Isabella did not stay long in Enrold Town; one morning, she bid Wayne farewell.
Just as she had said, combatants were only responsible for fighting, not for the cleanup. The mess in town had nothing to do with her.
Whatever happened, happened; even if the place fell apart, it was no concern of hers. She had to return to Paris to report on her mission.
Wayne gave Isabella a polite parting hug. She had filled out at an impressive rate lately—when he wrapped his arms around her, his fingertips couldn't even meet.
Before departing, Isabella exchanged pleasantries with Wayne, saying that if he ever passed through the Frank Republic, he should stop by Paris, where she would play host and treat him to a lavish feast.
*Save it. In two years, your entire nation will be throwing their hands up to welcome the royal army into your capital. Going out to eat with you would be venturing deep into enemy territory—it’d make far more sense for you to defect to my side.*
On the surface, Wayne nodded and agreed with a smile, but inwardly he swore an oath: with war and turmoil brewing everywhere in the coming years, only a madman would travel far. He wouldn't go to Frank, much less Paris—if he broke his word, he was an absolute fool!
The two detectives also departed one after the other. Before leaving, Wesley gave Wayne a business card, saying that if Wayne continued operating his detective agency after returning to Londan, he would gladly join as an employee.
After seeing Isabella off, Wayne poured all his energy into meditation and study.
With the spatial passage stabilized, the four elements flocked to him every moment. The progress bar of his life constitution climbed steadily. It wasn't fast, but it was a constant, dependable trickle, saving him the time of actively meditating to plunder elements.
Praise the Lord of the Void! When trouble arose, the man truly delivered!
By comparison, the Goddess was just slightly better-looking, had slightly longer legs, a slightly slimmer waist, and slightly larger breasts...
*Heh, nothing special. Turn off the beauty filter and line her up next to the Lord of the Void—who knows who'd look better!*
Within the hexagram, Wayne didn't have to worry about Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, or Self. It was only a matter of time before they lit up in two or three months. As for the remaining element, Void, reading more books and studying basic theory would easily resolve it as well.
*This run is in the bag!*
With no lingering worries, Wayne focused on his next small goal: training his meditation to operate on its own.
The elemental space was an external force, and external forces would inevitably run dry one day. Only by becoming strong in his own right could he remain unfazed in the face of ever-shifting circumstances. He wanted his arsenal to become increasingly well-stocked so that he would have a wide variety of measures when confronting tough situations.
Question: How does one stock their arsenal?
The answer was simple: spend the hours others spent sleeping on cultivation. In a word—grind.
Wayne: *Today, I only want to out-grind everyone, or be ground to dust by everyone!*
---
Time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
July 5th. In the woods.
Wayne stood in place with his eyes closed, breathing evenly, quietly attuning to the changes in the surrounding natural environment.
The earth possessed wisdom; the wind held memories. Nature was no inert thing; every shift was a breath. Calm your heart to make contact with nature and sense its vital rhythm, and a magician's life essence would achieve harmony and balance.
Consulting the knowledge in his books, Wayne calmed his mind to hold a dialogue with nature. Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind reached an equilibrium within him, and the Mind representing "Self" grew firmer and more condensed with each passing day.
*Book: Calm down, man, I was speaking metaphorically—it's just a metaphor!*
Wayne indeed hadn't managed to commune with nature, but he was convinced the books were right: nature was definitely not a lifeless thing. His inability to speak with it merely meant his Mind wasn't powerful enough, which meant he had to persevere in his training.
After mastering the trick of multitasking, his meditation had already learned to run automatically. Refusing to rest on his laurels, he set another small goal for himself.
Learn to commune with nature so that his mind could understand it better, allowing his magical power to unleash greater might when leveraging reality.
Wayne faintly sensed that nature possessed an overwhelming desire to pour its heart out, acting like a total chatterbox. Every time he quieted his mind, nature seemed eager to communicate something to him, but because the strength of his Mind was insufficient, he couldn't hear nature's voice just yet.
"Don't rush it. Once I grind for a while longer, the two of us can sit down and have a proper heart-to-heart."
Taking a deep breath, Wayne concluded his morning training session. He strolled through the woods, taking the shaded path back toward the villa.
As spring gave way to summer, the woods were lush with vibrant greenery.
He flicked a finger, and a snapped flower beside his feet drifted upward, dancing in the breeze.
"Don't mention it. I was the one who stepped on it just now anyway."
With the three months up, Wayne was thoroughly versed in all basic magic theories. His memory was frighteningly sharp; even when skimming ten lines at a glance, he committed every word to heart.
Later on, he had his mature teacher mail several crates of magic books from Londan to make up for his lack of breadth and experience. Studious, hardworking, gifted, and able to endure loneliness, his standing in Xifei's eyes climbed steadily higher.
Every time they spoke, Xifei showered him with praise, to which Wayne could only offer a wry smile. She flattered him too much; three months had passed, yet his life essence still hadn't maxed out.
It wasn't that Wayne couldn't do it—it was that he had done *too* well.
Draining the four elements dry had caused the elemental space to collapse, leaving his life essence stuck at 95%. Even with round-the-clock plundering through passive meditation, the progress bar barely budged.
Neither going up nor going down, it was absolute torture for his OCD.
When Wayne relayed the situation to Xifei, she simply nodded and told her student to relax, saying everything was well within her expectations.
A three-month deadline had been far too harsh in the first place, and he had already performed remarkably well.
Wayne rolled his eyes inwardly upon hearing that. Xifei didn't know about the elemental space, so it was only natural for her to make the wrong assessment. It gave him an enormous headache—where on earth was he supposed to find another elemental space?
*Goddess above, please grant me another Lord of the Void!*
Inside Wayne's body, three points of the hexagram were already lit: Void (Knowledge), Self (Mind), and Fire, his unflinchingly loyal devotee.
Earth, Water, and Wind weren't even filled yet, let alone lit.
The end seemed nowhere in sight.
Fire, on the other hand, was miles ahead, directly surpassing the other three elements by two minor realms.
Had it been any other apprentice magician, the imbalance among the four elements and the resulting surge of overwhelming desires would have driven them somewhat neurotic by now.
Wayne had troubles he couldn't voice. He wasn't just joking; he genuinely hoped from the bottom of his heart that the Goddess would send another villain his way.
And not just any ordinary scrub, either: must be Legendary at minimum, mentally deranged, and equipped with their own elemental space.
Such villains were impossible to find on demand, so Wayne braced himself mentally for the long, agonizing grind. Looking on the bright side, magicians were clustered in Londan, meaning the reserves of the four elements there would surely be far richer than in Enrold Town. Maybe he'd go back, sleep a night, and hey presto—his life essence would be maxed out.
At this point, Wayne's magic power and Mind had reached the passing mark set by Xifei—in fact, calling it far exceeded was no exaggeration. The confinement spell had long since expired, meaning he could return to Londan at any moment.
Yet Veronica kept dropping the ball on her end. Her father's influence turned out to be completely useless; three months had passed, and it was still "soon," "any moment now," "let's wait and see a little longer."
This caused Wayne's opinion of his future father-in-law to plummet. *What's this? I thought you were some big shot, but you couldn't even settle one little matter in three whole months.*
"Hmph, what a little punk."
Wayne grumbled under his breath, not daring to speak too loudly.
Just then, the telephone rang. The butler answered and relayed a piece of good news to Wayne.
His mature teacher had called. She had already handled the big shot, so Wayne was free to return to Londan whenever he wished. However, he was not to contact her immediately upon arrival; he had to slip into Londan quietly without alerting anyone.
Not even acquaintances.
Overjoyed, Wayne grabbed Fra and spun him around vigorously, then tracked down the four maids to give each of them an enthusiastic, about-to-be-released bear hug.
Fra smiled as he smoothed the slightly rumpled hem of Wayne's coat, reminding him to maintain his poise and offering wise adages along the lines of "neither be overjoyed by worldly gains nor sorrowful over personal misfortune."
Wayne hugged Fra and patted his shoulder, thanking him for taking care of him over the past three months.
He caught a glimpse of melancholy on Fra's face. Although Fra concealed it well, Wayne knew that with Fra's talents, keeping him stationed at this country villa was a waste of his potential.
With no master to serve, a butler was deeply lonely.
Mr. Landau rarely came here on vacation—only once every two or three years. Unable to showcase his talents, Fra must harbor feelings of frustration and unfulfillment.
Wayne patted Fra's shoulder. "Once I return to Londan, if I get the chance to meet Mr. Landau, I'll put in a good word for you. You're an excellent butler; your talents shouldn't be buried away here."
Fra looked visibly moved, but shook his head after a moment. "Master Wayne, I am truly honored by your approval, but Ms. Megan's talents far surpass mine. She is the Landau family's finest butler."
*Impossible!*
*Utterly impossible!*
Wayne refused to believe it. Fra was the one and only butler in his mind, the very best.
*Megan or whatever—she sounds like a long-legged, busty vixen just from the name! If she managed to edge Fra out, she definitely used her 'promotional organs' on the sly.*
*Ptooey! Where did Veronica even find a dad like this? Disgusting!*
That evening, the butler meticulously prepared a farewell banquet for Wayne and, at Wayne's invitation, joined him for dinner.
The four maids attended the banquet as well.
Early the next morning, the five of them saw Wayne off at the train station. Once again, it was a luxury train, scheduled to arrive in Londan by nightfall.
After returning to the villa, Fra picked up the telephone and said respectfully, "Master Wayne is a remarkably fine young man. Upright, modest, prudent, studious, hardworking, resilient, and grateful..."
"He possesses strict moral principles and exemplary conduct. He treats the servants with courtesy, respects his elders and teachers, and is willing to lend a helping hand to unarmed innocents..."
"Among all the young men I have ever met, he is without question in the very top tier."
"Lord Auston, I know full well what I am saying. I haven't been brainwashed—he truly is exceptional."
"Other strengths...?"
"He is fiercely vindictive toward outsiders. He possesses magnanimity, but only a modest amount, dispensed entirely at his own discretion. And when he chooses to be shameless, he is truly beyond shameless."
Fra smiled faintly and praised, "Indeed, there are times when even I blush watching him."
"Furthermore, he is exceedingly greedy!"
Chapter 58