The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

"Knock knock knock—"

"They're here."

A slightly tired voice came from inside, and after a while, the door was opened.

Eileen rubbed her eyes, her wide morning robe slipping to the other side. Looking at Lorraine, whose face looked even more haggard than her own, she asked in confusion:

What's wrong with you?

"Hangover...I haven't slept well..." Lorraine said guiltily.

"Alright, come in."

She paused for a moment after she finished speaking, realizing that there was almost no room to stand in her room; the only empty space was her bed.

"Come in...where to?"

Lorraine had obviously noticed as well, and he cautiously asked about it.

"etc."

Eileen suddenly leaned closer to him, wrinkled her nose, sniffed his scent, snatched the sweet bread back, took a bite, and then said with satisfaction:

"Hmm... Hi, stop and let's go in."

A fragrant breeze wafted over, causing Lorraine's heart to stop abruptly. He had thought Eileen had smelled something strange.

Thank goodness... thank goodness...

Although I don't know if the "fragrant" she's talking about is referring to me or bread, she's just inviting me to bed like that...?

This... can't be that bad...

"Is this appropriate...?"

He pointed the milk at the bed.

Eileen turned her head and glanced at him, asking with a half-smile, "What, is our Lord Lorraine getting impatient and wanting to make a move on this poor little mage?"

"I wouldn't dare...I wouldn't dare..."

Lorraine's hand holding the milk trembled, and she almost spilled it.

He simply had no strength left.

"Clumsy."

Eileen frowned slightly, took the cup of hot milk from his hand, and gulped down a large mouthful.

Why does this guy seem a little more pleasing to the eye now? It's so strange...

"You're smart to come over here. We still need to turn in our mission later... We'll go check out the house again this afternoon; it's too crowded here... By the way, how's the spell memorization going?"

She sat cross-legged on the bed, munching on bread while babbling on and on.

"I've made some progress. I've tried a few times myself, and I can usually succeed two or three times out of ten."

Lorraine walked around the clutter and sat down cross-legged opposite her.

"Successfully? This success rate shouldn't be possible."

Hmm... some spellcasting failures might not be due to a failure to activate the magic network, or a mispronunciation of the incantation.

At this point, Eileen glanced at him and continued:

"Many times it's because they don't believe they can cast the spell. They start thinking, 'What if I fail?' halfway through the spell, which greatly reduces the success rate."

"So, the caster's belief affects the success rate of the spell?" Lorraine nodded thoughtfully.

He had never thought that spells could fail; he always thought that as long as the incantation was recited correctly and the spell model was sculpted using the magic net, it would be fine.

So Eileen thought he didn't believe in her magic? He really just couldn't recite the incantation...

"Yes! Belief... that's a very fitting word." Eileen looked at him with newfound respect, offering a rare compliment: "I didn't expect you to have any brains."

"......Thank you for the compliment."

"You have to trust that you can shape magic into whatever shape you want, instead of worrying about whether there's a missing corner here or a missing line there."

"You may think this is not difficult, but in reality, the reason why the vast majority of warlocks cannot learn magic is because they do not trust themselves."

"Or rather, they trust 'themselves' too much, rather than the spell model. They just throw together some random thing and think it will work, and if it fails, they're unwilling to try again."

"I see..."

Lorraine felt that this was not difficult for her.

The spell model for the previous Flame Arrow was simply a three-dimensional arrowhead-shaped object, which he actually created in just over ten seconds.

His current difficulties are simply that he cannot pronounce the incantation accurately and does not have any usable magical implements.

Maybe it's time to save up and get myself a staff?

What are the typical prices for Buddhist ritual implements?

Eileen looked at him and smiled disdainfully, her expression roughly translating to: "Don't overestimate yourself, you poor wretch."

She raised her staff and waved it in front of Lorraine, saying:

"This was made for me by my father after I became a formal mage. The materials alone cost 384 gold coins, not including the craftsman's labor fee."

Lorraine gasped.

384 gold coins!?

That amount of money is enough to bundle up all the goblins and bear goblins together and wholesale a whole truckload of them.

"We mean... is there anything slightly worse?" he asked with difficulty.

"What do you think I'm using? This is just the entry-level stuff. Otherwise, why do you think so many mages cooperate with nobles? It's because they're poor."

Well... the road to truth is indeed winding, Lorraine twitched the corner of her mouth.

"The magic tricks you are learning now do not require the use of magical implements, so don't aim too high."

Eileen turned to a page in "Malcolm's Beginner's Guide to Spellcasting," pointed to the spell model on it, and said:

"Alright, I've taught you everything I needed to know about Fire Arrow. Just make sure you pronounce it correctly. I'll demonstrate a first-level spell for you, this one—Disguise."

She raised her staff and drew a very complex rune in mid-air at a speed that was both clear enough for Lorraine to see and fast enough that the spell would fail.

"Māyā Rūpa!"

A faint, distorted sensation, like heat rising from the ground, began to spread rapidly from the staff in her hand across her body.

Wherever it passed, the skin, sleeves, and collar of the robe seemed to have been redrawn by an invisible hand.

The soft fabric transformed into cold gray wrought steel, and the lower half of the robe materialized into slender legs clad in leg armor. A semi-enclosed helmet protected her upper face, revealing only her rosy lips and chin.

In just a few breaths, the red-haired female mage who was wearing a bathrobe and holding a staff transformed into a female knight in magnificent armor.

Lorraine looked at her and unconsciously swallowed.

This plate armor is so damn cool.

The plate armor was covered with gorgeous feather patterns that stretched from the collar to the waist. The veins of each feather were clearly visible, and the joints of each component were made with extremely fine detail.

It's less like armor and more like a perfect work of art.

What man could resist such a suit of armor?

"Teacher Eileen, I want to learn this!"

Like a boy seeing his favorite toy, Lorraine excitedly reached out and poked the surface of the armor with his finger.

His fingertips touched the plate armor.

Then they went through it.

His fantasy was shattered like a mirage as his fingertips touched the surface of the bathrobe and its soft texture.

"Huh?"

Lorraine's lips twitched as she looked at her fingers.

He really didn't mean it...

You would never do it intentionally, not now!

Eileen lowered her head, which was covered by a helmet, and looked at his hand. The illusion then jolted violently and dissipated like smoke.

"...What are you touching!" she said angrily.

"I thought it was a physical object..."

"Disguise! Disguise! Don't you understand the name?!"

"Ouch..."

She glared at Lorraine, swung her staff and smacked him hard on the head, then pointed to the words on the book's cover:

"Take a good look! This spell is ineffective against physical, analytical, and inspection methods!"

Lorraine shrank back, pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted, and apologized, "Yes, yes, Teacher Eileen, I was wrong."

"Disguise can mimic anything you've ever seen, even change your appearance and physique, but it's just a simulation, understand?"

Hearing the word "teacher" made Eileen feel a little better. She handed her staff to Lorraine and said:

"Try your movements with my staff. I'll tell you if anything is wrong."

"oh......"

Lorraine took the staff and glanced at its attributes. The "Excellent" quality mark almost blinded him.

But the staff felt very stiff in his hand, as if the entire staff was resisting him, so he looked up at Eileen in confusion.

Eileen, as if she already knew, explained to him, "You haven't tuned it before, so it's normal that it doesn't feel right to use. Don't worry about it."

"Oh... okay."

Lorraine lowered her head and carefully memorized the spell model. After confirming that she could still recall the details with her eyes closed, she slowly waved her staff, just like Eileen.

He projected the rune into the air in an imaginary form, drawing it while manipulating his mental energy to condense a spell model.

Soon, a complete rune was drawn in mid-air, almost identical to the one Eileen had wielded.

"Huh...did I swing it correctly?"

Lorraine raised her head with delight.

"Have you seen this rune before?"

Eileen raised an eyebrow, narrowed her eyes, and looked at him with suspicion.