Reinforcements from Spiritshade City arrived swiftly, bringing the battle to a close. Most of Musk's wizard fell in battle, and a few captives were taken for interrogation. It was indeed strange for anyone to be probing around near Spiritshade City, and they had to get to the bottom of it.

  After counting heads, they found they had suffered almost no real losses, with only a handful of soldiers injured. Overall, it had been a close call but merely a minor incident. The whole team returned to Spiritshade City smoothly, disembarked from their airships, returned equipment like hover boots to the military, and the trainee priests went back to the temple, whileLeoric and his classmates returned to the wizard school.

  Leoric didn't take the encounter too seriously; they had returned unscathed. As for revealing that he could now touch the second layer of the Magical Web, it wasn't a big deal and was bound to happen sooner or later.Leoric's rule was never to dwell on what had already happened.

  Returning to the school at 3 PM,Leoric rested before getting up to prepare his magic books. Afterwards, he left his dormitory and headed to his own laboratory.

  Students in their third year and above had their own laboratories. WhenLeoric first heard the name, he thought it was a place for physical and chemical experiments, filled with beakers, flasks, and test tubes. Later, he learned it was more complicated than that. A wizard specializing in necromancy might have skeletons wandering around their lab, with organs hanging on tables and walls like a slaughterhouse. A wizard adept at conjuration might have magical circles, runes, and other-dimensional creatures hopping around in cages. A wizard fond of illusion would have a bizarre lab where anything strange could happen, like stepping into another world—most of which were illusions.

  In line with Spiritshade City's "elite" philosophy, from the fourth year onward, all wizard school students had to choose their own specialized field of study. Spiritshade City's wizard training emphasized mastery over breadth, valuing experts over generalists. There were only two types of people who knew everything: geniuses and mediocre failures.

  According to prevalent theory, magic was divided into eight schools: Abjuration, Conjuration, Evocation, Necromancy, Illusion, Enchantment, Transmutation, and Divination. Every student entering their fourth year had to choose one of these eight as their specialized field of study.

  Of course, choosing a specialized field didn't mean abandoning other schools completely. Different schools of magic were based on different principles and often conflicted with each other. Therefore, based on thousands of years of experience, to prevent accidents, once a wizard chose a school of magic to specialize in, they consciously abstained from studying another one or two schools to avoid conflicting and going insane with magic, losing their lives in the process.

  Leoric didn't dare to take risks. After much consideration, he chose Transmutation as his specialized field and stopped attending lectures by professors from the Necromancy and Evocation departments, which he didn't like either.

  However, this mandatory specialization was only widely implemented in Spiritshade City. According to professors, in the Material Realm, wizards didn't have such strict rules. Most of them studied whatever they pleased, valuing versatility over specialization. They even believed that having a broad range of knowledge was the right path, and specializing in one school was narrow-minded.

  Influenced by Spiritshade City's education and culture,Leoric naturally believed that specializing was the right way. Being a jack-of-all-trades was useless. Those Material Realm wizards were just plain dumb.

  Leoric's specialized field of Transmutation, also known as Alchemy, excelled at transforming and changing the states of things, involving a lot of physical and chemical knowledge. SoLeoric's lab was indeed filled with beakers and flasks. With a white lab coat, he could pass as a scientist.

  In his lab,Leoric loved making various magical potions. When he had free time, he would take out the aphrodisiac recipes that Tian Boguang had taught him, improving them with his magical knowledge, which worked quite well. Making magical potions was a basic skill for wizards, almost everyone could do it, but wizards specializing in Transmutation were often better at it.

  Actually, the most famous aspect of Transmutation wasn't making potions but creating Golems and puppets. However, that was advanced skill, somethingLeoric couldn't yet achieve. The next was creating magical items, and the easiest was making potions. Of course, this was a general statement. Many complex potions required very advanced skills.

  Making magical items was more complicated than making potions and couldn't be considered until one could touch the second layer of the Magical Web.Leoric was thrilled to discover his recent breakthrough and, thinking it was almost the end of the month, decided to make a gift for his sister, Leovena.

  Making magical items required absolute concentration.Leoric was so engrossed that time flew by unnoticed. Finally, he completed the last step, tucked his creation into his pocket, and walked out. It was already dawn outside.

  Walking through familiar alleys to his house, he heard soft noises in the kitchen. Leovena was preparing breakfast. KnowingLeoric came back regularly at the end of each month, she closed her shop that day and waited at home.

  Opening the door and walking into the living room,Leoric found the house neatly tidied up. Leovena wasn't obsessive about cleanliness but loved neatness. If she saw any mess, she had to clean it up immediately; otherwise, she wouldn't sleep well at night. She had been like this since childhood.

  Hearing footsteps, Leovena poked her head out from the kitchen. "Breakfast will be ready soon," she smiled, "Just five minutes."

  Leoric responded and sat on the sofa.

  Leovena's timing was spot on. Five minutes later, they were sitting at the table enjoying milk and fried eggs.

  "Happy birthday, sister,"Leoric said, taking out the gift from his pocket and giving it to Leovena. Their birthdays had been a few days ago, butLeoric couldn't come home then, so he was giving her the gift now.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  It was a silver earring, made of ordinary silver with a plain design shaped like a spider. Women in Spiritshade City often wore earrings or studs, and Leovena was no exception. However...

  "Why is there only one?" Leovena asked, "Where's the other one?"

  Like earrings, studs should naturally come in pairs since people have two ears.

  "Uh, well, there's only one,"Leoric said awkwardly. It wasn't intentional; making such magical items was very exhausting. He was lucky to have made this one today. Making another one would require at least ten days of rest, which was too late.

  Leovena smiled and didn't ask more. She examined it closely. "Why a spider?" she asked curiously, "Do you like spiders?"

  Leoric didn't like spiders, and neither did Leovena. However, before his transmigration, in his previous life, one ofLeoric's girlfriends also loved wearing ear studs, her favorite pair being just like this.

  Recalling that memory,Leoric made this earring.

  Leovena didn't ask more. She was always quiet, smart, and well-behaved, never saying anything unnecessary or asking unnecessary questions.

  "I enchanted it with a small magic,"Leoric explained, "If you wear it often, you'll feel warm, and you won't feel cold at night."

  "Really?" Leovena was delighted. "I heard that being able to create magical items means you can be considered a true wizard."

  Leoric smiled. Leovena was right, but actually, the earring was only a quasi-magical item—meaning it only worked within Spiritshade City. Once outside a certain range, it lost all its magic. WithLeoric's current abilities, he couldn't create a true magical item yet, only substitutes like this.

  Should he tell his sister about this? Nah, she barely left Spiritshade City.

  Leoric hesitated briefly before deciding not to explain further. Perhaps it was his vanity; letting his sister think he was already at the level of a formal wizard wasn't a bad thing.

  "Help me put it on," Leovena said, smiling brightly.

  Leoric took the earring from Leovena's palm, lifted her hair that had fallen down, tucked it behind her ear, and carefully placed the silver earring on her right earlobe.

  "Does it look good?" Leovena asked, walking to the mirror to admire herself.

  Leoric nodded vigorously.

  Fifteen-year-old Leovena was no longer the innocent little girl she once was. Like her deceased mother, she was tall, about 5'6" (coincidentally, this world's measurement units were very close to Earth's imperial system, so they could be used interchangeably), roughly 1.72 meters, just half a head shorter thanLeoric. Today, she wore a light blue shirt, paired with light gray pants and silver-white long flat boots, making her legs look even longer and straighter, with a shapely butt.

  Her dark, long hair flowed freely, loosely tied back with a pale yellow ribbon that draped over her shoulders, adding a hint of allure to her vigorous demeanor.

  From Leoric's perspective, all he could see of Leovena was her back, her chest hidden from view—but wasn't his sister looking in the mirror? The craftsmanship of Spiritshade City was highly advanced, having invented glass-making and silver-plating techniques early on, resulting in mirrors of exceptional quality that clearly reflected Leovena's front, her towering, impressive breasts makingLeoric involuntarily swallow.

  Wow... probably a 34D...

  As Leoric was mentally estimating his sister's bust size, Leovena finished examining herself in the mirror. "Little brother, it's such a nice day today, let's go for a walk," she suggested.

  Leoric naturally had no objections.

  Spiritshade City wasn't particularly large, and a good portion of it was off-limits to commoners like Leoric and Leovena, including the royal palace, noble residences, military bases, and wizard schools. As for the residential areas for commoners and merchants, they were quite crowded, so naturally, they ended up at the market.

  Generally, men don't enjoy shopping with girls. But accompanying his beautiful sister was a different story altogether.

  Spiritshade City had a dedicated commercial district where Leoric's family's shop was located. Commercial areas everywhere in any world are more or less the same—rows of shops displaying a dazzling array of goods, teeming with people.

  Leovena wasn't particularly fond of shopping; she mostly enjoyed leisurely strolls and chatting about school. After some time,Leoric casually glanced up and caught sight of a pale yellow dress in a nearby boutique, its style quite charming, piquing his interest.

  "Sister, that dress looks really pretty," he said.

  Leovena followed the direction of Leoric's finger and shook her head slightly. She had never been fond of dresses, perhaps due to the nature of her work that required efficiency, favoring neutral-toned, practical clothing. Her wardrobe was mostly filled with shirts and pants, like the outfit she was wearing today.

  With her slender, upright figure, delicate face, and sharp features, paired with her masculine attire, she exuded a heroic charm, resembling a handsome young man.Leoric adored Leovena's attire, but deep down, he believed girls should also have a softer, sweeter side.

  Every girl should own a few dresses, especially if she has long, slender legs—not wearing one would be a waste.

  "Sister, I think you'd look really pretty in a dress too. Why don't you try it on?"

  After Leoric's repeated requests, Leovena entered the shop, asked the shopkeeper to bring down the pale yellow dress, and went into the fitting room to change. After trying on several dresses, she eventually chose a pink one, paid for it, and walked out with Leoric.

  "Why are you so happy?" Leovena asked curiously, noticing the perpetual smile on her brother's face.

  "Well, because I've never seen you in a dress like this before. Just now, you looked so gentle and beautiful, so I'm happy,"Leoric replied.

  Leovena chuckled. "You little thing."

  "It's a pity I can't make clothes myself,"Leoric said with regret. "Otherwise, I'd make you an enchanted dress. That would be even better."

  Although Leovena wasn't a wizard and hadn't attended wizard school, she had run a magical materials shop for many years and was familiar with basic magical knowledge from listening toLeoric's conversations. However, she wasn't well-versed in the finer details. Upon hearing his words, she casually asked, "Couldn't you just buy a dress and enchant it later?"

  Leoric shook his head. "Making magical items requires doing everything in one go, preferably by oneself. Enchanting while creating is easier. Buying a ready-made dress and then enchanting it is more difficult. I... can't do it yet."

  Leovena looked atLeoric, smiling indulgently. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it soon. I'm looking forward to your dress."

  Leoric silently nodded.

  The two strolled casually out of the commercial district. "Didn't you say that fifth grade would have a lot of practical training?" Leovena asked. "Be careful, magic can be dangerous."

  Practical training naturally wouldn't involve just one person training against a wall; often, it involved students sparring with each other to gauge each other's abilities. But Leovena's worries were unnecessary.Leoric chuckled, "Don't worry, sister. During practical training, we'll be in a special magical duel barrier. At most, we'll get hurt a little, but there won't be any real danger..."

  His words were cut short as Leoric suddenly froze. Leovena, puzzled, looked up and saw him standing still, lost in thought.

  "What's wrong?"

  Leoric waved his hand, signaling her to be quiet. Leovena's unintentional reminder had seemingly stirred up a long-buried unease in his heart.

  Magic... harm... resisting magic...

  That's it, that's it...

  No wonder those three soldiers from the military exercise yesterday had looked at him that way... It wasn't because he could touch the second layer of the magical grid—what was so surprising about that? The real reason was the dark silver beam he had reflected back.

  Leoric felt a slight chill down his spine, unsure if it was from tension, worry, or excitement. Although he hadn't fully grasped the intricacies, he had a vague sense that he seemed to be caught in—or would soon be caught in—the center of a vortex.