18: Chapter 18 "The Mage"

“But I am a Mage.”

Mo Bai muttered inwardly.

Of course, he wouldn't announce something like this, so he just nodded.

“Oh, I see. In that case, I’ll have to think carefully.”

Hearing this, Zhou Rin glanced at Mo Bai, immediately realizing he was determined to stick to his path, and shook his head slightly.

“You should still consider it seriously. Level three is fine, but when you reach level five, it will be real trouble. Losing five free attribute points directly—you really can’t farm that back.

If you fail, this unique game account will be ruined.”

Yang Hao, who was a bit shy, spoke up. His mood was clearly low when he said this.

“Yang Hao, you too?”

Mo Bai realized what he meant, looked at Yang Hao, and saw him nod.

“That’s why I’m sincerely advising you, but I won’t say anything more.”

Yang Hao said shyly, let out a sigh of relief when finished, and walked to Zhou Rin’s other side.

Mo Bai could only nod.

Immediately afterward, they stopped bringing up the matter of changing career paths, and the topic of becoming permanent teammates was also dropped. Instead, they started chatting about gossip.

Yang Hao was quite shy, listening more than speaking, and he liked to find sour fruits to eat, the kind that could make people’s teeth ache.

Zhou Rin, however, was quite talkative, responding constantly and eloquently, while Mo Bai chimed in occasionally.

During this time, he understood the relationship between the two.

They had been classmates through junior high, high school, and university, and lived close by, so they had always maintained a very good relationship.

They were currently attending a vocational school, though Mo Bai wasn't sure what kind.

Their journey was uneventful; they didn't encounter any wild beast attacks. The only thing they met was a Roe Deer that seemed startled and suddenly ran into a tree and collapsed just as they passed by.

The experience points were given to Mo Bai, the only one who hadn't reached the level cap.

The destination was a relatively flat clearing by a river. Dozens of players had already gathered there, forming groups, lighting bonfires, and roasting food.

By the time they reached their destination, the sky had already darkened, illuminated only by the firelight.

“The Green Leaf Guild’s encampment is on the other side. This area is mainly for Independent Players.”

Zhou Rin said.

He lifted the silly Roe Deer he was holding.

“Let’s go, we should get some meat to eat. We can’t attack the Stronghold tonight.

We’ll have to talk about it tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

The three worked together, and soon a bonfire was lit, and they started roasting the Roe Deer.

While they were roasting the Roe Deer, a player from the Green Leaf Guild came over to register their information, saying that they should try to pair up with teammates, and that coordinated combat was best, even without specific command.

However, after asking, the player immediately scratched his head upon finding out that two of them were Mages, and only Zhou Rin had invested points in Strength.

“Brothers, I’ll temporarily assign you to Independent Player Team Five. The captain is Xiong Tao.”

The player pointed to a tall, burly player next to him, and then turned to leave.

Xiong Tao nodded at Zhou Rin, then turned and followed the player away.

“Brother, that team doesn’t count. Two Mages? What good are they? At least assign me two more people...”

Hearing Xiong Tao talking to the Green Leaf Guild player from afar, the shy Yang Hao immediately looked flustered.

Seeing this, Zhou Rin scratched his head, watched for a moment, thought about it, and then pointed at Mo Bai and said.

“Yang Hao, don’t take it to heart. Look how calm Mo Bai is. His level isn’t even as high as yours, and he’s still putting points into all attributes.”

Mo Bai “...”

“Zhou Rin, is that polite?”

“Definitely next time.”

Mo Bai rolled his eyes upon hearing that, and then said to Yang Hao.

“Why are you sad? They called us Mages. What’s wrong with being a Mage?

I think it’s great.”

Yang Hao shrugged while looking at Mo Bai, and hearing Zhou Rin’s words made his mood slightly better, though he was still a bit restless.

Seeing this, Mo Bai could only shrug.

There wasn't a great solution for Yang Hao's relatively insecure and sensitive personality.

In fact, the best way was to gain confidence internally; slowly, he would become self-assured.

Stretching, and having eaten some Roe Deer barbecue, Mo Bai sat cross-legged on the ground, spreading his Spiritual Power to try and capture the Elemental Power in the environment.

The moment his Spiritual Power spread out, others felt nothing, but Yang Hao suddenly looked at Mo Bai with surprise and doubt.

Mo Bai opened his eyes, smiled slightly at him, then closed them again, immersing his spirit in perception.

“If Yang Hao’s initial spirit was nine points, then his spirit should now be fourteen points.

He should have reached the standard for Condensing Spiritual Power, but why can’t I sense any Spiritual Power from him?

Has he not condensed it yet?”

Mo Bai thought silently, but he immediately dismissed this thought, and his heart gradually calmed down.

However, without looking at the Quiet Lake, without seeing the calm surface of the lake, he always felt something was missing and couldn't truly enter the state.

Although his Spiritual Power could still perceive the various Elemental Powers in the environment, influence them, and capture them, he couldn't truly integrate into them.

Naturally, he couldn't recover his Spiritual Power, nor could he strengthen it.

“Has that Quiet Lake become my key?”

Mo Bai slowly adjusted his breathing.

In the past, just by gazing at the calm lake surface, he could completely calm his mind, thus integrating into it, and merging with the wind element.

Now it seemed that after prolonged practice, this had become a key, a Psychological Suggestion for him.

He closed his eyes, continuously recalling the appearance of the Quiet Lake, recalling the calm lake surface, and recalling the peaceful state of mind.

Gradually, Mo Bai’s breathing became long and deep. A blurry image of the Quiet Lake slowly appeared in his mind, and his heart calmed along with it.

Neither fully asleep nor fully awake, he was immersed in it.

However, the Quiet Lake lacked too many details; it was too blurry and too abstract, causing Mo Bai’s mind to constantly wander and drift outside.

At night, many players were chatting and playing cards. From time to time, someone would yawn and then find a bonfire to fall into a deep sleep by.

In a camp on the other side, several players were looking at a list written on Bamboo Slips, when one of them suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“Mo Bai?”

“Hmm?”

Ye Ye, who was focused on sorting through information, looked up at Ye Qing.

“Who?”

“Mo Bai, the casual player we ran into before. Do you remember him?

I didn't expect him to be here too. Level 3, but... Mage?”

Ye Qing scratched his head while looking at the registered spirit point allocation on the bamboo slip.

Recalling Mo Bai’s appearance back then, he pondered for a moment before saying.

“Bro, I feel like this Mo Bai is not simple.”

“Why? Based on what?”

“His temperament and Aura feel out of the ordinary to me.”

Ye Qing spoke out. Before Ye Ye could answer, a tall girl next to him laughed.

“Xiao Qing, you don't actually think that just because we jokingly call those who put points into spirit Mages, he's actually a Mage, do you?

You know, our Guild spent a huge price but couldn't find even a shred of information about the Mage class.

Don't overthink it, he's just an Independent Player.”

Hearing this, Ye Qing scratched his head and didn't know what to say.

But he truly felt that Mo Bai was unusual.

Intuition.

“Maybe it’s just my illusion.”

As soon as he finished speaking, silence returned, broken only by the sounds of Bamboo Slips being unrolled and rolled up.

After thinking for a long time, Ye Qing still got up and left.