Ch. 52 Morbid Studies

The Academy's library contained only rank 0 pill recipes. Oliver warned Ethan in advance, but he was still disappointed.

Of course, he could join the teachers in room 10 to steal some of their techniques. But, after a quick browse through the library's books, the mage concluded it wasn't worth his time.

'As expected, most books are for body, mana, or soul strengthening pills, which I can do on my own, or for momentary boosts, which always leave side effects.' In the end, the only Alchemic recipe worth learning in Ethan's opinion was the one for cultivation pills. Making them was also similar to formations work, for which the boy had a keen interest.

"These techniques are terrible." muttered Ana from her side of the table. Ethan had advised her to read some earth magic books while he was busy.

"What gives it away?" he asked interested.

"Unnecessary movements, pointless detours in the mana circuit, and some of them are just... Look." She showed him a 50 page book titled "Step by step guide to summoning a stone toothpick."

"Well, a good mage needs a discerning eye." said Ethan while chuckling. "How about you use them for inspiration and create something useful." The girl nodded and went further into her reading.

'There's no such thing as bad information.' thought the boy. 'Just people who can't read the subtext.'

For the next 4 days, they spent all day browsing through the library and all night building their circuits. Needless to say, their progress was explosive.

'With this, my theoretical foundation is 50% complete.' Thought Ethan while closing the final formations book in the entire library. Even while using mana to improve his reading speed and retention, it still took quite some time.

'Since all cultivation pills use roughly the same mana circuits, I can dissect higher rank ones to learn the differences. As for making spell scrolls, as long as I have the mana, it shouldn't be a problem.' After all, to defend against the hordes of enemies he faced in the past, understanding their spells was often priority number 1.

"I'm done." A few hours later, Ana finished her task as well. To Ethan's surprise, she learned how to fast study using mana just from watching him.

The 2 went home seemingly to celebrate. However, as soon as they entered the main hallway of the guesthouse, Ethan suddenly stopped.

"For the next part of my study, you might not want to stick around." he warned while fumbling with his ring.

"No way." Ana refused categorically. "I want to watch and learn." She was getting better at making excuses.

"Suit yourself." Not picking up on her paranoia, the boy sent a bit of mana into his ring. Suddenly, an old woman's corpse appeared out of nowhere and fell on the floor.

Ana held in a scream with both palms. Her eyes almost left their sockets. "What the hell is this!?"

"A corpse." said Ethan casually. "I'm going to dissect it for information. You can help me out or you can go outside and practice your magic."

Ana nodded stiffly and turned towards the door. She wanted to ask more questions but not while that thing was there.

"By the way…" Ethan just thought of something. "What part of your fighting do you think needs improvement?"

"What!?" Ana shuddered but stopped nonetheless. She turned halfway while struggling to keep her eyes on him.

"You can't train properly if you don't know your weaknesses. What are they?"

Ana wanted to answer as soon as possible, so she could leave. Unfortunately, her panicked mind couldn't come up with solutions. Since she wasn't talking, Ethan sighed and began explaining slowly.

"Let's put it this way: When I throw a knife..." he picked one from his belt to use as an example. "I have to pick it up with my hand, make a swinging motion, and send it on its way, right?"

The girl almost screamed thinking he'd strike the corpse. Fortunately, the knife didn't leave his hand, so she just nodded mechanically.

"But, when you summon an earth spear or a toothpick, your mind's doing all the work. So, what's the point in using your hands?"

"Ooh…" a realization struck her though she was desperate to leave.

"You should practice until you can fight with your hands in your pockets. Not that you have any, so maybe on your hips? Anyway…"

"I got it!" yelped Ana and rushed out of the room. The corpse's smell had just reached her nostrils.

"Right..." Ethan shrugged and turned towards his victim. "Time to get dirty."