Wizards: Starting with Fairy Crests

069: You actually advanced to advanced apprenticeship!

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, another two and a half years have passed.

Grey Tower, Hossman Wizard's Materials Processing Room.

This was a spacious but far from comfortable room. The walls and floor were paved with easy-to-clean, corrosion-resistant dark cyan magic stone tiles, densely engraved with purification and isolation runes.

At this moment, the runes were emitting a faint white glow, trying their best to suppress the nauseating stench emanating from the center of the room.

On one side of the room, the heavy, gate-like metal sliding door connecting to the outside passage slid open with a "whoosh".

Two modified dwarfs trudged in, pushing a specially made, heavy flatbed cart with an anti-corrosion coating.

On the flatbed truck, dozens of sac-like objects were piled up, constantly dripping a viscous, dark yellow-green liquid.

These are the source of the stench: the acidic glands of the swamp sac beast.

Each one is about the size of an adult's head, with an irregular shape and a translucent membrane covered with twisted blood vessels. Beneath the membrane is a dark substance that is constantly and slowly wriggling.

They pulsate slightly as if they were alive, and with each pulsation, more mucus seeps out from the countless tiny pores on their surface.

The viscous liquid dripped onto the flat plate lined with anti-corrosion pads, making a "plop, plop" sound and emitting thin wisps of white smoke with a pungent, acidic smell.

This mucus is extremely viscous, stretching into disgusting long threads, ranging in color from yellowish-green to brownish-black, and contains some undigested small biological remains or mineral particles.

This was a secondary material needed for one of Hossman Wizard's important experiments, and it was known among the Grey Tower apprentices for its highly polluting, unmanageable slime and utterly awful stench.

Dealing with them is widely recognized as one of the most arduous tasks.

The flatbed cart was pushed to a stop in the specially designed workbench area in the center of the processing room, and the two modified dwarfs retreated expressionlessly.

The metal door closed again, leaving a room full of apprentices facing this "stinking hill".

More than twenty apprentices were already waiting next to the worktable.

They wore thick, dark gray protective aprons with basic anti-corrosion runes, and bird-beak masks covering their mouths and noses.

now,

Even through their masks, you could see that most of them had pale, bitter faces, furrowed brows, and eyes filled with resistance and despair.

Lynch walked in through a small door on the inside of the processing room. He was also wearing a protective apron, but his demeanor was composed.

He walked straight to the workbench, his gaze calmly sweeping over the pile of rotting swamp beast glands emanating a terrifying aura, then over the group of apprentices with grim faces before him, and expressionlessly issued his orders:

"Numbers 1 to 5 are responsible for initial rinsing and peeling off the outer membrane. Use alkaline buffer solution No. 3, and carefully control the flow rate to avoid gland rupture."

"Numbers 6 to 12 are used to process the main body of the dissected gland, removing visible vascular networks and impurity nodules. Special bone scrapers and silver forceps are used. The movements must be steady, and the damage rate should be controlled below 5%."

"For items numbered 13 to 18, collect the seeping sap, perform preliminary diversion according to pH and impurity content, and pour them into the corresponding stable crystal containers. Ensure sealing to prevent evaporation and contamination."

"Numbers 19 to 24 are responsible for cleaning the work area and handling waste. After processing every five glands, the countertop and related tools must be thoroughly wiped with purifying powder."

"Finally, everyone, after completing your task, remember to go to the adjacent cleanroom for a full-body wash and purification of your protective suits. The standard procedure takes at least twenty minutes. Report any signs of skin burning, dizziness, or worsening nausea immediately; do not delay..."

This is one of the advantages of being Hossman's assistant; you don't have to do these arduous tasks yourself, you just need to convey Hossman's instructions.

Without this identity, Lin Qi could only stand in the material processing room with a dark expression, just like the other apprentices.

None of the jobs here are easy. The materials you have to deal with are not only disgusting, but they are also always full of all sorts of deadly pollution.

After finishing, they all had to go to the washroom and wash themselves with purified water for a long time.

What's worse is that the entire material processing area only has one washroom, without even a soaking tub, and there are regulations on shower time. A bunch of men and women have to squeeze together to wash, which is simply miserable.

After assigning the tasks, Lin Qi ignored the apprentices' unpleasant expressions and turned to leave the processing room.

After passing through several relatively secluded spiral staircases and corridors, he arrived at the Gray Tower General Archives.

This is where all sorts of information and data about the Gray Tower are stored. Detailed information about everything in the Gray Mist Jungle, apprentices, wizarding organizations, resource points, and so on can be found here.

In a relatively open area near the entrance of the archives, there is a huge, semi-circular black wooden counter that resembles a captain's wheel.

A strange bird resembling a larger crow was perched on the counter.

It was Morrison, an old "acquaintance" of Lynch's.

Lin Qi had not forgotten his promise to his savior, and as soon as he returned to the tower, he took some fine wine to the dock.

However, it was learned that Morrison had been transferred to another post, apparently to accompany a wizard on a mission, and only recently returned, where he was assigned to work in the archives.

Letting a drunkard organize the data? I don't know what these wizards were thinking.

Lynch walked steadily toward the counter. When he was a few steps away from the counter, Morrison's half-closed eyes on the perch suddenly opened.

Upon seeing that it was Lin Qi, the guard inside quickly relaxed.

Lynch bowed and said, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Lord Morrison."

"Oh ho! Who do we have here?" Morrison said. "It's you, you clever little devil. You're still alive? Looks like my feathers weren't wasted... Hmm?"

He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly noticed the badge on Lin Qi's chest, and his eyes widened in shock: "You actually advanced to the Advanced Apprentice level!"

At this point, he twitched his nose again, and said in surprise, "And... this smell... nine runes!"

"You have meditated and discovered nine runes!!!"

Morrison exclaimed dramatically.

Yes,

After two and a half years of persistent effort, Lin Qi's strength has finally reached a new level, and he recently successfully meditated on the ninth rune.

Name: Lin Qi

[Status: Mild Evil Eye Contamination]

【Occupation: Advanced Apprentice lv9 (128/30000)】

[Secondary Class: High Knight (1368/5000)]

[Attributes: Strength 8.8, Agility 9.6, Constitution 8.2, Spirit 20.6]

[Mana: 206/206]

His mental strength increased significantly again, breaking through 20 points for the first time, and his mana value reached over 200.

At this moment, Lin Qi was far removed from the entire apprentice class...

Only one rune remains!