I am a mage, with an infinite mana bar!

Lynn was somewhat tempted. A spellbook made by an experienced old mage must contain profound magical knowledge, making it a priceless treasure!

Barton saw through Lynn's thoughts, his eyes crinkling with a smile, and continued:

"My student seems to enjoy going to the Whispering Forest lately. I hope you can keep an eye on her and also investigate the Corruption Cult."

"Of course, there's no need to contact them. This kind of attack is certainly not the first time. 'Every step leaves a trace.' Do your best, and based on the investigation results, I will pay you a reward that will satisfy you, in the name of the association."

"The corrupt cult has suffered a devastating blow and is now powerless, which is evidenced by their ability to set traps with the help of outsiders. But we must be wary of their ability to corrupt people's minds."

Barton frowned, looking seriously at the unconscious Gray.

"This orc was probably bewitched by them, which is why he was parasitized by the spirit-eating insects. You should be glad that this actually weakened his power; otherwise, even my protective magic would have had a hard time ensuring you were unharmed by a full-force attack from a seasoned warrior."

As he spoke, Barton got up and came to Lynn's side, patting him on the shoulder with his right hand, just like he had during the day, but he patted him several times.

"What is this?" Because of her prior awareness, Lynn noticed the subtle flow of magic this time.

"The Ring Shield can withstand three fatal attacks of level three or below," the old man said with a kind smile. "Consider it a small reward for your acceptance of the mission."

"I haven't agreed yet..." Lynn thought to himself, but to be honest, the reward promised by Barton was still very tempting.

"But Mr. Barton, is it really alright to let Eli keep running towards the Whispering Forest?"

The Whispering Forest is where adventurers like Eli earn their living, not a place for a noble lady like Eli.

Barton gave Lynn a deep look and sighed, "That child is from the Frey family, one of the most illustrious families in the Kingdom of Assassins. Child, do you know what their family motto is?"

This really touches on a blind spot in my knowledge. The original owner read all sorts of books, but as a commoner, he didn't know much about nobility.

"The first to act wins!" Barton shook his finger, adopting the air of a lecturer. "The Frey family emphasizes action over everything. They encourage their children to be independent and accumulate experience without relying on family power. Only those who perform well will be valued by the family."

Just like how eagles teach their offspring, they not only push the fledglings off cliffs while they are learning to fly, but they also deliberately make the eaglets in the nest fight for food, so that only the strong can survive.

Lynn was speechless for a moment; he hadn't expected Eli to come from such a cruel family.

"I can see that the child trusts you a lot. You are both extremely talented mages, but the road ahead is fraught with difficulties. You can only grow better by helping each other."

Lynn understood the old man's implication: he wanted me to invest in Eli to help her gain a foothold in the Frey family.

Conversely, he, an ordinary citizen, can also benefit from it, and the two achieve mutual success.

This seems to be a win-win situation.

Of course, this is all on the premise that they can actually grow up smoothly.

Lynn seemed to see boundless hope. As the heir to the Elifre family, he would surely be able to leverage more resources, which would greatly help his growth on the path to becoming a mage.

But he remained calm and wary of the seemingly easygoing, portly old man's empty promises.

"Luckily, I haven't gotten involved yet. I'm observing carefully and ready to get out at any time," Lynn analyzed.

"I understand, Mr. Barton. I accept your commission to look after Eli and investigate the corrupt cult."

Old man Patton nodded with satisfaction.

Next, Lynn asked him a few more questions about magic, especially about the shield spell he cast on himself.

He thus gained three important pieces of information.

Firstly, Barton is at least a senior mage who has been at this level for many years. His specialization is [Protection Mage], a class that is proficient in various defensive and support magic, and is also very skilled in barrier magic.

Secondly, as mages reach a deeper level and gain a deeper understanding, low-level spells can be "upgraded," which means that some useful low-level spells will not become obsolete as the level increases.

Thirdly, once a mage has a certain level of understanding of a spell, they can freely change its casting method. For example, the [Shield] spell was originally a chanted spell, but Barton can cast it using a more concealed spell.

A very soft knocking sound came from outside the door.

They were two staff members of the Magic Association; Rumi, whom I had seen during the day, was also there.

Barton flicked his sleeve, pointed at Gray, and said, "Take him back."

The two men immediately lifted the burly orc warrior, their movements so effortless that Lynn was astonished.

However, he soon noticed that both men were wearing black gloves with smooth, reflective leather, resembling some kind of deep-sea fish.

Magical items? How convenient...

"Kid, close the doors and windows and get some rest." Barton winked at Lynn with his right eye again, then turned and left.

After seeing the three off, Lynn glanced at the door with the handle broken by Gray and sighed silently.

"I'll get someone to fix it tomorrow..." He moved a table and chairs to the door, checked that the windows were closed, and then sat back on the bed.

Tonight has been so unsettling...

As Lynn sighed, he summoned the "Grimoire of Origin".

[Through an exchange with a scholar, you have gained new knowledge; progress on acquiring "wisdom" inspiration is 3/3.]

You gained a bit of "wisdom" and inspiration.

[The "Shield" spell will definitely be available among the spells you can choose from during the next upgrade.]

"Is that even possible?" Lynn pondered. "Is it because the magical knowledge I just acquired is mainly related to shield spells?"

On the open magic book, three stars shone brightly, and above them were two drops of crystal-clear liquid.

A drop of deep, dark blue; a drop of dreamy amethyst.

In other words, there are four types of inspiration. Colorless inspiration is universal, and Lynn only obtained a little bit at the very beginning. The rest are the colors corresponding to the stars.

He first enveloped the deep blue inspiration with his mind and dragged it toward the star that also emitted blue light, just like a drop of water falling into the ocean, the inspiration vanished in an instant.

Then, lines of distorted text gradually appeared.

Your knowledge is being elevated! You will encounter even more mysteries!

You can choose one of the following three first-circle spells.

[Burning Hand]

One of your hands will be enveloped in magical flames, allowing you to unleash a large amount of fire in the area in front of you for a duration.

"This is a handy kitchen magic trick that I often use in place of those unruly magic ovens."

【Magic Missile】

You create several missiles formed from pure magic, which will continuously track the target you have spiritually locked onto until they hit.

"Simple, efficient, and perfect for catching those rats that are running away in panic."

[Shield Spell]

Touching a creature or pointing at yourself grants a brief, continuous magical shield that is halved against elemental and arcane attacks but cannot defend against mental attacks.

"Its hardness is somewhere between the shell of a mottled sea turtle and the scales of a metallic dragon..."

Lynn was already used to the introductory sentences below each spell description; he had seen them before when he was learning Frost Ring and Shadow Step.

But... dragons? Aren't they all at least five-star monsters?

Lynn grew increasingly curious about the identity of the person who left these words. Had he once used the Ring of Protection spell to touch the dragon's scales?

Soon, another line of description below [Shield Spell] caught his attention—

[Special Effect: You can set its casting mode to trigger automatically; it will immediately release a shield to defend when a threatening attack is detected.]