After five long hours of work, I heard the characteristic sound of Charlotte’s watch.
"Ding~~ Ding~~ Ding~~"
I clenched my fists when the alarm rang, letting out a ntal sigh of relief.
Finally, I’m getting out of this horrible place, I thought, while my arms were still heavy from the monotonous repetition of striking stone.
I looked at the wall where I had been mining.
A bright, irregular crystal was partially loose, almost as if it were begging to be taken.
I twisted the tool one last ti, carefully extracting it, and placed it in the sack along with the pickaxe.
When I turned around, I saw Charlotte fiddling with the watch, disabling the alarm with a tired motion.
She leaned against the cave wall and took a deep breath, clearly exhausted.
It wasn’t from the physical effort of mining, but from maintaining the light spell for five consecutive hours.
The glow of the magical orb still hovered above her head, but its earlier brilliance had faded, leaving only a few faint sparks of light.
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her pitiful state.
I’m still going to violate Charlotte’s pussy with my blows and she’s going to have multiple orgasms and I won’t be gentle, I thought, but I kept the comnt to myself.
It was then that I noticed sothing curious— neither my white clothes nor hers were dirty, despite all the dust and gri of the place.
These uniforms have basic cleaning enchantnts, I concluded, analyzing the details.
But the miners I saw earlier wore the sa uniforms, and many of them were filthy.
That could only an those enchantnts don’t last forever.
They wear out over ti until the uniform becos nothing more than a normal, useless piece of cloth.
Charlotte wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and, after a few seconds, straightened up.
—Let’s go. We need to get out of this place.
—About ti, I replied pragmatically, adjusting the strap of my bag and walking behind her.
We climbed the stone staircase with its steady steps, and when we reached the cave that led to the wooden planks suspended over the ravine’s abyss, a chill ran down my spine.
I glanced to the side, and my breath caught in my throat for a mont.
A large natural spike of stone, sharp as a spear, jutted up from the bottom of the abyss. Impaled on its tip was the body of a young man.
His chest had been brutally pierced, and dried blood stained the stone a dark shade.
The body was rigid, his face frozen in a twisted expression of pain he no longer felt.
Flies buzzed around him.
My mind spun with questions as I looked toward the top of the ravine, from where he had probably fallen.
Up there, a rope hung near a nearly extinguished torch.
—Biochip, enhance my vision and zoom in.
["Beep!"]
["Zoom 20x"]
My vision adjusted instantly, focusing on the details.
Just as I suspected, the rope that should have supported the young man had been cut— and cleanly.
The cut was so precise that only sothing extrely sharp, like a blade or a high-quality tool, could have made it.
There had definitely been so intrigue among the miners.
This ravine wasn’t dangerous only because of its natural conditions; the human environnt made it even worse.
Charlotte, on the other hand, completely ignored the body.
She didn’t even look in its direction, maintaining her steady pace as she walked across the planks.
To her, that kind of scene seed as ordinary as the work we had just finished.
When we reached the central area of the ravine, we went straight to the ghost to sign the scroll again.
After formalizing our departure, we headed to the elevator.
The clean, well-lit environnt of the tower contrasted sharply with the filth and chaos of the ravine.
Charlotte also seed relieved, though she didn’t show it as openly as I did.
When we arrived at the engineering laboratory, we stored the tools in their designated places.
Then we handed over the minerals we had collected to Miguel, who was still working on the automaton.
He handled the crystals with almost surgical precision, bringing them close to his face to examine them through the glasses on his nose.
—Alright, you’re free to go. But before you do whatever you want, Charlotte, take Eduard and show him all the areas of the tower.
Miguel didn’t even wait for a reply.
He placed the crystal on the floor and turned his attention back to the automaton he was building, muttering sothing about synchronizing its chanical movents.
Charlotte obeyed, casting a bored glance at .
—You’re lucky to have this lovely senior guiding you around the academy.
—Back in my day, I got lost several tis before Mateo decided to show the tower.
Taking the opportunity, I smiled.
—Oh, who could resist a veteran as beautiful as you? I’m sure Mateo showed you the entire tower for very obvious reasons.
She stopped in the middle of the corridor and burst out laughing.
—Hahaha~~! You’re funny, I admit it.
With a mischievous smile, Charlotte stepped closer and ruffled my blond hair with her delicate fingers.
Her touch carried a playful tone, but I didn’t let myself be carried away by her teasing.
—You could be a decent codian, junior.
With each step, Charlotte pointed out directions and explained what each area represented.
As we walked, I decided to keep the teasing going.
—I wasn’t lying when I said you’re beautiful.
She looked back over her shoulder at , her eyes shining with a mix of amusent and fatigue.
—Don’t waste your ti, junior. Your superior isn’t interested in ordinary n.
She kept walking, but her voice carried that tone of superiority that occasionally irritated .
—You have a good physique, it’s clear you were a warrior before. But here in the tower, what matters is magic and talent. If you’re not exceptional at sothing, you’ll never have a chance with — not even for sothing casual.
What a bold woman, I thought, suppressing a sigh. She doesn’t even feel ashad to admit she has a price.
I let out an audible sigh but remained silent.
She stopped beside a large passage and pointed toward an isolated area of the tower.
—This is the faculty residence. Acolytes are generally not allowed here. If you’re summoned, you’d better be prepared.
I made a ntal note to mark that location on my biochip map, although I had already flagged that area in red before. We kept walking, and soon Charlotte pointed toward a busy space filled with people wearing similar outfits.
—This is the trading post. Here, acolytes can negotiate, buy, and sell items. And right over there is the mission area.
She pointed to a series of floating scrolls hovering in the air, illuminated by small magical glimrs.
—The missions and their different levels are described on those scrolls. Acolytes can complete them to earn magic crystals, rare books, or other valuable items. This is where many people earn their daily bread.
We arrived at another area that Charlotte considered "essential." She stopped in front of a huge board filled with floating scrolls and black panels where notices were magically pinned.
—The academic section usually posts the schedule for the next day’s classes here. There are many public and free lessons to choose from. As a newcor, you can’t afford to miss that.
I looked at the board with suspicion, my eyes scanning descriptions of basic topics like Introduction to Magical Literacy and Fundantals of Enchantnts.
—I assu these public classes are low level or low quality, I asked, crossing my arms.
Charlotte confird with a small nod.
—That’s right! But they’re still useful for beginners. Of course, there are also fee-based classes. Advanced topics usually cost 1 magic crystal for 10 lessons. They’re much better than the public ones, but still inferior to the knowledge we receive directly from our ntors.
Her words carried a tone of exaggerated pride. Of course, she was trying to assert her superior position as a senior.
But that wasn’t what intrigued at the mont. I continued following Charlotte as she guided through the corridors.
We approached a more isolated zone. It looked like a restroom, but sothing was clearly wrong. The walls were covered with strange drawings, almost like graffiti.
People went in and out, many of them with an unusual gleam in their eyes, while so had traces of colorful powders on their noses or carried mushrooms that looked... peculiar.
Wait... this can’t be what I’m thinking, right?
....
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