Three Days, Rapid Growth!

The next morning, sunlight barely pierced through the towering wizard tower, illuminating the beautiful campus.

After breakfast, Tylen first delivered the several corpses needed for the day to the classroom, completing his routine duties.

Then, carrying the rune papers he had finished overnight, he hurried without pause to the Fine Wine Gang's stronghold.

In the warehouse, Ars looked at the neatly arranged rune frameworks with their clear, smooth magical circuits, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

"Brother Magnus, your quality is as steady as ever."

Ars paid promptly and was about to discuss the next order when Tylen waved his hand.

"Brother Ars, I've got some business for the next three days, so I might not be able to take any orders."

"Oh?"

Ars's eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp glint flashing through them.

As a veteran who had navigated the black market for years, he naturally knew that a thorough, purge-like inspection was underway inside the wizard tower these days.

He didn't pry, only lowering his voice and leaning close to Tylen, saying:

"Since you've got things to do, go ahead and handle them."

"But, since we've been working together so well, I'll give you a free tip."

Ars glanced around, his voice dropping so low only the two of them could hear:

"We've got solid intel that the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower... seems to have succeeded in its upgrade."

"From now on, when you go out, especially if you run into people from Blazing Sun Tower, be careful."

Hearing this, Tylen's heart tightened sharply.

The Blazing Sun Wizard Tower was the old rival of the Cain Wizard Tower.

For years, the two towers stood one in the north and one in the south, competing for dominance within Lion City.

Though both were classified as "City-Level" wizard towers, neither would yield to the other.

But now, with the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower's successful upgrade, it meant they had advanced to "Province-Level."

What did that imply?

It meant a tilt in resource allocation, a boost in influence, and that from now on, Cain Tower would have to bow its head before them.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Brother Ars."

Tylen nodded solemnly, expressing his gratitude.

But he didn't press for the truth of the news.

Because he knew well that with information at this level, asking wouldn't yield any certainty.

Instead, it would only give the impression of distrust, a cold shoulder to a warm gesture.

After parting with Ars, Tylen drove the carriage swiftly back to the wizard tower.

Meanwhile, a tall, thin figure quietly appeared at the kitchen doorway.

Chestnut hair, a long face—it was Morgan, one of the "Sewer Duo" trying to turn things around with a "big scoop."

Morgan walked into the kitchen with a smile, looking at the fat chef Burton who was tidying up, and asked politely:

"Excuse me, sir."

"I'm a third-level wizard apprentice in charge of sewer dredging, a student of Lady Lavia."

He deliberately invoked his mentor's name to add some weight.

"Recently, some strange odors have appeared in the sewers, and we're tracking down the source."

"May I ask if there have been any incidents of kitchenware, ingredients, or fuel going missing around here lately?"

As he spoke, Morgan stepped forward and slipped a coin worth 5 Purple Gold Coins into Burton's hand.

Burton's small eyes, squeezed into slits by his fat, glanced at the coin, and he smoothly pocketed it into his apron.

"No."

Burton puffed on his pipe, blowing out a smoke ring, and said casually:

"This kitchen has dedicated staff watching it every day. Haven't lost so much as a spoon, let alone fuel."

Morgan nodded knowingly, thinking to himself that it was just as he expected.

That thief wouldn't dare strike in a busy place like the kitchen with so many eyes around.

So, he shifted the topic and probed:

"Then... has there been anything unusual in the morgue around here lately?"

"The morgue?"

Burton raised an eyebrow, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"That shithole could have something unusual? Nothing but corpses and bones."

Morgan refused to give up and continued guiding: "For example... did any special flames appear? Or any special... fragrance?"

"Also, that apprentice in charge of collecting the bodies—does he come to the cafeteria to eat every day as usual?"

Hearing this, Burton's mind was already as clear as a mirror.

He waved his hand and said casually: "Flames and fragrance, what else could be in that place besides the stench of corpses and the smell of potions?"

"As for that kid, he's so broke it's pitiful. He eats so much at my place every day that even I feel sorry for him. If he doesn't eat here, where would he go? Eat dirt?"

Upon hearing this, the light in Morgan's eyes instantly dimmed.

Disappointment, along with the heartache over his five Purple Gold Coins, stiffened the smile on his face.

"So I was overthinking it..."

He certainly wanted to go ask someone else, but unfortunately, his wallet no longer allowed him to keep splurging.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Morgan sighed, turned around, and left, cursing in his heart: "Dutch! You unreliable bastard!"

Ten minutes later.

Tylen drove the carriage back to the servant quarters.

As soon as he tied up the horse, Burton, who was smoking at the door, called him over.

"Little Ma, come here."

Burton blew out a smoke ring and lowered his voice to recount what had just happened when Morgan came asking for information.

Finally, he fixed his shrewd little eyes on Tylen, made an "eating" gesture with his hand, and asked in a low voice: "Kid, be honest with me—are you secretly..."

Tylen burst out laughing, not a trace of panic on his face: "Thanks for covering for me, Uncle!"

"But do I look like that kind of pervert to you?"

"I just bought some stuff and made myself a hometown dish I was craving."

"I've already reported this to my mentor. He knows."

Burton nodded in understanding upon hearing this, then asked curiously: "You can even report trivial matters like that directly to such a big shot?"

In his view, official wizards were all lofty and aloof—why would they have the time to care about what an apprentice ate?

Tylen smiled, his tone relaxed: "My mentor assigns me corpse disposal tasks every day. Throwing in a casual mention during a work report—isn't that normal?"

"True."

Burton nodded with a smile and didn't press further: "Alright, go on with your work."

"But if someone else comes asking next time, what should I say?"

Tylen replied with a grin: "Same as this time."

"I'm swamped with work lately and don't want any extra trouble."

"Besides, you didn't lose anything, and that stove was something I borrowed from you."

Burton laughed heartily and pointed his pipe at Tylen: "You little rascal."

Back in the morgue.

Tylen quickly entered "battle readiness."

First, he cleaned the morgue from top to bottom, not even sparing the cobwebs in the corners.

Then he took the pot of meat from the cold storage, sealed it together with the other ingredients, and temporarily hid it among the clutter under his bed.

After finishing all that, he picked up the thick Alchemy Basics and sat at the desk, burying himself in study.

An hour later.

From outside the door came Burton's hearty, deliberately raised voice: "Greetings, my lord!"

Hearing this, Tylen immediately closed his book, stood up, and straightened his robe.

This was the signal Burton had given him—the inspectors were coming.

Pushing open the door, he saw the slightly plump wizard, Vincent, who had previously inspected Makley, approaching with four young men and women in neat uniforms, holding clipboards.

"Lord Vincent."

Tylen bowed respectfully, his posture flawless.

Then he handed over the neatly organized outbound records and accounts with both hands.

Vincent took the ledger, flipped through it casually, nodded, and led his four subordinates into the mortuary.

The moment he stepped inside, Vincent deliberately gave Tylen an extra glance.

Because he noticed the entire room was quite clean and tidy.

There was none of the nauseating, years-old stench of corpses typical of other mortuaries, nor any cluttered debris.

Even the corners and dead angles lacked mold, showing that daily cleaning was done with considerable care.

It was cleaner than the mortuaries managed by the other four people.

"Not bad."

Vincent nodded slightly.

Then, the five of them swiftly and efficiently began their work.

While checking the quantity and condition of the stored corpses, they also contacted relevant personnel via magical communication to confirm the whereabouts and uses of the bodies.

At that moment, a young inspector pointed at the pile of stitched-together dog corpses at the bottom of the cold storage and frowned, asking:

"What's this about?"

Tylen immediately stepped forward and explained respectfully:

"Reporting to you, sir, these were a pack of wild dogs I encountered yesterday while collecting bodies outside the city."

"To defend myself, I killed them."

"I thought their bones might be useful for practicing rune carving or as materials for low-level undead, so I brought them back."

"No funds from the tower were spent."

Vincent glanced at the dog corpses, then at the two skeleton soldiers with green flames flickering in their eye sockets standing in the corner.

He naturally recognized them as Makley's handiwork.

"Hmm, recycling waste—an interesting idea."

Vincent nodded and said nothing more.

As long as the accounts matched and no public funds were embezzled, he couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters.

"Everything's normal. Let's go."

The group came and went quickly, turning to leave.

Over the next three days.

Tylen lived an extremely busy life.

He had to deal with various surprise inspections and related end-of-month checks.

Afraid of missing the inspectors, he didn't even dare go out to buy groceries himself, instead paying Burton to help with the shopping.

But with the blessing of the [Slacker Saint Body], he managed everything in perfect order.

Whether they came in the morning, afternoon, or even in the middle of the night, he handled it flawlessly, leaving no fault to be found.

Besides dealing with inspections, Tylen naturally didn't slack off in his own cultivation.

In fact, he was advancing by leaps and bounds!

Over these three days, he stuck to a rigid schedule of three high-intensity physical training sessions each day—morning, noon, and night.

With a 30-fold recovery efficiency and ample meat-based nutrition, Tylen's body underwent visible changes.

His originally thin, ribby frame had become noticeably more robust.

Under his clothes, his skin now showed clearly defined, symmetrical, and powerful muscle lines.

Though still not comparable to knights who specialized in physical training, he was already on a crushing level compared to ordinary wizard apprentices.

On his system panel, his [Constitution] attribute had smoothly risen from 1.2 all the way to 1.8!

Beyond physical fitness, the first week's Grand Monthly Card mission had also been settled.

His level had climbed straight to 11 with 200 experience.

Although it was a pity that tasks like "three duels," "10 alchemy experiments," "10 magical cooking sessions," and "10 soul summons" couldn't be completed due to restrictions.

For Tylen, the gains so far were already substantial.

[Accumulated rewards are as follows:]

[Lv7: Magic Artifact Shard x100 + Magic Artifact Fragment x20]

[Lv8: Meditation Essential Oil x5 + Meditation Essence x5]

[Lv9: Spirit-Channeling Bone Shard x2]

[Lv10: 320 Knowledge Crystals, Blank Knowledge Book x5]

[Lv11: Apprentice's Experience x4, Wizard's Experience x5]

On the other side, he also used the time to read furiously.

He had already completely devoured the thick Alchemy Basics, raising [Alchemy] to 0.1.

He also finished Introduction to Ritual Studies on the side, raising [Ritual Studies] to 0.1.

Beyond the improvement in theoretical knowledge, his [Runic Studies] had now reached 0.8!

During these three days, aside from physical training and dealing with inspections, he spent every day grinding various runes.

Under Makley's highly concentrated instruction, he had now mastered the Bone Domination rune and the Bone Weaving rune.

That Blood Rune Bone Hound had been dismantled and reassembled by him, optimized several times over.

[Magic Thorn Art] had also smoothly reached Lv.4.

Its vibration effect could now cover his entire palm.

As for mental strength, under the boost of 30x meditation efficiency and [Meditation Essence], it had skyrocketed to 4.5!

[Name: Tyron Arthas Magnus]

[Rank: Level 1 Apprentice]

[Constitution: 1.2 → 1.8]

[Mental: 3.8 → 4.5]

[Mana Control: 11.7 → 18.7]

[Spell: Spirit Summoning Control Method (11684 → 18732/100000)]

[Skills: Magic Thorn Art Lv.4 (231/400)]

[Knowledge: Runic Studies 0.8; Alchemy 0.1; Ritual Studies 0.1]

Sacred Fire Calendar, Year 3102, June 1st.

With the conclusion of this strict end-of-month review, a series of new policies called "Cost Reduction and Efficiency Increase" were officially implemented.

The atmosphere in the entire Wizard Tower instantly became tense.

As for Tyron, the first problem he now faced was no longer the difficulty of collecting corpses.

It was: the competition.

Under the new mechanism, the Wizard Tower wanted to select a batch of outstanding low-level apprentices to take on more responsibilities (do more work), and of course, they would also give slightly more resources than before.

In front of the bulletin board, apprentices were crowded together, buzzing with discussion.

Some apprentices were rubbing their hands together, seeing this as a great opportunity to rise above the rest.

Other apprentices wore worried expressions, believing it was just another form of exploitation that would only make them work harder.

Tyron stood at the edge of the crowd, looking at that red bulletin board, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"A competition?"

"Finally, we've arrived at the part I love to see!"