Borrowed from Ivy: 35 gold lions.
25 gold lions: the Imperial Capital June Flower Press edition of Simple Process for Making Magic Scrolls.
10 gold lions: 20 sheets of charged sheepskin paper for crafting scrolls.
After subtracting the savings Ethan had scraped together in two years—and the fifty silver antlers he'd just plucked off a minotaur gentleman—
He still owed Ivy: 4 gold lions and 50 silver antlers.
Naturally, Ethan told Ivy a different story.
He said he'd bought a scriptwriting textbook.
His lifelong dream was to become the Imperial Opera House's official playwright. After getting transferred to Headquarters, he planned to spend his off-hours writing stage plays.
Thankfully, the normally nosey Ivy seemed weighed down by her own thoughts. After lending him money, she simply waited on the deck and didn't ask what he'd bought.
So… in the end, he'd still succumbed to temptation.
Carrying the bag, Ethan suddenly realized something profoundly unsettling.
Before leaving, Ivy had warned him that Old Mu was dangerous—that one wrong step around him would plunge you into an irredeemable abyss.
But after meeting him, the most dangerous thing Old Mu had done was point Dark Creature Begone 3.0 at Ethan.
Other than that, the treefolk hadn't tried to scam him at all.
Meanwhile—
When Ivy offered to lend him money with no interest, an entirely new door opened in Ethan's mind.
Once desire and greed stirred, they became hard to suppress.
Ethan silently criticized himself.
But the path of an Elemental Shaper was long and difficult. Aside from basic spells, Fireball & Frostbolt: A Study of Mana also discussed the fundamentals of mana composition.
Every extraordinary path had its own method of advancement.
For Elemental Shapers, that meant: expanding one's horizons, deepening understanding of mysticism, strengthening one's connection to the natural elements.
In Ethan's own terms…
He needed to raise his Intelligence.
The stronger his mana, the more powerful his spells.
Unfortunately, he couldn't see a status panel. His only "cheat" was being able to view skill proficiency. So the only way he could estimate his current mana was by comparison.
Conservatively speaking—
He was probably a little stronger than the witch who'd attacked the town recently.
So how did he raise Intelligence?
The answer was simple: read more mysticism books.
That was the one reliable conclusion Ethan had reached in the past two years.
He'd already devoured every mysticism-related work in Brookwood's library—without realizing it, he'd become the town's "mysticism expert."
But Ethan didn't consider that an achievement at all.
Everything he'd read was public, beginner-level material.
Most people in town didn't read. When they had problems, they came to Ethan for answers, eager to hear knowledge he'd filtered and summarized.
In Ethan's view, there were only two ways to access more mysticism.
One: Authority.
Once he transferred to the Containment Bureau Headquarters, the Imperial library's mysticism collections would be open to him. And as a paper-pusher, his workload would be light. He could spend his days reading.
His career goal was simple: read every mysticism book in the Imperial library… then retire.
Two: Wealth.
If he earned enough, he could buy all the mysticism books he wanted in Wallhearth Bay—including skill-type grimoires.
The first goal was now within reach.
The second couldn't be ignored.
That was why Ethan had grit his teeth and bought Simple Process for Making Magic Scrolls.
If he mastered scroll crafting, he could turn Fireball and Frostbolt into consumable scrolls and sell them in Wallhearth Bay.
If it worked…
It would make money far faster than a salary ever could.
One trip here had made Ethan realize how perfectly Wallhearth Bay suited him—privacy, freedom, and trade without questions.
His fingers tightened around the bag.
He couldn't help feeling nervous.
In his old life, he'd been nothing more than a diligent employee with zero business experience. Everything would have to be learned from scratch.
But no matter what—
Old Sen's Magic Scroll Shop was officially setting sail!
Both Ethan and Ivy returned with their own thoughts heavy on their backs. The trip home went smoothly—no sneezes, no teleportation accidents into sewers or strangers' bedrooms.
Ethan stacked the shopping bag on top of the crate. When they reached Ivy's apartment, Miss Chloe was already waiting at the entrance, neck craned.
The moment she saw them, she hopped toward them with bright excitement, then bumped the crate with her head and proudly hauled the Containment Bureau outpost equipment inside.
The instant they were home, Ivy ripped off her damp coat and stormed into her room like a whirlwind. Moments later, the sound of running water came from within.
Ethan opened the crate and checked the list.
It truly was a "basic" set—only four categories of items.
And now he finally understood what that ominous black viscous liquid was.
Easy as a Feather—Mental Interference Blocker 2.0.
A blocker made using SI-0321 secretions, capable of cutting off most low-tier curse-based mental influence on investigators.
One detail made Ethan's scalp go numb.
Oral solution.
This thing was meant to be drunk.
He tried nudging the bottle toward Miss Chloe.
Chloe immediately let out a startled "gok-gok!" and flapped under the table like her life depended on it.
See?
Even Miss Chloe wouldn't drink it.
The rest were several manuals titled Glossary of Curse & Containment Object Terms, exactly what Ethan needed. These objects all used coded terminology—without the glossary, "SI-0321" meant absolutely nothing.
But Ethan regretted his curiosity almost instantly.
When he looked up the entry for SI-0321…
He saw a creature whose torso resembled a swollen red balloon. Several tentacles dangled below it. The balloon looked like both head and body at once. Five palm-sized eyeballs crowded the front, and in the center bulged a trumpet-shaped mouth.
Name: Cross-Eyed.
The manual warned—in bold—that the first sighting occurred after a noble party, resulting in seven deaths, including a duke's youngest son. No visible injuries. Cause of death: suffocation.
Then, in red letters:
Do not maintain eye contact with "Cross-Eyed" for longer than three seconds.
Studies showed that after three seconds, victims fell into hallucinations. Since all documented victims were dead, the Bureau still didn't know what the hallucination world looked like.
The "SI" classification indicated containment objects that displayed strong hostility and were lethally dangerous.
And the so-called SI-0321 secretion?
It was mucus extracted from "Cross-Eyed's" eyeballs. Researchers discovered—by accident—that it could block mental interference.
Ethan's stomach churned violently.
In that moment, he understood why ignorance could be bliss.
Drinking that stuff…
Was basically equivalent to sucking on Cross-Eyed's eyeball.
No matter how other people handled it, Ethan absolutely could not.
The bedroom grew quiet.
Then the door opened, saving Ethan from his nightmare.
Ivy stepped out in a loose white satin robe, faint steam curling off her skin. Her golden medium-short hair was tied into a simple ponytail—and for once, the signature tuft of gold hair atop her head wasn't there.
A soft, clean fragrance filled the air.
Ethan lifted the manual.
"I'm pre-studying our work. But before we officially start… I have a question."
"Ask."
"You said you're staying in Brookwood for a while. What I want to know is—what's our real objective?"
"To find a spellbook."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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