Cycle of Destiny

Chapter 8 The Truth About Cheating

To some extent, Harry was indeed a genius—the inspiration he drew from Tales of Magic actually helped him pass the test.

The book contains the following passage: "...Due to structural defects, the 'water' continuously leaks. Although he cannot hold water, this person's perception is astonishingly strong. I speculate that his body may possess some kind of 'compensation mechanism.' Since he can rapidly channel magical energy, it means that the speed at which his consciousness space exchanges energy with the outside world is extremely high—the bucket can 'fill' and 'leak' very quickly. This means that under the same conditions, his efficiency in absorbing magical energy during meditation far exceeds that of ordinary people, and correspondingly, his perception is naturally exceptionally developed."

This statement, coupled with his astonishingly good appetite, led Harry to a conjecture:

Since his powerful senses originate from some kind of "compensation mechanism" and his "exchange rate between his consciousness space and the outside world is extremely high," does that mean that the magical power he can draw from the flesh of magical beasts may be much stronger than that of ordinary people?

Coupled with his unusually large appetite, doesn't that mean...?

That's exactly right!

In the last six months, he began to try to buy monster meat and even built a stove in the house specifically for cooking meat.

Once, he ate almost the amount of monster meat equivalent to a whole cow in one sitting—at that moment, he felt an unprecedented surge of magical energy within him. To accumulate the same amount of magical power through meditation would take at least twenty days.

He discovered that about two hours after eating, his magic would rise to a peak before gradually declining and dissipating.

At its peak, his magic power was just enough to support him in casting a complete level one spell.

Despite the obvious drawbacks of this approach, he had no other choice.

He'll be twenty next year. Now that he's lost his knighthood, if he wants to retain his eligibility to inherit the title, he must become a formal mage. Moreover, the practical assessment for inheriting the title is no easy feat—become a formal mage first, then figure out the rest.

Fortunately, Harry had an incredibly good appetite. What others found bitter and unpalatable, meat was even somewhat delicious to him. His enormous appetite was not a burden, but rather a pleasure.

With his powerful absorption capacity and an appetite far beyond that of ordinary people, he actually managed to "eat for a year".

He also observed that the energy absorbed from consuming monster meat of different attributes varied. Perhaps because his magic attribute was wood, he gained the most from wood-attribute monster meat of the same quantity, followed by fire-attribute, with the rest yielding significantly less.

His most exciting discovery was that when he cooked a wood-attribute magical beast—for example, a level 1 Leafblade Leopard—and ate the equivalent of a whole cow's worth of meat in one go, he would have enough magic power to cast a level 1 wood-attribute attack spell—"Leaf Dance"—two hours later.

If it were a higher-level Leafblade Leopard, the energy it would gain from consuming the same amount of meat would be further enhanced!

Harry once bought a batch of Level 3 Leafblade Leopard meat. Upon trying it out, he discovered he could unleash Level 1 Leaf Dance Technique more than ten times in a row!

After many attempts, he realized that if what he was pursuing was magical power, and he concentrated the energy accumulated from these dozens of spells into a single release, he was fully capable of unleashing a Leaf Dance spell with a level two magic power, or even the power of a level three spell.

It should be noted that low-level spells can possess varying magical power depending on the mage's magical ability. A magic apprentice can advance to the rank of rank 1 mage by successfully casting a rank 1 Leaf Dance spell; similarly, a rank 6 intermediate mage can also ascend to the ranks of high-level mage by using the same Leaf Dance spell—the same incantation, the same hand gestures, but with a power level of rank 7. Leaf Dance is, of course, a low-level spell, but whether it unleashes the power of a rank 1 or rank 7 spell depends entirely on the mage casting it.

Admittedly, generally speaking, mid-level and higher-level mages rarely use low-level spells anymore. They have higher-level magic to choose from. A level six mage can easily cast a level six Leaf Dance spell, but if they choose to use "Soaring Leaf," which is at least wielded by mid-level mages, the required mana is not only lower, but the power is also greater. This is because the higher the level of magic, the more refined and efficient the use of mana.

It's like one person chopping down a tree with their bare hands, and another person with an axe. Both of them are exhausted, but it's obvious that the latter will be more effective.

It's fair to say that if Harry wanted a good test result, he could have used a level three spell during the Holy Magician's apprenticeship test, but he didn't.

The Holy Mage was present, dressed in a white robe with a full head of silver hair. The moment Harry saw him, the words involuntarily echoed in his mind: "But this isn't his power at all. What he releases in this 'cheating' way can't be considered magic. This kind of person is destined never to become a true mage."

The thought made his palms sweat, his heart race, and his body tremble slightly. He was afraid that the holy mage would see through his true nature—that he was "destined not to become a true mage"—so he cautiously used only the power of level one.

After the test, Harry felt less anticipation and more relief—the Holy Magician hadn't paid him much attention, nor had he exposed the deception on the spot. This was the best news Harry could have hoped for.

As for becoming a disciple of a holy mage? That's something I wouldn't even dare to dream of; I'm not the same person I was two years ago.

But life is often unpredictable. Sometimes, it is precisely those who have given up all hope who are struck by a sudden "surprise"—although for Harry, this "surprise" was mostly filled with shock.

Now that Harry has become a disciple of a holy mage, he must find a way to escape the test in a week. If he only uses magic, his secret may be able to be hidden, but if a great mage were to examine his magic, even the deepest darkness would be pierced by the sunlight.

"I was thinking of going home for a visit, but it's been too long, two years." Harry looked away from Cavill, as if talking to himself.

"Family is certainly important to a magician. My friend Duke Landon's ship is docked in port and will depart tomorrow morning for Landon Province, passing through Grete Province along the way. You can disembark at Genoa Port in Grete Province, as Genoa Port is the closest port to the capital."

Harry was somewhat surprised; it seemed Cavill had planned this all in advance. At the same time, a surge of joy gripped his heart. Cavill was truly a remarkable man! But outwardly, he frowned slightly and replied with a regretful tone:

"It seems the testing will have to wait until later. Thank you, Deacon Kavel."

This time, Cavill didn't dwell on the issue of how he was addressed, and said with a smile:

"I can have His Excellency the Duke arrange a first-class cabin. You can prepare today, and I'll have someone pick you up and take you to the port tomorrow morning."

Cavill is not stupid at all. He has managed to achieve fame and fortune through his cleverness and has been a magic deacon for more than ten years. This is not something that ordinary people can do.

He knew that to gain respect, one had to restrain oneself from being obsequious when trying to please others; a person without self-respect would not earn the respect of others.

His conversation with Harry was a flawless performance; even the most demanding audience could not find a single flaw in his technique, because he showed concern for a promising young man while maintaining the dignity of a magic deacon in front of a first-class wizard.

As the conversation drew to a close, Cavill seemed to suddenly remember something and casually mentioned:

"By the way, I heard you have some issues with your neighbor. I've already had someone warn him, and he won't bother you anymore."

The person Cavill mentioned was Nasus, Harry's neighbor, who entered magic school around the same time as Harry. Like Harry, Nasus was of noble birth. Nasus's father owned a large, hereditary fiefdom in a southern province, making him a viscount for three generations, while Harry's father was merely a baron, and a rather "nouveau riche" one at that. This gave Nasus the confidence to act superior to Harry.

But he was his father's second son, unlike Harry who had the right to inherit the title. Moreover, the magic academy's emphasis on talent frustrated him. He could only bury his pitiful sense of superiority in his heart and let jealousy take root and sprout in the shadows.

Because they were both descendants of nobles, and because Nasus showed Harry admiration and worship in every way, Harry did not refuse the suggestion to choose a place next to his magic house.

Although Harry is a liar and a hypocrite, he is far less hypocritical than Nasus.

In the beginning, Nasus perfectly embodied the qualities of a true friend. Every time Harry opened the wooden door, he would find Nasus already waiting for him outside. They ate together, went to the meditation room together, and even sat next to each other in their Old Languages ​​class... Harry spent his first six months entirely in Nasus's company and praise.

Harry's first failure secretly delighted Nasus, but no one believed in and encouraged Harry as much as he did.

On his second attempt, Nasus successfully cast the spell and became a full-fledged wizard. He wasn't the type to suppress his urge to humiliate his opponent after winning, but he preferred a more heartwarming way of doing so. He excitedly ran to tell Harry that he had passed, wanting to share his joy with his best friend, but unfortunately, Harry didn't share his happiness.

The sadness he displayed at the time was so profound that the few tears that fell from the corners of his eyes added to the persuasiveness of his grief.

But when he turned his head, the smile on his face was like that of a Siamese cat that had swallowed a canary.

When Harry finally cast the spell, no one was interested in him anymore, except for him, who openly expressed his joy to Harry.

This belated success put his mind at ease. Harry would never achieve anything, and since he would never surpass him, praising their achievements wouldn't harm him. On the contrary, it would show his benevolence, so why not?

He initially fawned over Harry hoping Harry would lend him a hand in the future, but instead he ended up taking the lead. The person he could only look up to was trampled underfoot. For someone like Nasus, the pleasure he felt was immeasurable.

He originally planned to climb to the top of the mountain to see the scenery, but when he got there, he found that the mountain was full of thick fog. However, he unexpectedly encountered a beautiful woman who was lost in the fog, which made Nasus happier than the scenery he had expected.

But he was wrong. Just as no one else could have imagined, the Holy Magician chose Harry. The lost beauty was actually a man-eating monster.

His own failure was painful, but the success of others was even more unbearable for him, especially since that person was Harry, the last person he wanted to see succeed.

He had gone mad, but he hadn't forgotten that he had always been Harry's friend. He reverted to the obsequious manner he had initially shown when he lavished praise on Harry. However, his forced smile revealed utter hypocrisy, and his overly somber tone during his congratulations couldn't conceal the resentment and jealousy in his heart.

Seeing his only friend and supporter from the college congratulate him, Harry smiled, walked up to him, and then raised his hand and slapped him.

Although Harry was a habitual liar, what he couldn't stand the most was being treated hypocritically by others. At this moment, he could no longer control his anger, just as a stingy person is more likely to get angry at someone else's stinginess.