Fanatics of the Magic Academy

"Kid, do you want to learn magic?"

Rose turned around and looked at the source of the sound. A withered and thin old homeless man was sitting on the street.

The coat, whose original color was indistinguishable, hung on his body. The dark brown stains on the collar had long since hardened, and the neck protruding from the collar looked like a withered, cracked piece of dead wood.

His Adam's apple was strikingly prominent; the way it moved up and down seemed to tear open the dry, cracked skin of his neck, almost bursting out.

His face had a sallow look, his cheeks were sunken, and his blue pupils were unfocused and wandering.

Next to him was a tattered tent, inside which were tattered blankets and clothes that were about to clump together, garbage scattered haphazardly, and needles lying all over the ground.

This is an old homeless man, a drug addict, probably high on drugs or going through withdrawal, who is trying to extort money from him.

With that thought in mind, Rose lost interest, picked up the food, turned around, and walked away on her own.

"Hey, don't go! I really do have magic!"

He pointed his withered finger at Rose in a panic.

Seeing that Rose really wasn't going to pay him any attention, he steeled himself and muttered a spell with a special rhythm.

As the incantation was chanted, his cloudy eyes temporarily regained focus, and a faint azure light flickered within them.

His withered fingers pointed at Rose:

"Air compression!"

Air gathered at his fingertips, eventually being compressed into an air bullet, which was then ejected toward Rose.

With his high level of rationality, Rose reacted instantly and dodged the air bullet by sidestepping.

Then, the air bullet hit the wall, but it did not cause any damage to the wall, only scraping off a layer of plaster.

In contrast, after the old homeless man performed the spell, he lay on the ground convulsing, gagging and coughing violently.

"Ugh! Cough cough cough!"

Vomit and saliva clung to his long-neglected beard, trembling along with his body.

Rose glanced sideways at the slightly scratched plaster on the wall and the old homeless man lying on the ground, dry heaving.

He walked up to the old homeless man and said:

"Hey, old man, do you really know magic?"

"Cough cough cough, nonsense, didn't you see it yourself just now? Cough cough cough..."

Then, all that could be heard was the old homeless man muttering:

"Damn it, have the drugs reduced my sanity to this extent? I can barely even withstand a first-level spell."

"First-circle spell..."

This was the first time Rose had learned about the classification of spells.

It seems that the first and second rings represent the classification of spells.

The levels of faith and prayer can be understood through the panel, such as dim light level and flashing light level.

"Cough cough cough!"

After coughing for a while, the old man finally recovered. He straightened up, leaned against the wall, and tilted his head back.

Rose looked down at him and said:

"Hey, old man, what did you mean when you said I wanted to learn magic?"

The old homeless man raised his even more cloudy eyes and looked at Luo Saibo:

"It means exactly what it says. I can teach you magic."

Then he held up one finger and said:

"I need enhancers, anything goes. One needle prick for one spell, 20 grams of nasal powder will do, oral or inhaled, hot inhalation—I'll take them all!"

The old homeless man's eyes lit up at the mention of drugs, and he said excitedly:

"If it weren't for your magical talent and your sanity being at least 30, I wouldn't teach just anyone! Do you know how many marks I used to charge per magic lesson? 2000 marks per person!"

Rose was startled; she hadn't expected the old homeless man to have discerned her sanity points.

Then another question arose in his mind:

"You're a magic teacher too?"

When the old homeless man spoke of his past, he couldn't contain the light in his eyes:

"Teacher? I used to be a professor! You know the Loviria Mystic Academy, right? The best magic academy in Loviria, I used to be one of its top professors!"

"Do you know *Magic Nature*? Hey, you probably don't, it's the world's top magic journal! I've had my papers published there multiple times..."

"...Do you know what the impact factor is? You should know about my paper..."

Looking at the old homeless man, whose eyes were gleaming and who kept talking incessantly,

Rose couldn't reconcile him with a magician who was highly skilled in magic.

"If you're so capable, how come you're now a homeless person in the slums?"

Rose clearly didn't believe that a world-class magician would spend his later years as a vagrant in the most remote and impoverished part of Lovilia.

Upon hearing Rose's words, the old homeless man paused for a moment.

The light in his eyes quickly faded, his lips moved, and he slumped there, like a lost old dog, his eyes filled with confusion.

He murmured:

"I...I don't know why..."

?

This time it's Rose's turn to be confused; this episode is amazing.

If what the old homeless man just said was true, and not just a hallucination of being high on drugs that he mistook for reality,

For a top-tier mage to fall into this predicament, it shouldn't be because they offended someone, were set up, betrayed, or framed...

How could it be, and it shouldn't be, that I "don't know"!

Rose frowned, looking at the old homeless man sitting there dejectedly. He was also confused.

"There must be a reason why you've fallen to this state. What is the cause of your suffering?"

The old homeless man clutched his head in agony, his withered fingers gripping his filthy hair, his expression contorted in pain.

"I don't know, I don't know! How did I end up like this! I really don't know!"

Then, a surge of power welled up within him from nowhere, and he hugged Rose's leg, saying:

"Please, bring me one! I'll teach you magic! Only then can I forget all this, only then can I live!"

Rose didn't indulge him at all; for addicts in the throes of addiction, any pity is a luxury.

No matter what his background or what kind of person he is, once he is addicted to drugs, he cannot be considered a human being.

Rose's focus on the panel had been depleted by 2.5. He then used his telekinesis to power his leg and kicked the withered, emaciated old homeless man who was clinging to his leg to the ground.

"what!"

The old homeless man covered his face, wailing in pain, and cursed:

"You little beast! You son of a bitch! I'm not teaching you anymore. I thought you had some talent, but I didn't expect you to be wasted in this slum. I'm not teaching you anymore! I'm not teaching you anymore! I'll let you rot here like excrement!"

Rose didn't indulge him at all:

"You know what, I actually have two vials of enhancer here. I was originally thinking of giving them to you so I could learn a few tricks from you."

"So, looking at your pathetic self, all that learning was a waste of time. After studying magic for so long, you're still just a pathetic wanderer in the slums. I'd rather have exchanged those two tubes for some money! At least I could have a decent meal!"

After saying that, Rose turned and left.

The old homeless man lying on the ground, upon hearing that Rose really had the enhancer, forgot all about the pain on his face, and his eyes immediately cleared.

He tugged at Rose's hem with his withered fingers, trying to ingratiate himself:

"No, I was just joking. Tell me, what do you want from me?"

His initial arrogance followed by obsequiousness, and his earlier banter, were merely a joke; it's laughable.

Rose discovered something deeper: the long-term use of enhancers was an escape from reality.

His ability to regulate his emotions has completely collapsed, and his emotions are extremely unstable.

Moreover, life's goals and all positive feedback revolve around "how to get another injection".

He truly lives up to his reputation as a former magician. Anyone else who had absorbed this much energy would have died long ago, but he's still alive and kicking.

Rose turned and stared into the old homeless man's eyes, saying:

"Tell me your entire experience now, and I'll assess whether you're qualified to teach me."

In fact, Rose's primary goal was to deepen her understanding of this world.

For the six years he spent in this world, he lived in hiding, possessing only the most basic common sense.

As a believer, he would inevitably face magicians in the future, so gathering some information beforehand would save him from being caught off guard.