The Advent Of A God

"Magic?" Húwen repeated the word slowly, as if tasting something foreign for the first time. "What's that?" She looked at the others. "Have any of you heard this word before?"

"No…" Ying replied.

"Same…" said Yâwáng.

"Exact answer," FéiFéi added.

Húwen turned back to Lylias. "Lord Lylias, what is this magic you speak of?"

Lylias paused for a moment before answering, his tone shifting into something slower, instructive.

"Magic," he said, "is much like cultivation. It is a system—one that allows a person to achieve feats normally impossible for ordinary people."

He let the thought linger before continuing, "Tell me—do any of you know what the six cores that form the foundation of Qi are?"

"I know!" Ying said quickly. "There are six cores—Will, Spirit, Right Mind, Vigor, Intent, and Control."

"Correct," Lylias nodded. "Magic has something similar—but instead of six, it has five principles. They are: Will, Intent, Reason, Cause, and Effect."

He then pointed at the campfire flickering before them.

"Now look at that fire. Imagine you're in a cold place and you need warmth to survive. Wouldn't you want heat?"

They all nodded.

"And to get heat, you need fire. So, what do you do? You gather wood and stones. You strike the stones to spark a flame. That's your method. Everyone following?"

Again, they all nodded, slower this time.

"Good. So here's how it fits:

Your Will is your desire—'I want warmth.'

Your Intent is what you need to fulfill that—'I need fire.'

Your Reason is how to achieve it—by collecting wood and stones.

The Cause is striking the stones to make fire,

and the Effect is the warmth that follows."

He raised a finger.

"That… is the foundation of magic. A simple, structured process—built on logic and willpower."

"But that's just the basics," he added, voice sharpening. "Cause and Effect, in truth, go far deeper than that."

He leaned in slightly, eyes gleaming.

"Now tell me… why does the phenomenon called fire happen in the first place? And how?"

FéiFéi raised her hand hesitantly. "Because of wood… since it's flammable? When a spark from the stone falls on it, fire happens?"

"That's partially correct," Lylias replied, nodding slightly. "Given the knowledge of your era, it's not a bad answer. But that's not the full picture. Fire happens because of a concept called combustion."

"Combustion?" Húwen repeated, puzzled.

"Yes." He paused for a moment, then sighed lightly. "Though… explaining the laws of science would take quite a bit of time. I'll teach it to you gradually—as we go deeper into the lessons and as you advance in the art of magic."

Then, reaching into his inventory, he took out four small vials filled with glowing blue liquid.

"This," he said, holding one up, "is a mana restoration potion. Normally, it replenishes mana. But more importantly, it can also awaken the mana within you—even if you've never accessed it before."

According to the game's lore, he thought, if it fails, well… there goes my hope of getting new disposable minions.

He handed one vial to each of them. They accepted the bottles nervously, glancing at one another before drinking all at once.

A soft blue glow enveloped each of their bodies—faint but visible—before it quickly faded.

Yes yes yes yes yes yes! Yeah, baby—new minions! I'm gonna exploit them too… my lovely little slaves!

"It worked. Now you four can use magic just like I do..." he said with a calm look, then quickly added, "And one more thing—I don't have cultivation, nor do I use Qi. All the strength you've seen from me? It's mana."

"Is that why you said you can't teach me cultivation—because you yourself can't do it?" Húwen asked.

"Depends..." Lylias replied casually. "Anyway, skipping that," he continued, "you four are what I'd call basic mages—level one, noobs, barely out of the womb, etcetera, etcetera. It's the base class, which eventually branches into three paths: pure mage, magic melee, and hybrid. But that'll be for another day..."

From his inventory, Lylias pulled out a book—a thick guidebook from the game, filled with knowledge of every magic class. The cover shimmered faintly with enchantments.

"This book contains everything—magic theory, mana, class paths, spells, techniques, you name it. It's enchanted to automatically translate into the local language of whoever reads it. Mandarin should be included, among others." He handed the book to Húwen. "Each of you can take turns reading it later."

Out of curiosity, Húwen opened the book—and her eyes widened. "Heavens... These spells—or 'magic techniques'—they let you create portals, fly, teleport across vast lands... even manipulate time and create miniature worlds... and resurrection?! You can bring back the dead?!"

"Let me see too!" Ying said, leaning over to peek at the pages.

"Not fair! I want to look too!" Yâwáng shouted, pushing in excitedly. "Whoa! With these resurrection spells, I can bring our parents back, Sister!"

"Really?" FéiFéi asked, hope flickering in her voice.

"Yes! In fact, there are several resurrection methods in here!"

"Lord Lylias, did you use one of these techniques to bring back the city and all the people when the great red dragon attacked?" Ying asked.

Hearing that, Yâwáng and FéiFéi gave confused looks.

Húwen quickly explained, "Yesterday, near noon, a huge red dragon attacked the city. It was super duper big—and killed almost everyone. No one could stop it. Then Lord Lylias came and killed the dragon with a single attack… and resurrected everyone! He even restored the entire city. I was among those brought back!"

"Wow..."

"Incredible..."

"He's not less than a god! In fact, I think he is a true deity!" Húwen declared with shining eyes.

Lylias waved it off. "It's not that impressive. And I didn't use that kind of technique either—it was something else entirely. But that's a lesson for another day." He shifted his tone slightly. "Anyway, you all need to promise me two things..."

He held up two fingers.

"First, you must never speak of magic to anyone. Not a word. The fewer who know, the better. I don't want any... unwanted attention. Understand?"

They all nodded seriously.

"And second," he said with a slight smirk, "you'll do exactly as I say—no questions asked. Consider me your master, and yourselves... my slaves. That's the nicest way I can put it."

"...Okay."

"As you say."

"Understood."

"...Hmm."

Just then, a loud stomach growl echoed—and it came from Húwen.

"You're hungry?" Lylias asked, turning to her.

"Yes… I haven't eaten anything since yesterday," she said sheepishly.

"I see... Anyone else hungry?"

The other three slowly raised their hands.

"Well, I'm a good master," Lylias said casually, "so I'll feed you well—give you proper meals, a warm bath, fine clothes, and everything else you need. However..." His voice darkened slightly, "If any of you ever disobey me—if you do anything I specifically tell you not to—there will be consequences. Severe ones."

As he spoke, he reached into his inventory and pulled out a large black capsule—sleek, metallic, and clearly enchanted. It was a specialized food capsule, used to preserve meals indefinitely without decay. Without it, food stored in inventory would degrade and vanish over time—especially those that granted temporary buffs. Such meals were rare, valuable, and difficult to farm.

He opened the capsule, and the scent of freshly cooked food wafted out.

He handed each of them a plate of fiery red rice—an in-game dish known as Fire Rice, which granted a slight boost to health.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he summoned a jug of cold, clear water and poured everyone a cup.

"This is amazing!" Ying exclaimed, eyes wide with joy.

"I haven't eaten anything this good in so long..." Húwen said, her voice soft with gratitude.

"It's really good," Yâwáng nodded, already halfway through her portion.

"It is, brother," FéiFéi agreed.

"Tonight, you four will sleep here. I'll keep watch," Lylias said as he leaned back slightly. "Tomorrow, I'll buy you proper clothing and make arrangements for you to move into the City Lord's mansion. From there, your training with me begins."

But it seemed none of them heard that part—they were too busy enjoying their meal.

I suppose I can let it slide this time, Lylias thought, watching them with a faint smile. This master-and-servant dynamic is… oddly satisfying. One day, I should get myself a few more obedient little slaves...

It was for the best—he would have many eyes, personally groomed by him, spread throughout the continent to act as his watchful spies