Borrows 35 gold lions from Ave, among which 25 gold lions are used to purchase the "Simple Magic Scroll Making Process" published by the June Flower Printing Factory in the Imperial Capital, and 10 gold lions to buy 20 sheets of energy-storing parchment for making scrolls.
Subtracting the savings he accumulated over the past two years, plus the 50 silver antelopes he just got from the gentleman minotaur, he still owes Ave a total of 4 gold lions and 50 silver antelopes.
Of course, Ethan's explanation to Ave is that he wants to buy a textbook on scriptwriting, his dream has always been to become the appointed playwright of the Imperial Capital Opera House, and when he is transferred to work at the headquarters in the future, he plans to devote his spare time to creating stage plays.
Fortunately, the always inquisitive Ave seemed preoccupied, and after lending him the money, she just stayed on the deck waiting for him, not caring at all about what Ethan had bought with the money.
Ultimately, the evil thought was aroused.
Carrying the bag, Ethan suddenly realized a serious problem.
Before departing, Ave claimed that Tree-man Old Mu was a dangerous person, and any slight mishap could lead to an abyss of eternal doom, yet after an encounter, the most dangerous thing Old Mu did was aim the spray nozzle of "Dark Creatures Disperse 3.0" at him; other than that, he had no intention of cheating him out of his money.
However, when Ave offered to lend him money interest-free, a door to a new world opened for Ethan.
Once human desires and evil thoughts are stirred, they become hard to resist.
Ethan criticized himself inwardly.
But the path of the Elemental Shaper is long and arduous, and besides recording introductory elemental magic, "Fireball and Ice Arrow Magic Power Study" also briefly mentions the principles of magic power composition.
Each extraordinary path has its unique way of advancement. For an Elemental Shaper, continuously broadening one's horizons, increasing one's understanding of mysticism, and enhancing the connection with natural elements are the means to refine magic power.
In Ethan's own terms, he needs to enhance his intelligence.
The stronger his magic power, the greater the intensity of the spells he can cast.
Since crossing over, he can't see his own panel, and his only cheat is knowing the proficiency of his skills. Hence, he can only judge his current magic power intensity by comparison.
Conservatively estimated, it should be slightly stronger than the witch who attacked the town some time ago.
So, how should he enhance his intelligence?
The answer is to read more books related to mysticism, which is a conclusion Ethan drew over the past two years.
He has read through all the works related to mysticism in the Ximu Town library, unknowingly becoming the mysterious studies expert in the eyes of the town's residents. He thinks this barely counts as any great achievement since what he browsed was publicly available to everyone.
But truly, few people in the town are willing to read books; they rather come running to consult Ethan when problems arise, to hear the knowledge he has refined and summarized.
In Ethan's view, there are generally two ways to contact more mysticism.
The first is via profession.
As long as he gets transferred to work at the headquarters of the Reception Bureau, all the mysticism books in the Imperial Capital Library would be open for his perusal, plus the clerical department work is relatively leisurely, giving him plenty of time to read. His work goal is quite simple: to retire after reading all the mysticism works in the Imperial Capital Library.
The second is via wealth.
As long as he earns enough money, he could buy a huge amount of mysticism books in places like Fireplace Bay, with some even being magic books related to skills.
The first goal was within reach, so the second goal couldn't be neglected either, which is why Ethan gritted his teeth and bought "The Simple Magic Scroll Making Process." Once he masters the making process of magic scrolls, he could create magic scrolls for the Fireball Skill, Ice Arrows, and sell them in Fireplace Bay to others.
If things go smoothly, this could make money much faster than his job salary.
Having made a round in Fireplace Bay, Ethan realized that the principle of confidentiality and free transactions here suited him very well.
Thinking of this, the hand carrying the bag involuntarily tightened, his heart inevitably tense. After all, he was just a conscientious worker in the first half of his life, with no business experience, and everything had to be built up from scratch.
But no matter what, Old Sen Magic Scroll Shop officially set sail!
Ethan and Ave, each with their own thoughts, had a smooth return journey without the mishaps of Ethan sneezing and causing Ave to be teleported into someone else's home or the sewer.
Ethan stacked the shopping bags on the box, and when he returned to Ave's apartment building, Miss Keroy, with her head held high, was already waiting at the door. Seeing the two of them, she cheerfully hopped and ran over, then proactively used her head to nudge the box, carrying the basic infrastructure of the Reception Bureau's Ximu Town intelligence station into the house.
Upon coming home, Ave took off her damp coat as soon as possible, stormed into her room, and soon, the sound of water could be heard.
Ethan, on the other hand, opened the box to check the inventory inside.
This box indeed contained "basic" infrastructure, with only four types of items. He finally understood what the bottle filled with ominous black viscous liquid was.
"Lighthearted Mental Blocker 2.0," a blocker formulated using secretion SI-0321, effective in blocking the mental effects of most low-level curses on investigators.
A few words in the introduction made Ethan's scalp tingle.
"Oral Solution."
This stuff is for drinking.
He tried bringing the bottled solution close to Miss Keroy, who immediately made a startled "clucking" sound and fluttered her wings to hide under the table.
See, even Miss Keroy wouldn't drink it.
The remaining items were several manuals, with covers reading "Curses and Containment Objects Terminology Guide." Ethan really needed this, as the contained items were all encoded communication. For instance, without the guide, he would have no idea what SI-0321 was.
However, Ethan soon regretted it.
When he curiously looked up entry SI-0321 in the manual by its number, what met his eyes was a body with a trunk like a red balloon, with several tentacles attached below it. The balloon appeared to be both its head and body, while five palm-sized eyeballs took up the frontal area of the creature. At the center of the eyes was an upturned trumpet-like mouth.
"Squint Eye."
This was the name the Reception Bureau gave this bizarre creature. The manual prominently highlighted that it was first sighted after a noble party concluded, resulting in 7 deaths, including the Duke's youngest son. There were no apparent injuries, and the cause of death was asphyxiation.
Additionally, the manual warned with red text that all investigators should not make eye contact with "Squint Eye" for more than 3 seconds on accidental encounters.
Research indicated that making eye contact with "Squint Eye" for three seconds would lead one into hallucination, and given that all hallucinated subjects were dead, the Reception Bureau remains unaware of the specific appearance of the hallucination world.
The "SI" number refers to a containment object that exhibits strong hostility and lethality towards investigators.
The so-called SI-0321 secretion was mucus extracted by researchers from the eyes of "Squint Eye." They unexpectedly found out that this mucus had the effect of blocking mental influences.
Ethan's stomach churned turbulently, and at that moment, he understood why someone would say ignorance is bliss.
Drinking this stuff is roughly equivalent to sipping on the eyeball of "Squint Eye."
He didn't know what others thought, but he definitely couldn't bring himself to drink it.
Unknowingly, the bedroom went quiet, and not long after, the sound of a door opening rescued Ethan from this nightmare. Ave, draped in a loose white satin robe with steam still emanating from her and her golden medium-short hair simply tied into a single ponytail, appeared. The iconic golden tuft on her head was temporarily gone.
The air was filled with a light fragrance.
Ethan waved the manual, taking the initiative to say, "I'm previewing future work content, but I have a question before the work officially starts."
"Ask away."
"You mentioned that you'd be staying in Ximu Town for a while, and I'd like to know what our real target is?"
"To find a magic book."