'Better to be safe than sorry. I'd rather do nothing than make a mistake!'
After long consideration, Wei'en decided not to say anything for now.
Once Roger showed any signs of abnormality, even the slightest hint of something unusual, he could justifiably "guess" that Roger was about to lose control.
'But before that, there's one more thing I have to be mindful of—I absolutely cannot be alone with Roger!'
Now that he had made his decision, Wei'en put the matter aside. He hadn't forgotten the main reason he had taken leave to come back.
That was to use his current resources to increase his strength as much as possible.
He looked at the other information on his panel. His Resilience Level was 14, one level higher than before he left.
His Spiritual Level had barely changed, only increasing by 0.07 since yesterday, all thanks to Xiaoxi's hard work.
Also, his Survival Points had increased from 21 to 38, all earned at the Secret Investigation Department.
Unfortunately, aside from upgrading the Ghost Meditation Technique, he had no other skills he could use his Survival Points on.
At this thought, Wei'en turned to look at Xiaoxi and saw it was looking back at him. "After I upgrade the Meditation Technique, you're not going to hurt me, are you?"
"Ba... ba..."
"Calling me 'Dad' isn't going to help in this situation, is it? But your attitude is decent enough. I'll trust you this one time!"
Wei'en opened the panel without hesitation and chose to upgrade the Ghost Meditation Technique.
1/10, 2/10... until he saw the panel prompt.
[Ghost Meditation Technique Level 1 (10/10). Upgrade?]
"Yes!"
[Congratulations, your skill: Ghost Meditation Technique has been upgraded to Level 2. Effect: +0.02 Spiritual Level/1 hour.]
As the prompt appeared, Wei'en felt the space before him begin to spin.
'Not again?!'
Immediately after, a murmuring whisper sounded in his ear: "Apu, Luno, Rexi, Aus..."
'Two more syllables than before?'
This time, Wei'en resisted for only a moment before he fell into a daze again. "One head, two heads, three heads..."
...
An unknown amount of time passed before Wei'en woke from a deep slumber. In his daze, he heard Xiaoxi's voice.
"Apu."
"Baba!!"
"Aus."
"Baba!!"
"Re..."
'What the hell?'
'Why are there two identical voices at the same time?'
Wei'en opened his eyes, shaking his dizzy head. He glanced up at the air. "My eyes are playing tricks on me... Why are there two Xiaoxis?"
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
"Damn, are there really two Xiaoxis?"
Sure enough, floating above his head were two identical heads—two Xiaoxis.
But after observing for a moment, Wei'en could easily tell which was the original Xiaoxi and which was the newcomer.
The original Xiaoxi shouted, "Baba!!"
The newborn Xiaoxi calmly said, "Aus."
The noise gave Wei'en a headache. "Shut up!"
The original Xiaoxi immediately shut its mouth but didn't forget to shoot Wei'en a look that said: *Baba, look, he's still talking. Aren't you going to give him a beating?*
Who would have thought that the newborn Xiaoxi would just glance at the other one, then also close its mouth and start meditating silently.
The original Xiaoxi: "..."
This also made Wei'en, who had been about to discipline it, pause. 'Did it get smarter?'
'Whatever. I'll just treat it as a vision that comes with the Meditation Technique.'
"But now I finally fucking know why one hour of Meditation can increase my Spiritual Level by 0.02."
'With two damn heads working, isn't the effect just doubled?'
'Don't tell me every time the Meditation Technique levels up, I'm going to get another head?'
Wei'en imagined a scene with a pile of heads floating above him... That would be a dream come true for anyone with trypophobia!
'I wouldn't even need to fight. Just showing off that look would be enough to scare a whole crowd stupid.'
Wei'en opened his panel and looked again.
[You have successfully resisted the source erosion from an unknown existence. Your source characteristic has mutated! Congratulations, you are now irrevocably on the path to becoming non-human! Special rewards: Source +1, Spiritual Level +1, Resilience Level +1.]
"As expected... there are rewards for upgrading the Meditation Technique, but it's a bit less than last time."
'But what does "you are now irrevocably on the path to becoming non-human" mean?'
Wei'en looked up at the two Xiaoxis. 'It can't be that eventually, these heads will all grow on my body, can it?'
'That would be way too ugly!'
He rubbed his aching brow. "Whatever, as long as my strength increases. Thinking so much about it won't solve anything."
He knew far too little about the Ghost Soul School right now. Without outside help, it was impossible for him to find the cause of the source erosion.
Wei'en shook his head to dispel these thoughts and ease his headache a little.
Then, he pulled out his pocket watch, opened the Ghost Soul's toolbox, and took out the 2 gold pounds—40 1-shilling coins—he had just borrowed.
Time waits for no one. He planned to study the exchange list carefully and redeem some knowledge he could use at his current stage.
"*A Detailed Guide to Level-Zero Magic—A Basic Textbook for Junior Apprentices*, *An Introduction to the Study of Magic Potions*, *Basic Theories of Magic*, *An Introduction to Runology*..."
There was too much knowledge recorded on the parchment. Wei'en could only look through them one by one, making his choices based on their descriptions.
He had no choice; the prices for this knowledge were too high. He hadn't seen a single one for less than 5 shillings.
This was especially true for the introductory knowledge on the study of magic potions, alchemy, and runology, each of which cost a whopping 1 gold pound.
It was practically robbery.
In comparison, the knowledge related to Magic was relatively cheaper.
In the end, based on his own situation, Wei'en selected four basic knowledge texts—
*Basic Theories of Magic and a Detailed Guide to Level-Zero Magic*, 5 shillings.
*Introduction to Magic Potions—Basic Theories of the Study of Magic Potions*, 1 gold pound.
*Material Studies (Apprentice Edition)*, 5 shillings.
*Magic Potion Formulas (Apprentice Edition)*, 5 shillings.
The total cost was 1 gold pound and 15 shillings.
After writing the names of these knowledge texts on a blank piece of parchment, he placed it into the blue-and-white box along with 35 shilling coins.
"I hope the descriptions on the exchange list are truthful..."
A cynical thought crossed Wei'en's mind: what if the descriptions on the exchange list were just hyperbole? 'Bah! In that case, I'd be taking a huge loss!'
Before long, with a BUZZ, the blue-and-white box lit up with several halos of light.
Wei'en quickly opened the box and took out everything inside—a letter and four sheets of parchment.
"First, congratulations on taking the first step toward becoming a Great Wizard. However, regarding the fact that you are spending a great deal of energy studying the study of magic potions in the early stages, the Administration Office feels compelled to offer an advance explanation."
"For the vast majority of Junior Wizard Apprentices, the most important thing is to raise your Spiritual Level. This means that most of your time can, and must, be spent in Meditation, not wasted on the study of magic potions."
"Wait until you have raised your Spiritual Level to 30 and advanced to Intermediate Wizard Apprentice before you research and study magic potions. —The Ghost Soul School Apprentice Administration Office."
Wei'en put down the letter, a smile gracing his lips. He had no intention of following the Apprentice Administration Office's advice.
'Of course I know I need to raise my Spiritual Level, but hey, I'm a bona fide genius!'
However, that good mood vanished the moment he unrolled the parchments.
"Damn it, who told you to write all this knowledge in the Gonzalez language?!"
Wei'en stared at the twisted, bizarre script, wanting to cry but having no tears to shed.
He really couldn't understand a single word.
There was no other way.
He could only start by learning basic Gonzalez.
"Gonzalez... Gonzalez..."
Seeing the distorted face again, Wei'en didn't panic. He used his Spiritual Power to seize the parchment.
If he could beat Xiaoxi until it called him Baba, dealing with a piece of parchment that had Extraordinary properties was no big deal.
In an instant, the piercing shriek stopped. Looking again, the parchment with the Gonzalez language had already smoothed itself out.
"I didn't expect it to be so simple."
Wei'en looked down at his fully-equipped self and pursed his lips in resignation. "It really is a problem having no one to teach you. You end up taking so many detours..."
But there was nothing he could do.
The Ghost Soul School had a completely hands-off attitude toward its Intelligence Officers. It was impossible that they would spend the time and energy to arrange for Wizards to teach them.
In the eyes of the school's upper echelons, simply opening the exchange channel was already an extraordinary gift.
After all, Intelligence Officers like him, scattered far and wide, were just the "defective products" who had failed the entrance exam.