The old wooden door creaked, followed by the crisp chime of a swaying bell. It wasn't that Zenith lacked the money to oil the hinges, but rather that he felt this added a necessary air of mystery.
"This doesn't look like a magic shop at all. I must have gone to the wrong place."
The white-haired elf carrying a suitcase stared blankly at the shop's layout for a moment, the word 'scammer' floating continuously through her mind.
"You absolutely did not go to the wrong place!"
Zenith popped his head out from behind the counter, looking at the elf mage draped in a white cloak. It wasn't her usual attire from the anime; it seemed she hadn't met the Hero Himmel yet.
The person before him was none other than Frieren, who had yet to begin her journey.
A thick, red-covered book was slammed onto the counter. Zenith pretended to flip through a few pages before closing it. "If I'm not mistaken, you're looking for this grimoire, right?"
Frieren stared at Zenith for a moment, stood at attention, turned around, and pushed the door to leave.
*Wait, why is she leaving?! Just walking away without a shred of hesitation! What happened to not even letting counterfeit grimoires slip by!*
"Today is our grand opening! Buy a grimoire and get three free desserts, including Mercury Pudding!"
The air went quiet for a few seconds. Frieren pushed the door open and walked back in, casually dropping her suitcase on the floor and pointing at the grimoire.
"Boss, I want this. How much is it?"
Even though she only stayed for the pudding, it was still a good start. Frieren's magical prowess was unquestionable, and she was a genius in her own right. When it came to teaching, she even had the track record of raising an outstanding first-class mage like Fern.
Learning magic started with theory. Having a powerful and beautiful teacher would yield twice the result with half the effort.
Actually, choosing Caster Medea would have worked too, but considering she spent every day clinging to Souichiro Kuzuki, Zenith didn't want to be a third wheel all the time.
"Let me make this clear upfront. The grimoires I have are the real deal, but the text inside originates from an ancient kingdom in history. You might not be able to read it."
Zenith saying this actually piqued Frieren's interest. Never underestimate an elf's erudition; in their long lifespans, only knowledge could become their eternal companion.
But this time, Frieren was destined to fail. The blocky Chinese characters, the never-before-seen text structures, and the magic circle diagrams interspersed among the words.
She couldn't read it. She couldn't read it at all. But it was clearly not some fabricated nonsense. Every character was filled with an indescribable aesthetic—the flavor of historical accumulation.
"How much is this book?" This time, Frieren was serious. It wasn't for something like dessert. Her love for magic made her decide to spend a certain amount of time deciphering this text.
Even if the magic itself was fake, just learning this one type of writing would be worth it.
"Talking about money is boring. I'm not the type to lack funds anyway."
Zenith waved his hand. With gold, diamonds, and the magical metals he could now mine, getting money was just a matter of lifting a finger.
"The price for this grimoire is that you have to teach me the contents written inside."
"If you want money, I can give you as much as you want, but that is impossible."
What a blunt rejection. Looking at Zenith's inquisitive eyes, Frieren sighed and continued.
"This is an unknown ideographic script. It will probably take a hundred years to decipher it. A human lifespan won't last that long."
"Is that so? Coincidentally, I happen to understand this script. However, translating the text is a different price."
Frieren didn't speak, waiting for Zenith to state his terms.
"Don't you think my shop is a bit strange? I'm the boss, yet I'm sitting behind the counter acting as the clerk."
Surprisingly simple. She thought he would demand an exorbitant price. Frieren secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Hugging the grimoire with one hand, she picked up her suitcase with the other. "Alright. Until you learn the contents of this book, I will stay and work at the shop."
A few years was nothing; to Frieren, it was as brief as two weeks. Long-lived species often had a completely different perception of time compared to ordinary people.
That was why beings like elves, who could live for over ten thousand years, mostly lived very lonely lives. If they weren't careful, the close friends they made in the past would have already passed away in the flow of time.
There is a type of person in this world called a genius. Zenith felt like he was back in an advanced math class. Magic was actually a science leaning towards theory and practice; the divine arts of monks and priests were the ones on the idealistic side.
Magic circle construction, formula calculation, solid geometry, and even matrices and linear algebra. How did the mathematics of another world develop so well? You have to learn this stuff first just to study magic?
"*Compilation of Mage Knowledge*. This is a very great grimoire. It goes from shallow to deep. Anyone who can fully comprehend this book will be a qualified archmage."
Frieren rated the book very highly. "Many of the theories mentioned inside differ greatly from the modern magic system. It seems to emphasize mystery much more. If used properly, it will be a great help against demons."
Her staff bonked Zenith on the head. "No doodling on the paper during class!"
*...Why is it like this? Things weren't supposed to turn out this way.*
Zenith felt like he was shattering. He had a massive mana reserve; even without using the Attuned Diamond, his base mana value exceeded ten thousand points, and his mental strength was inhumanly powerful.
But relying solely on himself, he could at most cast a single light-blade throwing knife that cost 1 mana point.
Who would have thought that casting magic was like solving math problems? Wasn't this stuff supposed to be clapping your hands together and shouting whatever you wanted to summon? He looked at the stack of books on the desk. That's right, this was his homework.
Frieren taught very seriously, and Zenith was forced to learn very seriously. At the very least, his math skills, which had regressed to an elementary school level, had now returned to his high school days.
As for college, heh, he never understood advanced math to begin with. He only managed to avoid failing because his professor took pity on him. And now, he was actually starting to get familiar with calculus.
"Frieren, do you think I have a chance of becoming an archmage?"
Frieren was burying her head, writing who-knows-what. Hearing Zenith's words, her rhythm paused, and then she said, "I am a person who strictly keeps my promises. Since I agreed to teach you before leaving, I will definitely do so. But right now, I have already prepared myself to work here until you die of old age."
*That's too much! Is my talent really that bad?* Zenith refused to believe it. There had to be something that could make his progress soar.
*JEI Search, activate!*
A Bottle o' Enchanting, an Eye of Ender, an Ink Sac, a Feather, and an Empty Scroll. A few ordinary items could be crafted into a "Scroll of Ageless Wisdom".
The original purpose of this item was to store experience points, but after Zenith actually crafted the physical object, he realized things weren't that simple.
It lived up to its name. The more experience stored in the scroll, the more "wisdom" it fed back to Zenith. Many difficult problems he couldn't understand before now looked like child's play.
"Ah, you're still alive." Frieren was researching magic. Looking up and seeing Zenith return, one could even sense a tiny bit of surprise from her. "I couldn't sense your aura just now, so I thought you had died."
"Heh." Zenith opened his exercise book and stylishly whipped out his pen. "As if I'd die that easily. Just you wait. In a moment, I'll make you marvel at my talent for ten thousand years."
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