Quiai licked his fingers and smiled contentedly. "Thank you so much for your hospitality, it's been a long time since I've left Delus so full. ”

"I thought you could feed yourself. There was a sarcasm in Fern's tone.

"My strengths are magic and archery, plus some tracking skills, and surviving in the wild is not my forte. Quiai took a sip of hot tea from his teacup, hiding behind the cup and quietly watching Fern. "And your strengths are exactly what I lack, I've been looking for someone to embark on my journey with me in the future, what do you think?"

Fern's head didn't move, his eyes looked at Quiai from the side, and the girl didn't avoid the mercenary's gaze, but just looked at him. "Your looks really can't connect me to your current behavior. ”

"Are you rejecting me, Fern? You should probably know how many people in Duluth are willing to pay just to have a drink with me. "Quiai was a little angry, but he didn't have a seizure.

"I'm not interested in knowing, and you'd better not say it. Fern took his teacup, stood up and walked away.

"He's such a stubborn person, what do you like about him, Ness?" Quiai saw that Fern was gone, so he had to talk to Ness.

Ness herself didn't know if it was because Fern was too far away to hear, or if she wanted to dispel Quea's thoughts about Fern and didn't deny it. "He and I have been through a lot of trials and tribulations together from Deville, and we have always trusted each other, supported each other, and even in the most dangerous moments, we thought about each other's safety. ”

Quiai didn't speak for a few seconds, a hint of loneliness in his eyes. "I'm really a little envious of you, why have I never met such a good companion?"

"You will, Quiai, as long as you put your heart and heart into it. Ness smiled unconsciously as she looked at the fire, her eyes full of happiness and satisfaction.

Quiai sighed. "Why don't you tell Fern this? You both keep your feelings for each other deep in your hearts, and I really can't understand it. ”

Ness looked up at Quiai. We all have our own things to do. ”

"In my opinion, it's just a crude excuse. Quiai snorted disapprovingly, "What is more important than being with my beloved? Even if the whole of Wallis is destroyed, I will have no regrets as long as I snuggle up to my loved ones." ”

Ness pursed her lips, not knowing what to say, so she had to be silent.

Queai looked at Ness amusedly and angrily. "Let's change the subject, Hessey gave me a task in his letter. Queai raised her right hand and wore a ring on her right ring finger, set with a blue gem surrounded by a serpentine metal pattern that held the gem in place. "The Mage's Ring not only represents the identity of the wearer, but also increases the mage's mana, you must know that. ”

Ness stared at the blue mage's ring. "Are you also a mage who learns elemental magic?" After Quiai nodded in the affirmative, Ness continued, "Yes, I know what you say. ”

"Very good, so generally speaking, if you compare two mages and apprentices of similar age and seniority, the mage's mana will be much higher than that of the apprentice, largely because of the mage's ring. Quiamo clutched the ring on his finger.

Ness looked at Quiai suspiciously, anyone in the mage tower knew these things. "What are you trying to illustrate?"

Quiai raised an eyebrow. "It seems that I'm too long-winded, so I'll cut straight to the point. She looked at the wand on Ness's belt. "Just as a wand is a magic weapon for a mage, a mage's ring is actually a magic weapon, and it will greatly improve the strength of a mage. **When the teachers give the apprentice the task of trial, they will take into account the fact that the apprentice does not have the mage's ring, so they will not be too difficult for the apprentices. But your trials are different, Ness. ”

Ness pursed her lips helplessly. "But the Ring of the Mage can only be obtained through trials, a rule that has not been broken since the creation of the Mage Tower. ”

"Yes, the Mage's Ring is very precious, and each mage will only get one from the Mage Tower in their lifetime, but ......" Quiai pointed to Niss's left hand. "Hessey wrote to me that you had obtained a ring with the seal in the source of magic. ”

Ness raised her left hand and showed the ring to Quiai. "Yes, when we receive the seal, the gemstone becomes colorless. Ness thought for a moment. "You're saying this ring has the same effect as the Mage's Ring?"

Queai winked at Ness. "That's right, this can be regarded as compensation for you in this trial, after all, it is too unfair for you to let an apprentice have to complete tasks that most mages can't do. ”

"It's fate...... Nessy scrutinized the ring on her finger.

"Alright, don't talk to me about fate again. Queay interrupted Ness's exclamation dismissively. "Every apprentice who gets the Ring of the Mage will have a Master who will teach him how to use the ring to help him, and now you have the ring but you don't know how to use it. ”

"You're right, I can sometimes feel as if it has a consciousness of its own, but it can't be touched. Ness flipped her left hand and looked at the ring repeatedly.

Quiai untied the thin thread from his bun, bit it into his mouth, and began to straighten his waist-length hair. "That's exactly what Heusy wants me to tell you, to teach you how to play the role of a ring. ”

"Really, that's great, how much more powerful will my magic be?" Ness's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"No one can give a definite answer to this, the magic weapon is just to exert more of the mage's potential, or just temporarily let the mage exert more magic than his true level, but these mana are still subject to the mage itself, and will not exceed the limit of what your body can bear, so don't expect it to make you qualitatively change. Queai pulled the hair from his ears together, grabbed it tightly in his hand, then took the thread from his mouth and tied it back into a bun at the top of his head.

When she was done, she tilted her head to look at Niss who was still chewing on the meaning of these words. "Alright, we've had some rest, now let's start practicing how to use this ring. ”

Ness nodded nervously, she had never thought she would learn this technique before becoming a real mage, and she seemed a little overwhelmed.

Quiai smiled at her, "Don't be nervous, there's no mystery there's anything about it. The mage stood up and walked over to Ness, then sat down in front of her, the two of them facing each other. "Ness, raise your hands with your palms up, try to concentrate your mana on your hands, but don't release them, just hold them. ”

Niss tried to do so, and she felt her hands start to heat up, and her mana was restless in her hands, as if it were about to be released at any moment. She closed her eyes and frowned, trying to control the power, but to no avail, all the mana that had been concentrated in her hands gushed out, and Ness opened her eyes in disappointment. "No, I can't control it, every time I concentrate my mana and I release it right away. ”

"Don't worry, let's do it again, follow me. Queai also raised his hands, and a faint light shone from his palms.

Ness began to concentrate her mana again, this time more carefully, her mana pulsing in her hand, and she could even feel something hitting her palm.

"That's it, keep it. The light in Quiai's hand stabilized. "Now, try to keep your mind on the ring while controlling your mana, but don't let go of your mana. ”

Ness, trying to keep her mana from escaping her palm, began to shift her mind to the ring, but the impulse of her mana prevented her from focusing on the ring. After several attempts, Niss forced all her attention on the ring, but almost at the same moment, the mana in her hand vanished.

Ness lowered her hands in frustration. "It seemed too hard for me. ”

"Will you give up on this, how will you complete this trial if this difficulty alone will hit you?" Quiai looked at Niss with a blank expression. "Don't be discouraged, let's do it again. With that, Quiai raised his hands again.

"I'll be able to do it. Ness said secretly in her heart, her hands regathering her mana.

Under a tree in the distance, Fern leaned against the trunk of the tree, his hands crossed in front of his chest, and watched the two mages from afar, his thoughts in turmoil.