Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“Teacher, I’ve finished reading the notebook,” Lynn returned the notebook to Angley.

Perhaps tired from meditation, Angley wasn’t continuing his meditation right now— instead, he had pulled out a magical book with a purple cover and was engrossed in reading.

As for why it was a magical book, it was because the cover of this book actually emitted a faint glow!

Lynn stole glances at it seven times to make sure it wasn’t his imagination.

Angley sipped his milk nonchalantly, then reached out to take the notebook from Lynn’s hand and stowed it back inside his ring.

Then, Angley raised his right hand, and his fingertip emitted a faint purple light.

The purple light formed ripples, swiftly spreading to cover the entire compartment.

Lynn looked around, nothing seemed to have changed.

Old Kim, sitting in the front, was still driving the carriage as if nothing happened.

“I originally gave you five days, but since you claim to have finished, I will test you. I don’t appreciate dishonest or overly ambitious students,” Angley said in a calm tone.

“As a wizard, even as an apprentice, you must learn to be grounded. I’ve seen too many rash apprentices lose their lives due to various accidents. If you’re as foolish as they are, I may consider getting a new student.”

“I’ll ask you one last time, are you sure you remember everything in there?” Angley looked at Lynn and asked slowly.

“I remember everything,” Lynn said sincerely. He had noticed that he had undergone some changes since the last time that door opened and poured knowledge into him.

He now possessed an eidetic memory, only needing to read something once to remember it completely. This enhancement was insane, much more exaggerated than the memory boost he got from improving his mental power.

Without exaggeration, his memory was now comparable to that of a human printer.

But this change was a good thing, making his learning process significantly easier.

“Then I’ll test you on a few points of knowledge.” Angley closed the magical book in his hand, his expression solemn.

He asked several questions consecutively.

Some were merely inconspicuous terms from a passage, while others were crucial points of certain knowledge.

However, Lynn answered all of them accurately, even without much thought.

Lynn was being questioned by Angley about the contents recorded in the notebook.

For Lynn, who had already memorized all the contents, these questions weren’t difficult to answer.

This was because Angley was inquiring about the points of knowledge from the notebook.

After correctly answering all five questions that Angley asked, he nodded in satisfaction. “It seems you are even more suitable to become a wizard than I imagined. Your memory is quite impressive, which is good.”

“I’ll ask you one more question, and if your answer pleases me, I’ll give you an additional reward,” Angley said.

“And this spell is a reward for your honesty.” Angley’s ring flashed in his hand.

The next moment, a black book appeared in Angley’s hand.

On the book cover were words written in silver-white.

These words weren’t any language he recognized, but as soon as Lynn saw this script, he understood the meaning of those words— “Sleeping Curse.”

“Thank you, teacher.” Lynn received the book that Angley handed over with both hands. The book containing the Sleeping Curse was weighty, and its thickness wasn’t negligible. Why was it so thick! Wasn’t learning a spell supposed to be recorded on a simple parchment scroll?

In a damp and chilly corner of one such room, a small stove was lit. Vapor billowed from the kettle on the stove’s edge.

The lid clanged as a girl of eight or nine years old, using a towel as a makeshift glove, carefully lifted the boiling water and poured it into a basin already filled with lukewarm water. She let the towel soak in the water for a while, then wrung it out, her small hands reddened from the heat.

With quick steps, she reached the bedside, placing the towel on a woman’s forehead.

The woman opened her eyes, her pallid face radiating affection. “Eva, you should take a break.”

The girl merely shook her head, earnestly saying, “Both Dad and my big brother are out working. I need to take care of Mom at home.”

Hearing Eva’s mature words, the woman’s face was a mixture of heartache and self-blame.

She was heartbroken that at such a young, innocent age, her daughter was already showing such maturity. Yet, she blamed herself for falling ill and making her young daughter care for her.

“Mom, I miss big brother,” Eva pouted suddenly, reminded of how her older brother had taken care of her when she had a cold.

Anika extended her arm from under the blanket and embraced her daughter, her face full of sorrow.

How could she not yearn for her eldest son?

However, on their escape journey, that monster suddenly burst out from the roadside and scattered the refugee caravan.

In the chaos, she had only managed to grab her little daughter’s hand.

By the time she regained her senses, her eldest son had vanished without a trace.

She and her husband searched in the same spot the entire day but found no sign of their eldest son.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to continue following the refugee caravan southward with their second son and little daughter.

In countless nights, she had often seen, as if in a trance, the figure appearing by her bedside. Yet, each time she reached out, all she grasped was an illusion.

How fervently she wished the gods could hear her prayers and bring her son back to her side.

Anika released her grip, her left hand catching hold of her daughter’s arm. She studied her daughter’s face, raising her arm to wipe away the tears at the corner of her eye.

“Eva, you’re a big girl now. Be strong and don’t cry.”

“But Mom, you’re crying too,” Eva said.

“I’m not sad, Eva. I’m happy that you’re taking care of Mom,” Anika replied.

“Mom, we’re almost out of water at home. I’ll go get some from outside,” Eva said.

“Don’t go out,” Anika suddenly sounded stern, her tone becoming firm. “Stay inside and don’t go out.”

Anika suddenly grasped Eva’s hand and pulled her into an embrace.

With one hand, the woman held her daughter’s head against her, while the other arm encircled her waist.

Her eyes were fixed on the direction of the window.

Outside the frosted glass window, a blurred silhouette stood just beyond the pane.

——

TL/N: Sleeping Curse, a zero-ring spell was changed from Sleep Incantation. It was first mentioned in chapter 3. ↩︎

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