Byron grabbed the draft Thor had just used to explain his lesson, including the dip pen tucked among the pages, and stuffed it all into his disguised, gaping mouth.
He nodded to Thor and hummed once before leaving Thor's dorm room.
As for Keli, she hadn't said a word since Thor began explaining how to analyze runes using his three-dimensional model.
She stared fixedly at the tabletop. Even when Byron took all the draft pages away, she didn't come back to herself.
After a while, Thor grew worried.
Could this be some kind of aftereffect from the Parasite in the Mutual Aid Society?
Senior Byron had said that the Parasite wasn't life-threatening, but he hadn't said it wouldn't harm her brain.
Judging by the Apprentices who'd been parasitized, something seemed to be wrong with all of their heads.
Suddenly, Keli moved.
She flung open Thor's door and rushed out like the wind. Before Thor could react, she swept back in just as quickly, carrying an armful of things.
She kicked the door shut behind her.
"Clatter!"
A bag landed on the table with a clear, pleasant clink.
Then came a book and something that looked like a hand grenade.
"These are all my Magic Crystals, and these two are the most valuable things I brought with me. They're all yours!"
Keli pressed her hands together and bowed.
"Please explain it to me again! I didn't quite understand just now!"
Thor didn't stand on ceremony. He opened Keli's purse and scooped out a large handful with both hands.
Quite a few Magic Crystals slipped between the gaps in his bony fingers, though.
It was a little sad to see, but Thor didn't feel right picking them up.
That would hurt his image.
"What's this?" Thor pointed at the thin booklet on the table.
"This is a spellbook for the Fire Element Tier 0 Wizardry, Scorching Breath."
It was a spellbook?
Thor snatched it up, but held back from opening it.
"I have a copy of this book. This is the original, and it also contains the original owner's notes on practicing the spell."
Keli was pleased to see Thor's excitement, and her usual pride returned to her voice.
"However, since it's one of the more powerful Tier 0 spells, you need to learn two Composite Runes with Fire Attribute to construct its spell model."
"This spellbook alone is worth the knowledge I taught you," Thor said with a sigh.
Level 1 Apprentices could learn two Witchcraft spells from their mentor for free. Any more required them to trade in credits.
And the more powerful the Witchcraft, the more credits it cost.
Thor really hadn't expected Keli to have something so valuable. He might have taken too many Magic Crystals just now.
But Keli didn't seem to think Thor had gotten the better end of the deal at all. She even took the initiative to introduce the third item.
"This is called Iron and Fire. It's a Witchcraft Item. To use it, unscrew the cap at the back and pull out the cotton cord inside, then throw it within five seconds. It'll explode if it's hit hard or once the five seconds are up. It contains sharp iron fragments that can pierce tough skin."
Good grief, it really was a hand grenade!
Keli's status in the outside world must be quite high. Otherwise, she wouldn't be carrying so many Magic Crystals, not to mention a spellbook and a Witchcraft Item.
"I only taught you one Rune."
Keli was so generous that Thor felt just a tiny bit guilty.
"No, you taught me a method, a way of thinking," Keli said earnestly. "Unfortunately, I don't have knowledge of equal value to exchange with you yet, so I can only give you these material things."
Thor shook his head.
That's all right. I like material things.
By the time Keli returned, no one was wandering in the corridor anymore. Even when they relaxed, everyone remembered to make the most of their time and keep studying.
Remembering the strange laughter that had escaped the mouths of the new students who'd joined the Mutual Aid Society, Thor silently warned himself that danger lurked everywhere in the Wizard World. Sid wasn't the only one who could threaten his life.
So he had to stay alert and on guard wherever he went.
Thor sometimes missed his life in his previous world. Being a corporate wage slave had been stressful, but at least no one's life had been at stake.
But even his sleep had been cut short. The only time he had to reminisce about the past was in the few seconds when his mind wandered during his studies.
Over the next few days, Thor completely mastered the Composite Rune with Dark Attribute and got his first Tier 0 Wizardry from Mentor Kazi.
Learning the first two Tier 0 Wizardry spells didn't cost any Magic Crystals or credits. It was essentially part of a mentor's basic education.
But to get a mentor to fulfill that duty, you had to wait until he was reasonably satisfied with you or in a good mood.
Otherwise, you might get nothing but a cold brush-off.
"You haven't even mastered the basics. Why are you dabbling in Witchcraft?"
Thor's choice of his first spell once again surprised Kazi. He chose Preserve Organs.
He seemed determined to work in the Corpse Room until he died.
But Mentor Kazi was quite pleased with the choice, and Thor learned the spell without much effort.
Besides studying Runes, Thor had also been training his Mental Power these past few days.
The tool he used for the exercises was the Puppet Doll he'd borrowed.
Whenever Thor trained his Mental Power, he could still hear the Puppet Doll crying for help.
The faint, murmuring pleas circled around him until they made him dizzy. But once the fierce, frantic "Kill me!" rang out, Thor immediately severed his connection to the Puppet.
Now that he had some control over his Mental Power, the Puppet's influence on him was limited.
"Sure enough, getting stronger is how you overcome the uncanny."
Thor let go of the Puppet Doll and laid her face down on the table. Then he continued analyzing the Tier 0 Wizardry, Preserve Organs.
"From the perspective of my previous life, corpses rot because immune cells die and microorganisms keep metabolizing. So what's the principle behind using Witchcraft to preserve organs?"
Thor took out a new blank notebook and began keeping a detailed record of his research into Preserve Organs.
Whenever he thought about knowledge from his previous life, he wrote it using the script from that life and deliberately made mistakes with characters that sounded alike or looked similar.
He might have been overthinking it, but Thor was still afraid someone might decipher his notes.
In the Wizard World, they really could cut you up and study you!
"Could Preserve Organs be a microscopic spell that dehydrates and sterilizes? Like food—seal it and sterilize it, and it'll keep for a long time."
Based on Mentor Kazi's description, Thor felt he'd gained a basic understanding of the spell.
Next, he put away all his notes, took three pieces of fresh internal organs he'd cut from a client the day before out of the cabinet, and placed them on the table.
Thor fixed his eyes on the first piece and began tracing the spell's constituent Runes with his Mental Power.
He raised both hands and started moving them.
The gestures were the casting movements Mentor Kazi had taught him, and beginners had to use them.
As a guide, the casting movements reduced the chance of a spell failing and lessened the damage from backlash.
Once a spell could be cast with ease, it was possible to guide it with one hand or cast it without any gestures at all.
Before casting for real, Thor had practiced the movements hundreds of times, until they had become an instinctive response.
He also activated the corresponding Basic Runes within his spiritual body again and again.
The Composite Rune consumed too much Magic Power—although after a lot of adjustments, one Composite Rune no longer drained all of Thor's Magic Power—so he only dared to draw it with a pen, to improve his familiarity with it.
But despite all his preparation, Thor's first attempt at casting still failed.
The Magic Power in his body fluctuated a little, and Thor had to calm himself before he could think clearly again.
"When you put multiple Runes together, it's easy to lose focus and fail to construct them. I'm still not practiced enough."
His first failure didn't discourage him. He took out the Crystal Ball and immediately began meditating to restore his Magic Power.
One point,
two points,
three points,
When the candle above the Teleportation Platform flared to life with a hiss, Thor finally succeeded!
Tier 0 Wizardry, Preserve Organs, Proficiency +1!
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