Don't You Trust Me?

Between the two ancient trees, the wishing well stood there quietly.

Not a single ripple stirred the surface of the water.

A long while passed.

The moon rose to the middle of the sky.

A small figure quietly crept up beside the wishing well.

It was a female apprentice, only about five feet tall.

It seemed that, because of severe social anxiety, she had not dared to come to the wishing well during the day.

It was Tolia.

In class today, there had been only Tolia and Ahab.

After class, Tolia had secretly gone to ask Instructor Gray about it.

Gray calmly said that Bill was probably already dead, and that it was nothing.

Tolia felt as if she had been struck by a bolt from the blue.

Instinctively, she felt this was very likely connected to Ahab.

Bill was dead too...

Back then, there had been almost thirty apprentices on that entire ship.

Now only she and Ahab Gul were left!

Tolia was terrified, so she came to the wishing well at midnight to pray.

This was perfectly normal. After all, for apprentices who had just enrolled, compared to the power of knowledge, perhaps they were more willing to believe in the supernatural.

"Anything is fine. Please bless me and let me survive."

Tolia stood beside the wishing well and bent forward awkwardly.

Then, when Tolia opened her eyes, she saw a little golden chain.

The little chain did not look large. It was probably a bracelet or anklet.

And though the little chain was clearly made of metal, it floated on the surface of the wishing well in a way that defied common sense.

"What is this?"

Tolia blinked curiously.

Could it be that the wish just now had come true? Was this a protective charm for her?

Tolia scooped the little chain out of the water and first put it on her wrist.

The instant she put it on, the droplets on Tolia's wrist instantly bounced far away.

Her palm, which had originally been slightly dusty, also became as clean as if she had just washed it.

It actually came with a cleaning effect?

Besides, it looked too big on her wrist—

Tolia lifted one leg back, took off her shoe and sock, and put the chain on as an anklet.

The ground was cool, and it felt very comfortable to step on.

And walking barefoot did not hurt either. It would not get dirty at all!

Mm, just taking something from the wishing well was very bad...

Little Potato Tolia struggled inwardly for a moment.

"The blue sky is high, the yellow earth is thick, the moon is cold and the sun warm as they boil away a man's life."

Looking at the leaves growing ever more luxuriant, Ahab sighed inwardly.

Half a year had passed, and through his unremitting effort in meditation, Ahab's spiritual power had risen to 20 points.

Compared with the 6 points he had started with, it had increased by more than threefold!

"The library is finally open."

Ahab arrived right on time and walked into the library.

He had come to look for stronger wizardry.

To advance from a third-class Wizard Apprentice to a second-class one, there were two conditions.

One was for his spiritual power to reach 30 points, and the other was to master a spell of at least 0.4 ring.

Only when both conditions were met could quantitative change trigger qualitative change and draw upon the power of knowledge.

Not only would the quality of his mana rise to another level, his level of life would also be elevated.

"How many Magic Stones would I need to borrow the witchcraft diagram for [Thunderbolt Ice]?"

When he reached the front desk in the hall, Ahab asked an apprentice dressed like an administrator.

The library's basic books could be borrowed for free.

But the most useful batch required Magic Stones if you wanted to read them.

"Fifty Magic Stones for three days."

"I'll... think about it."

Ahab made the sound of poverty and turned to leave the library.

Although he received a subsidy of ten Magic Stones a month, Ahab's current savings were a pitiful three Magic Stones.

There was no other reason. He had whale-spent.

Magic Stones were pure magic power.

Directly absorbing the magic power inside a Magic Stone could likewise be used for meditation.

Tolia, with fifth-class meditation talent, had only increased her spiritual power by 16 points after half a year.

With Ahab's second-class level of talent, if he had just followed the normal routine without spending Magic Stones, after half a year, even raising it by 8 points would probably have been difficult.

But burning money was necessary.

After almost half a year, Ahab had found practically no information about the other two Ancient Gods.

The future where he had been controlled was still vivid in his mind!

Clearly, if he did not improve himself, it would be very hard to obtain more information.

"Mm, the time's about right. She should be here."

Outside the library doors, Ahab swept his gaze around.

Ahab did not waste effort. He would not come to the library to ask the price while knowing full well he could not afford it.

He already had a channel for the fifty Magic Stones he needed.

"Ahab Gul? Here, over here!"

A female apprentice waved to Ahab from a distance.

Then she jogged over and arrived in front of him.

Even though Ahab was the one borrowing money.

It was Eleanor.

After Ahab got the Blue Steel Brick from Eleanor and killed Lola, Eleanor had come looking for Ahab every few days.

At first, of course, Ahab could not be bothered with her.

Don't call if there's nothing, okay? When I need you, I'll go trick you myself—

Pah! I mean, I'll go coax you myself.

In the end, the more Ahab could not be bothered with Eleanor, the more interested Eleanor became.

Especially after that day when Ahab tried slapping Eleanor across the face...

"Who cares if you're a yandere or a masochist? If you're useful to me, then you're good."

Ahab grumbled inwardly and put on a foul expression for Eleanor.

"Did you bring the Magic Stones?"

"Here, here, look. Fifty of them, not one missing."

Eleanor lined up fifty Magic Stones on the ground, then quietly turned her cheek aside and waited for her reward.

However, Ahab picked up the bag and disowned her on the spot, packing up the Magic Stones and walking away.

"Tch..."

Eleanor made a vague, jumbled sound, then patted her stomach in satisfaction.

Diapers were a good thing.

Secretly going to the bathroom right in front of someone else was really exciting—

Mm, nice and warm.

Eleanor Incalos hummed a little tune and turned onto another road.

Then she ran into the "good friend" who shared her surname—

Lechi Incalos.

"Eleanor, take out half of the Magic Stones I left with you first."

Lie Qi pressed down the indescribable ache in his heart and spoke as steadily as he could.

"Yeah. What do you need Magic Stones for?"

Eleanor frowned, her tone displeased.

Back in the kingdom, Lie Qi had been one of Eleanor's guard knights. Later, they had entered the Academy together as apprentices.

Lie Qi had even said that Eleanor's surname was a noble one, so without any ulterior motive, he changed his surname to the same as hers.

And that had been back when he was still a Third-Rank Apprentice.

Every month, Lie Qi would very considerately hand his Magic Stones over to Eleanor for safekeeping.

"Didn't the new students enroll in the first half of the year? Half a year has passed, so the evaluations for the new students' research are about to begin."

Lie Qi made a "sure win" gesture with his hand.

"You know how every year around this time, the Academy organizes investment events."

"If you can 'invest' in the first-place new student research project, the returns are extremely generous."

As he spoke, Lie Qi counted on his fingers and said, "The Magic Stones I left with you should be close to a hundred by now."

"Give me half first. I already have a bet I'm interested in... Pah, I mean an investment target."

Lie Qi completely failed to notice that the more he spoke, the worse Eleanor's expression became.

In the end, Eleanor actually forced out a single sentence:

"Lie Qi, do you not trust me anymore?"