The Most Arbitrary Wizard

Chapter 146: Chapter 89: "I’ll Take a Bite and See

Yisha nodded in deep agreement. "Exactly. Especially since she’s our boss."

Fighting the boss over a man? You’d be lucky not to get fired, let alone actually win him over.

Impossible.

The only way was to secretly meet with the teacher for a private rendezvous while the boss wasn’t around.

Commonly known as having an affair.

Elise said irritably, "You can’t just spend all day solving problems. Find some time to touch the statue and see if you can get into the fourth floor. Otherwise, I’ll really have to go have an affair with the teacher."

So far, only the five of them had successfully entered the fourth floor of the Holy Sanctuary.

Sopea was paired with Kate, and Sean with Elvire, leaving her all alone. She was counting on dual Meditation to break through to Tier Five. She didn’t want to be stuck at Tier Four when Elvire reached Tier Six, or worse, be overtaken by Sean himself. That would be humiliating.

She had her pride, you know.

"Alright, alright. I’ll go try after I finish this problem set," Yisha said. "Wouldn’t want you to get caught having an affair and beaten up by Miss Flame Crow."

"Having an affair" was actually a joke, a substitute for Cultivating with Sean, not a real affair.

Elise and Yisha had known each other for years and often joked like this in private.

But Koni, who was nearby, seemed to take it seriously. Sucking on her finger, she muttered under her breath, "I get it. Miss Flame Crow is the main wife, and Sister Elise is the second wife..."

Elise: "?"

"What did you just say?"

"Ah... nothing, nothing." Koni flashed a sweet smile. "I was just helping Yisha with her problems."

"Then focus on the problems," Elise said, feigning a serious tone. "Some things shouldn’t be said so casually, understand?"

Koni nodded repeatedly. "Understood, Little Mistress Yisha."

Elise: "?"

Yisha: "?"

The single address left them both bewildered.

Who was she even talking to?

...

「Meanwhile.」

After a brief and swift emotional reset, Sean and Elvire had successfully entered a state of Meditation. They were about to go to the New World, one born from the fusion of their minds and past Meditation scenes.

Logically, since it was a "fusion," the new scene should contain plenty of old elements that would feel familiar to them.

Sean had been to two places: one was a desert, and the other was the boudoir of Elvire’s sister, Daeli, of the Blazing Angel Family.

Elvire, like most Wizards, had a fixed Meditation scene. Hers was always set within a bustling metropolis, though her role and current needs would change each time.

Desert plus metropolis. The first thing Sean thought of was an oasis.

Elvire, on the other hand, thought of the beaches of a coastal city—decidedly more romantic than Sean’s idea.

The two were currently communicating telepathically.

Their illusory figures seemed to stand in a deep, empty void. Before them was endless darkness. They were waiting for it to dissipate to see what this so-called New World truly looked like.

Sean had only told Elvire about the desert.

He didn’t dare say more.

Elvire didn’t press for details.

She assumed Sean also had only one Meditation scene.

That made it easy to guess, really.

An oasis or a beach might not be entirely accurate, but it probably wouldn’t be too far off. It was more or less in line with their expectations.

"Mental preparation" is crucial for Meditation. Many Wizards’ first Meditation is ineffective precisely because they are clueless from start to finish, with no idea who they are, where they are, or what they should be doing, thus wasting the opportunity. Conversely, with prior preparation, one can integrate into their role much faster and begin the search for the symbol of autophagy.

Sean noticed how serious Elvire was. They hadn’t even officially entered the Meditation World, yet she was already thinking about what was to come. ’No wonder Elvire reached Tier Five at such a young age,’ he thought. ’High Talent isn’t scary. What’s scary is having high Talent and also working hard. All I can say is...’

’As expected of my little sister-in-law!’

Sean sized up the young woman beside him, tilting his head. "I never realized you had such Charm when you Cultivate."

Huh?

’Is he... complimenting me?’

The guy had finally said something nice. Elvire felt incredibly pleased, but she just huffed, "You think I’m like you, never serious about anything?"

"Now that’s just hurtful," Sean said, displeased. "I’m usually very serious. I’m only like this in front of you."

"So you’re just trying to provoke me on purpose?" Elvire said.

"It’s not that I’m trying to provoke you," Sean corrected her. "It’s that you’re too beautiful. You’re disturbing my Dao heart."

Elvire: "..."

’Is it my fault for being beautiful?’

"Such a smooth talker," Elvire said, glaring at him. "And you say you’re not provoking me on purpose? You seem to be quite good at sweet-talking girls."

Sean: "Hm?"

"Oh, so you want me to sweet-talk you?"

Elvire: "..."

Sean’s one sentence had silenced Elvire again.

Of course, she would never admit that. Wouldn’t that be the same as telling this guy she cared about him?

’Definitely not.’

"Just get ready to welcome the New World," Elvire said, ending the conversation with a deadpan expression.

But after she spoke, nearly half a minute passed, and their surroundings remained pitch black.

The New World showed no signs of wanting to be welcomed.

Elvire: "..."

She felt like something was wrong. Frowning slightly, she asked, "Why is it taking so long?"

Previously, Meditation was basically closing your eyes and opening them to a new scene. This time, however, it was like a game stuck on a loading screen, with no change at all.

"Maybe the ’computational load’ is too big?" Sean guessed.

If Meditation were compared to a game, his and Elvire’s brains would be the "consoles." Due to the excessive "information," they had to "receive" and "install" too much new "software," so the initial fused startup would be slower than usual.

"But it shouldn’t be *this* slow, right?" Elvire found the "game" analogy quite fitting; it made her want to perform a "one-click restart."

"If it’s slow, it means one of our brains isn’t working right." Sean looked at the young woman with a serious expression. "My guess is it’s you."

Elvire: "?"

’Why would it be me?’

"What if both of our brains aren’t working right?"

Sean: "..."

’Yep, confirmed. It’s not working right.’

But in the next moment, the young woman quickly proved to him just whose brain wasn’t working right.

"Dear brilliant Mr. Sean, did it ever occur to you that maybe the New World isn’t failing to load, but that it’s just this dark to begin with?"

A flicker of flame suddenly shot up from Elvire’s hand.

As the faint light flickered and spread, the endless darkness was finally "torn apart."

Illuminated by the firelight, walls made of brown bricks appeared before them.

The bricks were old and dirty, covered in a moss-like muddy substance that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in years, giving off a dark and damp feeling. At the same time, a musty, rotten smell assaulted their nostrils. The air suddenly became so foul that even Sean, who hadn’t been too bothered by his trip to the morgue, instinctively covered his nose and mouth, feeling nauseated.

The smell seemed to be emanating from the walls.

And there were many more walls just like these.

They were on all sides.

Above and below as well.

Like irregular planes, they closed in from every angle, forming an airtight cage that trapped the two of them inside.

Both Sean and Elvire had guessed wrong.

This wasn’t a desert, nor was it a beach.

It had absolutely no connection to either of those scenes.

It didn’t seem to have much to do with Elvire’s sister, Daeli, either.

This was a dungeon.

And so, Sean was bewildered once again.

’Seriously, why is every Meditation like this?’

’Where the hell have I been brought to now?’

Elvire was just as perplexed.

She had guessed that she and Sean had arrived in the "New World," but she never expected the New World to look like this...

It was a completely enclosed space where not even a sliver of light could penetrate. And it stank.

If the surroundings were made of wooden planks instead of brick walls, Elvire would have suspected she and Sean had ended up in a coffin.

If this was the entire scene for this Meditation...

...then only a ghost would know what it had to do with autophagy.

"Do you have any ideas?" Elvire asked.

Sean thought for a moment, then said, "How about you give me your hand, and I’ll take a bite to see?"

"Your foot would also work, but you’d have to wash it first."

Elvire: "?"

...