Chapter 76: What? I’m Actually a Genius Mage!

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: What? I’m Actually a Genius Mage!

"Actually, I’ve already constructed it in my mind many times. That Spell Model is indeed a bit difficult; I almost messed up the core part..."

Lorin looked a little embarrassed.

He felt he was still lacking. He chalked this success up to sheer luck; if he had to trace it again, he might make a mistake.

He couldn’t help it. Having to imagine the Rune, trace it out, and control the Magic Net to shape the Spell Model all at once was basically the equivalent of doing three things at the exact same time.

And he hadn’t even chanted the hardest part—the Spell.

"Huh? Spell Model? Weren’t you drawing a Rune?" Erin was already struggling to understand him.

Lorin froze for a second, replying in bafflement, "No... a Rune is a Rune, and a Spell Model is a Spell Model. I can still tell them apart.

"Besides, don’t the two have to be combined to cast Magic? You have to add the Spell, too. This One-Ring Magic is indeed much harder than a trick."

Erin narrowed her eyes, trying to find any evidence on his face that he was bragging. However, his cheeky "pretending to be apologetic after doing something wrong" expression was far too familiar to her.

This plunged her into silence. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

She thought it was freakish enough that this guy could draw a Rune after watching a single demonstration, but to think he had simultaneously learned how to construct the Spell Model?

Or perhaps his Spell Model wasn’t actually constructed successfully? After all, he hadn’t completed all the steps of casting, and she couldn’t see his model herself.

With some uncertainty, she asked, "You constructed the Spell Model, too?"

"Yeah, this thing is way harder than Flaming Arrow." Lorin scratched his head and continued, "It’s that thing that looks like... uh, a multi-sided magic cube, but it has many nested layers inside. I almost skewed the innermost layer."

He didn’t know if geometry existed in this world. He originally wanted to call it a multi-faceted geometric polyhedron, but he opted for something similar to make it easier for her to understand.

As for magic cubes, he had seen them in a general store in Shallow Beach Town, and they weren’t sold cheap.

"So you really were reading just now?" Erin massaged her temples, her red hair fluttering wildly around her fingertips as she spoke. "What did you mean when you said... you’ve already traced it in your mind many times?"

"It’s just..." Lorin thought carefully, weighing his words. "When you demonstrated it just now, I memorized every stroke of that Rune, then tried repeatedly tracing it in my head.

"The Spell Model was the same. The model in the book is clearly structured, and you added notes for the difficult parts, so I just shaped it following those paths.

"To be honest, drawing the Rune while shaping the model is really tough. I almost couldn’t keep track."

Erin felt like she must still be half-asleep. She forcefully slapped her cheeks with both hands, but the sting confirmed she wasn’t dreaming.

She could understand tracing a Rune in one’s mind, but what the hell was shaping a Spell Model mentally?

She gave it a try. Although she could visualize the Disguise Skill’s Spell Model, it was extremely blurry—almost just an outer shell. The inner details were a complete mess.

Could such complex patterns actually be imagined so clearly in the mind?

Was this guy even human?

She had never seen anyone who could just look at a Spell Model in a book for a short while, repeatedly trace it in their head, and then actually shape the model following those paths.

And this guy even had the nerve to look embarrassed, as if he had done a terrible job.

He was practically begging for a beating!

"Teacher Erin?"

"Don’t call me teacher."

Erin slouched, propping her head up with one hand. Her unfocused gaze drifted into the air as if she was deep in thought.

A strand of her red hair slipped past her ear and draped over the edge of her nightgown’s collar, resting against the half-exposed curve of her shoulder.

Suddenly, Erin felt at a loss.

Because she realized that the possibility of certain things happening might no longer be zero.

But she didn’t dare think too deeply about that possibility.

Seeing her space out, Lorin cast a quick glance at her shoulder, then carefully extended two fingers to pinch the edge of her nightgown, pulling it back up.

"Do you know how long it took me to memorize the Disguise Skill’s Spell Model?" Erin asked casually, not even shifting her gaze.

"Half a day?"

"Just memorizing the order of the strokes took an entire afternoon. It took another whole two days before I could barely construct it successfully, let alone cast it together with the Rune and the Spell."

Erin shifted her gaze from the air to his face, recounting her experience with utmost calmness.

Yet, the complex emotions swirling in her eyes gave Lorin an indescribable feeling.

"Do you know," she said, "how many Mage Apprentices train their whole lives without ever achieving what you just did?"

He muttered inwardly, "I should thank all those practice exercises I did in my past life," but he didn’t dare voice it aloud.

Although he couldn’t quite decipher the meaning in Erin’s eyes, he could at least sense her genuine expectations of him.

"Lorin..."

Erin fell silent for a moment. She didn’t want to praise him, but she was afraid he would get too comfortable with the innate Magic of a Sorcerer and waste his potential.

"Talent isn’t just a blessing from the Divine Spirits; it’s also a tremendous curse.

"It will trap you in the vanity of thinking, ’I can easily obtain what others cannot.’

"Until one day, you’ll find that all those who are far less talented than you have walked right past you."

She paused, looked straight into Lorin’s eyes, and said, "Don’t become that kind of person. Don’t waste your talent."

Lorin naturally understood what Erin meant. He had grown up listening to the story of the Tortoise and the Hare; how could he not get it?

But seeing her uncharacteristically serious demeanor, he suddenly felt a profound warmth, and his heart even skipped a beat.

Having entered a state of profound clarity, he found it much easier to pull his attention away from her physical beauty, which allowed him to more clearly perceive the wealth of emotion she held for him.

She could have kept things strictly professional and offered him no explanations or warnings. After all, they were just in an employer-employee relationship to begin with.

Yet, she still used such an incredibly serious tone to remind him not to stray down the wrong path, not to drown in that kind of vanity.

This made Lorin feel an unparalleled sense of sincerity and validation. This girl genuinely cared about him and was truly looking out for his future.

Lorin stayed silent for a long time before handing the Magic Staff back to her, offering his heartfelt gratitude, "I understand. Thank you, Teacher Erin."

Erin tilted her head, staring at him for a moment to confirm he truly grasped her words before she took back the Magic Staff.

The staff twirled once in her hand and struck Lorin on the head in a perfect arc.

She laughed softly.

"I told you not to call me teacher!"