Rock Kingdom: Why is black smoke coming out of my star chart?

Chapter 5 Condensing the Heart of Magic

"Come home with me once you've recovered. Everyone was worried about you!"

Aunt Lorraine wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She was terrified of losing Lin Feng. Her parents and her husband had all died before her eyes.

She was terrified that this little guy who had suddenly barged into her life would also... die like that.

Lin Feng put Duck Gigi back into the ball and, imitating the hot-blooded fool, comforted Aunt Lorraine, saying:

"Hehe, Aunt Lorraine, don't worry! I'm going to become the chief magician in the future, how could I possibly fall by the wayside?"

"Gurgle~"

Lin Feng's stomach suddenly rumbled, and he awkwardly clutched his belly while chuckling ingratiatingly.

Aunt Lorraine burst into laughter through her tears. "Alright, alright, future chief magician, you must be starving after sleeping for so long, right? Let's go home."

……

It was getting late, and there were few Locke people on the way home from the clinic. Many houses had their lights on, and some white smoke carrying the scent of happiness spread along the chimneys.

Aunt Lorraine pushed open the door, turned on the funeral lamp, took a magic notebook from the bookshelf, handed it to Lin Feng, and said:

"This was given to me by Teacher Louis. He said I must study these spells diligently before enrolling, as becoming the chief magician is very difficult!"

Lin Feng took the magic book, flipped through it briefly, and found it to be full of magical patterns and symbols, making it seem quite complex.

However, some of the magical symbols are involved when learning sacrificial magic, and he felt that with a little effort, he should be able to learn them within three days.

He closed the spellbook and said excitedly, "This level of difficulty is a piece of cake for me!"

"Alright, alright, grab your hands and pinch Lin Feng. Go wash your hands, I'll heat up the soup in the pot and we can eat it."

Aunt Lorraine chuckled as she walked into the kitchen and lifted the lid of the clay pot. The soup made from cocoa fruit and tusked pig had already gone cold.

She lit the fire to reheat it, then took out jam and bread from the cabinet next to her.

Lin Feng released Duck Gigi, then rushed into the bathroom to wash his hands. As soon as Duck Gigi came out of the ball, it jumped onto the dining table and started quacking at Aunt Lorraine.

Aunt Lorraine brought the bread and casserole to the table together. "Coming, coming! Were you waiting impatiently?"

She patted Duck Gigi's little head, went back to the kitchen, took a cocoa fruit and a tomato, put them on Duck Gigi's plate, and then sat down.

Lin Feng picked up a large piece of tusked pig meat and put it into Aunt Lorraine's bowl. "Hehe, Aunt Lorraine, you've worked hard. You got to finish the first piece of meat!"

Aunt Lorraine was deeply moved. She sobbed twice, then put the meat in her mouth. "It's so delicious! How come I never thought tusked boar meat was so good before? Lin Feng, you should eat some too."

Lin Feng didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up a piece of pork and ate it. The tusked pig meat was very firm. After being stewed for a long time, it absorbed enough cocoa juice and became sweet and tender, which was very delicious.

Aunt Lorraine seemed to remember something, and her expression turned serious. She said, "Little Lin Feng, I've heard that there have been signs of a dark wizard outside the town recently, and the Faraway Merchant Guild was attacked. If you're planning to go out for training soon, you must be careful."

Dark wizards? Chicken-Cow Special Forces?

Lin Feng thought of the three tall and thin guys in the game. Although they looked ridiculous, in reality, probably few magic academy students could beat them.

Moreover, in the game, the Pokémon of the Chicken Bull Special Forces adapt to the level of the protagonist's Pokémon. In reality, Lin Feng guessed that their level would not be lower than level 30.

However, he felt he could also buy a black hooded cloak to keep on hand. If he really encountered a dark wizard, he could put on the hood, take out the astrolabe emitting black energy, and the dark wizard would probably think he was a high-ranking member of Nightmare.

He comforted Aunt Lorraine, saying, "I still need to study magic at home for the next few days! How can a future chief magician not know magic?"

"Then Lin Feng should take good care of the house for the next few days!"

……

After dinner, Lin Feng hurriedly ran back to his room; he couldn't wait to learn magic.

There was no other way; if he didn't finish the first phase of the system's tasks soon, he probably wouldn't even be able to complete the entrance exam.

He opened the magic book; the handwriting was neat and elegant, and from the first page onwards, more than a dozen pages were about the Heart of Magic.

"The Heart of Magic is an external heart formed by Locke concentrating all his magical power. The Heart of Magic can replace fatal injuries and the death of the spirits with whom Locke has formed contracts."

Therefore, each time a magical heart is formed, it means that Locke and the elf gain another life.

Once the Heart of Magic solidifies, it takes its final form. Each loss can only be replenished at the point where the magic solidifies, or by the magic gathered from the earth's veins by some of the spirits.

To condense the heart of magic, one must first understand…

Lin Feng opened the book and, following the instructions, first closed his eyes to carefully feel the flow of magic power within his body, searching for his own magic power nodes.

Each Locke has six magic nodes; except for the heart, the other magic nodes are randomized.

Each magic node can condense a magic heart, which will exist permanently.

Soon, he felt a light blue magical pathway around his heart. Following the pathway to the lower right corner of his heart, a small magical node appeared.

This node connects many magical channels, forming a network that, just as described in the book, allows magical energy to flow aimlessly before the core of magical energy is formed.

Lin Feng tried to use the methods in the book to continuously mobilize the magic power in his body and gather it towards this magic power node.

The magic of "obedience" was minimal, but barely enough for him to inscribe his first magical rune at this juncture—"heart".

The chaotic magic power surging within his body clearly didn't want to settle down like that. Just as Lin Feng tried to mobilize the sliver of magic power he could control to condense at the node, it was scattered by the turbulent current.

The second time, before it even condensed inside the node, it was dispersed by the magical flow that suddenly changed direction within the magical pathway.

With each attempt, Lin Feng discovered that his control over magic had improved considerably. Just like learning to write, his grip on the pen went from awkward at first to becoming smoother with practice.

"Knock knock knock".

"Kobayashi Kaede, it's very late now! You should get some rest!"

Aunt Lorraine's voice came from outside the door, startling Lin Feng from his meditation. He felt a little regretful, as he was just a little short of condensing his first magic heart.

He called out to Aunt Lorraine outside the door, "Okay, Auntie! You should get some rest too!"

Once there was no more movement outside, he closed his eyes again, thinking to himself: This is the last time! It has to succeed!

Lin Feng focused his mind and concentrated on the four magical pathways near the heart node, converging four streams of magical energy.

A large amount of magic power, along with some of it, had to converge along the path.

Soon, this magic was guided to condense on the wall of the magic node, gradually forming a "heart" composed of seven small runes.

As the last trace of magic condensed, the "heart" began to automatically guide all the magic pathways connected by the nodes, and in an instant, all the magic began to operate in an orderly manner.

Each time these circulating magical energies pass through the "Heart" rune, they leave behind a trace of magic, which naturally constructs a true magical heart.

"It's done!"

Lin Feng exclaimed in surprise, for he could vaguely see a blue heart beating beneath the flesh of his own heart.

He also felt an unprecedented sense of smoothness and ease, as if his body had suddenly become lighter... no, it should be that his body had become stronger!

Lin Feng suddenly realized why he felt that the characters in the game were all somewhat outstanding in martial arts.