Chapter 478 - 35. Walls have ears.

After finishing his research on Ossie’s biology, Fisher leaned against the window in his room intending to check the progress of his research. As he opened the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual, a burst of illusory golden font dazzled his eyes. Immediately after, his gaze inevitably fell on the 48% Grey Bird Species Social Research Progress, as if that number appeared particularly glaring.

It was no wonder, he was just 2% shy of unlocking the second stage reward, but despite anything he asked Emhardt and Ossie, he couldn’t advance any further. It seemed as if the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual was intentionally stalling the progress, which slightly irritated him.

Nevertheless, the other rewards were still quite generous. The last time he researched Ossie’s Grey Bird constitution, the manual had already hinted that researching the Snow Mountain Clan would grant a reward bonus, which made him look forward to what would happen after he had gathered all the species of the Snow Mountain Clan.

Additionally, there were two pieces of information highlighted in the manual’s hints that Fisher found particularly noteworthy.

Firstly, it was unexplained why the study of the Grey Bird Species gave an abrupt bonus of "Spirit Realm Pollution Resistance." Touching the illusory words with his consciousness brought about a new page with an explanatory entry, just like when he had previously gained Fallen Resistance. It read:

Having seen the highlighted warning in the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual, Fisher’s vigilance was instantly heightened, as he suddenly remembered the Ice Scroll he had seen on that small island last time. That scroll had seemed to carry some curse of the Spirit Realm, possibly the Spirit Realm Pollution mentioned in the manual.

If it was, could the disappearing Phoenix King be the manual’s referenced unknown existence in the Spirit Realm? If not, was there a connection between the disappearance of the Phoenix Species and that unknown existence?

Moreover, the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual provided a point contradicting Emhardt’s previous assertions. According to Emhardt, the Chaos Species had actively left the Spirit Realm to invade reality, while in truth they were forced out due to the "mysterious existence of the Spirit Realm" mentioned by the manual...

However, the clues currently known were far too few, like having an entire puzzle with only a single piece given to Fisher. With such a situation, it was impossible to draw a correct conclusion, and past research experience told Fisher that speculating without solid evidence was detrimental and not beneficial in discovering the truth.

Putting that issue aside for the time being, Fisher focused on another reward, .

As his consciousness lingered on that phrase, the world seemed to slow down like last time. As his perspective gradually turned black and white, Fisher suddenly saw a small mark shimmering with golden light in the central region of Patulshen Island from afar.

The Grey Bird Species Mark among the Six Clans’ Mark was right on this island!

Fisher abruptly exited the highlighted view, combining the information he had received from Captain Jesse and the current circumstances. He speculated that the Grey Bird Species Mark had to be buried within the treasure unearthed by the middleman hired by the Nali Exploration Company from the northern graves of Sema Mountain.

Besides himself and Valentina’s group, who had received information about the Wutong Tree Entrance on that island, no one else would know the purpose of that mark. So, whichever group wanted it, the other treasures in the haul were their primary target, and the Grey Bird Species’ Mark was merely an incidental find.

What was that object that drove the Nali people to seek so far away?

Another temptation for Fisher arose, aside from that of the Cloud Cat Species from the Northern Realm. If he could secure that Six Clans’ Mark, which Valentina desired, it would certainly secure the support of the Turand Family. Considering their significant influence in the Northern Realm, this would be highly advantageous for his subsequent journey.

Fisher walked back into the room from the window, ignoring Ossie, who sat idly on the bed. He placed the magic materials he had purchased in the Magic Market on the table and asked Ossie to bring him a new plate. He needed to grind these materials into powder using the Fluid Sword to utilize them for Magic Engraving.

"Fisher, do you need to use engraving magic?"

"Yes, I’ll keep it for later use."

Taking advantage of the opportunity just now, he bought a magic engraving knife and several copper rings at the market, to serve as tools and carriers for the engraving magic.

In fact, the only issue Fisher needed to consider when deciding whether to get involved in this murky business was how to prevent his identity from being exposed to the scrutiny of the Nali Overseas Secret Bureau. Wearing a mask and disguising himself were strategies, but they were also last resorts.

Because Elizabeth, who knew him very well, would certainly hate to not record every last detail about him in the files circulated within Nali’s official channels for his arrest; his use of magic, his fluid sword, his extraordinary constitution were certainly on the wanted list, who knows if even more private information might be disclosed, something like interest in demi-humans and ladies...

So now Fisher did not plan to solve his problems with the fluid sword and brute force. Magic should be the best method to solve problems without showing his face, and the less he used it, the better, as it would lower the probability of being discovered by intelligence agencies.

Emhardt stood on his shoulder, watching him skillfully handle the various materials he had purchased. Even having seen his performance before Valentina, he still thought this guy’s magical talent was incredible. In all these years, it was his first time seeing such a young master of magic engraving; usually, magicians this skilled were already one foot in the grave.

"What magic is this, why does it look different from the usual engraving magic you do?"

Although Emhardt had not known much about magic before, just by watching Fisher engrave a few times he noticed that the magic structure he was engraving now was different from the past, which surprised Fisher and made him glance at Emhardt.

This book did have an unexpected talent for magic, a pity that this guy had no hands, no magic circuit, and only one eye,

"I am now engraving Medieval Magic, to avoid being detected by others."

"Medieval times, oh, what a legendary era... that term always reminds me of Kado’s bunch of fanatic believers, the Witch Research Association. Heh, you may not know, but their texts are like bread that has been stale for a dozen days. The process of recording is simply torturous, all about how to dissect young girls..."

"Stop, I’m engraving magic, don’t interrupt me now."

Emhardt’s just becoming excited expression was bluntly dismissed by a simple sentence from Fisher, causing him to open his mouth and glare hatefully at the annoying Fisher. But, in this room, other than him, there was only the reticent Grey Bird demi-human and that silly, unpleasant bird, which doused his enthusiasm for sharing knowledge with a bucket of cold water.

Heh, annoying Fisher, if you don’t ask me yourself from now on, I won’t take the initiative to tell you these secrets.

The concept of Medieval Magic had already appeared once during Saint Nali’s time; simply put, it was an evolved version of Original Magic, the main difference from modern magic being in the sub-rings that control the magnitude of magic. These sub-rings of Medieval Magic are very rough and can only be combined with specific main rings and ring tails for use.

Modern magic, on the other hand, has added a unique structure known to mages as the "Linker" between the main ring and the sub-ring, targeting different ring heads. This structure significantly stabilizes the degree of initiating the World Resonance, making the study of new magic much more safe and controllable, which is why the number of magics increased significantly after entering the modern era.

But that does not mean modern magic is completely superior to Medieval Magic; without the moderating control of the Linker, the power of Medieval Magic could become quite exaggerated, evident from the Medieval Space Magic unleashed by the Pink Hall during the visit from Saint Nali. Even now, there are schools attempting to replicate modern magic into Medieval forms to enhance the power of magic.

Fisher engraved some Medieval Magic, then some useful modern magic after that. The Medieval Magic was to deal with visible enemies while the modern magic was used for protection and tracking.

The room’s time was quiet, and Ossie behind him rubbed his eyes, watching Fisher intently as he sat at the desk engraving magic. His arms, lit up by the magic circuit, constantly moved back and forth over the rings, and his soul, strengthened by the Soul Completion Manual, became particularly excited at that moment, dissecting the world layer by layer in his eyes to help him better engrave the magic.

But just then, exactly within that focused perspective, he suddenly felt as though a soul very close to him was watching him...

He abruptly halted the motion of engraving magic on his hands and looked towards Emhardt on himself; there were no soul vibrations on Emhardt, nor any corresponding magic circuits, and the source of the disturbance wasn’t from Ossie behind him either—it was right before his eyes.

Fisher frowned and slowly shifted his gaze to the wall nearby in the room.

Behind that wall, it seemed as if a soul was pressed against it, listening to the sounds from this side.