“Honestly...”
A weak and gentle voice drifted over, and Ogre finally snapped out of his state of raw terror.
By this point, Abel had retracted his fangs and suppressed his overwhelming pressure, sitting back down on his wooden chair.
“Gasp...”
Ogre pulled back his neck and sat on the stool, panting heavily. This was far more dangerous than any physical combat; he had never been closer to death.
Casting a lingering look of dread at Abel, who once again appeared warm and elegant on the surface, Ogre forced himself to sit up straight.
“Child, did Yade tell you what I am?” Abel had already guessed Yade's intentions.
It was hard to imagine that in a chaotic place like the frontier lands, such a perfect piece of “food” could still be found.
“He did... He told me your story,” Ogre said, touching his neck.
Just now, he had genuinely felt like he was about to be devoured.
To think that he, a proud "Ogre," would actually have a day where he was almost reduced to mere food.
“Then did he tell you that I might eat you?”
Abel could clearly feel his own body's desire—an appetite that had been suppressed for a very long time.
“No... but I guessed it was a possibility,” Ogre replied, pressing his palms against his thighs to steady his trembling body.
“I have seen your resolve... Since you were sent by Yade, you may stay. How much you can learn will depend entirely on yourself.” Abel pulled another book from the shelf, placed it on the table, and slid it toward Ogre. “Perhaps this is what they call fate. Although I do not know how you were able to see through the darkness and mist, it makes you a fitting companion to stay here with me—provided you have the necessary talent...”
“Te... Teacher?” Ogre called out tentatively.
No matter what, he needed to lock down their master-disciple relationship first. As for pride—how much was that even worth?
Ogre's sudden address of "Teacher" made Abel's movements pause momentarily.
“You silly child...”
Abel gave a helpless laugh, neither rejecting nor accepting the title. “What is your name?”
“Ogre,” Ogre said his true name as he took the book.
‘Mind Magic? Is there such a magical classification? Wasn't I here to learn the Path of Mind-Imaging?’ Ogre looked up at the book with some confusion.
Could his ogre constitution even learn magic?
“I recall Karen calling you Maqi...” Abel lowered his head and resumed flipping through the book he had been reading earlier.
“Uh...” Ogre clutched the 《Compendium of Mind Magic》 and fell into a brief silence.
It seemed his habit of using aliases was sometimes quite useless.
“No matter, it is of little importance... What matters is whether you have the courage and resolve to pay the price for power. Ogre, my ability as a teacher is quite limited. On the path of cultivation, the only one you can truly rely on is yourself,” Abel said in a calm, deliberate tone.
“Your student understands,” Ogre nodded.
For him, growth had almost completely halted aside from what he could get from his Ogre's Lunchbox and the forbidden potion. It was already a pleasant surprise that Abel was willing to teach him at all.
“Put this on, and then call Karen in.” Abel opened his hand, conjuring a silk scarf which he handed to Ogre.
“What is this?” Ogre froze as he took the scarf.
“This is a veil crafted from the skin of a mist banshee. Once worn, it can be used to alter your appearance, and the effect will not dissipate unless you are attacked. Remember to wipe off that makeup before you put it on.”
Having handed the scarf to Ogre, Abel went back to reading his book.
‘A mist banshee veil? What a treasure!’
Ogre wiped his face clean, then swiftly fitted the mist-like veil over his face.
He had a feeling that this standard variant product was likely something Abel had brought with him from the Church of Dawn. After all, the Church of Dawn was famous for its advanced exploitation of variant bodies.
In fact, they often utilized variant materials far better than the variants themselves ever could.
Many of these variant items were highly praised even by the sorcerers of the Church of Truth.
‘With this, it seems I won't even need my masks anymore.’
With a thought from Ogre, the mist banshee veil melted into his skin.
After a brief transformation, Ogre returned to his previous disguised appearance.
“Sister Karen,” Ogre called out to Karen near the entrance after quickly making his way through the labyrinthine corridor.
“Maqi?” Karen stood up from the corner where she had been crouching.
“Teacher Abel asked me to bring you inside,” Ogre said softly.
“Maqi, you didn't trip, did you?” Following the sound of his voice, Karen reached out and found Ogre's hand.
“I'm fine,” Ogre replied, holding her hand.
“Let us go then.” Karen offered a gentle smile in the dark, then actively led Ogre back inside.
They soon arrived before Abel, who was still reading.
“Karen,” Abel said, raising his head slightly.
“I am here, Teacher,” Karen replied respectfully.
“I will leave Maqi in your hands. You will teach him the basics. Bring him back to see me in three days.” Abel picked up the 《Compendium of Mind Magic》 Ogre had put down earlier and thrust it back into his hands. “The next time I see you, you must have mastered at least one mind spell. If you do not even possess that much desire, then the Path of Mind-Imaging is not suited for you, child.”
“I understand.” / “Yes, Teacher.”
Ogre and Karen answered in unison.
‘And here I thought he would teach me personally... I guess I expected too much.’ Ogre sighed inwardly.
He looked down at the thick 《Compendium of Mind Magic》 in his hand, then at Karen, who was holding his left hand.
Could this really work?
Ogre had his doubts.
Did he risk his life coming to this tower just to get this little bit of harvest?
Oh wait, there was also the mist banshee veil.
In that case, it was totally fine.
“Let's go, Junior Sister Maqi,” Karen said, gently tugging at Ogre's soft arm.
“Mhm...” Ogre responded.
He would cross that bridge when he got there.
Ogre could only place his hopes on this so-called 《Compendium of Mind Magic》 being useful.
“Maqi, do you have a place to stay in the city?” Karen asked as they walked down the stairs.
“No, I'm from a village in the mountains,” Ogre replied.
“Then you can stay at my place. I don't know what kind of dresses you like yet, Maqi. I'll look for some well-fitting ones for you later—my house is actually quite big,” Karen said with a smile as she pushed open the doors.
“Uh... anything is fine.”
As the morning sunlight shone into his eyes once more, Ogre finally realized the problem.
Was he going to have to continue cross-dressing and live together with Karen?
Fantastic. He had just escaped the Church of Dawn, only to land straight in the territory of the Church of Truth.
“Uncle Einas, Uncle Redona, if Sister Maqi comes here in the future, just let her right in,” Karen called out to the Truth Guards at the entrance before they left.
“Haha, no problem!” both of them replied.
“Let's go, Maqi. I'll show you my home.”
After saying her goodbyes, Karen pulled Ogre, who was still clutching his book, toward the aristocratic residential district.
‘Did I forget something?’ As he was dragged along, Ogre finally snapped out of his daze and sorted through the wave of information.
After thinking carefully, he finally remembered.
‘Oh no! I forgot to tell him about Friar Fula!’
Tucking the book under his arm, Ogre reached his hand into his pocket.
“Huh...?”
Inside his pocket, the night-demon black bead carrying Fula's power... was gone.
...
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