Mythology Rebooted-Chapter 39 - 36 Battle of Wits

39: Chapter 36: Battle of Wits

39 -36: Battle of Wits

The villa is one kilometer to the east. freēnovelkiss.com

Though there’s no green water, there are lush mountains, and in front of these woods, there’s a clearing where Hefei lay on a hammock, reading a book.

It was a romance novel set in the medieval period, detailing the grudges and affections among several women.

Wayne was practicing magic in the clearing, none of the dozen spells he practiced were particularly aggressive, which suited someone as green as him.

For example, the spell Wayne was practicing was officially called ‘Slime Monster.’ It utilized the Earth Element within his body to cast, summoning a soft, squishy blob of mud, which he then shaped with his mind.

It seemed simple—at least, it seemed so to Hefei.

With Wayne’s talent and diligent practice, he would soon be able to cast it instantly.

Wayne said he was fine with doing exercises, and he did manage to cast instantly, but the Slime Monster took on a different form than what he had imagined.

He couldn’t summon the traditional Slime Monster; no matter how he changed his posture, he could only conjure an earthen wall.

The damp earthen wall, once summoned, would quickly set.

If knocked, it became solid, lacking the prerequisite flexibility for mental shaping.

Wayne thought he wasn’t executing the technique correctly, but Hefei disagreed.

Spells are fixed formulas, and the results they provide are definite.

In other words, a Slime Monster could only be a blob of mud, the same for anyone unless…

…other formulas were mixed in!

Hefei believed Wayne was impatient and his mind too restless; always distracted by the allure of a Glamor Lady and not pondering enough on the spell formulas themselves was what truly mattered.

Even if I let my mind wander aimlessly, 1 plus 1 still equals 2, right?

Wayne almost felt aggrieved to death; heaven knows he didn’t let his thoughts stray.

When casting spells, his mind was clearer than anyone else’s.

But still…

The spell was correct, the magic power was pure, but the only thing incorrect was the manifestation of the magic.

Teacher, is there a possibility that 1 plus 1 doesn’t equal 2?

Wayne prudently didn’t voice his question.

Even if the whole world were wrong, and only he was right, then he would still be wrong.

He tried many more times until he was out of magic power and sat down cross-legged to begin meditating.

On the first day of meditation, he captured nearly thirty Elemental Radiant Spots;

On the second day, he made adept use of his tentacles and plundered a hundred spots;

This was the third day.

Because meditation not only increased magic power but also synchronously strengthened his mind, the number of his tentacles multiplied, and their length extended, allowing him to directly scoop up three hundred Elemental Radiant Spots.

Wayne was unsure if the progress he had made was impressive.

Simply judging by the Glamor Lady teacher’s constant sighing, it seemed not to be enough.

This made Wayne very anxious.

His natural talent was too average.

It’s said that hard work can compensate for lack of genius.

He also had a highly skilled teacher and the best Hades Meditation Method passed down by the Naturalism Church, but Hefei had also mentioned that this meditation method was open to many outstanding students; he wasn’t unique.

At the same starting line, while the geniuses drive sports cars, Wayne walked on his own two feet.

No matter how hard he worked, two legs couldn’t beat four wheels.

It was only natural he felt anxious.

Facing her student’s worries, all the Glamor Lady teacher could do was maintain her silence.

What could she say?

That he wasn’t walking but flying a plane?

That was impossible; what if he got carried away?!

Hefei could only gently express her sympathy and encouraged Wayne to continue striving hard.

Once he got past the initial challenges, the road ahead would become smoother.

It’s often said that “no pain, no gain,” and probably that’s what it means.

She had a voluptuous figure, so Wayne decided to trust her for once.

Speaking of which, he still felt somewhat unconvinced.

Wayne thought his talent wasn’t bad.

Initially, he could have captured more Elemental Radiant Spots, but The Book of Greed interfered, snatching seven out of every ten Spots he collected.

After back and forth, Master Wayne could only keep thirty percent, which depended on The Book of Greed’s whims.

That was preposterous.

Coach, can’t we switch for a better Golden Finger?

“It’s getting late; I must go now.”

Hefei checked her watch, got up from the hammock, and put away the romance novel.

She encouraged Wayne a few more times.

Then she said, “The theory books I ordered for you will arrive by this evening, at the latest by tomorrow morning.

Take a good look at them.

If there’s anything you don’t understand, mark it, and I will explain each point later.

If you can’t wait, you can contact me by phone.”

What Hefei referred to as theory knowledge consisted of the Basic Magic Studies not included in the Hexastar Grimoire.

Chris had also expressed that she would tutor Wayne individually.

These lessons were indispensable.

Every Mage had to memorize and understand them thoroughly, or it would be difficult to comprehend the more profound magical theories later, thereby losing the opportunity for further advancement.

A grim expression crossed Wayne’s face as he thought of college following nine years of compulsory education, and the ghost of advanced mathematics launched a sneak attack on him.

What’s there to sneak attack?

I can’t defeat it even face-to-face!

Originally, Hefei had planned to take Wayne as her student and cultivate him slowly back in Lundan, but Wayne’s magical talent made her reconsider.

Being an administrative assistant beside the High Priest would be too demeaning for Wayne; she wanted to develop him into a God’s Favorite.

Furthermore, the chaos in Lundan far exceeded Hefei’s imagination, and she couldn’t find the time to teach Wayne in the short term.

In that case, it was better to leave Wayne in the villa, to avoid all sorts of accidents that might prematurely snuff out a genius.

Hefei didn’t say some things; although she indeed was from Lundan, she wasn’t part of the power circle of the Naturalism Church’s Windsor District.

It wasn’t easy to rebuild her old connections, and she might have to stir up quite a commotion this time when taking office.

The struggle for power is the same everywhere, and religion is no exception—faith is not immune to secular practices!

For the reasons above, Hefei decided not to take Wayne back to Lundan and instead placed a magic spell on him.

Centered on the villa, Wayne’s range of movement was limited to no more than fifty miles—he could go to Enrold Town if he felt stuffy, but sneaking back to Lundan to find a girlfriend was out of the question.

Unless, of course, Wayne’s magic power progressed by leaps and bounds, surpassing the threshold Hefei had set.

Is it possible that I actually don’t have a girlfriend?

Wayne curled his lip, “Teacher, you really don’t have to ground me.

I won’t go back to Lundan; in fact, I’m actually fleeing from disaster.”

“Oh?

Do tell.”

“I got targeted by a big shot who holds significant power in Lundan, someone who both the underworld and the law court at his stinky feet.

I don’t know what I did to offend him, but he seems eager to shove me into a cement barrel and sink me in the river.” Wayne was rather speechless, still unable to figure it out.

Hefei: “…”

This vaguely familiar method of intimidation, she seemed to have heard it somewhere before.

“So, didn’t you seek someone to speak on your behalf, like a girlfriend?

Her family is so rich, they should be able to help, right?”

“No use.

That big shot isn’t willing to give face.

I’m still waiting for a call; only when his anger subsides can I return to Lundan.”

Wayne looked at Hefei with puppy eyes: “It’s been three days.

Maybe you could help me ask around, just to at least know who it is.”

“Hmm, interesting.

When I go back to Lundan, I’ll ask for you.

Remember to wait for my call.”

Hefei struggled to keep a straight face; she had a rough idea of the cause and effect.

Unless something unexpected happened, that big troublemaker would never calm his rage in this lifetime.

Shameless thing, is that any way to bully a kid?

Leave it to me!

…

Hefei left, taking a car directly.

The Randao Family’s hospitality standards cost Wayne an arm and a leg; a complete stranger to him, the butler had arranged a luxury car to take her back to Lundan.

To spare the Lady the discomfort of a lonesome journey, a maid was specifically arranged as the driver.

Such treatment of a guest made anyone else seem inferior.

In the afternoon, Wayne practiced meditation in the garden, following the little tricks Hefei had taught him to connect with nature as much as possible during meditation.

This time, his whole body was glowing, radiating colors of every hue.

Especially the red—the Fire Element’s enthusiasm was almost driving him crazy with longing.

Half an hour later, Wayne stopped meditating, feeling pretty good about it.

His joy lasted but a few seconds before he started shaking his head and sighing again.

So what if he glowed?

The geniuses at the academy not only had better talent than him, but they also spent more time meditating.

How could he make up for a disparity of three to five years?

Thinking about it, the image of the three ships seemed to drift further away.

Wayne knew it was the difference between a genius and an ordinary person; a thick wall was already forming between him and those ships.

“If I can’t catch up in one day, then I’ll take two.

If I can’t catch up during the day, then I’ll work at night.

They’re sleeping, and I’m still training…”

“I refuse to believe it.

As a programmer, I can’t outwork them!”

After meditating, Wayne felt a slight headache and wasn’t in the condition to keep pushing.

He needed to relax and take a break.

“I’m so tired.

Butler, call me a car.

I need to unwind in town.”

“Certainly, Young Master Wayne.”

Don’t say it like that, it sounds like that person from the alley.

————

The car entered Enrold Town, but Wayne didn’t get out, leaning against the car window and spacing out.

The car stopped at an intersection where the driver noticed a traffic jam ahead, got out to see what was going on, and asked Wayne to rest in the car for a bit.

A moment later, the driver returned with the reason for the jam—a murder case had occurred, attracting two detectives who started a battle of wits, with much fanfare and the townspeople crowding to watch.

One was a local detective from Enrold Town, and the other was from Lundan, reputedly quite famous there.

“Did they come to blows?”

Wayne immediately perked up and got out of the car to join in the excitement.