CHAPTER 182: THE PACT

Evan stared at Eric’s back with a complex gaze. He had just learned magic yet didn’t need to chant spells; one had to know that many mages needed to reach the intermediate level to instantly cast low-level spells.

It wasn’t just this point that astonished Evan.

After all, within his race, magic geniuses had never been a rarity.

What truly shocked him was that this kid could actually use magic of three elements. One must realize that the majority of mages were single-element users. Multi-element mages, regardless of location, were targets that every magic association fought over.

Moreover, when a mage first started, even a low-level spell took a long time to successfully learn. Casting it once required sitting in meditation for a long time to recover mana.

Yet just now, Eric had cast magic no fewer than several times, and the subsequent attempts always required more mana than the previous ones. For instance, for the full basin of water just now, the amount of mana to condense it was enough to cast the Water Ball spell more than ten times.

Yet Eric showed absolutely no signs of fatigue. Whether it was spiritual power or mana, among beginners, he could be considered a terrifying existence.

Evan’s expression gradually became extremely serious. That a magic genius with such superb talent would appear among the beastmen truly overturned all his perceptions.

Just then, in the basin soaking the down feathers, the sluggishly rotating water suddenly accelerated. A small whirlpool began to form at the center; it grew larger and stronger, and in an instant, all the water in the basin churned into a powerful vortex.

"Success!" Eric shouted in delight, jumping up on the spot:

"From now on, I never have to wash clothes by hand again! Long live freedom!"

He happily turned around, wanting to share the news with the others.

"This is..." Evan stepped closer, staring at the basin of water, his voice a mix of surprise and uncertainty:

"You... actually fused wind magic and water magic together?"

If not for his profound knowledge, he would have certainly mistaken this for the intermediate spell "Whirlpool." But that spell absolutely could not be instantly cast by a beginner kid, let alone the fact that the basin of water had appeared beforehand.

"Evan is still amazing to be able to see that I also used a small tornado inside." Eric was extremely smug about his genius invention, not sparing any praise for Evan’s sharp eyes.

Kevin and Michael stood with their arms around each other’s shoulders, observing the basin. They didn’t understand magic and thought making water rotate was just a type of water magic. Hearing Evan speak the truth, both jumped up in surprise.

"Eric, how many types of magic have you learned? I see human mages usually only know one or two types, don’t they?" Kevin asked while holding his eyes that looked like they were about to pop out.

The others also focused their gaze on Eric, their eyes filled with questions.

Leo counted on his fingers, then shouted clearly, his face even more arrogant than Eric’s:

"My brother has learned four types of magic!"

"Four types? To think our Snow Wolf tribe would produce a magic genius..." Michael was so shocked he muttered to himself.

Although not knowledgeable about magic, beastmen knew the value of a multi-element mage. Their eyes looking at Eric became more amazed than ever.

Eric, who was standing akimbo smugly, felt shy under everyone’s gaze, so he slowly lowered his hands.

"Actually, it’s not that amazing. I only know these small spells." He touched his nose and said.

But everyone’s gaze didn’t change. Even if Eric said that, he had only just started learning.

"It’s a pity beastmen don’t have mages, so there’s no way to teach you properly," Michael said regretfully. He knew magic also required a good teacher.

Max pondered for a moment:

"The Halun merchant group is arriving soon. We can try trading for magic books with them. But I’ve heard these things are very precious among humans, so I don’t know if it will be successful."

Hearing them say that, Eric also felt a bit downcast. But he quickly lifted his spirits, comforting everyone:

"It’s okay, I can practice by myself. Didn’t I come up with all these things on my own? Besides, I only use magic to make life a bit more convenient."

Evan, who always wore a smile, rarely withdrew it at this moment, replacing it with a solemn and determined expression.

"I can teach you nature magic, but I have a condition." Evan paused, looking straight at Eric:

"That is, you must never lay a hand on my clansmen."

Having someone to teach him was naturally a good thing. But Evan’s background was still unclear to them. Judging by his words, it seemed he wasn’t an orphan as Eric had once guessed, but rather had a hidden story.

What if his relatives, or the nation he lived in, were a warmongering force provoking the Snow Wolf tribe, and Eric couldn’t fight back? Even if the probability was low, Eric didn’t want to agree blindly.

Max looked at this consistently mysterious man, his expression also becoming solemn.

"I have wanted to ask about your background for a long time." Max spoke in a steady voice, his eyes sharp:

"Even though you carry the scent of a human, your actions and aura are far from ordinary. If you don’t speak clearly, we will never agree to let Eric learn magic from you."

Evan volunteering to teach magic to Eric was a good thing, but he himself was full of oddities. Max worried he would take the opportunity to harm Eric.

Kevin and Michael moved immediately, almost simultaneously blocking in front of Eric, their eyes sharp, vigilantly tracking Evan’s smallest movement.

This scene was clearly within Evan’s expectations. He calmly said:

"I have no malice toward you all. As for my identity, I temporarily cannot say clearly. As you can see, I currently only have the strength of a low-level mage; you really don’t need to be too on guard."

The physique of a human, in the eyes of the Snow Wolves, could indeed be considered weak enough to be blown away by the wind. Hearing this, their expressions softened slightly.

Eric thought of the other party’s pathetic state when he was first discovered; knowing he had unspeakable difficulties, Eric didn’t intend to probe to the end.

"I can agree to your condition. But the premise is that your clansmen also must not harm beastmen. Otherwise, this pact is void."

On Evan’s handsome face, a smile appeared once again, and this time, the smile reached the bottom of his eyes.

"Then, it is decided."

Although the man before them looked very weak, as long as his identity remained unclear, Max and the others would maintain a vigilant attitude toward him. Evan understood that, but this result was much better than he had anticipated; at least they didn’t chase him away.

He actually wasn’t worried about his own safety if he were chased away. What kept him here was the shocking talent Eric had displayed, along with the magical nature and infinite potential of this tribe.

Everything here was filled with irresistible attraction. Even if not for a common stance, but merely for his own curiosity, Evan wanted to witness with his own eyes how far this kid could lead the Snow Wolf tribe.

The matter was temporarily concluded. Eric was also very happy to have someone who could teach him. In the future, he could learn nature magic with Evan while researching how to use other magic systems on his own.

Max had a point. He could try trading for books related to magic with the Halun merchant group. He just didn’t know if it would be successful. The reason mages were precious was that all books and tools related to magic were very expensive, and furthermore, their sources were controlled by the magic associations of various countries.

Regardless, what if a trade was possible?

Moreover, every time a merchant group came to the Illusion Continent to trade, they would hire powerful mercenary groups to ensure safety, and there would usually be mages among them. If he couldn’t buy books, Eric could try asking for advice from the mages in the mercenary group.

No matter how arrogant mages were, they would have needs for benefits. One must know that the mage profession was very expensive; otherwise, they wouldn’t join mercenary groups to take on missions.

He just didn’t know if mages liked good wine.

If wine couldn’t move them, Eric really didn’t know what else he could use to trade.

He didn’t have the magic cores that mages loved most, and he couldn’t really spend the bag of magic cores Max gave him.