Delight struggled to suppress his laughter at his student’s outburst, his shoulders shaking. Richter glared at his master.

“Is it that funny?”

“Sorry,” Delight patted him on the shoulder, “But I really didn’t expect you to react like that… Weren’t you very composed when Selene was unconscious?”

“You said it yourself. She was unconscious…” Richter sighed, looking at Selene, who was chatting with an adventurer ahead of them, “Are all girls this scary?”

Delight twitched the corner of his mouth. He was over a thousand years old and still single. This was a difficult question to answer.

While they were talking, Selene finished her conversation with the adventurer. The treant lumbered towards the golem they were on.

“Mr. Delight, Richter,” Selene’s face was tinged with fatigue, but her eyes sparkled with excitement. “That adventurer said we should arrive in Alorn by noon tomorrow.”

She vaguely felt that the name Alorn was familiar, but she couldn’t recall anything specific, so she attributed it to some strange impression left by the original body owner. Compared to the original owner’s identity, she was more curious about the city of Alorn itself.

“Noon tomorrow…” Delight pondered for a moment. “I plan to stay there for a night, then head to the Holy City. Selene, do you have any plans?”

“I…” Selene hesitated.

Right. What were her plans? Or rather, should she have any plans?

She wasn’t curious about the original owner’s identity and didn’t intend to investigate, but if she had the chance to find out, she wouldn’t refuse. But what about other things?

This question wasn’t complicated, and she quickly came to a conclusion—she wanted to live a more exciting life. She wanted to experience this different world. She wanted to understand this world more deeply. As for more specific thoughts, she’d consider them after satisfying her curiosity.

“I don’t really have any plans,” she finally shook her head, hiding her thoughts.

It wasn’t difficult to express her curiosity and thirst for knowledge. She just felt that such abstract desires were hard to describe. And it wasn’t difficult to achieve them. Wasn’t she slowly understanding this world right now? Actions speak louder than words.

“Then are you interested in coming back to Mittal with me afterwards?” Delight asked directly. “Of course, you don’t have to answer now. This invitation is valid until I leave the Holy City.”

Selene felt that this invitation was a bit sudden, but after careful consideration, it seemed natural—she was a Regressor, and Regressors were known for being geniuses. It was said that every Regressor, as long as they didn’t die young, was guaranteed to become a superhuman.

She knew that Delight was a peak superhuman mage. Richter had said he was the most powerful mage in the world. And she could become as strong as him. In this world, where one person could become an army, she knew what this meant. It was normal for Delight to want to recruit her.

Honestly, she had a good impression of Delight and Richter, partly because they had saved her life, but mostly because of their behavior in the past day: Delight was refined and gentle, patiently explaining many things to her without getting annoyed, and didn’t act superior because he had saved her life; Richter, though young (though older than her current body), was very polite, and except for his frequent colds, he seemed fine.

No matter how you looked at it, following them seemed to be the best option.

But they had said there was no rush, so she only said that she would think it over.

Delight wasn’t pushy or arrogant. As the Empress had said, Mittal’s honor was more important than a superhuman. He wasn’t the type to force anyone.

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“So, I have a request,” Selene immediately continued. “I know this might be a bit presumptuous, but I want to learn magic. Could you teach me?”

“Learn magic…” Delight nodded, as if he had anticipated this. “I can take you on as a student.”

Seemingly noticing Selene’s conflicted expression, he quickly added,

“This doesn’t mean you have to come back to Mittal with me.”

“Okay, fine,” Selene quickly agreed, then looked around. “Is there some kind of apprenticeship ceremony?”

“There’s no such thing. It’s enough that I agree,” Delight said casually, then pulled two books from his robe, “This is 《Fundamentals of Magic》 and 《Introduction to Magical Engineering》. I wrote them myself. They’re used in Mittal’s academies.”

Selene’s eyes immediately lit up. She stared at the two slightly worn books, her desire obvious.

Delight handed the books to her.

“These are the teaching materials I normally use. Some of the special terms have been marked. You shouldn’t have any problems reading them, but there’s one thing you need to know beforehand.”

Selene took the books and nodded solemnly.

“Don’t try to cast any spells. Or rather, don’t meditate, and don’t directly contact any element,” Delight instructed seriously.

Selene’s eyes widened.

“Huh?”

“This is because of your special constitution, and your incredible talent,” Delight explained seriously. “You must know that Regressors have a terrifying talent in magic. But do you know why only the Magic Emperor, Annea, and a few others are famous?”

Selene had already regained her composure. Richter’s explanation about Regressors came to mind.

“Because… of Elemental Assimilation Syndrome?”

“Exactly,” Delight sighed. “There’s no such thing as perfect in this world. Regressors are no exception. Your talent is extraordinary. You can even directly control the elements with your will. But this powerful talent also comes with a curse. The elements will constantly gather around you, trying to transform you into one of them.

“Humans cannot be completely transformed into elements. Human minds cannot understand the essence of the elements. Human limbs cannot coexist with the elements. And during the assimilation process, the elements might even try to pull you into the Elemental Plane. But, as I said before, humans cannot be completely transformed into elements, so those who suffer from Elemental Assimilation Syndrome, whose bodies are partly transformed into elements, but who still have some flesh and blood, will be trapped between the material world and the Elemental Plane. They can’t return to the material world, and they’re not accepted by the Elemental Plane. No one can help them. They will only be tragically torn apart by the elements.

“It’s not intentional on the part of the elements, but they do cause this affliction. And it only appears in Regressors. Like myself and Richter, and all other mages who aren’t Regressors, even if our talents are similarly extraordinary, and we’ve had more contact with the elements than you have, we won’t experience this.”

Selene frowned. She hadn’t known about this. The situation Delight described was indeed very dangerous, but she also knew that he wasn’t forbidding her from using magic—the Magic Emperor, Annea, was also a Regressor, but he had lived to the age of three hundred, dying of old age.

Sure enough, Delight continued,

“But it’s not like there haven’t been Regressors who survived. For example, Magic Emperor Annea and the Mystic Ryan. But your situation isn’t quite the same as theirs.

“After Annea displayed symptoms of Elemental Assimilation Syndrome, his father, the Duke, confined him in a sealed space made of anti-magic materials. He stayed there for about ten years. After he came out, he ascended to superhuman in just three months, becoming a Mage. His own records state that he still suffered from Elemental Assimilation Syndrome even after leaving confinement, but he was able to completely control the elements.

“Mystic Ryan’s experience was more mysterious. He became a Regressor in middle age. After learning about his situation, he despaired, sailed into the Punishing Bay, and disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already a superhuman Mage. He had lost his ability to see and speak, and he never wrote anything down. He wandered the Divine Construct alone and died in the war against the old church at the end of the Fourth Era.

“There are also a few other Regressors. Their experiences were similar to Annea’s. They survived using some method and ascended to superhuman as quickly as possible, mastering the elements.”

Delight finished his explanation, then summarized,

“I don’t want you to try any of these methods. So, I suggest you only study magical theory for now, and avoid direct contact with high-density mana…

“There must be a less dangerous way to treat this affliction,” he pondered for a moment, “I’m confident I can find it within ten years. I believe it’s not something only the gods can do.”

Selene nodded silently, her mood slightly heavy. But she quickly recovered—it was just a matter of temporarily not using magic. At least, those rare and interesting theories weren’t out of her reach.

Richter sat down next to her, looking at the sun slowly disappearing behind the mountains. Darkness instantly enveloped them, but then lights appeared, big and small. The merchants and adventurers either took out torches, or lit Fluorit stones. Before the stars in the sky could appear, the people on the ground had already driven away the darkness with man-made lights.

“I’ll definitely find a cure for you.”

Selene turned her head in surprise, but saw Richter moving away from her as if escaping. She watched his retreating figure and the corners of her mouth curved upwards slightly.

“Okay. I’ll wait.”