Return

It was noon, and the blazing summer sun scorched the earth.

Ace reverted to his original appearance. He did not intend to enter the city under his new identity, Iron Masked Fire Fist.

A Divine Descendant of considerable strength would certainly draw the attention of those responsible for noble affairs in the city-state. Medimous City-State spared no effort in attracting noble immigrants with clean backgrounds.

No matter how many skilled freemen there were, they could not compare to a seasoned Divinely Inspired, let alone a Hero-class.

Ace had driven a carriage when he left, but could only return on foot. Fortunately, all the medical knowledge and magical knowledge he had compiled were in his bundle.

Tsimari Port had most likely noticed him as well. In the eyes of the Priestly Order, he was a genuine Blessed One, and he had even displayed a miracle.

Ace guessed that they believed he would seek them out after transforming into a half-Merfolk.

After entering the city, he did not hurry home. His father should have gone to oversee the manor's affairs, so he planned to stroll around before visiting Teacher Peter's home.

After wandering about for a while, Ace arrived in the local commercial district.

"Beer for sale, beer for sale! Freshly brewed Silver Wheat Beer from Ace's Manor! One gulp, and summer turns cool!"

An old man pushed a wooden cart laden with two large beer barrels and many pottery jars, hawking his wares in a ringing voice.

He had never expected the beer recipe he had left behind in the five-year plan to be successfully developed by Kelson and the others.

"Sir, how much is this Silver Wheat Beer?"

Ace walked up to the old man and asked.

"If you just want a few gulps to quench your thirst now, I'll ladle some into a pottery jar for you. One Silver Taler. If you want to take it home or give it as a gift, including the pottery jar, it's two Silver Talers."

The old man looked Ace over, his shrewd little eyes shifting before he spoke with utter sincerity.

"This pottery jar is far too expensive. I'll bring one from home to fill instead."

"You don't understand, young man. These pottery jars aren't made by me. They're fine jars produced by Ace's Manor. Look at the material, the sheen. Give it a tap—hear how crisp the sound is? Ace's Manor calls these jars porcelain. They're precious. If you use one to serve wine to guests, it gives you far more face than an ordinary pottery jar."

Hearing the old man's sales pitch, Ace smiled.

"Fine. Use three porcelain jars for me, and fill them with three jars of Silver Wheat Beer."

On the way to Teacher Peter's home, Ace carried the beer jars, feeling relaxed and pleased. The wine, flour, and other products from his manor had achieved tremendous success. Even without relying on printing, the manor could maintain independent operations.

In another two years, once he obtained formal Citizenship, this independent little kingdom would be stable. It could serve as the rear base for his Wizard's Path.

Ace arrived at Teacher Peter's villa. Watching a group of children, presumably there to learn literacy, file into the villa, he was suddenly struck by the feeling that seas had turned to fields and fields to seas.

The days when he had struggled to save money just to learn to read seemed like yesterday, vivid before his eyes. Yet now he was firmly walking his own path toward the extraordinary, and had painstakingly built the rudiments of the Wizard's Path.

Ace shook his head, casting aside those trivial thoughts, and stepped into Peter's villa.

"Scholar Ace! Is that really you?"

A girl with fluffy flaxen hair hurried over from the courtyard, her face filled with surprise and disbelief. It was Daina, who should have been working at the library.

"Of course it's me. It's good to see you, Daina. I thought you were at the library."

Ace smiled, gave Daina a slight bow, and replied.

Daina hurriedly adjusted her clothes, a faint flush on her cheeks, then returned his greeting with a deep bow.

"I-I have the day off today. I came to Scholar Peter's to sit in on his lecture about logic."

She paused, then said softly, "But I wanted even more to hear your lectures. Last winter, I visited your manor and learned that you had gone traveling to study New Medicine. Have you gained a great deal from it?"

"Haha, if you want to study logic, you can ask me after I finish seeing my teacher. As for New Medicine, I have indeed gained a little."

Ace's hearty laughter drew the attention of quite a few people sitting beneath the courtyard trees and listening to Peter's lecture. They shot him displeased looks.

Then some of them recognized Ace. Peter heard their conversation, stopped his lecture, and looked toward the entrance.

"Haha, my proudest student, Ace, has returned."

Peter's goatee bobbed rhythmically, revealing his good mood. "I was teaching them logic, and I never expected you to arrive. Everyone, let us hear an explanation from the author of Logic himself."

Ace modestly declined for a while, but unable to withstand everyone's enthusiasm, he picked up Peter's topic and continued explaining for some time.

That afternoon, Ace and Peter sat in the reception room, drinking Silver Wheat Beer and chatting happily.

"I never expected you to collect and organize so many effective prescriptions and medicinal herbs in merely half a year, and even pioneer a technique like anesthetic surgery. I always believed you were a genius, but I never imagined you were such a genius."

After listening to Ace recount his experiences, Peter spoke with a face full of admiration.

"You flatter me, Teacher. It was all because you taught me well, and I must also thank Senior Morton for enlightening me. Speaking of which, I seem not to have seen Senior Morton at all. I wonder...?"

Peter looked approvingly at Ace's humility. This was his most admired student: diligent and gifted, yet always humble.

"I recommended your Senior Morton to serve as confidential secretary to the Grand Regent. Though it's only a low-ranking public post, it will at least give him some experience."

Ace watched Peter stroke his goatee with a trace of pride and knew that being the Grand Regent's confidential secretary was far from as simple as Peter made it sound.

The Grand Regent was the highest public office a city-state citizen could hold. Compared to his previous life, it was equivalent to a nation's prime minister. Serving as the Grand Regent's confidential secretary surely promised a bright future.

Morton had served Peter faithfully for so long; receiving such a recommendation was both moving and gratifying.

"Then congratulations are certainly in order for Senior Morton. And it is thanks to you, Teacher, for having such wide connections and looking after students like us."

The two spoke for a few more moments. Ace was preparing to steer the conversation toward Peter's treasured bronze mirror—his true purpose for coming—when he heard Peter cough.

"Ace, Daina is a good girl. She is devoted to scholarship and especially admires you. In the future, you can teach her more logic, more New Medicine, hahaha."

Ace found this somewhat baffling, but Daina was indeed promising. Beyond studying logic, her seriousness toward learning made Ace feel that she might also be a good candidate for becoming a wizard.

If not for the diary Daina had discovered, he might still be wandering in circles outside the gates of the extraordinary. Ace was also willing to repay Daina by leading her into the world of magic.

The question was how to make her spiritual power exceed its limit. The Wisdom Potion carried too many hidden dangers. Even Ace had nearly died using the smallest dosage. Guiding someone onto the path of magic would require considerable thought.

Perhaps the blessing runes he had acquired some time ago could help. Ace needed more experiments.

Some organs from ordinary Demonic Beasts had been "contaminated" by magical power, making them ideal spellcasting materials. Perhaps they could be compounded like medicinal potions to create effective blessing inscription potions.

Ace certainly had no desire to use blessings made from such spellcasting materials himself. He wanted to use materials from powerful Low-level Demonic Beasts to create stronger blessings, but as a method for making spiritual power exceed its limit, ordinary Demonic Beasts would do well enough.

Seeing Ace fall silent, Peter coughed lightly.

"Teacher, I suddenly had an inspiration just now and became so absorbed that I forgot myself. Could I borrow your bronze mirror for a moment? I want to record this inspiration."

As if suddenly startled awake, Ace spoke to Peter.

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