“Mana is not chaotic mystery, but the visualization of laws. To master the resonance between inner and outer mana is the key to opening the door of magic.”
—Grand Magus Arthea Starpath
Tch. Sure enough, every textbook had to start with some pretentious quote.
Too bad Lin Jun had no idea who this grand magus was.
Mycelial tendrils stuck to the page, flipping it over.
…
Finally having learned to speak, Lin Jun had been eager to show off—only to realize he had no one to talk to.
Gray only knew a little dragon tongue, and not a word of human language. All communication was through the fungal network.
Norris was still undergoing modification in the mushroom house. The tree demon had no vocal structure at all, communication also through the fungal net.
The vampire was fluent in both human and demon tongues, but she had just been terrified out of her wits and was now mining to calm down—not the right time to bother her.It was disappointing. A vampire viscountess who couldn’t even handle a Puji speaking a word—what a letdown.
As for the Yellow Book… well, he could, but conversing with it exhausted Lin Jun.
On the surface, Lin Jun always seemed to hold the upper hand. But whenever he spoke with the Yellow Book, he had to constantly keep an eye on his own panel, lest he be charmed. That was no way to relax.
Dylan was busy surviving on his island, and scouts had no vocal organs.
What, was he supposed to have Pujis wear voice-Pujis and go around spouting nonsense to scare adventurers?
With no one to converse with, Lin Jun’s enthusiasm for speaking cooled. He decided to wait until Norris woke up to chat.
For now, a new project: learning magic!
He had no shortage of textbooks. Adventurers often left behind books on magic, and Lin Jun carefully preserved them.
The one at hand was Fundamentals of Universal Spell Construction, clearly a beginner’s text.
Chapter One: The Human Seven-Node Mana Model?
Skip.
Pujis were low-level monsters. Even with [Mana Storage], they only had a single central mana node. Nothing useful there.
Chapter Two: Innate Mana and Environmental Mana.
Innate mana was basically internal MP. Environmental mana referred to ambient, active mana in the surroundings.
Casting involved building a spell circuit with innate mana, then drawing in environmental mana to complete the effect. Pujis could only achieve this via magic crystals.
The book even had a neat formula:
Spell Power = Pathway Efficiency × Environmental Mana Density.
That explained why that gold-ranked mage in the mist had been so strong—the ambient mana was overly abundant. Any spell would naturally be magnified several times.
Similarly, magic crystals usually worked by gathering ambient mana, thickening the concentration around the caster.
As for pathway efficiency, that seemed tied to magic proficiency.
High-tier spells had minimum requirements. If your efficiency wasn’t up to par, you couldn’t use them even if you memorized the model.
Turning the pages brought him to basic structural models.
At first, the single-ring and double-helix circuits looked a little complex, but still understandable.
But further ahead, there were multi-layered overlays and triangular link models. Just skimming them gave Lin Jun flashbacks of struggling through advanced calculus.
And this was supposed to be Fundamentals?
Did every mage in this world graduate top of their class?
He slammed that book shut and opened another: Common Fire Magic Models (1st–3rd Tier).
Much better. With the limit at tier three, nothing seemed over the top.
Lin Jun chose a second-tier spell—Fireball—for study.
Although he had never cast a spell before, his [Mana Manipulation] was already level 5.
All thanks to [Greed] and the “donations” of adventurers.
For spell practice, he created a special Magic Puji.
【Mana Storage LV7】 + 【Mana Manipulation LV5】 + 【Fire Magic LV5】
The three basic skills were in place. He gave the Puji a D-grade crystal as an external casting focus.
Spells couldn’t be left to the Puji. Even with the skills, they had no knowledge of spell models. Everything had to be hand-driven by Lin Jun.
Controlling Magic Puji No. 1, he used [Mana Manipulation LV5] to outline the Fireball’s circuit.
It was relatively easy, but being his first attempt, it still took him ten minutes to complete the path in the crystal.
As the final loop closed, mana surged toward the crystal.
The crystal’s temperature spiked!
Wait… wasn’t this supposed to form a fireball? Why was the crystal itself heating up?
Before he could figure it out, the crystal exploded into flames, severing his tendrils and scorching a ten-square-meter patch of mycelium.
Great. He had roasted the crystal.
Where had it gone wrong? Other people’s spells formed outside the crystal!
Luckily, the books were far enough not to be damaged.
Another Puji fetched a book, and after thirty minutes of rereading, Lin Jun realized his mistake.
He had forgotten to add an exit pathway. The mana had looped endlessly inside, eventually overloading and blowing up.
Lesson learned.
Magic Puji No. 2 finally produced Lin Jun’s very first fireball.
Cast!
The fireball hit a mushroom tree, blasting a two-meter hole.
Yes!
Excited, Lin Jun controlled No. 2 to keep casting. From ten minutes per spell, he quickly improved to under a minute.
And with practice, the time could still drop.
The mushroom tree was soon riddled with holes. Thankfully, Fatty Puji was on standby with water, or half the grove would have burned down.
Then No. 2 abruptly collapsed.
Mana exhausted. It starved to death.
Unlike humans, who just fainted, Pujis depended on mana for life. Overdraw meant death.
Even [Mycelial Regeneration] couldn’t revive it—too much internal damage. It had to be recycled in the swamp.
Lin Jun thought for a bit. Next time, he’d tether the Puji to the fungal mat for constant mana supply.
A minor hiccup, but his enthusiasm for magic remained high. Soon, Magic Puji No. 3 took the field.
…
One day later.
Magic Puji drew in mana through the crystal. Ten seconds later, a fireball roared forth.
Bigger than before—three meters across.
But Lin Jun wasn’t satisfied.
Ten seconds was too long.
The mushroom cannons fired in under two.
Human mages usually managed spells in two or three seconds.
That was crucial—during casting, stability required stillness. A long channeling time in battle was suicide.
But that was the result of years of practice. Lin Jun had only trained for one day. Ten seconds was his limit.
Which meant he had to grind, just like studying.
Didn’t he already cheat with [Greed]? Why did he still have to grind?
Wasn’t there a “Quick Cast” skill somewhere?
No?
Then maybe… a shortcut? Could he inscribe spell models directly into Pujis?
…
Boom—
Magic Puji whatever-number was gone. Another casualty of “daily attrition.”
The cleanup Pujis rushed out to sweep the fragments.
No, magic wasn’t so simple. Brutally forcing models inside a Puji didn’t work—it either fizzled or overloaded.
Frustration gnawed at him.
If every spell demanded months of practice, their utility plummeted. Skills were far more efficient to level.
He stared at a pile of magic books.
Was this doomed to be just a hobby, something to tinker with for fun?
Then his eyes caught another title.
Magic Arrays…?
—
Inside the mushroom house, Norris stirred awake.
“…Where am I?”
His last memory was the warm soup from Boss.
“You’re awake!”
Blinding light forced him to cover his eyes.
What was that?
Through a squint, he saw—a Puji, radiating with light.
No, the Puji was the light!
“The God of Pujis…?”
Unbeknownst to him, this was the culmination of Lin Jun’s studies—Lightball Puji!
Sitting up, Norris suddenly felt something stuck in his throat.
“Cough—!”
【Saliva Arrow LV5】
【Neurotoxin LV4】
A red toxic liquid shot forth like a water jet, piercing the glowing Puji and punching a hole in the mushroom wall.
The Light Puji flickered twice, then died.
Pujis were immune to neurotoxin, but not to being skewered.
What the hell, his spit was that powerful?
Norris realized this must have been another of Boss’s creations. And he had just broken it.
“Boss… I’m sorry…”
Tears welled as he prayed it wasn’t too important. He didn’t want to be locked in the slime room again.
“It’s… fine… Nor… ris…”
The horrifying voice from behind nearly made him bolt.
He scrambled to the far corner, then looked back.
It was a long, tubular Puji.
“Boss… what is that thing?”
The distorted Puji rasped: “Voice… device… wear… it…”
“Wear? How?”
Soon, it had wrapped around his neck.
Accepting his new “throat attachment,” Norris asked about his condition.
“Boss, what happened? Why is my… spit so strong now?”
It had skewered a Puji and even pierced the house wall—like an arrow.
Lin Jun explained he had reworked his body, granting him new powerful skills.
Powerful skills indeed…
【Saliva Arrow】 and 【Rolling Charge】?
Those two seemed questionable, but the rest were impressive.
【Acceleration】 and 【Evasion】 made him feel light as a feather. Against those three adventurers from before, he might now be able to win alone.
【Sonic Detection】 was harder to judge. Its range was massive, but too much input gave him headaches.
Testing his body, Norris was happy to be stronger, but also mourned being even further from human.
Looking at his long nails, he thought, time for a trim…
But Lin Jun wasn’t done.
“Norris, try that other skill too.”
“…Do I have to, Boss?”
His reluctance made Lin Jun sigh.
“What are you saying? If you don’t test it, how do we know its utility?
Norris, it’s for your own good!
In battle, at the brink of life and death—would you really hold back out of embarrassment?”
The lecture left Norris ashamed. His resolve hardened.
He gritted his teeth.
【Rolling Charge LV7】
…
“Hahahaha!”
Amid Boss’s inexplicable laughter, Gray, lounging in her shiny nest, saw a silver ball rolling past her mushroom house.
With a loud “crash,” she peeked outside.
There lay Norris, balled up, embedded in the wall, unconscious.
Thinking for a moment, Gray tugged him out and returned him to his house.
Then she happily carried away a pile of shiny silver scales shed in the crash, decorating her nest.
The scales made her mushroom house sparkle. She dreamed of covering the whole place someday.
Lin Jun was delighted.
Skills were truly wondrous. Humans could even roll themselves up like that!
【Rolling Charge】 must have altered Norris’s joints and tendons.
But with so many skills stacked, Norris’s body was nearly full.
The next enhancement would likely be the last.
Lin Jun mused. What if a human gained [Jetstream Propulsion]?
Not Norris. But perhaps the next captive.