Rowan and hispanions went to check on Liara onest time.


    Sadly and expectedly, there was no improvement or deterioration in her condition.


    They stayed and gave some tips to Bruce, his wife and ra before separating.


    Rowan sent ze back into the Divine Beast in and went to meet Ri. He waited for her to finish her ss for the day before walking home with her.


    On their way, Ri couldn''t stop talking about everything she had done that day. Her voice was filled with excitement as she conversed with him. She was also quite ecstatic about discovering which elemental affinity she had awakened.


    Dragun and Vishirk were already waiting at their home to test her affinity before retiring for the night. Rowan had asked them to wait after they had parted ways two hours earlier.


    ---


    At Rowan''s ce, Dragun held out the Aether Crystal as Ri brought her right hand closer, a happy smile on her face.


    Rowan and Vishirk stood aside, waiting to see which element she would awaken. Of course, aside the light element they were already aware of.


    As soon as her hand touched the Aether Crystal, a brilliant light burst forth, filling the room with a blinding glow. Everyone shielded their eyes as the orb in Dragun''s hand pulsed with intense energy. Then the light began to separate, dividing into three distinct colors: white, silver, and pale blue.


    The three colors shone brightly, signifying that her affinity with the elements was very high.


    "Three elements?" Vishirk eximed, his eyes widening in surprise. "Light magic, spirit magic, and water magic!" he eximed again.


    Everyone in the room, including Rowan, was shocked at the results. Ri''s smile grew even brighter as she witnessed their amazement. She was also curious. Water and light magic were understandable, but what about spirit magic? she wondered.


    She couldn''t contain her curiosity and immediately asked the question that was bothering her.


    Dragun exined excitedly, "Spirit magic is a very advanced elemental affinity to awaken. At its peak, other rare affinities like void and dream magic might also be awakened. Unfortunately, you can only start cultivating spirit magic after bing a Tier-1 mage."


    Vishirk was beyond shocked as he gazed at Ri. In his mind, he thought, "If she were in Yellow River City, all the great magic institutions would approach her. An archmage might even recruit her because of her elemental affinities! I''m so jealous!"


    Rowan listened to the discussion, gaining a better understanding of spirit magic. He was genuinely happy that Ri had been able to awaken it. He thought to himself, "When I finally get my mana core, I''ll make sure to copy everything!"


    Dragun and Vishirk stayed a few more minutes. Before leaving with Vishirk, Dragun handed Ri two basic water magic spell scrolls: Water Ssh and Bubble Shield.


    After they left, Rowan examined the scrolls, but he couldn''t understand what was written. It was as though he was looking at an ancient script written in an undecipherablenguage.


    He asked, "System, can you interpret this?"


    [Negative!]


    The system responded with a blunt answer.


    Rowan cursed, "Fucking useless system!"


    "Let me take a look, darling," Ri said as she gently took the scrolls from him. She unwrapped them and began reading; there was no change in her expression, and Rowan instantly realized that she could actually read and understand what was written. He asked her, and she confirmed his thoughts with a nod.


    He mused, "Strange, it seems only those with a mana core or affinity for the spell''s specific element can read the spells. The magic system in this world is soplicated and unique; I love it."


    Ri finished reading, her eyes shining with profound understanding. She stretched out her hands and began to chant.


    "Water Ssh!" she eximed.


    A small magic circle appeared around her hands, and magically, water materialized out of nowhere, sshing onto Rowan. About a liter of water sshed onto him. It didn''t have much effect on Rowan, except for the natural shock one feels when something of a different temperature contacts the body.


    Rowan was too shocked to even notice that his robe was soaked. "What! You read, understood, and materialized the spell in less than five minutes!" he eximed.


    Dragun had made it clear before he left that it would take Ri about seven days to understand the spell and another seven to activate it for the first time. Thus, Rowan was beyond perplexed by her performance.


    "How did you pull it off so quickly?" he asked.


    Ri smiled sweetly at him. "It was just too simple. I think I can master and wield the other spell right away as well."


    She didn''t hesitate after saying this. She opened the other scroll, read everything in a matter of two minutes, stretched out her hands again, and began to chant while Rowan watched in deep shock.


    "Bubble Shield!" she dered.


    As soon as Ri finished chanting, a thinyer of shimmering water formed around her. It expanded quickly, creating a translucent dome that enveloped herpletely. The bubble shield glowed softly under the room''s light.


    Rowan''s eyes widened in disbelief. "T-this is impossible!"


    At that moment, Rowan suddenly felt like he was the side character to Ri''s main character. Ri smiled proudly. "It feels so natural and easy to learn and activate."


    Rowan couldn''t reply and just stared at her for a few seconds. Ri continued to smile merrily at him. He gritted his teeth as he felt a surge of desire rising.


    He pounced on Ri, and they bothnded softly on the bed.


    "Rowan~" Ri gasped, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink.


    Rowan didn''t let her finish and immediately covered her lips with a kiss. The simple, romantic kiss soon turned into two hours of passionate lovemaking before the couple finally rxed.


    Before going to sleep, Rowan checked his novice ranking and other stats. Tomorrow was going to be hectic as he would be traveling to Winterseed II; he needed to rest.