The Test

The Test

At dusk, a dirt-smudged Ivette returned to the manor with Rosaline in her arms.

Today's expedition had gone exceptionally badly. Ivette had never expected that a giant Mechanical Aberration would be lying in ambush within the seemingly peaceful factory district.

As she and Rosaline swept over the ruins of a factory building at the edge of the district, a massive Mechanical Turtle partially covered in red flesh suddenly burst from the rubble, sending dust soaring a hundred meters into the air and nearly swallowing the two of them whole.

Fortunately, Ivette was an excellent skateboarder. With a sharp, limit-pushing drift, she skimmed past the edge of the turtle's jaws and used Wind Control to accelerate away. Otherwise, she would probably have been reincarnated for the second time by now, staring at a new ceiling.

After sending Rosaline to the bathroom to wash up, Ivette summoned a simple water spell to clean her face. As she silently recalled the appearance of that giant mechanical turtle, a guess gradually formed in her mind.

It had probably been a mechanical beast of burden belonging to some circus or theater troupe centuries ago. During holiday celebrations, it would pull a stage through the streets for parades and performances. When not in use, it had been sealed away in a warehouse on the outskirts—then the apocalypse came, and it instantly became a regional boss...

What rotten luck. Not only had it been a close call, but she had also completely lost face in front of the little golden retriever and ruined her image as an expert... Sigh, it must have been because she wanted too badly to show off in front of a child. And life had been too peaceful lately, making her lose the caution she once had... I can't keep doing this. I'm nowhere near powerful enough yet. I need to maintain a sense of reverence for this world...

After deeply reflecting on herself, Ivette waited for Rosaline to finish washing, then soaked herself in the bathtub's hot water. Only when her snow-white skin had turned rose-red did she change into a comfortable white robe and emerge.

The moment she opened the door, she saw Rosaline standing at the stairway entrance, her little face taut and her eyes fixed on Ivette with utmost seriousness.

"Witch Sister!" she said earnestly.

"W-What is it..." Ivette instinctively connected it to what had happened today and felt a little guilty, suspecting that the girl had come to tell her not to be so reckless in the future.

But it turned out she had overthought things. Rosaline took a deep breath and spoke the words she had been preparing for a long time. "Can... can I learn magic from you?"

"You want to learn magic?" Ivette asked, not surprised.

She had actually anticipated this request long ago. Whenever she dealt with Aberrations, Rosaline would watch from the side without even blinking, clearly fascinated by magic.

But since the girl had never brought it up herself, Ivette had pretended not to notice.

"Yes, I want to learn... but I have nothing to offer you. Can you teach me?" Rosaline lowered her head embarrassedly and looked at her slippers.

Ivette said nothing. She merely looked at her quietly. She did not agree at once, but neither did she refuse.

She had considered this matter long ago. One major question was—why should she take on a disciple? What benefit would it bring her?

In terms of being kind and doing good, she had taken in this little golden retriever, fed her, sheltered her from the threat of Aberrations, and in the end had only received some unremarkable bits of common knowledge from another world. That was already more than enough to demonstrate Ivette's benevolence.

But taking on a disciple was another matter entirely. It involved the vast legacy of knowledge from the Origin Civilization stored within her mind. Could such an invaluable treasure really be handed over so casually to someone from another world?

The teacher-disciple bonds of ancient times, as close as father and child, were often investments for one's old age. But Ivette did not need anyone to care for her in her later years. And if the aurora appeared again, this little golden retriever would go home. Every bit of investment would go down the drain, and it might even benefit other people in that other world... For safety's sake, Ivette had no plans to travel to another world for at least several centuries...

Looking at it that way, she seemed unable to find a reason to give away all the rune knowledge she possessed for free.

Just as she had never considered teaching Rosaline the Black Tide Language.

During the long silence, Rosaline, still hanging her head, felt the heart suspended in her chest slowly sink to the bottom of the water.

As the daughter of a noble family with a proper upbringing, she understood one thing deeply—if you wanted something, you had to pay for it. There was no such thing as a free lunch.

The kingdom's court mages occasionally took disciples from among the children of nobles, but they usually charged exorbitant tuition fees. The church offered free opportunities, but the price was becoming a member of the church for life and serving it until one's last breath.

And she, a little girl with nothing, what right did she have to ask a powerful Witch of unknown age to take her as a disciple?

That was far too presumptuous, Rosaline. What are you saying? You should already be grateful just to receive Witch Sister's protection. How could you be so shameless as to make an even greater request...? Gradually, regret welled up inside her.

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

Not impossible? Did that mean it was possible?

Rosaline lifted her head in delighted surprise, then heard Ivette continue, "...But you'll need to undergo a little test."

"A test?"

"Yes, a small test." Ivette said, "Do you know what a Meditation Method is?"

"No..." Rosaline shook her head. As the daughter of an earl, she had once had the opportunity to study under one of the kingdom's mages. Unfortunately, there had only been one slot. After much consideration, her father had given it to her eldest brother.

She held no resentment over that. After all, she would not be going to war, while her eldest brother truly had to risk his life fighting demons.

"A Meditation Method is the foundation of magical cultivation and the primary way to gain magic power," Ivette said. "First, practice meditation with me for three years. If, after three years, the total amount of magic power you possess satisfies me, I'll formally accept you as my disciple."

As someone with mediocre talent, when Ivette had first begun meditating, she had gained only around two points per year. The pace had been incredibly slow.

If Rosaline was a genius whose talent far surpassed ordinary people, then she could grow quickly and become Ivette's right-hand woman in this dangerous world, improving their ability to withstand the risks to their survival.

That was the reason she had found for taking on a disciple.

Of course, a disciple's character was important as well... But the girl had performed well so far. She was obedient, sensible, well-read, and only just ten years old, so her worldview had not yet solidified. If something went wrong with her character in the future, then the one who should be held accountable would instead be Ivette, her teacher...

Three years? Rosaline's heart skipped a beat, but she did not hesitate in the slightest. "All right, Witch Sister!" She nodded firmly, her gaze resolute.

After receiving the Meditation Method, Rosaline's enthusiasm for "adventuring" visibly cooled over the next few days. Most of the time, she obediently stayed in the second-floor bedroom, seriously sitting in meditation.

As a result, Ivette's life became much more peaceful.

In the mornings, she could finally finish reading Fundamentals of Magitech Engineering in peace. In the afternoons, she leisurely tended the gardens in the manor, trimming flowers and plants. Before dusk, she would wander over to another city park several kilometers away to reclaim land, considering whether to sow some wheat seeds there when spring arrived next year.

Then, the next morning, when she saw the flowerbeds she had neatly trimmed yesterday reduced to a complete mess, Ivette's expression darkened. She thought that, when it came to farming, the threat posed by wild animals seemed much greater than that of Aberrations.

Should she unlock the Electric Net branch of the tech tree first? It could protect the fruits of her labor while also greatly improving the manor's security.

But to unlock an Electric Net, she would first need to unlock more powerful energy storage devices. This sent Ivette back out frequently, digging through ruins in search of specialized books on energy storage...

And so, amid this tranquil reclamation of the wasteland, a year quietly slipped away before they knew it.