The two continued talking to each other till a different duo relieved them from their shift.

"Finally, we can go home," yawned Lewis, and Luz nodded in silence as they two moved towards the mansion.

Upon reaching the door of their room, Lewis muttered: "strange… why is it so quiet? Shouldn't these brats be loud?"

"Yeah…Let's see what these kids are up to," Luz commented with a wide grin on his face.

The latter immediately kicked the door open, and the two discovered why it was so quiet till now.

"Seems like these brats have been reading your book the whole time," commented Lewis in disappointment as he had higher expectations.

It took a moment for Lewis to notice that these brats never asked for permission, and he immediately yelled: "BRATS. One should first ask for the owner's permission before even touching the property of others."

Embarrassed by their action, Lewis began picking books from the children who weren't so eager to give them to him. While doing that, he cursed: "I'm so sorry, Luz. I should have been stricter with these kids."

"Nah, it's fine," Luz hastily commented, trying to calm the situation from escalating.

"Really?" asked Lewis, pausing promptly with his action.

Seeing how these brats were stubbornly clinging to his books, Luz smiled while old memories resurfaced. Unlike them, Luz hated reading at their age. However, he would probably be just as thrilled as them if he had the opportunity to read magic textbooks at such a young age.

"Yeah… Even if I wanted to, the most I can read is one book at a time, so I don't mind sharing," Luz explained while scratching his head.

A smile immediately surfaced on Lewis's face, and he shamelessly commented: "Well, I'll be taking one of them too. Brat's give me the one book that is about water control."

"Wait! Shouldn't you be asking me for permission, like aren't you supposed to be a role model to them?" Luz asked with a grin on his face.

"Do you want to work two weeks alone or one week alone?" Lewis commented in amusement, and Luz gave in with a sigh.

Nonetheless, Luz picked a random book from the ground before jumping onto his bed.

'Time to deepen my understanding of the elements,' thought Luz while glancing at the book's title in his hand. "Introduction to Fire Magic for Beginners."

'Well, fire magic can always be useful,' went through Luz's head as he opened the book.

First chapter: Theory

"Theory… I don't need that. Time to skip it," commented Luz before skipping to chapter three since chapter two were some mere proofs, and just like engineering students, Luz couldn't give any shit as to why things can burn. In the end, it's all oxidation if you were to ask me, an ignorant person.

The book contained only two primary magic spells, intended for mage apprentices and beginner mages. All other magic spells mentioned in the book build on these two.

The first spell is known as [Ignite], and just like the name, it ignites things. The mana costs of that spell are almost negligible, as one can use these spells without employing any mana membranes since the damage to oneself is insignificant since it causes mere sparks. Author note:

Author note: yeah, the spell name sounds stupid.

The other more complicated fire spell is known as [burn]. In short, the user can summon flames onto their hands or another place upon casting it. What the spell does might sound crude, but it doesn't change the fact that it is one of the most popular spells that is the basis of most high-ranking fire spells.

"That's it?" commented Luz puzzled.

Chapter 5: How to manipulate elements.

'Finally, we come to the good stuff,' thought Luz before reading the chapter.

"There are two methods regarding elemental manipulation with which most spells derive. Either one uses the foundation spells and manipulates the elements as one pleases, or one creates new magic spells that already include these manipulations. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but there is one important thing that I, as the author, have to remind the reader: To use a magic spell, one must understand it. Therefore, please reread chapters one and two if you skipped them, as most engineering students might do."

The last paragraph dejected Luz, and while yawning, he mumbled: "You know what. Fuck it. I'm going to sleep and continue reading further tomorrow."

Author note: Let's skip a bit since no one cares about the uneventful parts of Luz's life, such as what he picks in the canteen or the funny voices that are still commenting on his actions.

The next day.

Luz's shift started at around 1:00 PM, and like yesterday, he trained his aim while observing the field for any trespassing creatures. His crossbow master Lewis, on the other hand, was busy reading one of his textbooks while glancing once in a while at the field.

"Water magic is kinda OP," commented Lewis with a sigh while his gaze remained on his book.

"Really? What are you gonna do? Make me wet?" commented Luz in amusement while continuing shooting.

"No, But I'm going to use it like these," commented Lewis before whispering: "[water ball]."

The latter, who hadn't been paying attention to what Lewis was up to, got immediately shocked when a water ball emerged around his face, cutting any oxygen out.

Gritting his teeth, Luz tried to walk towards Lewis, but the latter, immediately raised his hand, lifting Luz around thirty centimeters from the ground, before canceling the spell.

"You… mother…fucker," gasped Luz furiously, as his body was wet.

"Hehehe, I love you too, brother. You better not underestimate water magic ever again," Lewis commented in amusement while throwing a towel at Luz.

"You, fucking bastard planned that all before our work started," cursed Luz as he slowly stood up while holding onto his crossbow.

A smile immediately appeared on Luz's face, and Lewis hastily commented: "Come on, bro. It was a mere joke. I'll buy you something next time we go to the city."

"You better do, or the next arrow I shoot will end up in your ass," remarked Luz while placing his crossbow back onto his shoulder.

"With your horrendous aim, you won't hit anything," Lewis noted with a provocative tone, infuriating Luz.

After half an hour passed, Luz spotted a rabbit around twenty meters away from him, minding its own business. Slowly, Luz raised his loaded crossbow, aiming at the cute innocent rabbit.

"Time to prove that bastard wrong. Oh dear, MC title, please don't let me down,' shot through his head as he pressed the trigger.

The arrow flew with a rustling sound before piercing the rabbit's back, causing it to shriek in pain as it got pinned to the ground.

"Ohoh, mah boy really killed one. Congratulations on your first trophy. Soon you will be hunting tigers and dragons," Lewis stated proudly before hugging Luz.

"Well, you better be there when I hunt dragons since you gotta tell the tales of my adventure to others," Luz told the latter while returning the hug.

"Nah, you will be telling the tales of my adventures in the tavern," shouted Lewis back before adding: "Also, you'd better take these rabbits to the canteen later so that the cooks can prepare them for us. They'll do it for free as long as they get to keep the fur,"

Nodding, Luz walked to the rabbit, who was the size of an adult skull. The funny voices on the other head were shouting: "devour it. Devour it."

If Luz was honest, these voices and his hunger almost tempted him to do their bidding. Fortunately, he knew how to suppress the thirst for meat and continued on with his job, killing another rabbit over their sift.