In the following days, Ethan ate and drank as usual. As he expected, everything remained calm, and no freak accident occurred of lightning striking him as soon as he stepped out the door. During this time, he visited the Magic Scroll Shop several times and solemnly introduced the Cat Assistant Manager to the staff. He also spent two nights replenishing a large number of Ice Arrow Scrolls to continue selling them at the bay.
The reputation of Heisenberg spread faster than he had imagined. Now, the entire bay was talking about him selling high-purity Ice Arrow Scrolls.
Although he completely didn’t understand how Elemental Magic was related to purity, the many adventurers who frequently visited Fireplace Bay were eagerly waiting to buy from him. The price of an Ice Arrow Scroll had been driven up to the level of Ten Golden Lions, and even so, the demand consistently outstripped supply.
For the first time in his life, Ethan experienced the luxury of counting money at home while others practiced their Ice Arrow skills for him.
In just a few days, his proficiency in Ice Arrow and Elemental Drawing had each increased by one level.
According to his repeated observations and studies, he discovered that intermediate Elemental Drawing allowed him to no longer need to split the scroll into three parts. It also unlocked the "Imaging" function, enabling him to see in real-time when and where the scroll purchaser used it once the magic scroll was activated.
Ethan didn’t let himself sink into a life of ease; he quickly started new research.
Having a girlfriend brought him the great advantage of being able to ask questions about anything he didn’t understand. His girlfriend, having been a teacher at the academy, possessed an unsurpassed knowledge of the occult, akin to a walking encyclopedia.
"Teacher, do you think those legendary Divine Spirits were originally just powerful Saints who arranged a set of rules for the paths they walked, and now people mistakenly regard them as Divine Spirits?"
They might have already dispersed, or perhaps, for some reason, have hidden themselves in anomalous spaces similar to contaminated zones.
As for addressing her as "Teacher," it was a title Ethan had thought of recently, feeling that directly calling Lindong by her name seemed too distant, a sentiment that Lindong appeared very satisfied with.
When faced with a student’s query, Lindong didn’t respond directly. She savored the juicy fruits on her plate, held Ethan’s gaze for a moment, then picked a fruit and brought it to his mouth.
This was none other than the Knight Commander’s coveted snow cherries, which Lindong demonstrated to Ethan had originated from the fruits of her own magic power!
Whenever she was bored, she liked to "produce" a bowl of snow cherries for herself as a snack.
With a cool, sweet taste, the chill seeped into him along his taste buds as if coursing through his veins.
The proficiency of Ice Arrow increased by 1 point.
This astonished Ethan the most, that eating the fruits produced by his teacher could actually enhance his Ice Arrow skills. Considering his current affinity for the ice element was already at the fourth stage, achieving each proficiency increase through normal practice would require casting dozens of Ice Arrows.
Despite numerous attempts under the guidance of his teacher, Ethan ultimately found no success.
In the domain of producing fruits, he had no talent whatsoever, unable to produce either snow cherries or dragon fruits.
"That’s a very interesting idea."
Lindong firstly affirmed Ethan’s quirky idea, thoroughly enjoying watching him conduct his research as she snacked on the fruits. The longer they spent together, the more she felt Ethan possessed an intriguing soul, always capable of uttering statements that could get other transcendents from different paths so provoked they might want to tie him onto a stake for a barbeque.
In just a few days, he already began to question the authenticity of other Divine Spirits.
"But I can’t answer your question. You need to consult books from other paths. Often, only books involving forbidden knowledge will mention details related to the Divine Spirits."
"But since it’s forbidden knowledge, they probably wouldn’t share it for us to see, right?"
To delve deeper into his research, Ethan recently purchased numerous magic books of other paths from Fireplace Bay. Yet, reading them resulted in a superficial understanding, full of professional terminologies, without providing any effective assistance to his research.
"Then we’ll sneak a peek," Lindong suggested with a mischievous smile. "I’ll keep watch at the door while you go in and take a look."
"...Isn’t that inappropriate?"
"What’s inappropriate about it? I’ve read all the forbidden books at the academy. Although many didn’t interest me, the more the teachers emphasized not reading them, the more I wanted to. It’s exhilarating! Just imagine; the teacher could burst in at any moment, and you can only seize every second to absorb the knowledge above!"
The more Lindong spoke, the more excited she became, a flush appearing on her cheeks. Her reading efficiency as a student was honed in this way.
Seeing Ethan at a loss for words, Lindong continued, "You must appreciate it, back then, I couldn’t find anyone to watch my back. If the academy teachers found out, not only would I have to write an apology, but the class would lose points too."
Ethan could easily imagine that Lindong’s teachers must have had a love-hate relationship with her.
With unparalleled elemental magic talent, she almost won all the honors during her student years, only to turn it around by violating school rules and regulations, getting everything deducted back.
Lying in bed one night, Lindong had proudly told him that she fainted their Elemental Magic Theory teacher three times in public. Even several years after her graduation, at the mention of her name, the elderly professor would blow his beard, glare, and turn beet red.
Ethan had to point out that Lindong’s appearance could be quite deceiving.
With white hair and red eyes, adept in ice element magic, and always adorned with the "genius" title, she gave everyone the first impression of an aloof highland flower. Yet, being with her for a long time revealed her mischievous nature, capable of coming up with schemes after schemes.
Take for instance a few days ago, when the Knight Commander, upon learning about the origins of snow cherries, sought her out to ask for some. In turn, she proposed a game with the Knight Commander.
In the dish were six snow cherries, but only one was real, while the other five would freeze a person’s tongue.
Ethan could only be thankful that this cunning cat hadn’t played this Russian roulette-like cruel game with him.
"By the way, don’t go to Fireplace Bay tonight. I’ll watch your shop for you."
Lindong suddenly said.
"Why? You’re not planning some prank again, are you?"
Ethan immediately grew wary, and Lindong pretended to be hurt, saying indignantly, "When you were sleeping in, the Knight Commander came by saying they’re setting off tonight. Aren’t you going to watch the fake death scenario you’ve planned for so long? How can you speak of your teacher , you bad student!"
To showcase her disappointment, with a "poof," Lindong disappeared.
A white ragdoll cat landed on the desk. After meowing once, it lifted its head, turned away, leaving only its drooping tail for Ethan to see.