Episode 2 – Growing Up Chapter 25 – Six Years

The stream gurgled as Linley sat cross-legged, holding a flat blade as well as a palm-sized stone.

“Start with the basics, practice with this small stone first ……”

In the back of the mountains of the Ernst Academy, Linley was alone, and began his study of carving under the teachings of Delinquent Corvette, and as his understanding of carving itself became clearer and clearer, Linley understood the reason why the ‘Flat Knife’ school, when it reached the middle and late stages, could improve his spiritual power.

Other people carved and needed to use a whole bunch of tools.

Using different tools for different places alone required a lot of thought, naturally laborious, and every good work that came out was a work of heart and soul.

The flat knife genre is different.

Tools only a flat knife, do not need to think to change a variety of tools, of course, just use a tool difficulty is also much greater, such as jade bowl knife can be carved out of the part, to use the flat knife carving, you need to master the quality of the stone almost harsh to the extreme requirements.

There is also strength.

Some large scraps need to use an axe to split, if you use a flat knife alone, you need enough strength.

Mastery of stone can be felt by the unique abilities of an earth wizard. Wrist strength, on the other hand, would require training. Linley was now a level two magus, and his wrist strength could be considered good. But his wrist strength could only carve small works, and to carve large ones, his wrist strength was still insufficient.

But ……

Right now Linley was just laying the foundation.

When this school year ended, Linley returned to Usan Town.

After the New Year, little Walton and his brother Lin Lei met for a few days, and left for the O’Brien Empire under the care of the Hilly steward, and Lin Lei could only watch with reluctance as little Walton left, and the weeping six year old little Walton and the ten year old Lin Lei parted ways.

Time passed.

In the Ernst College, Linley is as usual a maverick, the vast majority of the day in the college mountain hard training.

Step into puberty development time, Lin Lei meals soared, height also straight up, physical quality and strength is naturally soaring, in the stone carving skills, there is Derinkelwalt’s teaching, as well as Lin Lei’s own hard work, but also has time and time again progress. ……

Spring went to fall, flowers blossomed and fell, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.

A certain waterfall at the back of Ernst Academy.

“Rumbling waterfalls poured down like curtains of water, smashing into the middle of a deep pool.

Linley was beside the waterfall, holding a flat knife nearly thirty centimeters long on a half man high stone constantly carving, the flat knife almost danced into a phantom, where the flat knife passed, the waste material of the stone was constantly thrown away, the entire stone sculpture of the embryo also gradually had a rough shape.

From morning to evening, the stone sculpture became clearer and clearer.

Lin Lei gaze completely condensed in the stone carving, the whole person at this moment as if immersed in nature, the heart fit the entire stone carving inside, that wonderful feeling makes Lin Lei simply do not feel the time in the passage of time, this completely close to the feeling of nature, surprisingly, make Lin Lei’s spiritual power began to recover and even glowing vitality to grow up.

As for Linley himself, he didn’t even realize it, and continued to use the flat blade as if it were his arm.

The constant cutting down of the stone waste caused the entire face of the stone sculpture to stand out more and more, and when the sun set, the flat blade in Linley’s hand finally stopped.

“Whew!”

Lin Lei exhaled lightly, stone scraps thrown flying, the entire stone sculpture completely revealed, only to see nearly half a meter long rat alive and well standing in front of Lin Lei, at first glance thought it was really a rat, which caused the small shadow mouse ‘bei bei’ on the side of the ‘squeak’ screaming.

From start to finish, all in one go!

“What a marvelous feeling.”

It was only at this time that Linley realized that his spiritual power had actually increased by a large margin.

And Derinkelwalt, who was wearing a moon white robe, was smiling beside him, “Linley, from today onwards, you’re barely considered to be an initiator, and you’ve felt that marvelous sensation as well, haven’t you? But your work can only be considered a shape, it can only be placed in the ordinary exhibition hall of the Proulx Guild Hall, taking it out would be a disgrace to me, destroying it.”

“Yes, Grandpa Delin.”

The flat blade in Linley’s hand flashed several times in succession, and the original stone carving was then cut into a dozen or so portions, Linley was considered to be an initiator in the art of stone carving this year.

And that year, Linley was thirteen years old!

Day after day, year after year.

When the stone carving skill was introductory, Linley’s spiritual power progressed at a much faster rate. To be precise, Linley reached second level magician when he was nine and a half, and he became a third level magician when he was eleven. And at thirteen he became a fourth level magician!

The difficulty of a magician’s rank was drastically increasing the higher one went, and by all accounts, it would take Linley nearly three years at the very least to reach level five magician from level four magician to level five magician.

But the truth was – in the fall of the 9996th year of the Yulan Calendar, when Linley was fourteen and a half years old, he had reached the fifth level of magician. It only took one and a half years to go from a level four to a level five magician. It was even shorter than the time it took to go from level three to level four.

This, then, was the role of the Flat Knife School of Sculpting! ……

In the spring of the 9997th year of the Yulan Calendar, this was Linley’s seventh year at the Ernst Academy, and Linley was fifteen years old this year.

Linley in a sky-blue robe walked on the pathway of the Ernst Academy, Linley’s shoulder still stood the cute little shadow mouse ‘Bebe’, even after six or seven years had passed, the size of the little shadow mouse ‘Bebe’ hadn’t changed in the slightest.

Nowadays, Lin Lei was a full meter eight in height, and his entire body naturally had a calm and steady aura, the earth and wind elements constantly transforming his body coupled with Lin Lei’s uninterrupted cultivation, as well as the unique advantages of the Dragon Blood Warrior’s bloodline, allowed Lin Lei to possess the strength of a fourth level warrior.

Hundreds of pounds of boulders could be easily lifted, and a single punch could smash rocks.

The study of the Flat Blade School had also caused Linley’s mental strength to begin to rise continuously from the year he turned thirteen.

At the beginning of the year 9997 of the Yulan Calendar, Linley stepped into the fifth year of Ernst Academy, the same year as the academy’s first genius, ‘Dixie’, who had spent three years of his life to reach the fifth level of magician from the fourth level of magician, but had never been able to cross over the hurdle of going from the fifth level of magician to the sixth level of magician.

Fifteen years old, fifth level magician!

Linley and Dixie, indeed, could be considered perverted characters, but in the hearts of the vast majority of people, Linley was even more perverted, after all, just from the academy test time alone, it seemed that Linley had only spent a year reaching level five magician from level four magician.

Linley’s astonishing rate of progress left everyone in awe.

Together, Linley and Dixie were recognized by everyone at the academy as the ‘two greatest geniuses of Ernst Academy’.

“Look, it’s Linley, the year before he reached level four magician, and last year he reached level five magician, in just one year! It’s so amazing. I reckon, ah, Linley will reach rank six magician even earlier than Dixie.”

“Linley, he’s been practicing hard in the back of the mountain every day, and I heard that Dixie has recently gone to the back of the mountain to practice hard as well, so I guess he’s also been influenced by Linley.”

“Most likely, with Linley’s terrifying rate of progress, it’s even possible for him to replace Dixie and become the first genius of our Ernst Academy.” ……

Many people on the roadway whispered to each other when they saw Linley, the two recognized geniuses of Ernst Academy were surrounded and discussed everywhere they went. However, even though Linley was strong, as usual, he didn’t participate in any of the age ring tournaments.

“Geniuses?”

Linley smiled to himself.

Linley had never thought of himself as a genius, his own strength was the result of almost uninterrupted hard training every day, six years of day-to-day perseverance in the academy, coupled with Grandpa Delin’s attentive teaching. Only then had he achieved what he had today.

“But my strength, I’m still no match for Bebe.”

Linley looked at Bebe next to him, “Bebe, what level have you reached now?”

“Squeak Bebe grinned at Linley and communicated with his soul, “I don’t know, I haven’t competed with any other magical beasts, anyway, you’re not my opponent, gah,” Bebe was complacent.

Not caring at all about the adoring gazes of the people around him and their comments, Linley calmly walked out of the back door of the Ernst Academy, entered the back of the mountain, and began the same hard training as in the past. Six years of hard cultivation as if it were one day, and this was the reason for Linley’s success.

As Linley quickly and elegantly scurried through the mountains and forests, the little shadow mouse ‘Bei Bei’ also chatted with Linley through soul communication, “Boss Lin, when are we going to go on the Magical Beasts Forest Trial ah, you’ve all reached the fifth level of magician, you can start the trial as well, and I, Bei Bei, will also be able to show off my skills ah. ”

“There’s no rush.”

Linley’s reply was short and simple.

“It’s really sad, I’m a magical beast, but I haven’t been to the magical beast forest once, it’s really sad.”

Six years had passed, and Bebe’s ability to express himself was getting stronger.

“Quiet, if you make any more noise, I won’t help you roast meat today.”

The moment Linley said this, Bebe immediately shut up and kept quiet.

As Linley traveled through the mountains and forests, Derinkelwalt drifted beside him, and looking at Linley, Derinkelwalt was relieved.

“Linley.”

Derinkelwalt suddenly spoke out.

Linley turned his head over and looked at Delinquent Corvette with a smile, exchanging souls with each other and said, “Grandpa Delin, is there something wrong?”

Derinkelwalt smiled and said, “Based on a few of your recent works, I can formally tell you that your stone carving skills are already considered to be in their infancy.”

Linley’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.

This Grandpa Delin of his own had a strange temperament, which was that stone carvings that failed to meet the standard had to be destroyed even if they were completed, according to Delin Corvette’s words, “To place such a work in the world is to disgrace our Flat Knife School, and to disgrace my hallowed Sanctified Realm Magical Instructor.”

Because of this, Linley had to destroy a work that could be sold for money.

“Beginning hallowed? Grandpa Delin, what do you mean?”

Linley looked at Delinquent Corvette in surprise.

Delinquent Corvette nodded happily and said, “Yes, from today onwards, you don’t need to destroy your stone carvings when they’re finished, and they have the qualifications to survive. Of course, you can also send your work to the Brooks Guild Hall to sell it, to go and make a name for our Flat Knife School and get some gold coins along the way too.”