Wizards: Starting with Fairy Crests

056: Bounty

The work of a lab assistant is much easier than that of a nursery worker.

Their duties include handling magical materials, assisting in the maintenance of experimental magic arrays and instruments, recording experimental data and phenomena, and providing stable magical support or environmental control when Hossman himself is performing high-risk or delicate operations.

And occasionally, one might receive a few words of guidance from the wizard Hossman. Don't underestimate these few words; they are all invaluable magical knowledge.

With each casual conversation, Lin Qi gained a deeper understanding of the world and magic, and his knowledge base continued to grow.

Cultivation, experimentation, learning, and relaxing with a woman when bored.

Lynch led a healthy and regular life.

It is fulfilling both physically and mentally.

The days passed by in such a fulfilling way.

Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

...

The Grey Tower, Hossman Wizarding Laboratory.

The heavy, soundproof laboratory door slid open with a hiss, and a stream of hot air, carrying a slightly pungent smell of ozone and lingering sulfur, rushed out first.

Lin Qi and Michelle walked out one after the other, both wearing thick, airtight dark gray protective suits, with filter masks covering their mouths and noses, and goggles covered with a thin layer of fog.

Michelle deftly unfastened the sealing buckle, pulled off the hood, and let her long chestnut hair fall loose. She let out a long sigh, her cheeks flushed, and sweat beaded on her forehead.

She took off her protective suit, hung it up, walked to the large leather sofa, and sat down, feeling as if she had finally come back to life.

She picked up her water glass and took a few sips before noticing Lin Qi next to her.

He had already taken off his protective suit, but instead of sitting down to rest, he stood by the sofa, holding a water glass in his hand, staring into the void, his brows slightly furrowed, his fingers unconsciously stroking the inside of the glass, clearly lost in thought.

Michelle gently nudged his calf with her foot. "What are you daydreaming about? Isn't the stuffiness in the lab still there?"

Lin Qi snapped out of his reverie, looked at her, and refocused his gaze. "It's nothing."

He shook his head, his tone calm: "I was just thinking about the energy fluctuations in the third stage of the experiment. There might be room for optimization in the timing of the injection into the western array eye."

Michelle blinked her slightly tired light blue eyes, stared at Lin Qi for two seconds, then suddenly stuck out her tongue and made a slightly exaggerated "can't stand it" expression.

"You've barely stepped out of the lab, still sweating, and you're already thinking about these things again?"

She shook her head, her tone tinged with a hint of teasing, yet unable to hide a trace of admiration: "Now I finally understand why you were able to break through from a bunch of mediocre apprentices and reach the threshold of advanced apprenticeship in such a short time."

She leaned back into the soft sofa, gazing at the ceiling, and sighed softly, "You... sometimes you really are like a monster born for magic. No, not a monster."

She turned her head and smiled at Lynch: "I should say, a 'natural wizard'."

Lynch neither confirmed nor denied her assessment.

A born wizard?

Whether Lynch counts or not, he was certainly more enthusiastic about knowledge than the other apprentices.

Michelle then glanced at the clock on the wall; the time displayed was 11:16.

She tossed her hair and said, "Let's go take a shower. I don't want to be covered in sweat at lunchtime."

Lin Qi nodded and composed himself.

The two took off their protective suits and went into the adjacent washroom to shower.

Hossman Wizard's laboratory was equipped with only one washroom, which had a purifying effect to remove some of the contamination that might have come into contact with the equipment during experiments.

Showering separately is not only a waste of resources but also a waste of time.

of course,

More importantly, it's completely unnecessary.

Within the wizarding community, gender is merely a difference in physiological structure. Whether male or female, everyone is completely the same and equal in the absolute sense, so there is no need to distinguish between them.

They sat side by side in the pool, chatting about all sorts of random topics.

Michelle said, "Lin Qi, have you heard? The 'Heart-Eating Shadow Leech' that Wizard Barek kept in the high-risk area of ​​the seventh floor somehow broke through the triple confinement array and escaped! Now the news has spread throughout the lower and middle levels of the Gray Tower."

"That was a key experimental subject that Wizard Barek had been working on for several years. It was said to have combined the characteristics of three shadow creatures, and a whole bunch of energy compatibility and mutation parameters were recorded..."

"Now that it's lost, the old man is frantic. He just posted a reward of five hundred magic stones! Just for any clues to its whereabouts. Whoever can bring it back, dead or alive, will not only receive the magic stones but also be allowed to choose a subject from his private library!"

Michelle clicked her tongue and said, "Tsk tsk, five hundred magic stones... Wizard Barek really went all out this time."

"But thinking about it, it makes sense. They say the old man spent a full 10 years training that thing, and who knows how many resources he invested. How about it, any ideas? This is way more profitable than processing materials."

This is the hottest topic in Grey Tower these past few days: a test subject has escaped from the wizard Barek's laboratory, and the old man has offered a huge reward for clues and whereabouts of the test subject.

Five hundred magic stones and a piece of knowledge—that was enough to drive almost all the apprentices in the Gray Tower mad.

In recent days, almost all the apprentices in the Gray Tower have been busy, using their magical knowledge and connections to frantically search for this experimental subject.

Lin Qi said, "Who knows where that thing went..."

He was naturally very tempted by such a bounty, especially since he had personally experienced the wizard's private collection.

The moment the incident occurred, he summoned Lilith and instructed her to organize a team to investigate.

Two months ago, the first batch of new apprentices of the Gray Tower were sent over, consisting of several hundred apprentices from more than a dozen countries along the southern coast.

With Lynch's prior planning, Lilith naturally built up her power base.

The faction is called Lilith's Hut. Although it is just a very ordinary name, it is one of the largest emerging factions among the apprentices outside the Gray Tower, and has gathered more than a hundred apprentices.

Upon hearing Lynch's instructions, Lilith immediately began making arrangements.

However, the Gray Mist Forest is so vast, and the Heart-Eating Shadow Leech is adept at hiding, with no traceable markings on its body, that finding it in this enormous forest is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Lin Qi was just trying his luck; it would be best if he could find it, but he wouldn't force it if he couldn't.

After taking a shower, I did my daily routine.

After spending several months together, Lin Qi had become quite familiar with Michelle, his senior, and had basically determined that she had no malicious intentions or scheming, and that her social circle was relatively simple.

Then everything naturally falls into place.

After all, women who are a few years older than him are exactly what Lin Qi likes, and they fit his taste better.

After lunch, Lynch returned to his residence.

The work of a lab assistant is very easy, usually only requiring a morning to complete, and the apprentices have free time when they are not busy.

Just as I closed the door, I heard the sound of wings flapping outside.

Then a larger crow flew over, carrying a package in its claws.

This is Duncan, the messenger raven of the Grey Tower.

Raven Duncan circled and landed on Lynch's windowsill, saying in a gentle voice, "Good afternoon, Lynch apprentice. There is a letter for you today, sent from the human world."

Lin Qi's eyes lit up. He took the package and handed over a magic stone, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

Materials for the emblem of the pure fire fairy.

Arrived!