Laboratory

Early the next morning, Lynn finished meditating, looking refreshed and full of energy.

Meditation could serve as an excellent substitute for sleep. Just two hours of meditation could ease mental fatigue.

Kevin had also just awakened from shallow meditation, a trace of frustration on his face.

Although he had tried hard to draw in negative energy particles, the results had been minimal.

That amount was nowhere near enough to construct a Mental Core. Before it could even enter his Sea of Consciousness, most of it had already dissipated.

By the time the two of them had washed up, Kevin had adjusted his mood.

His talent was not actually poor. He possessed middling death affinity and could be considered something of a minor genius.

But compared to Lynn...

Better not compare at all!

"Lynn, want to attend today's public lecture together?" Kevin invited him warmly.

"It's Introduction to Meditation Methods and Mental Core Condensation Techniques. I heard the deacon teaching it is very experienced, and it'll be a great help for us in condensing our cores!"

"Even if you've already condensed an Energy Core, you could still learn how to stabilize a Mental Core and build a solid foundation."

Lynn shook his head and politely declined.

"Thanks, but I have some other things to do. I hope the lecture goes well for you."

He had already successfully condensed his core. Such a basic course was useless to him now and would be a complete waste of time.

Under Kevin's somewhat disappointed gaze, Lynn left the dormitory.

Rather than heading to the public teaching area, he went straight to the academy's dining district.

Using his Nameplate, he bought two portions of fairly fresh black bread and smoked meat, along with two cups of watered-down light beer—standard apprentice meals. He bought two portions.

At Bone Spire, the Nameplate was not only proof of identity, but also a key to one's permissions, a storage device for Contribution Points, and a simple protective charm.

Its material and design strictly corresponded to the holder's rank.

Lynn's Nameplate was made of rough bone and was grayish-black overall.

The front bore an etched, simple emblem of Bone Spire—a tower formed from three bones—with the apprentice's name and a set of identification numbers engraved beneath it.

Activating his Nameplate allowed him to cast the [Glimmer Illumination] spell and view a map of the entire academy.

This lowest-grade Nameplate was issued to all new students.

The death rate among new students was absurdly high, so naturally the material used was the cheapest possible. No one would feel bad about losing as many as necessary.

The Nameplates Lynn had seen on Formal Wizard apprentices and Formal Wizards were clearly much more refined.

Lynn planned to visit the Apprentice Progression Hall later to undergo the official certification for First-Class Apprentice and replace his Nameplate.

A short while later, Lynn arrived at the area where his mentor Gregor's Laboratory was located.

This place was even more deserted than the apprentice district, and all sorts of strange smells filled the air.

There was the pungent stench of chemical reagents, a faint odor of decay, and some kind of... burnt-feather smell?

Undead puppets and bizarre constructs passed by from time to time, carrying piles of materials or hauling all kinds of grotesque waste out of laboratories.

The waste was mixed with every kind of negative aura: death energy, miasma, curses, resentment, mutations...

The waste was far too miscellaneous to be reused, so the undead puppets collectively transported it to the edge of a cliff and dumped it below.

At the very bottom of the cliff was a gigantic blackish-purple, sludge-like creature. At that moment, it had opened its enormous mouth and was waiting for the waste to fall in on its own.

To it, all waste was supreme delicacy.

The mere aura it unconsciously gave off could pollute and corrode everything around it.

Lynn did not dare wander around here. After all, anyone capable of applying for a laboratory was not someone he could afford to provoke.

If his leisurely demeanor happened to annoy a Wizard whose experiment was going poorly, and the Wizard killed him with a single move, where would he even go to complain?

Gregor's Laboratory was a huge room that looked like it had been converted from a warehouse. Its door was left ajar.

Lynn knocked, and an impatient "Come in" sounded from inside.

When he pushed open the door and entered, the sight before him made Lynn raise an eyebrow slightly.

The laboratory was even messier than he had imagined. All kinds of instruments, materials, books, and bone plates were piled everywhere, leaving barely any room to step.

Mentor Gregor stood before a complex device made of metal pipes and flickering runes, his brow tightly furrowed as he continuously recorded something.

He was still wearing that stained gray robe, and his already messy hair seemed even more disheveled.

"Good morning, Mentor. I brought you breakfast." Lynn placed one portion of food on the corner of a table that had barely been cleared.

Gregor did not even raise his head. He merely waved a hand, then walked over to the windowsill.

There sat a half-dead-looking potted plant resembling a twisted cactus, grayish-black from top to bottom.

With practiced ease, he plucked a shriveled fruit the size of a walnut, tossed it into his mouth without looking, chewed a few times, and swallowed.

"Don't bother with that."

Gregor's voice was still hoarse and tired. "When I'm hungry, I just eat this. A Satiety Mushroom. One is enough for a whole day."

Lynn understood. Was this the otherworld version of a fasting pill?

This thing might fill one's stomach, but it lacked the satisfaction and pleasure that came from good food.

In the long run... what was even the point of living?

As though he had seen the incomprehension on Lynn's face, Gregor snorted coldly.

"When you reach my level, you'll understand. A Wizard's body can automatically absorb the surrounding energy to maintain its functions. Some Wizards even have bodies that have completely transformed into elemental forms."

"Ordinary food is of little use to us now. If Satiety Mushrooms could not stabilize wizard power, I would not even eat this stuff."

Lynn suddenly understood. He no longer dwelled on the matter and instead looked around the laboratory.

"Mentor, is there anything you need help with? Cleaning, perhaps, or organizing materials?"

Gregor finally turned around. His cloudy eyes glanced at Lynn, seemingly a little surprised by his initiative.

"No need. I'm used to it this way. Including you, I currently have four apprentices under me. The other three..."

"Hmph. One is hanging around the Task Hall earning Contribution Points, one is off somewhere tinkering with undead creatures, and the last is trying to hook up with female apprentices from the Soulweaver faction."

"I have no demands of them whatsoever. As long as they don't ruin my reputation or cause me trouble, that's enough. They rarely come here. You can do as you please too, just don't disturb my experiments."

You have a reputation?

Crazy old man? Deranged obsessive?

Still, Gregor's arrangement suited Lynn perfectly.

Wasn't the great freedom precisely why he had chosen him?

Lynn nodded, but did not leave. Instead, he began carefully organizing the scattered pile of bone plates nearest to him.

The bone plates were covered in complex formulas, rune structures, and experimental data records, most of them related to energy circuits, soul thresholds, and negative-pressure environment construction.

They were clearly research materials for the Death Metamorphosis Ritual.

With the knowledge he had absorbed in the library yesterday as a foundation, Lynn was no longer a complete novice. He could understand some of the simpler data formulas.

Gregor glanced at him, did not stop him again, and returned to his work.

As he organized the materials, Lynn used the panel's [Record] function to rapidly store this scattered knowledge.

At the same time, he activated the [Analysis] function, directly targeting several recurring core problems amid the chaotic information.

He stayed busy like that for most of the day. Around noon, Lynn had intended to eat the extra breakfast, but Gregor directly ordered a meal for him, allowing Lynn to sample a Formal Wizard's "work meal" as well.