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Noon in the foundry capital should be a very busy and bustling scene.

Amidst the excitement today, there is a sense of tension.

Xiaoman walked down the street in a daze. The heir Mansa died in their own custody, which was not a glorious thing. Moreover, the deceased had a sister who was the Lord of the Sixth City. Lord Flora could take this opportunity to interfere in the internal affairs of Jinuo City.

Therefore, the news of Mansa's death was temporarily kept secret, the investigation was slow and low-key, and no message was sent to Flora City. Xiaoman was not stopped or questioned when he left the hotel.

She was thinking about her own things when the sky suddenly turned dark.

It was as if day and night were reversed, and the darkest midnight was approaching everyone within a few kilometers at this moment.

There was only a small space in front of Xiaoman, where a cluster of dark green fire was artificially lit.

"Your kid killed someone last night. His enemies have seen his appearance and will find you sooner or later."

"Come with me."

A male voice with an indistinct tone spoke to Xiaoman in a low voice.

The green fire, which was not bright or dazzling, moved forward two steps gently.

Compared to the common form changes of flames swaying with the air flow, it was suspended at a distance that Xiaoman could hold in his palm. It looked like a cluster of dark green gems that had melted into syrup. When it moved, its shape was more like the rolling of a droplet, moving softly and lazily, and even seemed to have elasticity.

Xiaoman followed.

After walking a few steps, the green fire fell into a pale bony palm, dimly illuminating the man's appearance.

…very high.

Xiaoman took a half step back and raised her head.

Even Xiaoman, who was nearly as tall as an average adult, had to look up at him to see his full appearance. Compared to an ordinary person, he was more like a tall rack for displaying gorgeous long clothes, and he was also very thin. The large and complicated robe hung on him, layered up so that the outline of the human body could hardly be seen. But he didn't look bloated at all.

There was no skull or props covering the face on the collar as he had imagined. Xiaoman only saw a blurry and distorted light and shadow, which made it impossible to discern his eyes and expression, making him even more mysterious.

The only hand exposed had long and well-proportioned bones, slender fingertips, no trace of flesh and blood left on the bones, and runes were minutely carved on the surface. Compared with the death-related implications brought by similar remains, it was more obviously an expensive and clean ancient work of art.

Because Xiaoman didn't feel scared, he could even see a different kind of exquisiteness in it.

The mysterious man didn't care about Xiaoman's observation. He gave Xiaoman a few seconds and then said:

"Thank you for your trust. I am Lazarus."

He turned and continued walking, with Xiaoman following behind him until the darkness faded.

The Bronze City, which had been plunged into darkness for a short while, was able to see light again. The people, whose space had been separated, looked around in panic and confusion, touching the walls, their friends, and the ground, anxiously confirming that they had returned to the human world.

And Xiaoman has arrived at a completely new place.

In the remote, primitive, sparsely populated dense forest, the soil and rocks were leveled in an incredible way, allowing a simple and clean small building to stand among the treetops, surrounded by a garden planted with some herbs.

To other people who were born and raised in the city, this might seem like a mysterious and eerie scene, but to Xiaoman it seemed familiar and friendly.

"I will protect you for a while, until the outside world stops paying attention to you - or, until you gain my recognition as a disciple."

Lazarus said.

"Disciple?" Xiaoman breathed in the extremely fresh air in the mountains and forests, and unexpectedly felt like he had been away for a long time.

"Yes. The young man who was traveling with you was on the verge of death before he met you. In exchange for saving him, I was going to use him for some experiments." Lazarus said calmly.

"Golden blood born from abandoned parents still has some value."

"But he convinced me. He suggested that I let him go. After completing my revenge, he would find the materials I needed as a reward. This way I could get more."

At this point, Lazarus seemed to smile softly, as if he was simply pleased with the young man's eagerness to fight for the remaining land.

"——But he broke his promise. Not only did he not give me any reward, but he also asked me to go out in person to put an end to his reckless behavior."

Lazarus said in a somewhat cold tone.

"But it's all worth it, because that's how I found you. A precious—"

"——The Incomplete One. He is also the best candidate to be my disciple."

The bony hand, which had no body temperature at all, rubbed Xiaoman's cheek with its knuckles.

After knowing the previous situation, Xiaoman had a better impression of the mysterious man in front of her because of Su Mei. As long as he did not show any danger, she did not mind his superficial behavior. The proprietress of the town always liked to pinch her face gently. This was probably the habit of friendly adults towards their cubs.

"So what are you going to teach me?" she asked.

"Magic," Lazarus uttered the word.

"But the Incomplete are those abandoned by the elements." Xiaoman said.

"No, just 'natural'."

Lazarus motioned for Xiaoman to follow him, and they walked into the small building that looked so normal, as if it had been moved from a wealthy area.

Xiaoman followed instructions and sat on the empty chair that was automatically moved out. The tea set flew out from the shelf, a ball of clear water condensed and fell into it, and a cluster of flames suspended in the air supported its bottom.

Just as a thin stream of steam began to escape from the kettle, Lazarus turned around from the cabinet where the materials were stored and threw in a bag of something that looked like dried flowers and some broken crystals.

Finally, a cup of light red hot tea was placed in front of Xiaoman, giving off a sweet aroma as if it was mixed with the finest honey and thick cream.

"...Thank you." Xiaoman hesitated for a moment, picked it up and blew it, sniffing its magical aroma that was sweet yet refreshing.

"Drink slowly and just listen to me. No need to think of an answer." Lazarus sat down across the table with nothing in front of him.

"You would think it is normal that magic is equal to natural elements. The beastmen are deliberately confusing the concepts by equating natural elements with magic."

"The blood of the beasts reacts to 'nature', and on the basis of recognition, the Mithril Blood can go a step further and use their magic. However, those elements that are not included in the category of 'nature' are actually magic as well."

"It's just that most people can't use them. However, these 'external' magics, at least as far as I know, there are hundreds of people in Baroa who have secretly mastered them through various means."

"In the secular world outside of magic, scholars who proposed other elements were accused of betraying the beastmen, but they - we, all the Mithril Bloods who came into contact with the 'outside system', protected each other."

"Magic is such a power." Lazarus's calm voice seemed to have a mysterious smile, "It will make the Mithril Blood no longer blindly believe in the Temple, no longer fear the Father of Starlight, and even no longer follow the interests of the Beastmen, and want to try to teach magic to a foreign race."

"So, child hated by nature, are you willing to learn magic from me?"

Lazarus asked.

Xiaoman put down the half-drunk cup of tea and thought about it seriously. She had long known that she was not a member of the beast tribe, so she accepted these secret knowledge that went against the common sense that the beast tribe revered well.

She even had time to notice that Lazarus's folded hands were not exactly white bones. His left hand still had intact flesh and skin, but it was a little too pale. Just looking at the shape, she had never thought that a man could have such beautiful hands. He also wore several rings inlaid with various gems on his fingers, which made his bones look even longer and straighter, like a carefully carved mannequin, with a lifeless beauty.

“It’s good to have power. But are you sure I can learn? I can’t afford the tuition,” she said.

"That's true, but it doesn't matter. Few people in the world can afford my tuition." Lazarus said this without any arrogance in his tone.

He said, "Just as if a beastman lived to be nearly eight hundred years old, then he must no longer be alive. And when he is willing to teach, who can afford the price he wants? It seems to me that the king is as poor as you, child."

Xiaoman seemed to understand and she nodded.

"So where should I start?" she asked.

Lazarus summoned a pile of books and placed them in front of her. "Can you read?"

"Yeah. My mom taught me the basics of writing."

"Then read these theories first and then come to me. You don't need to memorize them, just figure out 'why not'. Otherwise, novices' wild ideas when using magic will always destroy themselves." Lazarus said and stood up to leave.

Xiaoman was alone in front of this daunting amount of magic theory, but she didn't show any fear on her face. The girl tiptoed to take the teapot from the top of the pile of books, refilled her cup, then picked up a book and opened it, using her fingertips to touch the dense and obscure words, and read it carefully and slowly.

Studying is always easier than life, she thought. After all, finishing the study and taking the exam are two different things, so why not give it a try first?

Besides, it was good to have something to do, so she could think less about other sad things.

After running away, Yuan Qian thought about his performance and decided to give himself a full score, not afraid of being proud.

Magical knowledge emerges automatically from the moment Lazarus awakens as a powerful spellcaster with the attributes of Mithril Blood, just like Golden Blood can naturally transform and fight. Although the price is terribly expensive, it is really worth it.

He hadn't figured out how to use Lazarus's random appearance yet. He felt it was too eye-catching to use right away, so he had to use space distortion to deal with it first.

But appearance is of course very important in earning emotional points. In order to make up for this, he used a powerful magic involving the space domain at the first move, and also made up for Su Mei's past. He also tried his best to establish his character of "magic is mysterious and arrogant, and he doesn't take worldly power seriously at all" through words. I think he can earn a lot of money.

Some liches look calm and respectable, but in fact, their houses are newly built, and they have to make them look old by hand while thinking about the script. Yuan Qian shook his head and regretted his hard work, and resigned himself to going to the second floor to clean up the bedroom.

He built the base like this out of consideration for Xiaoman's living environment. Although the lich's character seems to require him to live in some extremely dangerous place, at the very least a damp, cold, dark underground cave, but he is a good lich who wants to serve the protagonist, so let's just treat him as a maverick.