Commission Complete, Gray-Spotted Egg

"Especially these few—they're exceptional quality!"

"They're enough for me to brew several batches of top-grade concealment potions!"

Mason readily paid the agreed contribution points, thirty percent above market price—a considerable sum.

At the same time, he also gave Luo Lin a small pouch of Flashing Dust. It was an alchemical product that could cause temporary blindness when scattered, making it quite useful in certain situations.

"This time, I have you to thank, Luo Lin."

"If you ever need help in the future, or have any good goods you want to sell, come find me."

Mason lowered his voice.

The fellow seemed to be hinting at something, but Luo Lin merely nodded calmly and did not respond.

With the transaction complete, Luo Lin did not linger and turned to leave.

Mason watched his retreating figure, then looked at the wooden box in his hands. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face before he resumed his lazy demeanor, humming as he packed up his things, seemingly preparing to leave the outpost.

Back in the stone house, Luo Lin looked at the newly added contribution points on his identity plaque, as well as the ancient scrolls and mysterious egg on the table, and gradually formed a plan.

The contribution points from the Glowcap Mushroom trade, combined with his previous missions and savings, had left Luo Lin much more financially comfortable.

He did not rush to exchange them for spells or equipment that would improve his combat strength. Instead, he invested most of his contribution points into building up his knowledge.

Through the outpost's communication formation, he remotely requested a batch of books from the library of the Shadow Crow Holy Tower Arcane Academy.

They included several specialized works on the textual study of ancient rune variants, which he hoped would help him decipher the ancient symbols on the bronze compass and beast-hide scrolls.

There was also a copy of Alvado's Illustrated Guide to Rare Magical Beasts: Supplementary Volume, in an attempt to find records matching the characteristics of the Gray-Spotted Egg.

In addition, there were two foundational yet comprehensive books: General Treatise on Familiar Contracts and Brief Analysis of Energy Hatching Principles.

The books were delivered to Gray Tower Outpost through a special teleportation array disc. The expense was substantial, but Luo Lin believed it was worth it.

Over the following days, aside from necessary patrols and outpost assignments, he devoted most of his energy to research and study.

Inside the stone house, the oil lamp often remained lit until late into the night.

The newly arrived books and ancient beast-hide scrolls lay spread across the table.

Luo Lin's fingers slowly moved across yellowed pages and tough hide, while the spell-glow of [Literacy] flickered faintly in his eyes.

The process of deciphering the ancient scrolls was slow and difficult.

Lost grammar, radically different views of energy, and unfamiliar terminology obstructed understanding like a maze.

He had to constantly compare them against the rune research books he had borrowed, jumping back and forth repeatedly just to understand the meaning of a short passage.

For the scroll titled Study of Energy Inertial Fields, he spent nearly a month before barely sorting out its core theoretical framework.

The author proposed a revolutionary idea:

Energy was not eternally active. Its "inertia" was an inherent state that could be guided and amplified.

By constructing a special "Stasis Rune Sequence," one could artificially create a localized high-inertia energy environment, greatly slowing every process within it.

This explained the egg's condition.

It was not dead, but trapped in an extremely delayed "life process."

The destruction of the ruins had damaged the complete Stasis Field, but the effect had not entirely vanished. Instead, it remained in some residual form, maintaining the egg's suspended-death state while also making revival extremely difficult.

Improved Rock Skin Model gave him even more inspiration.

Ancient wizards' understanding of earth-element particles emphasized their "structural stability" and "memory effect," differing from the modern focus on "particle activity" and "dynamic arrangement."

Luo Lin tried to combine these two concepts and began optimizing his [Weak Force-Field Armor].

Rather than merely pursuing uniform energy coverage, he attempted to construct several stable nodes within the armor, similar to "structural fulcrums," to improve its overall resistance to impact.

The process required extremely precise spiritual force control and a deeper understanding of energy particles, so progress was slow.

But he could feel the shield's resilience steadily improving.

He placed the Gray-Spotted Egg in a small wooden box lined with soft, dry moss and set it beside his bed.

After every meditation session, he spent some time attempting an exceedingly gentle spiritual communication with it.

At first, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response at all. But he persisted. His spiritual force was like the finest stream, continuously and gently brushing over the eggshell, conveying soothing and probing intent.

At the same time, he began trying to replenish its energy.

Rather than crudely injecting energy into it, he used the knowledge from Brief Analysis of Energy Hatching Principles to guide the mildest energy particles in the surrounding environment—those inclined toward nourishing life—creating something like a miniature incubator that slowly permeated the eggshell.

At first, there was still no obvious change.

Until one night around two months later, just after Luo Lin had completed a long meditation session, his Mental Sea was full and clear.

As usual, he extended a thread of pure spiritual force toward the egg.

This time, the feedback was completely different!

The faint glimmer inside the eggshell seemed to receive a surge of vitality and suddenly brightened slightly.

Though it was still weak, it carried a clear emotion of "longing," actively and greedily drawing in the spiritual force Luo Lin sent over.

At the same time, he sensed that the eggshell's absorption of the life-energy particles he had guided over had also noticeably accelerated.

It had awakened!

Or rather, it had been initially roused from its deepest dormancy.

A surge of delight rose in Luo Lin's heart, but he immediately suppressed it and maintained a steady flow of spiritual force.

He could sense that this egg had a huge "appetite," but it was incredibly fragile. Like someone recovering from a serious illness, it required slow, sustained nourishment and could not be rushed.

From that day onward, the mysterious egg was no longer a cold, lifeless object. It became a special "research subject" and "companion" requiring his careful attention.

Daily spiritual nurturing and energy infusion became an unwavering part of his routine.

The glimmer inside the eggshell slowly became more solid and brighter at a pace too subtle for the naked eye to detect.

Even the gray markings seemed to gain a faint, indescribable sheen of vitality.

During this time, he did not neglect improving other areas either.

The optimized [Weak Force-Field Armor] had been tested in several small conflicts, and its defensive power had increased by roughly ten percent.

His research into ancient runes gave him some clues about the bronze compass. It seemed to require a specific energy frequency to activate, though he had yet to master the method.

He repeatedly studied General Treatise on Familiar Contracts, preparing for the possible hatching and contract formation in the future.

Life at the outpost remained filled with tension and danger.

During patrol missions, his squad encountered surprise attacks from Soulreaver Birds skilled in mental shrieks, and they had also worked together to eliminate a nest of Cave Spider Demons threatening the supply route.

Relying on his increasingly refined strength and calm judgment, Luo Lin gradually became an indispensable core member of Holm's squad and even began gaining some renown among the other patrol teams.

In terms of resources, aside from the outpost's fixed contribution point income, he relied on his superb material-processing skills and the occasional profits from selling improved potions to sustain the "resource investment" in the egg and his own cultivation. His income and expenses were roughly balanced.

Time passed steadily and resolutely amid this fulfilling cycle of research, cultivation, and missions.

On the panel, all his statistics and proficiencies steadily increased, especially those related to knowledge comprehension and spiritual force control.

The increasingly active egg was like a wellspring of life constantly accumulating power.

As the seasons changed, the Black Forest's deep ink-green scenery gradually took on traces of gray decay, marking the passing of another year.

Luo Lin's term at Gray Tower Outpost had quietly reached nearly two years.

Over those two years, he had been like a tree rooted in a perilous environment, silently absorbing nutrients and growing strong.

The panel's data faithfully reflected his progress:

[Host: Luo Lin]

[Race: Human]

[Level: Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice (Progress 89%)]

[Attributes:

Constitution: 2.2

Spirit: 5.1

Mana: 51/51]

[Spells: Mage Hand (Mastery 25%), Acid Spray (Mastery 5%), Weak Force-Field Armor (Mastery 21%), Literacy (Proficient 85%), Breeze Dust-Cleansing (Proficient 40%), Acid Spell Orb (Uninitiated 65%)]

[Knowledge Mastered:

Basic Meditation Method (Perfect 35%)...]