11: Chapter 11 Information Gap Between the Two Realms

"My brain must have been kicked by a donkey."

After being busy for half an hour and not even finishing the first page, Zhang Mu threw down his gel pen and cursed himself.

Under the influence of the panel, he could understand the meaning of the magic script, but he had never written it before, making the process extremely slow.

Just as he stopped to rest, he finally realized: why was he insisting on writing when he had a camera?

Excitedly, he took out the phone without a SIM card from his inventory, turned off the Wi-Fi, and snapped a photo of a page.

He checked it; perfect.

His guess was confirmed: the rules of the Other World did not work in the real world.

To be safe, Zhang Mu didn't rush to a conclusion. He used the phone to photograph the entire book and planned to compare it with the physical book in half a month. Only if the font in the photo remained the same could he be certain.

The moment he finished photographing the Fireball Spell, a mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind.

[Skill detected. Do you wish to learn?]

"That works too?" Zhang Mu looked stunned, glancing at the Fireball Spell on the desk and then at the phone in his hand.

After a moment of daze, he snapped out of it: "Learn."

[Learning successful. You can check it on the character panel.]

"Open!"

[Character: Zhang Mu]

[Race: Human]

[Class: None]

[Rank: None]

[Skills: Meditation Method—Mana Sensing (10%), Mana Absorption (10%), Mana Control (5%)

Fireball Spell (0%)—Release a powerful fireball to attack the target.]

[Unlocked Functions: Inventory, Resurrect on the spot, Resurrect in town (City not yet bound)]

Knowledge on how to use the skill appeared in his mind, and he closed his eyes slightly to absorb it.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and held his right hand up to his chest as if grasping something: "Fireball Spell."

The mana accumulated in his body surged toward his palm. A bright flame the size of a finger rose from his palm, gradually expanding, and then—"Poof," it went out.

Inspecting his body internally, his mana was empty.

His mouth twitched, and he lowered his hand.

He needed to hurry and max out the level of his Meditation Method to increase his mana capacity; otherwise, getting magic books would be useless.

Putting away the phone equipped with the panel, he took out the herbs he had hidden during the day and arranged them neatly on the desk.

Using his daily-use phone to download a browser, Zhang Mu typed in the properties and appearance of the herbs to search.

Yes, yes, this one too—they all exist!

Zhang Mu's eyes lit up. For every herb, he could find a corresponding one on Blue Star with an appearance similarity of over ninety percent.

The remaining slight differences were likely due to the influence of mana.

According to the potion knowledge Potter taught him, certain precious potions could significantly increase a mage's mana capacity and speed up Mana Absorption.

It was just that the required materials were extremely rare and hard to find.

But there was no shortage in reality; these herbs had long been artificially cultivated, available in whatever quantity needed.

Taking a deep breath to calm his emotions, Zhang Mu put down his phone and leaned back against the sofa, lost in thought.

He would first buy some herbs to take to the Other World to see if they could absorb mana and transform into the appearance of the Other World herbs.

Also...

Zhang Mu suddenly straightened up and picked out the herb with the smallest difference in appearance from real-world herbs from the pile on the desk.

This one had very little mana content, just right for his senior brother to use for research without causing a sensation.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number. It connected after two rings.

"Hello, Senior Brother. Didn't I go into the deep mountains a couple of days ago? I found a strange plant in there."

"How strange? Anyway, it's just very strange. Help me test it."

"Okay, it's late today. Let's do it tomorrow."

"Alright."

After hanging up, Zhang Mu had nothing else to do, so he washed up and went to bed.

...

The Other World, Potter's two-story wooden house.

The moonlight was hazy like a veil, passing through the gaps in the closed wooden windows on the second floor and falling on Potter's wrinkled face.

Usually, he would go to bed once night fell, but today he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

After Zhang Mu left, he sat in front of the stove without saying a word, staring and staring.

In his eyes were three parts doubt, three parts surprise, three parts joy, and one part moisture.

Unable to help himself, Potter raised his hand again to stroke the surface of the stove. He couldn't remember how many times he had repeated this action.

The thin steel shell felt cold and incredibly smooth to the touch.

"A tool.

Not a gift from the gods, but an object created by humans themselves. How beautiful and moving."

It was just an ordinary household kitchen appliance, but Potter looked at it as if he were looking at a lover who had passed away many years ago, unwilling to look away.

If it were Zhang Mu, he wouldn't be able to understand Potter's feelings.

Humans, demi-humans, elves, dragons, and so on all seemed to be thriving and multiplying on the continent, living under the rules of the gods.

But after accidentally obtaining a magic notebook, Potter understood that the gifts of the gods were never without a price, and the weight of that price might be more than humanity could bear.

"The gods are invisible; the Church receives divine oracles and acts on their behalf on the continent."

"The Church..."

In the dim room, Potter's low murmur gradually faded away.

...

Early morning.

Zhang Mu stretched as he got out of bed to wash up.

Perhaps because he had been practicing with mana, he felt his physical and mental state were exceptionally good lately.

After getting ready, he stood in front of the sink, looking at himself in the wall mirror.

His appearance hadn't changed much, mainly his skin had become fairer and his temperament more profound.

Going out like this might cause trouble.

He found a mask in his bedroom nightstand and put it on before pushing open the door.

He took a taxi all the way to their "old spot."

It was still those same few dishes.

After a while, Ye Ming walked in with a gust of wind.

Probably hungry, he sat down and started eating, asking, "What strange plant?"

Zhang Mu chewed on a piece of oily pork belly and took the herb wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap out of his pocket, placing it on the table between them.

"Take a look first."

Seemingly not having much hope, Ye Ming didn't even put down the chopsticks in his right hand, struggling to peel off the plastic wrap with only his left hand.

Seeing this, Zhang Mu reached out to help him hold it down.

"Oh, this is interesting."

Most of the plastic wrap was torn off, revealing a leaf of the herb. Ye Ming's interest was piqued.

He rested his chopsticks on the bowl and used both hands, quickly pulling off the plastic wrap.

The herb lay on the table. It was about 30 centimeters high, with a white root system and deep purple, triangular leaves covered in fine, short white fuzz.

After looking closely for a while, Ye Ming pinched his chin and muttered unconsciously, "It looks like Shepherd's Purse, but Shepherd's Purse leaves are green."

"Did someone pour dye on it?"

"Impossible." Zhang Mu shook his head. "If I had seen it in the city, I wouldn't have bothered to pull it up and bring it back."

"In those godforsaken mountains where only a handful of people live, and they're all elderly, who would be bored enough to go up the mountain and pour dye on Shepherd's Purse?"

"Hmm..." Ye Ming stared for a bit, then picked up the herb and stood up to head out. "I can't see the problem with the naked eye. I'll go to the lab and use instruments to test it. You don't mind if I take a slice?"

"It's just something I picked up; slice it however you want. Hey, finish your meal before you go!"

"No, if the old man catches me out eating later, he'll find trouble for me again."

"He can find trouble for you just for coming out to eat?"

"It's a trumped-up charge."

He had already walked far away, and his voice drifted back slowly.

Having achieved his goal, Zhang Mu didn't linger. He settled the bill and went home, opened the portal, and stepped through.