"First, this is the most basic introductory method. Watch closely."

With that, Donkexes put on the Chain Armor and Cotton Armor he had brought.

Without tying the straps, he pressed his index finger to his chest and lightly drew a rune-like pattern on the Armor.

As his finger moved, faint blue threads appeared on the Armor’s surface, clinging to his fingertip as if the suit had extended countless tiny hands to shake its master’s.

Colin could perceive the Magic Net fluctuating with his movements.

At the same time, the Dwarf hadn’t chanted any Spell, and the way he drew the pattern couldn’t be considered a standard Casting motion.

Donkexes lifted his finger.

The straps on the Chain Armor immediately flickered with blue light, twisting and tying themselves.

"With your memory, memorizing that Rune shouldn’t be difficult." Donkexes took a small notebook from his pocket, flipped to a page, and handed it over. "Still, it’s best to follow along for now."

Colin took the notebook.

Then he mimicked the other’s actions, performing the same movement on the Chain Armor he was wearing.

Through the touch of his fingertips, he could clearly feel the texture and composition of the Chain Armor’s surface; every single link left a sensation on his fingertips.

However, no matter how Colin traced the pattern, there was no reaction between his finger and the Armor. It was nothing like Donkexes’s demonstration.

"For a beginner with this ability, this step is the most difficult."

Donkexes crossed his arms and continued, "First, using Armor you’ve worn in battle many times increases the chance of success."

"Second, once the empowerment is complete, the Armor will be more inclined to maintain its worn state. That’s why the previous lessons had you learn how to properly wear it. By the way, what do you think of the Blade Ward Magic?"

’So the past few lessons were all in preparation for this.’

’I have to admit, these dwarves are pretty responsible.’

As he thought this, Colin breathed a sigh of relief and composed himself.

He continued, "It’s not very practical. The casting time is too long and the duration is too short, so you can’t cast it at the perfect moment before an enemy’s weapon hits."

"But that Cantrip is one of the basics every Enchanter must learn. You could say the vast majority of defensive Enchantments are derived from it. Of course, you’d also need to learn from the Enchantment System... never mind, you wouldn’t understand it anyway," Donkexes said. "Find the state of mind you have when Casting Blade Ward, and try again."

Colin silently nodded.

He took a deep breath, softly murmuring the Spell for Blade Ward. Once again, his finger traced the Rune on the paper.

One second, two seconds...

Until after five seconds, he suddenly felt a sticky sensation on his fingertip.

Looking closely, he could faintly see two blue threads emerging from the armor, twining around his fingertip.

In that instant, Colin suddenly recalled how he felt during battle.

Slowly, the tightly bound Armor on his body seemed to disappear, as if he were only wearing a set of linen clothes.

The final stroke fell.

The blue threads vanished like smoke, and the sensation from just a moment ago receded like a tide.

"Did I just succeed?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Colin felt a wave of dizziness, as if he had just cast two Tier One Magics back-to-back.

"Almost," Donkexes said. "This is the most basic training method. The Magic should have lasted for a while. As you practice, its duration will get longer and longer, until it becomes permanent."

"Permanent?"

"Of course. And if you switch to a different suit of Armor, you can perform the Casting on that one to achieve the same effect. It will drastically reduce the Armor’s weight, the time it takes to put on, and its interference with Casting, just like I said," Donkexes explained. "But that’s just the minimum effect. You’ll have to keep training to get the rest."

Hearing this, Colin became a little impatient.

’But there’s no point in rushing it,’ Colin thought. ’This kind of thing takes time to build up, unless I can just get more Skill Level somehow.’

’Since I’m already here, I might as well learn the quest reward too.’

Colin looked at his Panel and was suddenly stunned.

In his proficiency list, "Dwarf Armor Technique" had actually changed to "Empowerment Armor." The change was only in name, though; the Skill Level was exactly the same as before.

’So everything I learned before was just the basics?’

’If these dwarves hadn’t taught me, would I have been stuck with only that surface-level knowledge for the rest of my life?’

Colin took another close look at the Skill Levels of his several Skills.

After thinking about it, he decided to add all one hundred and fifty points from the quest reward to Casting.

After all, with the Shield Magic, Colin had some confidence in his ability to protect himself. His Armor-related Skill Level was only a little over five hundred; adding one hundred and fifty points wouldn’t make much of a difference.

But adding them to his Casting Proficiency, which was already over seven hundred, meant he’d probably get a Specialty after just a few more quests. That was a crucial advantage.

And now, his Casting Ability and Armor skill were linked.

If his Casting Ability was higher, then his corresponding practice should also be faster.

Following this line of thought, after he allocated the points, his two Skill Levels came to Casting (898) and Armor (518).

After the illusion training, Colin’s Casting Skill Level had also increased significantly.

Then there was the new Magic he had just learned...

Just like last time, the moment this thought occurred, Colin’s consciousness arrived in a meadow.

Colin looked around.

’I’ve been here once before, but coming here still feels a little unsettling.’

A gentle breeze floated by, and the grass under his feet swayed lightly.

A humanoid blue shadow appeared about ten meters in front of Colin. This thing had no facial features or clothes; it was just a bare shadow.

Colin’s body began to move on its own.

He made a grabbing motion with his left hand, and something like a small biscuit inexplicably appeared at his fingertips.

He extended the index finger of his right hand, pointing it at the figure opposite him while simultaneously flicking out a feather. Then, with a sharp flip of his wrist, his index finger turned to point at his own temple, where he quickly drew a few small circles.

"Jiguras, Kakulas..."

As the Spell was chanted, Colin carefully noted its intonation and points of emphasis.

The Casting was complete.

The figure in front of him suddenly began to laugh out loud.

This wasn’t a relaxed or harmless laugh; the shadow laughed so hard it collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up. Its laughter grew more and more outrageous until it was struggling to breathe.

And Colin could clearly feel a faint, almost nonexistent connection between himself and the blue shadow.

This feeling was like suddenly forgetting a sentence while chatting with someone, and then trying to recall what you originally wanted to say—an elusive feeling, but one you could still vaguely grasp.

When this connection broke, the blue figure also stopped laughing and stood up.

’This probably means I have to continuously use my energy to suppress the enemy.’

’So this is Hideous Laughter?’ Colin thought. ’Getting hit with this on the battlefield would leave you completely at the enemy’s mercy.’

This Magic was more complex. It took several more practice runs from memory before he learned it, much like he had learned the Shield Magic.

Tasha’s Hideous Laughter: A Tier One Magic. Targets a creature within ten meters with an Intelligence of at least four, suppressing its mind and forcing it to laugh uncontrollably.

The moment he learned the Magic, Colin’s consciousness returned to reality.

"It’s getting pretty late. Do you want to head home, or what?" Donkexes, who was standing nearby, asked. "We’re having a bit of a party right now. Care to join?"

"Maybe another time. I’m actually a bit tired," Colin said.