Success!
Dui's expression brightened.
As his concentration wavered, the casting process was involuntarily interrupted, and the leaf lost its support, falling back to the ground.
However, Dui wasn't disappointed; he held his breath again, focusing his mind and controlling the leaf to slowly float up.
This time, he lasted longer than before; under his control, the leaf danced in mid-air until his concentration broke, and it fell again.
After several more attempts, each lasting longer than the last, Dui switched to a small pebble, which was heavier than the leaf.
Controlling the pebble was much more difficult than the leaf; Dui felt as if he had returned to the very beginning, the pebble floating unsteadily, then falling even faster than the leaf.
But Dui grew more excited with each practice, immersed in the application of magic, completely unaware of the passage of time.
It wasn't until Bilbo appeared that Dui's practice was interrupted.
Bilbo saw the practice process, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"Du Yier, are you practicing magic?"
Dui nodded slightly, a little embarrassed.
Strictly speaking, what he was doing wasn't magic; it was merely the simplest use of magic to lift objects.
Moreover, the objects he could lift were very light, even less powerful than if he were to throw them directly with his hands.
There was no destructive power whatsoever.
But in Bilbo's eyes, this was an incredibly wondrous ability.
"That's so cool!"
Bilbo looked at him with adoring eyes, his expression unusually excited.
"Du Yier, can you show me again? Please!"
"As you wish!"
Being looked at with admiring eyes, Dui felt a surge of secret delight; he was about to show off to the Hobbit in front of him.
Then, countless petals in the garden rose into the air under Dui's control, swirling around the two of them, dazzling and beautiful.
Bilbo's mouth hung open, his eyes filled with shock as he watched it all.
Over the next few days, Dui spent most of his time practicing the control of magic.
He progressed from small leaves and pebbles to being able to control objects weighing ten catties.
And the duration of his control also increased, from two minutes at the beginning to about half an hour now.
He even began to multitask, attempting to control several objects simultaneously.
Of course, this was different from controlling the petals earlier; after all, that was just a brief display of magic control, used for showing off and impressing those who didn't understand magic.
Now, he was simultaneously controlling several objects weighing a few catties each, and for a considerable amount of time.
So, it was common to see objects flying and floating around in the living room of Bag End.
Initially, these were non-fragile items, but after he became proficient, they included water cups, teapots, and dinner plates.
Bilbo, too, went from initial shock to now being accustomed to it, sometimes even too lazy to move or unwilling to fetch distant items, he would simply call Dui to help him float them over with magic.
One day, Dui temporarily paused his magic practice.
Because the food stored in Bag End was almost consumed by the two of them, he and Bilbo had to go to Hobbiton to buy ingredients.
Walking down the winding path along the hills, passing through the pastoral landscapes of the Shire, they could see two or three Hobbits cultivating the fields along the way.
When they saw Dui, a clearly tall Human, the Hobbits would stop and curiously observe him.
There were no secrets in Hobbiton; the news of a Human staying at Bilbo Baggins's house had already spread throughout Hobbiton.
However, Bilbo Baggins was considered reclusive and not fond of socializing by the Hobbits.
So, no one took the initiative to come to Bag End to inquire.
Passing the mill and crossing the double-arch bridge, they soon arrived at the central area of Hobbiton.
The Hobbit houses here were different from Bag End, leaning more towards Human architectural features, though still low and suitable for Hobbits to live in.
And there was also the only inn here—the Green Dragon Inn, the Hobbits' favorite gathering place.
The market was bustling with people, Hobbits selling their various specialties, even bartering.
Women constantly haggled, while children joyfully weaved through the crowd.
Dui stood out remarkably in the crowd; everyone who passed by looked at him.
The adults' gazes were more subtle, but the children were different.
Several little Hobbits curiously gathered around him, one even tugging at his clothes, asking with clear, innocent eyes: "Are you a Human?"
Dui looked at the little one, who barely reached his knees, smiled, and patted his small head, nodding: "Yes."
Bilbo, who didn't want Dui to be looked down upon, cleared his throat a few times, and after attracting the surrounding gazes, he puffed out his chest and loudly declared: "Du Yier is not just a Human, he is also a Wizard!"
"Wow!" The little Hobbits' mouths hung open, looking shocked.
The surrounding Hobbits were also very surprised, and their curious attitude towards Dui gained a hint of reverence.
After all, Wizards had always been powerful and mysterious figures in Middle-earth.
But the children knew no reverence and pestered Dui even more curiously to see magic.
Dui didn't refuse; he gently tapped their hats, and the hats seemed to come alive, flapping their earflaps and flying around them.
The children gasped, then happily chased after the hats.
And the surrounding adult Hobbits who witnessed all this were equally astonished.
Bilbo was very pleased by this, and he cleared his throat with a feigned solemnity,
"Hmm, Du Yier, we should go."
Du Yier nodded, amused, following the Hobbit who looked as if he had just won a battle.
Once Bilbo finished his shopping at the market, Dui went to the only blacksmith's shop in Hobbiton.
The blacksmith shop owner was also surprised to see Dui, a Human, arrive, but he still stepped forward and greeted him: "What do you need, customer?"
Dui scanned the shop and found that it mainly sold farming tools like hoes, or items like cleavers and axes.
"Do you sell weapons here? Like longswords."
The owner looked at him strangely and shook his head, "Hobbits don't like fighting; longswords and weapons have no market here, so we don't sell them."
Dui was a little disappointed, but he continued to ask: "Then if I want to commission one, how long would it take?"
The owner continued to shake his head, "I'm sorry, customer, although I'd really like to take your business, we have never forged longswords and have no experience whatsoever."
"If you truly want to buy a good quality sword, I suggest you go to Bree Town, east of the Shire; that's a Human town, and they are very skilled at forging weapons. You might be able to buy the weapon you want there."
Dui shook his head.
According to Bilbo, the distance from Hobbiton to Bree Town was about 135 miles; walking would take at least six or seven days.
He currently had no plans to go to Bree Town.
Since he couldn't buy weapons, Dui simply picked out two bone cleavers from the blacksmith's shop.
Although the blacksmith shop owner said he didn't forge weapons, the quality of the cleavers he forged was excellent, especially the bone cleavers, which were thick and sharp, capable of easily cutting through pork, beef, and lamb bones.
In the owner's words, the cleavers produced here could last a lifetime.
Dui expressed doubt about this, but he still paid readily.
As for the source of the money, Dui naturally borrowed it from Bilbo.
He was a poor man, penniless, and currently living under Bilbo's care; he couldn't even guarantee when he could repay him.
However, the kind Hobbit didn't mind and had no intention of asking for repayment.
So, Dui was very grateful that the first person he met was Bilbo; otherwise, how could he be so relaxed now!