It was an early spring morning, not quite bright yet. Distant thunder rumbled in the sky, followed by fine lines of rain. Rosalyn Sien, yawning, got out of bed and walked to the window, where she saw the silhouette of the Blacktower ruins faintly appearing through the rainy mist, like a watercolor shadow.

She firmly closed the window to ensure that the cold, damp air wouldn’t seep in, then washed up and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast.

The clang of the spatula soon mingled with the sound of rain, accompanied by the sizzling of eggs frying in the pan. After assembling two servings of a dish called “sandwich,” consisting of fried eggs, toast, smoked bacon, and vegetables, she placed one portion on a tray with a glass of water and made her way to the third floor, knocking on the door.

“Lady Witch, I’ve brought breakfast.”

“Hmm… come in…”

Soon granted permission, she opened the door and stepped inside, finding her magnificent witch sister lying sidewise on the bed, hugging a soft pillow and looking completely still asleep, her beautiful silver hair in disarray.

Without making a sound, she carefully set the tray down on the bedside table and quietly left, closing the door behind her.

This was one of the “contributions” she had found for herself, participating as much as possible in the daily life of the estate. While it didn’t compare to the countless benefits bestowed by the witch, making any contribution, no matter how small, helped to calm her heart.

And it must be said that since receiving the “Meditation Method” from her witch sister last summer, her life in the estate had undergone tremendous changes.

First, in the autumn of last year, the witch had cultivated a field in a nearby city park to grow wheat and had accelerated its growth using magic, resulting in bread making its way into the estate’s diet. By the end of winter, the witch had also built a greenhouse to plant vegetables, ensuring they had lettuce in stock. Finally, with the witch responsible for hunting and Rosalyn gathering bird eggs, they managed to gather the four essential components needed for sandwiches, allowing Rosalyn to taste this new dish.

Just a couple of days ago, the witch announced she had developed something called the “electrical grid,” which would soon catch all the little thieves sneaking in to steal vegetables. Although Rosalyn wholeheartedly supported her witch sister’s endeavors, she couldn’t help but feel concerned for the little deer and rabbits.

You all need to stay far away from here… she whispered a weak prayer.

…

Perhaps it was due to the ease of life, but the witch’s schedule was often unpredictable; she frequently slept until noon, in stark contrast to Rosalyn, who had been raised with a structured routine.

However, today seemed relatively normal; after eating her sandwich, the witch lounged in bed for a while before coming down. Although her brow bore traces of lingering sleepiness, her charm was undiminished, infused with a different kind of lazy elegance.

Noticing her coming down, Rosalyn, who had been meditating by the floor-to-ceiling window, immediately opened her eyes to reveal a tense expression.

The witch tilted her head, a hint of confusion evident in her eyes.

“Lady Witch, you said today you would give me my first test…” Rosalyn quickly reminded her, noting that she seemed to have genuinely forgotten.

In the test the witch had promised, the only evaluation criterion was the growth of magical power each year. Although it had only been half a year since she began her training last summer, there would still be a small evaluation to help Rosalyn better assess her progress.

“Hmm… I remember now,” the witch replied, her demeanor returning to calm. She walked up to Rosalyn and said, “Come, give me your hand.”

—While the magic test could be self-assessed, Yvette personally conducting the external test would ensure that no inflated results were reported. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel[f]ire.net

Rosalyn instantly felt nervous, her heart racing. She wasn’t sure what score would be deemed adequate, but she distinctly recalled the witch emphasizing that if her performance was lacking, even with their close relationship, she would not take her as a disciple.

Clearly, for someone who had experienced countless legendary adventures, this could not have been an empty threat—after living for hundreds of years, she had likely encountered countless talented youths. Compared to those departed souls, Rosalyn felt she was anything but special and certainly not deserving of extra compassion.

Then, the spell began, and the judgment commenced.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

As the answer should have been revealing itself by now, she slightly tilted her face upward, cautiously observing the witch’s expression, only to find her emotionless, her dark red eyes revealing no hint of feeling, silent to the point of terror.

This is bad… Rosalyn felt her heart sink to the depths, nearly bursting into tears.

But then, just as she braced for the worst, the witch suddenly spoke, “I’ll arrange for you a casting ring as a reward for passing; you can get ready.”

“A casting ring?” Rosalyn blinked in surprise, quickly following up, “I passed the test?”

Yvette affirmed with a brief, “Mm-hmm.”

Although her expression remained calm as always, in truth, when Yvette saw that Rosalyn’s magical capacity was “6,” it felt like the sky had just fallen.

Back when she first encountered the Meditation Method, she had struggled for a full year at Abyss Base, only managing a growth of around two points!

And now, in just half a year, she’d exceeded 6 points. At this rate, in a year, that would be 12! If she were given 60 years, wouldn’t she be able to surpass her teacher? What an ultimate genius; it wouldn’t even seem right not to take her as a disciple!

However, since their lifespans were different, comparisons were not entirely fair… But regardless, Rosalyn’s talent certainly crushed the average person on origin star… Wait a moment, could it be that her talent arose simply from the different physiology of their worlds?

With that thought, Yvette felt like she had a breakthrough.

According to Rosalyn’s descriptions, Luminous Continent was rich in epic myths and filled with naturally powerful beings like dragons. Did that indicate it was a low to high magic world? If so, people from such a world would have a higher innate rune density, leading to a stronger rune siphoning effect?

The possibility seemed quite high…

…

After a moment, under Rosalyn’s expectant gaze, Yvette descended from upstairs with a ring-like magitek terminal.

This was not her own “Furnace Ring X3,” which had only 44,000 rune capacity, but rather a “Sky Ring Y2” she had recently salvaged from the ruins, which had a remaining capacity of 80,000 runes.

“I’ll upload some high-spec spells into it soon; from then on, you’ll just need to use your thoughts to communicate with the ring, and you’ll be able to cast spells instantly,” Yvette explained. “So even if I’m not by your side, you’ll have some means of self-protection.”

“Thank you, sister!” Rosalyn said, though excited, she restrained her emotions and respectfully bowed.

Then she hesitated, realizing something, and said timidly, “But, it hasn’t been long since I started practicing; will my magical energy be enough to use magic?”

“If I say it’s enough, it’s enough,” Yvette pulled out a chair and sat down, her gaze gentle. “Would you like to know why?”

“Yes!” Rosalyn nodded eagerly.

“First, we need to talk about the two forms of magical energy. One is the internal magical energy within you, and the other is external magical energy… And rune design’s core content is about directing external magical energy with internal magical energy to achieve the effect of leveraging a little to lift a lot… As long as the rune group is detailed and without gaps, nothing is impossible… However, sometimes you shouldn’t aim for perfection; as long as the rune group operates normally, don’t tamper with it…”

As a top runic compiler who had studied rune design at Abyss Base for nearly 300 years—not, should she say, a runic artist—Yvette had never opened her heart so much to share her experiences and insights with anyone before. Although she considered it merely “basic knowledge,” she inadvertently spoke for several hours.

By the time the sun’s light began to dim, she finally realized that neither of them had eaten lunch yet.

But when she turned to Rosalyn, she found that the little golden-haired girl’s eyes were shining brightly, not a trace of pain or confusion from forced knowledge intake but instead filled with longing and anticipation.

“You understood?”

“I understood at first, and later… I just thought it was really impressive…” Rosalyn scratched her head shyly.

“So, how do you feel? If it seems difficult, don’t force yourself. I can teach you more than just this.”

“No, no! This knowledge is deeper than any book I’ve ever read. Though it’s challenging, I love it!” Rosalyn gathered her courage, declaring, “Can I… learn this?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you, sister!”

“…And from today on, you don’t have to call me sister anymore,” Yvette lowered her gaze.

“Eh?” Rosalyn was taken aback but quickly got the hint. As she observed the witch’s expression, she cautiously tested, “…Teacher?”

Yvette nodded gently, a slight smile crossing her face as she looked out the window.

The rain in the estate had finally stopped.