LV4: The First "Trash"-Type Warlock in History

Late at night, the Caster Association staff had all gone home.

Only Jia Xiu's laboratory was still brightly lit.

The people left on night watch had long since gotten used to it.

But this time was a little different. This time, a fairy undead was staying up with Jia Xiu.

Jia Xiu still had to sleep for four hours, but Bubu truly did not need any sleep at all.

At that moment, Bubu was hugging several large chunks of elemental crystal and leisurely drawing out their mana.

Jia Xiu had also given it some red zircon powder and an infused bone as a reward for casting all kinds of messy spells throughout the day.

In truth, Bubu did not need much mana to maintain its condition. Hugging crystals and gnawing on them was purely because it craved them.

It felt that the mana in different materials had different "textures."

Lightning crystals made its mouth tingle, ice crystals felt cool, and the bone had a strange fragrance that was incredibly addictive.

Compared to Bubu happily feasting away, Jia Xiu was far busier.

He was writing furiously, filling out a stack of experiment reports.

Jia Xiu missed printers more than ever. If he had one, he would not have had to handwrite every single experiment report in full, even drawing the tables himself.

Once his skills improved, he would definitely develop a copying spell.

A few more hours passed. Jia Xiu rubbed his dry eyes and stretched his neck, hearing it crack.

"Finally finished."

Jia Xiu looked at his work with satisfaction.

A massive pile of experiments without a shred of innovation, all padded to the brim.

During the day, he had Bubu cast every spell he knew and recorded the changes produced under the influence of Fairy Runes.

If he could not study the essence of Fairy Runes, could he not study the phenomena they produced?

Thus, a whole series of <Observation Experiments on Changes in Spell Effects After Casting Through the Fairy Rune System> was born.

Jia Xiu had finally figured out the proper way to make use of Fairy Runes.

They were practically the graphene of materials science, the gut microbiome of medicine, the deep learning of computer science!

Just mix in anything at all, and a new study could come out of it.

How many caster apprentices could this help graduate?

Jia Xiu neatly arranged these results.

Then he began submitting them!

[Topic 1 point/Innovation 1 point/Workload 1 point/Research level 2 points/Impact 1 point]

[Topic 1 point/Innovation 1 point/Workload 2 points/Research level 1 point/Impact 0 points]

[Evaluation: Disgusting. I'm almost unable to recognize the words "Fairy Runes" anymore.]

[Evaluation: Fortunately, only we saw this article. It did not contaminate anyone else.]

Seeing the merciless evaluations, Jia Xiu smiled faintly.

There was no "we." Even he himself had not read these things while writing them.

Though these so-called studies could barely be called research, and every single one scored poorly, there were simply too many of them.

[Reward: 60 experience points]

[Reward: 70 experience points]

[Reward: 50 experience points]

Reward notifications popped up one after another, and his experience bar rose at a slow but steady pace.

Fine, doing this sort of thing was indeed a little lacking in research spirit.

He could not be blamed for falling into depravity. The experience was simply too tempting.

Leveling up was nothing to be ashamed of.

Soon, the experience bar filled up.

[Level up, Warlock LV.3 → LV.4]

[Current experience: 2710/6500]

[Attribute points gained +2]

[Spell Teleportation Anchor gained a circle. You may now mark one additional location. It is recommended that you mark the new anchor at your dormitory, so your entire life can become a cycle between your dormitory and laboratory.]

[Spell gained: Complete Focus. After use, you may enter a flow state. Your concentration will greatly increase, while reading speed, computational ability, and comprehension will be enhanced. Recommended for use only after a long rest. Although it has no cooldown, frequent use may cause serious side effects such as headaches and dizziness.]

[New feat available for selection]

Jia Xiu first added his points to Intelligence and Perception. In order to enjoy the full benefits of Fairy Runes as soon as possible, he decided not to consider any other attributes until these two reached 16.

[Attributes: Strength 4/Agility 3/Constitution 5/Intelligence 9/Perception 9/Charisma 4]

That way, under ideal conditions, he could begin researching runes at level 11.

But at the current rate of increase in experience requirements, reaching level 11 would probably take tens of thousands of experience points.

Thinking about it made the goal seem terribly distant. Once experience requirements reached the tens of thousands, it would not be easy to pad his way up a few dozen points at a time.

He could only hope Saint Delro Academy could provide the conditions for a single study to earn several thousand experience points.

Jia Xiu also wanted to conduct some research with real academic impact.

Among his level-up rewards, the only thing left undecided was that new feat.

Jia Xiu began searching through the complicated feat list for the one that suited him best.

"Performance, Alertness, Dual Wielding..."

Most feats provided abilities in a particular area.

Such as becoming proficient with certain equipment, mastering an obscure language, or becoming better at lying...

They were useful, but none gave Jia Xiu that powerful feeling of wanting them.

What he wanted most was something he could not learn on his own.

Languages, for example—he could learn those himself if he worked hard enough. Getting one as a level-up reward felt like a loss.

Jia Xiu kept browsing the feat list. By the time he reached the later entries, he was starting to get irritated. It would have been better to just give him a unique spell and spare him the trouble of choosing.

Just as Jia Xiu grew increasingly disappointed and was about to settle for a feat that boosted basic attributes, he suddenly found an astonishing option.

[Patron Alliance (Warlock class exclusive)]

[Form an alliance led by patrons. Other members of the alliance may become sub-patrons, whose power can be borrowed.]

What was this?

Jia Xiu's drowsy eyes instantly widened.

Warlocks could have other patrons too?

What an absurdly overpowered feat.

If it truly worked as described, he could find a whole group of patrons and borrow a little power from each one.

Would that not make him invincible?

The backing flow.

If one backer was not strong enough, then he would find a whole bunch of backers.

This was the one.

Jia Xiu was just about to choose the feat when he hesitated again.

Although it looked invincible at first glance, where was he supposed to find so many powerful beings to serve as sub-patrons?

Even if he found them, how would he persuade them to become sub-patrons?

His Charisma was so low.

Besides, patrons had their pride.

Other warlocks all followed one patron, while he was special—a single warlock serving a whole pile of patrons.

He struggled with it for quite a while.

"Forget it. This is the one."

If all else failed, he could deceive them. He would learn from Constantine and bluff both Heaven and Hell.

Jia Xiu confirmed his selection.

The temptation of such a high ceiling was simply too great.

After confirming the feat, a new spell appeared in Jia Xiu's mind. It was a type of contract.

Once signed, the other party would become his sub-patron.

Jia Xiu carefully read through the contract.

The bad news was that it clearly stated the signer would become a sub-patron.

Deceiving someone into signing it did not seem feasible.

Were there any powerful beings who did not read contracts?

There seemed to be.

Jia Xiu turned his gaze toward Bubu.

Bubu said, "What is it, boss?"

"Bubu, from now on, I'm your boss, and you're my sub-patron. We each keep our own roles."