Chapter 82

"我想去一个自由的世界，不用学习，没有考试，我能够做我自己想做的事情。”Xue classmate’s eyes were full of longing. “I never want to study Chinese or math again; these are completely useless. I want to learn magic, I want to become a great magician that everyone will look up to! Only powerful magic is what I truly desire.”

Fortunately, he didn’t want to cultivate immortality, or Zhao Mai wouldn’t have had any way to deal with it. But is learning magic really that good? If it were in the past, Zhao Mai would have definitely taken him without a second thought. Recently, he had just re-experienced the warmth of family life and knew that it was an essential and important part of life. He couldn’t just let this child impulsively leave his family and never look back.

“Hmm, your thoughts are not wrong. Magic is indeed very powerful, and no one does not fear a spellcaster,” Zhao Mai said. “But don’t think this is easy. The first thing you need to do is learn at least two foreign languages. In the world I know, the common language is quite easy to learn, similar to most alphabetic languages. With your English foundation, you should be able to learn it without any problem. However, mages also need to learn Draconic, and I don’t know how difficult that will be.”

“These won’t be a problem for me. For magic, I will definitely be able to learn it.”

“Hmm, then how do you plan to support yourself and pay for tuition?” Zhao Mai blinked at him, pouring the first bucket of cold water. “Here, you have your family and parents. No matter how strict they are, they at least provide for you. Over there, it’s different; you can only rely on yourself. Do you have any skills?”

“I can use the knowledge from here to overwhelm them. Even just by reciting the textbooks, I can earn money.”

Zhao Mai was unsure about this and didn’t know how to comment. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel if a child around ten years old were to lecture him on potions. And how effective would it be for a child to teach mathematics, physics, and chemistry to the people of Golarion? Perhaps only with good luck could he find the right audience before starving to death.

“The fantasy world has many kinds of monsters, much more dangerous than here,” Zhao Mai kindly reminded him. “Intelligent beings are not just humans; dog-headed men, goblins, and even some rabbits can cast spells.”

Xue classmate clearly couldn’t hold back any longer. He suddenly slapped the seat and impulsively shouted, “Are you a driver or a nag? I want to cross over quickly, and I won’t owe you a single cent!”

“Alright, alright.” Zhao Mai shrugged. “Satisfying the customer is my consistent principle. Let’s go. But crossing over has risks, and I need to make some preparations, so I need to go home first to put on armor and such. Don’t worry, this part of the journey won’t be charged, and you can use this time to think about what else you need. I estimate that as long as we don’t hit a major traffic jam, it will only take about thirty minutes. Is that okay?”

“Really troublesome…” Xue Doudou panted heavily but eventually agreed.

Zhao Mai stepped on the gas and immediately drove home. This time, with a passenger, he could bring many types of items, but time was short, and he needed to act quickly. Armor and such didn’t need to be worn immediately; he could just throw them in the trunk. He hastily gathered a box of household items like oil, salt, vinegar, pots, cola, instant noodles, and toilet paper and brought them up.

“Hey, it’s time, let’s go!” Xue classmate had no patience, constantly urging from the car. “You’ve already made two trips. If we don’t leave now, I’ll complain and deduct your fare!”

Hmm, is that a feature? Zhao Mai wasn’t sure if what he said was true, but there was no need to test it. This time was a bit rushed, and the passenger was in a hurry. If he had more time, he could have gone to the supermarket for a big shopping spree.

“Last trip, I need to bring my flowers. Just two more minutes.” Zhao Mai felt that Xue Doudou wouldn’t give up the opportunity to cross over for just two minutes, so he rushed home and picked up the “wooden stick pot.” He also grabbed a bag of fertilizer nearby. Most of the remaining items at home were electronic devices, which would be useless without batteries in the other world. If he had a mechanical clock, it might sell for a thousand gold coins on the other side!

Next time, I must remember to bring a car power adapter and a laptop. But there’s a risk; if these items are erased when the car returns empty, it would be a huge loss. It seems there’s still a lot I need to learn and prepare for, no matter what profession I’m in, even as a driver, there’s always something to study.

But Xue classmate clearly didn’t have the drive to learn. He sat in the car, watching Zhao Mai busily, occasionally showing a mysterious smile, who knows what he was thinking. Zhao Mai wasn’t his parent or teacher; he had no reason to teach him to be smart. He had already set an example with his actions, but unfortunately, the other party immediately forgot it.

“Finally, can we go, huh?” Xue Doudou watched Zhao Mai sit in the driver’s seat and fasten his seatbelt. “Great, let’s go!”

“The place we’re going to is called Golarion, a Western fantasy world with elves, dwarves, and dragons. It’s a world of swords and magic. Since you didn’t specify a destination, I’ll drop you off in a human-dominated civilized village, and you can decide where to go from there.”

“Can’t you drive me around to see more places?”

“Think of me as a ferryman of hell. The ferryman only handles the crossing, not a ten-day tour of hell.” Zhao Mai tried to increase his sense of urgency, but from Xue Doudou’s expression, his efforts were likely in vain. “Sigh, I’m already doing you a favor by not dropping you off in the middle of nowhere. A welcoming and safe town is not something you can find easily.”

“Alright, I get it, let’s go! Anyway, I’ve decided never to come back, so I have plenty of time to explore on my own!”

Zhao Mai opened the navigation app and set the destination to Nepetown. Since he hadn’t spent gold coins to “download” the full map of Golarion, the navigation only worked for places he had visited with his phone.

“Destination set. Please take a photo of the passenger to confirm.” Zhao Mai followed the instructions and snapped a photo. He hoped this wouldn’t be Xue classmate’s last photo in the human world.

“Let’s go. Make sure not to open the doors or windows.” Zhao Mai smiled and said, “Although I’m not sure, it’s possible to encounter chaotic energy during the transition, similar to turbulence in an airplane.”

“That’s called spatial turbulence, I know.” Xue Doudou waved his hand and looked out the car window. Zhao Mai glanced at him through the rearview mirror but couldn’t see any longing in his eyes, knowing he couldn’t persuade him to change his mind.

Taking advantage of the red light, Zhao Mai sent a text to his father, saying he was going to learn from his master and might be in seclusion for a while. Then, under Xue classmate’s constant urging, “the·che” lifted off and soared into the sky.

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