Chapter 14-14- Test

In the evening, Yvette, covered in dust, returned to the manor with Rosaline in her arms.

Today's expedition was not going well. Yvette never imagined that in the seemingly peaceful and tranquil factory, there was a giant mechanical mutant lurking and launching a sneak attack.

When she and Rosaline were passing by the ruins of a factory building on the edge of the city, a huge mechanical tortoise covered with some red flesh suddenly jumped out from the ruins, raising a cloud of dust a hundred meters high and almost swallowing the two people in the sky.

Fortunately, Yvette had excellent skateboarding skills. She did an extreme tailspin, gliding past the edge of the turtle's mouth and accelerating away with the Wind Rider. Otherwise, she would have been reborn by now, looking at a new ceiling.

Afterwards, she asked Rosaline to go to the bathroom to take a shower first. Yvette summoned a simple water magic to wipe her face clean. She silently recalled the shape of the giant mechanical turtle in her heart and gradually made some guesses.

It must have been a mechanical camel from a circus or theater troupe hundreds of years ago. During festivals and celebrations, it would pull a stage and perform in the streets. When it wasn't in use on weekdays, it was sealed in a suburban warehouse. Then, when the apocalypse came, it suddenly became the regional boss...

What bad luck! Not only were there so many dangers, but she also lost face in front of the little golden retriever, losing her master's prestige... Oh, it must be because she wanted to show off in front of the child too much, and coupled with the fact that life has been relatively quiet recently, she has lost her former cautiousness... I can't do this anymore. I'm far from being powerful yet. I need to have a sense of awe for the world...

After a moment of deep self-reflection, Yvette waited for Rosalyn to finish her bath and then dove into the hot water. She didn't come out until her snow-white skin had turned a rosy red.

Then when she opened the door, she saw Rosalyn standing at the stairs, her face tense and her eyes looking at her seriously.

"Witch sister!" she said seriously.

"What, what happened..." Yvette subconsciously thought of what happened today, and then felt a little guilty, suspecting that the little girl came to persuade her not to be so reckless in the future.

But it turned out that she was overthinking it. Rosalyn took a deep breath and said what she had been thinking for a long time: "Can I... learn magic from you?"

"You want to learn magic?" Yvette asked without surprise.

She had actually anticipated this request. After all, many times when she was cleaning up the deformed creatures, Rosaline would watch without blinking, revealing her obsession with magic.

But because the little girl never mentioned this matter, Yvette pretended not to know.

"Yes, I want to learn...but I can't afford anything. Can you teach me?" Rosalyn lowered her head embarrassedly and looked at her slippers.

Yvette said nothing, just looked at her quietly. She didn't agree immediately, but she didn't refuse either.

She had thought about this matter a long time ago, and one of the key points was why she wanted to accept a disciple and what benefits would it bring to her.

In terms of being kind, she took in the little golden retriever, fed her, and protected her from the threat of the deformed monsters. In the end, she only accepted some ordinary common sense about the other world, which already demonstrated her kindness and goodness.

But accepting a disciple is another matter, which involves the vast knowledge heritage from the original civilization in her mind. Can this priceless treasure be given to a person from another world casually?

In ancient times, the close, father-son-like mentor-disciple relationship was often an investment in one's own later years, but Yvette didn't need anyone to provide for her in her old age. Furthermore, if the aurora reappeared, the little golden retriever would return home, all her investments would be lost, and she might even benefit others in the other world... And for safety reasons, Yvette had no plans to travel to the other world for at least a few hundred years...

It seems that she can't find a reason to give away all the rune knowledge she possesses for free.

Just like she never thought of teaching Rosalyn Kuroshio.

During the long silence, Rosalyn lowered her head and felt her heart sinking to the bottom of the water.

As a daughter of aristocracy with a good family education, she deeply understands one thing, that is - you have to pay for what you get, and there is no free lunch in the world.

The kingdom's court wizards occasionally accepted apprenticeships from the children of nobles, but often charged exorbitant tuition fees. While the church offered free opportunities, the price was lifelong membership and loyalty until the end of one's life.

And how could she, a little girl with nothing, allow a powerful witch who had lived for who knows how many years to accept her as her apprentice?

How presumptuous, Rosaline, what are you talking about? I should be grateful for the protection of the witch sister. How can you be so shameless to make further requests... Gradually, regret emerged in her heart.

But just when she was about to withdraw her request, Yvette suddenly said, "...It's not impossible."

Doesn't that mean it's okay?

Rosalyn looked up in surprise, and then heard Yvette continue, "...but I need to give you a little test."

"test?"

"Yes, a little test," Yvette said. "Do you know how to meditate?"

"I don't know..." Rosalin shook her head. As the daughter of an earl, she once had the opportunity to study with a magician from the kingdom, but unfortunately there was only one spot available. After much deliberation, her father gave the opportunity to her eldest brother.

She had no complaints about this. After all, she was not going to the battlefield, while her elder brother was really going to fight the demons.

"Meditation is the foundation of magical practice and the primary method for acquiring magical power," Yvette said. "You will first practice meditation with me for three years. If, after three years, your total magical power satisfies me, I will officially accept you as my apprentice."

As a person with mediocre talent, when she first started meditating, Yvette's growth was about 2 points a year, which was extremely slow.

If Rosaline is a genius girl with talents far beyond ordinary people, then she can grow up quickly and become Yvette's right-hand man in this dangerous world, increasing her ability to resist survival risks.

This is the reason she found for herself to accept a disciple.

Of course, the apprentice's character is also important... But the little girl is currently doing well, being well-behaved, sensible, and well-educated. She's only just turned 10, and her values ​​haven't yet solidified. If her character falters in the future, it's her, the teacher, who should be held accountable...

Three years? Rosalyn's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't hesitate at all: "Okay, Witch Sister!" She nodded vigorously, her eyes firm.

…

After receiving the meditation instruction, Rosalyn's enthusiasm for "adventure" visibly cooled over the next few days. She spent most of her time confined to her bedroom on the second floor, meditating diligently.

Yvette's life thus gained more peace.

In the morning, she finally finished reading "Basics of Magical Mechanical Technology" in peace. In the afternoon, she leisurely gardened around the manor, pruning the flowers and plants. Before dusk, she strolled to another city park a few kilometers away to reclaim land, thinking about sowing some wheat seeds there when spring arrives next year.

Then the next morning, looking at the flower garden that had been trimmed yesterday and was a mess today, Yvette's face darkened, thinking that in farming, the threat posed by wild animals seemed to be much greater than that of deformed creatures.

How about unlocking the "Power Grid" tech tree first? It can protect the fruits of your labor and significantly increase the safety factor of the manor.

However, to unlock the power grid, a more powerful energy storage device must be unlocked. This prompted Yvette to go out more frequently, digging through ruins and searching for professional books on energy storage...

Thus, in this peaceful wasteland reclamation, a year passed quietly without anyone noticing.

(End of this chapter)