Ethan had a good night's sleep, and when he woke up the next day, the red moon had disappeared.
Even the Divine Spirit was moved by his good deeds.
He fished out a leather-bound book from under his pillow, titled "The Study of Fireball and Ice Arrows' Magic Power," which was his daily required reading.
Read, practice, comprehend.
The leather book only documented the simplest elemental magic, beneficial for someone like him who had never been exposed to elemental magic to understand.
Today, he could finally advance to the next stage of his training.
When he first arrived in this world, Ethan once had ambitious dreams, fantasizing about reaching the pinnacle of life like the protagonists in the transmigration novels, but reality dealt him a heavy blow once again.
He realized that his talent for magic was not ideal.
From when he first started reading "The Study of Fireball and Ice Arrows' Magic Power" to the first time he gathered a spark, it took him a whole week, and raising his proficiency to the max level took two years; the only good news is that he's still young enough that when he masters the whole book, he'll just be in his early thirties.
An ordinary elemental mage, wielding just enough power for self-defense, this was Ethan's vision for the future, which he called his first ten-year plan.
There's nothing wrong with being ordinary.
Ethan turned to the page after the Fireball Skill in the leather book, leaning against the bed as he read with keen interest.
The leather book mentioned that the scorching heat of fire elements could effectively restrain dark creatures, yet in this world, where the legal system was incomplete, the Evil God's followers ran rampant, and high nobility could easily decide the fate of the lower people, dealing with people was inevitable. The author of the leather book mentioned that ice elements were particularly suitable for resolving disputes between people.
Ethan's goal was to become a hexagonal warrior without weak spots, even a mini-hexagon was still a hexagon.
"Ice Arrows - From Beginner to Expert."
The author was the renowned Mr. Anonymous, who proposed an interesting view in the book, suggesting that the resonance between magic power and elements comes from 'emotions'. The more distinct and intense the emotion, the easier it is to gain the elements' resonance. Compared to himself two years ago, Ethan now counted as an adept; through continuous practice of the Fireball Skill, he had vaguely grasped the essence of emotions.
The author believed that the essence of fire elements corresponded with brilliance; they preferred ambitious people.
This was not easy for Ethan, because he couldn't immediately think of his highlight moments in life. When Ethan racked his brains, tracing back to a time in middle school where he ranked in the top five in a test, he was coldly rejected by the fire elements.
In contrast, ice elements were the opposite of fire elements; the author believed their essence corresponded with pain and low points.
Ethan felt this was probably the main reason one could only practice one magic skill at a time; the elements themselves possessed emotions and consciousness, and practicing multiple spells at once would mark him as a player to them, unable to achieve the effect of "riding two horses with one butt."
He closed his eyes, feeling the magic power coursing through his body.
Now, he needed to revisit the coldest moments of his life.
Compared to practicing the Fireball Skill, segments of memories immediately surfaced before his eyes.
Was it when he accidentally fell into the river while playing by the riverside as a child, or when someone pushed him into a snow pile while shoveling snow on duty?
No, those weren't it.
Ethan almost instantly filtered out the coldest moment from those fragments of memory; it was the tail end of summer, when at a friend's insistence, he invested all the hard-earned money he saved up over several years of work into the stock market.
"You only have one chance to place a bet in life."
He could still hear that devilish whisper, fantasizing he was just one step away from financial freedom, no longer having to suffer his boss's whims from then on.
Ethan imagined himself wandering aimlessly down the bustling streets; despite the twenty-something-degree weather, he felt so cold he was shivering, wanting to climb the city's tallest building and fall with the evening breeze.
When he opened his eyes again, he exhaled deeply.
Thin frost spread from the bed to the window, forming a layer of ice flowers on it, the chill gathered into a mass in his palm placed on his chest; at this moment, his emotions resonated with the ice elements.
"It's over now; it will get better."
The ice elements seemed to comfort him, and if they had hands, they might have patted him on the shoulder.
And his skill bar now had a new skill.
"Ice Arrow (Beginner): Proficiency: 1/45"
Ethan stared long at the ice element swirling in his palm; he thought he should be happy.
After all, he learned Ice Arrow with just one meditation, established a close mental connection with the ice elements, and even received their solace.
Yet he couldn't even muster a smile.
Could it be that a hapless person like him was naturally an Ice Mage?
Though it was a joyous occasion, the voice filled with humanistic concern seemed to pierce his long-sealed heart.
"Knock, knock, knock, knock..."
The knocking interrupted Ethan's thoughts; he quickly dissipated the ice element in his palm, placed "The Study of Fireball and Ice Arrows' Magic Power" back under the pillow, wiped away the frost on the bed, and tidied his clothes.
The person outside announced themselves, "Ethan, this is Sheriff Ave; I'd like to discuss the werewolf case with you."
"Coming!"
Ethan responded, put on his shoes, and walked toward the door.
A slender figure in a black coat stood at the door. Underneath the golden monocle were brown eyes; Ave looked more like a private detective than a sheriff. In Ethan's understanding, a sheriff should be wearing light armor, be muscular, with a sword at hand; one look should provide a sense of security, not like Ave in her high-heeled knee boots that seemed unsuited for combat.
When he saw the revolver on Ave's waist, he could only sigh that times had changed.
However, what impressed Ethan most about this town sheriff was the small tuft of lively golden hair on top of her head; he always felt that this tuft might have an independent personality and consciousness.
Just like now, Ave's face was as expressionless as ever, but the golden tuft on her head swayed to greet him.
Ave believed in the God of Truth, reportedly an outstanding graduate of the Enlightenment Society, and the only registered second-tier Transcendent in the town.
The God of Truth granted her boundless curiosity and acute observation, making it easier for her to see the essence of things, and also... weaknesses.
Ave sharply observed Ethan's current mental state, saying, "Sorry, maybe this isn't a good time, but this concerns the town's safety. I'd like to ask you some questions."
Ethan quickly adjusted his mood, "Did something happen to the Hunter Squad?"
"They're all fine; in fact, they completed the hunt excellently. However, they brought back this."
Ethan breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, while Ave took out an object from the inner pocket of her clothes.
It was a finely crafted leather collar with a string attached. She unfastened the collar in front of Ethan, revealing strange runes inscribed on the inside of the collar.
Ethan immediately became vigilant, "This looks like the script used by the Evil God's followers."
"That's exactly what I'm worried about."
"Please come in."
After Ave entered, Ethan promptly locked the door, shut the windows, and drew the curtains for cover. Ave sat at the table with a grave expression, thoughtfully toying with the leather collar. Once the room was completely silent, she explained, "The hunters found it on the werewolf remnants."
She said, "I was going to store it in the evidence room, but... how should I put it? This might sound a bit lowly; I actually... wanted to wear it around my neck."
Ave toyed with the leather collar in her hand, while Ethan was entirely mesmerized by the tuft of golden hair atop her head. It had sprouted two 'hands' and covered its 'eyes', mimicking a chest-thumping demeanor.
This kid was getting harder to watch!
Ethan felt that tuft of golden hair was expressing such sentiment.
"Ethan?"
Ave's call snapped him out of his thoughts, "You're the most knowledgeable person in the town about the occult, so I'd like to know your opinion. Is it possible for werewolves to be tamed by humans?"
(Sorry to keep everyone waiting. The start of this book didn't go smoothly, with several revisions and setting resets. I even got a bit lost in writing at one point, but I managed to adjust finally. New book periods are very important; I hope the readers can support and read along, aiming to present a story you all would like!)
(The new book period has two daily updates, except today; two chapters will be updated daily at midnight. Due to recommendation issues during the new book period, updates won't be too fast, and accumulated updates will occur in the launch month!)