Chapter 65

Thank you, Mo Yi, for your recommendation and stamp. This is the first stamp Ryan has received, thank you! I'm looking for support and a place in your collection!

Kuk sat dejectedly in the large redwood chair, looking at his father, Old Hill, while Connie, who had officially changed her name to Kangknie, laughed without a care. Old Hill said with a scowl, "Kuk, don't be so upset. Many people become bad once they have money. I can't stand such people, do you understand?"

"Understood, Father!" Kuk replied, somewhat depressed, because he couldn't talk about Connie's situation; it was a secret. Although this secret would eventually be revealed, it wasn't the time now.

"Alright, Connie, don't cry anymore. I'll take care of things for you from now on." Old Hill said kindly to Connie.

Connie, blushing at Old Hill's strange gaze, said, "Thank you, I'll go upstairs first."

"Kuk, look, look at Connie's figure, her hips, she's definitely fertile." As soon as Connie left, Kuk's mother came over and whispered to Kuk, looking at Connie's back.

"Mother!" Kuk was quite shocked. Connie's figure was far from bad; she was a mature woman, how could her figure be bad?

"Shut up, what your mother said is true. I had a child when I was your age, but it didn't survive. Remember that, boy. Our family depends on you; you must give me several grandsons." Old Hill, hearing Kuk's discontent, immediately growled.

"Besides, look at how beautiful Connie is, even more so than the Viscountess of Rock. She's very polite. You, a fisherman's son, I tell you, if..."

"Father, I'm going to practice!" Kuk rolled his eyes at Old Hill's words and hurriedly went down to the basement, where he had set up his practice area because it was quiet and helped him enter a meditative state quickly.

"Kaka, go play by yourself!" In the basement, Kuk let Kaka play on its own. As for Little Bad and Big Mouth, they had been living comfortably lately. Kuk had bought food they liked and assigned a maid to take care of them, so they didn't bother Kuk. Only Kaka, still the size of a thumb but with a more intense magical glow and a slight metallic sheen, stayed by Kuk's side.

Kuk threw the broken flower pot he had bought in the afternoon into a corner. Kuk had no idea what this broken clay pot was for; neither his aura, magic, nor mental power had any effect on it. Kuk cursed the damned swindler many times in his heart, but fortunately, the loss had been compensated by a few unlucky people.

Kuk took out the money bag from his waist, as carrying a large lump of it was uncomfortable. Kuk picked up the clay pot and put the coins inside. There were six diamond coins, equivalent to 60,000 gold coins, and a dozen or so purple gold coins, another 10,000 gold coins, but the weight was less than ten gold coins. Kuk grabbed the diamond and purple gold coins and let them fall, finding the clinking sound particularly pleasant.

"Ah!" Kuk sighed, put the clay pot aside, and began to meditate.

Kuk was already familiar with the earth element stimulation method. Now, Kuk still only dared to use one earth element to react with the wood element in his mind. Although it caused intense headaches each time, Kuk had to do it. Kuk found that his tolerance for pain was increasing, and the duration of the pain was getting shorter. More importantly, Kuk discovered that his mental resilience and perception range had increased slightly. Generally, an apprentice mage's perception range is no more than 15 to 20 meters.

Perceiving magical fluctuations does not mean that a wood mage can sense fire element fluctuations; that's unrealistic. Perception is about sensing the fluctuations of the same elemental type. Due to the non-fusibility of elements, even Kuk's earth element stimulation method requires mental power as a catalyst. Kuk conducted an experiment: without mental power, earth and wood elements would not react. Perception is about sensing the fluctuations of the elements one can sense, like ripples on water. Where there are magical fluctuations, the elements one can sense will ripple like water, so there are some misconceptions.

This leads to the almost zero combat ability of mages in extreme environments. For example, a water mage near a volcano would only sense extremely minute water elements, making it hard to detect magical fluctuations. Also, the replenishment of magic power is a factor. Both mages and warriors need strong mental power to perceive things.

The farther the perception range, the sooner one can sense the source of magical fluctuations. This is why high-level practitioners can easily suppress low-level ones. It's like two armies in battle; one can clearly know your position, which is due to strong mental power and a long perception range, while the other can only sense magical fluctuations but not the source, which is hidden in the fog.

Kuk, an apprentice mage, had a perception range of 15 to 20 meters, but Kuk found his perception range had reached 25 meters, and he could vaguely sense up to 30 meters. With the Magic Eye, he could sense up to about 50 meters, equivalent to a high-level mage's perception range. Also, the stronger the mental power, the faster the aura runs, and the faster the aura circulates, the faster it grows. The speed of aura circulation is directly proportional to its explosive power. The faster the aura, the more aura is released in the same time, causing more damage. Therefore, Kuk had to endure the pain and undergo this nearly self-torturous training. Kuk wasn't a 16-year-old boy but a 30-year-old adult's soul, so he understood the trade-offs very well.

"Ugh!" Kuk endured the pain, the intense elemental impact in his mind almost making him faint. Kuk clenched his teeth, and large sweat drops rolled down his forehead. This pain came from deep within his soul, but Kuk only made a sound and then tightly closed his mouth.

Five minutes, ten minutes, the intense pain made Kuk feel as if time had stopped. When the pain subsided, Kuk almost collapsed on the ground, his clothes drenched in sweat. Kuk looked at the hourglass; only a few minutes had passed, but it felt like an eternity.

After about half an hour, Kuk finally got up, took off his soaked clothes, and threw them aside. The servants would take care of them. Then Kuk started to refine his aura. Since Kuk's aura was self-running, his body was constantly nourished by the aura, making him stronger. At this point, Kuk finally understood the benefits of the self-running aura, which was not just about increasing the amount of aura.

If the aura was not self-running, it would be like magic power, confined to the aura source, and the body would not be nourished. Although the circulation was extremely slow, almost imperceptible, in the past half month, Kuk felt his physical strength had improved significantly.

Running the aura was much simpler. If the self-running was like a bicycle, then the mental power-driven method was like a car. With just two hours of training under Kuk's strong mental power, his aura felt swollen. Kuk wisely withdrew his mental power. This was a common misconception in this world. If one had three times the mental power, they would likely choose the mage profession over the warrior profession, as once becoming a formal mage, the rewards from the empire would make the mage wealthy for life, while warriors had no such benefits. Mages were a noble profession, and Kuk's mental power was four times that of an average person. This was also why Kuk accidentally discovered the earth element stimulation method. Otherwise, with his low mental power, he would have to spend most of his day meditating, leaving no time for life, socializing, or learning, let alone training his aura.

When Kuk came out of the basement after more than four hours, he saw only the last rays of the sunset. The servants, seeing Kuk finish his practice, had already prepared the bathwater and dry clothes, and the kitchen staff had started preparing a sumptuous dinner.

"Kuk, go see Connie and tell her to come down for dinner." Old Hill, seeing Kuk in a robe, instructed. Old Hill had quickly adapted to the new environment, taking on the air of a wealthy person, while Kuk's mother still couldn't resist doing things herself.

"Connie, it's time for dinner!" Kuk went upstairs, where he and Connie lived. Old Hill, with poor legs, stayed on the first floor, and the servants lived in the backyard. Kuk knocked on the door and called out.

"Coming, coming!" Connie's voice faintly replied, followed by footsteps, and the door opened.

"Ugh, it's time for dinner!" Kuk, though not the first time seeing Connie in her pajamas, was momentarily stunned by the pink silk pajamas she wore, her hair slightly damp and tied up, making her look like a lotus just out of water.

"Come on, what are you looking at?" Connie felt a bit embarrassed under Kuk's gaze.

"Women look best when they are dressed up!" Kuk said without thinking and turned to leave, leaving Connie with a slight smile.

When Kuk went downstairs, he saw guests in the house. It turned out to be Mitch, Lori, Martha, and Mary. The arrival of the four girls filled the house with a youthful atmosphere. However, when Mitch saw Kuk and Connie both in pajamas, she looked a bit uncomfortable, and Lori looked a bit puffed up.

"Brother, brother, the sisters brought me so many, many good things." Lily ran over and showed Kuk a pile of snacks and toys.

"Did you thank the sisters, Lily?" Kuk picked up little Lily and asked, tickling her pink nose.

"Ha ha! Ha ha!" At that moment, Kuk felt something moving around his feet. It turned out to be Little Gray, a plump, gray-furred, pink-nosed, thirty-pound puppy, licking Kuk's big toe.

"Brother, this little dog is so cute, but it keeps trying to eat Lily's things." Lily saw Little Gray and said in a childish voice.

"Miss Lori, Miss Mitch, your presence honors our home." Kuk put down Lily, walked to Mitch and Lori, and performed a standard knight's salute.

"Hmph, you seem quite at ease!" Lori didn't speak, but Mitch couldn't, as Lori was her mentor, and this world highly respected mentors.

"Hehe, I just finished practicing and took a bath to call Connie down for dinner." Kuk explained to Mitch, noticing the displeasure on her face. As for Lori's expression, Kuk didn't pay much attention, as he had no particular feelings for her, one being the master and the other a servant.

Lori felt better hearing this, and Kuk saw that the servants had already set the table, so he invited them, "Ladies, I have prepared a sumptuous and unexpected dinner for you tonight. Please!"

"Hey, what is this?" Lori was the first to reach the table and asked in surprise.

"Crabs!" Kuk explained. He had found these crabs, as big as a small basin, in the water channel workers' area, which excited him. He had agreed to buy them for two silver coins each and used the Magic Eye to confirm they were not poisonous. The preparation was simple: after cleaning them with clear water, they were steamed and served with a dipping sauce, which was very delicious.

"Can we eat this?" Mitch also poked the crab with a dinner knife, making a crisp sound.

"Please!" Kuk pulled out the chairs for them. Kuk's father, Old Hill, had already instructed the servants to add more tableware.

"Two beautiful ladies, you don't need knives and forks for this; just use your hands! Let me show you." Kuk picked up a special crab cracker, which was actually a nutcracker, and skillfully cracked the hard shell, revealing the white crab meat.

"Ladies, please!" Kuk gave Mitch and Lori a piece of crab meat each and then dipped a piece in the sauce and put it in his mouth.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

"Great! Tasty!" The two women praised simultaneously.

"Hehe, this isn't the best part. Look! It's a female crab. The eggs and the crab roe are the best." Kuk opened the crab's back shell and found it was a female crab. The orange-red eggs looked beautiful under the lamplight. (Note: Don't worry about the timing of the crab eggs; this is a different world!)

"Thank you!" They ate five large crabs during the meal, with Mitch and Lori each eating almost one. Little Gray also ate one, and Little Bad and Big Mouth joined in. At the end, Mitch quietly thanked Kuk.

"Family doesn't need formalities!" Kuk pinched Mitch's hand and whispered.

"Cough! Kuk, we came to inform you to be at the mage tower tomorrow morning. There's something to discuss." Lori, seeing Mitch and Kuk, coughed and instructed.

"Is it something important?" Kuk asked, puzzled.

"It's about setting up a magic array, and your grandfather is making an exception by letting you watch. Even my father doesn't have the right to observe." Lori smiled.

Kuk was surprised and asked, "Is that true?"

"Of course. This time, your grandfather is setting up a super-large composite magic array, consisting of over 300 magic arrays, which is very rare. The material cost alone is in the millions of gold coins." Lori smiled.

"Alright, I'll be there on time. Why don't you stay here tonight and we can go together tomorrow?" Kuk looked at the sky, which was already dark. Although he knew Lori was safe, he couldn't help but invite her, considering Mitch.

"Alright! Mitch can also go home and see her parents." Lori hesitated and then said. Martha, hearing this, went out and soon returned with several guards.

"Miss, the master has instructed that you must return at night." The lead guard said, bracing himself.

"Don't worry, you can relax. Kuk is not a stranger." Lori waved her white hand.

"But..."

"Sir, don't worry, it's fine. You can stay in the living room, and a few can go with Miss Mitch. There's a patrol squad just 500 meters away, and a patrol team passes by every five minutes. The streets are also strictly checked, so there's no need to worry." Kuk, seeing the guard's difficulty, stepped forward to explain.

"Alright!" The guard, seeing Lori's face turn dark, had no choice but to agree. To Kuk's surprise, the guard contingent numbered thirty, with the lead male and female giving him a strong sense of power.

"Wind, wind element!" Kuk secretly used the Magic Eye and found that the male and female were both wind element users, with a magical glow brighter than Cassi. Kuk knew who they were.

"Boy, you did well, especially the Thorn Spell. It was quite unique. I thought I would have to intervene, but you handled it!" The male came over, patted Kuk's shoulder, and praised him.

"Phew!" Kuk, hearing this, was drenched in sweat, realizing he had been followed all along. He couldn't help but stare at the man.

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