CHAPTER 11: MEET MRS. WILSON AGAIN

Richard gave a faint smile at the progress he gained after reading the three books.

At the very least, it was a sign that the System would not slow down his advancement.

"What do you think? Was it as difficult as you expected?" Aldric asked.

Richard wanted to say that it was far too difficult, but if his ancestor knew that he had already mastered 3% of each, who knew whether he would laugh or cry.

He calmly replied, "I’ll just practice slowly. If I succeed, then I can say it was easy."

"Hahahaha..." Aldric laughed at his words.

"No need to start training now, let’s roast some fish first, I’m starting to feel hungry," he said.

"Alright..." Richard agreed with a smile, as he was beginning to feel hungry as well.

They roasted fish by the riverside while observing the river upstream, wondering if anyone else would be swept down.

Aldric even looked much more serious as he observed, as if lost in his own thoughts.

Richard thought he might have some guesses that he chose not to voice.

"By the way, grandfather, can the soul be strengthened?" Richard asked.

"Ohh, why do you ask that? You must have a remarkable soul to be able to train at your age," Aldric replied.

Richard almost rolled his eyes at that answer.

He had some knowledge about souls—that there were many types of them.

Each type of soul had its own advantages, especially when it came to studying Codexes and Arcane Arts.

Unfortunately, he did not yet understand how to evolve his soul from a Mortal Soul into a specialized one.

Apparently, his ancestor assumed he possessed a powerful soul. Unsure how to continue, Richard simply pretended he had never asked the question.

From time to time, Richard glanced at the old woman referred to as the Queen of Fire Spirits.

Of course, even between his ancestor and that woman, there was still at least a day’s distance. It was unlikely the river would bring another surprise so soon.

After dining with his ancestor, Richard returned to the orphanage carrying several fish.

He didn’t join dinner, instead going straight to his room. But after the meal ended, there was a knock at his door.

When he opened it, he found Sister Lisa standing there.

"Richard, there’s good news," the woman said.

"What is it, Sister?" Richard asked, surprised.

"Tomorrow, Mrs. Wilson will be coming," Sister Lisa replied.

"Really?" Upon hearing this, Richard couldn’t hide his excitement.

The best part about Mrs. Wilson’s visit was that he could ask her for something.

It had been a long time since her last visit—more than two years.

Sometimes Richard even wondered if she would never come again.

"I’m telling you this so you won’t go wandering off. Best not to head into the forest too often—it would be trouble if you ran into a Beast," Sister Lisa said.

"I definitely won’t go anywhere," Richard replied with a smile.

Sister Lisa nodded before leaving.

In his room, filled with excitement, Richard immediately sat cross-legged on his bed and began training, absorbing Aether.

Amazingly, though faintly, he could feel his ability to absorb Aether was slightly stronger than before.

This seemed to be the effect of having additional Codexes, each of which he had already mastered to 3%.

If he managed to raise them to 20% or more, his ability to absorb Aether might double.

DING!

In the middle of his training, he received three consecutive notifications.

(Your mastery of Codex of Moonshadow has increased from 3% to 4%!)

(Your mastery of 100 Shadow Monster has increased from 3% to 4%!)

(Your mastery of Lighting of Darkness has increased from 3% to 4%!)

[Codex:

Codex of Dragon Emperor (24%)

Codex of Moonshadow (4%) ]

[Arcane Art:

100 Shadow Monster (4%)

Lighting of Darkness (4%) ]

The System had given him another increase, even if it was only 1% for each attribute.

He was still satisfied. After several hours of training and successfully absorbing 2 Aether, he finally decided to sleep.

[Aether: 856/1000 Tier 3] +2

[Aether Accumulation: 856 Tier 3]

The next morning, Richard woke up refreshed.

He didn’t linger in bed and went straight to wash up.

That morning, the children were given bread and eggs for breakfast, which was considered quite good.

Interestingly, Sister Lisa’s friend—the reading teacher—came again to teach.

It seemed Sister Lisa had paid her to come so the other children could learn to read like Richard.

Of course, Richard didn’t join the lessons anymore.

Around 9 o’clock, he followed Sister Lisa outside the village to wait for Mrs. Wilson.

When traveling to this village, Mrs. Wilson always relied on her power to run swiftly, faster than any horse.

She should have set out while the sky was still dark.

In truth, Richard knew that even with the fastest horse, the journey from this village to Night Valley City would take more than a day. It was very far.

The villagers usually only traveled to Apple Town, a small town just four hours away from the village.

Richard and Sister Lisa waited there. They saw no signs of anyone approaching.

But suddenly, from the side, came the sound of footsteps.

Both of them instinctively turned their heads and saw a middle-aged woman with black hair wearing a simple dress.

She wasn’t extraordinarily beautiful, but she carried an air that easily earned people’s trust.

"Have you been waiting long?" the woman asked with a gentle smile.

"Mrs. Wilson..." Richard instantly became excited upon seeing her.

Seven years had passed since she brought him to this village, and though he saw her occasionally, Richard could confirm that her appearance hadn’t aged a bit.

This proved that her power was indeed extraordinary.

"Aunt!" Sister Lisa also greeted Mrs. Wilson, though the latter didn’t pay her much attention.

"Richard, you’ve grown so much..." She focused on Richard, approaching him and stroking his head.

Looking at him again, she seemed amazed.

"Mrs. Wilson, why haven’t you come again?" Richard asked.

At this, the woman shook her head and replied, "I just haven’t had the time. There’s too much work in the city. But this time, I came bringing a great gift for you."

"Ohh..." Richard became curious when she mentioned a great gift.

"It’s rather large, so I couldn’t carry it myself. But I hired a group of people to deliver it to this village. They set out yesterday and should arrive this evening." Mrs. Wilson explained.

"By the way, let’s find somewhere to sit. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you," she added.

Richard nodded, and Sister Lisa led them to a wooden house—her private home in the village.

The house was uninhabited since she lived at the orphanage, but she sometimes cleaned it, so it was always tidy.

It stood on the edge of the village, separate from the others, but fairly large. It even had a terrace filled with vegetables and four wooden chairs.

"Aunt, I’ll make some drinks..." Sister Lisa went inside after inviting Richard and Mrs. Wilson to sit.

Mrs. Wilson didn’t speak right away, waiting for Sister Lisa to prepare the drinks first—warm tea, which Mrs. Wilson immediately drank.

She seemed thirsty after her nonstop journey.

"Richard, I heard you can already read. But tell me—would you be interested in going to school?" the woman suddenly asked, surprising both Richard and Sister Lisa.

"Mrs. Wilson, do you mean to send me to school?" Richard asked, his mind racing.

This was something he had once hoped for, because in school, he would have access to many things.

After all, schools were very rare in this world—sometimes a whole city had only one. But they taught many things—not only reading and writing, but also magic, and even training to become a Sky Armor Knight.

The problem was, his interest in school had greatly diminished since meeting his ancestor.

Instead of going to school, he could visit his ancestor’s cabin and learn anything from him.

More importantly, he couldn’t leave his ancestor alone.

"I have a friend who is a teacher at the school in Apple Town. If you’re interested, I can ask him to admit you. Perhaps you can grow even better there. In this world, without school, it’s very difficult to train one’s abilities. I myself once studied in school," Mrs. Wilson said, while Richard searched for the right words to politely refuse her offer.

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