Chapter 11: The Spellcaster

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In the world of Endi, as long as you don’t mind living deep in the mountains and forests, and don’t show disdain when you see the druidic folk who resemble wild savages, they are generally quite approachable.

If you wish to become a druid, all you need to do is walk up to them, express your thoughts, and share your views on nature. They will most likely accept you and wholeheartedly teach you.

As long as your affinity with nature meets their standards, you will certainly become a druid.

It’s really that straightforward.

However, the price of becoming a druid is a lifelong distance from towns and an inability to live amid bustling civilized society.

The convenient, cooperative systems built among humans cannot serve a druid. Their food, clothing, and daily necessities will undoubtedly be far inferior to what they once had. They have no shelter from wind and rain, no bedding against frost and snow—only by enduring such hardships can they better feel the power of nature…

Among those who have undergone druidic training, at least half cannot endure this life once they first master spellcasting and flee back to civilization in embarrassment.

What awaits them is a gradual loss of their connection to nature’s power, eventually losing their spellcasting ability and reverting to ordinary humans.

…

According to Jay’s universal language memory, Li Rui, who now possesses the Ice Spike spell, is undoubtedly a low-level warlock.

Realizing this, he could hardly contain his excitement.

“From now on, I’m a mage too!”

But before he could savor this joy for a few seconds, the bush from which the Ice Magic Rabbit had earlier emerged trembled again.

Then, several familiar figures appeared before him.

Forest wolves!

Seeing those very familiar wolves, and noticing the fierce gleam and obvious excitement in their eyes upon spotting him, Li Rui knew he had recognized them correctly.

They were the pack that had cornered him at the cliff’s edge earlier!

They had been chasing the Ice Magic Rabbit but didn’t expect to find a familiar face.

Enemies meet with burning eyes!

However, the forest wolves didn’t know that Li Rui was a completely different person from the last time they met.

[Spell-like ability: Ice Spike!]

As the wolves bared their bloodthirsty jaws and slobbered as they charged, Li Rui activated the extraordinary power he had just acquired.

In an instant, all the magic within his body was drawn out.

Then, as naturally as a human can instinctively grasp something with their hand, even without any knowledge of magic, an ice spike formed under the command of his consciousness.

The ice spike was about the size of his index finger, crystal clear, and as it condensed, it immediately began releasing thick white cold mist, like dry ice in the air.

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Before Li Rui could carefully observe the ice spike’s form, he instinctively locked his eyes on the fastest charging wolf, then, like releasing a drawn bowstring, he let go of his focus—

“Whoosh—!”

“Pfft!”

The ice spike cut through the air with a distinct white streak, carrying a faint arrow-like sound, and instantly plunged into the mouth of the fastest forest wolf.

“Awroargh!”

The next moment, the wolf suddenly lifted its head and howled in agony, its limbs twitching before it collapsed.

The other wolves were shocked by this sudden turn of events and immediately halted.

They all witnessed a terrifying scene that made their fur stand on end.

White cold mist poured from the afflicted wolf’s mouth, while its muzzle gathered clusters of tiny snowflakes that rapidly spread over its entire body.

Within just a few breaths, the wolf was completely encased in ice and snow.

Seeing this frightening sight, the entire pack seemed as if they had been doused with a bucket of ice water—their high spirits instantly plummeted.

They had been chasing the Ice Magic Rabbit at full speed until now, and only then did they realize they had inadvertently entered a very familiar misty area.

One wolf farthest from Li Rui whimpered fearfully, tucked its fluffy tail between its legs, and turned to flee.

The others followed suit, tails between their legs, scattering in all directions.

“Whew…”

Once the pack had fled, Li Rui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, they ran away—if they hadn’t, he would have had to climb a tree.

Though using the Ice Spike spell made him feel quite heroic, running out of magic was truly embarrassing.

Still, looking down at the frozen wolf carcass on the ground, Li Rui couldn’t help but curl his lips into a slight smile.

With the Ice Spike spell, he now had the means to survive in this world!

“From today on, I am a noble mage!”

…

Another day passed, and night fell.

Crimson flames licked the wood, crackling softly in the woodland. The rabbit meat skewered beside the fire slowly emitted a rich aroma.

“Gulp…”

Watching the rabbit roast, Li Rui swallowed hard.

Since crossing into the world of Endi, he hadn’t eaten any meat except bugs.

Now, smelling the increasingly intense scent of cooking meat, he felt as if a spring had welled up in his mouth; his saliva flowed freely and abundantly.

When the rabbit was nearly done roasting, Li Rui could no longer contain himself and tore into the meat with big bites!

Hot! Tough! Chewy! Burnt! Musky!

The moment the meat entered his mouth, five negative judgments about the food sprang to mind.

The rabbit meat was old and stringy, half-raw with some burnt spots that ruined its texture, and being an uncastrated wild male animal, it carried a strong musky odor all over…

But after two days without proper food, the flood of saliva in Li Rui’s mouth instantly made him forget all those drawbacks.

Meat!

That simple word was enough to outweigh every defect.

“Burp~~”

Within minutes, Li Rui had eaten every chewable part of the rabbit, even gnawing the cartilage into fragments.

By now, he roughly understood that his sense of taste had been almost destroyed—or rather, that his threshold for flavor had risen to nearly beastly levels.

Meat this foul-smelling and repulsive would have made him cover his nose and flee before crossing over, but now he devoured the entire rabbit, saliva still dripping uncontrollably.

After finishing the rabbit meat, his gaze shifted to a simple cloth bag wrapped in clothes nearby.

Inside were parts of the forest wolf. After killing the wolf, Li Rui thought the whole carcass was too heavy, so he only cut off its two front legs and scraped off all the fat from its belly.

That would be tomorrow’s meal. If rationed with wild grass and leaves, and frozen with his Ice Spike spell, those two wolf legs would last three days.

Also, this slain forest wolf had not granted him any lottery chances.

‘Maybe because it was just an ordinary creature.’

There was no entertainment in the forest. After dinner, Li Rui tied the skull to a tree branch, then lay down on another branch and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

“Sssshhh…”

Unbeknownst to Li Rui, after he fell asleep, a gentle breeze began to stir in the nearby woods, gradually forming faint green magical light points perceptible only to spellcasters.

These pale green lights lit up one by one, forming a flowing ribbon that circled around where he lay.

As the green ribbon swirled, the mist surrounding him—whether created by the skull or the swirling iron plate embedded in its upper jaw—was slowly suppressed, shrinking until it clung tightly to the surface of the skull.

Then, the green ribbon enveloped him, slowly pouring into his body through the wound on his chest and the tips of all ten fingers…