When Philip rushed to the scene of the incident, the sight before him left him momentarily stunned.
Water balls the size of an adult's fist burst from Kael's fingertips, hitting Eris so hard she couldn't even lift her head for a moment. She could only shield her face with her hands, trying to close the distance step by step.
Is this Chantless Casting?!
Philip had some understanding of the Mage profession. Looking at Kael's childish face, he couldn't help but feel shocked.
Isn't this kid's professional talent a bit too high?
His original thoughts began to shift at this moment.
"You bastard Bean Sprout! Don't let me catch you."
Eris spoke through gritted teeth.
We agreed on a fair duel, yet you're actually using magic?
Well, although it wasn't clear what was unfair about it, in any case, it was a far cry from the young lady's expectations.
She had expected a hearty battle of fist-to-flesh, but the entire process ended up being defined only by the 'hearty' splashing of water.
"Try to touch me first before you talk, Little Chili."
Kael yawned, sending another water ball that accurately struck Eris in the face.
Although the power had been deliberately weakened, these water balls still hurt a bit when they hit the body.
However, the young lady Eris's will was indeed resilient. Even in such a pathetic state, she had no intention of giving up.
Through her persistent efforts, she finally managed to shorten the distance between them to within a meter.
Just one more step and she could... Eris suddenly felt her steps grow heavy. Looking down, the once solid stone tile floor had turned into a quagmire at some point, swallowing her up to her calves.
"Elementary Magic: Stone to Mud."
Kael looked at Eris in front of him, the corners of his mouth curling up.
A magic that combined the elements of water and earth.
Though only in the elementary rank, its difficulty of use was considered quite high among elementary spells.
It had to be said, it was indeed effective for restricting an opponent who was all brawn and no brains.
"Bastard! I haven't lost yet!!"
Eris swung the wooden sword in her hand wildly, but unfortunately, she was just a bit too far away. In the end, she only succeeded in exhausting herself.
Kael raised a finger, and a water ball impact knocked the wooden sword away. He then took a step forward, pressing his finger against Eris's forehead, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"Still not planning to admit defeat? Little Chili."
"Never!"
Eris wanted nothing more than to take a bite out of him, but unfortunately, she couldn't.
"Then who was it that begged for mercy and admitted defeat last time?"
Kael poked her with a bit of force, and Eris lost her balance, nearly falling over.
"Last time you were being a rogue!"
Eris's face flushed red, and her fiery red hair seemed as if it were about to stand on end. It was clear her emotions were reaching a breaking point; one more stimulus and she might just boil over.
"There's no such thing as being a 'rogue' in a duel, Little Chili. There's only those who are standing and those who are lying down."
Kael pressed against Eris's forehead and gave a slight push, causing her to fall into the mud. He then continued, looking down at her from above.
"The winner has been decided. Now you can cry."
"I won't cry!"
Tears welled in Eris's eyes, but she refused to give in, gritting her teeth as she struggled to get up.
"Quite stubborn, but you'd better first think about how to explain this to Lord Philip."
As Kael spoke, he took a step back and gave a polite greeting to Philip, who was not far away.
Eris froze for a moment and turned her head to look, her expression gaining a hint of guilt.
"We meet again, Kael."
Philip walked over, speaking with a gentle expression.
"Good day, Lord Philip."
As Kael spoke, he waved his hand to release a torrent of water, washing away the mud on Eris's legs and restoring her mobility.
"Is that Chantless Casting? This is the first time I've seen someone master such a casting technique."
Philip's tone was full of wonder.
"At the moment, it can only be used for elementary magic."
"That is already quite remarkable. You will surely become a powerful mage in the future."
"Thank you for the praise, Lord Philip."
Eris stood to the side, feeling inexplicably forgotten. She pouted, staring at Kael with her two red eyes.
But other than that, she made no further moves.
Although she hadn't admitted defeat verbally, she was convinced in her heart.
Unlike the previous two times, this time Kael had truly crushed Eris to the point where she couldn't fight back.
It was true that Little Chili was arrogant, violent, stubborn, and barbaric, but she could still distinguish between strength and weakness.
More importantly, her father Philip was standing right there.
"Eris has caused you trouble again. I apologize to you on her behalf once more, and I hope you can accept it."
Philip said sincerely.
"You've misunderstood, Lord Philip. We were just having a duel. Miss Eris didn't cause me any trouble; on the contrary, she gave me an opportunity for practical combat practice."
Kael said with a smile.
Eris looked surprised upon hearing this.
Is that how it was?
Eris vaguely remembered she had come to pick a fight. She couldn't quite recall the beginning now, only the frustrating process and the crushing result.
"...Hmph!"
Eris crossed her arms and turned her head away, showing her disdain for Kael's kindness.
Just moments ago he was calling her 'Little Chili' with every breath, and now he's switched to 'Miss'. What a hypocrite, truly annoying.
"Eris!"
Philip's tone became slightly heavier.
"Bean spr— Kael is right. We were just having a duel, is that not allowed?"
Eris mumbled.
Facing Philip, an adult, no matter how reluctant she was, she still stood on a united front with Kael.
Adults shouldn't meddle in matters between children.
"That is no excuse for you to sneak away from home. Don't you know how dangerous it is?"
Philip's tone was serious.
There was no telling how many people were keeping an eye on the children of the Greylat Family.
Setting aside the political struggles within the kingdom, the value of the Greylat bloodline alone was enough to make many people take risks.
Especially since Eris was a girl.
"I... I know I was wrong."
Eris lowered her head under Philip's gaze.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kael's gloating expression, and her anger flared up instantly. But for now, she could only grit her teeth and curse him fiercely in her heart.
Damned Bean Sprout!!
"I'll let it slide this time. Come back with me first."
Philip sighed, then turned to Kael again.
"Kael, if you have time, you can come to my house. The Boreas Family has many books on magic; they should be helpful for your magic studies."
"Is that alright? Then I'm afraid I'll be bothering you quite a bit in the future."
Kael did not refuse Philip's kindness.
He indeed needed to accumulate this theoretical knowledge.
"Consider this an investment in a future Archmage."
Philip winked at Kael, his tone sounding like a joke, but he was telling the truth.
If Kael could become a King-tier Mage, his investment would be a massive success.
Before the individual strength of a King-tier practitioner, even the King of the kingdom had to maintain considerable respect.
And unlike King-tier swordsmen, there were so many things a King-tier Mage could do. Given a little time, overturning a city wouldn't be a problem; they were truly strategic-level individual units.
It was just that achieving King-tier was too difficult, so Philip only held a certain level of expectation.
Eris felt a bit conflicted upon hearing this.
Feelings of annoyance were the first to surge up, but once she processed it, she felt inexplicably happy and delighted.
Eris, who was still unable to face her own heart honestly, could only respond to Kael's gaze with a heavy snort.
"Hmph!!"
"Miss Eris."
"What."
"I think you should change your clothes now."
Eris looked down at herself, and her fists clenched instantly. Who was responsible for her current disheveled state?
"That's true."
Philip nodded.
Kael called for the family maid and had her help Eris clean up a bit.
After sending the two of them off, Roxy happened to return.
She had gone to the bookstore alone in the morning and, in the process, squandered all the little money she had saved up.
"Did someone come to the house?"
Roxy put away the books she had bought and asked as she looked at the empty teacups on the table.
"Yes, Teacher. If you had come back a little earlier, I could have introduced them to you."
"I'll pass on that."
Roxy had no interest in meeting strangers. As she spoke, she took off her mage hat, pulled out a small staff from her bosom, cleared her throat, and put on the air of a teacher.
"Is this a gift for me?"
Kael noticed the small, exquisite staff at a glance and understood why Roxy had gone out alone this morning. It was for this.
"I should have given it to you on the first day."
Roxy spoke with a bit of embarrassment. It wasn't that she had forgotten; she just hadn't received her salary yet and had no money to buy it.
It was truly rare for a Saint-tier Mage to be this poor.
"In that case, should I also prepare a gift for my student?"
Kael looked at Roxy and rubbed his chin.
The time hadn't come yet; their roles hadn't reversed.
"Ahem, you can decide that for yourself."
Roxy's eyes darted around, but a sense of anticipation had quietly grown in her heart.
Although her actual age was not small, her heart was still as youthful as her appearance.
After regaining her composure, Roxy held out the staff in front of Kael and said seriously,
"Kael, being able to serve as your guide on the path of magic will surely be the proudest thing in my life."
"It is also my fortune to be your student."
Kael took the staff with both hands and examined it carefully.
Although it was only an entry-level practice staff, it wasn't an ordinary mass-produced one; it looked exceptionally delicate.
Roxy had it specially made, and the price was indeed quite high.
"Thank you, Teacher. I like it very much."
Kael accepted the staff and stepped forward to gently hug Roxy.
Well, she was a bit flat, but at least she wasn't bony, and he could smell a faint, fresh fragrance.
"Kael, you're being naughty again."
Roxy raised her hand and lightly tapped Kael.
She didn't reject such intimacy, but as a teacher during the day, she still had to maintain some distance.
If Kael's parents saw them, it would be hard to explain.
Roxy didn't want to be seen as a pervert.
Even though she had been wondering lately if she actually was one... Inside the room.
Kael himself was fiddling with clay on the table.
This clay was no ordinary clay, but magical clay infused with mana, used as a casting material.
Kael waved his wand, using mana and spirit to reshape this clay into gears of various sizes.
Under the effect of the 'Turn Dirt to Steel' spell, these clay gears instantly hardened, taking on a distinct metallic texture.
Since it was magical clay, this hardening effect would last far longer than with ordinary clay, and the material's various attributes would be greatly enhanced.
Kael then combined these gears to form a mechanical gear movement.
He had already tested and reassembled it many times before.
As expected, this gear movement could convert mana into kinetic energy with extremely high efficiency.
Freed from the constraints of clockwork, the use of mana had pushed mechanical gears to a new height.
Thus, the heart of the mechanical gear doll was created.
This also laid the first solid foundation for Gear Magic, bringing him one step closer to the creation of a fully automated gear daemon.
As for the doll's 'brain', Kael currently had some ideas.
Forget about microchips; he didn't have the basic conditions for that. But through his testing, Kael had discovered an item that could serve as a substitute.
And that was the Slime.
Slimes did not possess a truly independent, individual consciousness.
They were creatures of pan-consciousness, forming a collective consciousness through their gelatinous bodies and mana.
In short, a Slime's gelatin could store information and carry consciousness.
Kael could even use magic to read some fragmented memories from the Slime's gelatin.
However, the information it could store was quite limited.
What Kael needed to do was strengthen this biological characteristic of the Slime gelatin to carry '0' and '1', the technological magic known as artificial intelligence.
This required Kael to properly improve his knowledge of magical materials.
Teacher Roxy was not skilled in this area, so he could only hope to find some information in the Boreas Family library.
Kael picked up the Slime lying on his lap.
Since their living conditions had improved, this Slime had also become more active and bouncy, like a puppy, clinging to Kael's side whenever it had the chance to absorb the residual mana from his spellcasting.
"Fufu, time to go back to sleep."
"Glu..."
The Slime responded and jumped into the fish tank.
If anyone saw this scene, their jaws would surely drop.
How could a low-level monster like a Slime understand and obey?
In fact, Kael had already tested 'artificial intelligence' magic on the Slime, and the results were quite good. It had gained a certain level of thinking and logical ability, and now it even knew its own name.
Of course, Kael had also tested it on other monsters.
However, other monsters weren't like Slimes; they either suffered severe mental trauma or their consciousness simply collapsed from the conflict.
Only the Slime showed a special adaptability in this regard.
Just as Kael was about to get into bed, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Roxy walked into the room wearing light pajamas, her gaze somewhat wandering and evasive.
Logically speaking, the 'Mental Synchronization' magic had been perfected, and she had also preliminarily mastered Chantless Casting. There was no reason for her to be 'coerced' into acting as Kael's human body pillow anymore, yet Roxy still couldn't control herself.
"You smell nice today too."
Kael stepped forward and sniffed close to Roxy's neck.
That warm breath made Roxy's body go soft, allowing Kael to pull her onto the bed.
This was actually what Roxy had been looking forward to.
The nighttime Kael was far more aggressive than the daytime version.
"Wait, blow out the candle first."
Roxy's weak, bashful voice sounded.
With a soft 'whoosh', the candle flame went out.
The Blue-Mommy brand body pillow was definitely worth having.