Luo Wei and Tilis had been strolling along the beach for quite some time when, without realizing it, they finally arrived at the location of the small wooden cabin.
“We’re home~”
Tilis walked up slowly and stood in front of the tightly shut wooden door.
Luo Wei noticed a faint circle of blue fluorescence on the door, likely a magical seal Tilis had placed before leaving.
She then reached out her hand and waved it gently in front of the door, causing the magically sealed wooden door to slowly open.
Tilis turned back to Luo Wei, smiling as she gestured for him to come in.
“Come on in!”
Luo Wei nodded and followed her inside the cabin.
He looked around curiously. The cabin wasn’t large, with the most prominent feature being an alchemy table filled with various tools he was quite familiar with. Surrounding the table were several rows of bookshelves and cabinets filled with jars and bottles, presumably containing magical materials.
Although she lived here, there were almost no furnishings related to daily life.
Looking around, the only furniture was a desk, two chairs, and a small bed in the corner—nearly the entirety of her belongings.
Tilis was completely absorbed in her magical research, so she paid little attention to the comforts of life. Even when she lived in her old mansion, her room was always cluttered, leaving Luo Wei with barely any space to stand whenever he visited.
Luo Wei sat down on the chair by the desk and looked at Tilis with some confusion, wondering why she had brought him to her home. Was there some secret she wanted to share with him?
“Let’s have something to drink first~” Tilis rummaged through the cabinet for a while, stirring up dust, and finally found a can of tea that had likely been sitting there for who knows how long.
“I remember you liked this...”
She smiled as she showed it off to Luo Wei. “I came across this during my travels in the southern part of the empire. I remembered you liked it, so I bought it on a whim. It’s good stuff!”
Luo Wei smiled and nodded.
While Tilis brewed the tea, Luo Wei’s gaze drifted to her desk. The only thing in the room that carried a sense of daily life was the arrangement on the desk.
In the most prominent spot on the desk was a photo frame containing a picture of a young, adorable Tilis with a woman in her thirties.
This woman was her teacher, Usoma, the former head of the Magical Hermitage.
Next to the photo was a stack of newspapers...
Luo Wei didn’t even need to pick them up to see his own large photo on the front page of one of them...
In the photo, he was covering his face with his hand, though not completely, revealing an expression that was both annoyed and frustrated...
There were over thirty copies of such newspapers...
And besides these...
Underneath a thick book were scattered piles of newspapers and documents, all in disarray. Luo Wei sneaked a glance and noticed headlines about the Callen University disappearance case and the Saint Callen cultist incident...
So it seemed...
Perhaps she had been keeping an eye on him ever since he returned...
All this time, Tilis, who was thousands of miles away, had been secretly watching him, while he remained completely unaware...
A shiver ran down Luo Wei’s spine, leaving him with an eerie feeling.
Just then, he heard light footsteps approaching from behind.
“Luo Wei, why were you covering your face in the photo?”
Tilis approached with two steaming cups of tea, standing beside Luo Wei. Seeing him looking at the newspapers, she tilted her head curiously.
Luo Wei chuckled awkwardly and slowly accepted the tea she handed him.
“Who knows... Maybe I was in a bad mood that day...”
He couldn’t very well say he was covering his face to avoid being spotted by her, could he?
“Oh... Is that so?” Tilis grabbed the newspaper and carefully analyzed Luo Wei’s pose in the photo.
“It feels like... you didn’t want your face to appear in the newspaper...”
“You must have been hiding from someone, right?”
“No way!” Luo Wei immediately straightened his face and spoke with conviction. “I’m an open and honest person! Who would I be hiding from?”
Tilis tilted her head, watching Luo Wei’s nervous expression, and then smiled faintly.
“Really?”
“Of course!” Luo Wei nodded quickly.
The room fell silent for a moment. Tilis gazed at Luo Wei’s face, her smile deepening.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore...”
Luo Wei tried to change the subject—or rather, steer the conversation back on track.
He looked at Tilis with confusion. “You brought me here because you said you had something to show me, right?”
“Oh, right!” Tilis laughed. “I got so caught up in chatting with you that I almost forgot.”
With that, she leaned over and rummaged through the desk drawer for a moment.
Then, she handed Luo Wei an old notebook.
“This is...”
The moment Luo Wei touched the notebook, a system prompt suddenly appeared.
**[Usoma’s Fragmentary Notes (Forbidden Tome)]**
**[Danger Level: ★★★★]**
**[Contains the early research of the mage Usoma on deities, including numerous forbidden and ominous black magic knowledge. It is a gateway to madness.]**
**[Friendly Reminder: Not recommended for in-depth study. If studied deeply, sanity will decrease by 20, and continuous sanity checks will be required...]**
Seeing Luo Wei’s serious expression, Tilis explained to him:
“This is the notebook my teacher always carried with her. Over a decade ago, she began researching deities.”
“At the time, she secretly established a covert research project behind the backs of the council. The project aimed to search for traces of deities around the world. My teacher believed this was the only way to resolve the centuries-long dilemma faced by mages.”
“You mean the deity research institute on that island now?” Luo Wei asked.
“Exactly,” Tilis nodded. “Six months ago, she and I arrived here as soon as we could and immediately began researching the sea deity of Heglais Town. But the island’s research institute is just one part of it.”
Luo Wei stared at the notebook in his hands, momentarily unsure whether he should open it.
After all, the system had already warned him about the danger of this item. Even though he was extremely curious, he had to consider whether his sanity could withstand such a level of mental strain...
Tilis, thinking he was hesitant to get involved in the secrets of the Magical Hermitage, smiled reassuringly.
“It’s fine. If it’s you, I’m willing to share everything with you.”
“I truly hope we can walk this path of witnessing the truth together.”
“Witnessing... the truth...” Luo Wei felt a slight stirring in his heart.
He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself, and then slowly opened the notebook titled **Usoma’s Fragmentary Notes**.
I’ll just take a quick look...
Not too much, and I won’t study the black magic inside...
That should be fine.
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
