Chapter 61: Awakening an Extraordinary Trait!

Chapter 61 Awakening the Extraordinary Trait!

"Alright, everyone back to bed. Nothing serious happened."

"Li Wei, next time don't practice magic in your room at midnight! If you must study spells, at least choose a safer place!"

Allen scolded Li Wei lightly—firm, yet not harsh.

Li Wei accepted the reprimand humbly, nodding. "Understood. I'll be careful next time."

After the others left, Gu Ze glanced at Li Wei and said, "Come on, follow me to my room. You can't sleep here anymore."

Li Wei picked up his half-intact blanket and moved into Gu Ze’s room, laying it out on the floor.

Lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling, he asked, "Master Gu Ze, do you know why casting spells earns recognition from magical elements?"

Gu Ze turned his head, looked at him, then turned away. "According to the Theory of Elemental Affinity, prolonged intimate contact with magical elements increases one's affinity toward them. The act of spellcasting is precisely such an intimate interaction."

"But why does prolonged contact increase affinity?" Li Wei pressed.

Gu Ze shut his eyes, unwilling to respond.

How should he know?

One theory leads to another question, and questions spiral endlessly.

Seeing Gu Ze silent, Li Wei continued on his own, "Master, do you know what I was doing just now?"

Gu Ze listened, refusing to speak.

He only wanted to sleep.

"I was feeding fire elementals with mana—like raising pets. The more you feed them, the closer they grow to you. It's the same with magical elements."

Gu Ze listened, and something felt… off.

Pets? Since when did magical elements become pets?

Yet… strangely, it made a sliver of sense.

Back and forth he pondered, unable to fall asleep.

"Could it actually work—feeding magical elements with mana?"

It sounded absurd.

But the idea clung to his mind like frost on glass.

Unable to rest, he decided to try.

"Ice is safer than fire. At least it won’t explode."

Then—

Boom! Crash!

The entire room froze over. Li Wei trembled violently, teeth chattering.

"K-k-k!"

"Master Gu Ze, what are you doing?!"

Bang!

A cup shattered upstairs. "Damn it! Can't anyone get any sleep?!"

Thud, thud!

Li Wei and Gu Ze stood on the street, staring at the locked inn door, eyes meeting in mutual helplessness.

"We're done for. Kicked out."

They wandered the empty streets.

"Master Gu Ze, what now?"

A sudden spark ignited in Gu Ze’s eyes. "Li Wei… you’re a genius!"

"Everyone else was wrong! Feeding magical elements with mana—that’s the true path to elemental awakening!"

Li Wei glanced at the ecstatic Gu Ze and sighed deeply.

I should’ve waited until tomorrow to tell him.

Now we don’t even have a place to sleep tonight.

Clang, clang, clang!

Patrol soldiers spotted the two wandering the streets, mistook them for infiltrators, and surrounded them.

Only when they saw the robes of mages did the soldiers lower their weapons.

Gu Ze calmed down, realizing how dangerous it was to roam at night.

"We’ll spend tonight at the barracks. Tomorrow, we explain to Mage Allen."

"Yeah, no choice," Li Wei muttered, shivering.

Sleeping on the street was out of the question—even in May, spring nights were biting cold.

The next morning, Mage Allen stared at the two before him, speechless.

"Fine. Come back. But from now on—no spellcasting in your rooms."

By dawn, a large wooden sign hung at the inn’s entrance: “NO SPELLCASTING!”

For safety, Allen relocated both Li Wei and Gu Ze to corner rooms, isolating the repeat offenders so they wouldn’t endanger others.

Gu Ze slipped into his new room. "Feed moderately. Don’t overdo it and blow up again—or we’ll really be thrown out."

He paused. "Don’t disturb me these few days. I feel close to a breakthrough."

With that, he vanished inside.

Crack, crack, crack!

He cast a freezing spell, sealing the door shut. Outside, a sign appeared: “DO NOT DISTURB.”

Li Wei returned to his own new room.

Today, he had no watch duty. He stayed in, meditating, training, practicing spells, feeding fire elementals, and exercising.

Two days passed without explosion. Everyone breathed easier.

On the fourth day since arriving in Hansha City, the long-peaceful city faced its first assault—orc troops advancing in a probing attack, testing the city’s defenses.

The defenders repelled them swiftly.

When Li Wei heard, he felt regret.

Missed a perfect chance to earn merit.

Three fire mage squads, two wind mage squads, one ice mage squad—rotated shifts.

Li Wei had served his first watch on day one. His next shift would come on day seven.

Until then, he could volunteer to guard the walls—but didn’t have to.

Once every six days, one had to take a shift on watch.

From the fifth day onward, the orc army began launching minor raids against Hansha City.

They didn’t attempt to breach the walls, but any human who stepped outside the city gates risked being ambushed.

Whenever they encountered human troops, they would retreat immediately.

Under Aorn’s command, Hansha City started pulling back its personnel and minimizing excursions.

Yet no matter how tightly they withdrew, some still had to leave the city.

Leina’s logistics unit was responsible for transporting supplies to the frontlines at regular intervals, as well as gathering war provisions from other cities—missions that required venturing beyond Hansha’s walls.

The safety of these supply convoys became a pressing concern.

To protect them, Aorn assigned Leina a full squad of extraordinary adepts: warrior, knight, archer, assassin, and mage—a complete quintet.

“Master Guze, you’re heading out?” Li Wei asked in surprise.

Guze replied, “I have no choice. Right now, I’m the only first-rank mage still free to move.”

“Archmage Allen has ordered me to escort the supply caravan.”

“When I’m gone, stay cautious. Don’t do anything reckless.”

Li Wei nodded. “Yes, Master. You be careful too.”

Guze smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve already become a full-fledged mage. My combat power has surged—I could even fight a second-rank opponent now.”

A day earlier, Guze had emerged from seclusion, awakening his supernatural trait—**Kin of Frost!**

His ice magic had grown immensely powerful.

Li Wei stood atop the city wall, watching Guze depart from Hansha City.

“It’s close,” he murmured, gazing into the distant sky, thoughts adrift.

On the seventh day, it was Li Wei’s turn to stand guard.

He climbed the ramparts, settled into a corner of the watchtower, and waited silently for the day to pass.

Phaesia, Jonah, and Drelles sat together, chatting merrily.

Over the past few days, the three had grown quite close.

Unlike Li Wei, who spent all his time cooped up in his room training.

“Huh? What are you doing?” Rotah asked, eyeing the small flame dancing in Li Wei’s palm.

Ever since entering the tower, he’d noticed Li Wei holding that tiny fireball—what on earth was he up to?

“I’m practicing spell control,” Li Wei said.

Rotah shook his head and turned away.

Everyone trained differently. He wouldn’t judge.

But in truth, Li Wei was feeding the fire elemental.

Now that he understood the truth behind elemental awakening, whether he cast the first-rank *Fireball* or the zero-rank *Small Fireball* made little difference—only the speed of nourishment varied.

This was active feeding. If passive, only first-rank spells would suffice.

Zero-rank spells gathered too little fire essence; in the brief moment between casting and release, barely any mana could be absorbed by the elemental.

Near midday, Li Wei’s spirit trembled. The world around him seemed to shift.

Deep within, he sensed the fire elemental he had nurtured for so long finally merge with his very being.

(End of Chapter)