章 3: Chapter 3: S-Class Treasure, The Dragonheart Pendant!

Calming his thoughts, Dean Bruce looked at Joan Michelle and asked softly, "What kind of magic do you want to learn?"

He needed to send Joan Michelle on her way first so he could properly examine and savor the Dragonheart Pendant.

Joan Michelle lowered her head and thought for a long time before speaking, "I want to learn a magic with strong defensive capabilities!"

As a logistics instructor, even if she became a full-fledged teacher, she wouldn't need to participate in direct combat. At most, she might act as a protector during student field trips. Therefore, defensive magic was her best option.

Besides, the academy had already taught her the basics of offensive magic, which was sufficient for her needs.

"Defensive magic?" Dean Bruce murmured, closing his eyes and assuming the posture of a wise master, while internally scrambling to come up with a phrase that was both magical and relevant to defense.

Seeing this, Joan Michelle didn't dare to interrupt. She even refrained from touching Dean Bruce, her nervous hands fidgeting as she bit her lip, carefully watching him.

After what felt like an eternity, Dean Bruce opened his eyes, his expression calm as he said, "I can teach you a unique defensive magic. If you can grasp it, it can be considered a high-tier spell. If you master it, its defensive capabilities might even surpass those of some super-tier spells!"

"My God!" Joan Michelle exclaimed. "A high-tier spell comparable to super-tier magic? That must be extraordinary! I... Here, this is the Dragonheart Pendant, and this is a membership card for the Angelic Magic Shop, with a monthly limit of thirty thousand gold coins. Please, you must accept them!"

Dean Bruce maintained a calm expression and didn't refuse the membership card, accepting it along with the Dragonheart Pendant.

Even though his knowledge of this world was limited, he understood the basics.

Magic was heavily regulated in this world!

Even within the major magic academies, the number of spells they were willing to teach was minimal, mostly consisting of basic spells.

To learn higher-tier magic, one had to either purchase learning scrolls or find a mentor, both of which required significant effort and money, with no guarantee of success.

As for creating original magic?

In thousands of years, fewer than ten such spells had been created!

It was something that most people simply couldn't achieve.

Given this, Dean Bruce couldn't refuse Joan Michelle's offerings. After all, he was about to teach her a high-tier spell. Even if such a spell were available in a shop, it would cost at least half a million gold coins. If he rejected her gifts, Joan Michelle might not believe he was genuine.

After carefully putting away the Dragonheart Pendant and membership card, Dean Bruce spoke in a solemn tone, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not easily anger, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres!"

Dean Bruce didn't remember the exact wording of the quote, so he could only recite it loosely.

Even so, Joan Michelle was ecstatic, treating his words as a priceless treasure.

It wasn't that Joan Michelle had been completely fooled; rather, the phrase Dean used was from the Bible, which carries deep moral and philosophical meaning. With careful reflection, one could derive a great deal of wisdom from it.

Back on Earth, that single phrase had inspired countless scholars to develop dozens of interpretations!

Whether or not Joan Michelle would actually learn any magic from it was uncertain, but at the very least, it would keep her occupied for a while, pondering its profound meaning. This also gave Dean Bruce some breathing room, sparing him from having to engage with her daily.

If she came back asking for more spells, Dean Bruce could easily excuse himself by saying he'd already taught her. At most, he could make up some additional concepts about magic levels, tiers, or categories.

Seeing Joan Michelle fully absorbed in the Bible verse, Dean Bruce gave her a playful squeeze on her pale breast before turning to leave the warehouse.

Once outside, he closed the door and hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign.

At this point, Joan Michelle was still undressed, completely engrossed in her magical studies, and likely wouldn't snap out of it anytime soon.

Dean Bruce had no desire for other instructors to walk in and see Joan Michelle in that state.

After all, Joan Michelle give me her first night.

After making sure everything was in order, Dean Bruce walked away, satisfied.

He pulled out the Dragonheart Pendant, took a deep breath, and put it around his neck.

"Ding!"

"System Notice: S-Class treasure detected. Would you like to activate it?"

Seeing this sudden prompt, Dean Bruce couldn't hide his surprise, his heart leaping with joy. [The Dragonheart Pendant is an S-Class treasure? I hit the jackpot! Activate it, hurry up and activate it!]

On Meze, after tens of thousands of years of development, people had not only gained a deep understanding of magic but also of treasures, categorizing them into various types and levels.

They even had the ability to create treasures!

Treasures ranged from F-Class, the lowest level—anything weaker wasn't even considered a treasure.

The highest was SSS-Class. Beyond that were divine artifacts, which were so rare and mysterious that even Dean Bruce knew little about them.

Almost immediately after Dean Bruce chose to activate the pendant, a faint buzzing sound reverberated, and a fiery red light burst from the Dragonheart Pendant. A wave of intense heat radiated from it, causing him immediate pain.

Dean Bruce, having been well-versed in the tropes of modern novels from Earth, knew that activating a treasure often came with a painful ordeal. Gritting his teeth, he endured the searing pain.

"Ding!"

"System Notice: Congratulations to the host for successfully activating the S-Class treasure, the Dragonheart Pendant. For every 60 minutes the pendant is worn, the host will receive a permanent increase of 1 mana point! Additionally, the host's casting speed for fire-elemental magic will increase by 20%, and damage taken from fire-elemental magic will be reduced by 20%!"

"System Notice: Congratulations to the host on acquiring your first treasure and receiving attribute enhancements. The attribute panel is now available. Would you like to view it?"

Dean Bruce was familiar with the concept of an attribute panel, having encountered it in countless novels and games in his previous life. He immediately chose to view it, eager to explore the system's basic functions.

[Host: Dean Bruce]

[Level: None]

[Health Points: 9]

[Mana Points: 1]

[Magic Learned: None]

[Treasure: Dragonheart Pendant]

[Supreme Mage Points: 0 (As a Supreme Mage, it is your responsibility to teach magic to the world, making the magical world more prosperous and powerful.)]

The panel was simple, without any unnecessary bells and whistles, which surprised Dean Bruce slightly. It also cleared up a few questions he'd had. [No wonder I couldn't learn any magic before—my mana points were at zero! And 9 health points... that's probably about average for a normal person!]

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he asked, "System, what functions do you have?"

"Ding!"

"System Notice: At present, the system only offers basic reward functions, item and treasure activation for the host. Additional functions will unlock as the host levels up or accumulates more Supreme Mage Points."

Dean Bruce followed up, "And how do I earn Supreme Mage Points?"

"System Notice: The host will earn Supreme Mage Points by successfully teaching students or apprentices magic. The number of points awarded will depend on the level of the magic they learn."

Nodding slightly, Dean Bruce began to understand the system's purpose.

It was straightforward: he needed to teach students!

With his eyes narrowing in thought, Dean Bruce made up his mind. [Bluffing people? That's easy enough! Once I get back, I'll develop a more detailed system and come up with some types of magic. I'll definitely be able to fool more people!]

[And if I've taught them, and they later learn magic from other instructors, the credit should still come back to me. Maybe I can even squeeze out some extra rewards that way!]

With this in mind, a satisfied smile spread across Dean Bruce's face. He reached up to touch the now fully activated Dragonheart Pendant, then made his way back to the instructors' quarters, content with his plan.

Notting Primary Magic Academy was the only magic academy in all of Notting City. Any child showing even a hint of magical talent was promptly sent there by their parents, so the student body was quite large. As Dean Bruce walked near the teaching buildings, students passing by would stop to greet him with respectful bows.

Even though Dean Bruce didn't know any magic and had never demonstrated any magical abilities in front of others, the students still observed proper etiquette.

In every world, the principle of respecting one's teachers remained universal.

As Dean Bruce continued walking, a gentle voice suddenly called out to him, "Hmm? Teacher Dean! The headmaster needs to see you!"