Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 164 Parting Words, Unexpected Blow

Congratulations.

As is customary, Link first offered polite congratulations, then stated, "Congratulations on your successful promotion, becoming..."

"Don't be nervous."

The wizard Paro gave Link a look, indicating that he shouldn't stand on ceremony, and then said, "Many of my friends are eagerly anticipating the gift you gave me, so please open it for me."

"Yes."

Link nodded in agreement.

Now that things have come to this, what can Link do?

Of course, I'll obey and carry out the order.

He unsealed the gift box, lifted the lid, and took out the 13 figurines one by one, placing them on the surface of the cart.

It's just 13 thumb-sized dolls, and they don't look special at all.

Moreover, no matter how exquisite the workmanship is, the materials used are what they are, so how precious can they be?

I suppose a wizard apprentice couldn't afford to give anything nice as a gift.

The only option is to find another way and be innovative.

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out surprisingly well.

Many people present showed expressions of disappointment.

Another group, those who knew about Paro Wizards' past, such as the third-level wizards and a few senior second-level wizards, became somewhat interested.

These puppets are quite interesting.

If the effect is as they guessed, then "Big Mouth" Caudel wasn't exaggerating this time; these dolls might really hit Paro's sweet spot.

Emotionally speaking, I do prefer it to the Percy Sage's Staff.

I can't help but feel a little excited.

The two groups of people had vastly different mindsets.

"May I demonstrate?"

Link knew, of course, that simply displaying the dolls like that wouldn't be very interesting.

The charm of this set of dolls can only be fully appreciated by demonstrating their actual effects.

However, without obtaining Paro Wizard's consent, Link dared not use his mental and magical powers under the noses of so many wizards.

If perceived as a provocation or a sneak attack, it could trigger an instinctive counterattack.

That would be absolutely terrible.

"certainly."

The wizard Paro agreed immediately.

"Thank you, Wizard Paro."

Link thanked them, and then, following the instructions he had written down, activated the master puppet and the first sub-puppet with mental and magical power at a specific frequency.

The thumb-sized puppet received instructions and power, and immediately began to act.

The puppet, which bears a striking resemblance to the young Paro Wizard, is the first to leap off the cart.

Suspended in mid-air, its body grows longer as it faces the wind, until it is half the height of a person.

The master doll's stance is very particular, with its left hand behind its back and its right hand outstretched diagonally forward, as if inviting the other party to attack first.

He was dashing and elegant, with a dignified bearing.

Here, Link referenced the image of Wong Fei-hung, played by Jet Li.

The purpose is to highlight the personality of the owner doll.

The first puppet followed closely behind, leaping out and undergoing the same change in size.

Its craftsmanship is exquisite, though the face is slightly blurry.

Only those who are familiar with the person can vaguely recognize them.

People who don't know him will just think he's a stranger.

"start."

At a command.

The master puppet and the first puppet immediately began to fight.

I wonder how the shop owner, "Big Mouth" Codell, made it.

The two puppets were actually able to perform level 0 witchcraft, and they were incredibly lifelike.

Although it is merely an illusion with magical light and shadow effects but no actual power.

Even so, the fight between the two puppets almost perfectly recreated the entire process of that arena battle.

Back and forth they went, staging a "chicken fight" of zero-level sorcery in mid-air.

The wizards present, especially Paro the wizard himself, as well as those level three wizards and some senior level two wizards who knew about Paro the wizard's past, watched with great interest.

The battle raged on, reaching its climax.

The owner doll began to frequently display "highlight" moments.

At this moment, some really energetic background music even started playing.

The master, who seemed to have a firm grip on the game, became increasingly spirited.

"Down you go!"

With a furious shout from the master puppet, a level 0 sorcery spell struck the first puppet below the knee.

With a thud, the puppet's knees buckled, and it collapsed to the ground, its head bowed.

The master doll looked down arrogantly at the kneeling sub-doll, and sneered, "Rukia, nothing special!"

Yes, the first opponent that the Wizard of Paro defeated in the two-district competition was none other than Soren Lucia.

He did say something after defeating Sauron, but not this one.

This was modified by Link himself.

It was both to highlight the wizard Paro's brilliance and to subtly embarrass Soren Lucia.

If I can't beat you, can't I at least smear you?

Only then did the wizards, who had initially held a contemptuous attitude, recognize that the first doll with its blurred face was actually modeled after a young Soren Lucia.

Only then did they begin to acknowledge the influence of the background information on the dolls Link gave them on the wizard Paro.

Only then did they begin to take Link Grand, this mere first-year wizard apprentice, seriously.

That little guy is really brave!

This is like speeding ahead on the road to utterly offending the Rukia family, without ever slowing down!

"It's great, I like it very much!"

The wizard Paro clapped his hands, a bright smile spreading across his face.

He seemed to genuinely like the dolls. "Any more? Show me another one."

"OK."

Link agreed and recalled the first puppet.

After thinking for a moment, he skipped the 10 puppets in the middle and sent the twelfth puppet directly into battle.

Its appearance immediately drew gasps of surprise.

Once the wizards regained their composure, they immediately recognized the prototype of the twelfth puppet, whose face was also blurred.

"interesting."

"The little guy is really brave."

"I really want to see Peter's face when he finds out."

"Hehehe..."

"Hehe, uh..."

The wizard Paro did not stop the whispers and let the atmosphere build up.

Link, focused and undistracted, resumed the puppet battle.

This time, the background music started playing from the very beginning.

At first, it had a melodious and peaceful style, with an ethereal and heavenly sound softly singing.

The battle between the two puppets was utterly unexciting; you took a few steps, and I turned around.

You throw a water balloon, I shoot a wooden arrow.

They came and went, each exchange a test, without any anger.

More than a minute passed like this.

The background music suddenly burst into a bang.

The female voice then turned high-pitched and passionate, as if narrating a magnificent war recorded in an epic.

Link adapted part of the melody from "Victory" here.

In an atmosphere of life or death, the battle between the two puppets entered a fierce clash phase.

Attack-type 0-ring sorcery can bombard enemies relentlessly without needing magic power.

They are both trying to suppress each other.

However, mental and magical power are limited.

High output in a short period of time comes at the cost of rapid depletion of mental and magical energy.

In less than a minute, the two puppets' spellcasting speed slowed down at a visible rate, seemingly about to return to the slow pace they had at the beginning.

Little did they know that the two puppets had the same idea.

Almost simultaneously, another fierce attack was launched.

Subsequently, both his mental and magical powers were depleted.

If witchcraft is useless, then let's fight each other in close combat.

The two puppets swung their fists wildly, tumbling and thrashing in the air.

The wizards present, including Paro the wizard himself, couldn't help but find this slightly amusing.

Is this a battle between wizard apprentices?

It's more exciting than any ordinary knight battle.

In the blink of an eye, the owner pulled off a rather unconventional move.

He grabbed the arms of the twelfth puppet with both hands, then suddenly raised his right knee and slammed it into the ground.

The background music suddenly stopped.

Switching to voiceover, a crisp, yet somewhat contradictory, muffled sound.

It's blatantly obvious to everyone.

The egg broke!

The master doll glanced disdainfully at the twelfth doll, who was clutching her groin in agony, then looked around and arrogantly shouted, "Who else?"

The battle is now over.

The presentation has now come to an end.

"Okay, okay!"

The wizard Paro was amused by that last shout.

He recalled that what he shouted back then was actually, "Fuck your mother, you want to mess with me?" It was just as arrogant, but somewhat vulgar.

After this change, the arrogance remains, or even greater, but the wording is now elegant yet domineering.

"Not bad, not bad."

The wizard Paro praised repeatedly, "I like it very much, I really like it. Link, you put your heart into it."

"I'm glad you like it."

Link recalled the master doll and the twelfth doll, and put all 13 dolls back into the gift box, closing the lid.

He then offered his carefully prepared blessing: "May you, after half a lifetime of wandering, return still a youth at heart!"

Upon hearing this, the wizard Paro was taken aback for a moment.

He quickly came to his senses, murmured a blessing that perfectly matched the doll set twice, and his smile grew even brighter.

He patted Link on the shoulder and said softly, "Thank you for your blessing. I appreciate your kindness. Go and rest now, and come find me later so we can have a good talk."

"Yes, Wizard Paro."

Link obediently accepted the arrangement and walked back to Celine's side.

He's already stolen the show tonight; he can't let himself be overshadowed.

The wizard Paro smiled and chatted with the guests for a few moments to ease the atmosphere. Then, seemingly casually, he put the doll gift box into his spatial storage artifact for safekeeping to prevent it from being lost.

Then they began to unwrap the gifts given by the second-level wizards.

"How does it feel?"

"The witch Celine asked in a low, quiet voice."

"As if facing an abyss, as if treading on thin ice, trembling with fear."

Link thought for a moment and then used a phrase he often heard in his previous life to express his feelings at this moment.

I felt uneasy, nervous, and anxious, afraid of making a mistake.

"Maintain this mindset, don't relax."

A faint smile played on Celine's lips as she advised, "With Paro's public display of respect for you today, there will be far less hostility from other factions and wizards in the future. However, Lionel, Lucia, and their allies will be even more hostile towards you. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It all depends on how you handle it. This mindset is quite good."

Link pondered for a moment upon hearing this.

He was actually mentally prepared; he had a vague premonition when he first accepted the wizard Paro's assistance.

The factions were established at that moment.

You'll encounter friendly people, but more often you'll encounter hostile ones.

He lost count of how many times he had sincerely thanked the witch Celine that night: "Thank you for your advice, I will pay more attention."

"Um."

The witch Celine responded calmly.

After the gifts were unwrapped, there wasn't anything particularly special about the promotion ceremony.

As with other social gatherings, the event then transitioned into a casual conversation phase.

Celine the Wizard had her own circle and didn't stay in that corner any longer.

Link remained motionless until the ascension ceremony ended, when he was invited by Wizard Paro to follow.

"Come for a walk with me."

The wizard Paro gestured to the others not to follow, and led Link along a small path towards Boundary Lake.

Link lagged behind, following behind.

"Do you wonder why I value a mere wizarding apprentice like you so much? Even with your secrets and extraordinary opportunities, you've become a third-class wizarding apprentice in less than a year."

The wizard Paro took the initiative to speak, breaking the silence.

Link replied, "Sometimes, I do think that way."

"That's the right way to think. You have to be extra careful and vigilant at all times, or you'll easily suffer losses."

The wizard Paro looked at the boundary lake shrouded in thick fog and sighed with emotion.

"Initially, the leader of my lineage wasn't me, it was Cody. He was five years older than me, and his talent and temperament were top-notch. Unfortunately, he trusted someone too easily, which caused a mishap at the crucial stage of his advancement to Sage, resulting in failure. That's why I had no choice but to step forward, take the lead, and withstand the suppression from the local pure-blood families on the West Coast and the indifference from the half-blood families."

"Forget it, I won't talk to you about this anymore."

"Let's talk about why we value you so much."

"The reason is quite simple."

"Because your soul is very special, it must come from some other dimension."

At this point, the wizard Paro looked directly into Link's eyes and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Don't think you're the only special one. 'Transmigrators' like you are not uncommon in the wizarding world!"

Link's back was instantly soaked with sweat, cold sweat pouring down his back.

He murmured a few times, using "brain lock" to calm himself, and finally replied steadily, "I will remember your teachings."

Seeing Link's nervous look, the wizard Paro couldn't help but smile.

This little guy is incredibly cunning; he's small but shrewd, and it's rare to see him look so panicked.

He reassured her, "Don't worry, I covered it up for you when I discovered you had advanced to the second-class wizard apprentice level and specifically investigated to find the anomaly in your soul. Apart from Celine and me, even Cody doesn't know about your other identity."

Link breathed a sigh of relief and, no longer hiding anything from Wizard Paro, asked directly, "How does the academy usually handle situations like mine?"

"Deal with? Why should we deal with you? Don't those old fogies at the academy value you highly? They even gave you the Seed of Origin, which was formed from the broken world. What are you worried about?"

Wizard Paro chuckled lightly, "They're also hoping you'll grow up quickly so you can conquer the heavens for the academy and take over more resource-rich worlds."

"Paro, that's enough!"

A majestic voice suddenly came from the horizon, reaching only the ears of the wizard Paro and Link.

The wizard Paro looked up and cursed angrily, "You old geezer, you're allowed to do it, but I'm not allowed to say it?"

Click.

A bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky and struck the suddenly immobilized wizard, Paro.

His hair stood on end, his face was jet black, and his clothes were yellowish-brown.

The sage, faced with the "old fogies" of the academy, is powerless to retaliate except through empty talk!

"unlucky!"

The wizard Paro broke free of his restraints, pursed his lips, and said to Link, "I'm leaving now. You can go back by yourself."

After saying that, he disappeared without waiting for Link's response.

Link stared at the misty Boundary Lake, speechless for a long time.

His long-held fear of being a "time traveler" was exposed, leaving him still unable to calm down.

The academy's attitude reassured him, but also left him with a deeper sense of fear.

Ugh!

With a soft sigh, Link stopped thinking about it, left the lakeside, and returned to his dormitory.

What's meant to happen will happen eventually; there's no escaping it.

Just as the wizard Paro and Link were taking a walk and having a private chat.

The two short videos circulated among senior level two and level three wizards.

The phrases "Rukia, nothing special" and "Who else?"

In less than half an hour, the sound rang out wildly throughout the Rivosos district.

It is said that Peter Lionel, who was about to pass through the transformation period and was preparing to hold the Sage Ascension Ceremony, lost his temper and flew into a rage.

This actually affected the transformation and delayed the promotion.

A video and a single sentence from a young wizarding apprentice have such power.

This made many people smile.

The premise that "transmigrators" are not uncommon in the wizarding world was planted from the very beginning, and today it's being filled. Sigh, I wonder if this kind of setting will be accepted.

(End of this chapter)