Chapter 2: Magical Genius

  For the next month, Lin Li stayed in the Sunset Mountains, and except for occasionally giving Andurin some pointers on potion-making, he spent most of his time learning magic, because he found that he indeed had a talent for it, even old Andurin couldn't help but admit that in over a hundred years, he had never seen such outstanding magical talent.

  Three days to learn three low-level magic, Anduin looked at this ghostly progress and couldn't help but ask again, is there still justice in this world? Thinking of himself back then, just entering a meditative state took a month, and this progress was praised by the teacher as a genius among geniuses. What should this kid be considered now? A monster among monsters or an abnormal among abnormals?

  It's probably only Lin Li himself who knows why he has this almost magical talent, which is likely related to the attributes of his full spiritual intelligence as a mage. Probably only such a magical attribute can make him easily understand those incredibly complex spells and effortlessly combine magic elements. This ability seems to be innate, and any complex spell can be recited by Lin Li with ease after hearing it just once. No matter how difficult the magic element sorting is, Lin Li can learn it in the shortest time possible.

  Until when Lin Li mastered ten low-level spells, Anduin no longer dared to teach him any new magic, and he began to let Lin Li constantly practice those ten elemental arrangement methods.

  Dry practice is the easiest to lose interest, but Lin Li did not show any impatience at all, because he was very clear in his heart that although Lao An was a poor pharmacist, in the field of magic, this irascible old man was an absolute authority. His opinions may not be absolutely correct, but they were far better than his own solo exploration as an outsider.

  The dry practice continued for nearly a month until one morning...

  After having breakfast, Lin Li still started practicing elemental arrangement as usual.

  This was not a typical magical practice. Most magicians would first arrange the elements and then release the arranged spell through incantations, but the method Anduin taught Lin Li was completely different. He had Lin Li summon the magical elements and then use his spiritual power to combine and arrange them. However, instead of releasing them through incantations, he would disassemble and reassemble them after arranging them, repeating the process over and over until his spiritual power was completely exhausted.

  Lin Li was practicing his dull exercises, but Andouin didn't go to the medicine room as usual after dinner. Today's old master seemed a bit unusual, staying in the house after dinner and silently watching Lin Li practice. This feeling of being watched made Lin Li feel uncomfortable, so he had to interrupt his practice and looked up at the old master, asking: "Have you mastered the clear medicine formula I taught you a few days ago?"

  "Uh, not yet..." When asked about the clarity potion, Anduin's face suddenly turned red. Compared to this kid's amazing magical talent, his own talent in potion-making was really nothing to show off about. A simple clarity potion, Lin Li had demonstrated it over a dozen times, but even now he still hadn't figured it out. In these few days, he had wasted at least hundreds of materials, and yesterday he had almost blown up the entire potion room. Now that his scar was exposed again, even if Anduin's face was thick-skinned, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

  "Don't be so stubborn, can't you learn this?" Lin Li's expression was one of frustration, making Anduin feel even more embarrassed: "Then why don't you hurry back to the potion room? What are you still doing here, dawdling around? Do you want me to demonstrate it again?"

  "No, no need, I'll just study it myself..." Andrew said with an embarrassed face, rubbing his hands together for a long time before suddenly remembering his purpose. He hurriedly put on a serious expression: "Uh... let's not talk about that today, there's something else I want to discuss with you."

  "Oh?" Having been together for over a month, Lin Li had never seen Anduin so serious before, and his curiosity grew.

  The two left the wooden house. Andurin thought for a long time before asking Lin Li, "Do you know why I didn't teach you new spells, but instead let you practice elemental arrangement?"

  "I don't know." Lin Li replied quite honestly, "Anyway, I'm completely clueless about magic. Whatever you tell me to practice, I'll naturally practice it. Are you going to harm me or something?"

  "Consider yourself lucky to have a conscience." Andurin nodded in satisfaction, his old face bearing a few hints of a pleased smile: "I, Andurin, have lived for over a hundred years and have never seen anyone with talent as good as yours. You're basically a freak, I think even the legendary Gracesco couldn't be stronger than you in terms of talent."

  "Gracico?" Lin Li knew he was talented, but he didn't expect it to be this strong. What kind of person was Gracico? From the old man's mouth, he more or less knew a thing or two. The most powerful magician in the Dark Ages, the strongest among mortals closest to the gods, the divine magician who had defeated the entire High Elf Magic Army with his own strength... Lin Li couldn't believe that his magical talent was actually this strong.

  "But don't get too excited just yet." Looking at Lin Li, who was somewhat at a loss, the old master smiled: "Having talent is one thing, but achieving success is another. In my opinion, you have at least two areas where you are not as good as Gracesco. Firstly, you lack focus. In the field of magic, only those who are absolutely focused can achieve true success. Being too knowledgeable is not always a good thing. Take pharmacology, for example. You're still young, but you know more than those old fogies in the Pharmacists' Association. How much time do you have to study magic if you spend so much energy on pharmacology?"

  "But what's truly fatal is the second aspect, you've come into contact with magic too late. According to records from the Dark Ages, Grayskull was born into a family of magicians, his parents were both renowned mages in the Dark Ages, he began learning magic from birth, and by your age, Grayskull had already surpassed the level of a mage, while you've only just begun learning the most basic spells. Although time can be made up for with talent, talent cannot help you lay a solid foundation, there are no shortcuts in the world of magic, before laying a solid foundation, all powerful magic is nothing but empty talk."

  "This is why I didn't teach you new spells." Adouin said with a slightly embarrassed smile: "Actually, at first, I just wanted to make an exchange. You would guide me in potion-making, and I would provide some help in magic, although it wouldn't be much, but it should be no problem for you to reach the realm of a Magic Guide within ten years."

  "But I soon regretted it, your talent is too good, such a talent may not appear again in thousands of years. I couldn't bear to see you go down the wrong path, so I stopped teaching you any spells and instead made you practice the most basic elemental arrangement every day. Don't underestimate these dull exercises, any world has its own rules, and the magical world is no exception. Elemental arrangement is the most basic rule of the magical world. When you become familiar with and master this rule, you will find that everything becomes so simple. No matter how powerful a spell is, it's just derived from the rules."

  More than a month after arriving in this strange world, Lin Li felt warmth in his heart for the first time. He bowed respectfully to Anduin: "Thank you."