By the time Colin Church's Isidore had mastered the complete "healing" process, five days had passed.
In this period, Isidore displayed an immense zeal, going almost without sleep for five days, and after Colin left each night, he would still be alone, diligently studying the transformation.
Owing to this, Isidore managed to learn the healing transformation two days earlier than the week Colin had anticipated.
After Isidore's transformation at the church, according to the contract, Colin received the remaining four hundred thousand Magic Stones.
From that point on, the commission relationship between him and Isidore was declared finished.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Isidore."
In the basement, Colin spoke to the wizard in front of him for the last time.
"Pleasure doing business." Isidore's weary face was filled with eager joy, and he unconsciously moved towards the Miracle, but as if remembering something, he quickly turned back to Colin and added, "Remember our original contract, Mr. Dryad."
"I will," Colin answered evenly, casting one last glance at the Miracle within the ice pillar.
Their original contract was a confidentiality agreement concerning everything in this basement.
The basement's iron door closed slowly, and Colin's footsteps receded at the same speed.
Within the dim basement, only Isidore and the Miracle were left.
With Colin gone, Isidore relaxed a bit. After some thought, he went to the door and turned on the defensive Witch Array.
As an invisible barrier enveloped the entire basement, Isidore's expression became increasingly relaxed, and the weariness from five days and nights of non-stop learning began to emerge.
'Rest first, sleep a little, and after waking up, start the transformation.' Isidore exhaustedly sighed to himself.
'But first, I need to perform a routine check on the Witch Array that sustains the Miracle.'
Gathering his remaining strength, he walked towards the back of the ice pillar.
"Crack."
Isidore suddenly stopped, his gaze somewhat vacant.
'Did I... hear some kind of shattering sound?'
Fatigue made his brain sluggish, yet the next moment, the cracking sound became as if tangible.
Isidore jolted into alertness, his head snapping up, his eyes, full of bloodshot veins, stared in shock at the scene before him.
The deep blue ice pillar emitted a faint blue glow, and spiderweb-like cracks were spreading outward from the center under the influence of some strange force.
And within it... the Miracle was growing rapidly!
Her physique swelled continuously, arms and legs becoming progressively more slender... The Frost materials behind the ice pillar, which should have lasted for a while, seemed to have their energy prematurely drained and shattered suddenly, leaving only dim remnants.
"No... this can't be..." Feeling the connection with the Miracle in his mind rapidly severing, Isidore's face turned deathly pale, sweat beaded on his forehead.
Instinctively, he stepped forward, but as a Second Rank Wizard, his foot faltered, and he almost fell to the ground.
Taking a deep breath, he finally calmed down and waved his hand, prompting the contingency measures he had prepared to bind the Miracle.
Bang!
However, before witchcraft could take shape, he was struck to the ground by a beam of blue light.
Isidore coughed a few times, and blood seeped from his pallid lips, his eyebrows and hair coated with a fine layer of Frost.
Shivering, he lifted his head; the ice pillar had already shattered, and the Miracle, once only the size of a three-year-old child, had vanished.
A figure about one meter fifty-six in height, with long hair, emitting a dazzling frost blue glow, its details indiscernible, was slowly walking towards him.
...
"If miracles truly had souls,"
"Then, is this soul really just, as Isidore says, an accident of a casting? A miracle?"
Colin strolled along the streets, his thoughts wandering limitlessly.
"Souls cannot be created out of thin air, that's common knowledge... at least wizards haven't found any effective method to create souls yet."
Colin shook his head, eventually feeling that this possibility was unlikely, and stopped dwelling on it.
"Perhaps it was just a fluke that a bit of a soul got mixed in during the casting, and the Ice Element that Isidore created likely only possesses intelligence similar to a ghost, without a true soul."
"But as a Second Rank Wizard... Isidore shouldn't make such a basic mistake, nor overlook this possibility, at the very least he should have conducted some tests."
Colin couldn't help but frown slightly.
Yet soon, he realized his thoughts were loosening up again, and he smiled wryly.
Indeed, it was because he hadn't witnessed the miracle firsthand that it still lingered in his mind.
It's human nature to covet what we cannot have.
"Plenty of time lies ahead, and we've exchanged contact information. There will be chances to visit again... I wonder if Isidore will be able to successfully transform the miracle.
What would that special Ice Element become then?"
Colin shook his head again, completely emptied his mind of these unanswered questions, and stopped pondering them.
The morning was still young, with bright and cheerful sunlight.
A gentle spring breeze that was neither warm nor cold blew by tenderly, like the caress of a lover.
Colin squinted his eyes slightly, exhaling a relaxed breath.
During this period, not only had Isidore been on edge, but he too had been nearly devoting all his energy to this commission.
Now that the commission was officially concluded, he could finally relax a bit and shift his attention elsewhere.
Such as—
The study of wizard knowledge and the research of Combined Witchcraft.
With this in mind, Colin's spirits, which had been somewhat lifted by earning four hundred thousand Magic Stones, quickly waned.
Although he could acquire some knowledge from teaching other wizards after class, acquiring more knowledge still required School Contribution Points.
A month had passed, and Colin's School Contribution Points had long been depleted.
If it weren't for being busy with the miracle commission, he would have started preparing to take on missions to earn School Contribution Points.
Moreover, the progress on the research of fusing Summoning Ice Element with Black Mist Net Witchcraft was anything but optimistic.
Completing the commission to rescue the miracle and attempting to upgrade the Element Core had indeed brought Colin plenty of new ideas and experience.
But to truly combine Black Mist Net with the summoning of Ice and Fire Elements, he always felt like he was missing some sort of catalyst.
It was like looking at flowers through fog, always feeling there was a thin veil separating him, not quite real.
Colin quickened his pace, habitually unfolding the Golden Paper.
Due to being occupied with the commission, aside from daily meditation, his progress in other areas had basically stalled, not changing much over the last month.
He scrolled down quickly from the top, and his gaze eventually stopped at the Talent section.
Looking at the Frost Talent that was just 5 points short of reaching the limit, Colin couldn't help but think:
"If the summoning of the Ice Element and Black Mist Net are constrained by time and cannot break limits immediately, maybe trying to break the limits of my Frost Talent could also aid in the research of Combined Witchcraft?"