Chapter 98: Spellcasting Through a Medium

“Feiye…”

Pereti held Feiye in her arms, calling her softly. The girl seemed to sense something—her trembling gradually calmed.

But her hands still clung tightly, refusing to loosen, as if afraid that the person in her arms would disappear again, just like in those memories.

Seeing Feiye this fragile, how could Pereti’s heart not ache?

But this matter… was connected to Qingcheng.

Words alone weren’t enough to uncover the truth.

She had to see it with her own eyes.

“Xiao Lv.”

Still looking at Feiye, Pereti called out.

Though they had only spent a short time together, she already knew—Xiao Lv was a classic tsundere. Easily angered, like a puffed-up pufferfish. She was probably standing outside the door right now.

“What?!”
Sure enough, an impatient voice came from behind.

“Can you teach me some spells? I want to… keep Feiye with me.”

“How would I know something like that?!”

“Please, Senior.”

A trace of sincerity entered Pereti’s voice. She knew that among the spells created by Karolin, there must be ones related to elemental shaping—and Xiao Lv definitely knew them.

After all, her ability to change form had already proven that.

“…Tch. Come out with me!!”

Just as Pereti expected, Xiao Lv did know the spell.

It was called [Element Shaping].

Not only did she know it—she was exceptionally skilled at it. Back when she had first learned it, she had often transformed herself into Karolin’s appearance just to admire herself in the mirror. Of course, after being caught, she had to settle for turning into Karolin as a child instead.

“Thank you, Senior!”
Pereti quickly expressed her gratitude and followed along, carrying Feiye with her.

Yinuo, who had been waiting outside, was momentarily surprised to see Pereti come out with both of them.

“You’re taking them… with you?”

“Of course not. I just felt my abilities weren’t enough yet, so I’m asking Xiao Lv to teach me a bit.”

“Hey, are you learning or not?”

“I-I’m coming!”

Xiao Lv moved quickly, running to a small dirt mound in the distance and looking down at Pereti from above. But once Pereti got close, the height difference vanished again—returning her to that short figure being looked down upon.

Standing on the mound, Xiao Lv demonstrated the casting process of [Element Shaping] again and again, explaining as she went.

The spells she used were vastly different from those passed down in the human world.

Although they shared the same names, their core principles were completely different.

The spells used by humans were still the outdated versions left behind by Karolin eight hundred years ago. After she left, many people had tried to analyze and improve them—

But how could outsiders’ modifications compare to the original creator?

Others had to first understand the foundations and principles of a spell, and even then, they could rarely fully comprehend it.

Karolin was different.

She had created the spells herself. Every theoretical foundation came from her. After becoming a witch, she gained an almost eternal lifespan to continue refining them—something completely incomparable to the clumsy imitations of humans.

Her spells had reached an untouchable level of perfection.

And Xiao Lv, who had spent years by her side as an assistant, had naturally learned them as well.

Learning it, however, was far more difficult than Pereti had expected.

Much harder than light-element magic.

It took her half a day just to grasp it.

Sitting on the dirt mound made her quite conspicuous. Passing shepherd children quickly noticed Pereti performing what looked like some mysterious ritual, and curiously approached to see what was going on.

“Go, go, go! Get out of here—go herd your sheep, don’t cause trouble!”

Xiao Lv waved them off impatiently.

“We just want to look! So stingy!”

“Here, I’ve got something to eat for you.”

Pereti took out two pieces of white bread from her clothes—but it was clearly not enough for all the children, so she broke them into smaller pieces.

Seeing food, the children rushed forward excitedly, scrambling to grab some. Some managed to snatch two pieces, while others got nothing at all.

“I didn’t get any! I want some too!”

“Tch, too bad—should’ve grabbed faster!”

“Don’t worry,” Pereti said gently, smiling. “How about I show you a magic trick?”

She held out her hand, asking for the bread back.

Her smile made the children quiet down instinctively.

“Watch closely.”

She covered her hand, murmuring softly. Under the curious gaze of the children, she opened it again—

The small pieces of bread had become much larger.

“Wow! That’s amazing! Big sister, is that magic?”

“Shh—this is our secret,” Pereti said with a playful smile. “Take it and eat. But don’t tell anyone. If you do, the magic will fail—and the bread in your stomach will turn into long worms, wriggling inside you.”

“Eww…! We won’t tell!”

“Yeah! Whoever tells is a puppy!”

With food in hand, the children happily left, driving their livestock along.

Children’s happiness was simple like that.

Just ordinary white bread—so plain that nobles wouldn’t even spare it a glance—

And yet, it could make them this happy.

“You’re really bored,” Xiao Lv scoffed disdainfully.

“Alright, looks like you’ve got the hang of it. Since you’re done, hurry up and leave—don’t linger here and annoy me.”

Seeing that Pereti had mostly learned it, Xiao Lv clapped her hands, ready to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“Where else? Back to my master, of course.”

“Can you teach me one more thing?”

“No! It’s troublesome to teach, and didn’t I already say—one spell, then I leave?”

“Senior~”

“…Fine, fine. A little more time won’t hurt.”

“Thank you, Senior. That spell… [Spellcasting Through a Medium]—that’s what it’s called, right?”

“Oh? Not bad—you’ve got a good eye. You went straight for my master’s proudest creation.”

“Is it difficult?”

“Not really. It’s simpler than most spells—but you need to understand it yourself. Watch closely, I’ll demonstrate once.”

Xiao Lv casually plucked a blade of grass and held it in her hand.

To give Pereti a clearer sense, she slowed down the process. Magic gathered gradually, and Pereti watched carefully.

Now that her magic had reached the Radiant Moon tier, her perception had improved far beyond before.

At this moment, she could clearly feel the entire process of magic attaching itself to the blade of grass.

“I see…”

Pereti nodded.

She understood the principle—but she couldn’t replicate it as easily as Xiao Lv, who could cast it with even a single blade of grass.

Just as she was wondering what to use—

A thought flashed through her mind.

“The lantern… right. Changming doesn’t break no matter what. Perfect for practice.”

Making up her mind, Pereti picked up the lantern from the ground and slowly released [Focused Light Beam], attaching it to the lantern.

As expected—

A violent clattering sound rang out.

Her spell had misfired.

But thanks to her affinity with the light element—and the indestructible nature of Changming—

Her first successful cast of [Spellcasting Through a Medium] was achieved.

“Hahaha! I did it! If I can fight up close, who needs to be a fragile backline caster?!”

“You call that success?!” Xiao Lv snapped immediately. “That was just the light element carrying you, plus the weapon being tough enough to not break! What are you so happy about?!”