Chapter 74

Xiu Er and Takuson appeared on the streets of this Magic city.

Unlike usual, this time Takuson led the way, while Xiu Er followed behind.

The height difference between the two would probably make an uninformed person think it was a father taking his daughter out.

As for why I say that, it's because Xiu Er has already noticed many passersby, especially the elderly and women, showing that kind of expression when they see this kind of thing.

Moreover, although Xiu Er has a cold expression, his appearance is quite handsome. However, appearance is something that Ex-Machina can change at will, but Xiu Er just doesn't care.

"Teacher, you haven't seen the sights of this city yet, have you?"

"[Affirmative] The map has already been generated. The 'shopping' action is meaningless and can be discarded."

Because Xiu Er Open Gate directly to Sariel's room, he really didn't record the city scenery except for the topographical map he had obtained.

However, even if he really needs footage, he can just send a drone to "collect" it.

"Hey, since that's the case, how about I show you around?"

"[Question] Didn't you hear me? Unnecessary actions can be abandoned."

"This city is quite different from any of the places we've been to before. Let's just go out and take a look. It won't hurt us anyway."

Takuson glanced at his Clone Sisters around him, figuring that taking the teacher away wouldn't affect her work progress.

"..."

"Request approved"

Although Xiu Er wanted to say that he had already "seen" the entire city by other means, he finally agreed to the request because he saw the "excitement" on Takuson's face.

Anyway, it won't be long, so let's just treat it as a way to help the child relax.

And that's how we got the scene we see now.

"Teacher, let me tell you, the food at this restaurant is delicious!"

Takuson led Xiu Er to the shop he had mentioned, Xiu Er immediately retrieved the shop's information from his database.

"..."

But he didn't say anything. Anyway, Takuson was leading the way, and he was prepared to just listen quietly the whole way.

"Oh, there's a Magic show on this street!"

"..."

"And this and this..."

"..."

Time quickly came to lunchtime.

Sitting in a randomly chosen restaurant, Xiu Er looked at the person across the table.

"Teacher, how are you feeling?"

"... [Answer] It's alright."

"Huh? That's too cold."

Xiu Er's answer immediately deflated Takuson's spirits.

"[Explanation] Because I had already 'read' it long ago."

"Ah, when?!"

"[Answer] When you're shopping."

"Huh?"

Takuson was bewildered. Had his teacher followed him out?

No, Sister Xiu Er wouldn't abandon her "work" without permission, which means it's very likely that her Doppelganger sister came with her. That must be it.

"[Doubt] I told you before that I know your situation at any time, right?" Xiu Er's eyes were fixed on Takuson's ear. "What you can see and what you can't see, I can see at any time."

"[Supplement] Long before you finished exploring the city, I had already 'seen' what the entire city looked like."

These words jolted Takuson's memory awake, and he remembered that Xiu Er had indeed told him about it.

I never expected this to happen; it's a real shame.

But how did the teacher see my "image"?

He touched his ears, because Xiu Er's gaze had just been on them, but there was only the earphone Xiu Er had given him.

Ah, I see.

It turns out that this device not only allows the user to communicate and exchange information with the teacher, but also allows the teacher to know the user's information "intuitively" at any time.

The thought that his image was being watched by Xiu Er at any moment did not frighten him; in fact, he was happy about it.

However, this also ruined his plans, but it didn't matter. Compared to this, Takuson's mood improved greatly after learning that Xiu Er was always watching him.

"Excuse me, this is your order."

"Oh, thank you."

After thanking the shop assistant, Takuson began to eat the food in front of him. Not talking while eating was a lesson he had been taught by Xiu Er, so he stopped talking.

The waiter glanced at Xiu Er, his expression suggesting he wanted to say something but for some reason didn't.

Such a subtle expression naturally did not escape Xiu Er's notice, but he did not pay attention to it, because there are many reasons for this situation, and he would not pay too much attention to strangers.

And so, after finishing their meal in Takuson.

After sending his apprentice back to the inn, Xiu Er returned to the reading room, to his diligently working Doppelganger, and continued his recording work.

He was certain that after this night, he would have finished recording Sariel's current collection of books.

When Sariel finished recording her Magic, he had nothing left to do.

The world resolution of the Codex of the Whispers has also reached 79%.

As for future plans, I'll leave that for tomorrow.

Episode 51: Personal instruction and a "chance encounter"

Time flies.

Three years have passed since Xiu Er and his apprentice left the Magic city.

Today, Takuson, whose power has now grown immensely, has once again approached Xiu Er with a request...

"[Inquiry] You said you wanted to increase the target strength of the 'Virtual Combat Arena'?"

"That's right. Recently, I've felt that the intensity of the battles inside no longer makes me feel tense."

"..."

Looking into Takuson's determined eyes, Xiu Er knew that the other party was not joking. Moreover, Xiu Er was constantly observing Tuckerson's process of becoming stronger and the ever-increasing data.

Because he had never let go of any attention to his apprentice over the years, Xiu Er possessed almost every minute of the "Takuson Observation Records" from the past few years, without any editing.

"..."

Xiu Er did not respond. His gaze swept over Takuson from head to toe, a routine practice he performed to accurately record his apprentice's changes.

"Application approved"

Two "tails" emerged from under the hem of Xiu Er's clothes and stuck into the ground between the two of them.

This time, there was no "location shooting" or preparation of any other data.

Having already collected all the Magic currently in Sariel's collection, Xiu Er's Magic reserves have reached an astonishing level.

Furthermore, thanks to his vast knowledge of Magic, Xiu Er no longer needs to "copy" and can directly create his own Magic. For example, the few "Pseudo-Codex" he copied back then have now entered the category of "True Codex texts."

The original version of the weapon, the Virtual Combat Arena, was also improved after the addition of "Magic".

An invisible ripple spread outwards from the center, unknowingly covering an area of 2km in radius.

"[Ready] "

"Uh, huh?"

Takuson looked around at the unchanged environment, but his physical senses immediately told him that he had entered the [Battle Arena].

This is the perfect training ground that the teacher once created for himself. It was really painful, but the improvement was also really fast.

Unlike before, when he, Takuson, always entered alone, today, Xiu Er was still there, looking like she wasn't planning to leave.

Then, Xiu Er suddenly moved his limbs a few times in a very human way, as if he were doing warm-up exercises.

Upon seeing this scene, Takuson's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a terrifying thought suddenly popped into his mind.

His expression instantly turned to terror.

The scene of fighting the imposter was still vivid in my mind; the mere physical imitation made it impossible for me to perfectly parry the next blow.

"Wait, teacher, could it be...?!"

Having deduced Takuson's thoughts using logical reasoning, Xiu Er didn't hide anything and directly revealed the truth.

"Affirm that you want 'pressure,' as this is the most effective method."

"But you are my teacher, I can't bring myself to do it."

No one knew whether Takuson's words were sincere or he simply didn't want to fight someone of Xiu Er's strength. In any case, he gave this reason at the moment, with a very resistant expression.

"[Supplement] Unleash your full power."

Upon hearing this, Takuson finally broke into uncontrollable convulsions, trying his best to keep his expression in check.

He does need battles that can make him feel tense, only in this way can he continue to improve, but facing his teacher, that kind of power that he can never defeat, makes him want to escape from the bottom of his heart.

Sometimes, escaping is shameful, but useful; however, unfortunately, Xiu Er did not give him any choice.

Without waiting to see if Takuson was ready, "Xiu Er" appeared in front of him instantly, and when that petite fist, which looked like it could be easily wrapped in Takuson's palm, slammed into his abdomen.

A pain more intense than any injury sustained in battle instantly spread from his abdomen throughout his entire body.

This caused him to curl up uncontrollably.

"Puwa!"

A wave of nausea, dizziness, and pain washed over him, filling his brain. Due to the nature of the Battle Arena, he didn't actually vomit; he just made a vomiting motion.

He punched himself so hard that he ended up like this.

However, judging from the abdominal pain I just experienced, the teacher in front of me is not the real teacher. If it were the real teacher, I definitely wouldn't be able to stand up.

It seems that, just like the Monster that the teachers had fought hundreds of times back then, the teachers also recorded their own "images".

At this moment, he was facing Xiu Er's "battle footage," and it was a version with the difficulty reduced.

It seems the days ahead are going to be tough.

A bluish-purple figure was slowly walking across the vast plain.

It stands out exceptionally well amidst the greenery.

Xiu Er walked alone on this plain, and no one knew where he was going.

Takuson was honing his combat skills in the Battle Arena, and naturally he wouldn't linger and wait.

The area has excellent visibility because it is a plain, allowing Xiu Er to observe distant situations directly without Detector.

Sure enough, Xiu Er's eyes immediately caught sight of several dark figures.

Demon? What are these guys doing here?

No scanning is needed; just seeing the large horns on the heads of a few people, unique to the Demon, is enough to determine their racial identity.

There were only four people.