A stinky cultivator has arrived in the magic world.

Chapter 33 Viola: I'm so bad!

At the entrance of Lorne's dormitory, a girl stood there, looking extremely conflicted. Her silver ponytail shimmered with a warm glow in the setting sun, and her dark blue wide-brimmed hat was pulled low, obscuring most of her face.

Viola has come looking for Lorne several times, but no one answers the door each time she knocks.

The first time, Viola thought he was out having fun; the second time, she thought he was busy; the third time, the fourth time… gradually, Viola couldn't help but start to make some connections.

In the last class, Professor Melanne guided everyone through the initial stages of learning, and she was the first one. Then, when get out of class ended, she was showing off in front of Lorne, who didn't even look at her, said some strange things, and left.

At the time, I just thought Lorne was acting strangely, but now that I think about it... did I hurt Lorne's pride?

What was his background? An orphan, raised in an orphanage, even his mental affinity was obtained by cheating on the academy test, a world apart from a pampered young lady like herself.

Having finally entered as a student with special talents, they now have to shoulder the graduation requirement of 450 credits, which is half as many as others, not to mention the matter of the Echo Monument.

His mental affinity was only level six. In the Silver Academy, where geniuses gathered, this number was heartbreakingly low. In fact, from teachers to students, no one in the entire academy could be found with a lower level than him. He might even be the first person in the Silver Academy since its founding to achieve a level six mental affinity!

Even when Professor Merenguet was talking about the speed of enlightenment in the last class, he didn't mention it!

He was already under immense pressure, yet he still flaunted his talent in front of him, proudly showing off the water sphere he had conjured...

Looking back now, I realize how utterly despicable I was!

Lorne has been nowhere to be found these past two days, and I can't even find him in his dorm. Could he be hiding in some corner, heartbroken? Is there nothing but disappointment behind his usually nonchalant smile?

"I'm so bad!"

Viola has cursed herself a hundred times in her mind these past two days!

Today, she made up her mind that she would apologize to his face no matter what.

……

"Clatter"

The door opened.

The beautiful young woman at Lorne's door was somewhat unexpected:

"Viola? You came to see me? What's up?"

"I……"

Viola took a deep breath, abruptly looked up, and stared directly at Lorne with her bluer eyes beneath the brim of her hat. Her voice was quick and urgent:

"Lorne, I didn't mean to show off in class last time! I was just... just too happy and didn't think much of it. If you feel uncomfortable, I apologize! It doesn't matter if you're not talented, it doesn't matter if you don't get credits, I won't look down on you!"

???

baffling.

Now I think you're showing off a bit, really.

"Good to know. Be nicer to me from now on." He rolled his eyes.

Viola was about to say something when she suddenly noticed something was amiss.

Huh? The elemental concentration in Lorne's dormitory seems to be higher than outside?

With her level 10 mental affinity already more acute than others, not to mention her elemental specialization, she could sense without even needing to consciously perceive that an invisible shield covered the area, where elements gathered and swirled.

"Here you are..."

Viola wrinkled her nose and looked suspiciously behind Lorne:

"Why is the element concentration so high?"

Lorne turned around and saw that his Spirit Gathering Pearl was placed neatly in the center of the room.

Oh dear, I forgot to put it away.

He hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside to let Viola in.

Viola spotted the bead immediately. It was grayish-brown, with strange patterns engraved on its surface. A faint silver light flowed between the patterns. A small piece of pale blue crystal was embedded in the center of the bead, and something seemed to be slowly circulating inside the crystal.

"What is this?" Viola asked curiously.

"A kind of, uh, magical item," Lorne said, "that can gather surrounding magical elements."

What a strange magical artifact! She had never seen anything like it before, and the patterns on it were also unlike anything she had ever seen before. Just one look at it gave her a mysterious feeling.

But now is not the time to worry about that, she asked again:

"You bought it?"

"no?"

"Did someone else give it to you?" Viola stared at Lorne, recalling his incredible popularity when she first enrolled. "Was it from Instructor Sylvie, or some other upperclassman?"

"No, I made it myself."

Viola thought she had misheard, looked at Lorne incredulously, and pointed to the bead: "You? You made this yourself?"

"yes."

"You're a freshman who's only been here for less than three days, not even a magic apprentice, and you're making your own magical items?"

She had a "you're just bragging" look on her face.

"That's right," Lorne corrected. "I've successfully completed my apprenticeship in magic."

As he spoke, he made a grasping motion with his hand, and a ball of spiritual energy gathered in his hand as a thought struck him.

Feeling the fluctuations of the elements, Viola looked like she'd seen a ghost. Other things could be faked, but the flow of elements was real.

"You've successfully completed your enlightenment?" Her voice rose an octave. "When did that happen?"

Lorne said helplessly, "This morning."

Viola felt like her mind was a little foggy.

In the last class, Professor Melanie didn't mention how long it would take to successfully awaken a sixth-level mental affinity, but she knew that an elder in her family was also at the sixth level, and it took him half a month to successfully awaken, which still broke the record.

Kelon only spent half a day? That's almost reaching the standard of a level nine mental affinity!

A dramatic scene began to play out in her mind again.

"Lorne must have put in unimaginable effort... practicing day and night... without even eating, to finally achieve that..."

She imagined Lorne alone, curled up in a dark corner, trying to meditate again and again, his clothes soaked with sweat, his mental energy exhausted and then restored, restored and then exhausted again, his lips chapped, his eyes dark, but he never gave up.

And she herself was proudly showing off in front of him...

Viola's face flushed slightly.

"Have you not rested much these past two days?" she asked in a muffled voice.

Lorne thought for a moment: "It's alright, I just took a nap."

As expected! Viola felt even more guilty.

To make up for her guilt, she changed the subject:

"You've been meditating for so long, and I haven't seen you leave the house for the past two days. You must not have eaten yet, right? Come on, I'll treat you to a big meal at the cafeteria."

Lorne was indeed a little hungry, so he nodded, and the two headed towards the cafeteria.

As they walked, Viola tried to start a conversation: "Have you heard? Someone at the alchemy workshop has solved the problem of replacing red gold. That's amazing."

Lorne: "Mhm."