The tone in Kanzaki Rei's voice carried no trace of politeness.
At the same time, he had already retreated to the center of the hotel lobby.
The hotel wasn't exactly bustling right now, but there were still quite a few people gathered in the lobby.
If the other party intended to make a move, they wouldn't dare do it so openly in front of everyone.
Meanwhile, the invisible barrier had already wrapped around Kanzaki Rei's body.
The man before him had soft, fine white hair. He smiled faintly as he spoke.
"Relax."
"If I wanted to kill you, why would I bother meeting you at all?"
Kanzaki Rei replied flatly,
"I don't want to meet you."
"Come on, don't say that."
"I've heard you're the most magically gifted genius to appear since Iz…"
"I've always wanted to see such a prodigy for myself."
As he spoke, he walked toward Kanzaki Rei.
At the same time, the man who had been sitting on the sofa over there also stood up and began walking toward him.
Two identical figures.
Was it some kind of spell?
"What do you want?"Kanzaki Rei asked calmly.
"Nothing much. I just want to teach you a few spells and see whether you really are as talented as the rumors claim."
"But you really are just like they say—eight years old…"
"A mage who awakened even earlier than I did," muttered the man behind him with the monocle, his voice so faint it was almost inaudible.
"Uncle just wants to teach you a spell," the man behind him continued murmuring in that mosquito-thin voice.
Teach him a spell?
Actually, during this period Kanzaki Rei had already tried searching for other spells himself.
But only after he started looking did he realize something surprising.
The spells circulating in Rhein Town were incredibly scarce.
Most magic, it turned out, had to be purchased in the form of spellbooks—and a second-tier spellbook cost 20 gold coins.
The magic shop in Rhein Town carried a pitifully small selection as well.
Later, after asking around, he learned that the vast majority of spells could only be obtained by enrolling in a Magic Academy. Only a small portion were allowed to circulate freely on the market.
Even so, Kanzaki Rei had still managed to learn a few second-tier spell incantations from other adventurers.
That was how he picked up spells like "Falling Rock," "Water Arrow," and "Flash."
Though none of them could really be called powerful.
Without a teacher, learning magic was truly difficult.
"Oh? Is that so? What spell?" Kanzaki Rei asked.
"A very fun spell."
Heh. Treating me like a kid, huh.
Too bad I was born in 1997 on Earth—a 28-year-old corporate slave from Tencent.
Kanzaki Rei only grumbled internally, of course. Naturally, he didn't say it out loud.
And the other man didn't seem to care in the slightest whether Kanzaki Rei intended to refuse.
He simply began chanting:
"Bound object concealed within the void,manifest as the immutable cornerstone of all things,the foundation that bears the roots of existence—if it is not the origin, then all within the world is emptiness;though myriad forms may arise, the essence remains unchanged;from the source comes the law,transforming into the origin of all spells."
What the hell…
What kind of gibberish was that?
He rattled through the entire incantation in two seconds?
Who could possibly recite something like that?!
Even if you read it yourself, could you memorize it?!
"Hehe. Sorry, I can't learn that."
Kanzaki Rei answered directly.
Even if he could memorize it, he had no intention of learning that spell.
Iz had warned him.
Magic couldn't be learned recklessly—especially spells taught by strangers.
Some forbidden magics would ruin you the moment you learned them.
At best, they would backfire and injure the caster.
At worst, they would attract an Outer God to possess your body.
This suspicious middle-aged man showing up out of nowhere and teaching such an obviously suspicious spell?
Only an idiot would learn it.
"Not learning it?"
"This spell could help you break free from the Curse of Observation, you know."
Kanzaki Rei had already turned to leave after refusing.
But those words made him stop.
"You don't want to rely on Kumironi's help forever just to advance, do you?"
"The younger you are when you advance, the stronger your spirituality becomes."
"And the stronger your spirituality, the easier it is to receive blessings… to climb to even greater heights."
"But if you want to advance before the age of sixteen, you must first break the Curse of Observation."
"If one day Kumironi is no longer there to help you… will you simply abandon your talent and refuse to advance until you're sixteen?"
"Spirituality is the most precious thing you possess."
"Especially yours…"
"The spirituality within you doesn't resemble that of an eight-year-old child at all. It's more like that of a newborn infant, a being closest to the state of primordial birth."
"If you don't cherish that spirituality, even I would feel it's a waste."
Kanzaki Rei turned to look at him.
To be honest, the man had struck directly at his weak point.
Kanzaki Rei absolutely did not want to rely on others forever in order to advance.
Even if Kumironi was a good person.
"However, if you have doubts about my magic, you can simply memorize it first."
"When Iz returns, you can ask for his opinion. How about that?"
Kanzaki Rei frowned. His vigilance hadn't faded at all.
But if Iz checked it, it probably wouldn't be a big problem.
The man was a stranger—that was why Kanzaki Rei was cautious.
Yet he also couldn't be certain the man had come with malicious intent.
What if he genuinely meant well…
Just like Iz and the others.
Kanzaki Rei's expression softened slightly.
"Thank you. But could we wait until Iz and the others return? Then we can discuss it together in person."
"I'm sure Iz would welcome a friend willing to exchange ideas about magic. May I ask your name…?"
The monocled man before him revealed a fake smile.
"Haha. You really are cautious, kid."
"But if I met him, we'd definitely end up fighting."
"And I'm not quite ready to face that monster yet."
"What a hassle…"
"Fine, I'll tell you."
"My name is—Messer."
"Messer."
The name sounded somewhat familiar to Kanzaki Rei, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.
He had encountered far too many names recently.
The monocled man—Messer.
That was how Kanzaki Rei memorized it.
"If you don't want to learn that spell, I also have two second-tier tricks I created myself."
"If you're interested, you can learn those too."
Messer's hand moved quickly, stuffing something into Kanzaki Rei's pocket.
Kanzaki Rei immediately pulled the items back out without hesitation.
He inspected them on the spot.
Three slips of paper, all containing incantations written in the Root Language.
One was the spell the man had just chanted in two seconds.
The other two… he didn't recognize.
But there was one more item.
A brown sheet of parchment-like paper, covered in an incredibly complex pattern carved into its center.
A scroll.
A Class-Change Scroll.
"That's it, kid."
"You see? I mean you no harm, right?"
"If you become interested in my magic, feel free to come find me again."
With that, he walked past Kanzaki Rei.
"Wait—!"
"This scroll—!"
But when Kanzaki Rei turned around…
The man's figure had already completely disappeared.
Come find you?
You didn't even say how to find you.
Who exactly was that man?
Kanzaki Rei walked over to the hotel front desk and asked the receptionist,
"Miss, do you know the name Messer?"
The receptionist showed a puzzled expression.
"Messer?"
"It sounds… familiar somehow. But… I can't quite remember."
"I see. Thanks."
So she had heard the name before, but couldn't recall it clearly.
That probably meant it was a name people occasionally mentioned.
Maybe he had seen it somewhere in the library.
He could ask the librarian tomorrow. Perhaps he would get an answer.
Kanzaki Rei glanced toward the elevator.
It was still on the first floor.
But after thinking for a moment, he turned around and left the hotel instead.
…
"Yo! Rei! Back again already?!"
"Want to drink with us?!"
"Come on! Let's celebrate you killing that Monarch-class monster today!"
"Another milestone in the legend of little Rei!"
Kanzaki Rei broke into a bright grin.
"Yeah! Let's celebrate!"
Heh…
Being around these people was far safer than sleeping alone in a hotel.
There were even Level 5 adventurers drinking in the guild hall.
Kanzaki Rei was on good terms with them as well.
During these past ten days, relying on his childlike identity, he had built friendly relationships with many adventurers.
A well-spoken kid combined with a humble genius—
It was almost impossible not to like him.
Kanzaki Rei took a sobering potion in advance.
Tonight, he definitely wasn't going to get drunk.
That uninvited guest…
He still needed to stay on guard.
A stranger casually giving him a mysterious scroll was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
…