Reincarnated as a bamboo rat, it begins its extreme survival struggle.

With a mental strength of up to sixty points, no one in the entire mining camp could compare to him.

Bell's powerful mental strength also allowed him to perceive more clearly the magic flowing in nature around him, as well as many subtle things that were difficult to detect.

Ultimately, this spiritual power must serve Bell himself and the core ability that influences Bell's growth direction: [Fire-loving Wisdom].

"Now, let me set this corpse on fire."

"Take the Shadow Panther's head from your inventory," Bell said.

Chapter 56 Constructing Magic

Before igniting the Shadow Panther's head, Bell needs to make some preliminary preparations.

For safety reasons, Bell first dismantled the logs on a workbench and quickly crafted a wooden pickaxe.

Wielding this absurd tool, Bear Grylls transforms into a tunneling master, instantly creating a U-shaped tunnel underground.

At the bottom of the passage, Bell widened it to about half the size of a person, and the two connecting exits also ensured air circulation.

In the relatively safe underground area, some distance from the camp, Bell stacked up the timber from the dismantled logs and placed the Shadow Leopard's head on top.

With a clap of his hands, a burst of flame shot out, igniting the wood.

Flames rose, and Bell leaped onto the Shadow Leopard's head. With a thought, he probed the flames below with his mental energy, entering the state of [Fire-Loving Wisdom].

It was also because of Bell's guidance that the flames, which were originally expanding slowly, suddenly surged and engulfed the entire Shadow Leopard's head.

"For humans, the valuable magical materials on a Shadow Leopard are its claws, teeth, and fur. But a magical beast's magic doesn't just flow in these places."

Following the flames, Bell continued to extract information about the Shadow Panther's magical power from its corpse.

As Bell's perception deepened, he discovered that the remaining magical traces on the Shadow Leopard's body had an extremely sophisticated arrangement of magical energy.

This is a magical formula engraved in the body of the Shadow Leopard species. By simply activating the magic in the body and injecting it into this formula, the Shadow Leopard can use the skill [Shadow Double Strike].

This is a very interesting thing, similar to how Bell uses magic to amplify the musical effects when singing and playing, but the details are completely different from Bell's approach.

"The use of this magic formula can greatly reduce the influence of the environment on magic, allowing magic to be output at a fixed value."

Recalling the monsters he had encountered, Bell compared their attacks with what he knew about bards.

He discovered that bards casting spells through music and chanting were like taking a language arts essay exam—the topics were broad, and the scores varied significantly among the test-takers. The same result could be described using a variety of processes.

For example, the content of "Heroic Hymn" and "Lion Song" are very different, but the effect they achieve is basically the same.

The effectiveness of a spell's performance is also influenced by the examiner's preferences. Praising the sun on a rainy day or singing about the sea in the desert will generally not produce good spell results.

However, the way monsters use magic is extremely fixed, just like they are studying mathematical problems.

A fixed process will always yield a fixed result; the amount of magic power input into the magic formula will determine the power of the released skill.

"If one could memorize a large number of magic formulas and instantly draw them out and infuse them with magic, it should be possible to reproduce the magical skills of magical beasts..."

The magic formula inscribed in the Shadow Leopard's skull was incomplete, like a math problem with most of the key information erased, leaving Bell unable to find a solution.

However, confusion did not deter Bell; instead, it made his mind more active.

He began to use his extremely limited magical knowledge to try and revive this remnant.

Complete the missing magic formula.

"Following this path, catalyzing magic can turn shadows into spikes, while the magic imprint here will shatter the shadows..."

By constantly mobilizing magic, Bell deciphers the magical imprints engraved in the Shadow Leopard's bloodline and attempts to arrange and combine these magical imprints into a complete magical formula.

What Bell didn't know was that what he was doing now was exactly what the ancient sages of this world had done in the extremely distant past.

Those ancient human sages learned how to use magic from different magical beasts and devised ways to enable humans to unleash magic as well.

Through the efforts of generations, humanity has accumulated the knowledge learned from monsters and given birth to a great profession—the mage.

"Ugh... There's still not enough information to refer to, I really can't complete this magic formula."

The world's magnificent and great past will not affect Bell's work in the slightest.

The flames rising beneath their feet gradually died down, and the information carried in the Shadow Leopard's head had been completely drained by the [Fire-Loving Wisdom].

"It's a pity that one of the key pieces of information that made this magic formula work is missing, so we can't make it work."

With a sense of regret, Bell casually picked up a wisp of magical element floating in front of him and drew the incomplete magical formula he had deciphered from the Shadow Leopard in mid-air.

Lacking crucial information, it resembles an incomplete magic formula in geometric drawing, merely floating silently in mid-air, its lines undulating, destined to dissipate before long.

Feeling a great sense of regret, Bell prepared to leave the cave that had been used as a temporary hideout.

But just then, Bell felt an itch below him, and a dark shadow rose up from under him.

"shadow?!"

This unusual movement startled Bell. Although he knew his shadow already possessed usable supernatural abilities, he never imagined it could move on its own.

It seems that this friend who will never disappear from my life is more than just a simple skill.

After Shadow Bell came to life, it went straight to the magic formula that Bell had carved with a wave of his hand.

With a gentle touch, the constantly fluctuating and nearly dissipated magic formula instantly stabilized.

Under Bell's gaze, the shadow raised its dark claws and drew a magical mark on the incomplete part of the magic formula—a mark that Bell had not obtained from the shadow leopard's head.

"Om-"

With a hum, the completed magic formula instantly condensed and fell to the ground, turning into a large pool of dark shadow.

Without the slightest pause after the shadow appeared, it instantly transformed into a sharp, upward-pointing shadow spike, leaving a deep piercing mark in the crypt that Bell had dug.

The incomplete magic formula was completed by Shadow Bell, but what was completed was not Shadow Leopard's [Shadow Double Strike], but the more lethal [Shadow Strike].

"Damn, that's awesome."

(言

A bewildered Bell gave the dark shadow a thumbs-up, which made the shadow in front of him turn its head away shyly, looking quite bashful.

After rubbing against Bell's body, it turned into a shadow at Bell's feet.

It seems that shadows are not just simple devices for using skills.

"Thank you so much, I've memorized this magic formula."

After saying this to his shadow, Bell jumped out of the crypt.

It's getting late, and I reckon it's time for the Long River Adventurers to leave the bamboo forest.

Once we're in the city, Bell will continue developing magic formulas.

Chapter 57 Strange Movements in the Bamboo Forest

"Hey~ little guy."

With light steps, Bell returned to the camp and jumped onto Edu's shoulder, then snuggled into his hood, curling up in a more comfortable position.

Bale's return made Edu very happy.

He had been worried because he was about to set off but hadn't seen Bear Grylls yet.

Bell was in a good mood, lying in Edu's hood, which was the perfect size for him, like lying in a hammock.

Moreover, lying inside the hat, he was invisible to others and wouldn't be stared at, so Bell was happy to have some peace and quiet.

"Mr. Bell, I have some good news to tell you."

Edu took out some dry rations from his pocket, broke off a small piece, and handed it to Bell.

This is a cake made from cooked mixed grains. Although it is hard, it has a grain aroma when you chew it.

"Sister Jasmine told me that if I become an apprentice bard before the end of this year, the Long River Adventurers will sponsor me to study at a music academy."

When Edu told Bale the news, he was very excited.

But Bale, who was eating a pancake under his hood, said, "Just as I expected."

"Before the end of the year? How much time is left?"

"There are only two and a half months until the New Year, and time is very tight."

Having only been in this world for a short time, Bell wasn't very familiar with its time system and calendar.

But when he heard that there were still two and a half months left, he felt that this was more than enough time.

Bell recalled that it hadn't taken him more than a few days to become an apprentice bard from scratch. And with Edu possessing magical powers, becoming an apprentice bard under his one-on-one tutoring was incredibly easy.

"Relax, everything will be fine with me here."

Bale finished the multigrain biscuit Edu handed him, looking quite confident.

He chatted idly with Edu, while the Long River Adventure Team was assembled at that moment.

The troop, which looked quite large and carried a lot of equipment and supplies, lined up at the entrance of the mine camp, and they looked quite imposing.

If you weren't told, you would never guess that this was a group of defeated soldiers waiting to evacuate.

"Let's go."

The leader of the Long River Adventure Team stood outside the group, not in high spirits. He simply waved his hand, and the adventurers at the front of the group led the way.