Interest
The next morning, Lazarus "returned home on time" and used a teleportation scroll that originally cost 199 emotional points and now cost 50, and appeared in the courtyard of the small building.
After all, Xiaoman is also an independent individual who is about to reach adulthood, and creatures like the protagonist have always had the advantage of strong vitality. If they are left there and given some nutrients, they will thrive, so the care strategy does not need to be so meticulous.
He didn't have the hobby of watching over Xiaoman closely every minute of every second. After making sure that Xiaoman had mastered the use of magic smoothly, he was able to do his own thing with peace of mind.
——Although this kind of identity often comes with a tendency to get into trouble, on the one hand, Xiaoman is definitely a very sensible and mature protagonist, and on the other hand, Yuan Qian really thinks he can handle it, or rather, this powerful character he bought at a high price can handle it. Even if she accidentally blows up the house, the worst that can be solved is a matter of retrospection. Praise magic.
Of course Xiaoman didn't really blow up the house. She has already developed a stable and capable personality that is difficult to change.
After Lazarus came back, he took the initiative to ask her what she had done, and Xiaoman showed the teacher the results of her work for the past day.
In addition to learning the introductory elements of fire magic, she also followed the note and went for a walk in the forest, fetching some water to store, and preparing to ask the teacher if the herbs in the garden needed watering. In order not to waste the fire, she even caught two fat male rabbits, skinned them, and washed them, and cooked them in a pot with some tubers she found.
It was really too hardworking. As a lazy modern useless person, Yuan Qian asked himself if he had the skills to be self-reliant to this extent.
He was very touched, but he declined the option to taste the apprentice's cooking. Although the stew in the pot looked really delicious, just dipping some of the broth with dry bread would fill one's stomach.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not alive and I don't have the ability to eat anymore."
Xiao Man heard the mysterious teacher who had not revealed his true face say this. His right hand, which was completely skeletal, suddenly became more visible, quietly resting outside the wide sleeve of his robe, with a layer of faint light shrouding the straight and hard white bone surface.
This made Xiaoman feel a little disappointed, but she was not too surprised, because Lazarus was like this when they first met the day before. He was obviously very skilled in making tea, but after the tea was brewed, he did not drink it himself, but only poured a cup for her.
She ate the stewed and reheated dish alone, which was extra soft and tasty, while Lazarus checked her reading progress.
Xiaoman didn't feel guilty about this. While she was busy, she worked hard to finish reading the two thickest books in the pile. Although she didn't remember much, she was able to ensure that she remembered to follow the safety regulations in full accordance with existing experience and never set foot in the forbidden area for novices who changed their steps without understanding the principles. Therefore, Lazarus's goal of letting her read the books was achieved.
As expected, Lazarus didn't say much. Perhaps the note he left for Xiaoman to learn on her own was a sign of recognition for her, so he felt relieved to start the next step of teaching.
"All elements other than water, wind, earth and wood are external systems. Among them, fire is the most common. But it is actually not easy to master."
"Or it is the element that repels beastmen the most. Thunder is like the sky where it was born. It simply ignores the call of beastmen. The same is true for darkness. And fire...it always hates and attacks us."
"Every Mythril Blood who refuses to admit defeat will have his palms burned by it in the initial stage. Many spellcasters who have come into contact with the outer system can only use the fire element with the help of props, unless they completely change their race."
Lazarus sat across from the dining table and spoke leisurely. He pulled out a dead leaf that had been stuck between the pages of a book at some unknown time, and shook it gently. A thin flame spread along the tip of his skeletal finger to the surface of the dead leaf, quietly devouring it.
The leaf veins that were slightly stronger than the leaf surface held on for a moment longer in the fire, leaving a charred tree-like shadow in Xiaoman's eyes.
As a spellcaster whose image is inseparable from death and mystery, and whose face is even now shrouded in distorted light and shadow, he seems to be extremely gloomy. Moreover, his posture, which is wrapped tightly and resembles a walking clothes rack, cannot be said to be human at all.
However, he had a kind of gentleness and reliability that came from nowhere but was genuine, which made Xiaoman trust him unconsciously.
"You were able to tame fire so easily without having to bypass the bloodline restrictions like we did, which proves that my assumption is correct."
"——The so-called 'incomplete ones' are just rumors spread by the Holy City out of jealousy, taking advantage of your short lifespan."
"Rare creatures like you not only have unique talents, but also, unlike the beastmen, are born with the qualifications to master foreign magic, which means you have the power to dominate us. You can easily make fire obey your will, so you can command thunder, shadows, and even "light"."
"Rather than saying that the Incomplete Ones are beings who have been condemned to original sin by the God of Stars... from this perspective, it seems that they are more like people in the temple who have been granted precious privileges by God. So what should the original name of 'you' be?"
Lazarus said, the last sentence sounding more like a soliloquy. He stared at Xiaoman across the dining table, his words expressing the curiosity and emotion that a person with vast knowledge would have when he saw something that seemed to be predetermined from birth gradually reveal a corner and show a truth that was different from its surface appearance.
Xiaoman had never had any systematic exposure to magic before. Apart from the superficial knowledge passed down by word of mouth, she was completely a blank slate. She had no idea that the fire element, which she thought was not difficult to master, was so special.
From the perspective of other spellcasters, no matter how hard she worked, it could not explain that it was normal progress for her to be able to ignite objects without the help of fire crystals after just half a day of hard work. Lhasa Tris was obviously very proud of this, and even showed a little pride under his calm and mysterious appearance.
He still clearly remembered the feeling of being pierced by the spellcaster's ice arrow when he was Su Mei - as an extension of the water element, ice is not considered an external element - although Su Mei's departure was a predetermined fate, it did not prevent Yuan Qian from being deeply impressed by the frustration of being controlled by others.
What's so great about being a spellcaster? My kid can do magic now! He'll beat you up sooner or later!
...This is Yuan Qian’s mentality at the moment.
So he announced his plan to take Xiaoman to a special venue to practice large-scale offensive magic next time, and then generously gave Xiaoman a day off. As long as she didn't slack off in her basic elemental control training, she could do whatever she wanted, even if it meant pulling up all the herbs outside to see how their roots grew.
Xiaoman, who found out that he got the vacation so soon, said: "..."
She had never been so aimless before, and was a little confused for a moment. She couldn't think of what else she could do to fill her schedule, other than helping the teacher with some chores as a reward. Reading obviously didn't count.
"Sunbathing, reading, sleeping?" Lazarus thought for a moment and tried to suggest, "Sorry, I don't know much about what young people like to do, and it's not convenient for me to take you to a place where there are people."
"So what do you usually do?" Xiaoman asked.
"I sleep when I'm not doing research," Lazarus replied, "but that's not what you are meant to do. Research is the most trivial and futile thing, and should be done in the very long and useless part of life. My teachings are to help you gain more useful real power, not to waste your precious life."
It's the truth. There's not a single falsehood in it. This is how Xiaoman's talent is judged.
"Why are you so nice to me?" Xiaoman asked.
“…I guess it’s out of interest.” Lazarus said thoughtfully.
He said to Xiao Man in a joking tone, "Although your reputation is not that great, I really want to leave a shining star in this world. And now it seems that I can also undermine the confidence of those pretending to be honest guys in Baroa City, because you will be stronger than their disciples. So I will gain more by getting you as a disciple."
Not long after this conversation, the fake system that replaced D-009 sent a congratulatory message:
[The manga has finally been updated with one chapter. It is being released. I will let you know when I can buy it.]
From this sentence, Yuan Qian heard a lot of information that he had not known before, and he asked:
"Can you...see the update progress in the system?"
[Yes. I can also explain to you the principle of how you can see the updates in real time instead of weekly. By the way, how did the system explain this to you before?]
"It says time flows at a different rate."
[Oh, you can also explain it this way. But I'm not a theorist, so I can only summarize it like this: the world over there is an infinitely long conveyor belt that moves forward normally, and you are a person standing on it at this moment in time. You are at the same speed as it, but after completing enough updated plots, you will be able to observe the "point" on the next section of the conveyor belt.]
[So this person took a step forward and stood directly on that "point", so you feel that you have just finished the plot and then saw the update, but for the world over there, comics are indeed released at a fixed time. It has never adjusted the speed, what changes is the position we touch.]
Yuan Qian seemed to understand but also seemed not to understand. He stood there and looked at the floor under his feet, then walked to another floor, stood firmly on it, and looked back.
The restaurant was quiet, Xiaoman had already left, and no one saw his silly look. He gave up studying this overly abstract theory of time and prepared to pay for the update with emotional points.
After this, Yuan Qian also planned to unlock the forum created by readers. Because as of this morning, the emotional value in his account finally exceeded 4,000 points. After creating the character of Lazarus, this number once dropped to more than 2,000. In the two days when the comics were not updated, the readers who came later still provided him with income, which gradually accumulated to the present, and finally reached what he considered to be a safe value.
After all, the daily rental of the Lich character is really too expensive, 80 points/day, no deception, this is the price of strength. Even now that the adjutant has replaced D-009, he honestly told Yuan Qian that this is the only charge that cannot be discounted, because the previous system did not charge extra on this basis.
Adding to Yuan Qian's own living expenses, he has to face nearly a hundred points of expenditure every day in the comic world. He always has to keep some extra money in addition to the 2880 points of preferential price unlocked in the forum for emergencies. It is better not to spend ahead of time when it comes to life.
[Comic content update completed]
[Do you want to purchase 1 episode: 49 emotional points? (Original price 200 points/episode, special offer countdown 59:59)]
After seeing the price, Yuan Qian immediately clicked to buy, and was full of gratitude for the existence of the partner. With D-009's selfless support, no matter what the person's true nature was, as long as he saw this unreasonable and generous act of casually discounting the price, he would be radiant with the great light of an angel in Yuan Qian's eyes.
"No matter what, I should thank you." Yuan Qian said with emotion.
[Oh? That's all, nothing to thank, we demons have always been simple folks, if you come up with more interesting plots I can give you a discount. The underlying code of this main system is like an idiot, it's easy to get stuck.] The adjutant who did good deeds every day obviously didn't take the good deeds he did to heart, and said casually without caring.
"What is considered a good plot?" Yuan Qian asked sincerely.
[…For example, as an undead lich, since the weather is so nice today, why don’t you take out your dirty underwear and dry it out?] After thinking for a moment, the other party tried to suggest.
Yuan Qian: “…Are you serious?”
"No. But I guess readers will find it interesting," said the adjutant.
Yuan Qian doesn't think so. He firmly believes that readers who follow the youth comics are normal kids with light tastes, optimism and positive attitudes, and they don't want to watch a 797-year-old lich digging out his internal organs.
……I guess so.