New Wizardry

"Please... please let me serve you! I can take care of your physical needs, clean your room... As long as you give me a little protection and help..."

Lynn gave her a harsh appraisal with his eyes, then spoke flatly.

"No need."

"My lord, at night, I can..."

Mary hurriedly began.

"I said, no need!"

Lynn cut her off, his gaze falling on her black stockings.

"I don't like anyone disrupting my life. In the end, you have to walk your own path yourself."

Those words were like an icy dagger, piercing through Mary's last shred of hope.

She looked at Lynn's cold profile and remembered how they had once shared the same cage, how that panicked boy had helplessly asked her about their situation.

They might once have shared similar fates—sold to Nightingale Hall together, receiving guests together, then clinging to each other for warmth...

But now, everything had changed...

"In the end, my goodwill couldn't earn me any special treatment from him."

A tide of shame, despair, and anger surged through her heart.

He really did despise her—despised her for having been at Nightingale Hall, despised her for her meager talent!

"I... I understand."

Mary lowered her head, concealing the resentment swirling in her eyes as her voice turned stiff.

"Sorry for disturbing you."

With that, Mary pulled her wizard robe closed and staggered out of the dormitory.

Kevin, standing at the door, froze slightly at the sight.

Wait... that's it?

Lynn, you really can't do it!

It ended before I even heard anything?

Genius? Heh...

Kevin didn't know whether to feel regretful or relieved. As he watched Mary's departing figure, a bold idea rose in his heart.

From that day onward, Mary appeared in Lynn's sight less and less often.

On the rare occasions he caught a distant glimpse of her in the public dining hall, there was no longer any timidity in her eyes—only cold indifference.

Yet deep within those eyes, something seemed to be brewing.

Mary silently screamed in her heart, "Lynn, you forced me to do this!"

What you don't want will always be someone else's treasure!

Two more days passed. While meditating, Lynn once again felt his Mental Power increase, drawing ever closer to the threshold of a Second-Class Apprentice—20 points of Mental Power.

And his meditation method had finally finished its Analysis!

[Notice: Analysis progress of Soul Whisper Meditation Method has reached 100%.]

[Meditation efficiency has increased by 97%.]

[Optimization plan generated. Analysis Optimization may now be performed.]

When the panel delivered this message, Lynn, who was in the middle of meditating, felt as though a clear spring had been poured into his Mental Core. The speed at which he attracted and refined Negative Energy Particles during meditation soared!

He believed it wouldn't be long before he fully crossed the Mental Power threshold for a Second-Class Apprentice.

He continued leaving the meditation method under Analysis, hoping to derive an Optimization plan as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, work in the laboratory remained leisurely.

After all, the panel could handle Record and Analysis on its own. There was no need for him to worry about them at all.

So that Lynn could focus on his research, Gregor assigned miscellaneous chores like tidying the laboratory to a Wraith servant. Lynn was more than happy with that arrangement.

Every day, he familiarized himself with all kinds of materials and, "incidentally," read the discarded draft papers Gregor casually tossed aside, papers filled with all sorts of conjectures and formulas.

The panel faithfully Recorded everything and began slowly Analyzing fragments of Gregor's core theory, the [Death Metamorphosis Ritual].

Whenever he overcame certain bottlenecks, Lynn promptly reported back to Gregor.

Although most of Lynn's Optimization plans seemed somewhat too "idealistic," they still gave Gregor some new ideas.

That made him even more grateful for his decision to take Lynn in.

This kid's brain really was useful. His accumulation of knowledge and breadth of vision were just a little lacking. As long as he studied diligently under him, he would certainly become a great academic Wizard in the future.

To make Lynn more "comfortable" providing ideas, Gregor was especially generous toward him.

Every noon, he ordered Lynn a delicious "Formal Wizard meal."

The ingredients used in Wizard meals possessed traces of magical power or special effects. They could calm the mind, nourish the brain, strengthen the body, and replenish wizard power.

Taking the opportunity, Lynn asked for several Zero-Level Cantrip spells. Gregor immediately tossed him several black bone fragments.

These black bone fragments could only be made by Formal Wizards. They could directly imprint Witchcraft Models into the Sea of Consciousness, greatly reducing the time needed to learn them.

Of course, Apprentices still needed to deeply understand the models before accurately engraving them onto their Mental Cores.

This step was far from simple. With the shallow control abilities of Apprentices, it was difficult for them to engrave the models properly and successfully.

Even if they barely managed to engrave one, any discrepancy from the original model would greatly reduce the Wizardry's power and considerably lengthen its casting time.

That was also why Lynn's rapid spellcasting without incantations or gestures caused such a stir every time.

Lynn had used black bone fragments several times before. Once used, the Wizard Array engraved on them would disappear, turning them into useless pieces of bone.

This was a measure Wizards used to prevent Apprentices from selling Wizardry at dirt-cheap prices on a large scale.

After all, monopolies were what generated enormous profits.

The bone fragments Gregor gave him contained several practical Zero-Level Cantrip models, including [Minor Undead Domination], [Withering Touch], and [Corrosive Acid].

[Minor Undead Domination]: Applies a temporary mental influence to ownerless or weak low-level Undead creatures (lv0–lv1), engraving a Mental Imprint. (After being used for a period of time, the imprint must be reinforced.)

[Withering Touch]: Touch the target with one's hand to transmit a trace of decaying energy, causing the target to feel temporary fatigue and a slight decrease in muscular strength.

[Corrosive Acid]: Fires a small mass of dark-green viscous acid from the fingertips, causing significant burns and pain to living tissue, but having poor effects on magical materials, enchanted items, and the bones of Undead creatures.

There were also [Corrupted Trinkets], [Minor Preservation], which were suited for handling experimental specimens, and [Magic Reading], which allowed one to read and understand magical text and symbols.

At the same time, Gregor generously gave him a discarded must-have artifact for protagonists—a "Spatial Ring."

The ring had an internal space of roughly one cubic meter. It could be used to store Undead creatures and materials, and was called a [Bone Ring].

Hmm... one cubic meter, for storing Undead...

That was just enough space for one Bone Hound.

Or... he could dismantle a Skeleton Soldier into "parts" and assemble it on-site when needed?

With the ring and [Minor Undead Domination], Lynn began considering getting an Undead creature to serve as a guard.

In the future, he could throw his Undead guard out to absorb damage when facing enemies while he stood behind it and went pew pew pew...

It was too dangerous to go directly to the [Eternal Night Graveyard] outside the Academy to capture one. Not only were there Apprentice-level Undead creatures and bizarre creations there, but it was also filled with powerful Wizard-level creatures.

There was truly no need to risk himself for a low-level Undead. Lynn decided to visit the Apprentice Market first.