Chapter 37
Problem Solved
(The plot of the previous chapter was not well thought out, so I made a small revision. A few comnts disappeared along with it, it wasn’t intentional on my part (。・＿・。)ﾉ I’m sorry~)
"According to the tradition of witches, I should present you with a gift befitting my status and position."
"I originally planned to take you as my disciple once you advanced to an official apprentice. Unexpectedly..."
He paused, his withered fingers sliding over the glass vessel. "Your talent and temperant far exceeded my expectations, making , as your ntor, seem ill-prepared."
He pointed at the preservation jar on the shelf that contained the heart of the degenerated dragonkin. "Since you fancy this degenerated dragonkin heart, I will give it to you as your apprenticeship gift."
Lucy’s eyes widened, her head spinning with overwhelming surprise.
Just as ntor Fernando said, if she could successfully dissect the dragon heart into a specin and complete the modeling, this witchcraft model would be more than sufficient for her to use until she reached the peak of apprenticeship.
"Thank you, ntor."
Fernando nodded, squeezing out a barely audible "Mm" from his throat.
Obviously, for this disciple he had accepted unexpectedly, the old witch who had lived in loneliness for a hundred years still needed so ti to adjust.
He took out a pin shaped like a finger bone from the inner pocket of his black robe.
"This is the West Tower’s teleportation pin key. It serves both as proof of your status as my disciple and allows you to move freely within the tower. I will be in seclusion for a period of ti. The suppression array in this laboratory will remain active until you finish dissecting the dragon heart."
"From now on, I will set aside ti to instruct you at least once a month. When I conduct dissection experints, you will assist as my deputy."
Lucy pinned the key to the collar of her witch robe. In this way, as long as she didn’t intentionally turn up her collar, others wouldn’t see this pin.
"I have two tasks for you."
"First, fifteen days from now, the newly promoted witch apprentices will travel to the capital of the Principality of Kolo for the conferral ceremony. No matter how you do it, you must raise your ntal Strength to 10 points before then."
"Second, within three years, you must be able to read Traveling with Migratory Birds in High Elvish fluently."
Lucy nodded.
The second task was easy to handle.
She only needed to rely on the witch’s powerful ntal Strength to morize over ten thousand root characters by rote, then use the system to directly deduce the rest.
At her current pace, she would be able to read Traveling with Migratory Birds fluently in no more than a week.
But the first task was difficult.
Even with the upgraded ditation technique, she still needed over twenty days to normally advance to Basic Apprentice.
Moreover, she was currently haunted by an anomaly, making it impossible for her to ditate.
"ntor, I would like to trouble you to check sothing for . I've been having the sa bizarre nightmare these past few days. I have a feeling that when I completely forget my identity as a witch in the dream, that anomaly will truly bite ."
Fernando only glanced briefly at Lucy.
"Just a low-level anomaly that cannot even condense a physical form... But it is indeed troubleso for you."
"ditate while holding this scalpel. It will help you rember your identity."
"Rember what the great Star Ring Wizard 'The Pale Scalpel' once said: as long as it can be placed on the dissection table, even a god is rely a specin carrier."
Lucy took the seemingly ordinary scalpel.
But the system quickly refreshed its presence before her eyes.
[Equipnt: Midnight Dissector’s No. 3 Alchemical Scalpel (A No. 3 scalpel forged from 97% refined iron, 2.5% mithril, and 0.5% refined gold. When you hold it, you can sense the echo of the precious tals within it.)]
Midnight Dissector?
Was this ntor Fernando’s title?
She had previously suspected that Fernando was The Pale Scalpel, but it now seed that this "Scalpel" was soone else.
By the ti Lucy walked out of the West Tower’s main gate, the sky had already turned completely dark.
The cool breeze of early autumn brushed against her face, and her silver hair swayed slightly across her full, upright chest.
This gave her a sudden sense of unreality, as if everything that had just happened was rely a fantasy.
But feeling the cold "No. 3 Alchemical Scalpel" in her hand, along with the teleportation pin symbolizing her status as a witch’s disciple, she knew it had indeed all happened.
She sniffled as her nose reddened slightly from the autumn wind.
"No matter what, I must find a way to advance to Official Apprentice first."
There was definitely not enough ti for regular ditation. After thinking it over, Lucy could only try to find a solution through potionology.
She rembered that President Carlton of the Advancent Society had previously ntioned a type of ntal Strength Enhancent Potion.
"Looks like I’ll need to visit him tomorrow. But before that, I have to deal with the anomaly created by Orlando."
Back at her dormitory, Lucy took off her trainee witch robe and first fed so at jerky to the lump of flesh inside the glass jar.
Then she sat cross-legged on her bed, stroking the scalpel her ntor had given her.
"Anomalous lifeform? It seems rather interesting..."
With her eyes closed, Lucy quickly entered a ditative state while gripping the scalpel.
The dim wall lamp cast branch-like shadows in the hallway, and Lucy instinctively shrank toward the corner.
Her mories were like water-soaked parchnt, with her knowledge of witchcraft fading rapidly, leaving only an instinctive fear and avoidance of the unknown.
In the darkness,
When that gaping mouth, torn to the ears, erged from the shadows...
"No, I can’t let it see , otherwise..."
Just as she panicked and tried to hide in the bushes once again, a sudden sharp pain ca from her palm.
She lowered her head along her arm.
The silver-white No. 3 Alchemical Scalpel reflected a faint cold gleam.
A shiver ran through Lucy’s heart, and mories of her transmigration, the tower, and being a witch surged into her mind all at once.
"I’ve found you, Lucy Felicia..."
A sticky voice slithered along the back of her neck.
But what greeted it was not the terrified and desperate expression of a young girl, but a pair of eyes filled with curiosity and the thirst for knowledge.
"As long as it can be placed on the dissection table, even a god is rely a specin carrier."
She was very curious just what kind of organs lay hidden beneath this bodiless torso.
"You... you’re not afraid of !?"
The anomaly retreated half a step, speaking sowhat flusteredly.
Realizing its own loss of composure, a hint of sha and anger surfaced on that ghostly face which resembled Orlando.
"I told you I would find you. Now is your ti to die!"
As it finished speaking, the gaping mouth on "Orlando’s" face slowly opened wider, the jaws stretching to over ninety degrees, revealing the bright red throat and two rows of densely packed sharp teeth inside.
But in the next instant, a ruby single-handed staff as thick as two fingers suddenly thrust into its mouth.
The blazing jet streaming from the ruby illuminated the entire corridor.
The next mont,
A liquid torrent of molten tal, heated to thousands of degrees, sprayed out from the tip of the staff.
The 25° witchcraft instantly pierced through the anomaly’s mouth and shot forward for dozens of ters, finally colliding with the wall and bursting into a sky full of sparks.
"Do you like the gift I prepared for you?"
The "Orlando," whose head was mostly blasted apart by the witchcraft, lay dying on the ground, staring in disbelief at the silver-haired girl standing with the staff.
"No... impossible! How could you possibly rember your identity?!"
This anomaly’s magical energy grading scale was indeed not high, but it possessed a special ability: to invade the victim’s dreams and gradually devour their extraordinary mories with each occurrence.
Once the mories were completely consud, the anomaly could take over the victim’s body.
But it should have almost completely devoured Lucy’s mories by now. She was rely a trainee apprentice...
No... I can't give up yet! This is still my dreamscape. The staff has a cooldown. I still have a chance to turn the tables!
"Orlando’s" face twisted ferociously, and the gaping mouth opened once again, revealing the damaged oral cavity and shattered teeth.
But what greeted it was a blast of "Screech of Agony."
This was a Tier-0 witchcraft with a ntal Strength impact attribute.
With its body already heavily damaged, "Orlando" blacked out completely under the impact, losing consciousness entirely.
...
When "Orlando" regained consciousness, it found itself dragged out of the dreamscape.
"Where is this?" It struggled to make sense of its surroundings.
Above was a dazzling Everbright Lamp, beneath was a cold silver tabletop, beside it was a giant mask resembling a crow... and the silhouette of the girl tightening a leather apron in front of the dissection table.
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