Chapter 1371: 129. The Key Principle

"Please. I'll take you out."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Huggins personally opened the cell door for Muen. His attitude was so enthusiastic that it did not resemble a first meeting at all. If anything, he acted more like an old friend he had not seen in years.

"Thank you."

Muen stepped out of the cell.

Three days had passed, yet the atmosphere throughout the prison remained much the same as before. The only difference was that his cheap senior brother did not seem to be having an episode at this particular moment, so the ghostly wailing and howling from the other cells had quieted considerably as well.

"It's unusually peaceful."

"Looks like Master Enmu has suffered quite a bit in here too. Let me apologize on Tower Master's behalf. Don't hold it against him. Given his position, he had no choice."

"No need. I understand him perfectly."

Muen hurriedly waved his hand.

"Ha. Master Enmu really is considerate."

Huggins casually closed the prison door behind them. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced to the side.

Professor Huffer, the pervert who had once caused quite a stir throughout the Tower, was currently sprawled in the corner with all four limbs splayed out. It was impossible to tell whether he was asleep or unconscious.

And across the open patch of ground in front of him were dents and pits everywhere. Clearly, his head had enjoyed an unknown number of intimate encounters with the floor.

"Has his madness gotten even worse?"

Huggins shook his head, feeling no suspicion whatsoever about the miserable state of the cell.

He was a madman.

Anything a madman did was normal. Smashing his head against the ground was practically mild.

He had even heard that the Church once had a lunatic who proclaimed that the world would eventually be destroyed by yellow-haired men.

Ridiculous.

Everyone knew now that Evil Gods were humanity's greatest enemy.

As for yellow-haired men, what could they possibly do besides chase after young girls?

"Lord Huggins knows him?"

Muen asked curiously.

"There's probably no one in the Origin Tower who doesn't know him by now. He carried out inhumane human experiments under the banner of 'bringing down the Goddess and making the Life School great again.' Fortunately, the matter was handled quickly. Otherwise, it nearly would have developed into a diplomatic incident."

Huggins casually swept his gaze over Muen's currently inconspicuous dark-golden hair and chuckled.

"Master Enmu has spent most of his time outside, so you probably don't know much about these things yet. You'll learn soon enough. The Tower has all kinds of extraordinary individuals. Every year, we have to deal with a huge number of incidents like this. It's quite troublesome. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone to such lengths to construct a prison this secure."

"I understand, I understand. This is the Origin Tower, after all. People who spend decades doing research can very easily work themselves into a dead end. The path of magic is simply far too profound."

"Exactly."

Huggins nodded.

Muen had clearly struck a chord.

The path of magic truly was difficult.

Talent, wealth, perseverance—none could be lacking.

Unlike those muscle-brained brutes, who only needed to stubbornly train their bodies and call it a day.

That was exactly why he hated muscle-brained brutes.

"Be careful here. There are many warning spells. If one is triggered, it may cause a chain reaction."

Huggins continued leading Muen forward.

With a wave of his hand, he raised the crest from earlier above his head.

Unlike the pitch-black darkness Muen had encountered when sneaking out before, wherever Huggins walked, the surrounding lights automatically came to life, giving off the same mild glow as the crest.

The originally gloomy passage became brightly illuminated, without the slightest trace of horror remaining.

Muen followed silently behind him, while his perception spread outward seemingly by accident.

He carefully examined the surrounding warning arrays and confirmed that they remained stable, with no sign whatsoever of being activated.

Only then did he relax.

Of course he knew about these warning arrays.

He had passed through them easily before, but now that he could not use the Divine Kingdom, he naturally had to be a little more careful.

Apparently, though, he had worried for nothing.

"By the way, speaking of magic."

After crossing a passage covered in all kinds of magical arrays and reaching a staircase completely different from the one leading toward his cheap senior brother's prison, Huggins suddenly slowed his steps and turned around.

"Master Enmu's accomplishments in magic must be quite exceptional."

"Hm?"

Muen froze.

He had not expected the other man to ask something like that.

"Why do you say that?"

"Am I wrong? Master Enmu's recent fame is certainly no less impressive than Professor Huffer's."

"Is......is it really that exaggerated?"

The corner of Muen's mouth twitched slightly.

He had merely beaten up one master.

Granted, that master had been fairly famous, but in a place like the Origin Tower, where masters were everywhere, surely it was not enough to make him stand out that much.

"Defeating a master under ordinary circumstances certainly wouldn't cause such a commotion. But defeating one of the Tower's top three masters in a single move in front of several thousand people is another matter entirely."

Huggins continued:

"You have to understand, Jerome isn't merely a master who oversees a major classroom. He's also one of the top mages considered most likely to break through into the Truth Rank in recent years.

"To deal with him so easily in front of that many people......Master Enmu, 'famous' is no longer enough to describe you. Quite a few busybodies have already begun calling you the number-one magic master beneath the Truth Rank in the entire Origin Tower."

"Is......is that so?"

Muen's cheek twitched as well.

That was seriously exaggerated.

The number-one magic master beneath the Truth Rank?

There was absolutely no way he could shoulder a title like that!

What was going on?

All he had originally wanted was to display a little value and ensure the continuation of the Enhancement School.

But now......

Had he perhaps overdone it?

Surely this was not going to attract unnecessary attention.

That would be extremely unfavorable for everything he planned to do afterward.

"Master Enmu, there's no need to be modest. Your excellence is obvious to everyone. That's exactly why I've been itching so badly to ask you for guidance."

Huggins stood one step higher on the staircase, yet now he bent slightly at the waist, his attitude remarkably sincere.

"What......what could I possibly teach you?"

Muen forced out a smile.

"To tell you the truth, the only thing I'm reasonably good at is Enhancement Magic. As for other kinds of magic......they're really nothing worth showing."

"Enhancement Magic!"

Huggins suddenly became excited.

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask about! And since we're being honest with each other, I've actually always been extremely interested in Enhancement Magic. It was only due to the twists of fate that I ended up joining the Elemental School instead.

"I already deeply regretted the decline of the Enhancement School, but after seeing Master Enmu, hope has reignited within me!

"So please, you absolutely must teach me the key principle!"

Huggins stepped forward.

He even abandoned his earlier courtesy and directly grabbed both of Muen's hands.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Huggins gripped his hands tightly, his burning gaze like a sword that forced Muen back again and again......

Yet there was nowhere left to retreat.

"Please!"

Huggins's expression became even more sincere.

They had known each other for less than ten minutes, but faced with such an attitude, Muen genuinely did not know how to refuse him for a moment.

"Well......when it comes to some kind of key principle, there really isn't much of one."

Muen gave an awkward laugh.

Key principle, my ass.

He did not know Enhancement Magic at all.

Where the hell was he supposed to get a key principle from?

If Huggins wanted the key principles of muscle training, Muen could immediately summarize ten of them.

But a key principle for magic......

How about they discuss the Lighting Spell instead?

"Master Enmu?"

"Ahem. If you really want to know the key principle, then I suppose I actually do have one."

At this rate, if he did not say something, he really was going to end up trapped in another man's arms today......

Muen cleared his throat and slowly said:

"A principle that, in a certain sense, truly is extremely important."

"Oh?"

Huggins's eyes lit up.

"And that is......?"

"The key principle is......single-minded devotion!"

Muen clenched one fist and struck himself on the chest.

"That's right. Single-minded devotion! The key to Enhancement Magic is a single-minded heart! Only with an incomparably devoted heart can one cultivate magic this powerful!"