13. The Reclusive Sage

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Odell."

"Goodbye, Grandpa Odell."

At the entrance of the magic wand shop, two satisfied witch sisters were saying farewell to the old man.

"Mm-hmm, take care and you're welcome to visit again."

In front of the counter, the elderly Odell waved his hand with a smile, still maintaining that composed and elegant demeanor of an old gentleman.

.......

"So, where shall we go next?"

Dorothy, while playing with the little kitten Buster perched on her shoulder, asked Alice.

The little witch at the moment was looking enviously at the kitten on her sister's shoulder, then glanced at her own pair of guns, which she had once liked very much, and couldn't help but sigh.

Alas, comparisons can really kill a person's spirit, sometimes it's just time to toss things away. When will you two also transform for me?

Alice thought sourly to herself.

But actually, she wasn't that upset, after all, unlike her sister who was cat faction, she was dog faction, and she also had her own familiar to pet, so there was no need to envy her sister.

"Let's go to the bookstore. We need to buy magic books, and then some common casting materials. We can directly buy the freshmen's welcome pack at the material store later; it's quicker to buy it that way," Alice said.

Putting her feelings in order, the little witch continued to lead the way with practiced ease.

"Spellbooks? I think I don't need to buy those, mine just got upgraded to the latest version," said Dorothy.

As an internet addict, Dorothy never scrimped on anything other than her magic book, which as a device that connected to the Magic Network, always featured the most cutting-edge configurations.

In fact, Dorothy had self-taught the skills of making, maintaining, and upgrading magic books. She had spent a lot of time lurking in the professional forums of the Bookmaker Association to steal technical know-how, and sometimes she would even help the newbies in the association by compiling cost-effective configuration lists and the like.

After years of mingling, she had gained a bit of a reputation in the Bookmaker Association, to the extent that every time she posted, she would find herself lost in the chorus of admiring 'Hello, master.'

"We're not talking about spellbooks; we need the textbook sets required at Witch Academy. Although you can download them directly from the Great Library on the Magic Network, those are generic versions and quite expensive. If you buy them in the bookstore, not only are they cheaper, but you can also get versions personally annotated by the bookstore owner, which are more valuable," explained Alice.

Once she began to talk about this, the little witch became spirited and continued to impart knowledge to her internet-addicted sister who was a bit lacking in common sense about the real world.

"To compete with the Great Library on the Magic Network, brick-and-mortar bookstores have been using all sorts of strategies nowadays. Almost every bookstore sells exclusive annotated editions by the owner, and the same book can be found in different versions in different stores."

"However, to open a bookstore now, the owner must be someone who has made a name for themselves in the academic world, as the threshold for obtaining a business license for a bookstore is quite high, requiring full academic qualifications. So, there's no need to worry about being misled by these owners' annotated editions."

"Still, if you're going to buy books on your own in the future, you should pay attention to the owner's field of scholarly research and try only to buy books that are within the owner's area of expertise to avoid the risk of being misled."

"As for the textbooks of Witch Academy... hehe, we can't help but mention the bookstore on Sea Moon Floating Island. Although we're a small eighteen-tier city, we have the most authentic bookstore for academic books in the whole world. Every year, some witches from other places specifically come here to buy textbooks," Alice said with a slight lift of her barely existent chest, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Why? Oh, is the identity of the bookstore owner here very special?"

Dorothy was quite cooperative in setting the stage for her sister, satisfying the little witch's desire to play the teacher.

"Mm-hmm, this bookstore is owned by none other than The Scroll Sage."

Alice revealed the answer to the question.

Upon hearing this, Dorothy first pondered who The Scroll Sage was, then involuntarily gasped with surprise.

Well, I'll be, it's her.

The so-called Scroll Sage is a title, but the title itself indicates the extraordinary nature of this witch, for after all, Sage is one of the highest titles in the Witch World, as evident from the highest decision-making body being named the Council of Sages.

Therefore, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can be awarded the title of Sage; only the true big shots receive this honor.

The Scroll Sage is naturally an incredible character, and her remarkable nature is plainly reflected in her title.

The Scroll Sage, as the name implies, is the sage of exams. This individual is not only a heavyweight in the academic world but also a bigwig in the Witch World's educational sector, once responsible for the revision and editing work for Witch Academy's textbooks, as well as the written exam papers for various major grading examinations.

If there were ever a ranking of the most fearsome witches in the Witch World, this big shot would undoubtedly be near the top, having been the nightmare of countless witch students.

Luckily, this big shot is an ancient witch. Dorothy didn't know exactly how old, but according to her stepmother, her stepmother's grandmother's grandmother took exams set by this big shot. However, Dorothy hadn't really dealt with this big shot's exams because, a decade or so ago, the ancient witch finally announced her retirement.

Without doubt, Dorothy's generation of new witches was fortunate; they had dodged a bullet from this devil of an examiner.

As a result, Dorothy didn't know much about this ancient Witch Sage; she had only heard about this legendary witch's terror through her stepmother's frustrated cries while tutoring Alice, like "How could I have given birth to such a foolish daughter, you wouldn't have scored in double digits back in my day...." and similar complaints.

Nevertheless, Dorothy never imagined that such a legendary figure in the witch community would retire and run a bookstore in Sea Moon Island, a remote and obscure small city.

"Mm-hmm, it seems that Madam Sea Moon Witch has some family ties with The Scroll Sage, so the big shot came here to retire. Here we are, sister," Alice said with a smile, having been shocked herself when she first heard about this from her mother.

Dorothy also followed Alice's lead and looked at the bookstore they had inadvertently arrived at.

At first glance, its exterior was quite ordinary, lacking the opulence expected of a celebrity's location, very simple and modest, with many pots of fresh flowers placed in front of the store.

Inhaling the scent of the flowers, she looked through the glass windows into the store, where neat rows of bookshelves came into view, inexplicably bringing a sense of satisfaction and a suddenly tranquil feeling to the soul.

Quite a nice bookstore.

As a witch also on the Path of Omniscience, Dorothy appreciated it internally, for she liked such peaceful and serene places where one could find peace of mind to study.

Looking up, she examined the store name written on the sign above the entrance.

A Bookstore.

Dorothy: "...."

Ah, is this the realm of the big shots?

It really is like listening to a sage speak.

With that feeling of having complaints but nowhere to air them, the sisters entered the bookstore, immediately greeted by the fragrance of ink, understated and peaceful.