Richard didn’t know the extent to which Bobbobovic was adaptable, which was actually much greater than he had imagined.
"Clip-clop, clip-clop..."
The sound of horse hooves rang out as the coachman drove the carriage back to the castle built on a mound outside Jialan City—Ash Academy.
As soon as they entered the gates of the academy, before the carriage had even come to a stop, Bobbobovic couldn’t wait to jump off and hurriedly rush toward a loft on one side.
However, as he ran, he caught a glimpse of someone in the distance; he had just taken a step when he abruptly came to a halt, quickly transitioning to a calm pace, and walked unhurriedly toward the loft.
The person in the distance spotted Bobbobovic and hurried over, revealing a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl with freckles and double pigtails.
Her name was Jessica, not particularly pretty, but exuding a unique vitality all over. She was a Wizard Apprentice trained by Professor Bobbobovic, usually responsible for helping him teach students and handle some miscellaneous tasks within the academy.
"Professor, you’re back!" Jessica ran up to Bobbobovic, clearly aware of what Bobbobovic had been doing, and asked with concern, "Professor, did you successfully refute the other teacher, Harry and Cathy’s?"
"Of course." Bobbobovic responded coolly, "You wouldn’t believe it, as soon as I started talking, that person didn’t dare say another word."
"You’re the best, Professor! For dinner, how about I make your favorite clear broth fish?" Jessica excitedly suggested, "While you eat, you can tell me in detail how you refuted the other side."
"Uh, that... ahem." Bobbobovic coughed lightly, hesitated and replied, "Let’s skip tonight’s dinner, don’t wait up for me, I’ll tell you about the refutations some other time. I’m a bit busy right now."
"Nothing much, just a small matter. Alright, you go ahead," Bobbobovic waved his hand.
"Oh, okay then." Jessica responded, somewhat puzzled as she watched Bobbobovic but still turned and left.
Bobbobovic watched Jessica depart and once she disappeared around the corner, he dashed toward the loft, sprinting straight to the top level.
There, stood one tall bookshelf after another.
Bobbobovic looked around at the bookshelves, pursed his lips, and muttered, "The source of time? The edge of the world? Life? Consciousness? Hmm, which book has the answer?"
After muttering to himself for a while, Bobbobovic went to a bookshelf, pulled out the last book, and started flipping through it quickly.
He had reviewed less than a third of the content before tossing it aside.
"This book is useless."
As he spoke, he drew another book from a different bookshelf.
After flipping through it a few times, he tossed it aside again.
"Still nothing, not a bit of relevant knowledge. I refuse to believe it, I must find the answer," Bobbobovic said, continually browsing through the books on the shelves.
The sound continued as book after book was pulled from the shelves, opened, and then carelessly thrown onto the ground.
Soon, as time passed, the number of books on the shelves decreased significantly, and the pile of books on the ground grew larger, forming several thick layers. Only around Bobbobovic where he stood was there a mere few dozen square centimeters of free space.
Long after, a sound echoed as Bobbobovic flipped through the last book in his hands and threw it on the floor. With furrowed brows and clenched teeth, he muttered to himself, "It shouldn’t be, it really shouldn’t be. Why can’t I find the answer? So many books, and still no answer? Then... right, there must not be enough books, there are still several boxes in the basement."
Having said that, Bobbobovic stepped over the books scattered on the floor and ran outside, soon returning with three heavy, dust-covered wooden boxes.
He blew vigorously, removing the dust from the surface of the boxes to reveal a complex pattern on one of them.
Staring at the pattern, Bobbobovic paused for a moment, then, as if he hadn’t seen it, quickly opened the boxes and began to take out many old books, flipping through each one.
That night, Bobbobovic stayed up all night, his voice filled with gritted teeth occasionally emitting from the attic, "I refuse to believe it, refuse to believe that I can’t find the answer!"
"There absolutely is an answer! I just missed it, yes, missed it!"
"Even if not all four answers, there should at least be two!"
"Not even two answers? There should at least be one."
"One answer! One single answer, and I’m not given that?"
The night passed, and morning arrived.
The attic was eerily silent.
The female student Jessica got up early, her curiosity and concern prompting her to carefully make her way to the top floor of the attic. She placed her hands on the doorframe and peeked inside, then her eyes widened in shock at the unforgettable scene before her.
Inside the room, numerous books were carelessly discarded. Bobbobovic sat on the floor, a book propping up his buttocks, his back leaning against a wall, his eyes wide open, unfocused, motionless, like a corpse. Occasionally, his bloodshot eyes reddened with veins would twitch, indicating he was still alive.
Jessica, startled, hurried into the room. She stepped over the books, somewhat strenuously approached Bobbobovic, and shaking his body, she called out loudly, "Teacher, Teacher, are you alright?"
Bobbobovic slowly came to his senses, and after a dozen seconds, his eyes focused, landing on Jessica, as if realizing something.
Bobbobovic sprung up like electrified, sorted out his disarrayed clothes, and cleared his throat saying, "Ahem, Jessica, is something the matter? There’s nothing wrong with me!"
"But why are your eyes so red? Also, when I came in, you weren’t moving at all; it was really scary," Jessica said.
"That, well, it’s all a misunderstanding," Bobbobovic explained. "It’s... um... because I was reading too late last night and accidentally fell asleep. Then... then... I forgot to close my eyes, yes, I forgot to close them. So, when you saw me, I might have looked a bit scary."
"Asleep, yet you forgot to close your eyes?" Jessica was astonished.
Bobbobovic replied, "What’s so strange about that, Jessica? When you become a real wizard, you’ll understand that wizards can do many things."
"Oh, is that so?" Jessica was skeptical but nodded, then asked, "So, Teacher, are you teaching today?"
"Of course I am teaching... uh, no." Mid-sentence, Bobbobovic suddenly changed his mind, "This morning, you guide the students for me. I have some matters to resolve."
"Uh, just small matters, very small matters," said Bobbobovic as he walked out the door.