Volume 1: Chapter 9 – Encountering Danger on the Return Home
Currently, going to school is very relaxing! Every day I sleep at home and then I go to school and sleep some more. Haha, it feels like the forty-ninth year is here!
I slept!
While comfortably lying on the ground, I concentrated my spirit to sense the light elements in the air. Under their care, I gradually fell asleep. My internal light sphere already occupied two-thirds of all of my meridians. Teacher Xiu said I have enough magic power to cast rank five spells now. However, because I am too small, it would be biting off more than I can chew so he didn’t teach me any intermediate class spells and instead told me to wait to go to an intermediate magic academy. (A mage’s title corresponds to their magic: Generally speaking, mages capable of casting rank one spells are called apprentice mages. Those capable of using ranks two and three spells are called elementary mages. Intermediate mage’s are able to cast rank four and five spells. Rank six spells are advanced mages, rank seven magic are great mages, rank eight are magic scholar and those capable of casting rank nine magic with other mages are magisters. Grand Magisters are capable of casting rank nine spells alone.)
Ah! What time is it now? While stretching, I looked outside towards the sky. The sky was already dark, I should quickly go home and eat dinner, and my belly is calling out. In a lively mood, I walked out of the academy in the direction of my home.
Having left Senke city, I followed the path I used every day to go to and from the academy. Because I’m afraid of the dark, I used my left hand to cast an illumination spell, making everything within thirty meters of it to be as bright as day. Today mother doesn’t know what to make for me to eat, the best would be bone soup, and this is my favorite. Thinking of a luxurious dinner, I smacked my lips and felt my stomach is even hungrier.
Suddenly, I felt the surrounding temperature rise. Wa, what’s going on? Who here is using fire magic? A sudden roar that shook the heavens rung in my ear. Wa, fire lion, a rank six magical beast, no, it’s a demonic beast. (At birth if the magical beast isn’t contracted with, it will then be called a demonic beast.) Already, my legs won’t listen to me.
With its blood-red eye it watched me. I thought it might have the same idea I had earlier as it smacked its lips.
“Ah! Fire lion big brother, I’m still a child. Can you please not eat me? I am the homeland’s flower, I don’t have any meat. I’ll go home and get you something to eat. Ah, no!” Without letting me finish what I was saying, the fire lion attacked me.
I reflexively used teleportation, after all, before I was often chased by the light tiger. While dodging the fire lion’s attack, I fired a flare towards the sky. (In fact, it is the illumination spell in the form of a ball of light which I fired into the sky using the light arrow spell. Naturally once the flare reaches the sky it burst open and become a big light. This is a mage’s distress signal.)
“You foul fire lion, I refuse to comply. You can’t possibly catch me.” Remembering that I have teleportation magic, my heart calmed down a lot. Towards this beast, I am still very confident. The fire lion is powerful, but it can’t be more powerful than the light tiger and the old demon combined. At the very least, I can last until my magic power is completely consumed, after that, I would be helpless. (Before I consume all of my magic power, I would have ran away with teleportation. I can teleport five hundred meters, then I can just teleport several times. Hehe.)
The air sure is hot. Because of the priority of safety, I decided to give the defensive spells I knew a try. The first of course is divine guard since it can filter the air and isolate the heat emitted by the fire lion. Afterwards I summoned a light prism shield on my left hand.
The powerful fire lion grimaced while I recited an incantation and from my right hand fired off a light arrow towards it. Although its power is relatively small, it would still hurt to be hit by it.
Angered, the fire lion fired one after another intermediate class fire magic towards me. I blocked and I dodged just like in the array of sacks. In a relaxed manner I circled him, causing him to become confused and disoriented.
The flames atop the fire lion’s body gradually weakened. I suppose its magic power is being quickly depleted. While panting unevenly, it watched at me. Haha. There’s nothing great about this demonic beast. I have a method to deal with it. I dispelled the divine guard and the light prism shield. (Using this much magic, my magic power is also being consumed quickly.) Even without the magic, it cannot hit me. I can just wait for a rescue since the village isn’t too far away from here. The village guards should be here very soon.
The fire lion suddenly raised its head to face the sky then roared. All of a sudden I felt the air which was cooling down suddenly increase in temperature. Ah, how could this be? Not good. This is the sixth rank fire magic, Monstrous Flames. This is an area attack magic. I’m unable to run away now. My name is Zhang Gong, great light elements, assemble in front of me and obstruct evil! I barely managed to cast a light shield. The monstrous flames came at me like they were hiding the sky and covering the earth. Everything within a three hundred meter radius was enveloped in the spell. As a result my careless teleportation, I wasn’t enveloped in the spell. I used all of my body’s magic power to fuel the light shield while continuously reciting the light shield incantation. However, the power of the monstrous flames is truly too great. In a moment I won’t be able to withstand it, then I’ll become a fire roasted Zhang Gong.
“The water elements in the air, listen to my call, transform into the conquering hail and eliminate all the evil before me!”
Ah! I’m saved. Following this incantation by an unknown person, the pressure on me is gone. The hail technique offsets the fire lion’s magic. The fire lion is also nearly spent; his magic power is also nearly depleted like mine. Just was just his last attack. That’s all.
“Ah! It’s Zhang Gong. Hurry up and come Zhang Gong’s mother. It’s your son.”
Mother came. It’s finally alright now. I fainted.
……
I don’t know how much time passed. I gradually regained consciousness. I opened my eyes to see mother with her red eyes sitting by my side.
“Zhang Gong is awake. Father of the child, come over. Zhang Gong how are you feeling? Are you better now?”
Yesterday my magic power was pushed to its very limits. My body was burned in various places by the fire lion’s magic. Additionally, my spiritual power and magic power were depleted causing me to faint. Under the treatment of mother’s water magic, I have basically completely recovered, but I still felt quite exhausted.
“Mother, I’m fine.”
“Son, how are you? Are you better now?” Father ran in from the other room.
“I feel much better now, father.”
“If you didn’t grow old, then you wouldn’t have been able to see mother anymore.” Saying this, mother hugged me and cried.
“Zhang Gong, how did this happen?” Father asked.
I explained the circumstances as to what happened.
Father said seriously: “You little fool, you must remember to never show any opening to the enemy. With your magic as it is now, if you encounter an intermediate mage who is an enemy, then you must immediately flee. Because aside from fleeing, you don’t have any method to damage the enemy. Moreover, when facing the enemy how could you be careless? If you had been using the light prism shield to guard, then you probably wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
I hadn’t listened to father’s following words at all. But I remembered very clearly to flee when encountering an enemy. From that point on, no matter what kind of enemy I faced, I had always taken my protection seriously.
The Child of Light passed his first difficult trial in life.