29: Chapter 29 Ronne's Excitement

Perhaps because he could finally see the magical beasts he had only ever seen in movies and literature, Zhang Mu woke up especially early today.

After getting up and washing, he summoned the portal to the Other World, but the morning sun had not yet risen.

As usual, he fed Da Huang a sausage, patted its dog head, and pushed the door open to enter the house.

Because Zhang Mu's magic lessons were temporarily suspended, Avril did not go to the second floor to wait for him today.

Instead, she was sitting at the wooden table in the middle of the first-floor living room, flipping through a book.

For some unknown reason, today Avril had tied her long, ice-blue hair into a high ponytail, shed her loose magic robe, and changed into a knee-length dress.

It must have been custom-made; the dress clung to her body without a single wrinkle on its surface.

The collar was fastened by two white buttons, and the pristine white fabric clung tightly to her collarbone before rising abruptly, crossing the highest peak, and then dropping sharply.

The fabric had a much easier journey afterward, passing over her flat abdomen down to her slender waist, outlining a highly aesthetic curve.

The skirt, a blend of ice blue and white, fell just above her knees, leaving her legs, as white as mutton-fat jade, fully exposed to the air.

The shape of her calves was perfect, with just the right amount of plumpness without a hint of excess, as if carved by the world's most brilliant sculptor with painstaking effort.

Just as the morning sun rose, golden light streamed through the open door, crossed over Zhang Mu's shoulder, and gently bathed Avril, casting a somewhat dazzling halo over her.

Zhang Mu admired the scene, which was beautiful enough to be an oil painting, and a smile appeared on his lips unconsciously—a pure one.

Not all gazes carry malice, and not everyone's smile is lewd; appreciating beautiful things is a human instinct.

On this point, Avril likely felt it most deeply at this moment.

For the first time, being stared at by a man for a long time didn't make her feel uncomfortable; in her heart, there was even a little flutter of joy at being appreciated and having her charm acknowledged.

"Junior, good morning." Avril turned her ice-blue eyes, causing the ice-blue hair ends that reached her waist to sway.

"Senior, good morning." Zhang Mu closed the door with his heel, sat opposite her, and asked curiously, "Senior, do you have any important matters today?"

A slightly mischievous curve appeared on Avril's lips: "No important matters. I just wanted to see if my Junior, who seems unable to see me all day long, would cast his gaze upon me."

"Uh..." Zhang Mu was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, "Senior, you are already beautiful in your magic robe; there is no need to change clothes specifically."

"Is that so?"

Avril leaned her upper body toward him slightly, and in her ice-blue pupils, Zhang Mu's face was reflected: "But, why is Junior's gaze so calm?"

"I have always been like this."

"Hmm?" Avril sat up straight and stared at him, "But I remember that the look in your eyes when you were watching Leah the other day seemed very excited."

Zhang Mu's expression changed: "I didn't, I wasn't, don't talk nonsense!"

Liking Cat Girl figures was one thing, but a living one, and a Cat Girl at such a 'criminal' age—Zhang Mu would never admit it even if beaten to death.

Although he only wanted to touch the cat ears and the fluffy tail, who knew what others would think? What if they mistook him for a pervert?

He denied it repeatedly, and Avril didn't press further, just gazed at him.

After a long while, just when Zhang Mu felt he couldn't hold it together anymore, Potter finally arrived.

"What are you two doing?" Potter stood in the middle of the stairs, scanning the two who were staring at each other, feeling very confused.

"Chatting." Zhang Mu took the opportunity to stand up and walk to the stairs, "Teacher, when are we departing?"

"Kas Town is surrounded by forests. Apart from the road to the east where the mayor sends people to clear out magical beasts, the other three sides are rarely visited, and there are enough magical beasts for you to practice combat. Just pick any of the three sides."

"I understand."

Zhang Mu replied; whether he wanted to escape Avril's gaze as quickly as possible or hoped to see magical beasts sooner, in any case, he left very quickly.

He pushed the door open and left.

"Teacher." Avril looked at the closed door and then back at Potter, who had no intention of leaving, "Do you not need to follow him?"

Every newly promoted mage, when attempting to fight magical beasts for the first time, would have an elder or teacher secretly following behind to ensure their life safety, no matter how high their magical strength was.

Simply having high magical attainments does not mean one is strong in actual combat.

Calmly making quick responses based on the current situation is one of the most important factors in winning a battle, and it is also the only ability that can be improved quickly.

After all, learning and becoming familiar with magic usually takes a long time and cannot be achieved in a few days.

Moreover, calmness happens to be the thing rookie mages lack the most.

When facing the world's most naked malice and most cruel ferocity, maintaining calmness, and even being able to cast magic at the speed practiced during training, is not an easy thing to do.

Many rookie mages with poor mental fortitude fail to cast even the magic they have practiced to the point of instinct during their first real battle.

Therefore, when the younger generation of magic families has their first real battle, their fathers will follow them for a few days to protect them, and only when they are ready will they let go completely.

However, if a junior's strength increases too quickly, the elders will suppress them to avoid affecting their own status in the family.

Status represents power, meaning one can occupy the most resources and go further on the path of magic.

On the Saul Continent, suppressing talented juniors, or even intentionally sending talented juniors who are capable of threatening them to their deaths, is a common occurrence.

There are exceptions, though not many, and Potter is one of them.

Potter stroked his white beard: "Zhang Mu is not the type to be reckless and impulsive. If he encounters danger he cannot confront, he will run."

"What if he can't run?" Avril was a bit worried.

"Hehe." Potter smiled, "Last night, I took a tour around the forest surrounding Kas Town, and I dealt with all the magical beasts that posed a threat to him. Furthermore, I have applied a Reflective Magic Shield to the magic badge I gave him."

Reflective Magic Shield—a high-level defensive magic that can reflect a certain degree of magical attacks.

In this remote corner of Kas Town, it can be called absolute defense.

Avril suddenly understood; no wonder the teacher looked so confident.

In an instant, she felt strange again: "Teacher, you only need to follow Junior for one day to protect him; why go to so much trouble?"

"We are setting off to return to the Royal Capital in three days. Although meeting Zhang Mu here was not a wasted trip, I still want to take this time to look for clues about the treasure."

"Understood, Teacher." Avril cleared her doubts and stood up to go to the second floor.

Since Zhang Mu was not at home, she thought she would brew the potion to suppress his illness for him so that he could drink it as soon as he returned in the evening.

...

Walking briskly down the street, Zhang Mu soon arrived at the only "town gate" of Kas Town.

Just as Potter said, the gate, which had never been guarded before, now had more than a dozen Guards standing on both sides.

Among them, Zhang Mu found one of them somewhat familiar; it seemed to be the captain of the Kas Town Guard.

Anxious to go and greet the magical beasts, he did not dawdle with the captain and passed by them to leave the town.

He stood and pondered for a moment, setting aside the main road to the east where magical beasts were frequently cleared, leaving the south, west, and north. The north, then.

Zhang Mu lifted his feet and strode toward the north.

"Lord Rone, is it him?"

After the person had walked far away, a Guard asked the captain.

"It is him!"

Rone clenched his fists until they made a "creaking" sound, feeling extremely excited in his heart.

After discussing the plan with Bishop Charlie last night, he originally thought he would have to wait many days, but he didn't expect the bastard mage who beat him up to walk out of the town the very next day.

"You." Rone pointed casually at a Guard, "Go find Bishop Charlie at the church and tell him the guest is leaving. I am going to see him off now."

"The rest of the Guards, follow me!"

Rone roared the last sentence in a low voice.

According to the information Bishop Charlie gave, that bastard hadn't even learned magic yet, and he had an apprentice-level magic scroll given by Bishop Charlie in his hand.

The advantage is with me!

"I will capture him alive, and then, with the soles of my feet, I will trample him to death!"

The opportunity to regain his dignity was right before his eyes; Rone's eyes were covered with excited bloodshot veins, and his pursuit quickened.