My Magic Has No Upper Limit

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Manlin

Looking at Zelir, Marcus hesitated for a moment before speaking uncertainly.

"Zelir... is there nothing you want to say?"

"About what?"

"About what happened yesterday..."

"Oh."

Zelir nodded. "I won’t tell anyone. We can just pretend it never happened."

Marcus stared at Zelir for a long while before gently shaking his head.

"I really can’t figure you out anymore..."

"Your breakfast is here. Enjoy." Aurora placed the dish in front of Marcus, then turned and went back to the counter, not disturbing their conversation.

Zelir stirred his vegetable soup with a spoon. "What is there not to figure out?"

"You’re much more mature than I imagined... not just in combat, but mentally as well."

Marcus gazed at his reflection in the soup bowl.

"I was a little older than you when I became an Adventurer... I still remember the first time I killed a man. It was in the desert."

"It was supposed to be a routine mission, but we accidentally stumbled into the territory of a Poisonous Sand Scorpion."

"We were all young back then, without much combat experience. After watching a teammate get seriously injured, the squad’s morale collapsed instantly, and it became every man for himself as we ran."

"Thinking back on it now, if our captain had just stayed calm and fought, we might have been able to defeat that Poisonous Sand Scorpion. But he was just too cowardly..."

Marcus shook his head.

"Anyway, I followed a teammate and ran for a long, long time, finally escaping the threat."

"But I’d lost my pack and my weapon. The desert is vast; it’s hard to survive without enough supplies."

"We walked like that for four or five days. We were both so hungry and thirsty we couldn’t stand it. We’d even resorted to drinking our own piss a couple of times."

"In the middle of the night, I was sleeping fitfully when I suddenly jolted awake. I turned my head and saw my teammate holding a rock, about to smash my head in."

"I dodged and asked him why he was doing it."

"He said if he didn’t eat my flesh and drink my blood, he was going to die. That only one of us was walking out of there."

"So... you killed him?" Zelir said.

"Yes, I killed him."

Marcus’s gaze grew distant.

"But I didn’t touch his body. The very next morning, a caravan of camel merchants passed by and rescued me."

"When I got back to town, I asked around for a long time, but I never found any of the other squad members. Not a single trace of them."

"They probably all died in the desert."

"After that, I dreamed of the man I killed every single night. I was a wreck for a long time before I recovered..."

"I was worried the same would happen to you, but it seems I was overthinking things."

Marcus picked up a piece of bread and began to eat it in large bites.

Zelir was slightly moved.

’So Marcus came to find me this early in the morning just to tell me all this? Is he worried about my mental state...?’

’And it’s because of that experience that he was so adamant about rejecting the suggestion to flee from the Fog Demon, choosing to face it head-on, wasn’t it?’ freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

’An Adventurer’s journey through life and death really can change a person’s character.’

"Don’t worry, I won’t be affected by this," Zelir said.

"Good."

Soon, Marcus had polished off all the food in front of him. He wiped his mouth and stood up.

"Anyway, I’m just glad you’re all right. Focus on recovering for now. We’ll be in touch."

"Okay, we’ll be in touch," Zelir nodded.

...

「Mage’s Guild.」

The guild was surprisingly bustling today, with a noticeable increase in foot traffic.

When Zelir walked into the General Affairs Office, he found more than a dozen Mages lined up in the usually quiet hall.

They were all there to collect their monthly stipend and mandatory commissions.

Of course, not all of these Mages were locals from Black Stone Town.

Several of the nearby towns didn’t have a branch of the Mage’s Guild, so the Mages from those places had no choice but to come to Black Stone Town.

The people in line all looked older than Zelir, around their early twenties.

Furthermore, judging by the badges pinned to their chests, most of them were Magic Apprentices.

Of course, there were also two Junior Mages among them.

They stood with their heads held high, an air of confidence about them, conversing with the others in low voices.

Zelir’s arrival immediately drew the attention of nearly everyone—it couldn’t be helped, his appearance on crutches was just too eye-catching.

Zelir put on a thick skin, ignored the stares, and quietly went to the back of the line.

Instructor Marvin was also in the General Affairs Office. When he saw Zelir’s condition, he frowned.

"That leg of yours..."

"I got injured on a mission." Zelir scratched his cheek.

Marvin sighed, a helpless look on his face.

"You... Ah, never mind. Come with me."

Zelir was a bit confused, but he still followed Instructor Marvin on his crutches, leaving the General Affairs Office.

The two of them crossed a lawn and arrived at a spot away from the main path.

It was concealed by a grove of Silver Birch Trees, behind which stood a small, elegantly decorated building.

Its walls were built of clean white stone and covered in climbing ivy.

Behind light gauze curtains that fluttered in the breeze were carved window sashes. The air was filled with the faint, calming fragrance of plants and trees.

The two went up the wooden stairs to the second floor. Marvin stopped at the third door on the left side of the hallway and knocked. "Manlin, are you in?"

A faintly magnetic female voice, gentle and mellow, drifted out. "Come in."

Marvin pushed the door open.

The room’s furnishings were completely different from what Zelir imagined a Mage’s room would look like.

There were no mountains of ancient tomes, nor were there any strange Arrays or runes. The entire layout was very cozy.

Sunlight streamed through a large glass window, spilling onto the floor.

The area by the window was filled with all sorts of potted plants, brimming with life. A few colorful butterflies fluttered gracefully among them.

The woman called Manlin was sitting in a rocking chair, sipping gently from a cup of steaming herbal tea.

"Marvin, what brings you here today?"

Manlin blew on the hot tea. Her gaze shifted and landed on Zelir. "And who is this little one?"

"My name is Zelir. I’m a newly promoted Magic Apprentice." Zelir bowed slightly, introducing himself.

Zelir sized the woman up from the corner of his eye.

She looked to be around thirty years old. Her soft, flaxen hair was draped casually over her shoulders, with only a small portion pinned up by a simple wooden hairpin.

The saying that a woman is like water was particularly evident in Manlin.

Her features were bright and gentle. She lacked the girlish immaturity of Bev, but also didn’t possess the sharp, enchanting allure of Hill.

Instead, she possessed a poise and wisdom that came with time, making people uncontrollably want to draw closer to her.

"A newly promoted Magic Apprentice?"

Manlin stared at Zelir for a moment, then her red lips curved into a gentle smile.

"Your Magic Power Strength doesn’t seem like that of a newly promoted apprentice... It looks like you’re not far from becoming a Junior Mage, are you?"

Zelir was inwardly startled.

For some reason, he felt that Manlin’s gaze held a peculiar insight. Before her, Zelir felt as if he had nowhere to hide.