods seemed bland in comparison. He finished the rest of the meal in a few bites.
After resting for a while, Li De looked at the spell skills on his attribute panel, his curiosity piqued.
As someone from Earth, his fascination with supernatural abilities was undeniable.
Especially after transmigrating, that curiosity had only grown stronger.
Magic. The allure of these two words was even greater than that of gold coins.
Although he had no prior experience with spellcasting, after inheriting the Vampire Progenitor's memories, Li De was intimately familiar with these skills and spells.
It felt as though he had practiced them tens of thousands of times.
There was no sense of unfamiliarity.
This was a huge relief.
The world of "Glory" was not a peaceful one. It was filled with various evil races.
Without some strength, survival would be far from guaranteed.
In the game, he was the Vampire Progenitor, and he might not have the luxury of infinite respawns like players.
If he died and couldn't resurrect, it would truly be game over.
Magic.
Li De shifted his focus to his skills.
For a modern person, only such extraordinary abilities could captivate his interest.
It was time to begin.
In his mind, the spells the original owner had practiced countless times formed a network of points and lines.
A magic model.
A term both familiar and unfamiliar.
For a mage to cast a spell, they had to activate the magic model.
The magic model consisted of magic nodes and magic circuits.
Magic nodes were fixed points, and the paths connecting them were called magic circuits.
Mana would start from the first magic node, flow through the fixed magic circuits to the second magic node, and so on.
Once the last magic node was activated, the magic model would be complete, and the spell could be cast immediately.
The principles of magic weren't hard to understand, but understanding and using them were two entirely different things.
A mage had to inscribe the spell's model into their mental sea to cast it.
The Vampire Progenitor had already inscribed over a dozen spell models into his mental sea.
Now, to cast a spell, Li De only needed to channel mana into the existing magic models.
After reviewing the spellcasting process several times, Li De suppressed his excitement and calmed himself.
It was common knowledge among mages that a calm mind was best for spellcasting. Emotional fluctuations could affect the spell's effectiveness.
Once he felt calm, Li De began to slowly channel mana into the magic model.
Small Fireball.
The simplest beginner spell for mages, a Tier 1 spell.
Tier 1 spells had no more than a hundred magic nodes, and Small Fireball had only fifty.
If the original owner were casting it, a snap of his fingers would suffice.
But Li De was still a novice, and he couldn't help feeling a bit nervous.
Extending his left hand, he mimicked the casting posture from his memories and began to silently channel mana.
Five seconds later.
Whoosh~
A small, apple-sized orange fireball floated in the air above his hand.
The scorching fireball caused the temperature in the study to rise by several degrees.
Li De's face lit up with joy.
Success!!
His first spellcasting attempt had succeeded!!
The exhilaration was indescribable. For someone who had never experienced it, the thrill of summoning a fireball from one's hand was beyond imagination.
This was magic, far beyond the realm of reality.
Li De could clearly feel that he could control the fireball in his hand at will.
With a mental tug, the fireball could fly toward an enemy at dozens of meters per second.
Its power was no less than a high-explosive bomb filled with TNT.
If he wanted to increase its power, he could continue to channel more mana into the fireball, enhancing its destructive force.
Glancing around at the storage shelves in the magic laboratory, Li De shook his head and dismissed the idea.
With a mental command, the small fireball danced in front of him like a balloon on a string.
The blazing flames radiated intense heat, causing the room's temperature to rise steadily.
The orange fireball was like the most beautiful flower—dangerous and mysterious.
The scorching, explosive fireball moved up, down, left, and right, spinning at his fingertips, bouncing at his feet, and floating before his eyes.
Li De was completely immersed in the magic.
Only after half a sun-hour did he begin to slowly stop channeling mana into the fireball.
Without mana to sustain it, the fireball gradually shrank, its orange glow dimming until it vanished entirely after a few minutes.
This was magic.
After casting Small Fireball, Li De's interest in magic soared to new heights.
He loved the feeling of controlling mana. The sensation of the fireball dancing at his fingertips was, he swore, more satisfying than anything else.