Iya Continent: Card God

The Land of Belai.

The territory here is not large, consisting of only one major city, Belai, bisected by a river. The rest of the inhabited areas are villages. Not entirely, though; there is also a small academy nestled among the mountains and plains of the territory.

Hugo Academy, an institution that teaches students to use magic. Though simple, it is renowned. Most of its graduates are famous throughout the continent of Iya. This fame doesn't stem from strength. Hugo Academy admits students regardless of their talent, only based on whether they are pleasing to the eye or unusual. This results in many students graduating with minimal improvement in their magical abilities.

It came in bronze, and it left in bronze.

However, every student graduated with great satisfaction. They felt that they had gained the most important lessons of their lives from the college.

"I don't quite understand why that elven girl with such exceptional talent would insist on coming to Hugo Academy?" Jingon asked, puzzled.

Linta smiled faintly and said, "Didn't I say that Hugo Academy only accepts strange people? She's so strange, she's perfect for the job."

Kim Gong frowned; this was the only way to interpret it.

"Is it ahead?" Linta stopped and looked at the building in front of him, somewhat surprised and confused.

Jin Gong looked at him, his face contorted in deep frown.

The dwarves possess remarkable talent in architecture. Especially in stone construction, they can transform solid underground spaces into palaces that surpass any above-ground structure.

The stone building before him was enough to leave him speechless.

This so-called academy was just a pile of stones forming a hut. There were also some wooden and thatched huts among them. The construction was so haphazard that it was simply built to be habitable.

"Did we go to the wrong place?" Jin Gong asked in a trembling voice.

Linta shook her head reluctantly, "No... I didn't go the wrong way, look, there's a sign..."

A wooden sign, weathered by wind and rain for countless years, stands swaying. The carved characters on the sign undoubtedly read "Hugo Academy".

"What a lousy place!" Jin Gong said gruffly, his beard practically bristling.

Linta shared the same thought.

I imagined that even the worst academy should at least have some semblance of its former self. For example, it should be surrounded by walls, have a fairly spacious gate, and have a multi-story building inside.

That's too extravagant. My own ideas are too extravagant.

"Is Shia really still around?" Gingon was very skeptical.

The other party probably won't see this and just run away.

Linta bit her lip and said softly, "Anyway, let's go take a look first."

With mixed and strange feelings, the two approached the renowned Hugo Academy.

Outside the academy, a cluster of buildings stood deserted, devoid of any human presence, eerily quiet.

"Is anyone there?!" Kim Gong shouted loudly, without any politeness.

With his keen senses, Linta immediately detected the presence of a living person, the closest one coming from a wooden house.

There are people there.

Linta said, walking towards the wooden house.

The door to the cabin was closed. But inside, there was no doubt the presence of living people.

Moreover, the aura of magic also flows within it.

"Hey! Who's in there!" Kim Gon shouted.

"Shh!" Lin Ta quickly gestured for Mo Yan to speak in a low voice.

Jin Gong wisely shut his mouth, his face showing agitation.

Linta's gaze was deep, his perception of the situation within profound. The flowing magic was changing in a strange way, absorbing, gathering, and fusing.

"Den!"

Suddenly, the wooden house flickered, and the magic that lingered within it vanished instantly.

Linta and Jingon both looked puzzled, but still chose to wait outside the door.

"Squeak!"

As the door of the wooden house opened, a red-haired human man stepped out.

He held a glass bottle in his hand, the red liquid inside flowing and forming a vortex, as if it were about to burst out at any moment.

"Magic potion?" Linta suddenly realized.

The scene inside just now was that the other party was making a magic potion! Therefore, this red-haired man is a mage!

Magicians are a rare and highly valued profession on the continent of Iya. They can preserve magical abilities within containers made from certain materials. These containers are called magic potions. Furthermore, even those without magic power can use these potions directly. Upon use, they will unleash the magical abilities preserved within the potion at the time of its creation.

If every soldier had a high-quality magic potion, it would mean that each of them could unleash a powerful skill equivalent to a Gold-level expert once on the battlefield.

The impact on war would be unimaginable. However, such a thing is unlikely to happen.

“You’re a magic user!” GimGoon said directly.

The red-haired mage gave Linta and Jingon a quick glance and replied, "The academy is not accepting students anymore. Go back."

"Who..." Jingon, being straightforward, was about to retort. But Linta immediately interrupted him, "No, we're not here to enroll. We're here to visit a friend. Has an elf girl named Shia been here?"

"Huh?" The red-haired man's expression shifted slightly as he stared at Lin Ta in front of him.

"What is your relationship with her?"

Linta understood immediately. The fact that the other party asked this meant that Shia had not only come, but had also become a student.

“Friends, we are her friends.”

The red-haired man looked somewhat surprised.

I couldn't help but ask, "She has friends?"

Kim Gon murmured, "Yeah, who would have thought..."

"Is she there?" Linta asked sincerely.

The red-haired man said, "I don't know. I have no contact with her. You should ask other people."

After that, he turned to leave.

"Hey! What's your name? My name is Linta," Linta suddenly called out.

The red-haired man stopped and looked at Lin Ta, his eyes fixed on something, lost in thought.

"Asa, the mage Asa."

Linta nodded and asked sincerely, "Do you sell magic potions? I'd like to buy some."

Magic potions are one-time magical skills that can be used without magic power. They are far more useful weapons against enemies than magical artifacts. Linta has always wanted them, the more the better.

The mage Asa answered directly: "Not for sale."

After saying that, he turned and walked away from the academy without looking back.

"Tch, what's so great about them?" Jingon said dismissively. "These magic users are all self-important idiots who think they're superior."

"Moreover, this guy's magic potions are probably not of very high quality," Jingon added.

The quality of a magic potion depends not only on the materials of the container it's made of, but most importantly on the skill level of the mage. In other words, a silver-level mage cannot create a magic potion using gold-level magic skills. Simply put, they cannot use it, much less control it.

Linta shook his head slightly. "No, his magic potions are of high quality."

I felt that magical power just now; this Asa is definitely a Gold-level powerhouse.