Chapter 90: Books

Ethan picked up the Pope’s Bracelet, it looked ordinary, no glow, no embellishment, he turned it over in his hands, then slipped it onto his wrist.

It was said that this bracelet could receive the Goddess’s oracles, however, after Ethan put it on, there was absolutely no reaction.

"It seems the Goddess is very busy."

"Meow, oracles aren’t that easy to receive, meow!"

"I’ve heard that to receive an oracle, one must fast and bathe for three months, praying devoutly, just to have a chance of receiving the Goddess’s guidance." Walter said.

"Is that so?" Ethan didn’t have that much time to waste on receiving oracles, he figured that if the Goddess truly had something to say to him, she would naturally initiate contact.

He then turned his gaze to the ashes scattered on the ground. "Let’s give her a proper burial."

Ethan gathered the ashes and placed them into a bottle, he carried the bottle out of the cave, found a spot with ample sunlight, and buried it there.

"May you rest in peace."

"We should get going too, hopefully we won’t get lost this time."

They rode Walter’s blood-red birds back up to the cliff, then, they got onto the handcart and continued their journey northward, this time, they didn’t get lost again and smoothly passed through the mountain forest.

"It seems it really was the curse causing trouble before."

"Indeed."

"But who on earth placed that curse, meow?"

No one could answer Pearl’s question, casting such a powerful curse was by no means an easy feat.

Ethan instinctively looked at Walter, who shrugged. "Who knows? That curse contained the power of Chaos, perhaps... it was a powerful monster that cast the curse at the cost of its own life."

"Would there be any relevant records in the library?"

"Meow-meow, although I’ve read all the books in the library, I can’t guarantee I remember every single detail perfectly, meow, however, there are indeed some books about Chaos and curses there, we can go take a look, meow."

Walter shrugged and asked, "Is it really necessary?"

"I just feel a bit uneasy, meow, for such a powerful curse to appear in a forest managed by Lady Witch... Furthermore, Fragments of Chaos have suddenly appeared as well, I’m worried something bad is going to happen, meow." Pearl’s tone was full of concern.

Seeing this, Ethan gently picked it up and stroked its head, under Ethan’s comforting touch, Pearl’s emotions gradually stabilized.

"Since Pearl is worried, let’s go take a look, it won’t take much effort anyway."

"Alright."

...

After crossing the mountain, Ethan and his group continued forward, the weather grew colder and colder with each passing day.

Finally, on a cold winter day, Pearl suddenly pointed forward and shouted loudly, "That’s it, meow!"

A building appeared on the desolate plain, it was a very small-looking wooden cabin.

Upon seeing the cabin, Zharok couldn’t help but curl his lip, it seemed he truly disliked the Witch’s Library. "It’s smaller than I imagined."

"It’s much bigger on the inside than the outside, meow!"

"Kind of like my cabin?"

"Exactly, meow! Furthermore, Lady Witch cast a spell on the cabin, so no attack can destroy it, meow! Also..."

Pearl launched into a proud introduction of the Witch’s Library, rambling on for a long time, it only stopped and jumped down from Ethan’s shoulder when Zharok halted in front of the cabin, Pearl trotted up to the dilapidated wooden door, extended a paw, and gave it a gentle push.

Creaaak!

The door groaned open, revealing the interior.

Just as Pearl had said, the space inside the cabin was much larger than it appeared from the outside.

"Truly unbelievable, to think space could be expanded this much..." The space inside the cabin was at least dozens of times larger than the exterior, Walter couldn’t help but gasp in amazement upon seeing the sight before him.

Just then, a blurry figure walked out from deep within the cabin. "What book do you require?"

"That’s the library administrator, meow, if you need any books, just tell it, meow!"

"This is illusion magic, truly incredible, as expected of the world’s greatest mage... to actually be able to anchor illusion magic in place like this, how unbelievable." Walter was full of admiration for the magic inside the cabin.

The administrator politely greeted Walter, then asked again. "What book do you require?"

"Excuse me, are there any books on planting the World Tree?"

"There are a total of seven books regarding planting the World Tree."

"Can you tell me where they are?"

"I will fetch them for you right away." After saying this, the administrator turned and vanished into the depths of the cabin, after a short while, it reappeared and placed seven thick books in front of Ethan.

"Do you require any other books?"

"I don’t need any more for now, Pearl, what about you?"

"I need books about the Chaos Curse, meow!"

"There are a total of thirty-one books regarding the Chaos Curse."

"Bring them all over, meow!"

"Can you finish reading all that?"

"Don’t worry, meow! I’ve learned speed reading, meow!"

Ethan nodded, Walter and Zharok also placed their own requests with the administrator.

’Speaking of which, will I even be able to read these?’

"Of course you won’t be able to read them, meow, you’re illiterate, meow~"

"I have no choice but to rely on you guys, then." Ethan opened one of the books and found that, as expected, he didn’t recognize any of the characters inside, he helplessly handed the books to Pearl, Zharok, and Walter.

Walter and the others began to concentrate on reading their books. Ethan looked at the administrator and asked, "I want to learn how to read, are there any relevant books here?"

"I recommend A Practical Guide to Helping Children Develop Reading Habits from a Young Age.’"

"Then I’ll trouble you for that." Although the title was a bit strange, as long as it was useful, it was fine.

Ethan took the book handed over by the administrator and opened it, this book was very much like a picture book, with both text and illustrations, making it very suitable for children to read.

As Ethan studied the text and pictures, Pearl leaned over from the side. "This word is pronounced child, meow."

"I see."

"This one is of, meow."

"I see."

"This word..."

Pearl, Walter, and Zharok all put down the books in their hands and began teaching Ethan how to read, Ethan studied with them for a few hours before finally letting out a long sigh, unlike learning a spoken language, learning to read was far more difficult.

"Let’s get something to eat first." He stretched and stood.

Pearl and the others also felt a bit tired and nodded in agreement to Ethan’s proposal, they walked out of the cabin, and Ethan took some ingredients from the handcart.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Just make whatever, meow, we still have to go back to reading, meow."

"Then let’s make burgers, quick and simple."