After another satisfying moment,Leoric finally let her go. They lay in bed, embracing each other, staring at the gray ceiling.

  "You're so mean," Freya panted, "Always bullying me."

  Leoric's fingers gently traced the patterns on the girl's bare back. "Hmm, but it seems like you came to me willingly to be bullied."

  "I didn't."

  Leoric chuckled and lifted Freya's chin. "Tell me, when did you start liking me?"

  "Who likes you?"

  "An honest girl is a good girl,"Leoric said.

  "Alright, alright, I admit I've always liked you a little bit... just a little," Freya pressed her face againstLeoric's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "It was when I first came to the school, in my first year. One afternoon, I was coming back from the library and passed by the square. I saw a boy sitting on the steps..." Her voice trailed off, and her face turned crimson. "He had long hair, hugging his knees, with particularly slender fingers. He seemed to be in a daze, staring at the distant sky, not knowing what he was thinking. The pigeons from the school were pecking at breadcrumbs at his feet, and a few even jumped onto his robe, but he didn't seem to notice. He just stayed in that daze..."

  "So you liked me because I was in a daze?"

  "No," Freya pouted, "You looked like a log when you were in a daze. What's so good about that? Anyway... I don't know how to explain it. But when I saw you that day, my heart started pounding, and I just wanted to keep looking at you..."

  Leoric couldn't even remember that happening; it was two years ago. If he had been in a daze in the square, that was true, and he had done it often before. He never expected that at one of those times, a young girl who had just entered the school was staring at him from afar.

  And from then on, she liked him.

  "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"Leoric asked.

  "I was shy," Freya said, "Actually... I've thought of so many ways to confess to you, but I was always embarrassed..."

  "Hmm, what ways? Tell me about them."

  "It's so embarrassing."

  "Come on."

  "For example, I thought about one day blocking your path to the library and saying, 'Leoric, someone said you like me a lot.'"

  "Oh."

  "And then you would definitely say, 'Really? I didn't know that?'"

  "Yeah, and then what?"

  "Then I would say, 'Yeah, actually, you've liked me in your heart for a long time, but you just didn't know it yourself.'"

  "Is that so?"

  "Yeah, so now I can give you a chance."

  Leoric chuckled and looked at the little girl in his arms. "Is this how you confess?"

  Freya blushed. "Just thinking about it," she said, "It's more romantic that way."

  Romance.

  No matter what world, what era, or what place, women are always the creatures who crave romance the most. Whether she is smart, strong, or rational, it's the same.

  "So it was love at first sight,"Leoric said with a soft laugh. Frankly, he didn't fully believe in love at first sight, but... it wasn't impossible.

  Love was the most mysterious thing.

  "Not exactly," Freya said, "Actually, since that day, I noticed that... you were different from others."

  "How different?"

  "You're more mature than them."

  "Them?"

  "The boys at school," Freya said, "Many of them like me, but I don't like them. They're all too childish, like little kids who don't understand anything. But you're different,Leoric," she lifted her face and looked at him, "Although you're around the same age as them, you give me a strange feeling. Whenever you're with other students, you seem like a natural leader. You're more stable, more mature, and much smarter than them."

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "My talent isn't really outstanding."

  "I'm not talking about arcane talent, I'm talking about intelligence. The two are different," Freya said, hesitating on how to phrase it, "It's just different... I don't know how to describe it specifically."

  Leoric smiled casually, as if he didn't take her words seriously. But in his heart, he was secretly on guard.

  The minimum age for enrollment in the wizard school was ten, although not everyone had to enroll at ten, like Freya, who entered at eleven. But generally speaking, the students in the school were all teenagers.

  Teenagers, not yet adults, with immature minds.Leoric was different; he had over thirty years of memories from both his past and present life. Mentally, he was already an adult. Among a group of children, although he carefully concealed it, he would inevitably show some subtle differences intentionally or unintentionally.

  Although Freya couldn't explain it, she could keenly sense it... Could others also see it?

  He changed the subject.

  Life continued beautifully day by day, of course, one couldn't always be immersed in sweetness.

  As students at the wizard school, they faced heavy academic pressure. The school wasn't interested in interfering with students' personal lives, but it would expel those with poor grades.

  The Monica family was originally a family of wizards, and Freya had received a good basic education before entering the school. Now that her insomnia was resolved, and she was naturally talented, especially in prophecy magic, withLeoric's timely guidance, she progressed quickly.

  In return, she couldn't helpLeoric much... But she wasn't completely helpless.

  For example, she could help train in "concentration" during spellcasting.

  "Magic is a wonderful and profound art, not meant for killing,"Leoric instructed Freya, "But then again, since we're wizards, we can't avoid fighting with others, or even facing battles. So, there's one fundamental skill that must be solid."

  "Gathering materials?"

  "No, it's concentration during spellcasting."

  On the battlefield, things change in the blink of an eye, and anything unexpected can happen. It's not like being in school, safe and leisurely. Perhaps just when you're preparing to cast a spell and recite the incantation, an arrow might suddenly fly in from the side and hit you in the throat, leaving you dying with unclosed eyes. Even if it doesn't hit the throat but some other non-critical part of the body, the intense pain could still disrupt the wizard's correct spellcasting, causing the spell's effect to rebound, which would be equally disastrous.

  Therefore, the ability to "concentrate" is very necessary for wizards. To exaggerate, a skilled wizard should be able to complete the spell casting clearly and accurately even if they're heavily wounded while casting and chanting, as long as they're not immediately killed.

  "However,"Leoric continued his long-winded speech, "Physical injury is not the true enemy of wizards—compared to being suddenly cut with a knife, spiritual attacks are even more dangerous."

  "Spiritual attacks? Do you mean using enchantment or illusion school spells to influence someone's mind?"

  "No, no, don't always think about using magic,"Leoric advised his junior. "We are wizards—well, okay, future wizards. So what is a wizard?"

  "Wizards mean we're smart, wise, intelligent, and have sharp insights, not that we can throw fireballs or lightning,"Leoric rarely encountered someone willing to listen to his thoughts and feelings, and couldn't stop talking. "Among the eight schools of magic, in my opinion, the conjuration school is the inferior one. Wizards are not crossbows or catapults. The value of wizards lies not in direct damage but in manipulating the overall situation. Based on this concept, conjuration and necromancy are fundamentally inferior; evocation and abjuration can only be considered adequate, fair and neutral; only the transmutation school that扭曲 changes the form of things, the illusion school that deceives with falsehoods, the enchantment school that excels in mental control and hypnotism, and the divination school that strategizes and anticipates the enemy's moves are truly superior magic."

  "But no matter how superior the magic is, it's still just magic,"Leoric was already immersed in his speech, "The true strength of wizards lies not in magic but in wisdom. Thinking of using magic to solve any problem first is a sign of stupidity and weakness. What we should pursue is solving all problems that magic cannot solve with only our clever minds—of course, without using brute force."

  "But... what does this have to do with the concentration we just talked about?"

  "It's very related,"Leoric said,"For instance, if you're facing a wizard who's about to cast a spell on you, the correct approach isn't to shoot an arrow at him or slash him with a sword—that lacks elegance and doesn't befit our status as wizards. Nor should you use illusions or enchantment magic against him; that too lacks elegance."

  "So what should one do?"

  "It depends on the situation,"Leoric said. "If he's a husband deeply in love with his wife, you might as well shout, 'I slept with your wife last night, and she was fantastic in bed!'"

  "Oh!" Freya was taken completely by surprise atLeoric's method. "That's too outrageous."

  "Outrageous? It's just a statement, what's outrageous about it?"

  "But isn't that despicable? Doesn't it lack elegance even more?"

  "No, no, you need to adjust your attitude and perspective,"Leoric said. "Despicable? Wrong, it's wisdom. It's the wisdom to defeat someone effortlessly and invisibly. Only losers will begrudgingly accuse winners of being despicable—and we should all strive to be winners."

  "But… what if he doesn't have a wife?"

  "Simple, you can grab his parents and chop off his father's head with one slash. Guaranteed, he'll be too emotionally charged to cast any spells."

  "But… doesn't killing someone violate the elegance you mentioned earlier?"

  "No, it doesn't. We're not attacking him directly. If we're not attacking him directly, then it doesn't violate elegance."

  "What kind of strange logic is that?"

  "Well, it is what it is… It's just an example. Now, I'm going to teach you the most effective method to deal with male wizards."

  "What is it?"

  Instead of answering directly,Leoric grabbed Freya's hand and slipped it inside his wizard's robe, letting her grasp the blazing hot object within.

  "This is it,"Leoric said. "But remember, you're only allowed to use it on me."

  Freya, blushing furiously, glanced atLeoric and obediently knelt down, unzipping the black wizard's robe to allow the restless, scorching thing to leap out. She opened her mouth and took it in.

  "Satisfied?" she asked in a husky, seductive voice. "Now, let's see if you can still cast spells."