Chapter 55

Gret stopped and came back to his senses.

He looked at the person speaking.

...No one was there.

He lowered his head. 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees... On the floor in front of him, the brat he had seen a few days ago was hopping around, his face red with anger, stretching his arms and waving them in front of Gret’s eyes:

"Here! Who are you looking for?!"

It was this little guy again. Gret felt a bit of a headache, nodded at him vaguely, and started to walk up. The brat followed closely, shouting non-stop:

"What are you going up for? Hey, what are you going up for! That's where the official mages stay! You're not even an apprentice!"

Above the second floor of the magic tower, in the past, Gret really didn't have the qualifications to go up.

The first floor of this magic tower was the hall and the library. Mage apprentices—like the brat, who, despite being only ten years old, had already stepped into the world of magic—lived on the second floor, and official mages lived on the third floor.

The fourth floor was used for alchemy and spell experimentation, the fifth floor was the residence of the head of the magic tower, Mage Gehrman, and the hub of the magic tower was also set there.

From the second floor onwards, no matter how rich or powerful a commoner was, they were not allowed to enter without an invitation.

Gret didn't have the qualifications to go up either. But now, just a moment ago, he had successfully cast his first spell!

He was already a mage apprentice!

Going up to the second floor was only natural!

Going up to the third floor to ask a familiar mage a question or two, that was, no big deal, hahaha...

The little boy chased, shouted, and made a racket all the way, the noise echoing through the stairs. Gret wished he could silence him physically. Just as he paused, he heard a loud shout from the third floor:

"Absolutely not!"

"What's not possible!" A familiar voice shouted back even louder: "I'm almost successful! Why should I stop my research and let you buy alchemy materials!"

Is it Mage Elliot? What is he arguing about? Gret immediately perked up his ears. The other party slapped the table:

"Then what about you? Improving spells doesn't require materials? No scrolls? I at least made something, what about you? How many scrolls have you wasted these days?—When the Magic Council comes to evaluate, how will you explain it!"

"I have no problem!"

"Oh, no problem? Just relying on that kid's copied books? Don't joke, the words are still the same, just rearranged. The Magic Council won't be impressed by such a result."

Hmm... Is he talking about my dictionary?

Gret was taken aback, quietly stepping back a couple of steps to avoid being awkwardly bumped into by the mages. Unexpectedly, the door to the stairs burst open, and the blond youth who had been blasted out of the window a few days ago stormed out, seeing them and immediately getting angry:

"What are you doing up here? This is not a place for you!"

"It's him who insisted on coming up!" The boy interrupted before Gret could answer, his voice shrill:

"I couldn't stop him! Mr. Caran, this guy isn't even a mage apprentice, he has no right to come up!"

"You?"

Caran Mage's angry gaze immediately turned to him. He pointed at Gret, a glow flickering at his fingertips, clearly intending to take out his anger on Gret. As for whether the spell was ice, fire, wind, or earth, Gret, with his limited knowledge, couldn't tell at a glance.

Oh no!

The stairs were narrow, with no place to hide!

Gret had no intention of being a punching bag. Before the spell was cast, he took a deep breath and shouted:

"Mr. Elliot! I've learned my first spell, I have a question for you!"

Learned a spell?

The light on Caran Mage's fingertips flickered and then went out. Learning a spell means becoming a mage apprentice, and occasionally going up to the third floor of the magic tower is not a problem. Besides, he was looking for Elliot—

He snorted and was about to go upstairs to continue his alchemy experiments. Unexpectedly, just as he took a step, he heard the boy shouting:

"You've learned a spell? Impossible! A few days ago, you couldn't even read!"

Hmm?

Caran Mage stopped. In the room, Elliot Mage called out:

"Gret? Come in!"

A few days ago, he couldn't read, and today he has already learned a spell? Curiosity piqued, Caran Mage followed him in. Elliot was tidying up scattered papers and pens, still angry, but his expression softened when he saw Gret, with a hint of joy:

"You succeeded in casting a spell? What was the first one you learned? What questions do you have for me?"

"He's definitely lying!" The boy complained to Caran Mage:

"Insisted on running up here, and when you caught him, he said he was a mage apprentice! Liar! I saw with my own eyes that a few days ago, he couldn't even recognize magic letters!"

Is that so?

The blond youth looked at Elliot inquiringly.

Elliot was also a bit awkward. The boy was the grandson of Mage Gehrman's mentor, a high-ranking mage representing the Magic Council to inspect the surrounding magic towers. Disliking his mischievous grandson, he had left him in the care of his disciple. Given his status, although they were official mages, they couldn't easily scold the child.

Elliot had to pretend not to hear. He coughed and turned to Gret:

"What spell did you learn? Cast it again for me to see!"

"It's—Detection Magic." As soon as Gret answered, the boy snorted, mocking even louder:

"Detection Magic? Whether this spell succeeds or not, isn't it up to you to say?—Are you trying to bluff us!"

"George!" Caran Mage growled. He then turned to Gret and ordered:

"Alright, cast the spell here and see how many magical items are in the hall. If you can correctly identify three items or point out the strongest one, it counts as a successful cast."

Gret bowed slightly, indicating his agreement. He took two steps back, his back against the wall, trying to expand his field of vision as much as possible, and began to cast the spell.

The hall was about 30 square meters, with six wooden chairs surrounding a long rectangular table, taking up most of the space. There was a chandelier overhead, tapestries on the walls, and a fireplace at the end of the hall. At first glance, the furnishings were not much different from the library on the ground floor.

Gret softly recited the incantation. As he spoke, the faint and deep magical auras began to glow in his meditation, ranging from bright white, earthy yellow, light blue, to deep blue. His gaze shifted, and he was amazed!

The brat, his robe, headband, and necklace, all three items were glowing, much brighter than anything in the room!

The third generation of mages is truly terrifying... Gret silently swallowed his resentment towards the brat, moved his gaze, and began to identify the magical items one by one:

"Chandelier, the tapestry on the left, the fireplace..."

Although the auras were dim and the enchantment levels were low, probably similar to the bookshelf downstairs, it was still three items!

Each time he identified an item, the boy's mouth opened wider. By the end, his eyes and mouth were both round, forming three O's:

"Impossible... You actually..."

"How about that? Someone learned faster than you?"

The blond youth added fuel to the fire, bending down and deliberately asking the boy in his ear. The boy was stunned for a moment, then shouted:

"I don't believe it!"

He turned and ran out of the hall, slamming the door to the stairs. The sound made the vase on the table tremble.

Vase?

Vase!

Gret's heart suddenly raced. He rushed forward, pulled out the flowers in the vase, and tipped it over. A gemstone rolled out of the vase, glowing brightly in the magical detection vision.

Gret reached out and enveloped the light.

What he saw was still a blur.