These words made Shane's expression instantly subtle.
While eating breakfast just now, he had just told the girl that he would reduce going out and focus on training Requip Magic recently.
As a result, in the blink of an eye, Erza proposed to take commissions.
Shane suspected whether the other party considered it inconvenient for him to take commissions temporarily, so she thought of acting alone to maintain expenses.
Although given their relationship, he felt he could comfortably live off her, the girl's quiet thoughtfulness still made him somewhat uncomfortable.
He opened his mouth, "How about I accompany you—"
Before this sentence could be spoken.
Erza seemed to have seen through what he was thinking long ago. Her beautiful black eyes glanced lightly, carrying a trace of understanding, or even—cunning.
Having spent so much time together, she had almost figured out the user manual for Shane.
She waved her hand, and magical glimmer flashed in the air.
First to emerge was the longsword "Flowing Water" Shane gave her, its blade clear as water.
Subsequently, lights flashed continuously. "Magic Breaking," "Iron Cutting," and various daily clothes and dresses convenient for movement emerged and switched rapidly around her like a small fashion and weapon exhibition.
While displaying, she curved her eyes, a clear and provocative smile blooming on her face. "Speaking of which, Shane, didn't you and I start learning Requip Magic at the same time?"
The sentence still unformed in Shane's mouth was instantly choked back.
Provocation! Naked provocation!
Outrageous! Erza was really—bullying people too much now!
Loss he was just planning in his heart how to open up trade routes in the future, using iron refining and weapon making to subsidize household expenses—
—Wasted so much consideration!
Accompanied by a strong competitive spirit, Shane glared at Erza resentfully.
Passing a look of "I accept the challenge," without saying a word, he turned and strode toward the library at the back of the guild.
Watching Shane's back leaving with a gust of wind, the provocative smile on Erza's face quietly turned into a smile hiding a little smugness.
She was very satisfied with the research results she figured out recently.
Beside the bar counter, Master Makarov watched this play cheerfully, casually tearing open the orange Shane gave just now, breaking off a segment and throwing it into his mouth.
"Tsk tsk, truly youth—" He shook his head and sighed.
In the next second, sweet juice burst in his mouth, his eyes widening slightly. "Mhm? So sweet!"
He decided to ask Shane later where this orange was bought.
Shane walked briskly all the way to the library, familiarly pulling out that book Basics: Spatial & Requip Magic from the shelf.
He looked around subconsciously but didn't see that small figure usually buried in piles of books, clicking his tongue.
"Pity, Levy actually didn't come? My astonishing perseverance doesn't even have an audience."
Self-mocking a sentence, he took a deep breath and opened the heavy cover.
However, when his gaze fell again on those dense, tangled magic runes, spatial coordinate formulas, and magic power node structure diagrams, the high-spirited expression on his face prepared for a big fight froze instantly.
At this moment, he once again profoundly realized what level his talent in "orthodox magic" learning was.
Thus.
In the following days, the rhythm became simple and regular.
Erza began to take commissions alone.
She seemed to have considered specially, mostly taking tasks that didn't require long travel, usually active in nearby towns, returning once in as short as one day or as long as two or three days.
Every time she returned, she was always travel-worn, but those eyes became brighter and brighter, like polished gems. She would carefully put away the earned rewards, then go to the library to glance at that back still struggling.
And Shane almost completely soaked in the library.
He had no distractions, almost cutting off all social interaction and entertainment, throwing himself wholeheartedly into that magic book.
That near-ascetic concentration even aroused the competitiveness of Levy, who often came here.
So much so that later, it often evolved into Shane not leaving, and Levy also staying in the library as if in a fit of pique, burying her head in her own books.
But this wasn't Shane being fascinated by magic and forgetting life.
Quite the opposite.
He had to go all out like this because as long as he relaxed slightly, that pitiful learning progress bar would stop moving completely!
This also made him personally experience what a terrifying "monster" in magic talent Erza was, mastering Requip Magic proficiently in just a few days.
"Comparing people to people, really infuriating." Shane rubbed his swelling temples, sighing in a low voice.
Fortunately, he could still occasionally hold the book and save a pile of questions to ask Master Makarov.
Although Makarov felt somewhat strange about those "overly basic" questions he asked—
After all, Shane had already mastered that "transformation magic" even he couldn't see through; how could he be stumped by such questions?
But even so, Makarov still answered patiently one by one.
Precisely relying on the Master's guidance, Shane's learning progress barely maintained smooth flow, not getting completely stuck on any difficult point.
Anyway, this time Shane got his "wish."
His "astonishing" perseverance indeed attracted more or less attention from Levy and the Master.
Time passed quietly amidst turning pages and magic meditation.
One afternoon more than a month later.
"Finally—finally learned by me!"
Shane closed the magic book in front of him, whose edges had become frayed from turning, with a snap. His body leaned back slightly in excitement, almost wanting to roar to the sky, spitting out the sullen air accumulated for more than a month.
Huge joy and sense of accomplishment washed over his nerves.
In excitement, he was eager to find a test subject. His gaze swept around, finally locking directly onto the clothes he was wearing!
Magic Power moved with his will. With a flash of glimmer, the coat and inner shirt on his body disappeared instantly, collected into the newly constructed Requip space.
"Yah!" Levy, who was buried in reading beside him, was startled by this movement. Looking up, she instantly let out a short scream.
She covered her eyes with her hands subconsciously, cheeks crimson, shouting in shame and annoyance, "Shane! You—what are you doing! Don't be led astray by Gray!
After shouting several times in a row, Shane, immersed in ecstasy, reacted abruptly.
He looked down at his naked upper body, cold sweat coming down instantly.
"Sorry, sorry! Too excited, habit, purely habit!"
Shane laughed awkwardly, hurriedly concentrating his mind, spending much more effort than just now to "drag" the clothes out of the space and put them on again.
If he was really regarded by Levy as a pervert like Gray, he wouldn't be able to mix in the guild for the rest of his life.
Waiting until clothes were worn neatly, and Levy was still muttering with a red face over there, Shane calmed down and carefully sensed that rudimentary space.
Although successfully constructed, it was extremely unstable, far from Erza's smooth feeling of arm extension. Every access was like moving heavy objects, extremely consuming mental strength.
The most critical thing was—
Shane closed his eyes to sense, frowning slightly: "This space—why is it only about one cubic meter?"
This capacity was stretched to the limit just stuffing a few sets of clothes and putting a weapon.
"A bit shabby—"
While tidying his slightly messy collar, he pondered secretly: "When Erza comes back, have to ask her how big her initial space was, hoping to find some psychological balance."