Chapter 24
"Gear" Staff
A flurry of punches rained down like a torrential storm, mingling with Simone’s anguished screams as they echoed within the confined space.
Outside the storeroom door, Lucy dispersed the residual powder in the air.
Zero-ring witchcraft: Basic Magical Trick.
A deceptive spell crafted from the illusionary glands of the phantom fox and the phosphor sacs of the moonlight butterfly, highly effective against mortals and foolish knights.
As an entry-level spell of the ntal school, it had successfully caused Camon, who had stepped into the underground storeroom, to hallucinate, believe he was still on routine patrol, stumble upon a wizard apprentice, and ultimately confess the na of the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The process was not complicated she only needed to cast the spell while avoiding other servants and wizard apprentices.
Judging from the outco, Lucy had done quite well. She had neither attracted attention nor failed to expose the apprentice who had attempted to harm her.
Orlando.
She had never heard this na before, yet this man had not only caused the death of the original owner of her body but now had his sights set on her as well.
With her current strength, it was clearly beyond her ability to confront a formal apprentice head-on. But should she report him to higher-level apprentices?
Her two years of experience living in the Tower of the Four Sages told her there was no such thing as a free lunch, and no one would go out of their way to help an unrelated apprentice.
Even the Iron Crows in charge of maintaining order in the tower only showed up after a corpse appeared, so long as no violence occurred right under their noses.
As for reporting directly to a wizard?
Even if a wizard might care, she hadn’t even seen a senior apprentice more than twice in the two years since joining the Tower of the Four Sages. How could she possibly contact a formal wizard?
After much deliberation, she concluded that she could only rely on herself.
Back in her room, Lucy sat at her desk, her right index finger tapping on the solid wood surface, her expression so grim it was nearly dripping with darkness.
It was difficult to confront a formal apprentice head-on, but with the cards she currently held, she wasn’t completely without options.
First, she had to resolve her lack of offensive spells.
Then, she could seek external aid.
A suitable witchcraft tool, a more powerful wizard apprentice...
And finally, intelligence on this Orlando his level, equipnt, and school of magic...
Lucy jotted each point down on the last page of The Witch's Anatomical Notes.
Only when the moonlight soaked through the windowpane did Lucy finally sit cross-legged and begin her ditation after repeatedly refining her plan.
Before dawn the next day, wrapped tightly from head to toe, Lucy left her room. She first went to Talia’s dormitory to retrieve the twenty portions of ingredients she had purchased.
Then, she turned toward the morgue area of the West Tower.
She bypassed the flesh construct crouched at the door and made her way straight to the innermost morgue, numbered “300”.
Knock knock knock~
The iron door slowly creaked open, and Karen’s sinister face erged from the shadows.
“Good morning, Senior Karen,” Lucy greeted with a bow. “I have two matters I’d like to consult you about.”
Upon seeing Lucy’s face clearly, a playful smile tugged at the corners of Karen’s lips.
“I already told you I don’t know who’s investigating you.”
“I’m not here about that,” Lucy replied. “I want information on two wizard apprentices.”
Karen paused briefly, instantly realizing that Lucy already knew who was targeting her.
“Of course, that can be arranged but the price won’t be cheap.”
“Please na your price, Senior.”
After a mont of thought, Karen spoke. “Information on a basic apprentice costs three magic stones, for an interdiate apprentice five magic stones. As for senior apprentices… I wouldn’t dare sell their information.”
Lucy handed over eight magic stones.
Karen’s eyebrow twitched, his heart filled with astonishnt.
Eight magic stones weren’t a fortune, but they also weren’t sothing a re apprentice like Lucy should be able to produce so casually.
Especially considering Morgue No. 66 had just cleared 2.7 magic stones in paynt last week.
He had initially intended to quote a high price to dissuade her, only to end up digging a massive hole for himself.
If others found out that he had sold their information, he might be implicated as well.
But now that the deal was sealed, if he backed out, according to the customary wizard agreents, the other party had the right to take two “items” from him whether they be tools, potions, or organs.
Moreover, if he relied on strength to renege on the deal, his reputation within the Tower of the Four Sages would be utterly ruined.
If only he had refused the transaction outright from the start.
Karen was filled with deep regret. A smile more painful than a cry twisted across his face as a dry croak squeezed from his throat:
“Whose information do you want?”
“Blaji Hall, a level-six apprentice from the Elental Laboratory,” Lucy said. She paused, then continued, “And Orlando.”
…
For the next few days, Lucy did not leave her dormitory even once, devoting every mont to ditation, model construction, and potion brewing.
The building housed many formal apprentices and had chanical iron crows stationed for twenty-four sandglasses at a ti.
No matter how ruthless Orlando was, he wouldn’t dare break in and take her life there.
Five days later.
Only after Lucy had brewed all her potion ingredients into finished potions and completed the construction of the witchcraft model for the Banshee Wail Resonance Cavity did she finally reappear.
Though ntally and physically exhausted from those five days, her gains were substantial.
She first went to the third floor’s Exchange Office and sold all seven of the Devouring Contamination Potions she had successfully brewed over the past few days, each at a price of 18 magic stones, totaling 128 magic stones.
This price was far below the going rate in the plaza, but that was located in the rear garden and required passing through several areas without iron crow guards. She didn’t dare bet on Orlando not making a move.
After receiving the “fortune” of 128 magic stones, Lucy imdiately exchanged 120 of them for a staff.
It was a staff nad “Gear”, approximately 8 inches long and two fingers thick (20 centiters in length), its shaft made of red maple. Embedded at the tip was a ruby, within which were sealed several chanical gears etched with runes.
Not only could it enhance the bearer’s magical energy by 2°, but it also stored a charge of the spell Molten Steel Torrent, with a cooldown of two sandglasses.
Molten Steel Torrent was a Tier-1 interdiate witchcraft spell from the chanical school, with a magical energy degree of 25°, equivalent to a Tier-2 apprentice-level spell. It could produce a high-temperature beam of molten tal, dealing both penetration and scorching damage. It was also the most powerful staff Lucy could exchange for within the Tower of the Four Sages.
Lucy concealed the staff inside her left sleeve, allowing her right hand to swiftly draw and activate it at a mont’s notice.
After several tests confirming that the staff would not be obstructed by her wizard’s robe, Lucy finally left the Exchange Office.
According to the information she had obtained from Karen, Orlando was a senior Tier-3 apprentice from the Elental Laboratory, majoring in the ice elent of the elental sequence. He possessed solid defense and offense capabilities, but his major flaw was the lengthy casting ti for his spells.
To defeat him, one would have to exploit the long pre-casting phase. In this regard, a staff capable of instant-casting a Tier-2 spell was a perfect fit.
Still, to ensure absolute certainty, she would need soone capable of suppressing him head-on.
Ascending the spiral staircase, the crystal chandeliers hanging from the tower ceiling grew increasingly brilliant.
The eighth floor of the tower.
Most residents here were interdiate or senior apprentices. The spacing between doors was more than twice that of the fifth floor, indicating that the rooms were twice as large.
Following Karen’s intel, Lucy knocked on one of the doors.
Knock knock knock~
The crisp sound echoed sharply in the quiet corridor. From the shadows ca a faint, sticky rustling noise. Lucy only gave it a quick glance before imdiately averting her gaze.
Behind her, a chanical iron crow spread its wings from the chandelier, circled once, then returned to its perch its crimson eyes now tinged with suspicion.
A long ti passed. Just when Lucy assud the room’s occupant was absent, footsteps and a suppressed cough finally sounded from behind the door.
“Who is it?”
“Hello, I’m Lucy Felicia, an apprentice. I have a matter I wish to discuss with Senior Blaji.”
“Cough cough... Blaji is conducting an experint. Co back tomorrow.” The voice’s owner was about to retreat into the room.
But just then, another voice spoke from outside the door.
“I have a way to treat your contamination syndro.”
Contamination syndro an extrely difficult-to-treat wizard’s ailnt.
Its root cause lay in a Contamination Value exceeding 60%, triggering irreversible organ mutations. These mutated organs would permanently and continuously emit contamination and infect healthy ones, until the afflicted wizard ultimately died.
This was also why Blaji, a level-six apprentice in Scholastics, had been purchasing apprentice-level anti-contamination potions.
Because his wife, Tier-2 apprentice Leticia Watts, was a severe contamination syndro patient.
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