Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 235 - 2 Visitor_1

Chapter 235: Chapter 2 Visitor_1

(Thanks to book friends Bamboo Dragon and 3man for their valuable opinions, I take each comment seriously. I hope other friends who like this book can also give more suggestions, your opinions are the best motivation for me to grow, thank you.)

In the City of Knowledge, falling snow often signifies the coming of the new year, so every time it snows around the end of the year, the city is filled with a joyful atmosphere. However, for some people, snowfall also means an increase in workload, like Catherine.

Outside the mansion on the lawn, the grass had long withered in the cold wind. Catherine had just dragged a romping Pannis back into the house. Now dressed in a thick gray cotton long skirt, her black hair wrapped in a similar coarse cloth, her cheeks and nose were red from the cold. Holding a long broomstick in her hands, she was diligently clearing the snowfall in the yard. Her true intention was to at least clear the gravel path from the front gate to the mansion, so the family members would not be troubled by the snow when they return. This was Catherine’s sole purpose while laboring in the cold, taking on the snow.

"Hey, you guy, can’t you just not appear in front of me!" Catherine, who was bent over sweeping, suddenly raised her head and roared angrily.

The unfortunate person who was scolded in such a way by Catherine could only be Pannis.

The spot where Catherine stood was next to three prominent oak trees in the yard. Seedlings that had just sprouted around these trees had already grown thirty to forty centimeters tall. The seeds of this type of oak tree had been blessed by the forest elves’ druids, and their germination period was brief. They usually reach a height of one meter in a few months, bypassing the normal three-year juvenile stage. Afterward, the growth of these oak trees returns to normal. With each additional member to the mansion, Catherine would plant an oak tree to represent inseparable kinship.

Pannis tied a rope to a branch of the tallest oak tree and hooked his leg around the rope, hanging upside down. His head was level with Catherine’s as he watched her work hard, relishing in the unimpeded view while enjoying some fruit. When he was particularly pleased, he would control the rope to make a couple of spins on the spot or sway back and forth, taking obvious pleasure in his leisure.

"If you want to make a fuss, go bother Vivian." Catherine exclaimed while massaging her forehead, "Why do you have to mess with me?"

"Vivian just came back, took some stuff, and left again," Pannis said nonchalantly, "She seemed to lack some materials for her experiments, so she went to the nearby block to buy some."

"Then go play in your room." Catherine cooed like comforting a child, "Don’t stay outside anymore."

"No." Pannis shook his head firmly, "It’s boring to be alone in the room."

"If you’re bored, come help me sweep." Catherine suggested, "Why do you have to hang on the tree? You were hanging on a tree outside earlier, even when you came back you still want to stay on it."

"I don’t want to sweep. It’s tiring." Pannis declared seriously.

"Humph." Catherine put her hand on her chest, taking several deep breaths, suppressing her inner anger, "If you hate the effort, go back to your room."

"No way, it’s boring there." Pannis tossed a thumb-sized red fruit high up, performing a difficult maneuver. Using the momentum from his legs, his body became horizontal, and his open mouth just caught the fruit, "Mmm, yummy."

"I understand now." Catherine’s mood eased, she nodded and slowly drew out her sword, "I should have just killed you right away."

"Wait, calm down," Pannis immediately jumped off the rope, "I just remembered, there’s something I want to tell you."

"Speak," Catherine eyed Pannis with her sword at the ready, "What do you want to tell me?"

"Once upon a time, there was a mage, ah, an illusionist," Pannis had a nostalgic expression on his face, "The mage was very lazy, extremely lazy, he scarcely left his residence."

"Get to the point," Catherine urged, "Hurry up, I need to continue shoveling snow."

"Alright, alright, the point." Pannis looked annoyed, "In one winter, he didn’t leave his house for nearly a month. That year, there was a heavy snowfall. When he wanted to go out, he found that the door to his mage tower was buried in snow, and he couldn’t get out."

"Yeah, I’ve heard of these stories." Catherine became quite interested, "When I was furthering my studies at the Faral Knight Academy, it is on the southernmost tip of Faral, so it’s covered in snow for half a year. During my time there, I often heard of incidents where households were buried in the snow. Therefore, every household would have a shovel ready. As soon as there was a heavy snowfall, they would dig a channel from inside the house to get out. It was quite amusing."

"Yes, exactly as you imagined," Pannis nodded in agreement, "But the mage was too lazy to shovel and didn’t want to blast a path out with magic for fear of accidentally demolishing his tower and having to rebuild it. So, he had no choice but to put his mind to it and spent an entire day crafting a Nidification Array. The purpose of the array was simple. First, it gathered Fire Elements to increase the temperature to melt the snow. Second, it drove away Water Elements to decrease the humidity. This way, the melted snow quickly vaporized and prevented the water from freezing into ice, which would have trapped him even further."

"Would he rather spend a day researching a Magic Array than dig a channel readily?" Catherine asked incredulously, "Just how lazy can he be? Are there really people like that? Or did you make it up?"

"Of course not. Among mages, it’s only occasionally that you’ll find a normal one." Pannis shrugged, "In fact, someone showed me that Magic Array before, I stealthily borrowed and used it once. It was quite good actually. If operated correctly, it would not create a foolish situation where clearing snow with it consumes more time and energy."

"You’ve actually used it." Catherine gazed at Pannis skeptically, "Only to slack off, right?"

"That’s a bit harsh," Pannis pouted, "Though in some ways, I guess you’re not exactly wrong."

As Pannis was confessing his past lumpish actions, he squatted down, took out a cloth and scrubbed it vigorously on the ground that Catherine had already cleared, wiping it as clean as possible. Catherine looked on curiously at Pannis’ actions. For someone who didn’t know any magic like her, watching the process of a Magic Array coming into existence and then working was quite fascinating.

"This method is actually only effective for mages who can draw Magic Array from thin air, like using the method I once told Vivian." Pannis stretched out his finger and slowly scrawled on the ground, "Although I am not a mage, I am a Magic Swordsman, half a mage in a way, capable of using some simple magic spells. However, I don’t particularly understand Magic Arrays, this one you see me draw is entirely memorised by rote. To draw a Magic Array, you just need to have a clear memory of it and achieve a high level of body control skill, to master some casting capabilities, that is to construct an efficient mana channel within your body, and everything will be easy. Alright, the first Magic Array is ready."

Pannis bent and moved his finger on the snow, along the path Catherine decided to clear, draws the mana thread conjured from his magic onto the ground following the trail of his finger. He moved all the way to the entrance of the mansion before squatting down again, his fingers moving rapidly on the ground, "On this side, I have to draw a subsidiary Magic Array. It connects with the main one using a mana channel. So when the Array is activated, its effects will spread across the whole path that the channel passes, it is very simple."

"Huh, it’s weird if you need to draw on both sides." Catherine scratched her head in a puzzled manner, "The one who invented this method originally, how did he go out from the snowed-in gate and then draw your supportive Magic Array?"

"Didn’t I say? He couldn’t get out." Pannis retracted his finger and spread his hands, "In the end, he blasted the house to go out, so I say he is just a fool, that’s it. Now, by inputting mana into one end of the Magic Array, we can activate the Array."

With a wave of Pannis’ hand, the Array began to flash a soft light. After only a few minutes, Catherine noticed small pits appearing on the dense and smooth snow on the ground. It was a sign that the snow was melting. But, nebulously, the melted snow did not cause a flood. The exposed ground looked very dry, as if it had never snowed at all.

"Strange." Catherine squatted down and touched the ground, "The temperature isn’t high, so why could it vaporize the melted snow?"

"Not vaporising, just directly driving away the Water Element, giving an appearance as if it has vaporised." Pannis explained, "This method can only be used in places with a small amount of Water Element. Once there is too much Water Element, the Array would collapse. Here, though it looks covered by snow, they are all Ice Elements transmuted from Water Element, which do not influence the process. Only the melted snow reverts to Water Element, and then it is swiftly driven away."

"This indeed saves a lot of trouble." A satisfied smile appeared on Catherine’s face as she spoke to Pannis, "However, there is one thing I want to confirm first."

"What is it?" Pannis asked, confused.

"You came to find me, only to use this Magic Array to help me clear away the snow, right?" Catherine asked with a smile.

"Yes, I suddenly remembered it, so I came to find you." Pannis answered. "Is there a problem?"

"If I am not mistaken, then you, on purpose, climbed a tree and dawdled around me for half an hour." Catherine’s smile became increasingly bizarre, and the veins on her forehead throbbed, "All this while, you were watching me labour and swelter over the snow, and on the side, you were snickering and snacking, is that it?"

"Eh? Haha, haha, well, that." In a panic, Pannis darted glances all around. He was being forced to step back with each step of Catherine’s approach, "I remembered, Vivian is looking for me. I think she has something important to discuss, and hence, I should go to her immediately. Hahahaha."

"How unfortunate." Catherine backed Pannis against the entrance gate, "Vivian has already gone out shopping, you were the one who told me that. Hehehe, are you ready to face the final judgement?"

"Hey everyone, we are back." Just as beads of sweat gathered on Pannis’ forehead, a crisp voice sounded from outside the mansion. It sounded like the melodious singing of a lark in the middle of a summer’s afternoon; the voice was brimming with young energy."

"We have guests, I’ll get the door." Pannis took advantage of Catherine’s distraction; he slid past her and sprinted towards the metal gate. Catherine stomped her foot angrily behind him and despite it, burst into laughter.

"Haha, the little miss is here, come on, let big brother give you a hug." As he opened the front gate, Pannis spread his arms and lunged."