From coming over to mooch a meal to getting pop-quizzed by his teacher, the whole process transitioned with silky smoothness.
On the living room sofa, Professor Zhang completed a preliminary assessment of Lynn.
"I am very happy to see that you still retain that heart for learning and self-improvement."
Professor Zhang was quite satisfied with Lynn's performance. "I've seen many talented students. Because everything was too simple for them, they slowly started to slack off, wasting a lot of time for nothing."
"Maybe it's because they weren't learning for themselves," Lynn remarked.
Lynn wasn't particularly surprised by this. In his past life, there were people like that among his classmates, serving as real-life templates.
"I know what that's like. They are excellent, so excellent they become the model 'other people's child' in everyone's eyes. I once heard them complain to me: 'I really envy you. You can make your own choices, do whatever you want, because you don't have parents managing you; you are free. But my life is visible right to the end at a single glance—competitions, awards, guaranteed admission—eventually living exactly how everyone expects me to. A life like that has no surprises, and no choices.'"
Hearing this from the side, Cho wore a complex expression. She seemed to want to roast him but didn't know how, the words stuck in her throat, starting and stopping several times.
"You smart people are just too much..."
She sighed faintly.
"You should actually remove the words 'smart people'."
Lynn stuffed a puff pastry custard tart into his mouth; paired with the Dong Ding Oolong tea, it was truly excellent.
"Guys who think like that are, to put it plainly, idiots."
"?" Cho looked at Lynn in confusion. "Is that so?"
"Of course. That's why I scolded them."
"What did you say?" Cho's curiosity was piqued. While rubbing Inkpot's belly, she waited eagerly for the answer.
"The reason they have expectations of you is that the upper limit of what you can do is something they can imagine. Otherwise, try doing something they can't even imagine. Do it a few times, jump out of the thinking framework of mortals, and these people will learn to shut up and stay quietly on the sidelines without dictating things, because they won't even understand what they're looking at."
"Is... is that right? Dad?"
Cho cast her gaze toward her dad, only to see him pursing his lips, remaining silent and unwilling to speak.
"Probably..." Professor Zhang rubbed the space between his eyebrows. "I don't really understand this either."
"You see, Cho? Now the Professor isn't thinking about telling me what path I should take in the future, but rather letting me have free rein."
"You brat!"
Hearing this, Professor Zhang couldn't hold back his expression anymore. He gave Lynn a flick on the forehead. "If you don't want to research runes, then don't. What's with all this weird talk!"
Previously, Professor Zhang had intended for Lynn to follow him in researching Ancient Magic and Ancient Runes.
"I still prefer to work on things I'm personally interested in. I think to live and work, one must first make oneself happy."
"But Professor, do you have any good advice for me? Regarding the improved rune casting I mentioned to you before."
"What? Can't our little genius come up with a solution himself?" Professor Zhang looked at Lynn teasingly.
"If I can be a warrior blazing a trail in the unknown wilderness, then you, Professor, are the lamp illuminating the darkness, allowing me to see my surroundings. Groping alone in the dark leads to stumbling, but with the illumination of a lamp, the obstacles ahead are reduced, and one can see more of the vast unknown."
"How far this warrior can go depends not only on his stamina and quality but also on how many lights are around him to dispel the unknown terrors in the dark wilderness."
"You always have sets of big principles." Professor Zhang shook his head with a smile. "However, I might be able to give you a reference suggestion."
Lynn couldn't use spells as freely as other wizards, which was quite regrettable to Professor Zhang. He also had the heart to help Lynn.
"First point. You might not have been clear on this before, but the biggest difference between Rune Magic and Spell Magic is actually this: Spell Magic possesses a continuous transmission of will, whereas Rune Magic does not."
"Simply put, after a spell is cast, it can continue to be controlled by the wizard."
"For example: the Levitation Charm."
Professor Zhang pulled out his wand and gave it a light wave at the table; an empty bowl floated up.
"After I use the Levitation Charm, my magic power is continuously consumed by this spell. That is to say, my Levitation Charm and I have established a magical link, allowing me to control its effect continuously. But Rune Magic can't do this. It involves the wizard injecting magic and will while writing the rune, then encapsulating it into a form and activating it. The magical connection is severed once the rune is written."
"It is almost impossible for you to achieve the real-time control of Spell Magic using the casting method of Rune Magic."
"Second point. You want to use Transfiguration to quickly adjust the runes, giving Rune Magic the fastest reaction speed for your casting needs. Perhaps you can indeed achieve this—making the adjustment speed of Transfiguration exceed the speed of writing runes directly—but as a type of spell, Transfiguration, even the most basic change of physical form, leaves magic power in the transformed substance."
"This residual magic will interfere with your subsequent spells. Even if their power comes from the same source, the functions they are meant to perform are completely different."
"Regarding this part, I can give you a little help. In my hometown, casters there retained the habit of casting with runes, unlike in Europe, where runes have become a magical means used only in Alchemy."
Professor Zhang waved his wand lightly over the table, and a small box was summoned from somewhere. Inside this red velvet-lined box were two "small pebbles" of different colors.
"Magic Gems. A precious mineral that can dye magic power. They can only be found in gem veins within magic-rich areas, and depending on the production area, the properties of the Magic Gems also differ."
"And one of the most special types of Magic Gems possesses the effect of purifying and restoring magic power. When I was researching Ancient Magic, this type of gem brought me great help, assisting me in analyzing the special magic left behind in Ancient Magic ruins."
Professor Zhang picked up a grey-blue gem with dense fractured patterns inside. "Magic power injected into this gem will be purified. The purified magic will have the wizard's will stripped from it, restored to natural magic that hasn't yet been 'absorbed' by our bodies."
"This magic in its most primordial form won't cause interference with any of the wizard's magic. It's like a gentle breeze brushing against your face; you can feel its existence, but you cannot grasp its trace."
"But if the wind speed is increased, this gentle breeze can also become a gale that tears off a roof."
"In Alchemy, alchemists also use the magic of this gem to revert failed alchemical works, recovering precious materials by removing the magic and enchantments within the item."
"I think it can solve your little problem."
He smiled and handed the gem to Lynn.
"After completing the Transfiguration and shaping the new rune, use this gem to remove the residual Transfiguration magic, then activate the rune. This lets the released magic proceed without any interference."
Lynn fiddled with the small grey-blue stone, attempting to inject his magic into it. He didn't feel any change at first, but when Lynn increased the amount of magic injected and accelerated the surge, he finally felt the subtle sensation of being blown by the wind.
"Magic restored by the gem is just like air; we cannot smell it."
Seeing Lynn make no movement for quite a while, Professor Zhang gave him a simple reminder.
"But... Professor, I felt it. Although it's all air, the air after rain is always a bit fresher, isn't it?"
"Perhaps your perception of magic is stronger than others..." Professor Zhang's mouth twitched slightly. "Anyway, this stone is yours."
"Then is there still a Christmas present?" Lynn pocketed the gem without any ceremony, smiling shamelessly.
"About that..." Professor Zhang coughed. "My family doesn't celebrate Western holidays. I just came here to work, not to register for citizenship. My family doesn't have this habit."
"Then there must be a New Year's red envelope, right? How about I kowtow to you in advance, and you slip me some lucky money?"
"It's still early before the New Year. Who gives lucky money in advance?"
"Stingy."
"You brat! Give the stone back to me then!"
"A great man stands between heaven and earth; a word spoken is a nail driven. No take-backs allowed."
This shameless appearance made Professor Zhang laugh in exasperation, but he wasn't about to fuss over it.
"By the way, Professor, when you mentioned the first point earlier, did you use the phrase 'almost impossible' at the end?"
Lynn had a very good memory; actually, he had wanted to ask this question earlier.
"That is to say, if one wants to make Rune Magic like Spell Magic, capable of continued control by the wizard, it isn't completely impossible to achieve?"
"It is only theoretically feasible."
Professor Zhang shook his head slightly. "You know, I research Ancient Magic and Ancient Runes. This is a very special kind of magic—greater power, stronger effects, longer duration, and more stable magical form."
"In those Ancient Magic ruins that have existed for thousands of years, there is even magic that is still effective today. In the magical world, this can almost be called a miracle."
"It is impossible for any magic to maintain its existence for a long time without the aid of an alchemy matrix, but Ancient Magic is an exception. I once excavated an Ancient Magic site located near the Aegean Sea, dating back three thousand three hundred years. The mechanisms there were still operating, giant stones floated in the air—even though the buildings had turned to ruins for some reason, it was still a 'Hanging Garden'."
"There were no traces of any alchemy matrices. In Europe of that era, Alchemy had not yet formed a system; wizards were exploring magic in the most primitive ways."
"For the world, such magnificent aerial architecture is nothing short of a miracle."
"If Hogwarts Castle were not maintained by a massive alchemy matrix, it would have thoroughly lost its mysterious magic hundreds of years ago."
"Ancient Magic is not incantation magic. According to my research, the long exploration of others, and the personal accounts of users, what we can determine is—Ancient Magic is a kind of 'slang' magic. Its form remains in the earliest form of magic's birth, but at the same time, Ancient Magic is also a type of Rune Magic. However, this rune is an extremely special 'private language'."
"Every caster who can use Ancient Magic uses it, or wields magic, in a different way. Everyone has their own accent, everyone has their own dialect. Even other Ancient Magic users cannot understand the 'words' spoken by another, unless it is a message the owner has translated in advance."
"This is the most difficult mystery to explore in the magical world, but also the most attractive. If one can decipher the private language left by a certain Ancient Magic user, then the person who understands this language will receive unimaginable benefits."
"Allowing the person who understands this language to possess the power to use Ancient Magic?"
"No, no." Professor Zhang waved his hand. "That is a kind of... inspired epiphany, hard to describe, hard to depict. In recorded history, there have been four people who achieved this. Each of them left a heavy, colorful mark in history books."
"Even more remarkable than those casters who can use Ancient Magic, because they only possessed the right of use, which doesn't mean they understood the essence of the unique power they possessed."
"For example—the Archmage Merlin, whom European wizards are most familiar with. He was not a user of Ancient Magic, but he was one of the four people who cracked the secrets of Ancient Magic."
Hearing this, Lynn couldn't help but feel tempted. This kind of mystery that could only be experienced personally and not conveyed by others was a temptation he found hard to refuse.
"Professor, you've been emphasizing that the magic power of Ancient Magic is very special. So where does this specialness lie?"
"Is it a difference in the essence of the magic power? Or a difference in other aspects?"
"It is a difference in the caster themselves." Professor Zhang smiled. "This is also why Ancient Magic cannot be acquired through learning, because it is a talent, an innate talent."
"Wizards who use Ancient Magic possess the power to imprint their spiritual will upon the world. The reason Ancient Magic can be maintained for so long is that natural magic is maintaining this magic at all times, constantly replenishing the consumed power. As long as the 'spiritual core' maintaining this Ancient Magic hasn't been completely washed away by time, its power can be maintained forever."
"To say they are the beloved youngest children of Mother World is not an exaggeration in the slightest."
"The whole world can hear their cries for magic, and magic responds to their calls, realizing their wishes for them, turning the impossible into the possible."
"That must be nice..." Lynn sighed silently. If wizards using Ancient Magic were the beloved youngest children of Mother World, then he... was probably the miserable brat who had entered a stepmother's house. No matter how long he shouted, he wouldn't get a response. In fact, if he cried too loud, he'd just get a big slap across the face from the stepmom.
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