Chapter 7: I Want to Learn Magic

“The Protagonist After a Hundred Thousand Years — Walking Under the Wheels of History”

— The Bloody Reign Era…

After the Goblins’ rule had lasted for eleven thousand years, a new era began to rise again. The Goblins’ rule collapsed almost overnight, so quickly that no one even had time to react!

The highly developed “technology” made those senior Goblin researchers overconfident. They eventually tried to use their own power to distort time and space, but the experiment failed. The capital of the Goblin Empire was blown to dust in an instant, and Goblin civilization collapsed overnight. Even more terrifyingly, the new protagonist of the continent also quietly appeared during this careless experiment.

The fifth-generation protagonist of the continent was not a native of Amelia. They were Demons — powerful “guests” from another time and space!

Forever engraved in the depths of the soul… the bloody reign of the Demons, the wailing of countless innocent souls for thousands of years…

That was a very dark era. The Demons’ rule lasting ten thousand years was like an endless night for the other races of Amelia. Everything about the Demons was different from the native races — their culture, their traditions, their beliefs, and even the way they wielded power. These differences caused fierce conflicts. During the Demons’ rule, their conflicts with the native races never ceased. The Demon Governors ruled the continent with blood and terror. Death and the white cold current were the main themes of that era!

The Demons’ power lay in their “faith” in their own heritage. They could draw on the power of their ancestors to produce effects nearly equal to Magic Martial Arts. Later, although the Demons’ rule was overthrown by Humans, and most Demons were killed or driven away, their method of passing down power was preserved. After several changes, it formed a brand-new system — that was the “Divine Art” later widely used by the major religions.

…

Talim Village was one of countless small villages at the foot of the Bale Mountains. It belonged to Wooden Bucket Town in Hall City. Luo Yan’s father, Luo Pei, had come to this small village a year ago and become its Director.

After spending about a year, Luo Pei had basically established his position. In the second year, he began to think about how to develop the village’s economy and increase the villagers’ income. Luo Yan clearly remembered that before his rebirth, it was also the day before his second sister started school. His father, in order to prepare more winter food for the village and to open up a path of development, decided to form a hunting team with the strong men of the village and go up the mountain to hunt. Before this, hunters from Talim Village had occasionally gone up the mountain to hunt in twos and threes, but those were all individual actions with ordinary results. This was the first time such a large-scale hunting team had been organized.

The first hunt went smoothly. With the third-level Swordsman Luo Pei personally leading the team, the men brought back a large amount of prey, and the villagers erupted in cheers. The large-scale organized hunting activity made the harvest several times greater. Not only did they have more winter food prepared, but if they skinned the animals, they could also sell the furs at a good price. It seemed like a promising way to make money in the future, and the villagers were truly encouraged.

So the hunting team quickly went up the mountain a second time…

But who would have thought that on the second trip, the hunting team would be attacked by Magic Beasts seeking revenge? Seven people died and five were seriously injured on the spot. Among them, one family lost a father and a son — three people in total. This was the so-called “Magic Beast Injury Incident.”

Seven dead and five crippled — such a heavy loss was unprecedented for Talim Village. The small village was immediately plunged into grief. Although no one blamed Luo Pei for this, the hunting team project was abandoned. Luo Pei also blamed himself for a long time, made a public self-criticism, and stayed silent for quite a while.

Fortunately, although many people had been killed or injured, it was after all just an accident — pure bad luck. Even Luo Pei’s direct superior, the Mayor of Wooden Bucket Town, had no intention of holding him accountable. At the time, it seemed this incident did not affect Luo Pei’s political future.

But who would have thought that fifteen years later, when Luo Yan was twenty years old and Luo Pei had already been transferred to serve as Tax Officer of Wooden Bucket Town for several years, this “Magic Beast Injury Incident” would be dug up again. People made a big deal out of it — not only was it spread all over Wooden Bucket Town, but it even alarmed the City Lord. In the end, this completely accidental matter was labeled as “dereliction of duty,” and there were even suspicions of “collusion between officials and merchants involving corruption.” This ultimately led to Luo Pei being suspended from his post for investigation, and soon after, he committed suicide in the disciplinary office…

— This was simply a joke. An old matter from fifteen years ago was dug up and reported. Luo Pei felt no guilt fifteen years ago, yet fifteen years later he committed suicide out of fear?!

Luo Yan never believed any of that nonsense about his father “committing suicide out of fear.” But at that time, he had only just become a Magic Apprentice. Even if he was full of suspicion, he had no way to investigate the matter. By the time Luo Yan had the ability, too much time had passed — even the people involved had basically all passed away. Although he investigated vigorously for many years, he never managed to figure out what had actually happened back then. The whole matter just faded away without resolution, leaving Luo Yan with endless regret and resentment.

[Damn it, this time I absolutely cannot let this damn thing happen again!!]

Luo Yan once again “fiercely” swore in his heart. But this matter seemed easier said than done…

— The Pinecone Bear was only a “mere” second-level Magic Beast, but it had a huge body and astonishing strength. Its skin was thick and its flesh tough, almost impenetrable to weapons. In pure melee combat, it was no weaker than a fourth-level Magic Beast. It was rated as second-level only because it had no innate magic and its magic resistance was extremely low… Such a monster was not something a mere Magic Apprentice could handle — at least not a “Magic Apprentice” like Luo Yan who couldn’t even cast a single first-level spell!

So to put it plainly, although Luo Yan knew what was about to happen, with his current strength, he simply could not stop it from happening!

He scratched his head in frustration. Luo Yan had actually thought about this long ago… Since he knew he was facing a second-level Magic Beast beyond his strength, of course he had also thought of a plan. But how to carry it out without getting himself caught up in it — that subtlety required careful consideration.

The little guy was frowning here, but no one else paid him any attention. After all, in the eyes of Luo Pei and Sophie, Luo Yan was just a child…

…

…

…

Hearing Thomas speak with great enthusiasm, the husband beside him was overjoyed, and Sophie was also happy. She smiled and asked: “So since this hunt was finished early, you won’t be leaving for a while, right?”

According to Luo Pei’s original plan, this week-long hunt was mainly to scout the path. If things went well, he would organize two or three more hunts before winter to ensure Talim Village’s winter food reserves. He also needed to contact merchants to sell the furs from the hunts next spring, in exchange for supplies to prepare for spring plowing.

But this hunt had gone unexpectedly smoothly. What was planned for a week was finished in three days, which meant four extra days of vacation had appeared out of nowhere. That was why Sophie asked this question.

But who would have thought that Luo Pei would shake his head and say: “No. Although this trip went smoothly, we turned back halfway. The planned scouting route wasn’t completed. We’re just resting today, and we’ll head back up the mountain early tomorrow morning.”

Hearing this, Sophie nodded with some disappointment. But she knew how hard her husband worked, so she didn’t say much. On the other hand, Luo Yan, who had been secretly eavesdropping, was stunned — leaving tomorrow morning? Dizzy… Was the schedule really this rushed before his rebirth?

He secretly pulled up a memory image. Hey — there really was one! Before his rebirth, it seemed Luo Pei and the others had indeed hurried off like this too!

Luo Yan pursed his lips in speechlessness. He knew he didn’t have much time left. But he couldn’t just jump up and say — Dad, you can’t go. That giant beast is actually a second-level Magic Beast. If you go up the mountain, its mate will take revenge, and seven will die and five will be crippled — he figured that if he really dared to say that, he’d either get his little butt spanked on the spot, or be sent to the alchemy table for serious study.

It seemed he really could only use his “child” identity…

Thinking of this, Luo Yan’s expression became even stranger. Having a “grown man” of his “old age” pretend to be cute was really too embarrassing. But time waited for no one, and he had no mood to keep agonizing over it. So while the others were chatting and laughing happily, he suddenly stood up, spread his hands, and said with a serious face: “Dad, did you bring me and sister any gifts this time?”

Hearing this, Luo Pei was stunned for a moment. He scratched his head awkwardly and laughed: “Uh… son, Dad went to take care of business this time, to work…”

But before he could finish, Luo Yan was already shaking his head desperately and making a fuss: “I don’t care! You went to the mountain!”

“That was work…”

“Work is also on the mountain!”

“Well…”

“It’s on the mountain no matter what!!”

After this back-and-forth, how could Luo Pei compete with his son in being “unreasonable”? He quickly lost and had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender: “Alright, alright~~ Little ancestor, it’s all my fault, okay?”

Luo Yan showed a victorious smile and said smugly: “Fine. Since you’ve admitted your mistake, I’ll forgive you this time. But I want you to make it up to me!”

Hearing Luo Yan speak so seriously, Luo Pei almost burst out laughing. He played along and said: “Alright, alright~~ Then Luo Yan, tell me, how should I make it up to you? How about next time I come back, I bring you a Squeaky Rabbit?”

“Pfft~~ I don’t want that kind of kid’s toy~~” Luo Yan rolled his eyes, thoroughly deflating his father. Luo Pei was left speechless. Then Luo Yan’s eyes rolled around and he said: “I want to learn magic!”

Learn magic?! Hearing this, his father, who had only been teasing Luo Yan, and his mother, who had been watching the show on the side, were both stunned at the same time…