Chapter 315 - 37: The Academy’s Generous Reward (Part 3)

Chapter 315: Chapter 37: The Academy’s Generous Reward (Part 3)

The warhorse opened its mouth and spat out two items. After one last look at him, it turned and galloped into the darkness.

Each time a hoof struck the ground, a flower of flame bloomed, a beautiful sight against the void.

A breath later.

The warhorse was gone.

Mo Ning stood stunned for a moment, then reached out and closed the door.

"THUD!"

The endless darkness vanished.

He let out a breath and picked up the rewards the warhorse had delivered.

The Buda Space Bracelet was a rather ordinary-looking wristband woven from flexible metal. To the touch, it lacked the usual ice-cold feel of metal and instead radiated a faint warmth.

The Travel Safety House, meanwhile, was a palm-sized metal box engraved with the Black Tower’s insignia. It was the perfect size to fit into the inner pocket of his gray robe.

Mo Ning sighed in satisfaction.

For an Official Wizard, spatial storage equipment and a travel house were considered the standard kit.

He first put the safety house away, then infused his Spiritual Power into the bracelet. He made contact with the Spirit Seal inside—which served as an instruction manual—and began to study how to use the storage space.

The method was simple, and he grasped it after a single look: first, lock onto an object with Spiritual Power, then trigger the spatial transfer.

Experiencing the wondrous Space Equipment for the first time, Mo Ning paced around his apartment.

Nearby items vanished one by one, only to reappear moments later. He was having the time of his life.

He even developed a little party trick: first, he would strip off all his clothes and store them in the bracelet, then retrieve a new outfit and instantly be wearing it.

He dubbed it the—Instant Clothing Change Technique.

Mo Ning found this incredibly practical; at the very least, it would save him a significant amount of time getting dressed.

After his promotion to First Level Apprentice, the academy had issued two free sets of gray robes to him.

This was done so that Apprentices would have a change of clothes, preventing them from having to wear tattered rags if their robes were damaged, which would seriously tarnish the academy’s public image.

By noon, Mo Ning had successfully completed his in-depth optimization of the Acid Arrow.

Perhaps spurred on by the generous reward, he had a flash of inspiration. Using a completely new Divination method, he optimized the splash pattern of the droplets after the Acid Arrow burst.

Although its Magic Power consumption didn’t decrease, the area covered by the droplets was doubled.

In combat against multiple targets, this undoubtedly increased its lethality.

Thus, with extreme efficiency, Mo Ning completed the first Apprentice Level thesis of his life: "On Innovative and Practical Improvements to the Acid Arrow—Expanding Acid Coverage via the Galo Array."

Doubling the coverage area was no small improvement, fully justifying the word "Innovative." The enhanced lethality also warranted the "Practical" descriptor.

Many an Apprentice spent their entire life striving to publish a thesis with "Innovative" in the title, yet he had accomplished it in a mere half hour.

Mo Ning surveyed the forty-page thesis, satisfied with the substantial improvement in his academic abilities.

However, he didn’t submit it immediately. He decided to deliberate a little longer and see if he could make further optimizations—after all, he had written it incredibly quickly.

’If I can improve it even more, I’ll get a bigger reward.’

At eleven o’clock, a gorgeously dressed Anya entered the luxurious apartment.

The Noble Lady wore a dress embroidered with butterflies. The butterflies on its surface seemed to come alive, constantly flapping their wings, looking utterly magnificent.

She gave a light twirl in front of Mo Ning and, with a radiant smile, asked, "Is it beautiful?"

The fluttering of her skirt only added to her beauty.

It was a living embodiment of a woman dressing to please her admirer.

A look of stunned admiration flashed in Mo Ning’s eyes. He answered honestly, "Absolutely beautiful!"

Anya beamed with delight.

She immediately changed the subject. "The entire academy is buzzing about the Birch Magic Breath Technique today. This year’s newcomers and last year’s are all discussing it. It’s a huge deal."

Anya stared intently into her teammate’s eyes and pressed, "Is that the Secret Technique you created?"

As she spoke, her pretty face flushed with uncontrollable excitement and elation. The matter was simply too sensational.

Every Apprentice she knew, including Auntie Nasah, had given the Birch Magic Breath Technique their highest praise.

The moment the Noble Lady heard the word "Birch" in the title, she instantly thought of the Cabin in the Woods and the Great White Birch Forest where it was located.

’The owner of the Cabin in the Woods is a genius of astounding intellect, someone who has repeatedly achieved things far beyond the reach of ordinary people.’

’Is this a coincidence?’

She thought not.

Mo Ning smiled. "It seems nothing escapes your sharp eyes."

Anya’s beautiful eyes widened instantly. "By the Mystery!" the exclamation burst from her heaving chest.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly a few times before she made a very interesting gesture—she lifted the hem of her magnificent skirt.

Dozens of butterflies instantly flapped their wings, transforming into illusions that lifted off the dress and began to flutter around her.

In that moment, it was impossible to say which was more beautiful: the butterflies, or the belle they encircled.

The Noble Lady’s eyes glistened, full of affection. "My incredible Mr. Genius," she purred, "would you like to untie this yourself and admire the view underneath?"

All her joy, excitement, shock, and even reverence desperately needed an outlet.

Anya even offered a rather high-minded justification:

"The Holy Joyful Qi and Blood Secret Technique can effectively promote the growth of one’s Qi and Blood Power. I think it’s necessary to help you consolidate it properly."

Mo Ning nodded without hesitation. "Of course!"

His own heart was also brimming with joy. ’This is certainly a fine way to celebrate,’ he thought.

Anya stepped forward, effortlessly lifted Mo Ning into her arms, and strode into the bedroom.

The scene easily brought a question to mind: In whose eyes was the other person the true "beauty"?

The bedroom door was not closed, so their voices were clearly audible.

"Let me show you a Secret Technique. Here—see? Like this! Interesting, isn’t it?"

"Heavens! You actually got a Spatial Ring? I can’t believe it. You’re probably the only Apprentice in the whole academy with a Spatial Ring."

"That’s not the point. Don’t you think this Secret Technique is useful?"

"Please forgive a mere mortal such as myself for being unable to comprehend the thoughts of a genius. Activating the Spatial Ring consumes a trace amount of the Power of Space. Is it really worth it, just for the convenience of changing clothes? If you truly find dressing to be a hassle, I would be more than willing to serve as your personal maid and help you change every day."

"Being overly frugal only makes one a slave to their tools. Besides, there’s a low-cost method to replenish the Power of Space: mastering specific Space Magic. I don’t believe that’s a particularly difficult task."

"Alright, alright. Just as an insect born in summer cannot imagine winter’s ice, I admit I shouldn’t use my ridiculous mortal logic to judge the thoughts of a genius... The Secret Technique is about to begin. Shall we stop talking?"

"Of course!"

"Ah—"