The Magicless Prodigy
It was a basic magic theory class. Thirty-seven students, thirty-six glowing orbs of light.
Lin Xu's desk was completely empty. Not even a candle flame was lit.
On the podium, Professor Goodwin was explaining the Fundamental Principles of Elemental Affinity Activation. The blackboard was filled with three full rows of complex formulas.
Below, each student held a light orb of a different color in their palms—some were fiery orange-red flames, some were pale blue water orbs.
Lin Xu had propped his magic mirror up behind his textbook, scrolling through short videos.
It was a recording of a Hunter-class player soloing a Flame Dragon in a B-rank dungeon. The bullet comments flooded the screen:"That footwork is so smooth!!""The Flame Dragon’s dizzy!!""Hubby’s amazing!!"
Lin Xu watched with great interest, muttering under his breath."Tsk, just luck. A second slower, and he’d have been swatted away."
His deskmate suddenly slammed a thick Advanced Incantation Grammar book onto the desk. The vibration made Lin Xu’s magic mirror nearly bounce off the table.
"Pay attention in class."Anlia stared at the blackboard, her chin slightly raised, not sparing him a single glance.
Silver-white hair fell softly by her shoulders. Her left hand hovered about two inches above the desk, and ice-blue elemental light swirled between her fingers. The light condensed without scattering, already faintly compressed into a thumbnail-sized ice crystal—she was the only student in the academy who could solidify elements.
Lin Xu wisely put his magic mirror away, crossed his arms, leaned back, and obediently looked at the blackboard. He stared for a few seconds and understood nothing."I don’t get it," he said honestly.
The magic system of this world had nothing in common with what he’d learned in his past life. Elemental affinity, magic circuits, incantation resonance—he’d spent two years researching it and reached one conclusion:He had zero magical talent.
On enrollment day, the test crystal sat in his hand for three minutes without glowing or bubbling once. The examiner thought the device was broken and swapped it three times, but the result was the same.Finally, the old professor took off his glasses and wiped them. "Cases like this are rare, but not unheard of."
From then on, the whole academy knew they’d admitted an absolute loser.
Muffled laughter came from the back row."Lin Xu’s slacking off again.""Slacking? He can’t help it—he really can’t learn magic.""Then why did he even come to the Magic Academy? Wasting a spot.""Don’t be harsh… he’s the son of genius mages… Besides, everyone has to enter dungeons after graduation. Magic won’t make that much difference then."
The speaker chuckled even as he said it.The difference was enormous.
Dungeons—the greatest uncertainty in this world.Thirty years ago, everyone who turned eighteen began to be randomly selected and thrown into a dungeon of unknown rank, terrain, and monsters. Survive the time limit, and you return; fail, and you’re trapped forever.No pattern, no warning, no regard for status or strength.A king and a beggar had the exact same chance of being chosen.
The only "perk" was that all dungeons broadcast live to the magic mirror’s public channels.The whole world could watch you die inside.That was why dungeon streams were the most popular. Everyone watched chosen ones fight for survival and fall into despair—and Lin Xu watched too, but for research: to learn how to stay alive.
Professor Goodwin tapped the podium."This afternoon, we begin practical combat drills. You have less than half a year until graduation. Be prepared."He glanced deliberately at Lin Xu, his face full of concern.
Lin Xu didn’t care. He’d long confirmed that his past-life skills worked perfectly in this world; he just hid them to avoid attention.Magic was the norm here, and he didn’t want to end up dissected.
The bell rang.Lin Xu stood up, and a piece of paper landed on his desk."Review properly, dead last."
Before he could reply, Anlia had turned and left, books held to her chest, stepping at a steady pace.
Lin Xu looked down. It was a handwritten copy of Professor Goodwin’s core formulas, neat and crisp. An arrow in the corner pointed to a tiny line:Exam scope. Don’t fail again. It’s embarrassing.The word "embarrassing" was pressed extra hard, twice as thick as the rest.
"I don’t think it’s that embarrassing…"Lin Xu folded the paper and tucked it away, then grabbed his bag for the next class.
Practical combat was his least favorite lesson—a bunch of inexperienced kids hurling spells at each other with no restraint. In his mind, if dungeon monsters were as weak as these students, the streams would be comedy shows.
He’d barely walked a few steps when his path was blocked.Kern, ranked third in the Fire Department, tall and burly, trained in hand-to-hand combat. Two lackeys stood behind him—one leaning against the wall, one with crossed arms.
"Lin Xu, don’t you dare mooch off our group for practical combat."Kern looked down at him, a full head taller."Last simulation, you hid at the back and didn’t lift a finger. You dragged us down to a D.""Last time was a special situation…""When is it not?"
Kern stepped forward."Let me be blunt—you’d be monster fodder in a dungeon. Drop out now and hide somewhere safe. You might live longer."
The lackeys laughed.Quitting wouldn’t help. Dungeon selection was random, school or not.Everyone knew it, and Kern knew it too—he just needed to vent.
Lin Xu stood still, hands in his pockets, relaxed, smile unchanged.He’d met plenty like Kern: arrogant about talent, cruel to the weak, cowardly to the strong."Fine, I get it."
He walked around him."Hey, you—"
Before he could finish, a cold voice cut through the hallway: "Kern."
Kern turned, and an ice spike Anlia had conjured flew past his cheek.She leaned against the corner, one hand on the wall, her ice-flower necklace glinting faintly. Ice-blue light flickered at her fingertips.
Kern swallowed hard at the lingering cold in the air.Everyone knew Anlia was a wildcard—undisputed top talent, combat ability stronger than most upperclassmen, and she fought first, asked questions never.Could the school stop her? No. Her face was on this year’s admission brochure cover.
The air went silent for two seconds.The chill on his cheek still stung. Kern gritted his teeth and left.He couldn’t win even if he was right, and he wasn’t right anyway. He wasn’t that stupid.The lackeys hurried after him.
Lin Xu turned back to Anlia."Th—""Hmph. Weaklings deserve to be bullied." Anlia turned away."…Oh.""I was just passing by. Next time, handle it yourself."
Lin Xu smiled—they were going the same way, and she’d clearly turned back on purpose. It wasn’t the first time, and her excuse was always terrible."Sure."
"Quit grinning! Are you even listening?! And why are you following me?!"Anlia spun around. Though she was a head shorter than Lin Xu, the pressure in her upward glare made him flinch. He looked away."Lady Anlia, we’re in the same class. We’re probably going to the same place."
Anlia froze, pink creeping up her ears. She turned and strode away quickly."Shut up! You are following me—admit it!"
She walked fast and hard, as if something chased her.When she glanced back quietly, Lin Xu was already gone."He actually left?! Jerk!"
Evening, the dormitory."Sigh, ‘combat class’ my foot—it’s just a ‘get beaten up’ class. Anlia called me ungrateful, said I deserved it… she walked off so fast, how was I supposed to join her group?"
He took out his first-aid kit, peeled off the talismans hidden on his body, and checked his wounds. The worst was a tiny scratch, barely breaking skin."Good thing I got back early, or it would’ve healed already."
Lin Xu put on a band-aid and opened his magic mirror.He pulled up over 300 dungeon recordings from the past two years, sorted meticulously by monster type, terrain, and survival tactics—folders nested within folders, organized to an obsessive degree.
"B-rank wilderness dungeon, 62% average survival rate, main threat: pack monsters. Optimal strategy: hoard resources early, defend a stronghold late…"
He muttered to himself, swiping fast to mark timestamps.On screen, a three-meter-tall carapace beast hunted adventurers. A mage’s ice-binding spell hit its joint, but the ice spread slowed by the third second—Lin Xu noted the beast’s internal temperature was rising, ice suppression had a time limit.
He jotted the data in a small notebook, half full of dense writing—not the world’s common script, but traditional Chinese characters. Anyone who found it would only see meaningless scribbles.
He wasn’t talentless. His talent just ran on a different system.In his past life, the world practiced talisman cultivation. He was a young Daoist of Qingyun Temple, mastering inner energy, talismans, and formations—a once-in-a-millennium genius. Even as a child, he’d thought he was the protagonist.
But he’d risen smoothly to become the top of the righteous path, and as senior disciple, he’d realized something was off—no protagonist’s life was that easy.Later, a similarly gifted junior brother joined the temple. The boy had a special constitution, a mix of celestial god and demon blood: the more he was revered, the longer he lived, even as long as heaven and earth.
Lin Xu had grown sure he was just a side character, a stepping stone for his junior brother—the real protagonist. He’d given his junior everything, believing he’d make Qingyun Temple greater.
Then he’d died, inexplicably, with no idea how. He’d woken up as an infant in a world without spiritual energy.Without spiritual energy, cultivation should’ve been impossible. The faint trace he’d brought from his past life was barely detectable.
He’d lost hope—until he discovered that every year after dungeons descended, thin spiritual energy leaked for six months. It was scarce, but he was the only one who could use it.Now he could perform basic Daoist breathing, boost his senses, move briefly faster, and draw talismans.
But he could never tell anyone. This world had no concept of "Daoist magic." A magicless man with superhuman abilities wouldn’t be celebrated—he’d be captured and dissected.
So he laid low: watched videos, failed classes, took the mockery. In three months, he’d graduate, find a remote place to hide, and slowly rebuild his cultivation.
That was his plan.
But in the middle of the night, a shrill alarm blared through the dorm—red alert for dungeon descent.The magic mirror flashed an urgent all-channel announcement:"Dungeon descent detected. Coverage: Royal Capital East District to Academy District. Random selection imminent. All residents plea—"
The announcement cut off.A ring of black light appeared around Lin Xu’s feet. An irresistible force wrapped around him; the dorm walls blurred away, darkness closing in. The feeling of falling tore at his insides.
Seconds later, his back slammed into hard ground.He opened his eyes. Above was a gray-green sky, the air thick with rot and rust.A wasteland of cracked black rock, tilted stone pillars in the distance.
Before he could look further, a figure crashed onto him.Thud.
"Ow…"The voice was familiar, and Lin Xu almost sighed in relief.
"Hmph, blockhead! You were following me again!"It was Anlia. She stood up in disgust, brushing dust off her clothes."Come on, this is random selection. I can’t do that," Lin Xu said helplessly.He brushed it off casually, but his mind snickered. As if he didn’t have a hand in this. The dungeon’s random selection had just been hijacked by his own talisman.
"Stupid dungeon! You broke the necklace you gave me!"Anlia fumed, not noticing Lin Xu’s smile fade completely.That was a Life-Death Talisman I forged, a life-bound link. If she’s in mortal danger, the talisman shatters, and I’m pulled to her… I never thought she’d face death in this dungeon.
A dozen people lay scattered around, some standing, some groaning.Lin Xu sensed it: the dungeon held no spiritual energy at all—only faint traces leaked from the massive figure in the distance.
Before he could speak, the ground shook.Rhythmic, heavy footsteps drew near.A shadow emerged from the dust: four legs, folded wings, two stories tall, black scales glinting under the gray-green sky.
Its roar was deep and terrifying, but Lin Xu caught a note of suppression in it.In an instant, the beast charged, crushing rock with every step."I have no choice… don’t blame me!"
Lin Xu’s face darkened. His body moved before he thought—he grabbed Anlia’s wrist and sprinted the opposite way."RUN!!"
Behind them, the beast’s claw slammed down. A shockwave sent boulders flying toward the crowd.Those too slow were crushed into paste.
Anlia tore her hand free after a few steps."Let go! I can run myself! And you’re running blindly—wasting energy!""Don’t ask questions, just run!" Lin Xu didn’t look back.Anlia froze for a second, then gritted her teeth and followed.
