Chapter 114 The first meaningful lesson
After a dozen rounds of dueling, Aaron was panting, his body bruised and purple, looking exceptionally miserable.
But Gines wasn't particularly worried; he had been through it before and knew these were just superficial injuries that wouldn't even require a Potion. A little medicated wine and a good night's sleep would have him fully recovered by tomorrow.
"Young Master, today's sword fighting lesson ends here."
"Really?"
"Really, two hours have already passed.
I must admit, Young Master, you are quite dedicated when you train."
"Then give me back my wand."
Gines immediately complied, placing the two wands into Aaron's hand.
"Diffindo!"
Aaron directly cast a spell on the armor, watching it break into pieces, and he felt much more comfortable.
"Young Master, doing this serves no purpose."
"But it makes me feel better," Aaron said indifferently. "Where's my Abey?"
"He's..." Gines pointed to the hamster treadmill in the corner, his expression becoming particularly amused. "I underestimated the allure of food for a foodie."
He saw his meticulously crafted hamster treadmill spinning rapidly as Abey ran wildly, with even some connections emitting wisps of smoke.
If it continued, it wouldn't be long before it was completely worn out.
Aaron burst into laughter, walked over, picked up Abey, and gave him an approving look. "Well done, your lunch will definitely be extra sumptuous."
Abey flashed a wide smile, took a few colored pictures into his hand, and carefully placed them in his pocket.
Entering the first Chamber of Secrets, Aaron took a deep breath and summoned Ancestor Alger's memory through the black stone pillar.
"Who hit you?" Alger asked coldly. "Tell me, and I'll have Vico kill him.
Gaius's descendants cannot be bullied by outsiders."
"Family!" Aaron was deeply moved. "Blood is thicker than water after all."
"Uh... Lord Alger, actually, these are just minor external injuries from sword fighting training," Gines explained with an awkward smile. "A little ointment and a good night's sleep should mostly heal them."
"Then it's nothing!"
Aaron:..."You change your tune too quickly!"
"I went through the same thing; who didn't get beaten up as a child!"
"It's not the same; you definitely weren't forced to learn forging when you were young."
"Who says I wasn't?
But I didn't have a teacher as excellent as I am back then, so you've gotten a great bargain." Alger chuckled, then took a small hammer and threw it directly into Aaron's hand.
"Hold this; this is an indispensable item for every blacksmith in the early stages."
"Early stages?"
"Of course, the early stages. For truly great blacksmiths, like myself, we don't need hammers." Alger then took out a booklet. "Take this; these are the knowledge you need to master: temperature, cooling, quenching, material compatibility, and so on. Read it when you have nothing to do."
Aaron opened the booklet; the illustrations were quite clear, but the various precise data and formulas made him dizzy.
"So what do I do now?"
"It's simple!" Alger pointed at a red-hot iron block on the forging table. "Hammer it, with all your might for every strike.
I'll be watching you; don't be lazy!"
"This, this is it?" Aaron asked in surprise. "Isn't this too irresponsible, what's the difference from free-range farming?"
"Didn't I give you a booklet? That's a treasure I've summarized!
Are you telling me you still want me to teach you how to hold a hammer? The technique for applying force?"
"Shouldn't you?"
"That's what Muggles do, and we are Wizards.
For a Wizard blacksmith, this is just an early transition, like the self-study of the first lesson.
It has a certain sense of ritual, but its significance isn't that great, understand?"
Aaron nodded, half-understanding, and said no more, swinging the hammer down strike after strike.
Alger then walked up to Gines, picked up Abey, and rubbed his dragon head with interest. "Why didn't I encounter such an interesting creature when I was alive?"
Abey struggled violently, but in front of a Grand Magister, he was just an ordinary chick, completely powerless to resist.
"This is Young Master Aaron's unique pet; the Patriarch and Madam are very fond of him."
"He's quite cute," Alger said. "Not just cute, but also very powerful. This generation's heir will have a very good companion."
Hearing this, Abey smiled sheepishly, and his struggles weren't as violent.
"And he seems very loyal now."
Abey smiled even more happily, acting as if he wouldn't be pleased even if praised.
Aaron, who was swinging the hammer nearby, saw this scene and inexplicably regretted it. He should have given this little dragon an egg-ucation back then.
Two hours later, Aaron, who had swung the hammer over a thousand times, dragged his exhausted body to the second Chamber of Secrets.
Ancestor Moer looked at Aaron's trembling hands very seriously and said with some regret, "I was originally planning to teach you anatomy, and the corpse was all prepared for you, but I didn't expect plans to change."
Aaron:...Thank you, Ancestor Alger, I dodged a bullet and turned misfortune into a blessing!
"But it doesn't matter, you can observe!
At least it can improve your psychological fortitude."
"Uh... Young Master, I'll go to the next Chamber of Secrets to wait for you first." Gines swallowed, quickening his pace towards the third Chamber of Secrets.
Abey also followed closely, running halfway, then breaking into a sprint, and after a few steps, he spread his wings and flew swiftly inside.
"Traitors! Disloyal!
If you're going to run, at least take me with you!"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Moer didn't care, calmly picked up the craniotomy tool, and addressed the corpse's head on the operating table. "This is a lesson you must experience; it is of extraordinary significance.
Only by witnessing it firsthand can you remain unfazed when a mountain collapses before you; even if you see a true mountain of corpses and a sea of blood in the future, you will be able to face it calmly.
So, don't even blink."
Pfft!
Crimson blood gushed from the head.
Aaron couldn't help but swallow, then turned and vomited wildly.
"Tsk! This generation is truly difficult to teach!"
An hour later, Aaron walked trembling towards the third Chamber of Secrets.
Only he knew what he had just experienced: skin, blood, bones, internal organs, presented one by one from the outside in before his eyes.
When the last bloody human skeleton was placed on the shelf, he could no longer hold it together; his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
He didn't know how Moer had completely dissected a corpse within an hour, but he truly understood all the structures of the human body.
And he was a hundred percent sure that he would have no appetite and wouldn't be able to eat for the next one or two weeks.
"Young Master, are you alright?" Gines asked anxiously.
"Hmph! Do I look like I'm alright?
I don't need a mirror to know how pale my face is."
"Young Master, I've seen that scene once, and I don't want to see it a second time."
Abey: "Woof..."
I'm worried if I stay there, he might not be able to resist dissecting me.
"Fine, you both have a point, and having a point means you can ignore me, right!"
"Not exactly!" Gines immediately took out a bottle of Potion. "Special sedative, good for you, Young Master.
The Patriarch drank this Potion back then and still ate heartily the next day."
"At least you have some conscience." Aaron rolled his eyes at him, took the sedative, and gulped it down.
Indeed, after drinking it, he felt refreshed, his legs no longer trembled, and his mental state recovered significantly, but he still felt a lingering fear at the bloody scene he had just witnessed.
Abey also ingratiatingly took out a green apple. "It's very sweet."
"Hmph!" Aaron turned his face away, but still picked up the apple, bit into it somewhat unhappily, and then, looking at the room full of musical instruments, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh. "Finally, something normal. I'll go summon Ancestor Vaughn now."
"Young Master, wait!" Gines hastily stopped him. "Young Master, you forgot, music lessons are once every three days. I've scheduled this class for the third day on your timetable, so..."
"So... you did this on purpose?"
"How could I? I stayed up all night to put together a perfect timetable."
Gines said, pulling out a long timetable—no, to be precise, a long chart—from his pocket, clearly outlining everything from today until the day before Aaron's school started.
Aaron's mouth twitched, and he covered his face with one hand, wanting to cry but having no tears. "You're too cruel!"
"Young Master." Gines hesitated for a moment, then blurted out, "This is the truth; you have to accept it."
"Damn it!" Aaron rolled his eyes. "The next class is magicArrays, right!"
"Yes, Lord Wehert's class.
Two hours, and then we can prepare lunch."
Aaron smiled wryly and walked directly to the next door, passing through several doorways to a Chamber of Secretsfilled with magic Arrays.
Wehert emerged from the stone pillar the moment he entered, looking at him with a smiling face.
"You, this, Teacher, how did you come out?"
"I am different from the others; all the magic Arrays here are my eyes. As long as someone with the same bloodline comes, I can awaken at any time," Wehert said. "For the first lesson, what you need to do is look at one of these magicArrays and engrave it deeply in your mind."
"Does it have to be described so abstractly?"
"If you can't do it, I can help you.
After knocking you out, I can enter your dreams, and the effect will definitely be greatly enhanced."
"That's quite unnecessary." Aaron immediately said, then looked at the dense magic Arrays on the wall, intending to pick the simplest one.
But as soon as he calmed down, his vision went black, and before losing consciousness, he vaguely saw his Ancestor's smiling face.