Chapter 39

Chapter 39: The Tawny Owl

Translator: Kris Liu

Mr . Victor passed a piece of notation to Lucien, which was written by himself for harpsichord

beginners . The song did not require any expert skills, and thus, when it was played on a

harpsichord, it was quite plain . However, after the improvement, the tone of the piano would

definitely add some splendour to it .

With his diligent practice of meditation, Lucien had an even better memory now . It only took

him a while to roughly go through the music several times . Before him, Mr . Victor only saw

noble students, like Lott and Felicia, being able to do this, because they grew up under the

nurture of music since they were born .

“All right, Lucien . I know you still feel you’re not prepared, but it’s time for you to start playing .

Don’t be nervous and just pay attention to the keys you should press down . Take it easy . ” Mr .

Victor was quite looking forward to Lucien’s first play .

Putting his hands on the keyboard in a defined arch, Lucien pressed down the first key . It was

not difficult for him to remember the song, but, as expected, playing it was a completely

different story . Lucien felt his fingers were too clumsy to reach the right keys in time . Slow as

he was, Lucien tried his best to focus on the keys to make sure they were the correct ones .

Instead of a song, his first-time playing sounded more like a bunch of separated notes climbing

out of the piano slowly one by one, or like a dying man exhaling with great effort .

However, no one there ever laughed at him, including the three noble students . Watching

Lucien play reminded them of their own past struggle, which was even more terrible .

It was a short piece of melody, that should last around a minute, but it took Lucien more than

three minutes to finish playing it . After he pressed down the last key, his forehead was oozing

sweat . Lucien felt that even fighting with an aquatic zombie in the pipes could not be more

exhausting .

Mr . Victor was the first person who started applauding Lucien, followed by Rhine and the other

students .

“You did a good job, Lucien . ” Victor comforted him, smiling, “I know how clumsy a person

would feel when he or she first started playing . But you are the only student I’ve seen that

managed to press every key correctly . It’s impressive . ”

Rhine nodded, “Yes, you are very smart, Lucien . I’m sure you will improve quickly with more

practice . But the coordination of your hands was for sure not your strong point, and later you

will also need to use your feet for the pedals . It’ll be pretty challenging for you . ”

“I agree,” said Mr . Victor, “But being more coordinate is just a matter of time . If you’re willing to

work hard, you’ll be a qualified musician within ten years . ”

“Ten years?” It seemed that even with the direction of a master musician, it still would take a

long time for a person to make achieve something in music . However, Lucien was still

expecting that, by becoming a qualified musician as soon as possible, his living expenses as well

as the cost for his magic experiments could be fully covered .

“Is there any way to become a qualified musician faster?” Lucien asked .

“Yes, sure, if you’re a genius . ” Felicia interjected, “But you are not, Lucien . Working hard is the

only way to become a qualified musician, and of course it takes time . Don’t let Mr . Victor lose

his face for having a student who couldn’t even play the piano decently . ”

In Felicia’s eyes, Lucien’a question fully showed his shallowness .

Rhine responded in a more mild way, “I understand young people’s eagerness, but like Felicia

said, my current small achievement in playing violin took me a long time, and it’s the same

with other instruments . ” Then he paused a bit, “Well, actually hard practice is not the only way

to become a qualified musician . If you could awaken the Blessing in your blood, your ability of

controlling your body would be increased by a large extent . With your smart little brain, you

could probably become a piano musician within a few weeks . ”

“But how long it would take you to awaken the Blessing?” Rhine shrugged his shoulders,

“Maybe ten years, maybe twenty years, or forever… What do you think?”

“Becoming a genius sounds more practical, Lucien . ” Lott laughed .

Victor turned to Lucien, “If you just want to master a relatively hard piece of melody, an

intensive practice within a short period of time may be helpful, but this can never help you

become a really good musician . Do not rush, but always work hard, Lucien . ” Victor tapped

Lucien on his shoulders to encourage him .

Lucien looked at Mr . Victor and nodded .

After the class, Lucien started working on his monthly budget . He needed to give auntie Alisa

three Nars every month for the meals because he was now eating with their family more often .

Also, more money would be spent on building a secret magic lab in the future, when Aalto

calmed down and became safer .

Besides money, Lucien still had lots of concerns: buying too many glasswares for magic

experiments could be very suspicious to the church, and Lucien currently had no idea what to

do with them; he also needed some black robes, so he could sew some rows of small pockets

inside for carrying more different magic reagents in the future .

Burying his head in his arms, Lucien thought to himself, “Maybe I’ll become a tailor sewing

clothes for people rather than a sorcerer . ” The idea amused him a bit .

…………

Several days later, at night, Lucien was reviewing the last magic he analyzed, Homan’s

Oscillation, even though it was too risky for him to practice the spell at this moment . Besides,

by changing the vibration frequency of his spiritual power, now Lucien could leave an

imperceptible magic mark on a target, which made him very happy .

As for music, like Rhine commented, after a certain stage, his good memory could not help

much anymore . His poor coordination became his biggest problem, so Lucien was still

practicing the same etude .

All of a sudden, Lucien heard someone or something was swiftly approaching his shack .

Lucien hid all his stuff under the bed in a hurry and stood there in a defensive posture .

*Knock, knock, knock*

…

The window opened by itself!

Lucien felt a familiar wave of magic power coming inside . He was very nervous, but also kind of

excited . Was it another sorcerer apprentice, or even a real sorcerer?

A tawny owl flew in through the window and landed on the table . Somehow Lucien felt it had an

arrogant-looking face .

And the owl started speaking in a harsh voice .

“You should open the window for me, you little boy . ”

Lucien was not really scared . In the notes, the witch mentioned some animals that could talk .

Some of them were sorcerers or sorceresses transformed into different kind of animals, while

some of them were summoned pets . However, Lucien was not sure which one the owl was, yet .

Strolling on the table, the arrogant owl looked at Lucien from top to bottom . Then it started

talking again .

“Don’t be afraid, boy . As long as you answer my questions honestly, Lord Doro won’t hurt you . ”

Lucien nodded his head, feeling a bit confused…Who was Lord Doro?

The owl took a step forward and looked at Lucien’s eyes, “Listen to my question… After the

apprentice died, did any sorcerer or sorceress come here and asked you about her?”