The instant Ethan swallowed the Reader potion in full, Julian activated the Scholar's Legacy. Through the ritual magic and ritual diagrams he had prepared beforehand, he began projecting specific knowledge onto the little owl's mental body, creating corresponding projections.
Meanwhile, another set of ritual magic Julian had arranged contained the corruption radiating from the Scholar's Legacy within a crystal ball, ensuring that Ethan would not be affected by it.
The little owl's body trembled slightly, but his eyes remained tightly shut. He seemed to be steadying his mind as Grace had taught him, bringing the potion's power under control.
Under Julian's gaze, colors surged all over Ethan's body, with blue, red, yellow, and green emerging in succession.
About three minutes later, the light suddenly began to stabilize again, forming distinct layers.
The red and yellow light remained on the surface of Ethan's body, while the green and blue coalesced into indigo, representing composure and wisdom, and completely enveloped his astral body.
These changes corresponded to a Reader's proficiency in ritual magic.
As for the mental body, Julian could see green and a distinct violet. This indicated an enormous improvement in Ethan's memory and comprehension, and was also a fairly typical characteristic of a Reader's mental body.
Once he confirmed that Ethan had truly become a Reader, Julian stopped the ritual magic and put away the Scholar's Legacy.
"Congratulations on becoming a Reader."
Julian spoke with a smile, and Ethan gave a clear, crisp hoot in reply.
"As expected, even animals that become Beyonders by taking potions can't speak at first."
Julian could not help recalling the Imagination Dog, Susie. He thus realized that Ethan would have to digest part of the Reader potion before he could speak in human language like Grace.
"Oh, right... speaking of that."
Something suddenly occurred to Julian, and he grew excited.
He immediately brought over two sets of books.
The first was called the Highlandese-Loenese Comparative Dictionary, and the second was the Analysis of the Northern Continent Language Family.
"These two books are for you to read. Learning languages is extremely easy for a Reader."
Julian said with a smile:
"If nothing unexpected happens, you'll need no more than two weeks to master Highlandese and Loenese completely. Then you'll be able to read more academic works."
Feynapotter Highlandese could be considered the parent language of Lenburg's language, and the two were almost identical. Highlandese was also the source language of many Loenese words.
Thus, learning Highlandese would make mastering Lenburg's language very easy, while also greatly lowering the barrier to learning Loenese.
Once he learned these three languages, Ethan would be able to read the various newspapers, periodicals, academic works, and other publications issued on the Northern Continent with relative ease. This would help him digest the Reader potion quickly.
According to the Reader potion's acting principles that Julian had compiled, one of the most basic rules was that a Reader needed not only the ability to read, but also to actually read a large number of books.
Based on his experience, a Reader who read more than a hundred books could digest at least forty percent of the potion.
By then, Ethan should have gained a rudimentary ability to speak, allowing him to communicate with Julian and discuss academic matters.
At that point, he would digest the potion even faster.
Just as Julian had expected, the moment Ethan saw the two books appear, he eagerly stepped onto them and began turning the pages with his beak and claws, reading their contents.
"It looks like the Reader potion has already started affecting you... and owls are naturally night owls anyway. Go ahead and study."
Julian yawned.
"I'm going to bed first. Once you've finished studying these two books, you can find more to read on my bookshelf.
"But remember not to read any of my notes, or you might die a horrible death."
"Hoo, hoo~"
Ethan hooted and nodded in a remarkably human manner.
His gaze never left the books, however, as he voraciously immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge.
Julian nodded in satisfaction, then washed up briefly before lying down on his bed and falling asleep...
At that same moment, inside a two-story house in another corner of Tingen City.
Lanevus finished placing the last item on the altar, then looked at the young woman sleeping soundly on the bed before him.
She was in her early twenties, with a smooth forehead, long blond hair, and green eyes. Her air was melancholy and serene, and she appeared to be quite a beauty.
She wore loose pajamas and lay beneath a thin velvet blanket, but even so, the noticeable swell of her lower abdomen was still visible.
"Heh heh..."
Lanevus chuckled softly.
A faint neon glow suddenly flickered in his eyes, but the instant it appeared, another light, like a shadow, began trying to suppress it.
After this struggle continued for a while, the shadow finally seemed to gain the upper hand.
Lanevus shuddered all over. After a moment's thought, he suddenly began reciting a particular honorific name in a low voice:
"Phantasmagoric hues of the illusory firmament, formless fleeting shadow of the silent stellar tides, primordial sovereign who withers living beings and distorts reality.
"The inconceivable Colour Out of Space!"
"With the variegated light as witness, and your presence as the conduit, please bestow your blessing and guide the path ahead for my bloodline..."
When Lanevus finished his recitation, the light of the Colour Out of Space emerged from his body and began spreading outward.
The neon light completely enveloped the young woman lying on the bed, then burrowed into her seven facial orifices.
The next second, the woman's face and neck turned a translucent neon hue. Even someone who was not a Beyonder could clearly see her blood vessels, lymph nodes, nerves, and more.
However, the light lasted only two seconds before rapidly moving downward and contracting into her lower abdomen.
"Ugh..."
The woman let out a pained moan, but it did not last long. She soon settled down again and slipped into peaceful sleep.
As for Lanevus, the neon glow in his eyes
had weakened considerably, bringing a measure of clarity back to the Swindler's gaze.
"Where... am I?"
He rubbed his temples in pain, trying to make sense of his current situation.
Yet this lucidity seemed destined to be fleeting.
Before Lanevus could work things out, the shadow that had appeared earlier flickered in his eyes once more.
At that moment, Lanevus's expression grew somewhat vacant again...