"Huh? Everyone, look! Wu Juren successfully cast a spell!" The student exclaimed with his eyes wide.
The other students looked at him like he was an idiot before they resume having their eyes glued at the scene, but for a different reason. The student was confused by their ridiculing gazes and took some time to realize the more important matter.
"Oh my god! Did anyone hear him chant? I think I might have missed it."
The student was so shocked that he did not think that Wu Juren could invoke magic without chanting. He would rather believe he had hearing problems instead.
"I… didn't hear it either…"
"Me too…"
"Same here…"
The students answered one after the other. After they ascertained the facts, they realize it was indeed the truth that Leon did not chant.
Hua Xiaomei was the first to recover from her shock.
"T-This… little brother, how did you do this?" She asked carefully. She was unsure if this was a secret technique. If so, Wu Juren had no obligation to explain anything.
Rather, it was rude of her to ask instead. However, it was a question she had to ask. She would not be able to sleep otherwise.
Wu Juren was also startled.
He didn't think he could invoke Borg easily on his first try as well… Was his problem just limited to the basic elemental spells? But why? What was he doing wrong? They were supposed to be the most effortless magic to cast.
He was basically an oddity who couldn't use easy magic but could use difficult magic freely. That was like being able to run and not able to walk.
Wu Juren rubbed his temples at the contradiction. He could have saved himself a whole year of suffering if he had experimented with other magic sooner.
"I-It's fine if you do not want to explain. Sorry for asking a sensitive question." Hua Xiaomei apologized after seeing Wu Juren keeping silent.
"Hm? Sorry I was quite startled myself. I did not think I would succeed on the first try. You can call it Chantless Invocation."
"Chantless Invocation? How is that done?"
"The truth is chanting is not needed to invoke a magic spell. Chanting is only to help the user visualize the spell. As long as your visualization is powerful enough, you can completely bypass the chanting phase and invoke magic instantaneously." Wu Juren explained.
"That simple?"
Hua Xiaomei was taken aback.
Such a simple step, and yet no one had managed to discover it until now… She did know what to think… Nevertheless, it was a fantastic discovery.
"I guess?"
Wu Juren scratched his cheeks wryly. The prerequisite was to have a strong visualization. His visualization was not something ordinary people can compare with after spending ten millenniums in the timeless grey world.
After Hua Xiaomei quickly dispelled her Borg, a new one reappeared in the blink of an eye.
"It's true…"
She was pleasantly surprised. She had already mastered single-word chant, so it was much easier for her to succeed in Chantless Invocation.
Borg was a very basic spell. It did not require high visualization. Wu Juren had expected someone as practiced as Hua Xiaomei to succeed on the first try.
"Come with me!"
Hua Xiaomei excitedly grabbed Wu Juren's hands and dragged him away and ditching her class.
Only when she was a reasonable distance away from the field did she remember they were still in the middle of a lesson.
"Ah! Today will be a self-study session. All of you should practice on your own! I'm going to see the Headmaster!"
Shortly after the class was informed, the two of them disappeared into the distance.
"Wow… Big Sister Xiaomei just ditched us…"
"Wuwuwuu… we were abandoned…"
"What kind of luck does Wu Juren have to hold hands with Big Sister Xiaomei? Argh, I am so envious!"
The girls and boys were both disappointed.
"You can all waste time wailing on the ground! I'm going to master Borg before big sister Xiaomei returns!"
A beautiful female student had a determined look. She was someone who wishes to become a powerful mage urgently.
"Aiyah! It's always goddess Meilin that is the most hardworking. C'mon boys, we can't lose to our goddess." An adolescent boy shouted loudly, hoping to be noticed by his goddess. Their beautiful teacher was gone, but their goddess was still here!
"Ohhh!"
The other adolescent boys were easily motivated to work harder, while the other girls looked at them with slight contempt.
…
Knock! Knock!
"Headmaster Fang! Headmaster Fang! Are you inside!?"
Hua Xiaomei banged on the doors to the headmaster's office.
"Come in."
An annoyed voice filled with age and wisdom was shortly heard from inside the office.
Hua Xiaomei opened the door and dragged the helpless Wu Juren along with her.
"Hua Xiaomei, you are a teacher now. Please be mindful of the way you conduct yourself. Don't embarrass yourself and lose face for the academy." Headmaster Fang rebuked.
Hua Xiaomei's excitement was immediately cooled. She traced Headmaster Fang's line of sight before letting go of Wu Juren's hand with a flushed face.
"S-Sorry, Headmaster Fang! I was just too excited!" Hua Xiaomei apologized.
"Haiz, just remember that you are no longer a student. Rumors will fly if you hold hands with a student around the academy. Anyway, what did you come to see me for?" Headmaster Fang asked with a tired look.
Headmaster Fang was very old and near the end of his lifespan. Rebuking Hua Xiaomei seemed to have used all his energy.
In the original timeline, Wu Juren recalled that Headmaster Fang would pass away one year before the beast tide.
"I understand, Headmaster Fang." Hua Xiaomei said with her head lowered. Shortly after, She lifted her head again and said, "It's better if I show you directly."
A Borg silently covered Hua Xiaomei in an instance.
"Huh?"
Headmaster Fang widened his eyes in surprise before he excitedly asks, "Did you just use Borg without chanting?"
Hua Xiaomei nodded.
"Amazing! To think it was possible to invoke magic without chanting! This is a great advancement in the study of magic!" Headmaster Fang spoke with a flushed face.
He was so excited the previous weary expression was no longer evident. But after a moment, he suddenly began to clutch his chest with a pained expression.
"Urgh..."
"H-Headmaster! What's wrong!?" Hua Xiaomei panicked.
Headmaster Fang could not speak and struggled as his face paled. After a moment of struggle, Headmaster Fang's body dropped on top of the desk and stopped moving.
Hua Xiaomei checked for a pulse, but she could not feel any.
"D-D-Dead…? How can that be?" She uttered with a paled look. Did she just kill the old headmaster?
Wu Juren gaped at the scene in disbelief. It was his first time witnessing someone dying from shock.
Headmaster Fang's body was obviously very aged. It should have been clear to avoid exciting the old man. The heart would fail to cope with the rush of blood and go into cardiac arrest.
Wu Juren felt utterly disappointed in himself for not anticipating such a foreseeable outcome. However, now was not the time to self-reflect.
Headmaster Fang was not allowed to die! Not here! Not now! His strength was of vital importance to the city's defense against the beast tide in the future!
Wu Juren rushed over and laid the old headmaster's body flat on the floor next to the study desk.
Recalling the ten millenniums of memories in his mind, he quickly searched for the appropriate medical knowledge. Very shortly, he began poking acupoints on Headmaster Fang's chest and massaging the heart to resuscitate the headmaster.
Wu Juren was so concerned about the old headmaster that he had no time to be surprised at the fact that he could perfectly recall every moment he spent inside the monochrome world.
"What are you doing!? Headmaster Fang just passed away! I won't let you disrespect his body like this!"
Hua Xiaomei's initial shock transformed into anger. She was clueless about Wu Juren's intention and actions.
"Don't interrupt me! Headmaster Fang can still be saved!"
Wu Juren glared at Hua Xiaomei with cold eyes like he was looking at a murderer for stopping him from trying to save a life.
Hua Xiaomei felt wronged and froze at his words. Headmaster Fang could still be saved?
'Stupid woman!' Wu Jurenangrily thought.
Without further interruption, he resumed work with extreme focus as beads of sweat started to form and trickle down his forehead.
After a while, Headmaster Fang's eyes snapped open as he quickly gasps for air.
"Headmaster Fang!" Hua Xiaomei immediately exclaimed with joy.
After Headmaster Fang's breathing stabilized, he looked around. Seeing Wu Juren's sweat, he could immediately guess who brought him back to life.
"Were you the one who saved this Old Man's life? Thank you, Young Friend. I owe you one." Headmaster Fang said.
Wu Juren shook his head and said, "I did what I had to do. We cannot afford to lose you."
'I misunderstood him again… He must really hate me now…' Hua Xiaomei felt terrible inside for her repeated misunderstanding.
"I'm tired… I shall head back to rest first… Please look after Headmaster Fang for me, Teacher Hua." Wu Juren said.
He left the office shortly after.
'Teacher...'
Hua Xiaomei felt bitter inside as she sensed the distance between them. Other students would at least call her Big Sister Xiaomei.
"Headmaster, let me help you."
Hua Xiaomei shook her head of unnecessary thoughts and helped the headmaster back onto his seat.
"Who was that student? His means are extraordinary. I did not think it was possible to bring a person who had already stopped breathing back to life." Headmaster Fang said with a thoughtful look.
"That person is called Wu Juren. He is also the one to discover Chantless Invocation."
影子禁令