When one is deeply focused, time flies quickly.
By the time Luca had finished drawing the last low-level magic rune, dawn had already arrived.
The morning light shone through the lattice window into the training room, illuminating Luca and the four magic runes on the wooden table.
The colorful runes floated above the table, radiating a strange, magical energy—gorgeous and dreamlike.
"All done!"
Looking at the four magic runes on the table, Luca couldn't help but smile.
These four were all low-level magic runes: "Frost Rune," "Vine Rune," "Steel Rune," and "Rock Rune." Adding the "Fiery Rune" he had on his hand, he had now drawn all five basic elemental runes.
With these runes, his power would certainly increase significantly.
Additionally, Luca had also mastered the Witch Doctor's "Eye of Insight" and "Hand of the Witch Doctor."
[Eye of Insight lv1: Low-level skill. When activated, the Witch Doctor's eyes can observe the target's condition and changes in detail. Duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Mana cost: 800.]
[Hand of the Witch Doctor lv1: Low-level skill. When activated, the Witch Doctor's hands can penetrate the target's flesh to heal or attack. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Mana cost: 1000.]
The Eye of Insight is an auxiliary skill, while the Hand of the Witch Doctor can be used for both healing and attacking.
Both skills are very powerful, and the Witch Doctor truly deserves its reputation as one of the top secondary professions.
Luca nodded in satisfaction.
With his maxed-out aptitude, he learned things very quickly.
The next step was to systematically increase his skill proficiency and level up these skills.
His power would naturally grow as a result.
However, this wasn't something to rush; it needed to be done gradually.
Luca stretched, checking the time.
It was already past 8 a.m. in the real world, and his parents were likely already at work.
Seeing this, Luca decided not to log out of the game and planned to handle today's tasks before taking a meal break.
Upon entering the Eternal World, players enter a deep sleep state.
So they do not need to worry about fatigue; they only need to eat periodically.
After packing up the items on the table, Luca left the training room and headed back to Franklin's clinic.
Though he was eager to test the power of his magic runes.
He still needed to check on Lady Lenna and inform Sophia about the Beast Forest situation.
Only by completely dealing with the Hydra could he train in peace.
However, as soon as he exited the training room, Luca encountered a sleepy-looking Lucia in the corridor of the Mages' Association.
Her purple hair was a bit disheveled, and she was yawning sleepily. It seemed she hadn't slept well the night before, and her loose mage robe was still unkempt.
This teacher's lifestyle is indeed quite laid-back...
Luca thought to himself with a wry smile. He greeted, "Good morning, Teacher Lucia."
"Ha~ good morning!" Lucia, not feeling embarrassed about being seen in her lazy state by her student, still adjusted her attire to appear more presentable.
She then took out a long stick from her storage ring and handed it to Luca with a regretful tone, "It's really hard to find a good low-level magic spear. Teacher searched for half a day yesterday and could only find this one. You'll have to make do with it for now."
Only then did Luca realize that this pitch-black item was actually a magic spear!
[Black Steel Spear lv10: Bronze Grade, When equipped by a Demonic Rune Mage, increases magic attack by +85, mental power by +35, agility by +20, and extends magic rune duration by 3 seconds.]
Seeing the attributes of the Black Steel Spear, Luca's eyes lit up.
Though it might look unattractive, its attributes were quite impressive.
The increased attack power, agility, and extended magic rune duration were all very practical.
After receiving the Black Steel Spear, Luca promptly thanked her.
Judging by Lucia's appearance, she had likely stayed up late looking for equipment for him, which touched Luca deeply.
In truth, NPCs in Eternal Game were no different from humans.
Once humans mastered the Spatial Nodes, they too could cross the barrier into the real world.
Humanity's ability to hold out for so long in the previous life was due in large part to the help from the Eternal World.
"I'm your teacher, no need to thank me," Lucia said, pinching Luca's cheek and laughing softly.
Then she let out a small sound of surprise.
Lucia's gaze shifted to Luca's left hand, showing a hint of astonishment. "I thought it would take you at least a day. I didn't expect you to complete your first magic rune so quickly."
Even for talented Demonic Rune Mages, creating their first magic rune often required considerable time and materials. Luca had truly surprised her.
Luca merely smiled and said, "The student just got lucky."
If Lucia knew that not only had he drawn his first magic rune, but also created four more and learned two Witch Doctor skills, she would likely be even more astonished.
"Not bad, not bad at all. As expected of my student!" Lucia beamed, growing more satisfied with Luca.
He was talented, humble, polite, and unlike Sophia, who was so cold that she wouldn't even let her pinch her cheeks...
This student was simply perfect!
[Ding! Lucia's favorability towards you +100!]
Seeing the prompt, Luca couldn't help but laugh to himself.
His teacher's favorability seemed to be the easiest to gain...
By now, the two had reached the Mages' Association's hall.
Since it was still early in the morning, the hall wasn't crowded with many mages.
When the group saw Luca, they immediately exclaimed in surprise.
"Look, it's this kid! He became Lucia's student yesterday!"
"Wow, this kid's luck is incredible! Lucia is one of the most renowned high-level mages in Emerald State. If it were me, I'd be laughing in my dreams."
"What's his talent that made Lucia take him as a student?"
"Huh? Isn't the president only accepting students based on their looks?"
...
The mages were all talking at once, their gazes full of envy as they looked at Luca.
Luca was puzzled, not knowing how they had found out about this news.
After asking Old Carl, he learned that soon after he became Lucia's student, the news had spread thanks to Franklin's big mouth. Now, the entire Mages' Association knew that Lucia had a new student.
This left Luca feeling a bit helpless. He hadn't expected Franklin to have such a habit.
Fortunately, Franklin had kept some discretion and hadn't revealed Luca's talent.
Otherwise, Luca would likely have been surrounded by a group of strong mages by now.
A peerless genius with maxed-out talent—such news would cause a sensation throughout the Kingdom of Clinton. If anyone wanted to harm him, Luca wouldn't know where to hide.
Seeing his concern, Lucia reassured him, "Don't worry. Our Mages' Association is one of the top forces on the Eternal Continent. Besides, with me here, no one would dare to mess with you."
Luca didn't quite understand the last part of what Lucia said, but he agreed with the rest.
The Mages' Association was indeed a famous and powerful organization on the Eternal Continent. Lucia was just the president of the Sky Mountain County branch, and her strength had already reached the purple-gold level.
Above her, there were Forth Area branch, the Kingdom of Clinton branch, and the Mages' Association headquarters.
In his past life, during the fiercest battles against the monsters, Luca remembered that the Mages' Association had produced several Transcendent level powerhouses.
Having such a formidable backer was undoubtedly beneficial for him.
It was getting late, so after saying goodbye to Lucia, Luca headed to Franklin's clinic.
There were still quite a few players online in the game, probably like him, having played all night.
Along the way, many players recognized Luca and came up to talk to him.
But he brushed them off.
At the same time, an idea sprouted in Luca's mind.
Although the average player level was still low, as they leveled up, they would undoubtedly become a significant force in Eternal World. In the future, it might be worthwhile to interact with them more; they could potentially be of help.
Thinking about this as he walked.
Luca soon arrived back at the clinic on West Street.
A luxurious noble's carriage was parked at the entrance, and Cassman, dressed in his silver armor, was adjusting the reins.
They probably hadn't been there long.
"I didn't expect you to arrive so early," Luca greeted them, his eyes turning towards the cool, composed girl inside the clinic.
Sophia, dressed in a black noble gown, was examining the magical materials Franklin had collected.
These strange and bizarre items seemed ordinary to the daughter of the count, not even eliciting a change in her icy demeanor.
Hearing Luca's voice, Sophia looked up slightly.
She gave Luca a meaningful glance and said, "Good morning, Luca junior."
"Good morning, senior," Luca nodded with a smile. He wasn't surprised that Sophia already knew about this; given the influence of the Howard family in Emerald State, they would have received the news immediately yesterday.
Cassman, about to complain about Luca's tardiness.
He was stunned by their exchange of titles.
"J... junior?!" Cassman widened his eyes, thinking he had misheard.
But seeing that neither of them denied it, he drew in a sharp breath.
He looked at Luca in disbelief and exclaimed, "When did you become a student of Lucia as well?"
It wasn't hard to guess.
As Sophia had only one teacher: Lucia Elizabeth, the president of the Emerald State Mages' Association.
The issue was, this kid had just become Franklin's student yesterday.
How, overnight, had he also become Lucia's student?