8: Devil-style teaching

The first rays of dawn had not yet fully pierced through the mist at the cave entrance when Old Mage Weidel woke me up.

His eyes revealed a hint of urgency, as if time was our greatest enemy.

"We don't have much time, child," Old Mage Weidel's voice was hoarse and hurried.

He opened the thick magic book, its yellowed parchment filled with intricate runes.

"These are basic elemental runes, representing the four elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. Each element has its unique properties and uses."

I leaned closer to examine them; the runes looked like some ancient script, with complex yet beautiful lines.

However, I couldn't understand them at all.

Old Mage Weidel seemed to notice my confusion and sighed softly:

"I almost forgot you don't recognize our script; this is indeed a problem." His tone carried a hint of helplessness, but he quickly regained his composure.

Female Mage Lavinia took over, her voice, though hoarse, was gentle and firm:

"It's alright, we can teach you through demonstration.

The foundation of magic is perceiving the flow of magical energy; you need to learn how to feel it first."

She set down her staff, stood up, and walked to the center of the cave.

Her movements were light and graceful, as if each step was in rhythm with magic.

She whispered an incantation, then suddenly spread her fingers, pointing them at the ground in front of her.

As the incantation ended, a bonfire instantly ignited on the ground.

The flames danced, emitting a warm glow.

Lavinia's expression was focused, her gaze fixed on the flames, as if she was looking at some... hope.

"This is 'Create Bonfire,' one of the simplest spells."

She explained, "It's not truly a spell yet; we usually call these types of magic cantrips.

But its basic principles are consistent with other spells, even high-level ones.

It converts magical power into flames. You try."

Next, Wizard Wedell and Lavinia, the two mages, took turns teaching me some basic common language, elvish, and Halfling language related to zero-level cantrips.

They each taught me a basic cantrip: Ray of Frost and Create Bonfire.

Ray of Frost

Spell School: Evocation

Spell Level: Zero (Cantrip)

Casting Time: 1 action

Casting Range: 60 feet

Spell Components: Verbal, Somatic

Duration: Instantaneous

The caster casts a cold, bluish-white ray, shooting it at a creature within casting range.

Make a ranged spell attack against the target.

If it hits, the target takes 1d8 cold damage, and its speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

The maximum damage of this spell increases with the caster's level.

...

Seeing my confused gaze, Mage Wizard Wedell explained the meaning of 1d8 to me.

He emphasized that he would only explain it to me once.

"d is an abbreviation for the word 'die,' meaning a dice, which can be understood as a tool for calculating magic damage;

Here, '1' is understood as the number of times the die is rolled, meaning one roll;

And '8' indicates the number of faces on the die, meaning this is an eight-sided die.

Therefore, 1d8 can be understood as rolling an eight-sided die once.

Result range: Rolling an eight-sided die, its result range is between 1 and 8, inclusive of 1 and 8.

Each roll written here is an independent calculation, and the result is random.

The calculation method for 2d8 assumes there are two eight-sided dice, and they are rolled separately.

The result of each roll is a random number between 1 and 8.

Result calculation: Add the results of the two rolls to get the final result of 2d8.

The range of this result is between 2 and 16.

Because the minimum value of each roll is 1 and the maximum value is 8, the minimum sum of two rolls is 2 and the maximum sum is 16.

The damage range for 3d8 is between 3 and 24.

And so on."

Mage Wizard Wedell emphasized that the level division of mages is not always so clear-cut.

Only when your abilities reach a certain standard, and your casting level and damage values improve, will you be considered to have reached a certain level, rather than having a level first and then gaining strength.

Of course, when your knowledge and overall strength improve, it also becomes simpler and faster to learn some new, simple low-level spells.

Afterward, Mage Lavinia continued to teach me the Create Bonfire cantrip.

Create Bonfire

Spell School: Conjuration

Spell Level: Zero (Cantrip)

Casting Time: 1 action

Casting Range: 60 feet

Spell Components: Verbal, Somatic

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

The caster ignites a bonfire on the ground within range that you can see.

Until this spell ends.

The bonfire occupies a 5-foot cube.

When you cast this spell, all creatures in the bonfire's space may take 1d8 damage.

The damage value of this spell increases with the caster's level.

...

The morning hours quietly slipped away in two hours of theoretical lessons and two hours of practical casting, yet I failed to successfully cast a single cantrip.

The two mages didn't seem surprised, as if it was already expected.

In the afternoon, Alton began his teaching.

The Halfling hunter first instructed me in practicing with a bow and arrow and a dagger, then, with Lavinia's translation assistance, taught me how to better use leather armor to protect myself.

He also provided basic introductory knowledge on hunting techniques, wilderness survival, and common animal behaviors.

His teaching style was lively and engaging, often using exaggerated body language to deepen my understanding.

"Remember, in the wilderness, your leather armor is not just protective gear; it's your second skin," Alton patted the leather armor on me, "You must learn to use every part of it to protect yourself."

In the evening, Pastor Gary took over the teaching.

He taught me simple wound treatment methods and self-rescue techniques.

He couldn't teach me the divine magic of a pastor unless I first became a pastor.

But he also had combat skills suitable for me.

For example, learning how to use simple weapons and shields could improve my survival and self-defense abilities.

Pastor Gary retrieved a short sword and a small wooden shield.

He began teaching me integrated offense and defense combat techniques while holding the shield in my left hand and the short sword in my right.

Two hours later, the human warrior McLock and the human rogue Jones also came to teach me some of their skills.

McLock taught me some common knowledge about daily physical exercise and close-quarters combat techniques.

Jones, on the other hand, taught me theoretical knowledge of stealth and disarming traps.

Just when I thought today's learning tasks were finally over, Wizard Wedell and Lavinia came before me again.

They asked me to take off my leather armor and began teaching me how to perceive magic in the surrounding environment and within my own body.

As well as how to meditate and quickly restore spells.

While attempting to meditate, I unknowingly fell asleep.

On the third day, I still faced a rotation of six teachers, with continuous theoretical knowledge infusion and practical exercises.

On the fourth day, combat drills were added.

Amidst their continuous cramming and devilish training, six more days passed unknowingly.

All of their conditions worsened.

On this day, it was said to be an assessment of my learning progress.

Among the six people who were constantly coughing and had high fevers, I originally thought only the hunter, pastor, warrior, and rogue could beat me to a pulp.

Unexpectedly, the old man and the woman, these two mages, could also throw me around and leave me bruised and swollen even with their bare hands.

I had a gut feeling they were venting their frustration under the guise of teaching, taking their anger out on me.

After all, they had placed all their hopes of survival on me.

After being beaten by everyone today, the sweet reward was being told that the lessons were over.

Then, a pile of magical items containing mysteries and power were handed to me...