The Hermit

Another interesting event was the announcement by the Merfolk Clan Leader, Ruan Qingyi—codenamed The Star in Tarot Villa—that the Merfolk race was also selling familiars.

The familiars they offered were capable of traveling freely through water and across the oceans.

Although the demand for these aquatic familiars wasn't as high as the land-based ones sold by the Succubus race, some amphibious familiars became widely popular among transmigrators due to their unique land-and-sea versatility.

Well then.

With the addition of these two, the land, sea, and air were now all linked, effectively covering every niche in the transmigrators' familiar ecosystem.

The ones happiest about this were, of course, the transmigrators who didn't have much money.

After all, flying familiars were simply too expensive.

The monthly expenses were not something the beasts of burden working for peanuts at the bottom could afford.

Word was that someone had spent over a dozen gold coins only to end up with a mental-attack bat as a familiar, becoming the laughingstock of the moment.

In such circumstances, cheaper, more accurate, and stable familiars were definitely the better choice for them.

Even so, Lan Qingyou's side remained largely unaffected, with her daily income still stable at around eighty thousand gold coins.

After all, there were still over seventeen billion people; those who didn't lack money or refused to accept their fate were as numerous as the sea.

There were plenty of people coming to draw lots in an attempt to change their destiny against all odds.

According to Bei Adolis's estimates, there was no need to worry about a drop in familiar sales for at least the next five to ten years.

Especially after the knight orders brought out their flying mounts for a public appearance, they might even enter a period of high-speed growth.

Of course, the prerequisite was to increase the number of magic circles on the platform.

Diana nodded in agreement and began working on adding more magic circles.

However, these magic circles couldn't be added haphazardly.

The spacing between the magic circles and the expansion of the platform were tasks that required precise calculations before they could be carried out.

The spacing was to ensure that the magic circles wouldn't interfere with one another.

As for the platform expansion, it was necessary because the location itself had limitations.

After all, the area north of the tree was the core of Typhon City, and they certainly couldn't extend into it.

No... strictly speaking, because of the Five Dragon Reincarnation Protection Magic Circle, they couldn't extend into it even if they wanted to.

Therefore, the only directions they could expand were to the left and right, which greatly limited the number of magic circles.

Still, compared to the original, pitiful ten circles, it was a significant improvement.

...

That day.

After completing some basic theoretical research, Lan Qingyou prepared to select materials for preliminary crafting.

However, just as Lan Qingyou entered the specialized material warehouse she had renovated in her shelter, messages started appearing in the Villa group chat.

High Priestess: "@Tower, it's completely different from what you said! What's going on?"

Tower: "That's a bit out of the blue. Be more specific."

High Priestess: "It's about that theory you mentioned during the New Year, the one from Professor Seymer."

Tower: "Oh, right, I remember now. What's different?"

High Priestess: "I can't construct the spells at all, nor can I reverse-engineer them."

Tower: "Is it possible you misunderstood something?"

High Priestess: "Not a chance. I'm learning directly from Professor Seymer."

Tower: "Hmm? You came to the Witch Academy to study?"

High Priestess: "Of course not. Professor Seymer joined us and is in the group right now. The Hermit card is him."

...

Lan Qingyou, who had been constantly grinding alongside the other witches, had no idea what was happening in the group chat.

She truly hadn't expected Seymer to actually agree to join Tarot Villa.

After all, several organizations, including The Masquerade, had invited him before.

But on second thought, if he wanted to conduct research, a 'pure' place like Tarot Villa was clearly more suitable for him.

With that in mind, Lan Qingyou clicked on the personal profile of The Hermit, also known as Professor Seymer.

【The Hermit】

【Individual Name: Seymer Alfred (53 years old)】

【Title: Shepherd of the Stars】

【Personal Bio: A chemistry teacher who enjoys exploring magic and mana.】

Tsk, tsk.

Look at that!

Compared to the bios of the other guys, which looked like investment advertisements, Professor Seymer's bio was incredibly concise.

But she hadn't expected Professor Seymer to have already obtained a World Title; he didn't have one when they last met.

Should she say congratulations?

Well...

As his student, she still had to show some courtesy.

The Witch of the Tower was still well-versed in these social niceties.

Tower: "@The Hermit, congratulations to Professor Seymer on obtaining a World Title."

High Priestess: "...You're just seeing this now?"

The Star: "She's a busy person, it's normal for her not to know what's going on in the group."

The Sun: "Let's not talk about that for now. Remember what we were discussing when Professor Seymer was pulled in earlier? @Tower, there's an error in your theory."

Pulled in?

Was Professor Seymer forcibly dragged into the group chat by these guys for a discussion?

Well... knowing their nature, they were certainly capable of such a thing.

In fact, they would do anything for the sake of research; they were simply an unreasonable bunch.

Tower: "As I said, my previous theory wasn't wrong. I've even used it to replicate two more spells. If you don't believe me, you can ask Professor Seymer. I taught those spells to the witches for self-study right after I developed them."

High Priestess: "But the problem is that, according to your explanation, we really can't construct them."

Lovers: "We can't deconstruct them either."

The Hermit: "@Tower, thank you. However, what I want to say here is that both sides are correct."

The Star: "Huh?"

Empress: "@The Hermit, what do you mean specifically?"

The Hermit: "Tower indeed created three spells, and some of the witches have mastered them. This means Tower's theory is correct."

The Hermit: "But it is also an indisputable fact that the High Priestess, Lovers, The Star, The Sun, and the others cannot replicate Tower's success."

The Hermit: "So the question is, if both sides are presenting facts and no one is lying, where did the problem occur?"

The Hermit: "The answer is simple. If both are correct, then it can only mean that my theory is fundamentally flawed."

When everyone saw Professor Seymer so frankly admit in the group that his theory had a problem, all those who had been in a heated discussion just a moment ago stopped typing.

After a long silence, Lan Qingyou finally sent the first message.

Tower: "Speaking of which, I noticed something the first time I tried to apply The Hermit's theory."

The Hermit: "What is it?"

High Priestess: "Quick, tell us!"

Tower: "The Hermit's theory works very smoothly when paired with a Witch's Magic Eye."

Tower: "It's just that I took using the Magic Eye for granted during my experiments, so I forgot to mention it."