Opportunity Arrives

Roy had been keeping an eye on Trides for some time, but his strength was lacking, so he could only endure it for the time being.

Now that he had successfully refined Adrenaline, and had heard about such a good opportunity, he acted decisively at once.

He found the Quest Center and checked the available quests.

"Apple Garden? That's a difficult quest."

Hearing Roy's inquiry, the Steward Apprentice kindly reminded him.

"You haven't been punished, so you can choose a safer location."

"Thanks, but I still want to choose this one." Roy insisted.

"All right, then. Let me take a look...

"Tsk, your luck is pretty good. Yesterday, the tower raised the quest remuneration for picking Nightmare Serpent Fruits to six magic stones each. No wonder you chose that place."

"Six magic stones each?" Roy was slightly surprised.

He hadn't actually intended to do a quest. Apprentices needed permission to leave the tower.

But seeing this situation, he really did feel like making some money along the way.

There weren't many Advanced Apprentices willing to go there now, while Intermediate Apprentices might barely survive. It was perfect for someone like him, who had Calming Pu Shui Xiang in hand!

"All right, this is the token for handing over to the guards. Keep it safe. Only with it can you prove your identity."

After completing the formalities, the Steward Apprentice reminded him again.

Roy took the token and discovered a faint aura of magic power coiled within it.

When that magic power was activated, a clear Secret Rune was transmitted from within.

"By this order, pick... twenty..."

Not long afterward, Roy arrived at the first floor's service office, paid the fee, and rented a rideable Necromancer Warhorse.

This witch beast, which resembled a puppet wolf, radiated an aura of darkness from head to toe and carried a chilling air that kept the living at a distance. It was a discounted benefit the Witch Tower had recently introduced to encourage apprentices to accept quests.

"Looks like I've benefited from that Forbidden Experiment again..."

Roy suddenly came up with that thought for no apparent reason, his expression turning a little strange.

The Necromancer Warhorse never tired. After running for more than two consecutive hours, it carried him to the orchard.

Roy found a suitable place to dismount. Just then, a frivolous voice rang out: "Well, well, an apprentice has arrived."

The speaker was a half-bodied stone statue monster. It had originally been crouching by the entrance in standby and hibernation, but the moment it noticed someone approaching, it stood up.

"You're the new guard? I'm here to pick fruit. This is my token."

Roy was surprised to find that its legs were long and slender, with graceful curves, but it seemed to have been cut off at the waist a few inches above the navel, leaving it without an upper body.

This was an Artificial Life created by wizards. It might have been a failed product discarded by some laboratory and casually sent here.

But the other party showed no awareness whatsoever of being a failed product, running around naked from the waist down.

It moved close to Roy and said in an ingratiating, almost obsequious tone, "Little brother, would you like me to help?"

Roy frowned deeply. "You don't even have hands. How can you help?"

"But I have feet!" The stone statue monster raised its right leg and performed a skyward split, displaying flexibility like that of a ballerina.

"It'll only cost you one hundred magic stones. If you're willing, please insert your coins and recharge..."

Roy was stunned for a moment, then turned and left.

The stone statue monster called out, "Hey, don't go..."

"I was mistaken. This may not be a failed product after all. Maybe some bored wizard had a bizarre hobby and deliberately refined it into this shape!"

Roy slipped deep into the orchard and said regretfully.

Alchemical Life was originally created for all kinds of purposes.

Guards, mounts, scouts, War Machines...

Companions, of course, were included as well.

Because of their years of loneliness or warfare and slaughter, many wizards found it difficult to trust and accept others.

Thus, they pursued trustworthy Artificial Life or contracted partners.

Before using expensive bionic materials, practicing with half-bodied Animate Statues was only natural.

But implanting such a money-grubbing intelligence into one could definitely be called a bizarre hobby.

Half an hour later, Roy came out with a bag of Nightmare Serpent Fruits and displayed them in front of the seductive human legs.

"Twenty. Not one more or less. I'm leaving!"

With that, he mounted his horse and rode away.

"Little brother, don't leave so soon. Stay and chat with me..."

The seductive human legs turned around, as if gazing into the distance, and stood motionless for a long time.

Roy came and went like the wind, but he did not immediately hurry back to the tower. Instead, he arrived at a necessary stop along the middle section of the route, tied the Necromancer Warhorse in a secluded place, and patiently lay in ambush.

Although this operation had been arranged hastily, it was not necessarily rash. He had already considered the various possibilities of confronting Trides and even Potterning head-on.

His conclusion was that when two weaklings fought, it was hard to say who would fear the other.

Even if he gave his enemies every benefit of the doubt, he still couldn't see the bearing of a strong expert in either Trides or Potterning.

Trides in particular was on roughly the same level as Renion and Andov.

As long as he struck first, he had a very good chance of winning.

He lay in ambush for more than an hour. Two groups passed by during that time, both made up of other Intermediate Apprentices rather than Trides and the others.

But Roy wasn't in a hurry, because as far as he knew, Apple Garden was one of the closer quest locations.

He was certain that he could return before Trides and the others, so as long as he remained patient, he could wait for them.

Sure enough, by dusk, they appeared within the telescope's field of view.

Roy quietly slipped down the side path, then began putting on the cloak he had prepared beforehand and covering his face with a veil before making his move.

"This time, we really suffered a huge loss!

"They actually sent us to deal with a wolf pack agitated by the influence of the earth veins..."

"I used up all the Healing Potions I'd painstakingly saved!"

"Same here. I even wasted several bottles of Elemental Potion!"

"Sigh..."

Several people trudged back with their heads hung low.

If a quest was easy and the remuneration was high, it would not be called a punishment. It would count as a benefit instead.

They hadn't had a choice in the first place. Now that they were in such a sorry state, all they wanted was to return to the tower as quickly as possible and rest properly.

Trides was among them, secretly pondering how he should reveal more runes next time to avoid punishment.

As a mediocre apprentice, he actually had no way to obtain magic stones. He could only continue what he had done as a Low-level Apprentice: cling to veteran apprentices, work as a lackey, and do odd jobs.

From time to time, he would also extort apprentices of the same year or lower-level apprentices.

"I have to find a way to get more magic stones."

Trides couldn't help thinking of the few apprentices he had recently set his sights on.

"Those guys all have skills and know how to make money. They're fat sheep."

Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and raised his head to look ahead.

A gentle breeze brushed past, carrying the chill of early spring.

A wooden bridge stretched across a small river ahead, with water murmuring beneath it.

A figure slowly walked across the bridge, its cloak fluttering in the wind.

The person's face was covered by a black veil, leaving only the eyes exposed.

They were a pair of bright, shining eyes brimming with dangerous red light.