4: Chapter 4 The Bullied Sister
It didn't take long.
A familiar figure finally appeared in Lin Fan's line of sight.
From the memories of the original host,
He recognized her at a glance; it was indeed his younger sister.
She had a small frame, long red hair reaching down her back, and big round eyes that blinked soulfully every few seconds. She had a round, doll-like face.
She was wearing the school's blue uniform and an old hat on her head.
This was Lin Fan's only fifteen-year-old sister.
Her name was Lin Duo, and she looked very much like Lin Fan.
Lin Fan couldn't help but marvel in his heart.
His sister was truly adorable, charming, and delicate—the very image of an ideal younger sister.
But as Lin Duo drew closer and he saw her clearly, his expression instantly darkened.
The girl's disheveled appearance overlapped heavily with the memories of the original host being bullied.
Her red hair was dry and frizzy.
Her uniform was splattered with juice stains, and her cheeks were black and blue, looking as though she had been repeatedly slapped.
What made Lin Fan's blood boil even more was
That she walked with her head hanging low, her steps light and hesitant, her face filled with an expression of grievance and cowardice.
"Lin Duo."
Lin Fan clenched his fists and called out in a low voice.
He wished he could immediately find the people who bullied his sister and smash his fist into their faces!
"Brother?!"
Seeing Lin Fan, Lin Duo gasped in surprise.
Usually, she was the one waiting for her brother to finish school. Why was he here so early today?
Wasn't he supposed to be working part-time at the library?
"Oh no, Brother saw me like this!"
Lin Duo's heart sank. She hurriedly forced a bright smile and walked quickly toward Lin Fan.
Her expression now was like a completely different person compared to her dejected look just a moment ago.
This rapid change in expression actually made Lin Fan's heart ache even more.
It meant that she had long since grown accustomed to this situation.
She had even learned to switch expressions in an instant to hide her wounds.
Lin Fan decided not to call her out; he would resolve all of this very soon.
"How was school today?"
Lin Fan smiled and ruffled Lin Duo's hair.
This intimate gesture stunned Lin Duo, and her smile froze for a moment.
Lin Fan couldn't help but chuckle softly.
It was no wonder she was surprised; the original host would never have done such a thing.
"Um... it was pretty good."
Lin Duo quickly snapped out of it and gave a sweet smile.
The bruises on her face didn't hide her beauty in the slightest.
"You fell down, didn't you? You've suffered. Don't worry, Brother will take care of it soon."
Lin Fan said softly, gently touching her left cheek with the back of his hand.
Lin Duo instinctively shrank back, covering her face.
"Ah... y-yes. I accidentally slipped on the way to class this morning. I didn't expect you to notice."
She gave a somewhat embarrassed smile.
The siblings chatted about mundane things as they slowly walked out of the school gates.
Not far away, three girls about Lin Duo's age, wearing the same school uniform, were watching them from a distance with mocking smiles on their faces.
"Hehe, look at her brother. He doesn't even dare to ask how she got those injuries on her face. What a loser. Having a brother like that, I'd be embarrassed for her."
One of the girls sneered.
"Isn't that the truth? He knows exactly what kind of trash he is. How would he dare to mind anyone's business?"
Another girl chimed in.
"Even if he wanted to, he doesn't have the ability. If he dares to cause us trouble, I'll have my older sister deal with him!"
The girl who spoke last also had red hair, the exact same color as Lin Fan and his sister.
Her tone was arrogant, very much like the Su Linlin that Lin Fan had encountered not long ago.
...
After walking for about thirty minutes, the siblings finally returned home.
Their home was on the outskirts of Baiyun City.
Looking around, the area was filled with old houses with peeling walls and cracks.
Their mother was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner, and their father hadn't returned from work yet.
Lin Fan greeted his mother and went straight to his room.
He took off his school uniform, changed into a plain shirt and shorts, and sat on the bed covered with an old sheet.
Lin Fan began to try to sense the energy within his body.
He was still only at the realm of a Mage Apprentice.
The capacity of his Soul Sea was very small.
So it was very easy to find its location.
At this moment.
Two completely different energies lay dormant quietly in his Soul Sea.
One was the Space Element that the original host was born with.
The other was the Lightning Element granted by the system.
At the same time.
Lin Fan also discovered that the mana in his body was extremely chaotic and almost impossible to control.
"So that's it... this is why his cultivation hasn't progressed an inch in four years."
"His Mana Affinity is simply at the absolute bottom!"
After understanding the reason, Lin Fan couldn't help but sigh.
He tried to guide mana into his Soul Sea.
But after struggling for a long time, only an extremely weak wisp of mana successfully flowed in.
That bit of mana was as thin as a thread of silk.
If he couldn't clearly sense its existence, he probably would have overlooked it.
Lin Fan immediately realized.
According to the conventional cultivation methods of other mages, it would be impossible for him to become stronger.
Fortunately, however, he had the system!
Lin Fan looked at the pile of books by the bed and couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for the original host.
These books ranged from his textbooks when he entered the first grade.
All the way to the books he borrowed before he died suddenly in the library; they had accumulated for four whole years.
Because his magic talent was too poor, the original host thought about putting more effort into his academic courses.
It was precisely by relying on this hard work that he was barely able to advance to the fourth grade despite having the lowest magic talent.
Lin Fan walked to the pile of books and picked out all those related to mana circulation.
The scope of mana circulation was very broad.
It included not only the way mana flowed within the body and mana usage techniques, but also involved magic tool forging, spell structure analysis, magic item research, and all other fields related to mana.
He also selected a few books about magical beasts.
After all, this was also one of the requirements of the system's tasks.
Over the next few hours.
Lin Fan did nothing else but bury his head in these long-forgotten books.
Every time he finished one, the system's notification sound would ring in his mind.
[Ding! Task completed. Gained 5 Experience Points!]
[Ding! Task completed. Gained 5 Experience Points!]
[Ding! Task completed. Gained 5 Experience Points!]
[Ding! Task completed. Gained 5 Experience Points!]
[Ding! Task completed. Gained 5 Experience Points!]
[Daily Task Progress:]
[Read books related to mana circulation: 3/10]
[Read books related to magical beasts: 2/10]
...
[supreme path system (Glitch Version)]
[Host: Lin Fan]
[Level: 0]
[Experience required for upgrade: 25/100 (Glitch)]
[Boundary: Mage Apprentice]
[Elemental Attributes: Space, Lightning]
[Special Abilities:]
[Dual-Element Constitution: The host can control two elemental attributes simultaneously.]
[omniscient mask: Master-level Appraisal Skill; can conceal oneself and evade all detection.]
...