The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

Chapter 714 Dream World 52
Upon hearing this, Martina's wrinkles immediately smoothed out, and her shadow seemed to burst into laughter.

She deliberately leaned close to Leona and whispered in an exaggerated tone, "Oh dear~ I remember someone just confidently saying that adventurers can't learn anything from us?"

This was the first time Moran had ever heard Martina speak like that. She glanced at the general store owner, Leona, whose face, according to forum rumors, was always smiling and whose eye patch was even decorated with lace, was as black as the bottom of a pot.

She slammed her hand on the counter, making the crystal bottles on it jingle: "Are you going to buy anything or not? If not, I'm closing up shop and going to sleep!"

She was about to go to sleep, and she wouldn't have opened the door if it weren't for the fact that someone was out, which was quite unusual!

"Buy! Of course I'll buy!" Martina said calmly, sitting down behind her.

Her shadow had somehow dragged over a high chair with a backrest, the backrest perfectly suited to the curve of an elderly person's back.

Moran was also pressed onto the stool by another shadow. The poor stool shadow was so frightened that it trembled. If it could make a sound, it probably would have screamed and ripped the roof off.

Leona gritted her teeth and shouted to the side, "Lia! Take all the bug boxes down!"

All she wanted to do at that moment was get rid of this old rival who had come to show off with his adventurer apprentice.

A series of clanging and clattering sounds came from upstairs, and soon after, Lia came running downstairs carrying four flat sandalwood boxes.

She laid the boxes out on the counter, and the moment she lifted the lid, a scent of herbs and earth filled the air.

Inside the box were dozens of neatly stacked transparent glass bottles, each tightly sealed with a special wooden stopper.

The two boxes on the left contain live insects, while the box on the right displays dried insect carcasses.

“First, choose a live insect and a dead insect to feel the difference in their shadows!” Martina tapped the stone cane.

Moran nodded, curiously leaning closer to observe, matching what she saw with the information on the dream forum and the contents of the "Shadow Cultivation Manual" she had read.

In the first box on the left, the largest bottle contained several small insects whose abdomens shimmered with a ghostly blue light. Each time they flapped their wings, they left a trail like a shooting star in the bottle.

"This should be a moonlight firefly. If it is made into a shadow pet, it will have the same tendency to be dark as its original form and can recover its strength in the shadows, but it is not suitable for working in strong light for a long time."

Moran then looked at the bottle containing the next live insect.

Inside were several armored crickets rubbing their elytra together, making a crisp sound like metal clashing from time to time. The fine barbs on their legs scraped against the bottle wall, creating tiny sparks.

"The Ironclad Cricket's jumping ability and killing power are quite good among insect shadow pets."

The shadow spider in the bottle next door is busy weaving its web at the corner, and the spider silk it spits out carries a faint shadowy power.

"This is also good. A shadow pet made from a shadow spider can be trained to be a medical shadow pet, specifically for mending shadows."

Finally, her gaze fell upon the bottle containing a tangled mass of subterranean worms. These grayish-white creatures, their surfaces covered with tiny pores that absorbed light, were slowly wriggling.

“Professor Martina!” Moran suddenly looked up: “Most of those shadow bugs in your house were probably tamed from the shadows of the underground worms, right? Is it because shadow pets tamed from the underground worms have regenerative abilities and are the only shadow pets capable of self-reproduction that you chose them?”

Martina nodded, appearing nonchalant, but inwardly she was quite surprised by Moran's knowledge of insect-type shadow pets. After examining the live insects, Moran went to look at the dried insect corpses. Besides the dead versions of the live insects, there were also some rare species not found in the left-hand box.

The most eye-catching item was a crystal dragonfly with wings as thin as cicada wings, which refracted a dreamy seven-colored halo under the light. If it weren't completely still, you wouldn't be able to tell that it was dead.

"Ms. Leona, did this crystal dragonfly die of natural causes?" Moran asked curiously.

This question caught the eye of the old woman behind the counter.

Crystal dragonflies are among the few intelligent insects in the dream world, with an intelligence roughly equivalent to that of a three-year-old child.

If you tame a shadow pet while it is still alive, the resulting shadow pet will be exceptionally lively.

However, this only applies if the Crystal Dragonfly is still alive. If it dies, only shadow pets tamed from the shadows of Crystal Dragonflies that died naturally will have this effect.

So whether it was a natural death or not is indeed quite important.

“You certainly know your stuff,” Leona said, giving Moran a meaningful look. “Did you really switch races this morning?”

Moran nodded frankly: "It's genuine, but I did some research on the relevant aspects beforehand. I also spent a few hours reading with Professor Martina, which was very rewarding."

Leona breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Luckily, she had learned it in advance. She glanced at her daughter with her one eye. Lia had also learned it in advance. In this respect, they were not inferior.

"Don't worry, it was a natural death from old age. I, Leona, would never tarnish my own reputation."

Moran looked at the crystal dragonfly a few more times with satisfaction, then looked at the quality of the other longhorn beetle. The naturally formed ghost face pattern on its carapace was very complete, indicating that it should be a longhorn beetle in its prime. Unfortunately, its horn was slightly damaged, which meant that its shadow would also be missing a piece.

In the far corner, a nightmare moth the size of a fist exudes an eerie aura. Although it is long dead, the eye-like patterns on its wings are still lifelike, and staring at it for too long can give one the illusion of being watched.

This is also a good choice. The Nightmare Moth's shadow also inherits this ability, which can confuse other shadow pets and cause them some mental shock.

"Have you made your choice yet?" Leona urged. "Aren't you just learning how to tame creature shadows? Let's choose the white-spotted earthworm! The shadow of the white-spotted earthworm is almost the easiest to peel off of all insects."

Martina didn't oppose Leona this time; she shared the same thought.

In fact, she originally intended to explain the shadow characteristics of various insects to Moran before recommending that she choose the white-spotted earthworm.

Moran nodded and then shook her head: "I want them all!"

Knowing that her mental strength could play a significant role in the willpower struggle for control of the shadow, she was no longer worried about not being able to seize the shadow.

Let alone just the shadows of a few insects, even the shadow of a person would probably be no problem.

This is just the beginner area. No one's shadow power is as abundant as her magic, and no one can withstand her mental power.

In that case, why not give them all a try?

Many of them can be used as materials for the Book of Cards; many of the insects in it can be considered magical materials!