Chapter 707 – Dreamweaver World 45

Matina suddenly materialized beside Mo Lan, her shadow also covered in tiny vortexes, allowing her to stand effortlessly in the light. “Well done! You’ve grasped the essence of Light Cloak!”

After a pause, she added with a sigh, “Groot really did… send me a good student this time.”

She was so pleased with Mo Lan that even her impression of Groot, who had referred Mo Lan to her, improved by several degrees.

That fellow might be full of cunning schemes, but his eye for talent was undeniably sharp. This time, he truly had sent her a fine student.

Mo Lan looked down and saw her shadow gently swaying in the light. The vortexes had already formed a stable cycle — requiring only a trickle of Power of Shadow to maintain, they could convert the light within the shadow world into light elemental force that adhered to her shadow, protecting it while simultaneously allowing her to blend into the light.

“There are three core abilities of a Shadow Hunter.”

Matina’s expression turned serious as her stone cane traced three shadow trails through the lit area.

“The first is Shadow Walk — not those flashy parlor tricks from your adventurer skill books, but the true ability to move freely through the shadow world.”

Her gaze swept over the light-and-shadow vortexes still circulating on Mo Lan’s shadow, and she nodded with satisfaction.

“You’ve already perfectly mastered the Light Cloak technique, so consider this one passed.”

“Next, you’ll need to learn ‘Shadow Hunting’ and ‘Taming Shadow Pets.'”

She suddenly narrowed her eyes, studying Mo Lan’s complexion. “You just converted into the Shadow Tribe, so your Power of Shadow should be nearly depleted by now, right? Come back to the real world with me to rest for a bit, and I’ll take the opportunity to teach you some theoretical fundamentals about the Shadow Tribe and Shadow Hunters!”

According to Matina’s original teaching plan, this step was supposed to happen when a student first failed at Shadow Walk and tumbled unceremoniously out of the shadow world.

At that point, the student’s shadow would typically have sustained minor injuries, making the recovery period a perfect time to cover theory.

But this little monster before her… had completely exceeded her expectations. She picked up everything immediately — in this short time, Matina had already finished teaching all the techniques of Shadow Walk.

“Okay!” Mo Lan obediently complied with Teacher Matina’s arrangement.

In truth, her Power of Shadow was still quite abundant. Moreover, she hadn’t even had the chance to class-change into a Shadow Hunter yet — all of her Power of Shadow came from converting Mana, requiring no occupational template to guide it whatsoever.

However, any of this could expose her identity as an Explorer, which she could not reveal to anyone in the Dreamweaver World.

In Teacher Matina’s eyes, she was merely an adventurer who had just undergone a tribal conversion, with her class level reset to its base state. The fact that she had held out this long was already nothing short of miraculous.

She could only let this misunderstanding continue — and besides, she genuinely wanted to learn the theoretical fundamentals.

The knowledge in skill books leaned heavily toward practice over theory, which was fine for mastering basic Magic skills, but fell short when it came to constructing a complete magical system. Theoretical knowledge was precisely what she lacked.

Before long, Mo Lan followed Teacher Matina back to her stone dwelling.

“Get familiar with the place first.”

Matina leaned on her stone cane and headed toward the staircase. The wooden steps let out faint creaks under her weight. Only after climbing the stairs did Mo Lan notice that this seemingly rough-hewn stone dwelling actually had three levels inside, separated by thick black ironwood planks.

The first floor was an open living area centered around the fireplace, furnished with a cooking counter, cupboards, a dining table, bookshelves, chairs, and stools — suitable for warming up, resting, cooking, dining, and entertaining guests all at once.

The Second Floor had two rooms. Matina didn’t elaborate, but at the staircase landing she suddenly turned around, her stone cane striking the floor with a sharp “thud” right in front of Mo Lan’s feet. She fixed her with a warning glare.

“Two rooms — you are not to enter either one without my permission!”

Teacher Matina led her all the way up to the Third Floor and pushed open a low oak door, revealing an attic room only half the size of the Living Room downstairs.

Judging by the neatly stacked miscellany in the corners, this had originally been a cramped storage room.

But now, all those bottles, jars, and antique trunks had been carefully organized to one side, piled against an entire wall to free up as much space as possible.

A four-poster bed draped with sheer black gauze curtains stood in the driest corner of the room. Luminescent vines wound around the bedposts, giving off a soft, pale green glow.

At the foot of the bed stood a walnut wardrobe, its half-open door revealing an oval mirror inlaid on the inside.

Beside the bed was a small window, and before it sat a solid wood desk. The Magical lamp on the desk cast a perfectly warm light, its base sculpted in the shape of a perching night owl.

The pot of starlight moss at the corner of the desk still glistened with crystalline water droplets, clearly having been tended to just recently.

Gazing at this room that had obviously been prepared with great care, a warm current surged through Mo Lan’s heart. “Teacher… is this?”

“It was thrown together on short notice — take it or leave it!” Matina stamped her stone cane hard against the floor, her voice even raspier than usual, the shoulders beneath her cloak tensing unnaturally.

“I’ll take it, I’ll take it, I’ll take it!” Mo Lan hastily replied, a smile rippling through her pure black eyes. “Thank you, Teacher!”

She mused to herself — what could be more convenient for learning than living in your instructor’s own home?

And beyond that — her gaze swept across the room: on the wall, Teacher Matina’s shadow was sneakily adjusting a nonexistent bow tie; in a corner, several shadow bugs had collapsed into a limp heap, their antennae drooping like overcooked noodles; the wooden floor beneath her feet was spotless, every piece of clutter in the corners had been carefully wiped down, and all the furniture and bedding were brand new. Every detail proclaimed that this room had been sanctioned by its owner and furnished with the full and devoted efforts of her most loyal shadow servants.

Matina awkwardly turned her face away, the shadows at the edges of her cloak rippling violently. She strode briskly toward the door, though the rhythm of her cane tapping the floor was noticeably uneven. Her tone was stiff as she said, “Excessive consumption of Power of Shadow causes headaches and physical fatigue. The only remedy is sleep. Rest for a while first!”

Just before crossing the threshold, the old woman suddenly paused. With her back to Mo Lan, she added, “Come find me downstairs after you wake up. If I’m not on the first floor, you can start by looking through 《Shadow Analysis》 on the third shelf of the bookcase.”

The instant the wooden door closed, Mo Lan heard a barely audible sigh from outside, followed by Matina’s lowered voice scolding, “Useless things! Moving a few pieces of furniture and a wardrobe and you’re already this worn out…”

The receding footsteps were faintly interspersed with the aggrieved squeaking of shadow bugs.

Mo Lan cast a Cleaning spell on herself and lay down in the soft bedding, discovering that the pillow still carried the lingering scent of sun-dried warmth — a true luxury in Shadow Village, where only slivers of light filtered through.

She gazed at the black window curtain and thought, “This seemingly fierce teacher is perhaps far gentler than she had imagined.”