It turned out that being a snake shouldn't involve too much curiosity! Cyril looked at the rose necklace pendant with a small, helpless snake named Green trapped inside, pondering how to rescue it.
He tugged and shook the pendant forcefully, leaving a faint red mark on his fair neck, but nothing happened.
The little snake seemed sealed inside the ruby.
[System, do you have any solutions?]
[Cough cough, success in building a tall building starts with the foundation. You have to rely on yourself.]
The system replied succinctly.
Cyril raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this something a cheat system should be able to handle?
[Sigh, to put it simply, my current abilities can't even detect what this necklace is...]
The system said sheepishly.
It seemed he would have to wait until the next time he met Mr. Scott to ask him to retrieve little snake Green. Cyril thought to himself.
He could only hope that the wizard would be in a good mood next time they met.
Cyril had another question in his mind.
He clearly remembered that before he fell asleep in the bath, Green was hanging around his neck. But how did it end up in his clothes' pocket later? Did Green crawl there by itself?
Cyril gently stroked the central ruby of the rose pendant with his fingertip, hoping to comfort the little snake a bit.
Tonight, he had no intention of going out to explore the Rose Manor again; his previous experiences were exciting enough.
Cyril carefully closed the windows, drew the curtains, and lay back in bed.
He initially thought his mind would be too busy to fall asleep quickly, but he unexpectedly drifted off to sleep soon.
However, he spent a night with strange and peculiar dreams.
In one dream, Mr. Scott was wearing an apron, cooking breakfast with exceptional skill for him. In another, Cyril was punished to copy the phrase "Private Bathrooms Are Off-Limits" a thousand times, using his blood as ink.
Lastly, he dreamed of himself being turned into a skeleton servant wearing a luxurious dress, begrudgingly pouring wine for Mr. Scott.
Then, he erupted with anger from his heart, courage rising within him. He shouted loudly, raised a red wine bottle, and smashed it on Mr. Scott's handsome head.
When Cyril woke up the next morning, he sat on the bed, dazed and shocked.
After he fully awoke, he couldn't help but admire the heroic act from his final dream.
What kind of sleeping posture could produce such dreams?
He... would have to try it again next time!
Afterward, Cyril said good morning to little snake Green, who was forced to stay in the rose pendant, and went downstairs to the dining room.
The music in the dining room today had changed to elegant and grand symphonic compositions.
Cyril saw a variety of string and wind instruments floating in mid-air.
In front of this group of instruments, a conductor's baton drew beautiful arcs in the air.
After ordering breakfast, Cyril found an empty seat (the dining room was not very crowded at this hour) and cut the fragrant pancakes in half, spreading them with glistening strawberry sauce.
The pancakes were soft and delicious, pairing perfectly with the strawberry sauce.
"Hi, good morning!"
Someone greeted Cyril.
He looked up and saw the blond boy he had encountered on the stairs the first day.
"I'm James Brown," the boy introduced himself.
Cyril's gaze involuntarily went to his golden hair.
That must have been quite obvious during the nighttime stroll, he thought.
"Hello, I'm Cyril Lawrence, nice to meet you," Cyril replied with a friendly smile while simultaneously allowing the system to check James's body data.
He found that all the data about James was exactly the same as when he first encountered him, with no changes.
Cyril pondered.
Perhaps the probability of finding an item that could change body data was not very high.
James, on the other hand, was taken aback.
In just two days, this handsome black-haired boy seemed to have acquired more magical equipment.
When they first met, the minute hand on his brass pocket watch had pointed to "10," making him stand out among the new students.
Now, the minute hand had suddenly spun around and stopped at "12."
James discreetly put his brass pocket watch back into his sleeve, even questioning whether he had correctly deciphered the usage of this magical item he had discovered.
Since James and Cyril were close to each other at this moment, the system detected the magical item on James and provided the following information:
[Name: Alchemist's Apprentice Alchemical Pocket Watch
Usage: Detect the magnitude of magic attached to magical objects in the vicinity.
Usage Method: Determine the direction of magical objects based on the position of the hour hand on the dial, and assess the magnitude of magic attached based on the number indicated by the minute hand. A higher numerical value represents stronger magic.
Note: Tsk tsk, this looks like a crude creation from a wizard's apprentice burning the midnight oil. Besides being easier to carry around than a crystal ball, what other advantages does it have? If it happens to catch the Alchemy Professor in a good mood, it might barely earn a "passing" grade; if the wizard wakes up early with a bad mood and receives such a troublesome item... then you're on your own.]
Cyril looked at the information on the screen and instantly understood why James had suddenly shown goodwill towards him earlier. It was probably because he used this alchemical pocket watch to detect the presence of little snake Green, mistaking it for a powerful magical object.
Cyril and James exchanged some more information. Cyril learned that James was going to a wizard academy called "Alice's Garden," and he found the names of these wizard academies rather peculiar.
For instance, the wizard academy Cyril was likely going to, called "Snowberg," could also be referred to as "Snow Castle." In Cyril's imagination, it was a solitary fortress standing in the midst of an icy wilderness. Now, without knowing any warming spells, Cyril couldn't help but worry about his thin clothing and meager possessions.
"Be careful the next two nights!" James reminded Cyril when they parted ways. "It's not that safe in your room now."
Cyril nodded and thanked him. When night fell, Cyril left his room, taking all his belongings with him. He carried the "Strange Creatures Cookbook" in his hands, thinking that the thick book might serve as a makeshift weapon.
That evening, Cyril had quite a successful outing. He found two more Power Boost Fruits in the buds of other rose flowers, increasing his strength value from "10" to "14."
He also found a bird's nest on a gnarled and interconnected branch of a tall tree. Thanks to his previous training in the Misty Moon Forest, climbing trees was not a big problem for him.
The bird's nest itself wasn't particularly special, but inside it, he discovered a Nightfire Stone that could replace a kerosene lamp.
However, the idea of placing a magical item in a bird's nest wasn't something one could think of easily.
Cyril looked at the palm-sized, round, smooth stone in his hand, which appeared quite ordinary.
[Name: Nightfire Stone
Usage: Illumination
Usage Method: Tap three times following the rhythm "da—da da" to activate the lighting mode. To turn it off, tap three times following the rhythm "da da—da." If you tap the wrong rhythm three times, it will enter a locked mode and cannot be used for 24 hours.
Note: With the Nightfire Stone, you come with built-in background music. You can become a unique rhythm master morning and night!]
This Nightfire Stone allowed Cyril to regain a source of illumination after losing his kerosene lamp. He followed the system's instructions and tapped the stone gently three times following the rhythm "da—da da." In the next moment, the Nightfire Stone emitted a dim blue light.
The color of the light was quite peculiar, and it appeared somewhat faint. However, Cyril found it more effective than the brass kerosene lamp. It illuminated objects clearly several meters away.
Having searched around and found no other magical items, Cyril made his way back.
As he passed the staircase, Cyril noticed some bloodstains that hadn't been cleaned up yet. He thought about what James had said earlier and couldn't help but make a disapproving noise in his mind.
He hoped the people from Alexis's group would spread the word about him and let others know he wasn't easy to mess with. Although Cyril believed he could handle it with force or magical intimidation, he was generally a peaceful and friendly kid and shouldn't resort to violence.
The night grew deeper, and someone quietly approached Room 601 in the pitch-black corridor.
["The big river flows to the east! The stars in the sky form the Big Dipper! Hehehehe! The Big Dipper!"]
Cyril, who was still half-asleep, was suddenly awakened by this resonant and passionate male voice. For a moment, he couldn't help but feel like he was about to burst into laughter.
["Hey! Are you awake? Someone's coming, right outside your door!"]
The system reacted quickly, babbling before he could speak.
Disturbing his dreams in the middle of the night!
Cyril angrily pulled up the bedsheet and draped it over himself. The pure white sheet covered his entire body, leaving only half of his face with disheveled hair exposed.
He picked up the Nightfire Stone and gently tapped it three times in the rhythm of "da—da da." Then, he placed the Nightfire Stone under his chin, casting a dim blue glow on his face.
Cyril took light steps and stood still near the door.
Outside the door, there were faint sounds of someone trying to pick the lock, but it didn't open for quite some time.
Impatience grew.
Cyril was considering whether to open the door himself when he heard a soft "click."
The door was opened.
Cyril looked up at the person outside, and at the same time, the crimson gem on his neck began to emit a bright light.
Cyril didn't expect that the person outside the door would glance at him, and his pupils constricted as if he had seen something extremely horrifying. He screamed loudly, "A ghost!" and shivered before turning and running away at an astonishing speed.
Cyril blinked his eyes, and his mood calmed down.
Wasn't this a bit too easy to scare off?
Cyril hadn't even used his fireball spell, and the person retreated in a hurry.
He wiped the tomato sauce around his mouth with a tissue, which he had brought from the downstairs dining room earlier. He hadn't expected it to come in handy.
Cyril shrugged and felt his drowsiness returning. He lay back in bed and quickly fell asleep.
The boy who had been scared off by Cyril's appearance ran through the night, screaming in terror all the way, waking up many people. But he couldn't be bothered with that now; he just wanted to vent his endless fear.
When he returned to his room, turned on all the lights, he was still drenched in cold sweat. He had previously heard that a lonely and frail boy lived in "601."
So why did he see a pale-faced girl ghost wrapped in white cloth when he opened the door? And behind that girl ghost, there stood a giant black shadow.
The moment he made eye contact with the black shadow, it felt like icy water was pouring down his spine, an indescribable sense of terror and despair.
It was a kind of soul-shivering pain and anguish.
Now, as he recalled the scene, he still felt the prickling sensation on his back.