Leveling Up and New Abilities

"Here, this is the key to the laboratory."

Margaret handed Jia Xiu a key, one that perfectly matched the fantasy-world stereotype: brass-colored, covered in intricate carvings, and heavy in his hand.

"Thank you, Mentor."

Though he had not even enrolled yet, Jia Xiu had already started calling her Mentor.

His emotional intelligence was on point.

Margaret wanted to maintain the stern image of a teacher before Jia Xiu, but the corners of her mouth were proving difficult to suppress.

He really knew the ropes.

Talented and sensible, too. Then she thought of the students she had taught before.

Forget producing results—during final exams, faced with those infuriating answer sheets, she could not save them no matter how hard she tried.

"Let me introduce you to this laboratory."

Margaret tacitly accepted the title of Mentor and led Jia Xiu into the laboratory.

The laboratory was not large, around thirty square meters, but in a backwater like Creekwood Town, it was already top-of-the-line.

"These are several standard models of rune substrates. I forget what the quota is, but just apply to the Association when you run out. It should be enough for normal use."

"An alchemical reaction vessel. It's a little old, but it'll do for small experiments."

"A voice quill. It can write down whatever you say, making it convenient to keep records at any time. It often gets things wrong, though, so remember to check what it writes afterward."

Margaret gave him a rough introduction to the laboratory's main equipment.

This was the first time Jia Xiu had seen so many magical items since transmigrating to this other world. Every one of them was probably worth a fortune.

Research really was a money-burning endeavor.

"As for more detailed instructions and precautions..."

Margaret rummaged through a cabinet.

"Ah, here it is. Hup—"

"Bang!"

A leather-bound volume weighing several pounds at least, fitted with metal clasps and gilt page edges, landed heavily on the table.

"The laboratory guidebook. If there's something you don't know, look it up in here. It has everything. If it really isn't written here, the Association has a Communication Crystal. Use that to leave me a message."

Since Margaret had only come to Creekwood Town on business and would return to Saint Delro Academy after the awards evaluation, she could only guide Jia Xiu remotely afterward.

"Hey, why are you staring blankly? It's not that difficult. This book only looks thick. You won't actually need most of it."

Seeing Jia Xiu freeze up, Margaret thought he had been intimidated by the massive tome.

"I just think this magic laboratory is a little different from what I imagined."

Jia Xiu answered.

He had not been frightened by the guidebook's thickness. Instead, it gave him a familiar feeling.

What was the best teaching material for learning a programming language?

Naturally, its official documentation.

He increasingly felt that researching magic was basically an engineering discipline.

"Then what did you imagine a magic laboratory would be like? Wizards in long robes and pointed hats, acting like lunatics amid strange materials and pungent smells, chanting bizarre spells while stirring a huge vat?"

Jia Xiu nodded vigorously.

Every wizard he had heard about in bards' tales had been like that.

"Haha, that was a long time ago," Margaret explained. "During the last war against the demons, the standards among participating casters were not unified, and they liked to hide crucial knowledge from one another, resulting in many unnecessary losses.

"After the war, the Caster Association began promoting the standardization of spells. That was how magical experiments became what they are today. Never mind how much efficiency improved—at the very least, far fewer casters blew themselves up in their laboratories."

"That sounds like a good thing."

"Of course it is. Aside from a very small number of old fossils, most Association members support it. All right, it's about time for me to go. Work hard. I'll send you exam-prep materials in a few days. If you fail to get in, I'm charging you for this laboratory."

Margaret said it half-jokingly.

"Um, ahem, Mentor..."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Jia Xiu suddenly said awkwardly.

"What is it?"

"That ring you found earlier, the one nobody wanted... have you remembered who it belonged to?"

Jia Xiu was referring to the rare ring originally intended for cheating in the duel.

In the end, it had not been needed. Hannas had been even weaker than expected.

The ring was still with Jia Xiu, and Margaret had not asked for it back. A magical item of that caliber was a little too valuable for him right now.

Hearing Jia Xiu's question, Margaret looked entirely unconcerned.

"If I said nobody wanted it, then nobody wanted it. Keep it."

Her tone made it sound as though the ring was worth nothing at all.

"Thank you, Mentor."

"Goodbye." Margaret waved, then vanished from the doorway in a teleportation.

Jia Xiu looked at the ring in his hand.

She was so unconcerned about it. It seemed this mentor was even wealthier than he had imagined.

After seeing his mentor off, Jia Xiu deposited one thousand Kroner in the Association's vault. That was an enormous sum in Creekwood Town, and it was not very safe to keep it on him.

Then, without resting for even a day, he plunged straight into the laboratory.

He still had not submitted his research on the "Paronychia" version of the Basic Healing Spell.

He had only been able to complete the experiment with Hannas's "friendly assistance."

Jia Xiu carefully summarized and recorded the experimental results.

[Completed a study on a 0-circle cantrip]

Jia Xiu waited excitedly. He felt this study ought to break his highest score.

Yet this evaluation seemed slower than usual. Normally, it settled instantly without any delay, but this time it stalled for several minutes.

What was going on? Could his new research be too groundbreaking to evaluate immediately?

After waiting a few more minutes, the evaluation finally appeared slowly.

[Topic Selection: 1 point / Innovation: 3 points / Workload: 1 point / Research Standard: 1 point / Impact: 1 point]

[Evaluation: You should pay the Sect Master compensation for the emotional damage of reading this study]

[Reward: 70 experience points]

What did that mean?

Seeing the evaluation, Jia Xiu was rather dissatisfied.

What the hell was compensation for emotional damage? Was using the Basic Healing Spell to deal damage not a highly promising line of research?

Still, considering it gave him 70 experience points, he let it go.

As the reward arrived, another prompt appeared.

[Level Up, Warlock LV.2 → LV.3]

[Current Experience: 960/2700]

The difficulty of leveling up had suddenly increased by a huge margin.

[Attribute Points Obtained: +2]

[Spell Obtained: Detection Spell. Passive skill. Automatically detects valuable research targets within a 15-meter radius.]

[Spell Obtained: Teleportation Anchor. Can mark a location as an anchor point. Within 120 kilometers of the anchor point, using this spell will instantly teleport you to it. It is recommended that you mark your laboratory. The laboratory is your eternal home.]

Jia Xiu's eyelids twitched.

This Sect Master was not a proper Sect Master either. A spell was just a spell—why did it have to come with sarcasm?

The prompts had not ended yet. The rewards for this level-up were unexpectedly generous.

[Gift Unlocked: Demonic Pact's Blessing. You may choose one of the following pact items:]

[Pact of Chains: Obtain a magical pet capable of simple actions and assisting in battle.]

[Pact of Blades: Obtain a magical weapon with special enchanted properties.]

[Book Pact: Obtain a Magic Grimoire. This Magic Grimoire can record existing or entirely new spells, and can perform simple automatic error correction and supplementation for their rune structures.]