The Elven Cultivator

”What is Magic?”

”One thousand two hundred years ago, the Great Sage Merlin wrote in his *Principles of Foundational Magic*: ’Magic is the process by which a Caster uses their own Spirit as a bridge to leverage and reshape the world’s primordial energy.’”

”Under this definition, the Caster is the engineer, the runic models built by their Spiritual Power are the blueprints, and the Magic Power within their body is the tool. This tool is used to leverage and guide the immense elemental energy of the outside world, shaping it from chaos into order.”

Darian’s voice was steady and clear, echoing faintly between the wooden walls.

The instructor was surprisingly decisive. After a brief self-introduction, he had launched directly into a lesson for Anton and the other two.

He held out his palm, and a visible whirlwind materialized above it. Pale cyan currents of air swirled and coiled, slightly distorting the surrounding light.

”A chaotic mass of air is just wind. But highly compressed, rotating, and directed air becomes a Wind Blade.”

The moment he finished speaking, the whirlwind collapsed violently, instantly solidifying into a flat, sharp blade that shot from his hand. It streaked past the window with a piercing whistle.

”This is Magic.”

Darian lowered his hand and said with a calm expression.

Aemon and Braiden, the other two new Elves, had eyes sparkling with excitement, their faces filled with longing for Magic.

Anton, however, was lost in thought.

Although the *Dawn Annals* had a complete system of magical theory, almost no players had ever bothered to study it seriously.

After all, in the game, you could learn and cast spells just by pressing a skill button.

But here on the real Dawn Continent, every Caster had to start from the most basic theories, learning one step at a time.

For the rest of the morning, Darian explained theoretical knowledge, such as the origins and principles of Magic, elemental classifications, and so on.

It wasn’t until the afternoon sun filtered through the leafy window, casting dappled light and shadows on the floor, that the lesson moved on to the practical application phase.

”Casting Magic is impossible without Magic Power.”

”And to gather Magic Power, you must first use meditation to gradually transform your body into a physique that can adapt to elemental energy—one that can contain it without it dissipating.”

”Once your body’s adaptation and containment levels for elemental energy reach a certain point, you can begin to construct a magic circuit. If you succeed, elemental energy can be converted into Magic Power via this circuit and stored in your body. That gives you the foundation for casting Magic.”

Darian pointed to the space between his eyebrows, where a faint, silvery mark of light, about three to four centimeters long, appeared. It looked like a luminous pattern branded onto his skin.

”Both Casters and Warriors must construct a magic circuit to gather Magic Power. The only difference is that Warriors absorb elemental energy through a special breathing method.”

Anton’s heart stirred.

’So, the process of gathering Magic Power is quite similar to refining Spiritual Qi in cultivation.’

’Breathing exercises for Spiritual Qi also transform the physical body, allowing it to gradually contain the energy of heaven and earth, and eventually condense that refined Spiritual Qi.’

”Alright, now you will begin to meditate. Try to sense the elemental energy around you.”

As soon as Darian finished speaking, Aemon and Braiden eagerly closed their eyes. They adjusted their breathing as they had just been taught and entered a meditative state.

Anton also closed his eyes, his expression calm and serene.

He had been able to sense the energy of heaven and earth since he was thirteen. For him, this meditation step could be skipped entirely; he could jump straight to constructing the magic circuit.

With a mere flicker of his will, the surrounding energy of heaven and earth seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, surging toward him and vanishing into his body.

Darian immediately noticed the disturbance in the elemental energy. He raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze falling upon Anton, and a hint of astonishment appeared in his eyes.

’He can sense the elemental energy so quickly?’

He nodded to himself, his opinion of this supposedly eccentric student improving somewhat.

Excellent students were always more likable to their teachers.

About half an hour later, Aemon and Braiden opened their eyes one after the other, both looking somewhat dejected.

Darian saw this and raised a hand to cast a sound-proofing barrier to avoid disturbing Anton, who was still meditating. Then, he smiled gently and said, ”Don’t be anxious. It’s perfectly normal to fail on your first attempt. Most Elves take two to three days before they can initially sense the presence of elemental energy.”

Aemon couldn’t contain his curiosity. ”Teacher, how long does it normally take to construct a magic circuit?”

”That depends on individual aptitude,” Darian explained patiently. ”Adapting the body to elemental energy is a long process. It can take as little as seven or eight months, or as long as two to three years.”

”However, we of the Elf Race are the darlings of nature. Our bodies are naturally more suited to elemental energy than many other races. It usually only takes a few months to half a year to succeed.”

”But Teacher,” Braiden couldn’t help but say, ”I heard Eleanor successfully constructed her magic circuit in just half a month.”

Eleanor was the granddaughter of the Clan’s Great Elder and held considerable prestige among the younger generation of Elves.

Darian smiled faintly. ”A rare few are born with special physiques that can drastically shorten the adaptation process. Eleanor is one of them.”

At this point, his interest seemed to be piqued. ”To give a more extreme example, there is a rare physique called the ’Super Magical Physique.’ Those born with it can naturally contain elemental energy and can construct a magic circuit directly, without the long adaptation period. Expanding that magic circuit later on is also much easier for them than for ordinary people. You could say it’s the prized physique that all Casters dream of.”

”But this physique is exceedingly rare. Even among the Elf Race, you might not find one in ten thousand people.”

Darian shook his head with a sigh.

The moment he finished speaking, something extraordinary happened.

A violent torrent of air suddenly erupted within the room. The once-calm elemental energy, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand, transformed into visible, distorted ripples that surged wildly through the air.

Aemon and Braiden, who just moments ago couldn’t even sense the elemental energy, could now clearly see the turbulent flows of power in the air. Their eyes widened in shock.

Darian’s expression froze. In an instant, he pinpointed the source of the disturbance—Anton, who was in the middle of his meditation.

When he saw the bright mark of light blooming between Anton’s eyebrows, an expression of irrepressible shock appeared on his face.

Aemon and Braiden also noticed the strange phenomenon around Anton and were left completely dumbfounded.

”He—he already constructed a magic circuit?”

”Wait, does that mean...”

The two exchanged a look, almost instantly thinking of the Super Magical Physique their instructor had just mentioned. In unison, they snapped their heads toward Darian.

Darian took a deep breath, his expression complex as he nodded.

”That’s right. It is indeed the Super Magical Physique.”

He never would have imagined that the legendary physique he had mentioned just a second ago would actually appear right before his eyes the very next.

From the first attempt at meditation to the successful construction of a magic circuit in less than an hour—such an unbelievable speed could only be explained by the rumored Super Magical Physique.

With their instructor’s confirmation, the way Aemon and Braiden looked at Anton changed completely. Their gazes were filled with envy, shock, and a hint of indescribable complexity.

They hadn’t even reached the threshold of sensing elemental energy, yet Anton had already constructed a magic circuit, leaving them far behind.

’We’re all Elves, so why is the gap between us so huge?’