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nThe method of body strengthening used by witches…

nWilliam knew it all too well.

nIt was a technique Moros devised after seeing William cook porridge.

nBack in the day, if there was leftover soup, Moros would immerse himself entirely in it.

nHence, this peculiar method of body strengthening was born.

nNow that Evelyn and Lucien had chosen to study witchcraft, it was their own opportunity.

nWilliam didn’t kill Lucien last time, and naturally, he wouldn’t do it now.

nEvelyn had already lost her powers once and probably couldn’t learn the ritual of forgetting anymore, so William didn’t bother to take action against her.

nAfter his classes, William went straight back to his villa, only to find, to his surprise, that Zoey had brought Ares back.

n“He said he couldn’t find a place to eat or stay, so I brought him here,” Zoey said, lounging on the sofa, munching on chips and casually playing chess with Luna, seemingly without a care in the world.

nAres sat quietly nearby, sitting upright. When he saw William, he grinned with a simple smile.

nWilliam squinted at him.

nNo place to eat or stay?

nBuddy, you’re the president of the Pantheon Guild. It’s one thing to mooch a meal, but it seems like you’re planning to move in here!

nWilliam asked, “Zoey, can you cook?”

nZoey looked up at William and retorted, “Are you asking me to cook?”

n“…”

nThe air suddenly became tense.

nWilliam felt he shouldn’t have asked that question.

nSo, he could only say to Ares, “Leave after this meal.” After saying this, William headed towards the kitchen.

nZoey, however, said, “No, that won’t do! He has nowhere to stay now. Let him squeeze in and sleep with you, or vacate Luna’s room and let Luna and the others sleep with me.”

nLuna immediately protested, “I don’t want to sleep with you. I’m afraid I’ll catch something from you.”

n“Catch something?” Zoey’s voice echoed from the hall.

nLuna retorted coldly, “I’m afraid my brain will stop working like yours.”

n“Who are you saying has a bad brain?”

n“Hehe!”

nLuna’s sarcastic laugh was her response.

nWilliam didn’t bother to engage with their banter, instead checking the fridge, which was well-stocked with ingredients.

nAs he cooked in the kitchen, Ares walked in and asked, “Need any help?”

nWilliam inquired, “Do you know how to cook?”

n“I know a bit!” Ares chuckled, “I guess it can’t be harder than alchemy.”

nWilliam paused for a moment, understanding the meaning of “know a bit.” Usually, those who said so had some skill.

nWilliam then asked, “You want to stay here?”

nAres nodded, saying, “Please～”

nPutting down what he was doing, William responded, “Alright, if you take care of our three meals a day, you can have the sofa in the living room. Agreed?”

n“Of course, no problem.” Ares’ smile was bright, not at all like someone who had lived for over a thousand years.

nHe was out to gain experience, and Astraeus had asked him to stay close to William as much as possible. Now, he was just being asked to cook, which was hardly an issue.

nWilliam wiped his hands and then returned to his room. With a teleportation, he reappeared near the coffee shop, grabbed a cup of coffee, and went to find Alice.

nWhen he arrived at the cliff’s base, he saw Alice controlling a ball of Eternal Starfire, using it to roast meat.

nThe meat and Eternal Starfire were floating mid-air, not far from her was a huge pit in the ground, with metal fragments scattered around it.

nClearly, the alchemy furnace had exploded into pieces, with some of its fragments still embedded in the nearby rock wall.

nOne could imagine the terrifying extent of the furnace explosion.

n“Roasting meat, huh?” William emerged from the shadows.

nAlice, with her back to him, trembled at the sound, and the Eternal Starfire, along with the roasted meat, fell to the ground.

n“Wah! Waa!” Alice didn’t turn around and just started crying.

nWilliam slowly approached, standing in front of Alice, and smiled, “What’s the matter? Crying?”

nAlice crouched on the ground, her head buried in her arms, her crying growing louder.

nWilliam, holding his coffee, sat down opposite Alice and asked, “Coffee, you still want it?”

n“No! Wuu~”

nAfter opening the coffee lid, William began to drink it himself.

nAlice cried for about a minute, and noticing that William wasn’t making any move, she sneakily lifted her head and glanced at him.

nWell, look at that!

nHe clearly had no intention of speaking. It seemed she’d have to cry a bit longer and miss out on the last bit of coffee.

nFinally, Alice lifted her head, her face tear-streaked and pouting, and reached out her hand…

nWilliam raised an eyebrow, “Done crying?”

nAlice shook her head, staring straight at him.

nWilliam took a final sip, emptying the cup, and then handed it over.

nHolding the empty cup, which felt light and insubstantial, made Alice feel even more aggrieved, caught between crying and laughing.

nHow could he do this? .

nThat’s too much!

nWilliam said, “I came to bring you a furnace.”

nAlice turned her head away, giving him the cold shoulder.

nWilliam ignored her reaction. From his hand emerged ores mined from the Pantheon Guild’s mine, which he purified in a blink, leaving only Golden Magic Sand.

n“What’s this?” Alice finally couldn’t resist asking out of curiosity.

n“It’s material for making a furnace.”

n“You’re making it for me?”

n“Your Eternal Starfire can’t be used with other alchemy furnaces, so I have to make a new one for you.” As he spoke, many pieces of purified Golden Magic Sand appeared beside William.

nGolden Magic Sand, with its dark gold color, was one of the highest melting point metals in the world. Purifying it was supposed to be difficult, but William made it look like child’s play.

nIn less than ten minutes, the ores from half of the mined mountain were refined, yielding about three cubic meters of Golden Magic Sand.

nWilliam reached out his hand towards Alice, saying, “Give me your hand.” .𝒎

nFinally, a smile appeared on Alice’s face, and she placed her small hand in William’s palm.

nSometimes, William could be quite romantic.

n“Don’t move, I need some of your blood.” William gently scraped Alice’s right index finger with his fingernail.

n“Aah!” Alice took a sharp breath.

nAh, this…

nRomantic?!!

nThe next moment, Alice saw blood spurting continuously from her fingertip, all of it falling onto the nearby Golden Magic Sand.

n“That’s enough!” William grasped the wound on Alice’s hand, which instantly healed, then he held her hand and asked, “Does it hurt?”

nAlice puffed her cheeks and said, “Ouch! It really hurts! Extremely painful!”

n“Oh!”

n“…” Alice really didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, or even what to say. She decided to keep quiet, to avoid any further emotional distress.

nWilliam didn’t speak further. Holding Alice with one hand and manipulating the Golden Magic Sand in front of him with the other, soon, the basic shape of an alchemy furnace appeared before them.

nMaking an alchemy furnace was quite simple for William, but his only concern was to ensure the quality of the furnace wasn’t too high.

nUpdated from .𝒎

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