Versatile Mage: Starting with the White Tiger Pendant

As his sister leaned forward, the tight curve of her figure stretched the fabric of her light beige sweater. Lu Jun stared ahead, his eyes twitching slightly as the faint white skin and deep cleavage beneath the round neckline caught his attention. Quickly, he shook off Lu Mei's hand and turned his head to the side.

"Nothing, really. The intermediate-tier Metal Magic skills are quite impressive," he said, diverting his thoughts.

Hearing this, Lu Mei didn't notice her brother's unusual reaction. She sighed and began calculating the costs on her fingers. "Intermediate-tier Metal Magic requires the fusion of another magical metal. Luckily, it's just materials—around ten million should be enough."

"But no matter how much we save, we can't seem to set aside enough."

"Don't worry about the magical metal for now," Lu Jun said, calming his mind. "Currently, my magic tool only has the [Fortification] effect. The second effect should be something with more offensive power. I'll take my time choosing."

After advancing to the intermediate level, Lu Jun's natal magic weapon was also nourished. With the convergence of forty-nine stars, the power of Metal Magic depended heavily on this sword. Originally, the fortification effect had already made it nearly indestructible by commanding-level monsters during his advanced-stage training. Now, it felt like even quasi-monarch-level creatures would struggle to damage it.

"True," Lu Mei nodded. "You're about to enter university soon. By then, you'll have access to various magic tool laboratories. With your connections, you'll be able to select from an abundance of options."

She bit her lip and asked, "What element are you planning to awaken for your intermediate-tier magic?"

"Me? Psychic, Curse, or Undead," Lu Jun replied without hesitation. He had already planned his path. He was leaning toward awakening the Psychic element alongside another because, based on his research, these three elements held great opportunities in the future, each with unique advantages. If nurtured properly, they could rival Mo Fan's Lightning and Fire elements.

Especially the Psychic element. Having lived in this world for a year and a half, Lu Jun's memories of the original work had become somewhat blurred. Awakening the Psychic element would allow him to access the deepest layers of his mind, ensuring nothing would slip through the cracks.

Though the Psychic element was often underestimated due to its lack of direct combat abilities below the high tier, it was essentially a bug-tier magic element.

First, it was unrivaled in mage duels, countering all other elements. The key was its ability to prevent opponents from completing their magic, breaking their star connections.

A mage unable to cast magic was no different from an ordinary person.

Lu Jun recalled vividly how Mo Fan repeatedly struggled against Psychic-element mages. Though he ultimately won each time, the process was always incredibly frustrating. Without Psychic tools or the assistance of teammates, he would have been entirely helpless.

Second, the Psychic element allowed one to evade hostility from magical beasts. With higher cultivation, it could even control them, making it the ultimate survival tool in the wild.

Lu Jun knew his Metal element talent could be concealed during the intermediate stage, but it would become too conspicuous by the advanced stage, making it clear he wasn't solely relying on magic tools.

By then, he had three plans:

Plan A: Stay hidden until invincible, gaining the backing of the state to ensure no one dared to touch him.

Plan B: Expose his abilities early, relying on various factions to maneuver through the situation.

Plan C: If all else failed, leave humanity behind and ally with the magical beasts. He envisioned something akin to the Kunlun Empire, which was friendly toward humans, or the Black Curtain Empire, which might welcome a human defector.

As long as he survived, he could plot his future accordingly.

Of course, Plan C was the last resort. Lu Jun would only consider it if his back was against the wall. After all, he still had his sister. Living peacefully in the human world was preferable, but if pushed too far, he wouldn't hesitate to seek revenge by any means necessary.

Unaware of her brother's thoughts, Lu Mei frowned and said, "Those three elements are so niche. It'll be hard to find mentors, and their progression is challenging. Why not choose another elemental type? Shadow Magic could also work; you're missing a mobility skill."

"I already have Metal and Water elements. Choosing another elemental type, like Lightning or Fire, would overlap with what I already have. What I lack is control. The Psychic element is perfect for that."

Lu Jun remained firm in his decision. He knew the Psychic element was different from elemental magic—it didn't have Soul Seeds or Spirit Seeds. Its enhancement paths were flexible, often leading to bizarre and unpredictable skill trees.

After all, no powerful mage in the late stages lacked unique abilities beyond the standard magic systems.

"Fine, do as you like," Lu Mei said helplessly. "Let's go to the Magic Association for your awakening."

The siblings left and headed straight for Bo City's landmark building, the Silver Trade Tower. It was the tallest and most luxurious building in the city, standing out from its surroundings. Many institutions were based there, and the underground levels housed Bo City's treasure: the Holy Spring.

Standing at the tower's entrance, Lu Jun looked up at its imposing structure, casting a massive shadow that seemed to envelop him. The sight evoked memories of an event one and a half years later—the invasion of the one-eyed wolf pack. A winged blue wolf of commander level perched atop the tower, looking down arrogantly as the city below descended into chaos. It had become a den of magical beasts, a scene etched in his mind.

This time, with his presence, things might turn out differently.

The siblings entered the Magic Association's reception area inside the tower, where a female assistant greeted them with a smile. "How may I assist you, esteemed guests?"

Given their previous dealings with Soul Essence here, the Magic Association had granted them top-tier privileges.

"We're here for a magic awakening. Keep it confidential and take us to a private room," Lu Mei said directly.

The assistant nodded without asking any questions. "This way, please. With your privileges, the awakening is free of charge."

Lu Jun was delighted—there was nothing better than getting something for free.

Soon, they entered a sleek, silver, high-tech room. A star disk stood in the center, and the required awakening stones had already been placed according to their request. One was a transparent crystal representing the Psychic element, and the other was a black stone representing the Curse or Undead element.

The former was self-explanatory, while the latter indicated that Curse and Undead elements were closely related, with Undead magic evolving from Curse magic. Only at the pinnacle did the two fully diverge into separate systems.

Either one was acceptable, depending on his luck.

"I'll leave you to it," the assistant said, leaving quietly and closing the door behind her.

Under his sister's urging, Lu Jun took a deep breath, placed his hands on the star disk, and closed his eyes to begin his second awakening.

A faint hum filled the room as a strange magical energy flowed from the star disk, surging into his mind.

In the infinite darkness of his spiritual world, nothing seemed to change at first.

Then, a peculiar sensation arose. In the corner next to his blue and platinum stardust, a small, transparent stardust appeared, with seven semi-transparent stars faintly visible, almost blending into the background.

Psychic element awakened!

Immediately afterward, a dark red hue emerged behind the transparent stardust. If the first felt serene, this one exuded ominousness.

Within his spiritual world, the Metal stardust remained the most radiant, occupying the central space. The Water stardust came next, followed by these two new additions.

"This is... the Curse element!"

After some observation, Lu Jun confirmed it, feeling a surge of excitement. The Curse element was highly versatile. Domestically, it was among the strongest for close combat and synergized perfectly with his melee-oriented path.

In the future, with a super-tier spell like Body Possession Curse, it was said to be the only method in the original story for a human to achieve the physical attributes of a magical beast. (Though this was a forbidden technique of the Zu Clan, it likely required super-tier magic to achieve such monstrous effects.)

Despite his newfound skill in weapon manipulation, he had no intention of abandoning close combat. However, as enemies grew larger and stronger, rivaling the scale of Godzilla, his own physical strength needed to match.

Imagine wielding monarch-level physical strength combined with Metal-element destructive power—it'd be like cosplaying as the Dark Sword Master.

[For additional chapters....

Versatile mage {40 chapters}

Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}

Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123]