Just a few steps out of the Filimon Territory, Ian couldn’t wait any longer and began scrolling through the reward notifications that had popped up in his mind from the System.
It felt just like logging into a game and suddenly discovering a hundred pages of bug compensation in your inbox—utterly exhilarating!
Looking at the string of rewards, Ian couldn’t suppress the upward curve of his lips.
Without hesitation, Ian immediately used the S-Rank Magic Talent Choice.
With a single thought, a virtual panel glowing in seven colors appeared before his eyes.
Several talents were listed on it, each one sounding overwhelmingly powerful just by name:
[All-Element Magic Adaptation]: Extreme affinity and control over the basic elements—fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, light, and darkness.
[Space-Time Twins]: Affinity with spatial attributes, an extremely low chance to awaken time-related abilities, excels at teleportation, spatial slicing, and the development of storage spaces.
[Druid’s Genius]: Communicates with all things in nature, commands plants and magical beasts—even legendary dragons can be tamed.
[Heart of the Platinum Dragon God]: Your magic comes from your heart; your heart will be replaced by that of the Platinum Dragon God. Your magic will never be depleted.
Ian’s gaze lingered between [All-Element Magic Adaptation] and [Heart of the Platinum Dragon God].
The Elemental Heart was a straightforward and excellent path to becoming a traditional archmage.
But the phrase “magic will never be depleted” in [Heart of the Platinum Dragon God] was simply too alluring.
As everyone knows, ‘humans’ are naturally afflicted by an incurable disease called ‘mana shortage anxiety’!
Ian was certainly no exception.
Back in his previous life, he’d get uneasy if his battery dropped below 50%. After careful thought, he finally decided on the “infinite mana” option—[Heart of the Platinum Dragon God].
[Choice confirmed. Talent bestowal in progress…]
A torrent of scorching, immense energy surged into Ian’s body, flushing through every fiber of his being.
He felt as if his blood was boiling, and his bones emitted a faint humming.
Ancient, cryptic syllables filled with terrifying power even involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
At the same time, Ian could clearly sense that the magical elements in the surrounding space—which had always ignored him—were now cheerfully, even desperately, rushing to gather around him.
The magic merged into his body, was rapidly transformed by his heart into a pure white mana tinged with a faint sense of majesty, and pumped throughout his body along with his blood.
“So this… is what it feels like to have magic?”
Ian clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within, his heart brimming with excitement.
He tried punching a roadside tree as thick as a hat with all his might.
“Boom!”
Ian’s fist, wrapped in a faint white glow, effortlessly blasted the upper half of the tree flying.
And his own fist remained completely unscathed.
“Just as I thought…”
[Heart of the Platinum Dragon God] didn’t just grant Ian limitless magic—mana transformed by the dragon heart was constantly strengthening his body.
After a moment adapting to his newfound power, Ian finally remembered he had also unlocked a System Shop.
Eagerly, he opened the System Shop, wanting to see what good things he could exchange for his 100 Corrective Points.
The shop was dazzling: from basic Magic Scrolls and potions, to rare materials, cultivation techniques, and even a few items with a futuristic vibe.
However, before he could browse carefully, the System notification chimed again:
[Warning: 7 days, 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 16 seconds remain before “Shirleyviel Connalt” completely deviates from the story route.]
[Host, please proceed at once to correct the abnormal personality of the heroine “Lilith Welt.”]
Before Ian could react, a stream of information flooded into his mind:
[Shirleyviel Connalt, the only daughter of the Duke of Connalt.
Her original personality was cheerful and lively, innocent and carefree.
In the original story, she was supposed to meet the ‘transfer student’ protagonist in three months and, together with Otillia Filimon, form a three-person team to start the first arc.
Now, due to unknown reasons, she has become extremely afraid of contact with people, unable to even communicate normally with her family, diagnosed with severe communication disorder.
Due to his daughter’s illness, the Duke of Connalt had to withdraw Shirleyviel from the Imperial Royal Magic Academy and bring her back to the countryside, assigning people to protect her.
Now, Shirleyviel Connalt has already shown symptoms of mutism. Host, please proceed quickly to correct this!]
“Communication disorder? Autism?”
Ian frowned. This wasn’t quite the type of “problem” he’d expected for the second heroine.
He’d thought she’d be another “dangerous character” like Otillia had been at first.
“Only seven days…?”
Ian let out a sigh, stood up reluctantly, gave the System Shop one last look, memorized a few items that might come in handy, and then closed the interface.
Brushing the dust off his clothes, Ian looked toward the Duke of Connalt’s territory.
The system map had already marked out a general route and destination in his mind: White Maple City.
His eyes grew determined once again.
He’d finally been given a new, healthy life. He couldn’t let it be destroyed before he even got a chance to enjoy it!
Of the seven days, once travel time was subtracted, Ian would have less than two days to work with.
Time was tight and the task was heavy. Without further hesitation, Ian set off along the forest path, organizing the new information in his mind and continually devising plans and methods to correct Shirleyviel Connalt.
***
While Ian was leaving the Filimon Territory and heading toward White Maple City, the Imperial Royal Magic Academy was welcoming the freshmen holiday.
Otillia Filimon, like a fledgling bird returning to its nest, came back to the Filimon Marquis’s manor, brimming with anticipation.
Her golden hair, dazzling as sunlight, fluttered in the breeze, and her exquisitely beautiful face radiated undisguised excitement.
She had only been away from home for a few days to study, but it felt like centuries to her.
This impatience was almost entirely due to one black-haired boy—Ian Lanna.
At the academy, she was one of the famed “Imperial Twin Flowers,” gifted and stunningly beautiful, the object of countless young nobles’ and talented youths’ admiration.
Yet amidst all that praise and the probing approaches, Otillia felt nothing but boredom.
She found them noisy and annoying, like buzzing flies that grated on her nerves.
“Where’s Ian? Father, where is Ian?”
The moment she walked in, before she could even set down her little hand bag, Otillia rushed straight to her father Bert Marquis’s study, her voice full of dependence and urgency.
However, waiting for her was neither her father’s usual gentle smile, nor Ian’s faint, tolerant gaze tinged with helplessness.
It was a piece of news that froze and then shattered her world in an instant.