Chapter 308 - 35: A Genius-Level Figure

Chapter 308: Chapter 35: A Genius-Level Figure

Before the first rays of dawn touched Residence No. 68, Anya had already left the Apprentice Town and returned to the Newcomer Dormitory Area.

Perhaps because it was the first time in her life she had experienced such a thing, the Noble Lady had spent the night at his residence.

As long as there was a valid reason, the academy didn’t prohibit newcomers from staying overnight in an Apprentice’s residence.

Besides, Mo Ning was already on the Black Tower New Star list, backed by the former dean and a Second Level Wizard. The Witch Spirit wouldn’t trouble him over such a trivial matter.

The young lady had even fulfilled her promise ahead of schedule—after all, a sore lower back was truly just a minor issue.

As a Black Iron Knight, she had plenty of experience dealing with such problems.

She simply applied her family’s special ointment to his lower back and massaged it in with her Qi and Blood Power, allowing it to permeate his muscles. He was fully recovered within half an hour.

The Noble Lady even said proudly:

"A [Life Potion] is certainly faster, but that Magic Potion is worth 66 Black Tower Points, while our family’s ointment costs less than 1 Black Tower Point, and the recovery speed isn’t much slower."

Mo Ning praised her sincerely, "That’s quite impressive."

Although his personal account balance exceeded twenty thousand Black Tower Points and he couldn’t care less about a single [Life Potion], he still found Anya’s family techniques to be truly remarkable.

To achieve an Effect approaching that of a Magic Potion using only medicinal herbs with trace amounts of Spiritual Power was a skill in and of itself.

Seeing Mo Ning’s interest in the ointment, Anya decisively wrote down the detailed secret formula that had been passed down in her family for hundreds of years.

Anyone who had been at the academy for a few months knew not to take so-called "family traditions" seriously.

Compared to the vast sea of knowledge available at the academy, these Secret Techniques and formulas were hardly better than garbage.

At this moment, Mo Ning didn’t linger in bed for a second. He quickly got up, washed his face, and strode into his study to post a hiring task on the crystal task board:

[Witchcraft Sparring Partner Task: Hire an Apprentice proficient in at least three offensive Level Zero Witchcraft spells to practice the Air Shield Technique for half an hour.]

[Time: 7:00 AM.]

[Applicant Pool Restriction: No. 43 Apprentice Town.]

[Reward: 5 Black Tower Points.]

This "crystal task board" was another unique feature of the Upper District residences.

Each Apprentice Town had a task-posting hall where Apprentices could view tasks published by the academy, as well as personal tasks posted by Wizards and other Apprentices.

The crystal task board was directly connected to the magical information network, saving one the trouble of running back and forth.

Having just been promoted to an Apprentice, Mo Ning didn’t plan on taking any Apprentice tasks for the time being, so he rarely paid attention to such things.

As for the "sparring partner" task he posted, it was an extremely common type.

After mastering a new Witchcraft, Apprentices would usually spend money to hire a sparring partner to quickly familiarize themselves with the spell’s characteristics through combat-like simulations.

Although his plugin had a powerful Simulation Space, its database was severely lacking in data on Level Zero Witchcraft. To accumulate more data, Mo Ning decided to post the task.

Most sparring partner tasks for First Level Apprentices offered a reward between three and four Black Tower Points. Too lazy to wait, Mo Ning directly offered the high price of five Black Tower Points.

[Task Posted!]

The notification from his Magic Ring had only just appeared when another one followed immediately:

[First Level Apprentice "Sahan" has accepted the task. Please proceed to the sparring room at the appointed time.]

It was accepted almost instantly.

Mo Ning couldn’t help but smile.

The financial straits of most First Level Apprentices were even more dire than those of newcomers.

They needed to buy Magic Wands and Casting Gloves, learn Level Zero Witchcraft, enroll in courses to gain various kinds of knowledge, and borrow even more expensive books. They practically wished they could split a single Black Tower Point into twenty pieces.

Newcomers only wished they could split it into ten.

So even though the reward for this task was only one Black Tower Point higher than usual, it was an incredibly tempting opportunity for the Apprentices.

Earning five Black Tower Points in just half an hour—a sweet deal like that didn’t come along every day.

Mo Ning could easily imagine the many Apprentices camped out in the task hall, sighing in frustration for being just a fraction of a second too slow to grab the task.

He strode toward the dining room, ready to enjoy the Heartfelt Breakfast Anya had so carefully prepared.

He had to admit, the Noble Lady was incredibly capable.

*****

「At the same time.」

In the task hall.

[Personal Task No. 43-09-133 accepted. Task Issuer: Mo Ning. Please proceed to the sparring room at the appointed time. Witchcraft sparring carries a degree of risk; please be mindful of your safety.]

First Level Apprentice Sahan lifted his right hand from the crystal control panel. Listening to the notification from his Magic Ring, he fought to keep the smile off his face.

’A sparring task for five Black Tower Points! My luck is amazing today!’

A group of Apprentices camped out nearby began to groan in succession.

"Dammit! I zoned out for just 0.1 seconds, and the sparring task was gone."

"Which bastard snatched the task? Show yourself!"

Sahan’s expression remained neutral, but inwardly he scoffed. ’Only an idiot would show himself. Serves you slowpokes right for not being faster than me.’

He didn’t leave right away. Instead, he feigned disappointment as he continued to browse the tasks for a moment before speaking:

"Forget it. Looks like there aren’t any good tasks. I’m going back to study Divination."

The guy even added with a grumble, "That problem with Rabi’s continuous wave calculus has had me stuck for a whole week. I hate the name Rabi!"

Hearing this, the surrounding Apprentices all showed expressions of shared misery.