Dream Wonder

"I heard from Mother that you'll be leaving next month to study at Pamir Academy in the Royal Capital, Brother. So I wanted to prepare a farewell gift for you."

"I heard this legend from an old woman selling straw weaves, so..."

Under Anvis's questioning, the girl quickly chirped away like a happy little bird, telling him the whole story from beginning to end.

He recalled how she had once barely ever left the castle, yet over the past half month, she had gone out every afternoon and returned only very late.

The pale, slender young noble lightly inhaled, his azure eyes narrowing slightly. When he opened them again and looked at the girl's adorable little face, flushed red with excitement, an incomparably gentle smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you, Fi. This is the best farewell gift I've ever received—"

To Anvis, this unexpected surprise was like a traveler struggling across a snowy plain on a winter night, suddenly spotting a temporary camp in the distance.

And at the center of that camp, a small bonfire built from cedar branches, glowing with warm light.

Simple, yet heartwarming—

"Hehe... it was nothing, really. It just took a little longer to find it. I also asked Annie to make the Box and flowerpot..."

Having received praise far beyond her expectations, Fiona's cheeks reddened even more as she smiled shyly. At the same time, she inconspicuously turned her little head aside, her brilliant light golden hair gleaming.

"Actually, I was originally planning to take it out on the day we said goodbye and give you a surprise, Brother. I just couldn't wait any longer, so I brought it out now..."

As she spoke, the girl seemed less and less confident, her voice gradually fading.

Anvis smiled and reached out to tap the vine again, restoring it to its box shape. He had already understood the structure of this magic.

"Then just give it to me again on the day I leave for the academy—"

As he spoke, he handed the Box to the girl and smiled as he gave her a light wink.

"Mm, huh? That works too?"

Fiona froze, holding the Box in bewilderment. Her pink little mouth parted slightly, and her clear lake-blue eyes were full of confusion.

"Keep it with you for now, Fi. It'll be a good chance for Father and Mother to share in your good fortune as well."

Anvis chuckled softly and made an elegant gesture of invitation toward the Box.

"Mmm, you're right."

Fiona nodded in agreement and put the Box away.

"Well then, Brother, keep reading. I won't disturb you anymore~"

With that, the girl rose lightly and headed toward the Library doors.

Anvis watched with a smile as the girl's figure disappeared beyond the doors. Then, he began reflecting on himself.

There had been no such scene in his past memories. In other words, his very existence had already changed certain things without him realizing it.

That's right. In my previous life, because Fiona divided Father and Mother's attention, Little Anvis, who was only a year older than her, did not have such a good relationship with her.

Perhaps some arrangements can be altered slightly...

With a silent smile, Anvis closed the book on the Desktop and set it aside. Then he beckoned, and another book flew down from near the top shelf, landing in his hands.

This book was enormous, half a foot thick, and the entire volume exuded a dreamlike aura.

If the person holding it had slightly insufficient Spiritual Power, they would even become directly immersed in an illusory dream.

The cover was a cold black, yet for some reason, it gave one a sense of tranquility and peace.

Two lines of elegant Ancient Manni Language were stamped in the center of the cover. Under Anvis's gaze, they seemed to radiate shifting brilliance.

"On the Causes Behind the Birth of Growth Potential in Dream Wonders"

—Nodens "Sooner or later, I'll need this knowledge, won't I? I'm only beginning my research ahead of time."

Anvis opened the book, driving his Spiritual Power at full force. While resisting the ceaseless erosion of its dreamlike aura, he began reading carefully.

On the second-to-last day before departing for the academy, Anvis left the Library and entered the alchemy Laboratory for the first time in a long while.

"Activate maximum protection—"

Standing before the specialized Magic Composite Rune Alchemy Table, Anvis gripped the Family Amulet and sent a thread of Spiritual Power into it.

At his command, the Laboratory's Magic Array core was immediately activated. Multiple restraining and defensive arrays enveloped the rune table.

Originally, he had planned to make a Low-Rank Magic Curio as a farewell gift for Fiona.

But after receiving the girl's unexpected gift, Anvis changed his mind at the last minute and decided to create a Low-Rank curio with growth potential.

"Mandula Black Goat Parchment, Black Abyss Iron produced in the depths of lands haunted by resentful souls, the soft hide from the belly of a Sacred Unicorn, extract from the single eye of a Nightmare Giant..."

Comparing the listed material checklist, Anvis took out one bizarre material after another and began crafting a curio he had long conceived.

"Under the gaze of a Nightmare Bird, mix the single-eye extract with wraith essence as ink.

Use Night Crow Feather plucked on the night of the thirteenth day of Hearthfire Month as the base material. Attach a girl's resentment to create a Magic Quill, then write the book's text and illustrations..."

At one side of the alchemy room, a black cloth covering a massive cage was pulled away, revealing the grotesque scaled creature within.

It was a loathsome giant black bird with a seahorse-like head and lamprey-like mouthparts.

At the sight of long-unseen light, it flapped its enormous smooth wings. Its six evil blood-red eyes stared fixedly in Anvis's direction as it let out bursts of restless, agitated panting.

Without the protective Magic Array, Anvis would have suffered severe mental corruption in an instant and might even have been swallowed by nightmares on the spot.

But that was only a hypothetical. Under the effects of the protective Magic Array, the Nightmare Bird's Evil Gaze had no effect whatsoever on Anvis.

Anvis's hands did not pause. The tip of the resentment-laden Magic Quill dipped into the liquid radiating a powerful ominous aura, dancing across the faintly black parchment.

Guided throughout by Spiritual Power, it gracefully and neatly left behind line after line of pitch-black writing.

The content was Fiona's Adventures in Wonderland, the story he had previously told the girl. Anvis intended to use this tale as the core vessel to construct an illusory Dream Space.

Several Magic Hours later, the main text was complete.

Anvis took out the light golden hair he had collected while stroking Fiona in previous days and used it as thread to bind the pages together.

"Next, use unicorn hide and Shadow Wood to make the book cover. Wrap the corners in Black Abyss Iron and reinforce the spine..."

Soon, beneath the gaze of one man and one bird, a thick magic book gradually took shape.

Within the cover that emitted a faint sacred White Light was sealed an immensely dense, bizarre, and ominous aura.

A classic white-on-the-outside, black-on-the-inside. Nice.

Examining the magic book in his hand, which looked dreamlike and holy yet was in truth utterly twisted and ominous, Anvis gave it a silent appraisal.

"Finally, take a black umbrella that has been rained on during a funeral and open it indoors. Within the shadow cast by its canopy, fuse an Abnormal Element into the completed curio..."