Early morning.
Ed, clutching the magic mirror, glanced at the world map on the ship.
"Never! I've never seen this before at all!" Lucilia's voice was incredulous.
If she wasn't familiar with the sea chart, then there was a big problem.
There were only two possibilities.
The first was that Lucilia lived in an era far too ancient for Ed to even imagine. The terrain was completely unrecognizable, leaving her with no sense of familiarity; such drastic geological changes couldn't have occurred in a short time.
The second possibility was that Lucilia didn't live here at all, but somewhere else, in some other unknown region. After all, the people of this world had no idea what their planet looked like from space; they had only mapped the borders they could traverse.
However, the problem now was that the manner of Lucilia's appearance was somewhat incomprehensible to Ed.
Lucilia was currently wrapped around Ed's neck from behind, as if she were hanging on his back. Because Ed had 'genuinely' worried about her falling, he had asked this innocent ghost elf to hug him tightly. Since she could float, her ample chest was pressed against the back of his neck, giving him a gentle massage. He didn't know about her, but he was enjoying it immensely.
To be honest, if someone could suddenly see this, they would definitely be startled; it was a scene straight out of a classic horror movie, a ghost being carried on his back. Although Ed couldn't feel any weight, he could clearly feel Lucilia's bountiful assets rubbing against him, which was all he desired.
Why was she in this position? He was quite curious to know. If Bobby hadn't been there, he would have asked already, but he remained silent, thinking she might misunderstand him and move away.
Lucilia seemed to know that Ed couldn't communicate with her right now and just kept talking to herself.
Besides Bobby, Jason was also there. The two were learning about spells from Bobby, glancing at the world map as they went.
The three of them made their way to the library on the lower deck.
Lipoka, the ship's librarian, as always, was still dozing near the entrance. Ed had never seen her anywhere other than the library. This was beyond just being a homebody. Sometimes he even wondered if she was imprisoned inside the library by Andre so he could have fun with her whenever he wanted, but thinking of his cheap captain's saint-like personality, he dismissed this naive thought.
"Learning spells isn't actually difficult; the difficulty lies in knowing the specific patterns of the spells and the corresponding materials," Bobby said, taking several books from the shelf and handing them over.
"Besides the more commonly used spells, many powerful spells with unique abilities are kept by various factions. You can collect them if you have the ability in the future."
Bobby turned to the two of them, looking at them with an extremely serious expression. "However, don't be greedy. It's better to have quality than quantity when it comes to spells. The more familiar you are with a spell and the more proficient you are in controlling it, the more obvious its power and effect will be."
"Too many spells can only help you in daily life and some small matters. Only a few spells that you are very proficient in can protect you and help you in battle."
The two nodded at Bobby's words, listening carefully. But Ed still thought that if he got the chance, he would definitely learn daily household spells to make his life more comfortable.
"Such advice is only for ordinary people. It doesn't apply to those with strong mental abilities, huge mana capacity, and fast learning. However, it is indeed necessary to specifically learn and master a few suitable spells as your main means of combat."
Lucilia hung on Ed's back, with her head resting on his, and spoke softly.
Ed nodded slightly; he fully believed these words. Elves, unlike humans, possessed longer lifespans and superior magical talent, and could indeed learn whatever spells they wanted.
Bobby then led the two to a lower deck, to the cabin where the junior crew rested. He walked into one of the rooms, pulled out a book, opened it, and said, "You two will first learn this spell, [Soundbird]. Everyone on the ship must know it; it will allow you to communicate with each other within a certain range."
The spell's design consisted of three vertical lines of varying lengths, somewhat resembling signal grids. "The 'Soundbird,' which has been improved countless times, is compatible with almost everyone, making it very easy to learn."
There was a concept of compatibility between people and spells. The higher the compatibility, the faster one could learn, master, and deeply control the spell.
After speaking, he waited for the two to memorize the spell's design. He also took out two sheets of paper and pens for them to write on, reinforcing their memory.
Once they had completely memorized it, Bobby took out two pale blue feathers and handed them over. "Hold the feathers; there will be special magical fluctuations on them. Let your magic touch and simulate these fluctuations, recall the spell's design in your mind, and continuously activate it."
"You might not succeed the first time; just get a feel for it."
Ed clutched the feather in his hand and closed his eyes.
"Ah, so it's the incantation. It's been changed like this?" Lucilia's voice held a hint of surprise, as if she had finally discovered something familiar.
"The feather of the Bohu bird. After you hold the feather, don't activate it randomly. Sing it in your mind as if you were singing." A soft, gentle voice reached Ed's ears.
Hearing this, Ed tried to act accordingly. After all, when it came to magical knowledge, no human could beat a magical race like elves. Lucilia was obviously no ordinary girl; despite being naive in matters of emotion or relations between men and women, he had long since discovered from their conversations that she was definitely very knowledgeable.
He randomly recalled a song from his past and began to sing it in his mind. Of course, he only sang mentally, not opening his mouth, lest not only Lucilia but even Bobby and Jason—who had no ear for music—might run away upon hearing his monstrous voice.
Once the mental singing began, Ed could clearly feel his approaching magic power begin to coordinate with the fluctuations of the feather. He was mimicking the feather's fluctuations, and the feather's magic power was changing accordingly, as if making it easier for him to learn.
As the frequencies of the magic power gradually matched, it easily connected with Ed's magic power. The incantation pattern from his memory began to emerge in his mind, finally materializing. The pattern became increasingly solid, quickly imprinting itself in his mind before disappearing.
At this moment, Ed opened his eyes. Jason, beside him, still kept his eyes closed. Bobby looked at Ed, who had opened his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I learned it."
Bobby looked puzzled, staring at Ed with slightly bewildered eyes. Then he reacted and asked, "Really?"
Ed opened his mouth directly, and magic energy flowed to his lips. The incantation appeared faintly. The sound was silent, and then the incantation disappeared, turning into lines that resembled simple bird drawings. It flew to Bobby's ear and vanished.
Although the whole process was clumsy and awkward, he had indeed successfully used it in one go.
"Can you hear me?" Ed's voice appeared in Bobby's ear.
"You really learned it?" Bobby's voice was full of shock.
Although [Soundbird] was very simple and easy to learn, it shouldn't have been learned so quickly. He couldn't help but look at the clock beside him. Less than an hour had passed. Under normal circumstances, it would take at least half a day—five to six hours—to learn it.
Bobby looked at Ed and couldn't help but say, "You might really be a genius."
At this moment, Jason, standing beside him, couldn't help but open his eyes. "You damn bastard!" His voice was full of envy.
"In that case, I'll continue later." Bobby then took out another feather, similar to the ones he had just given them.
Only then did Ed notice that the feather in his hand had become dry and dull. "To learn incantations, you need to find materials in nature that carry those incantations and use those materials to learn."
"Of course, some of these materials aren't rare. For example, this feather comes from the Bohu bird. This bird exists on most islands; it's just an ordinary bird, but its feathers carry incantations."
"These materials are collectively called incantation materials. To learn incantations, besides knowing the pattern, you must also know the corresponding material. However, if you learn from someone else who already knows the incantation, you can avoid using the material, but it will take much longer."
After listening to Bobby's explanation, Ed nodded with a thoughtful expression. Then he left the lower deck, leaving Jason still studying below.
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