The Hero Turned Into A Potato And The World Fell To Ruin

Yaine was somewhat surprised. While the others might not have noticed, she, who was always vigilant of her surroundings, did notice that Liu Ji was chatting with Myza.

Moreover, they were conversing in a language that she had never heard before.

But it made sense when she thought about it. Liu Ji was from the other side of the desert, so it was reasonable for someone here to speak his language.

Watching Liu Ji and Myza converse back and forth, Yaine unconsciously hugged her knees, curling up on the chair.

She didn't know why, but her heart felt a little uncomfortable…

She had only known Liu Ji for little over a week, after all. She didn't know Liu Ji's name and just took it upon herself to teach Liu Ji incantation and wanted to be his teacher.

In the end, doing all this was just to reminisce about her own past.

Sometimes, she wondered if Liu Ji even needed to learn magic at all.

He could turn into a potato, a giant bear, and even…

If she wasn't mistaken, she had previously seen Liu Ji transform into a pure elemental spirit.

Such an ability was unheard of. Even druids, who prided themselves on shape-shifting, were never as extraordinary as this.

With such ability, learning magic seemed superfluous. Perhaps the only reason he was learning incantation was to communicate with them.

Now that he had found someone he could communicate directly with, would he still be willing to learn incantation?

Yaine sighed. Reuniting with comrades ought to be a joyous event, yet she felt a bit…

"Tch, what am I thinking." Yaine sighed.

It would be best if Liu Ji was willing to stay with them. But if he decided to leave, Yaine had no reason to stop him.

If that day ever came, she could just take on another student in the future. It wasn't a big deal.

The priority now was to gather all their scattered comrades, cross the desert, find a new land, and continue with training and research.

And someday…

Crunch!

Yaine bit down hard on a spoonful of shaved ice.

She stared out the window into the distance…

Over that side, there was someone she must kill. Even if it cost Yaine her life, she would kill her.

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"I'm… a hero?" Liu Ji stared at Myza in astonishment.

"Yes." Myza nodded. "To be precise, a retired hero."

"Umm…" Liu Ji blinked several times. "What's the difference?"

"The difference is that the blessing of the world that a hero should have isn't on you," Myza answered.

"What does that blessing do?" Liu Ji asked.

"It can make your luck extremely good, allow you to communicate with people without language barriers, and eventually learn a universal communication method like mine," Myza explained. "It also makes people naturally want to help you, and even if you rummage through their cupboards or break their jars, they won't mind. Women you meet on your journey will inexplicably develop a liking for you, quickly becoming your close friends. Before you become strong, it helps you unconsciously avoid life-threatening disasters."

Liu Ji looked at Myza, completely bewildered, and after a long pause, he exclaimed, "Damn!"

Didn't that sound amazing? Wasn't that the legendary main character's halo? Did he have such a thing before? And why hadn't he felt it?

Wait, could the reason the bear didn't climb the tree to kill him back then been due to this blessing?

"Mm, so as a retired hero, you…" Myza stroked his chin while scrutinizing Liu Ji all over. "You haven’t saved the world yet, have you?"

"Ah? Uh, well…" Liu Ji scratched his head. "To be honest, after arriving in this world, umm… I turned into a potato."

"Potato?" Myza was stunned. "Why did you become a potato?"

"I'm not really sure. I just wanted to change, and then I did." Liu Ji scratched his head. "In fact, I've been a potato until recently. I don't really know what happened during that period…"

Myza pressed a hand against his temple, looking at Liu Ji in confusion. He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Then… Do you know how long that period was?"

"Uh, not exactly." Liu Ji shrugged. "My sense of time became vague after turning into a potato. I guess maybe 10 or 20 years?"

"Just 10 or 20 years?" Myza stared at Liu Ji incredulously.

"Uh… Then, 30 or 40 years? Or what's an appropriate amount to add?" Liu Ji asked in return.

"Do you think we're bargaining over groceries? How can I add the time for you?" Myza retorted, half-amused and half-exasperated.

"I really don't know." Liu Ji spread his hands in defeat. "What can I do? I didn't have a phone or calendar."

"Well… It doesn't really matter." Myza shrugged. "It's just unfortunate that you lost your communication ability. But I see you're learning incantation?"

"Yeah, that girl over there is teaching me spells," Liu Ji said sheepishly. "It's a bit embarrassing to have such a young girl teaching me to speak, word by word."

"Girl?" Myza raised an eyebrow, giving Yaine a subtle glance before looking back at Liu Ji. "Well… it's a good thing there's a language barrier. If she understood what you just said, she might not be so willing to teach you anymore."

"Huh? Why?" Liu Ji was taken aback.

"Because she's already in her twenties. Although she's still young, her magical prowess is quite high. Referring to her as a 'girl' is somewhat inappropriate. In fact, if someone took it the wrong way, it could even be seen as an insult," Myza took a sip of his tea.

"But it's not your fault for being mistaken. The Ifrit race is peculiar. Pureblood Ifrits are usually between three to four meters tall, but when they interbreed with other races, they end up looking like her, appearing human but much shorter than the human average. A mix of Ifrit and Miffy could be as short as 60 to 70 centimeters."

"That, whoa… Thank god there's a language barrier." Liu Ji exhaled sharply.

"Yes, indeed." Myza chuckled. "You should know, finding someone willing to teach you incantation is rare. If I couldn't sense that the blessing of the world isn't on you, I'd think she was influenced by it."

Myza took another sip of tea and continued, "Teaching someone incantation is extremely troublesome. It heavily depends on talent, and almost every student's teaching plan has to be different. The deeper you delve into it, the more complex it gets. Even grand mages, who often have hundreds or thousands of students, only consider a few of them true students; the rest are just labor."

He patted Liu Ji's shoulder. "So, you understand how lucky you are to be a student of a powerful mage, right?"

"But…" Liu Ji scratched his head. "Although she seems very dedicated to teaching me, she has no reason to. We've only known each other for a week… I think maybe she's just focusing on me because she doesn't have other students right now?"

"No, no, the length of time you've known each other doesn't matter. I can see she truly cares about you as her student," Myza said, nodding in the direction of Yaine. "Look, she's already feeling jealous and sulking just because I'm talking to you. I've seen that expression many times when I was a student and the grand arcanists fought over me.

"So, I won't keep you any longer. Go on, it would be rude if my actions made my guest unhappy," Myza said, patting Liu Ji on the back.

"Ah, wait, I have one more question," Liu Ji said. "As a retired hero, shouldn't I… do something for the world?"

"No, you don't have to do anything." Myza shrugged. "As you said, you're a retired hero. You have no blessing, no responsibility. You can do whatever you want…

"Just like me. And compared to me, you have much more freedom."