"Master ntor..."
Casper called out humbly behind Loren, but Loren didn't slow his pace, only tossing back a perfunctory reply:
"I have things to deal with. We'll talk tomorrow—tomorrow I'll tell you who knows Super-tier Magic..."
"Yes..."
Hearing this, though Casper was reluctant, he could only resign himself to waiting. But now he felt like ants were crawling all over him; Loren's words had cranked his anticipation to the breaking point. Casper was sure he wouldn't get a wink of sleep tonight.
Anna had run off to play sowhere else, giving Loren and Paqina plenty of private space. But Luna, on Jessica's orders, stuck close to Loren's side. Loren didn't mind, honestly—he really just wanted to teach Paqina so magic.
The mont they stepped inside, Loren activated a Shielding Spell. Anna, who had been waiting at the door, trudged away in disappointnt.
"Paqina, what I'm about to teach you is strictly confidential. Don't let anyone else know."
"Yes!"
Since Loren put it that way, Paqina understood the gravity of the situation.
"Alright, now forget all the spellcasting thods you've learned before. I'm going to teach you sothing new."
"!"
As the academic overachiever she was, Paqina knew exactly what this ant. Every magic spell, no matter the type, followed similar casting chanics. Loren was about to upend the entire magical system.
No wonder Loren had stressed not telling anyone else.
"Okay, listen carefully to what I'm about to say..."
Loren explained his research thod to Paqina. But since she'd never studied music much, she might struggle to grasp it.
"Don't rush. Completely abandoning old habits is tough—it took a long ti to master the new thod..."
While Paqina was deep in thought, Luna tried to comfort her from the side. But Paqina's response caught Luna off guard:
"I think I understand the principle. I feel like I could cast a spell right now..."
Luna wore an expression of utter disbelief. Loren, however, didn't act surprised. He simply handed Paqina a Magic Book containing the Bountiful magic he'd decoded earlier.
"Pick a spell and give it a try."
Paqina nodded, flipped open the book and glanced at it. Then she walked over to a flowerpot in the office and stretched out her hand.
In the next mont, the flower in the pot began growing rapidly, sprouting buds, and then bursting into full bloom in an instant.
This was Verdant Rapid Growth, a second-tier spell. Loren hadn't even seen Paqina chant. She had truly mastered the thod he'd given her.
"Paqina, you're a genius!"
Even Loren was genuinely thrilled. He knew the magic he'd decoded was simpler than normal, but it was still far from a 'glance-and-you-got-it' deal—especially since Paqina had only just learned a new casting thod.
"It's nothing really... It's mostly because you're amazing. This is the first ti I've realized you can use magic without praying. Cutting out that step makes casting so much faster..."
Being praised like this by Loren made Paqina a little shy.
"Don't be modest. At the very least, among everyone I know, nobody is as impressive as you."
There was sothing Loren didn't say out loud: since his thod worked for Paqina, it ant she was a witch.
The mont she'd successfully cast that spell, Loren had fully confird Paqina's identity.
Hearing Loren's praise for Paqina, Luna felt a pang of disappointnt.
She herself had worked so hard, but she still fell short compared to the other witches—let alone soone like Paqina.
"Alright, keep this book. I'll head back now. I'll teach you magic from other sequences tomorrow..."
Teaching Paqina had taken far less ti than Loren had expected, which was a good thing. He could get back earlier and make sure Noah didn't die so obscure, pointless death.
"Bountiful followers can't use magic from other sequences, can they... And it's illegal too..."
"With my thod, you can learn spells from any sequence. Besides, as long as you don't tell and I don't tell, who's going to know what you've learned?"
"Magic from other sequences is way more useful than Bountiful magic. Learning a bit won't hurt—it'll co in handy when you need it."
"Mhm..."
Paqina replied with a gentle smile. She knew Loren was doing this for her own good.
In fact, Loren was almost too good to her. Paqina knew perfectly well how valuable what Loren had just taught her was, yet he had given it to her without asking for anything in return.
And Paqina didn't think she even had anything worth offering as paynt. Loren's kindness felt so surreal it almost seed unreal.
Even after Loren had left, Paqina still hadn't snapped out of it, clutching the Magic Book he'd given her tightly in her hands.
...
"Master ntor, while you were away, a weirdo showed up at your doorstep. We've got him locked down now..."
As soon as Loren returned, a Scarecrow stationed near Loren's House popped out and started currying favor with him.
"Take to see him."
Though Loren had already guessed what was going on, he played along. The Scarecrow eagerly led him down to the Dungeon.
There were plenty of people locked up in here. To show how seriously they took Loren, they'd even prepared a private cell for Noah—but that wasn't a good thing. When Loren saw Noah, straw was sprouting from every one of his pores, and he was dangling from the ceiling.
"Master ntor, he's got a tough shell. We worked on him for ages but couldn't squeeze any useful info out of him."
The Scarecrow who'd brought Loren to the Dungeon explained the situation. Loren found it hard to stomach—he hadn't expected Noah to be this beaten up. Though for Noah, this was probably nothing.
"Master ntor?"
Even with his eyes filled with straw, Noah still sensed Loren's approach the mont he got close.
"Let him down first. I know this guy."
"!"
A chill ran down the Scarecrow's spine. He quickly touched his own head, making sure it was still attached.
When Noah had arrived, he'd been covered in blood. Nobody in Loren's house had recognized him, so the Scarecrow had assud Noah ant harm to Loren and had taken it upon himself to capture him. At the ti, he'd been thinking he might earn Loren's praise.
Now, he just wanted his family to live.
Numbly, the Scarecrow lowered Noah. Before he could say anything to plead his case, Loren waved him out.
As he left, he kept drawing the Sprout of New Life over his chest and praying without stop.
...
"What happened to you during this ti?"
After the Scarecrow left, Loren activated a Shielding Spell, then pulled the straw out of Noah's eye sockets. His eyes regrew at a visible rate.
Noah looked pretty grotesque right now. Even Loren felt a bit queasy, so he averted his gaze while talking to him.
"The Church of Confusion poured into an alloy casing and threw into the sea. It took a long ti to break free, and then I swam here."
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