Ch. 67 Days of Study

“Well then, that is all for today’s lesson.”

Sellen dispelled the magic veil that had been shrouding them.

Mia was already able to create her own magic circuits, although she had not yet learned her first Glintstone Magic.

But this was the zero-to-one; she had successfully crossed the most difficult threshold.

Sellen, feeling very proud of Mia, also boasted:

“I didn’t expect my student to learn to walk so quickly. It seems I am a good teacher.”

Even mature sorcerers occasionally reveal a playful side.

The first lesson finally ended. Mia briefly bid farewell to Sellen and walked out of the basement.

Night had long since fallen.

Wilden had been standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall of the stone steps leading to the surface.

“Everything alright?”

He saw Mia walk out and immediately asked.

“No problems!” Mia raised the stargazing staff in her hand, showing it off: “Everything is great!”

The first day of lessons, although it started a bit hastily.

But under Teacher Sellen’s patient guidance, Mia had absorbed most of the knowledge.

Wilden nodded.

Then he walked up the stairs ahead of Mia.

Mia held that old textbook from Teacher Sellen in her other hand.

Sellen had gifted this textbook, filled with notes, to Mia.

Although it was just the most basic textbook.

After all, everything must start from the first step; one must learn to walk before one can learn to run.

The notes in this textbook were enough for Mia to smoothly understand the knowledge within, even without explanation.

Ah, Teacher Sellen, you are so kind!

Mia held the stargazing staff, which was as tall as she was, in one hand and that old textbook in the other.

Arriving outside, she discovered that the entrance to the basement, which had been empty before, had changed drastically.

As mentioned before, the basement entrance was located in a ‘room’ surrounded by walls on four sides with an opening in one wall, now in an open space.

After half the wall was demolished by the Pumpkin Soldier, the ‘room’ was even more dilapidated, but Kalé had blocked that gap with crates, carts, and barrels collected from around the Waystation Street ruins.

Now, it was surrounded on all four sides again, with only one narrow opening, making it a place that could provide a sense of security.

The changes didn’t stop there. Kalé had also used wooden sticks and large pieces of cloth found from who knows where to erect a square canopy on the ground, which was just enough to cover most of this open space, allowing everyone to stay under shelter.

Where the canopy didn’t reach, dry firewood in the campfire was crackling, and the flames illuminated the surroundings.

Above the basement, it had now become a safe and cozy campsite.

Kalé was roasting some kind of green, blocky object.

Three Spirit Wolves were also resting nearby in various postures.

Patches lay on one side, facing the wall, with a pile of fodder underneath him.

“You’re out?” Kalé waved at Mia.

Mia looked around: “This is?”

She hadn’t expected it to be set up so well.

“After all, I considered that we would be staying here for a while.”

Kalé explained very optimistically.

A long-term campsite cannot be set up like an overnight camp.

“Staying for a while?” Mia blinked: “Aren’t you going to continue heading south?”

“I didn’t say we were heading south right now. We Nomadic People do have times when we stop occasionally.”

Kalé said, turning the object he was roasting in his hand.

Mia nodded.

Presumably, he actually wanted to travel with her and was worried, right?

Mia couldn’t help but feel moved.

(Kalé: Actually, I’m afraid of losing my free bodyguard.)

However, the girl stared at the thing turning in Kalé’s hand again.

“What is this again?”

Mia recalled the memory of Kalé roasting rats before.

Roasting rats was because he had killed many rats… then this thing couldn’t be…

“Miranda Flower, oh. There were some stragglers, so I finished them off.”

“As expected…”

Mia sat down beside Patches.

She looked back at Patches; that heartless guy was sleeping quite soundly.

He probably didn’t help much while Kalé was setting up the camp, just purely enjoying the fruits of others’ labor.

“It should be about ready.” Kalé pulled the green tuber of the Miranda Flower off the fire.

One look and you could tell this thing was the fleshy part of the Miranda Flower, just like a cactus.

“Want a taste?” Kalé handed the tuber in his hand over.

Mia did not hesitate; her acceptance of strange vegetables was much higher than that of strange meats.

She looked closely at the tuber skewered on a wooden stick; its surface was dried from roasting, and it was only sprinkled with salt.

She took a bite.

It had a potato-like feel, but it was a bit watery…

It was sweet, and combined with the salt Kalé had sprinkled on it, the taste wasn’t very good.

“It would probably be better raw,” Mia commented critically.

Just like jicama.

“Is that so?”

Kalé took the skewer from Mia’s hand and took a bite as well. He frowned.

It seemed he wasn’t very satisfied with the taste either.

Whatever, never mind, as long as it’s edible.

Tomorrow, I’ll ask the Spirit Wolf to catch some meat, and then find a chance to go out and get some wild vegetables; after all, the pot can’t just be a decoration.

I have to find a chance to use it, to make some stews or something.

“There’s more over there,” Kalé pointed to a spot where quite a few Miranda Flower tubers that had only been simply processed were piled up.

Kalé had cut off the roots and flowers of those plants; clearly, finishing off those that were still wriggling within the ruins was something he had done alone.

After all, no one gave Patches a weapon.

However, Mia now had the stargazing staff… the spear was no longer needed; she would give it to Patches after he was willing to fight together.

“Right,” Kalé added: “Go out through that opening, turn left, and there is a well that can still be used.”

Mia simply filled her stomach and washed up.

Looking at the campsite on the ground, she trotted back to the basement, into Sellen’s room.

Sellen seemed to be writing something.

“Are there any problems with the magic?” she asked.

“That’s not it… I just wanted to ask, can my companions come down to stay?”

Mia said, fidgeting at the door of Sellen’s room.

Making such a request was still a bit embarrassing.

But being able to live in the basement was definitely much better than sleeping half-open under the canopy and broken walls.

“That’s not a problem.”

The basement was very large; Sellen’s room was just an extension on one side of that spacious basement.

“Thank you, Teacher Sellen!”

Mia ran out happily to announce the good news to her companions.

Thus, Kalé spread the sleeping bags and mats of the group into the basement.

But the campfire remained outside.

After all, the deep basement did not have good ventilation.

Under the strong insistence of Kalé and Mia, Wilden and Kalé took turns keeping watch with the help of the Spirit Wolf.

Having finally settled down, even a Soldier should take a rest.

In the middle of the night, Mia was in the basement with candles placed beside her.

She was leaning against the backrest of her sleeping mat, reading the textbook Sellen had given her.

Although it was called a backrest, it was actually just a wide wooden board propped diagonally against the wall.

So much time had passed since she transmigrated.

Mia was in this secure basement.

Not far away was the gentle and reliable Teacher Sellen.

There was also Melina, who, although she didn’t appear often, was always there when needed.

There were also Wilden, Kalé, three Spirit Wolves…

and Patches.

For the first time, the young girl felt as at ease on this night as she had in her previous life.

The days of studying Glintstone Magic would pass like this for a month…