Ian was captivated by the apple, resplendent like a work of art.
Pandro urged him from the side.
"Quick! Eat it quickly, don't let the old witch see it, she'll definitely snatch it away from you." As Pandro spoke, he rushed over and stuffed the Golden Apple into Ian's mouth.
"Cough cough!"
This was Ian's first attempt at eating something from the Misty Illusion Realm, and Pandro's actions were somewhat rough. He almost choked on it, but thankfully the apple, larger than a fist, melted immediately in his mouth.
"Ian is glowing!"
Ariana exclaimed.
Ian couldn't see her expression.
Because at that moment, he only felt a strange warmth and powerful energy flowing through his body, a soul-cleaning sensation that made him close his eyes to savor it.
His body seemed infused with vitality and life.
"Boom~"
It wasn't Ian exploding, but rather something metallic hitting the wall in the hall. Immediately after, Ian faintly heard Pandro's somewhat panicked voice.
"That woman heard me call her old witch! Run! Run!"
"Ian, we'll wait for you in the town!"
...
Ariana and Pandro's voices intertwined.
Gradually drifting into the distance.
Ian didn't know how much time had passed. When he opened his eyes again, the furniture in the hall had returned, and the Witch was looking at him with a complex expression.
"I didn't expect them to really find..."
The Witch's tone was one of amazement.
"I remember Teacher saying, you cut down the world's last Golden Apple Tree?" While in the Misty Illusion Realm, Ian couldn't check his changes through the panel.
Now he felt a clarity of mind he had never experienced before.
"Clearly, before I cut down the last Golden Apple Tree, someone smuggled seeds here." The Witch provided an explanation that made Ian's eyes widen.
"Someone else can do this before me?" Ian was quite surprised.
The Witch shook her head.
"Foolish little one, no wizard is as special as you, naturally no wizard would receive the same favor as you. What I mean is that someone merely brought a seed here."
"I don't know what method, but throughout history, there have been many extraordinary wizards, and many legends might accomplish such an unlikely feat."
The Witch stared at Ian's youthful face.
Whispered softly.
"After all, a legend is called so because it can create impossible miracles." The tapestries on the walls seemed to tremble from the Witch's soft words.
The flames in the paintings seemed to burn more fiercely.
"Perhaps I can find some useful information in the school library." Ian thoughtfully nodded, knowing that true legends among wizards were rare.
"You'd better ask that damn butcher friend of yours. Since he brought you the Golden Apple, it shows he already knows where it's planted."
The Witch rolled her eyes at Ian with an expression suggesting she was looking at an idiot.
"His memory isn't much left either."
Ian replied helplessly, having considered that approach.
"He's really pitiful then."
The Witch sneered.
"Teacher, I apologize on his behalf, he's always been a very reckless guy." Ian lowered his attitude considerably, speaking with utmost sincerity, "I promise to find your mirror and anything else you desire, as compensation for his deep apologies to you."
Upon hearing this.
The Witch's expression wasn't as displeased.
"I only want my mirror."
After a slight pause, she continued.
"And the Giant Dragon he promised to capture!"
Goodness!
As expected!
The Witch really had been hiding in the depths of the castle eavesdropping!
"Of course, no problem!"
Ian quickly nodded in agreement, though his teacher's expression calmed a lot, he couldn't help cursing Pandro again.
"Damn troublemaker! Evil executioner! Disgusting despicable plunderer!" She attached quite a few unpleasant names to Pandro.
"Was he also a remarkable person when alive?"
Ian tentatively asked.
He could tell the Witch knew quite a lot about Pandro.
"My foolish apprentice, why do you always ask such idiotic questions."
The Witch glanced at Ian in disdain.
"The answer has already presented itself before you, only you chose to ignore the truth." The Witch sighed heavily, leaving Ian baffled.
What did he ignore?
Why can't he realize it himself?
"Teacher, I admit I'm a fool, so can you tell me who he is?"
Ian's curiosity was hard to suppress.
"You're a pig, but I'm not."
The Witch chuckled, "Tell you, then you tell him, once he remembers he can continue jumping around here for many years, do you think I would make myself uncomfortable?"
Teacher Mara seemed quite disdainful towards Pandro.
She made a lot of sense.
Ian didn't even know how to respond.
"Did you know? Everything in this castle, along with the abilities I've shown you, they aren't magic, they're just a form of shaping created by perception."
The Witch suddenly began reflecting in an abrupt manner.
"Perception?"
Ian felt a bit surprised.
"Yes, in this land far from the mortal world, perception determines what you can accomplish here." The Witch patiently explained, nodding.
"I believe in the power of knowledge, whereas he believes he can accomplish whatever he wishes... thrice he proved his perception was firmer than mine."
The Witch implicitly explained her defeat to Pandro.
Her tone held a bit of unwillingness and... solitude.
"That can actually work!"
Ian found it hard to imagine someone using "I muse force" in the Misty Illusion Realm.
"Indeed, so unreasonable, knowledge unable to rival belief, isn't this, too, a form of impossible miracle." The Witch sighed.
While Ian was pondering whether her words contained some hint.
The Witch raised her head.
Her gaze directed towards the scattered armor pieces outside.
"You need to take responsibility for reshaping these guards for me."
Another sudden twist.
Stunned Ian for a moment. They were just talking about Pandro, and Teacher Mara suddenly made a three-hundred-sixty-five-degree turn!
Gosh!
Old woman's thought process!
"Huh? Wasn't it agreed he'd find a dead dragon for guarding?"
Ian innocently widened his eyes.
"That is compensation, while this, is your duty as an apprentice." The Witch sneered as she picked up a copy of the Magic Potion textbook Ian brought in.
"I can only squeeze figurines, not create moving steel figures."
Ian spread his small hands.
The Witch responded with sarcastic laughter.
"Can't? Then go learn."
Such familiar words.
"Is this new homework?"
Ian started feeling a diminishing sense of presence.
"I don't expect you to learn it in a few days, but I will regularly check your learning progress." The Witch read from the Magic Potion textbook, tearing another piece from her gown.
"Next time, first return to that girl's town, then come see me again." With a gentle toss, the gown fragment covered in dense runes landed in Ian's hand.
"I'm afraid time will be tight."
Ian's figure was already beginning to fade.
"It'll be in time, things are different now."
The Witch's voice carried light assurance, and she hadn't lifted her head from the textbook copy Ian brought the entire time.
"Tick tock~ tick tock~ tick tock~"
The clock ticked.
Suddenly Ian opened his eyes in the present world.
He rare did not look at the time on the wall, nor at the fragment of the gown in his hand, but eagerly opened his personal panel first.