Chapter Thirty-Six: Shopping at the Mall with Ralts

"You mentioned this idea to me before, so at the time I didn't think much of it—I just wanted to give it a try, and to my surprise, it worked." Ralulace lifted her head slightly, a hint of pride on her face, her expression clearly asking for praise.

Tang Yi obliged, "Ralulace is the best! The smartest! The cutest!"

"What does being cute have to do with this?"

"Because you’re so adorable, even your opponents can’t bear to fight you."

"Hmph!"

But in truth, Ralulace still couldn't control her telepathic abilities freely. Tang Yi understood this state; if the selection matches continued, sooner or later she would be unable to go on.

Over an hour later.

At Zhengyang Square, Tang Yi and Ralulace wandered about. As the central district of Qing City, the variety of shops here was impressive; both human and spirit maiden shops were plentiful.

Most storefronts displayed warning signs: No skills allowed!

Or: Use skills inside, head to the police station outside.

The shops were beautifully decorated, and the staff were often pairs of humans and elegantly dressed spirit maidens, warmly welcoming the passing customers.

Since it was a rare visit—and with eight thousand in scholarship money—Tang Yi planned to be generous.

They circled the first floor several times.

Unfortunately, though Ralulace showed plenty of curiosity about everything she saw—clothes, toys, jewelry—whenever Tang Yi offered to buy her something, the girl always shook her head and refused.

After much browsing, he only managed to buy her a new set of paintbrushes and drawing paper, as well as a beautiful notebook, all together costing less than a hundred.

They reached the third floor, which was the education marketplace. In this world of spirit maidens, training and educational books and supplies for spirits were in high demand.

To coax money from trainers' pockets, the shops spared no effort in this area.

Tang Yi had little fondness for these overpackaged products; to him, they were not much different from the cheap skill books sold at neighborhood bookstores.

Ralulace, on the other hand, was quite interested, lingering near the skill book section and flipping through several volumes. The content was indeed vastly different from those cheap ones: vivid illustrations, high-definition photo demonstrations, interviews with renowned trainers, and so-called exclusive secrets.

"Ralulace, do you want to learn these skills?"

"If I don't keep learning new skills, I won't be able to win any future matches, right?" Ralulace blinked softly, clearly aware of her own abilities.

"I don't want you to force yourself to do anything you dislike for my sake," Tang Yi said, his expression serious.

Ralulace was already used to his philosophy. "Alright, alright, you’re not forcing me. I want to learn them myself."

As she spoke, she casually picked out skill books.

A nearby shop assistant, a Young Gyra spirit maiden who had noticed their conversation, seized the opportunity to greet them enthusiastically. "Are you looking for psychic-type skill books? Let me introduce some options for you."

The Young Gyra girl was likely the spirit partner of this skill book shop, around nineteen years old, with a red pentagram on her forehead and two tufts of yellow-brown whisker-like fur at the corners of her mouth.

"I recommend this Psychic New Year Gift Set. It includes three skill books: Illusion Ray, Psyshock, and Mind Force, along with matching learning videos and a psychic-type item—a bent spoon. Today is the last day of our promotion, so you can enjoy a ten percent discount."

"Are these skills powerful?" Ralulace asked curiously. The spirit maiden sales assistant made her feel a little less shy.

The Young Gyra girl had a pleasant voice. "These are essential skills for any psychic-type master. Also, the bent spoon in the set is a tool to strengthen mental power. Let me show you."

She produced a silver spoon and, as if performing a magic trick, bent it with one hand as easily as molding clay.

"See? My strong psychic power is thanks to buying this gift set back then."

Ralulace watched in amazement, the gentle voice of the Young Gyra girl leaving her entranced. She turned her big eyes to her trainer, saying nothing, but clearly tempted.

Tang Yi glanced at the price—nearly eight thousand after the discount; the entire scholarship would be gone in one purchase.

"Bending spoons is already a natural skill of you Young Gyras. Hey, aren't you violating the shop's rules by using skills? Careful, or you’ll end up at the police station."

The Young Gyra girl laughed awkwardly; this trainer was tough to persuade. She glanced helplessly at her own trainer.

Tang Yi followed her gaze. Her trainer was a middle-aged woman, busy with her phone at the counter.

Tang Yi shook his head slightly. Since spirit maidens had become increasingly integrated into society, human stress was gradually lessening.

The Young Gyra girl called softly.

Her trainer finally returned to her senses, walked over, glanced at the gift set and Ralulace, and quickly understood. She smiled, "Sorry, my Young Gyra is new here and not familiar with the business yet. Your Ralulace is still young; it’s a bit early to buy this set. I recommend the Psychic Quick Growth Package instead."

Tang Yi refused outright. "No packages or gift sets. I just want a few skill books."

He thought for a moment about the skills Ralulace could master early on. Growl, for example, could be disregarded—essentially a cute sound to distract opponents, but for well-trained spirit maidens, it was useless.

Non-psychic skills were too difficult to learn for now.

That left only a few options. Soon, Tang Yi listed the books he needed: Hypnosis, Teleport, and Illusion Ray.

"Just these three?" the trainer asked, a bit disappointed.

"Yes, please find them for me. If not, I’ll check other shops," Tang Yi replied firmly.

One must learn skills step by step, just as one eats a meal bite by bite. He certainly hoped Ralulace could immediately master powerful skills like Mind Force, but in this world, such hopes were unrealistic.