Chapter 386: Billy the Goblin
At seven in the morning, with a sharp whistle, the magic steam train, which had been traveling for more than twenty hours, finally pulled into the station platform of the Element Soul.
“Good morning, esteemed passengers. This train has successfully arrived at the Element Soul. Passengers disembarking, please remember to take your belongings and exit in an orderly fashion.”
Hearing the soft announcement in the carriage, Gavin-Tuer, whose body was aching from the long journey, couldn't help but stretch and let out a long yawn.
“Last night’s thunder was really terrifying; I barely slept at all.”
At one o’clock in the morning, outside the originally quiet train, a sudden thunderstorm erupted. Moreover, the thunder was much louder than when the magic steam train encountered a rainstorm while passing through rocky terrain.
And, what was most bizarre was that in the latter half of the night, only thunder was heard, but no heavy rain.
If the train announcer hadn't kept emphasizing that this was a normal natural phenomenon, not only Gavin-Tuer but even Jia Na would have thought that this train was being attacked by a lightning-attributed magical beast.
“I’m fine. Besides being affected when the train first entered the thunderstorm area, I got used to it later.”
Hearing Jia Na's words, Gavin-Tuer, while wiping her glasses with a tissue, also gained a new understanding of Jia Na's diligence.
Previously, in Gavin-Tuer's impression, Jia Na was just an Apprentice who was particularly keen on reading. It wasn't until last night, when she saw Jia Na's habit of using meditation to replace sleep throughout the entire night, that Gavin-Tuer felt a sense of admiration for Jia Na for the first time.
Deep meditation, in some cases, can indeed have a better effect on the recovery of mental power than sleep. However, most Wizard Apprentices cannot maintain a state of deep meditation all night long.
After all, many people's attention cannot always be focused on meditation. Once distracting thoughts arise, the state of deep meditation will immediately terminate, leading to a state of shallow meditation.
Therefore, most Wizard Apprentices will repeatedly switch between deep meditation and shallow meditation. Although this state can also restore mental power, it is a torment for the Wizard Apprentice's mindset.
Meditation = Cultivation;
Sleep = Rest.
Replacing sleep with meditation, for many Wizard Apprentices, means having no rest throughout the entire night, which is a very difficult habit to accept.
It was precisely because of this that when Gavin-Tuer learned that Jia Na had maintained this habit for two years, to say nothing else, just her diligent attitude towards pursuing the path of a Wizard was enough to make Gavin-Tuer, a Third-level Wizard Apprentice, feel deeply ashamed.
“The train doors are open; let’s go.”
After a simple tidying up with a 【Cleaning Spell】, Jia Na and her companion were neatly dressed and walked towards the train exit.
“Good morning, Professor McGonagall.”
“Good morning. How did you two rest last night?”
Jia Na, following the crowd off the train, immediately spotted Lilith-Meg, who had already disembarked.
“I rested quite well, but Gawen didn’t sleep too well last night.”
“Oh? Is it because I instilled too much information in you last night?”
“Of course not, Professor—it was because the thunder was too loud at night.”
Gavin-Tuer, who didn't realize Lilith-Meg was joking, quickly shook her head and explained.
Last night, Jia Na and Gavin-Tuer didn't leave Lilith-Meg's carriage until midnight.
Although listening to a lecture late at night was indeed tiring, both Jia Na and Gavin-Tuer could appreciate Lilith-Meg's painstaking efforts and had no complaints whatsoever.
“That’s good. After all, for the next few days, I will be conducting a series of special training sessions for you two.”
Lilith-Meg said this while looking at Jia Na, and Jia Na, receiving her gaze, also nodded very seriously.
“Let’s go. There are people waiting outside to meet us.”
Having said that, Lilith-Meg put on her wizard robe hood and led Jia Na and Gavin-Tuer through the dense crowd towards the train station exit.
“Whoosh—”
As soon as they exited the station, the dry, cold wind immediately burrowed into Jia Na's wizard robe through her collar.
Compared to the winter in Turin Wizard Gathering Place, the winter in Element Soul Wizard Gathering Place was not as cold; even the snow on the ground was only a thin layer, not much at all.
However, the wind in Element Soul Wizard Gathering Place was exceptionally strong, almost blowing off the scarf covering Jia Na's face several times.
“It truly lives up to its name as a large Wizard Gathering Place with several ‘Element Essence Mines’; even the wind blowing in winter carries extremely rich wind Element Soul magic particles—”
Listening to Gavin-Tuer's words, Jia Na, while trying to tie her scarf tighter, also nodded in agreement.
It wasn't just wind Element Soul magic particles; the concentration of every type of Element Soul magic particle in Element Soul Wizard Gathering Place, except for dark-attributed elements, was far higher than in Turin Wizard Gathering Place from the moment Jia Na stepped off the magic steam train.
“Adult Meg, I’m here!”
Just as Jia Na was still looking around with Lilith-Meg, a Gray-skinned Goblin wearing a felt hat and cotton clothes stood in front of a carriage, calling out loudly towards Lilith-Meg.
“Long time no see, Billy.”
“Long time no see, Adult Meg. Several years have passed in a flash, and you haven't changed at all; you are still as elegant and beautiful as ever.”
Upon seeing Lilith-Meg approach, the Gray-skinned Goblin named Billy immediately took off his felt hat and bowed respectfully. Only after Lilith-Meg spoke first did the Gray-skinned Goblin reply with a slightly fawning tone.
“These two are the Wizard Apprentices I mentioned to you in my letter. I came this time for their sake.”
“Hello, Billy.”
Hearing Lilith-Meg introduce her to the Gray-skinned Goblin, Jia Na also smiled and greeted him.
Gavin-Tuer, who was usually not very good at socializing, nodded towards the Gray-skinned Goblin to show friendliness.
“Hello, beautiful Wizard ladies. I am Billy the Goblin. If you need any help with anything, you can contact me anytime. It's cold outside, please get in the carriage first.”
Although the carriage that Billy the Goblin was driving looked rather simple on the outside, its interior was very thoughtfully arranged.
Not only were blankets already laid out on the seats, but there was also a pot of hot milk and three glass teacups in the carriage's kettle holder.
