Chapter 548: The Birth of a Magical Masterpiece

This chapter is an additional update sponsored by the alliance leader "Fishing Macho Man," just one update for now, with nine more to come.

The territory has returned to calm, and the officials and knights have gone back to their duties. In addition to the civilians who got double pay, they also praised the Lord and the Grand Sprite Pyke. The influence of the Giant Kelp spirits has faded.

After his nap.

Liszt rode the land bird Loki to a remote place to take potions with the Fire Drake. The Giant Kelp Magic Potion that Cris kept making kept both the man and the dragon feeling fantastic every day.

"Scorching Sun Sting!"

In mid-air, Liszt became one with his sword and fell to the ground with a bang. The surging mana was like the sun crashing into the ground, with huge flames shooting out, and the ground was scorched into a massive crater.

Liszt, bathed in flames, maintained a half-squatting posture, calming his suddenly unleashed mana.

"Oh ho!"

The Fire Drake Leo, circling above, saw Liszt covered in flames, folded its wings and landed by the pit's edge. Then it opened its mouth and let out a faint yellow flame breath, which instantly enveloped Liszt's whole body. However, it didn’t harm him; instead, it continuously penetrated into his body, helping him expand his cell capacity.

This is the latest training method Liszt and Leo came up with, which he called Dragon Breath Tempering.

The previous method of expelling impurity magic power after merging with the dragon was what he called Dragon Demon Refining Qi.

Dragon Demon Refining Qi upgrades Dragon Aura, and Dragon Breath Tempering expands cell capacity. These two methods are different but both continuously improve Liszt's strength.

Even though he didn’t get the "Dragon Knight Mana Secret Manual" from the Grand Duke, he still managed to figure out how a Dragon Knight should train. Well, it’s not like he figured it out entirely on his own—Dragon Demon Refining Qi is a function that the Fire Drake comes with. Dragon Breath Tempering happened when Leo unexpectedly breathed fire at him during training, which freaked Liszt out, thinking Leo was trying to kill him.

Turns out, it was just a scare, and he discovered that the dragon breath actually had the properties of a magic potion, which could help him expand the mana capacity of his cells.

So now, Liszt basically gives all the potions to Leo to take, and then Leo helps him with Dragon Demon Refining Qi and Dragon Breath Tempering, striving to become a Dragon Knight.

Unfortunately, Leo is still too young, and the dragon breath is scarce.

After spitting for a while, it hung its head in a tired manner.

"Here." Liszt directly stuffed ten Giant Kelp Magic Potions into its mouth.

The Fire Drake, which had just been hanging its head, instantly became energetic again with "oh ho," "oh ho," and its legs kicked, rushing into the sky.

After a stroll, it suddenly turned into a ball of flame and rushed into Liszt's body.

Liszt shook the clothes that had turned into ashes on his body and said threateningly, "You’re full of energy when taking potions, but you play tricks when helping me train. Leo, you can’t escape—being ridden by me is your destined fate!"

"Oh ho!" Leo let out a disdainful cry.

Liszt just chuckled.

No matter how smart the Fire Drake is, it is just a young dragon. No matter how cunning the fox is, it cannot beat the old hunter. Now, "Liszt's Dragon Taming Manual" has been outlined in his heart. Sooner or later, he will create a more detailed dragon riding masterpiece than the "Dragon Knight Mana Secret Manual."

To be passed down from generation to generation.

After changing into a new set of clothes, he whistled.

"Cluck!"

Loki, who was grazing not far away, walked over with its long legs. It would not refuse to be ridden by Liszt.

Reward it with a handful of top-grade wheat grains.

At Liszt's command: "Home!"

...

Early the next morning.

Granny Truth packed up his magic experiment tools and took a carriage to Flower Town. He had accepted the position at the Magic Academy to serve as a teacher of magical equipment, instructing the first batch of students at the Magic Academy.

Liszt greeted Granny.

He still showed respect to this stubborn mage: "Mr. Granny, the teaching responsibilities at the Magic Academy will be in your hands."

"Rest assured, Viscount," Granny said with an air of aloofness, though he knew to maintain proper etiquette in the presence of Liszt, who had recently been promoted to Sky Knight, and spoke more politely.

"Take a boat to Black Horse Island, where someone will greet you. The Mage Tower has just been completed, and the Magic Academy is located on its first floor. Your living arrangements will be taken care of by a dedicated staff member. I hope you enjoy your life on Black Horse Island."

"Thank you for your consideration, Viscount."

Granny did not linger in Flower Town and immediately boarded a merchant ship bound for Black Horse Island. Unfortunately, only he, a mage, had shown up; the other two mages who had accepted the offer had not yet reached Coral Island. Thus, the smoke mission was still incomplete, and it was unclear what the reward would be—perhaps some drifting fruit.

He practiced *Multiple Arrows* in the apple orchard for a bit.

Then he spent a moment pondering the *Unified Argument of Triangle Theory and Magic Circle Structure* he was writing. Though not a mage himself, this was his second book on magic. His previous work, *The Theory of Three-State Magic Circles and Reality Interaction*, had earned high praise from Cris Truth.

"Based on the clues I have now, the products formed by magic power should exist independently of the material sequence, or rather, outside the physical category, and belong to a separate magic power category."

He jotted down a string of characters on a blank sheet of thick paper: Magic Molecule → Rune → Magic Circle and Spell → Spirit Bug and Dragon.

In his view, magic molecules are the fundamental units that make up magic power. Magic molecules combine to form runes, which then create magic circles and construct various spells. The level of the magic circle determines the power and effect of the spell, and the higher level of the magic circle is likely to be magical creatures.

So-called magical creatures include magical beasts, spirit bugs, dragons, mermaids, and more. Even mages could be considered artificial magical creatures.

They are all direct users of runes and magic circles, with the key difference being that the bodies of magical beasts and mages belong to the physical category, while also possessing abilities from the magic power category.

Spirit bugs, dragons, and mermaids not only possess abilities from the magic power category but also have bodies that exist within the magic power category—the dragon's body is constantly producing, as is the spirit bug's. Even the mermaid Acheronides is vastly different from humans, appearing almost as an incarnation of magic power.

"Perhaps, this world has two sets of fundamental rules: one is the physical rule, and the other is the magic power rule, interfering and independent of each other. Coupled with the mediating spiritual rule, they form this peculiar world... This is the central theme I want to elaborate on!"

For a moment.

Inspiration surged.

After completing a grand work of thirty thousand words, he finally finished it today. Looking at the fifteen pages of thick paper still fresh with ink and over nine hand-drawn illustrations, he was very satisfied.

He planned to share it with Acheronides for feedback first. Once her opinion was ready, he would make some revisions and then present it to Cris for review.

Perhaps it could even become a textbook for the Magic Academy by then.