I am the Archmage

Chapter 4 Phantom Spirit Fruit

Eulis shouted in alarm, “Livia, get down!”

The stunned beauty, shocked by the massive fireball, snapped out of her daze at his words. She quickly dropped to the ground, and the fireball grazed past her, slamming into the wooden cabin behind her. The cabin instantly burst into flames, and within moments, it was reduced to ashes.

I hastily tried to explain to the two old men, “It’s not my fault! You all saw it—I didn’t even chant any spell. The fireball shot out on its own!”

Eulis gave me a strange look and said, “Do you know how old I was when I could use magic without chanting? Sixty. And in this barrier, all magic is only at one-tenth of its normal power. Do you understand what that means? Outside this barrier, your fireball would be powerful enough to destroy an entire castle.”

How is that even possible? I asked myself, but of course, I had no answer.

Linka pulled a small crystal ball from his robe and said, “This is a magic power testing crystal. The brighter it glows, the stronger the magical power.”

He focused briefly, and the crystal ball emitted a dazzling white light, almost blinding. Clearly, this old man wasn’t a Grand Mage for nothing—he was incredibly skilled.

He handed the crystal ball to me and briefly explained how to focus my mind. Then, he instructed me to follow his method.

I held the crystal ball in both hands, clearing my mind completely. Following Linka’s instructions, I channeled all my focus into the crystal ball.

Eulis, Linka, and Livia—the beautiful girl—watched the crystal ball intently, nervously guessing what kind of light it might emit.

In an instant, the crystal ball erupted with a blinding brilliance, far brighter than the sun. My vision went completely white; I couldn’t see a thing.

A sharp cracking sound came from my hands, and I realized the crystal ball had shattered into countless tiny shards.

The intense light immediately disappeared.

What… what just happened? I stared at the fragments scattered on the ground, unable to believe I was the cause of this.

Linka murmured, “How is this possible? This testing crystal can hold up to three times my magical power, and yet you managed to shatter it. The amount of magic required for that… How could you possess such immense magical power?”

Livia stared at me as if seeing me for the first time, her beautiful green eyes sparkling with a strange light that made me feel awkward under her gaze.

Eulis asked me, “With the level of magic power contained within your body, not even a god could surpass you. Boy, have you ever eaten a ‘Phantom Spirit Fruit’?”

Seeing the blank expression on my face, Eulis explained, “There’s another way to gain magic power besides rigorous training, and that’s by consuming a ‘Phantom Spirit Fruit.’ The Phantom Spirit Fruit is the rarest treasure on the Holy Magic Continent. Just a small piece of it can grant immense magical power. I happen to have a small piece stored away. Let me show it to you so you can see if you’ve eaten something like it.”

With that, he flew into the wooden cabin. Linka grumbled angrily, “That stingy old coot! He’s had such a treasure all this time and never told me, even after decades of friendship. Hmph!”

Eulis quickly returned, holding a luxurious, jewel-encrusted box with great reverence.

Curiosity piqued, I leaned in closer. Suddenly, a faint, intoxicating fragrance wafted over. I turned to see that Livia had also moved closer. Seeing my foolishly admiring gaze again, she let out a cold snort and shot me a sharp glare.

Eulis carefully opened the box and delicately unwrapped the silk covering inside, revealing a small, grayish object about the size of half a palm. With a proud look, he said, “This is the piece of Phantom Spirit Fruit that I went through countless hardships to obtain. Have you seen this before, boy?”

I stared at the item in the box, dumbfounded. I could hardly believe my eyes because the priceless Phantom Spirit Fruit that Eulis was holding looked exactly like something I ate all the time—sweet potatoes.

I reached out to confirm, but Eulis slapped my hand away. “Boy, this Phantom Spirit Fruit is extremely precious. Don’t touch it recklessly. Now, answer me—have you eaten it before?”

I observed it closely again, and no matter how I looked at it, it was just a sweet potato. So I replied, “Yes, I’ve eaten it. I’ve eaten tons of it. In my world, this thing is called a ‘sweet potato,’ and it’s everywhere. You can eat as much as you want.”

Eulis and Linka said in unison, “Are you sure?”

I replied, “It looks exactly the same. If I could taste it, I’d be able to confirm.”

Eulis hesitated for a moment before carefully breaking off a tiny piece, no bigger than a fingernail. With a pained expression, he said, “Alright, try it and see.”

I put the tiny bit of the so-called Phantom Spirit Fruit into my mouth and chewed. A moldy taste nearly made me spit it out, but I knew if I dared do that, Eulis would likely kill me with one of his explosive punches. Swallowing hard, I forced it down.

I said, “Even though it’s gone bad after being stored for so long, I’m certain this Phantom Spirit Fruit is what we call ‘sweet potato’ in my world.”

Linka nodded thoughtfully. “That explains a lot. Just a small piece of the Phantom Spirit Fruit can generate immense magic power. You’ve unknowingly eaten countless amounts, and the magic inside you rivals that of a god. But in your world, where magical elements don’t exist, no matter how much magic you have, you can’t use it. Here in the Holy Magic Continent, however, it’s a different story.”

Suddenly, Eulis’s eyes lit up with excitement. Grabbing my hand, he said, “Kid, become my student! I’ll make you the greatest Grand Mage in the history of the Holy Magic Continent!”

Linka quickly stepped forward, grabbing my other hand. “Don’t listen to him! His elemental magic training will exhaust you to death. Become my student instead. With summoning magic, you can command magical beasts to serve you. It’s much more comfortable.”

Eulis shouted, “Nonsense! The kid has infinite magic power. He’ll master the highest levels of elemental magic with ease. Besides, he’s already learned my Fireball spell, so he’s technically my student.”

Linka retorted, “‘Fireball’ is a low-level spell anyone can learn. I’m taking him as my student!”

The argument grew more heated until the two Grand Mages, revered across the Holy Magic Continent, started throwing punches at each other and brawling like children.

Ignoring the squabbling old men, I walked up to the angelically beautiful Livia, bowed slightly, and said, “Miss, hello. It was all a misunderstanding before. Allow me to introduce myself—I’m Wu Lai.”

“‘Wu Lai?’” Livia repeated, and then couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Her icy demeanor melted instantly, and her smile was so breathtaking that it left me speechless.

Realizing her lapse in composure, Livia quickly stopped laughing and returned to her cold, distant demeanor. But her enchanting, radiant smile had already been deeply engraved in my heart.

Years later, when I brought up this incident to her, she playfully pounded my head with her delicate fists and scolded, “You shameless rogue! Back then, I really wanted to kill you!”