I am a mage, with an infinite mana bar!

Lynn muttered to himself, but driven by curiosity, he still tasted the Gu Ling Que soup.

Contrary to expectations, it had an extremely rich aroma, but without any meaty smell. The texture of the bird meat was also unique; it was stewed until tender and melted in the mouth, just like some kind of plant root.

As Luke sliced ​​the wolf meat steak, he said, "The Ancient Sparrow is very rare. It likes to live parasitically in trees that are at least several decades old, and it grows by constantly absorbing magic power while it is dormant in the tree."

"It's so unfair! Why can monsters absorb magic power naturally, while we need to use tools?"

He couldn't help but sigh, then returned to the main point: "These monsters are extremely sensitive to changes in magical power, so they can only be found deep within the Secret Forest where magical power is abundant and relatively stable. However, recently quite a few have been discovered near Colin Town..."

Abundant magic? Didn't Liam say that the depths of the Whispering Forest were areas of depleted magic? Including the area they explored.

Luke, holding his fork, pointed at Lynn and continued, "Since you've been deep into the Whispering Forest, you must have discovered that there are quite a few areas where magic is depleted, right?"

"I only discovered this after checking the historical records of the Golden Tower. The magic-depleted areas of the Whispering Forest have only started to appear in recent years, and they are constantly encroaching on more and more areas like a desert."

"This may be the reason why the ancient sparrows have migrated out of the Whispering Forest in large numbers."

Lynn's eyes flickered, and he said, "Could these be related to the Corruption Cult?"

Luke shook his fork and continued, "We can't rule out that possibility, but it could also be a natural phenomenon in the forest. After all, you can't be sure about magic."

"But Lynn, do you know what I'm more concerned about? The weakening of the magic in the Whispering Forest means that the monsters that live off magic will have a hard time surviving, which will be a heavy blow to Colin Town!"

"It's tantamount to cutting off its lifeline!"

"If the monster industry in Colin Town is cut off, the Golden Tower will no longer need to guard this place, and I, as the deacon of the Golden Tower, will have nowhere to go. Sigh, I wonder where those old guys in the capital want to put me next."

Lynn didn't speak. He had already guessed that Luke had been transferred here from somewhere because of a mistake, but he didn't expect that the other party was actually from the capital of Assassin.

In other words, Luke once worked at the headquarters of the Golden Tower?

He couldn't help but wonder what mistake Luke had made to come to a small place like Colin Town from the capital, but he couldn't ask too many questions because of his status.

Hmm, I'll ask Mr. Barton when I have time. He's such a gossip, he should know some inside information.

Afterward, Luke introduced Lynn to several dishes made with monster ingredients and was surprised by how accepting he was of the idea.

No… Lynn secretly retorted. He actually had reservations, but the restaurant’s cooking skills were just too good, and the taste was too good.

"I'm curious, is feeding on monsters a popular practice among spellcasters and nobles?"

As far as Lynn knew, most nobles, out of their reverence for magic, tried every means to become spellcasters.

Luke raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "It's a superstition. They always believe that monster flesh can make a spellcaster's mana pool grow."

"Of course, subhumans definitely won't do," he said with a touch of dark humor.

Lynn was puzzled instead, "Since you understand that this is a superstition, why do you still..."

"Because the people around me all have a habit of eating monster meat," Luke said casually, picking up a piece of wolf meat with his silver fork and sniffing it. "At least they taste pretty good."

This is a kind of circle culture. In order to fit into that circle, he has to do this... Lynn silently concluded.

"Now that you have a basic understanding of me, I also have some questions for you," Luke said with a smile.

So, we've finally reached this part... Lynn sat up a little straighter.

"Lynn, I'm curious, who exactly is your teacher, or rather, have you received guidance from some mysterious mage?"

Eli and Barton seem to have asked similar questions. In the magical world, the existence of teachers is crucial, and self-taught individuals are extremely rare unless they are reincarnated.

Lynn was prepared for the answer to this question. He lowered his eyes and said, feigning difficulty:

"When I first entered the world of magic, I did receive guidance from a kind mage, but I knew nothing about his identity. However, one sentence he said left a deep impression on me."

Luke stared intently at him and asked, "What did you say?"

"Look deep into your own heart, and you will find that all the miracles are within yourself," Lynn replied earnestly.

This is a sentence he happened to remember while scrolling through his phone, supposedly from the famous British philosopher Francis Bacon.

"Look deep into your own heart..." Luke repeated unconsciously upon hearing this, his thoughts churning, and even his spirituality was stirred.

Seeing that he was satisfied with his answer, Lynn said casually, "It was this sentence that inspired me and allowed me to continue smoothly on the path of magic."

"Apart from that, I have nothing more to tell you. I'm sorry."

Luke immediately waved his hand. "No, I can sense that what you just said was very valuable. Thank you for your selfless sharing. Well then, as I mentioned before, I will tell you about Eli Frey."

Lynn adopted a listening posture, but Luke said, "Don't delay your meal. Good food should be eaten while it's hot."

He simply restrained his antagonistic feelings and slowly tore off a piece of the young chicken leg that had been roasted until the skin was crispy.

This is a monster that grows to the size of an ostrich when it matures, but has a long snake at its tail.

This young chicken-snake is already the size of a turkey. The chicken part is cooked using the common turkey cooking method: after cleaning the internal organs, it is stuffed with vegetables and other fillings and then roasted. The snake part is chopped into minced meat, made into snake soup, and placed around it.

It really did taste like normal chicken... Lynn silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Luke focused on enjoying his food, finishing most of his portion before wiping his lips with a napkin. He then clasped his hands together, looked Lynn up and down, and asked:

How much do you know about the Frey family?

"Hmm... I only know that the current lord of Roan City is named Lawrence Frey, who is Eli's father. He is a respected count..."

Luke nodded. "Just as every resident under the walls of Roan knows."

The implication is that Lynn's understanding of the Frey family is merely at the level of common sense.

This is understandable, as the original owner was born a commoner and was not a native of Luo'an City. His thirst for aristocratic knowledge far surpassed that of magic.

Luke raised his index finger, and the red gem between his fingers, which looked like it was filled with flames, shone brightly under the light of the magic ore lamp.

He said in a low voice:

"The Frey family's prominence is among the highest in all of Assassin, mainly due to Eli's grandfather, Grand Duke Garnes Frey."