“Of course. As you wish, my friend.”
Rosovali began to impart the knowledge they had accumulated over countless eons to Zoe.
After all, a Dual Shadow's soul was a rare commodity, and its purchasing power in the currency of lifespan was remarkably high.
Zoe split off a thread of consciousness to control Ethan's body. He activated Golden Eye and began learning from Rosovali.
Thanks to the powerful learning capability of Golden Eye and the passive photographic memory it provided, Zoe absorbed the knowledge like a sponge.
This was knowledge he could never have accessed in his previous life, or even the one before that.
Thus, Zoe treasured it immensely.
When it came to accumulating fundamental knowledge, his foundation was simply abysmal.
Fortunately, his foundation in swordsmanship was compensated for by [Sable-style Swordsmanship].
But his knowledge of the Six Forces was as utterly blank as an elementary schooler's.
Life belonged to the domain of the light element, one of the Six Forces.
When Rosovali finished today's teaching session, they happily whistled as they returned to their subspace.
Now this is what you call a premium client.
I hope all my future contract partners are as adorable as this Dual Shadow.
Zoe was also highly pleased, using a split consciousness to continuously digest the vast amount of basic knowledge of life in his mind.
This went on until Ethan woke up.
He rubbed his right eye, feeling that it was incredibly sore today, as if he had strained it heavily the entire night.
As expected, is it because I've been forcing myself to use Golden Eye so much recently that I've strained it?
“Awoo!”
Ella woke up too.
Today, Zoe began attempting to teach Ella how to speak.
Ella was extremely resistant. Only after Zoe brought up Amelia did Ella begrudgingly comply, glaring and frowning as she learned, looking like she might bite him at any second.
‘She's about the same age as Vera, but their personalities are completely night and day.’
Vera was very proud, but as long as she was stroked the right way, she was incredibly obedient and far easier to coax.
On the other hand, Ella was like a hedgehog. The moment you got slightly close, she would bristle all over.
‘There's no way I shouldn't be unlocking some kind of child-rearing skill.’
Zoe grumbled inwardly.
“This is a tree.”
“Tee.”
“This is a leaf.”
“Weaf.”
“This is mud.”
“Mudder.”
Ella memorized word by word, but her gaze was always filled with a fierce glint, her brow constantly furrowed.
“This is Ethan.”
Zoe pointed at Ethan with his shadow. Ethan offered a warm smile, looking just like an ordinary old man.
“Eath-an.”
“I am a Dual Shadow.”
Zoe finally introduced himself.
“Grrr!”
Ella hissed at him directly.
“Why do you hiss only when it comes to me?”
The task of educating Ella was still a long and arduous journey, but at least she wasn't lunging forward to bite him anymore.
Even when he had taken her mother away, she had only hissed without actually biting him.
This could be considered progress, he supposed.
“Dual Shadow, prepare for battle.”
A golden light flashed in Ethan's right eye as he drew his weapon.
Zoe quickly transformed into the biological armor, wrapping Ella inside to protect her as he entered a combat stance.
“Is it lizardmen?”
“Yes. Two lizardman squads. A bit troublesome.”
After recovering over this period, Ethan had regained his combat capabilities inside the biological armor.
Zoe had also applied the life knowledge he learned from Rosovali to the biological armor, stimulating Ethan's cellular regeneration to heal his wounds.
“It seems they've begun to figure out our intentions.”
Zoe could also feel the adjustments in the deployment of the pursuing lizardmen lately.
“We'll take out these lizardmen, then take another detour.”
Boosted by the biological armor, Ethan dashed out from the flank, swinging his massive hammer as he instantly crashed into the lizardman formation.
Golden Eye quickly locked onto all the lizardmen.
Zoe activated his ability from the other side.
Acid: Shadow Blade Heart-Piercing Needle Rain!
With Ella supplying mana, Zoe no longer had to fight with his hands tied behind his back.
As the skill was unleashed, a dense rain of pitch-black needles blotted out the sky, raining down upon the lizardmen.
“What is with this Dual Shadow?! This sheer amount of mana completely contradicts our intelligence!”
The reports clearly stated that while this Dual Shadow was bizarre, its total mana capacity wasn't anything exaggerating, ranking at the absolute bottom among Mid-tier Monsters.
But this? The bottom?
Ethan swung his warhammer, sending a lizardman flying, before channeling a massive surge of mana into his weapon.
C-grade combat technique.
Wolf-Head Hammer!
Upon the pitch-black hammer, churning mana condensed, manifesting into a lifelike, illusory wolf's head.
The wolf's head roared, every strand of its fur gleaming with magical light.
As Ethan swung the hammer, the roaring wolf's head gaped its jaws, shredding the lizardmen like a meat grinder.
Zoe was not about to miss out on these walking experience points. At this moment, his level was on the verge of returning to Level 26, the peak of his previous life.
So, all the kills are mine!
Corrosive Torrent!
Zoe opened his dark maw, spewing out the corrosive gas accumulated inside his body.
A massive cloud of yellowish-green corrosive gas enveloped the area.
Followed by.
Dragon Flame: Accumulative Corrosive Burn!
A torrent of scorching, orange-red Dragon Flame erupted from Zoe, igniting the entirety of the corrosive gas.
The combusting corrosive gas completely engulfed the battlefield.
Ethan leaped into the air, gripping his pitch-black hammer tightly, and swung it downward with immense force.
Combat technique, Overwhelm!
The descending hammer unleashed a violent gale, forcefully pressing the exploding Dragon Flame down.
[Killed...]
[Killed Lizardman Spearman Lv.23. Experience +1,900. Talent correction: Extra Experience +1,900.]
The massive influx of kill experience filled up the remainder of Zoe's experience bar.
[Experience threshold met. Level increased to Lv.25.]
[Agility +1, Constitution +1, Free Stat Points +2, Max Mana +40]
As the Dragon Flame dissipated, they quickly finished off the surviving lizardmen and swallowed all the corpses into the Shadow Pool.
“Leave immediately. We head south this time.”
“Alright.”
Having cleaned up the scene with perfect coordination, the two dashed toward the south, bypassing any potential encirclement.
Maybe we really can make it out alive this time.
Ethan, who was getting more and more into the groove of their escape, couldn't help but think.
...
At night, as usual, Zoe spent some time learning the art of forging from Ethan before the old blacksmith went to sleep.
Once Ethan and Ella fell asleep, Zoe resumed their escape route.
At the same time, he called upon the High Demon, Rosovali.
“Same as last time. One year of lifespan for knowledge.”
Zoe deeply cherished these learning opportunities.
Knowledge was the most precious commodity in this world. Only noble academies taught advanced subjects, and their tuition was terrifyingly high; on top of that, commoners weren't even permitted to enroll.
Even if one managed to enter, the instructors there guarded their knowledge more fiercely than their own lives.
But a High Demon was different. Across their endless existence, they amassed a staggeringly vast wealth of knowledge and insights.
As long as a contract was signed with one's soul as collateral, one could make such a highly cost-effective trade using their lifespan.
“As you wish, adorable Dual Shadow.”
“I, Rosovali, like studious little shadows like you the most.”
Rosovali began teaching Zoe, holding nothing back.
Rate on N.U.
