Harvests Galore

After killing Jack, Matthew searched his pockets and found a pocket watch.

It was a Tier One Wizard Tool. When activated, it could instantly cast an Ice Shield Spell. Jack had been petrified by Matthew's Basilisk Eye as soon as the fight began, leaving him no chance to use it.

Next, Matthew began searching the room. Relying on the memories he had seen in Jack's mind, he picked up a book from the bedside cabinet and placed it on the second shelf from the bottom in the corner bookcase.

"Click." The bookcase slowly slid aside, revealing a secret compartment inside. Hidden in the compartment was a locked chest.

Matthew took out the chest. Its key was buried somewhere in the outskirts of Whitestone Town. Rather than go looking for it, he pointed his wand at the lock.

"Alohomora."

A flash of light from the Unlock Charm struck the lock, and it sprang open instantly.

Though he had already seen what was inside the chest in Jack's memories, Matthew still couldn't help grinning when he saw it with his own eyes.

What a haul!

House Whyte had been established in Whitestone Town for two or three hundred years. Although its descendants had squandered much of its wealth over the past few generations, and Old White had even given away Whitestone Manor, the family still had plenty of resources.

Matthew took stock. There were eight Magic Stones, Kingdom Gold Coin Notes worth more than ten thousand gold coins, several Property Deeds in Whitestone Town, and even a Property Deed in the Royal Capital. The notes had to be exchanged at the Wizard Bank before they could be used, so they weren't easy to spend just yet. Most important of all were the dozen or so books. Matthew flipped through them briefly. Most recorded Runic Magic, while three contained Meditation Methods.

However, these were all Basic Meditation Methods. Advanced Meditation Methods were only found among powerful wizard factions, and few copies ever made their way into circulation. Matthew had once heard Link say that the Court Wizards possessed two Advanced Meditation Methods, but only Court Wizards with the rank of Steward or Detective could exchange for them. Link was only a Level 7 Investigator, so he wasn't yet qualified to obtain one.

The Dream Ritual Jack had mentioned was also in the chest. It was recorded on a piece of parchment, which offered little detail beyond instructions for setting it up. Its full name was the "Moon Candle Dream Ritual."

There was also a Tier One Wizard Tool in the chest: a pitch-black shield that stood half a person tall. It could withstand attacks at the Wizard Apprentice level. Since it was inconvenient to carry around, it had been kept in the chest for years. Spatial Storage Type Wizard Tools were rare in this world; generally, only Formal Wizards had them.

After taking a rough inventory, Matthew put everything in the chest into his Bag of Infinite Space.

He swung his wand, and a Shatter Charm smashed Jack's corpse to pieces.

Next, Matthew went to the study beside the bedroom and packed up all the books collected by House Whyte.

After clearing out the study, he returned to Jack's bedroom and set it on fire.

The space twisted. The figure in the room vanished in an instant, leaving only the roaring flames behind.

After returning to his lodgings, Matthew began carefully taking stock of his gains. Tonight's haul had been a rich one.

The books contained more than a dozen Runic Magic spells, though most were common cantrips and Tier One Magic. The utility spells included Repelling Ring, Spider Web Technique, Mage Armor, Appraisal Technique, Detection Technique, Sea of Consciousness Illusion Technique, and Sleep Technique.

Matthew picked out several Tier One spells to prioritize learning.

Of the utility spells, Repelling Ring was his top priority. It required only ten Runes to cast and sent out an invisible force that repelled nearby enemies.

With the boost from the Pitch-black Fingertip Bone Wand, Matthew could cast Repelling Ring in just two seconds. It would be extremely useful for a wizard like him, who specialized in attacking from medium to long range.

Mage Armor was another spell Matthew needed to learn. Compared with Hogwarts' Iron Armor Charm, Mage Armor offered stronger and more comprehensive protection, but it took much longer to cast. The spell required sixteen Runes.

With the boost from the Pitch-black Fingertip Bone Wand, Matthew needed three seconds to cast Mage Armor. However, once cast, it would last for half a minute unless shattered. That was why many wizards in this world cast Mage Armor on themselves before a fight.

Matthew had already learned Appraisal Technique and Detection Technique. Earlier, he had traded potions with Link for several spells, including those two.

Appraisal Technique could roughly identify a Wizard Tool's grade and even reveal the state of a wizard's Sea of Consciousness. When he first met Link and Anna, Anna had used Appraisal Technique to determine that Matthew was a Level One Wizard Apprentice.

However, using it to judge a wizard's strength could be misleading. A wizard who had learned Sea of Consciousness Illusion Technique could set up an illusion in their Sea of Consciousness. Appraisal Technique could only see what the illusion revealed—but that wasn't absolute. A powerful wizard could use Appraisal Technique to forcibly see through the illusion. Sea of Consciousness Illusion Technique was another spell Matthew planned to prioritize learning.

Spider Web Technique and Sleep Technique overlapped with spells Matthew already knew, so he set them aside for now.

The rest were attack spells. The ones that interested Matthew most were Thunder Summoning and Greater Thunder Summoning, which seemed to belong to the same series.

Like the Lightning Bolt spell Matthew had obtained earlier, Thunder Summoning required thirty-two Runes. It was one of the most powerful Tier One spells. It called down a bolt of lightning from the sky to strike its target, dealing tremendous damage.

Its advanced form, Greater Thunder Summoning, was the only Second-Order Magic among these spells. It required eighty Runes.

Greater Thunder Summoning could call down several bolts of lightning to strike its targets. Its power depended on the weather: during a thunderstorm, it could summon more lightning and unleash tremendous force. It was a spell with an extremely high ceiling.

Even with the boost from the Pitch-black Fingertip Bone Wand, Matthew still needed fifteen seconds to cast Greater Thunder Summoning, making it difficult to use in actual combat.

Of the remaining attack spells, Matthew also planned to learn Burning Hand. It was essentially an updated version of Invisible Hand.

The spell created a hand wreathed in flames, which could grab and burn enemies.

What's more, while casting Invisible Hand, he could switch it to Burning Hand at any time, giving Invisible Hand more versatility.

The remaining spells—Fireball Technique, Magic Missile, and Rolling Stone Technique—overlapped with spells Matthew already knew, so he set them aside for the time being.