Chapter 92 Training 1 (2/2)
Hearing the angelic voice, all the fatigue vanished. Truen smiled as Zero babbled about his day from what he ate to what he did. As Truen listened, he bandaged his arm. Merlin had returned to his lab after ditching him in a dungeon. Truen did everything he could to reach the ancient library that the wizard spoke off. In that library, many books about magic remained. All Truen needed to do was read every single tome in there. Merlin claimed that Truen was able to learn new spells as there were grimoires among those books and the wood elf didn't doubt it. He didn't point out how Merlin was ditching his responsibility as a teacher. In fact, he enjoyed the newfound freedom very much. Truen was finally able to study and develop at his own pace. The wizard merely told him to call him if there was something he didn't understand. However, nobody told Truen that the dungeon would be occupied by vicious bug-like monsters that could spew acid and poison their prey. Truen had to fight tooth and nail using everything Freya had taught him to get past them. He barely made it to the safety of the ancient library when Zero called.
”Truen?”
”Yes, Zero? I'm here.”
”I miss you.”
The wood elf's heart melted at that statement. Zero's honesty and purity was a combination deadly enough to kill anyone with his cuteness. Instead of brushing it off, Truen smiled.
”I miss you too. I hope you're having fun learning new things from Hua Tuo.”
The brunet's enthusiastic answer was enough to put Truen's mind at ease. Then, he remembered something very important.
”Zero, answer me honestly. Have you brushed your teeth before going to bed?”
There was a long pause and Truen frowned. He knew where this was going and it was something he'd feared before leaving. He did warn Hua Tuo about Zero's tendency to squirm away from things he disliked. Truen repeatedly insisted that Hua Tuo exercise firmness when dealing with Zero's tantrums but he didn't know if the physician would actually follow through it.
”Zero,” there was a hint of warning in the wood elf's voice and Zero groaned.
”I'll brush them tomorrow, promise!”
”Zero!”
Zero whined and the pseudo mother had half the mind to scour the library for a long-distance teleportation magic just to ensure that Zero brushed his teeth before bed.
”I know...” Zero conceded at last. ”I'll brush them now. Hua Tuo has my toothbrush... I have to go to the river so I'll end the call now. Good night!”
Relieved, Truen bade the boy good night and ended the call. It appears as if the first day of separation went well. At least Zero wasn't bawling his eyes out and for that, he had Hua Tuo to thank.
Just before Truen got to reading the books, he sent Merlin a short text to inform the irresponsible magician that he'd arrived. Truen requested for some supplies while he studied from Gaia before texting Isis to put dream training on hold. Last but not least, the wood elf sent Hua Tuo a short message, thanking the doctor and warning the doctor about some of Zero's bad habits like not washing behind his ears during a bath. Satisfied, the wood elf returned to the mountainous task before him.
Standing in front of him was at least a hundred bookcases that towered above him. The wood elf estimated that there were at least fifty thousand books before him. He wondered how long it would take him to finish everything. Taking out the enchanted glasses that Merlin loaned him, Truen walked over to the nearest shelf and picked out the first book.
The journey starts with a single step and Truen started by flipping it open to the first page. The wood elf was sure he didn't know any ancient languages but with the help of Merlin's enchanted glasses, reading Dragon-tongue was no problem.
In less than fifteen minutes, the first book was completed. Although Truen had read it with the speed reading enchant, the new information took a lot longer to process. By the time Truen understood everything in the book, an hour flew past. Shaking his head, the wood elf frowned. Unlike Zero, he wasn't off to a good start. What a mess!