I made up magic and taught a world-destroying witch?

Joseph opened his eyes and stared speechlessly at the busy crowd.

Is this thing really contagious?

He just sat there and said a few nonsense words, how did he manage to steal the student's skills?

Is this what they mean by the delayed arrival of benefits for time travelers?

The problem is, he's already managed to get to the position of head of a special project at the Magic Association by spouting nonsense, and now they're only giving him a so-called skill slot. If this system were in a game from his previous life, they probably wouldn't have remembered half a year after the server opened, "Oh, sorry, I forgot to give you the beginner's sword."

Just then, the carriage arranged by the Dwarf Merchant Guild arrived.

The man in goggles was clearly still excited about the low-magic axle starting to turn again under low load. While directing people to protect the device again, he also politely asked Joseph and Mia to go and rest first.

Joseph glanced outside and realized that it was already dark.

Grey Iron Lane is chaotic enough during the day, but it gets even noisier at night. The old signs at the street corner sway in the wind, as if they're ready to fall down at any moment and give any unlucky passerby a Grey Pigeon Town-style blessing.

There were still people hammering iron in the alley, making a constant clanging noise.

Joseph had initially wanted to immediately examine the spell slots in his mind, but then he thought about how there were too many people around.

Moreover, he still doesn't know what exactly this thing is.

If it really does have power, then that's fine.

If the power is pitifully weak, and he tests it in front of Mia and the people from the Dwarf Merchant Guild, will he still have the title of Great Magician?

Let's study this later when it's quiet at night.

A great mage may not know how to cast spells, but he cannot reveal his secret in public.

The Dwarf Merchant Guild arranged for them to meet at a tavern not far from Grey Iron Alley.

The name perfectly captures the aesthetic of Grey Pigeon Town, which wants to incorporate a touch of magic while being reluctant to abandon its local characteristics: Gear and Pigeon.

The tavern sign really does have a picture of a pigeon, with half a gear under its feet. I don't know if it's meant to express the harmonious coexistence of magical industry and natural life, or if it's just something the artist did to get paid.

Joseph glanced at it and thought that this place at least sounded more civilized than names like Broken Hammer and Rotten Bucket.

Upstairs in the tavern were several temporary guest rooms, usually for passing merchants and out-of-town craftsmen. The dwarf merchant guild was clearly a regular here; as soon as the waiter saw the goggles-wearing man, he immediately and expertly arranged two rooms for them and even reserved a table for them on the first floor against the wall.

The man in the goggles wanted to say something more, perhaps to continue expressing his gratitude, or perhaps to take the opportunity to chat about the new magic.

"Everyone's tired today, let's get some rest," Joseph said immediately.

The man in goggles paused for a moment, then immediately nodded.

"Of course, of course, Professor Grantham and Miss Taylor have had a great day."

After he finished speaking, he didn't bother them any further, and even took the initiative to lead the people from the Dwarf Merchant Guild away.

Joseph breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Very good, this dwarf is much more sensible than those professors at the academy.

Mia was initially very excited, and she kept looking down at her hands the whole way, as if her hands had just transformed into some rare magical artifact.

  

The tavern served stew, rye bread, and a bowl of hot soup with a herbal flavor for dinner.

The stew wasn't fancy, but the portion was generous. It contained several pieces of tender meat and root vegetables, and the broth was thick. The rye bread was so hard it looked like it could be used to wake up an oversleeping apprentice.

Mia ate very seriously at first, she was probably really hungry, she ate with her head down, taking a sip of soup and a bite of bread, even quieter than she would in the college cafeteria.

As she ate, her movements slowed down, and finally she held the spoon, staring blankly at her hands.

Joseph didn't disturb her. When a student comprehends a new spell, it's common to feel a little self-satisfied at times like this.

His mentor is better off speaking less; less talk means fewer mistakes, and no talk means no mistakes.

Mia drank another half bowl of soup, and then her eyelids started to droop.

Joseph glanced at the completely wilted flower on her toolbox and suddenly felt that this day had indeed been a little too long for her.

In the morning, she was just taking her teacher out to stroll through the Grey Pigeon Market. In the afternoon, she was ridiculed for being expelled from school, ended up in Taylor's Blacksmith Shop, dismantled the low-magic axle of the Dwarf Merchant Guild, comprehended what might be considered a variant of the Light spell, Furnace Light, and shut up a room full of local blacksmiths.

Anyone would be exhausted in that situation.

After dinner, the tavern waitress led Mia to the next room to rest.

Mia glanced back at Joseph before she left.

"Sir, can I try again tomorrow?"

Joseph was about to say, "Wake up first," but after thinking about it, he changed his words to something more like a mentor's.

"Rest first. Remember how you felt today, and record it tomorrow."

"good!"

Mia nodded, as if she had been encouraged again. She carried her tool bag and followed the maid upstairs. Even her back view seemed to be trying hard to keep her composure, but she was obviously so sleepy that she was about to hit the wall.

Joseph watched her go upstairs before returning to his own room.

He closed the door, made sure there were no footsteps outside, and then drew the curtains.

Joseph sat down on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes; the square was still there.

To be honest, he had mixed feelings. He had never felt this way before, nor did he have any of the original owner's memories.

So where did this thing come from?

Was it because he was too close when Mia was comprehending the Light of the Furnace?

Or to put it even more absurdly, his so-called new magic system requires students to believe in it first, and then the teachers are contaminated in the reverse?

Joseph felt increasingly uneasy. If this system really worked this way, it was incredibly unethical.

He clearly only wanted to deceive people, so how did he end up deceiving himself?

Joseph sat for a while but couldn't resist, so he stood up, walked to the window, and opened it a crack.

The night breeze slipped in through the cracks, and Joseph looked down at his hands.

He could sense the spell slot in his mind without even closing his eyes.

This feels a bit strange.

It's like someone who thought they hadn't installed any software, only to suddenly discover a small program that someone had secretly installed in their background.

Joseph hesitated for a moment, then gently touched the spell slot with his mind.

The next moment, a tiny, pitifully small red-gold spark lit up from his fingertip and then drifted out through the crack in the window.

Joseph watched it float out the window, remaining silent for a long time.

That's it? He thought he had finally awakened the true power of some great magician.

What can this thing do? It can only light candles if the candles are willing to cooperate.

Joseph stood by the window expressionlessly and waited for a while.

After the tiny spark drifted out, it slowly moved away from the rooftop, drifting further and further away until it was just a barely visible red light in the night.

Joseph suddenly realized that his earlier excitement was completely unnecessary.

"Utterly useless," Joseph muttered in approval.

After he finished speaking, he closed the window and collapsed onto the bed.

Today was already outrageous enough. Tomorrow he still has to go check out the products of the Dwarf Merchant Guild and wait to see if the promised reward will fill his pockets a little.

If he didn't go to sleep soon, he was afraid he would actually start to believe that he had invented the new magic.

Joseph quickly closed his eyes.

The red-gold spark he deemed utterly useless traveled through the back alley of the tavern, over a row of low rooftops, and landed on the black wax seal beneath the abandoned portal, near the old diversion well, its red-gold light seeping down along the crack.

Beneath the abandoned portal, in an almost forgotten old passage, several figures lay slumped against the wall.

Buck leaned against the stone wall, having lost count of how long he had been trapped there.

He only remembered someone calling him away in Miss Penny's name, saying that the low-magic axle needed one last private calibration before the exhibition.

When he opened his eyes again, he was trapped in this strange place with the others.

However, his toolbox had been taken away, and his signal whistle was gone. It was as if something was blocking the way, and no matter how they shouted, their voices could not get through.

Buck initially told the others that Miss Penny would definitely look for them and that the dwarf merchant wouldn't abandon them.

But as time went by, the trapped people became increasingly weak.

He himself began to doubt whether anyone outside knew they were there at all.

Just as Buck was about to close his eyes, he suddenly saw a light at the end of the passage.