Chapter 81: Different People Have Different Worries

“Encyclopedia of Necromantic Magic: Level 1 Necromantic Magic”

[Shadow Mist]: Level 1 magic, defensive type. It is the only defensive spell among the level 1 magics commonly used by Necromancers. It spreads mist to cover the surrounding area, serving to hide oneself and disrupt the enemy’s vision. Upgrading increases the casting speed and the density of the mist.

…

On the Amelia Continent, the Winter Festival was actually not considered a very grand celebration. Basically, it came about because when the deep winter arrived, people stayed at home all day with nothing to do, and so this festival came into existence.

Children might feel very happy about it, but for adults, the “Winter Festival” was really just a day of rest. Especially in areas near the northern part of the continent, the freezing weather made people not even want to go outside, so both the scale of the celebrations and the importance people placed on it were far inferior to the “Harvest Festival” in the golden autumn month of August.

However, because of Luo Yan’s involvement, everyone’s income this year had multiplied several times over, so naturally their pockets were much looser. Talim Village’s “Winter Festival” this year was quite enjoyable. The aroma of food drifted everywhere in the village, and those old wines that had been cellared for over a decade were brought out one after another. A festive atmosphere could be felt everywhere.

[At this time in his previous life, Talim Village had been shrouded in gloom and misery because of the tragedy that had befallen the hunting team. Luo Yan only remembered that his father had seemingly just woken up not long before, and every day he was tormented by guilt and self-blame. His elder sisters spoke softly and walked slowly, afraid of disturbing their father. There was no festive atmosphere at home at all.]

But this time…

At the start of the new year, early in the morning, Luo Yan put on a new set of clothes. His eldest and second elder sisters were also wearing brand new outfits, and even Isaiah had new clothes that Sophie had prepared. Holding the soft garment that still gave off a faint fragrance, Isaiah’s eyes turned slightly red. Ever since he had become an orphan after losing both parents, this was the first time he had new clothes of his own.

Smiling, he came to the courtyard with his family. Luo Yan flung the bamboo pigeon he had prepared long ago into the sky, and immediately a series of crackling sounds rang out. Bamboo brings peace, and all things go as wished. With his family by his side, hearing his mother’s gentle laughter and his father’s deliberately steady cough, at that moment Luo Yan felt as if he were in a dream.

And so, amidst such boundless warmth, Luo Yan’s first “Winter Festival” after his rebirth gradually faded into the distance…

After the “Winter Festival” passed, it was time for the harvest, and right after that came the transplanting of the third season of rice. This was also a peculiar sight near the Bale Mountains. Even though it was close to the northern part of the continent, rice could still be grown here, and it could even produce three harvests a year. For tens of thousands of years, researchers had never been able to come up with a convincing explanation for this phenomenon, and even before Luo Yan’s rebirth, there had never been any definitive answer.

But the common folk did not care about the “reason” behind it; they only needed to know the “result” — and the result was that they could grow three seasons of rice a year. If they switched to wheat, it could only mature twice. The arable land around the Bale Mountains was already scarce to begin with. If not for this bizarre situation that could only be called a “miracle,” most local residents would not even be able to support themselves.

In short, what exists is reasonable, and even if it seems unreasonable, it remains reasonable. Of course, what mattered more to the villagers was that the transplanting of the third rice crop could not be delayed, or else their food supply for the coming year might be in trouble.

Naturally, this matter had become Luo Pei’s top priority.

Actually, Luo Yan had always found it strange — how could there be no news at all after his father reported such achievements? The average income of the entire village had increased fivefold! Such a thing should definitely have caused a small stir around Wooden Bucket Town. It should have been a great thing for the higher-ups in town as well, at least giving them some face at the annual meeting in Hall City.

According to Luo Yan’s original thinking, with such an achievement, his father should have at least received a “distinguished” evaluation and would inevitably be praised by the town. But now it seemed like there was no reaction at all. Not to mention commendations or praise, there was not even any news about this achievement. It couldn’t help but make Luo Yan feel extremely puzzled.

What was going on here? Could the higher-ups in town be that slow to react? Then they were way too bureaucratic, almost like the long-extinct Pupensiduo Dragon — how should he put it — it gets injured three days ago, but only lets out a cry of pain three days later.

Speechlessly shaking his head, Luo Yan muttered complaints inwardly as he casually set down the stork-feather quill in his hand — a type of quill that was tall and long, actually very inconvenient for writing, but unanimously considered by nobles to be very elegant — he now had his own troubles to consider.

First was the priority order for magic upgrades. Although “learning” magic required no mental effort at all — as long as one’s Mana reached the required level, magics one had once mastered would naturally be mastered again — upgrading magic, however, required one to do it “personally.” The tedious suffering involved had been made quite clear before. While Luo Yan could endure loneliness, the problem was that, limited by his total Mana, he still had to make choices first.

Luo Yan’s full Mana was only enough to cast three spells in a row, yet he had essentially already “learned” five level 1 magics. “Skeleton Summon,” “Whisperer’s Murmur,” “Poison Smoke,” “Bone Fang,” “Shadow Mist”… Among them, “Skeleton Summon” would definitely take up one slot, and “Whisperer’s Murmur” could not be upgraded so it could be ignored. As for the remaining three, which one to temporarily give up required careful consideration.

No matter how he worked it out, it seemed like he was back to the choice of the “three basic magics” again? Luo Yan was depressed.

Apart from that, the choice of a new magic — that is, the sixth magic — was also a source of agonizing for Luo Yan. This time around, he would not have it as easy as before. Before his rebirth, when Luo Yan had been a Level 1 Magic Apprentice, he had only learned four level 1 magics in total, which were, of course, the four most basic ones.

Now that he had used up his old knowledge, if he wanted to continue learning new magics, he would not have many chances to “cut corners” again. At most, he could rely on his rich experience and massive spirit to make things somewhat easier, but the “process” that needed to be followed could not be skipped at all. After repeated planning and design since his rebirth, Luo Yan planned to learn as many as eight or nine kinds of level 1 magics this time, each of them extremely practical and practically indispensable. As such, how to choose was undoubtedly very important.

[…Although he had long since prepared a complete plan, when it truly came down to the moment, he could not help but feel anxious and torn, wishing he could learn all the magics at once. This feeling was actually quite understandable, right? I believe every comrade who has endured the torment of the college entrance examination would deeply understand this…]

Suddenly taking a deep breath, realizing the anxiety in his heart, Luo Yan decided to relax a bit. He was just about to go check on Isaiah when suddenly a hearty laugh came from the entrance. Luo Yan helplessly slapped his forehead.

Damn it. His eldest and second elder sisters had already started school several days ago, so why was this damned Carven still loafing around the village? Didn’t he need to go to Hall City for school…? Ugh.