Apprentice Trade

Magic stones were a common resource in the Wizarding World and often served as currency.

Earning more magic stones was absolutely necessary.

But refining Fragrant Cattail Water was time-consuming and laborious, and the profits were truly too low.

Previously, pressured by the Tower Clearance, he had no choice but to bury himself in the work first. He had made so much that he was nearly sick of it.

"It would be better to find something quick, easy, and profitable..."

As he pondered, the goods being hawked by apprentices at several stalls caught his attention.

Roy stepped forward. "These are Meditation Potions..."

Within the exquisite glass bottles, translucent pale-blue liquid emitted faint Witchcraft Energy.

He examined the color and sniffed the scent, roughly determining that this was a diluted concoction.

"It reeks of alcohol and unknown additives. There's a lot going on here..."

He was faintly tempted to make these himself for money.

But that would also require capital.

More importantly, it required stable sources of supply and sales channels.

If he rashly entered the manufacturing and selling business, he would definitely infringe on other people's interests.

By then, there might be trouble.

He had not been here long, but he had already clearly realized one fact: nearly every profitable venture had already been claimed by someone else.

"My lord, spare me!

I'll never dare do it again!"

"Please, spare us..."

At that moment, several miserable wails rang out.

"Those are people who lost their residency qualifications...

They've been caught by the Enforcement Team!"

Renion, who had been inspecting another stall, walked over with a hint of schadenfreude on his face.

"Beat them hard!"

The Enforcement Team's minor leader, also an Intermediate Apprentice, gave the order with a vicious expression.

Several subordinates beat the eliminated apprentices half to death, then dragged them away like dead dogs.

"What idiots, actually trying to sneak into the second floor to escape the Tower Clearance!"

The surrounding passersby commented mockingly.

"Not everyone is that stupid. There are still quite a few who obediently went to Camp Outside the Tower to wait for the ship and are willing to follow the rules."

"At this time every year, we can acquire quite a few servants and Experimental Materials. Why don't we go take a look?"

"Of course we should. In the past, the good stock would have long been reserved by those Advanced Apprentices or even Wizard Lords, but there was a major accident in the tower last month and quite a few people died. Maybe we can pick up some bargains."

"What a place where people eat people..."

Listening from the side, everyone was filled with mixed emotions.

If they had not successfully advanced to Intermediate Apprentice, they might have ended up like that as well.

"Why don't we go take a look then?"

Renion suggested again.

"The trade fair after the Tower Clearance?"

"I'd heard of it before, but never seen it with my own eyes."

"It wouldn't hurt to take a look!"

Everyone agreed.

That night.

Behind the Witch Tower, at a temporary camp.

The eliminated apprentices had been driven out of the tower and were temporarily staying there.

Beside the crude tents, belongings lay scattered amid debris. Faint sobbing could be heard within, made all the more desolate by the distant howls of wolves.

At around eight o'clock, quite a few people made their way to the open ground before the Witch Tower's main entrance.

Illumination witchcraft devices floated overhead as over a hundred apprentices of varying ranks emerged.

Roy was among them.

Their former peers grew agitated.

"My lord, choose me! I can endure hardship! I'm especially good at enduring hardship!"

"I-I'm willing to serve as an Experimental Product..."

"My lord, as long as I can stay, I'm willing to do anything!"

When people were about to drown, they truly grabbed at any lifeline!

Perhaps the Witch Tower treated its apprentices harshly precisely to force them into desperation.

Only then would they completely abandon their dignity and reason, allowing themselves to be molded into any shape.

Watching this scene, Roy thought to himself.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Seeing the chaotic scene, an Advanced Apprentice stepped forward.

She was tall and grotesque-looking, with several rows of black nails embedded across her face. Her left eye was a mechanical prosthetic designed like a monocle, seemingly a product from some other world.

More horrifying still, it seemed that her skull had once been Blown Away by an experiment and replaced with transparent glass.

Her pale brain was displayed openly within.

"This person seems to be called Sophia?

I remember now. Even among Advanced Apprentices, she's quite famous!"

As Roy looked at her, many related memories surfaced in his mind.

The apprentices had naturally heard of her as well and quickly quieted down.

Before the forbidden experiment accident in the tower in early June, she had already been among the finest of the Advanced Apprentices.

By luck, she had been away on a mission and survived, rising in a single leap to the pinnacle of apprentices.

She was a "Quasi-Wizard," positioned between Formal Wizards and ordinary apprentices, also known as an Elite Apprentice.

"I need someone willing to offer up their brain. Gender and aptitude are irrelevant..."

Sophia naturally took priority in choosing.

But after she spoke, she was met by a silent, awkward lull.

"Offer up... their brain..."

A moment later, the crowd erupted into whispers.

Sophia said, "I am conducting research related to Brain in a Vat. If all goes well, I will abandon this body, which is equivalent to a peak Great Knight, and give it to whoever cooperates with me.

There is no need to worry that I have Left Behind a Trump Card in the body. That can be guaranteed through a Wizard Contract.

Before that, I can recommend the collaborator for privileges equivalent to those of an Intermediate Apprentice.

By then, they can freely study and strengthen themselves within the tower, increasing the Success Rate of the research."

The crowd burst into an uproar and began discussing it again.

"The senior sister's unwanted old body!"

This senior sister had once suffered severe injuries in an experiment. The potions she took had ruined her health and beauty, so she had always wanted to change bodies.

This was also for gaining power and achieving a breakthrough in advancement.

Thus, the conditions she offered were exceptionally generous.

But everyone knew that even with witchcraft, transplanting a brain was extremely dangerous.

Those conditions were essentially payment for a life.

"I... can I do it?"

Just as everyone thought the deal would fail due to a lack of interest, a timid voice rang out.

A simply dressed girl with braided hair stepped forward.

"Of course.

But my research requires a high degree of cooperation. Have you really thought this through?"

Sophia asked.

"I have. I don't want to be sent back just like this."

The braided girl's expression was incomparably resolute.

Sophia said, "Good. What is your name?"

"Sailen," the braided girl answered.

Sophia nodded. "Come with me."

As the two left, the crowd stirred.

The power of example was boundless.

Immediately After, the Advanced Apprentices each offered their own terms and concluded multiple deals.

However, unlike them, who could openly protect people's residency, Intermediate Apprentices could only achieve the same through loopholes in the rules or by bribing Enforcement Team members.

Over the years, an unspoken rule had formed: roughly one slot per person, with a monthly fee of fifty magic stones.

This required money.