Fors obviously knew that Ashes was an 'apprentice,' but she only knew that little bit.
Because she knew Ashes was an apprentice through an official channel, she had expected him to at least be a Sequence 8 or even Sequence 7 NightHawk! After all, the sense of pressure he gave her when they first met was so strong, though part of it was due to Ashes being a wild Beyonder who was nervously hiding his true nature. Later, Ashes' understanding of her curse made her mistakenly believe that he was a powerful figure above the apprentice sequence.
That's why she gave up resisting immediately when she was caught and even obediently handed over her bracelet. She thought she would have a hard time escaping from a 'mid-sequence Beyonder.'
But who would have thought that Ashes was just an apprentice, and at the stage of 'acting' as an apprentice no less!
This meant he hadn't even fully digested the potion yet, right?
And she had been stuck in the apprentice phase for two years, and her grasp of the apprentice's abilities was definitely far superior to his.
If she had known this earlier, she could have just run away when they first met!
Though if she had run away then, she probably wouldn't have been able to connect with Ashes and might not have survived the full moon when she turned into a monster.
Still, Fors felt deeply dissatisfied.
"You."
Fors gritted her teeth and asked, "When did you become an apprentice?"
"About 12 days ago," Ashes replied casually, wondering why Fors was asking.
"Twelve days?"
Fors' inner turmoil intensified. A 'veteran' like her, who had been stuck as an apprentice for two years, had actually been caught by a newcomer who had only been an apprentice for twelve days?
No, not twelve days! He had caught her five days ago, which was exactly one week after he had just become an extraordinary.
"I understand the logic."
Compared to Fors' frustration, Xio fell into contemplation, wondering, "But, does this method of yours really work?"
The essence of the acting method is to act as an apprentice, which means Ashes himself needs to act as an apprentice to digest the potion. But Ashes' current approach seemed more like a shortcut. He simply had Fors sell his book under the pretense of being an apprentice.
This meant Ashes never had to actually show up.
Does this really work?
"Why wouldn't it work?"
Ashes replied calmly, "Acting is about appearing to others as an apprentice. As long as others believe I'm an apprentice, that's enough. Whether I'm actually an apprentice or how I am mistakenly perceived as one doesn't matter."
"Is that so?"
Xio appeared thoughtful, though slightly puzzled.
But since it was Ashes explaining the acting method, there must be some reasoning behind it.
"No, I made that up."
Ashes said calmly, "I just wanted to conduct an experiment."
Xio choked for a moment.
He made that up so nonchalantly?
And he's just casually using himself as an experiment? Isn't he worried about potential problems?
"Hmph, making money from writing isn't that easy."
Fors, having recovered a bit, glanced at Ashes with some pride. Not everyone could become a successful writer just by scribbling a few words like she did.
But since he was just an 'apprentice,' she didn't expect him to be outstanding.
However, on second thought, if Ashes received half of the manuscript fee for this book, but if the book was poorly written and earned nothing, wouldn't she be working for nothing and ruining her own reputation?
"Tsk."
"What about the book?"
Fors asked with some irritation.
Ashes casually pulled out a book and handed it to Fors.
"Where did you get that from?"
Xio couldn't help but wonder. This wasn't the first time Ashes had pulled something out in front of them, and she still hadn't figured out how he did it.
Moreover, his clothes didn't seem like they could hide so many things.
"Blizzard Manor?"
Fors glanced at the title page of the book, feeling a bit like complaining.
The title was directly copied from her "Stormwind Mountain villa," as if he was afraid others wouldn't notice. This showed that Mr. Ashes was indeed a genuine 'apprentice.'
Hmph!
As the author of the bestselling "Stormwind Mountain villa," let me teach you how to write a book!
"By the way."
Seeing Fors flipping through Ashes' novel, Xio asked, "If someone knew the acting method from the beginning, how long would it take them to fully digest the potion?"
"At least a month, at most half a year."
"A month?"
Fors' previously proud expression collapsed instantly.
How long had she stayed as an apprentice?
Two years!
A full two years!
Do you know how she spent those two years?
If she had known the acting method a bit earlier, she wouldn't have wasted two years as an apprentice!
"Wait a minute."
Fors suddenly remembered something, "Even if I had digested the potion earlier, it wouldn't have mattered. I didn't have the Sequence 8 Trickster's potion."
Oh, never mind then.
Fors deflated again, silently lowering her head to continue reading the novel.
But she still felt a bit resentful inside.
Why did it take her two years to fully digest the potion, but others only needed a month?
She had thought she was a genius before.
No!
She couldn't just accept this!
She needed to harshly criticize Ashes' book and show him who the real expert was in writing!
However.
After finishing Ashes' book with lingering frustration, her expression changed dramatically.
"You..."
Fors suddenly looked up, searching for Ashes' figure but found nothing.
She only saw her friend sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee.
"Where is Ashes?"
Fors asked.
"He left a long time ago."
Xio took a sip of coffee and said casually, "I saw you were engrossed in the book, so I didn't disturb you. How was it? Was his writing terrible?"
"Terrible?"
Fors gave a smile more miserable than crying and said dejectedly, "It's not just terrible. It's much better than mine!"
"Huh?"
Xio found it hard to believe, "A man writing a romance better than you?"
"It's not a romance."
Fors sat with her legs crossed on the sofa, hugged her knees, and buried her head, mumbling, "It's a mystery novel, with no romance elements at all. Seriously, what was he thinking? The title is exactly the same but the content is completely different. As Emperor Roselle would say, 'Not even remotely related!'"
"Uh..."
Xio looked puzzled. She had read Fors' "Stormwind Mountain villa," where the main character, Miss Sissi, was a detective disguised as a governess, so the novel had some mystery elements.
But there was only a little bit of mystery.
Even that little bit was just a setup for the romance.
"Who's the main character of this book?"
Xio suddenly became interested and asked curiously.
"Main character?"
Fors lifted her head and said with a gloomy tone, "This book doesn't have a main character. Only ten people appear in total, and by the end, everyone dies in that 'Blizzard Manor.' I think it should be called 'And Then There Were None' instead of 'Blizzard Manor!'"
"The more you say, the more interested I become?"
Xio leaned in, took the book, and started reading with great interest.
"It's so late. Aren't you going to sleep?"
Fors asked helplessly.
"I just had coffee."
Xio casually replied, quickly becoming absorbed in the story of "Blizzard Manor."
(End of Chapter)
50 Power stones = Extra Chapter