CHAPTER 9: ANOTHER

"Miss Lisa!" Richard called out to the woman just as she was about to enter her room.

"Mm?" She looked a little startled.

"Is something the matter, Richard?" she asked in confusion.

It wasn’t usual for Richard to suddenly call out to her like this.

"I’d like to ask for some blank books and ink," Richard replied in a rather soft voice.

If it were just an ordinary request, it would be easy, since Miss Lisa almost treated him like her superior due to being entrusted to her care by Mrs. Wilson. But blank books and ink were rare items in this village where only a handful of people could even read. As for writing, there was no one at all. In fact, Richard himself had only learned to read, not to write.

If he were told to write, who knew how messy his handwriting would be without practice?

Naturally, Miss Lisa was even more surprised.

"Blank books and ink? What do you need them for?" she asked curiously.

Richard found it difficult to answer this question.

He forced a smile and softly said, "I need them for my talent development."

"Talent?" Miss Lisa was only left bewildered by that.

"Yes..." Richard nodded with an expression that seemed to say he couldn’t explain it right now.

There was no need to go into detail, since he knew Miss Lisa would not reject his request anyway.

"Very well..." The woman eventually accepted.

"There’s someone selling blank books in the neighboring village. I’ll ask someone heading there to buy a few for you. You may have to wait until tomorrow noon. As for the ink, we don’t need to buy it—I’ll make it for you later. I once learned how to craft it during my time with the Sky Armor Legion," she said.

"Thank you, Miss!" Richard expressed his gratitude and quickly returned to his room.

Tonight, he just wanted to sleep; he would not train.

Still, it was good enough—the System gave him two Aether increases.

(Your Aether has increased from 850 to 851!)

(Your Aether has increased from 851 to 852!)

Aether: 852/1000 Tier 3] +2

[Aether Accumulation: 852 Tier 3]

(Your mastery of Codex of Dragon Emperor has increased from 23% to 24%!)

[Codex:

Codex of Dragon Emperor (24%)]

Unexpectedly, even the System granted him progress with the Codex of Dragon Emperor.

Such occurrences had been extremely rare in these past two years—that was why it was only at 24% until now. It hadn’t even reached the 30% minimum required to unlock the Codex’s First Innate Arcane Art, Dragon’s Roar.

As for practicing it on his own to improve mastery, he already deemed it impossible. He hadn’t even managed to reach 1% from 0%, let alone progress further, which was exponentially more difficult.

That night, he slept soundly, even dreaming of defeating the strongest enemy and marrying the most beautiful woman.

The dream was vivid enough to leave him smiling foolishly upon waking.

Yet, he couldn’t remember clearly what that strongest enemy or most beautiful woman actually looked like.

His plan was to visit his ancestor again after receiving the books and ink he needed.

Since he had slept well, after breakfast he decided to try absorbing Aether with all his strength.

The result was quite impressive—he managed to absorb two more Aether.

Aether: 854/1000 Tier 3] +2

[Aether Accumulation: 854 Tier 3]

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Richard, here are the books and ink you asked for..."

The knock on his door and Miss Lisa’s voice echoed outside some time after his training.

He had put aside his lunch, choosing instead to lie down to calm his body.

Hearing her voice, he immediately stood and opened the door.

Miss Lisa was carrying three books and a small bottle filled with ink.

However, her gaze first wandered into his room with curiosity before landing on him.

She seemed very eager to know what he was up to.

Unfortunately for her, there were no strange signs inside his room.

If it had been another child, she would surely have interrogated them. But since she had always regarded him as unusual from the beginning, she dared not act rashly toward him.

"Here you go..." She handed over the books and ink, which Richard accepted with thanks once again.

Naturally, Richard chose to keep to himself in his room for a while.

After half an hour, he finally left.

He ran with high spirits.

When he arrived at his ancestor’s place, he couldn’t help but be stunned.

The small hut they had built yesterday suddenly had a huge veranda surrounding it.

There was even a long wooden bench on the veranda where his ancestor was lying down, seemingly taking a nap.

’He truly cannot be underestimated,’ Richard thought.

Apparently, his ancestor wasn’t sleeping too deeply, as he woke the moment Richard approached.

"Richard, you’ve finally returned," he said, immediately sitting upright with a straight back.

"Grandfather, I brought some blank books and ink," Richard said.

The old man nodded and replied, "Give them to me."

Compared to Richard, he looked just as excited.

Perhaps he had high hopes that Richard could inherit his unfulfilled ambitions.

"I’ll need to focus, so you must stay quiet for now. How about you go fishing and roast the catch so I can eat after writing?" he suggested.

"Of course..."

Richard chuckled.

He quickly went to the riverbank and began fishing, occasionally glancing at the old man, who seemed to be writing rather quickly.

The river was indeed full of fish.

He almost never had to wait long before his bait was taken, and the fish were always large.

However, what surprised him was when he noticed someone drifting in the river after some time fishing.

This time, it was an old woman who seemed far too aged, her skin nearly turning to earth, her dim red hair disheveled, and a black wooden staff shaped like a serpent clutched in her hand.

Richard wasn’t even sure whether she was still alive or not, as she didn’t seem to be breathing anymore.

What was more shocking, she wore a red gown that looked luxurious, yet hung far too loosely on her frail body.

"Grandfather!" Richard shouted, startling Aldric.

"What is it?" he asked.

But Richard didn’t need to explain. The old man quickly realized what had alarmed him when his own eyes fell upon the drifting old woman.

He swiftly rose and walked toward Richard.

"Grandfather, should we help her?" Richard asked, while Aldric narrowed his eyes as he observed the old woman.

"Is she the Spirit Queen of Flames?" he muttered under his breath.

His expression grew more serious, but after a while, he sighed in relief.

"Fortunately, she seems to be at the brink of death and has no chance of waking or recovering on her own without help," he said before nodding at Richard.

"We can save her, but we must not awaken her. She’s dangerous, but her body is an incredible treasure. I never expected her to have fallen as well... but how could she appear here after me? This can’t be coincidence. Richard, we need to explore the river upstream later. I doubt either she or I drifted here from the sea."

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