Chapter 95
The wizard tower before him should be in the indexes.
Lynn compared the wizard tower before him with the ones he had seen in his mind. Soon, he found two wizard towers that looked very similar.
“No need to guess. When I designed the appearance of the wizard tower, I referenced that predecessor. I should be the latter one if there aren’t any new wizard towers similar to mine.” Seeing Lynn’s expression, Nocturne didn’t need to know what he was thinking. When he first saw Lady Maybetessa’s wizard tower of an elven mother tree, he had a similar feeling.
Realizing his thoughts had been guessed, Lynn couldn’t help but smile awkwardly to cover up his embarrassment.
Following behind Nocturne into the wizard tower, Lynn gained a sense of the over 500-page wizard tower indexes.
Perhaps not all the wizard towers since the establishment of the Abyss Wizard Academy were recorded on it, but it definitely included traces of most wizard towers throughout a considerable period of history.
The older and more ancient the wizard tower, if it still existed, the more terrifying its background should be.
After all, for most wizards, their power stemmed from wisdom and knowledge.
Upon entering the wizard tower before him, Lynn saw its internal structure, which appeared much larger than it did from the outside.
Looking around, Lynn observed a layout resembling a cylindrical building. In the middle was an open space that led directly upward.
Numerous branches extended from the walls on the left and right sides, each bearing nest after nest.
Sensing Nocturne’s arrival, countless black crows suddenly flew out of the nests. The crows poured down like a storm, covering even Lynn, who stood beside Nocturne. These crows were small, palm-sized, with blood-red eyes and noisy voices.
Moreover, Lynn sensed magical energy emanating from these crows. They were likely magical creatures.
“Alright, go back now.” Nocturne’s words fell, and the myriad crows returned to their nests, restoring peace to the surroundings.
Leading Lynn, Nocturne walked to a nearby door inside, pushing it open and stepping inside.
The scenery changed, and before them was a vast room laid out like a laboratory.
“This is a vial of blood. It contains 999 drops of blood, but one of them is mutated.”
“If you can separate the unique mutated drop of blood from these one thousand drops within three minutes, you pass.”
Nocturne picked up a vial of blood from the table.
“You can use the other raw materials and tools on the table.”
Lynn looked at the tabletop. The source materials rack was thoughtfully filled with various raw materials and tools, each labeled.
“My research is related to blood. If you become my assistant, your main task every day will be to find suitable blood from countless kinds of blood.” Nocturne said.
“So, if you can’t qualify, forget it.”
Lynn glanced at the raw materials and tools on the table, saying nothing. He silently approached, using a pipette to draw a drop of blood from the vial. Then, he adeptly picked up the raw materials and instruments on the table. With his continuous adjustments, he quickly prepared a pale blue potion and a red potion.
First, Lynn poured the pale blue potion into the blood.
Soon, the vial of blood turned into a pale purple color.
At the same time, Lynn took out a mist inhaler and covered the vial filled with blood.
Lynn then poured the red potion into it, and the blood inside quickly evaporated, emitting a strong white mist.
After a moment, only a drop of blood remained in the vial.
Nocturne glanced deeply at Lynn, took the vial, and sniffed it. “Correct, you pass. You took only one minute and thirteen seconds. Can I hear your thoughts?”
“It’s simple. I took out a drop of blood and then used it as a template to concoct a specific antidote tailored to counteract this blood.” Lynn explained.
“I poured the antidote into it and evaporated the drop of blood. Mutated blood cannot be evaporated by the antidote.”
“Of course, if that drop happened to be mutated blood, it would also be absorbed by the mist inhaler.”
The mist inhaler was a common experimental apparatus in wizard laboratories, used to absorb the vapor of certain reagents.
“Your technique is very proficient. You’ve only been a wizard for less than two years?” Nocturne looked at Lynn.
“Yes,” Lynn nodded.
“To become a third-level wizard apprentice in two years and possess such skillful techniques, it’s evident that your studies on mutation and bloodline are not low. That potion you just made couldn’t be concocted without understanding bloodline studies. Your profile only mentioned expertise in alchemical studies and mutation studies, but now it seems you also have some proficiency in bloodline studies. Truly a genius.” Nocturne didn’t hesitate to praise Lynn.
He was very satisfied with Lynn as his laboratory assistant.
“Alright, the experiments will begin tomorrow. I still have some raw materials that haven’t arrived.” Nocturne said. “Let’s go, let’s chat for a while, and if you have any doubts, you can ask me for clarification.”
Nocturne led Lynn to his living area.
Nocturne’s living area resembled a “nest”, with circular walls around, and the floor covered with thick and soft wood shavings.
Walking on these wood shavings didn’t feel sticky or prickly but rather like stepping on warm cotton.
Many orange warm lights were arranged on the walls, ceiling, and even the bottom layer of wood shavings.
In the central area was a slightly sunken large round bed, covered with a thick feather quilt.
“Let’s go to the terrace.” Nocturne quickened his pace and led Lynn to the lounge inside.
The layout of the lounge was slightly colder, with two chairs and a small table.
In front was a bookcase covering the entire wall, while the other wall had many cupboards containing various collectibles—many of which were shiny.
However, Lynn’s mind was still recalling the scene inside the room just now.
Lynn pursed his lips slightly, not daring to let himself laugh. He couldn’t believe that under Nocturne’s cold exterior, there was such a warm heart.
Because the living area was the place that would best reflect the other side of a wizard’s heart, it was definitely arranged according to their inner aesthetic.
Considering the Angley he had come into contact with before, Lynn suddenly felt that the male wizards he had met seemed to have a bit of a mysterious and contrasting side.
Of course, Lynn didn’t think that Nocturne and Angley were gentle and kind people because of this.
The people who had become experimental subjects in that little cabin were still vivid in his mind.
Gentleness aside, when it came to killing, they were not merciful at all.
“Have some pastries.” Nocturne tapped the table, and a blue light flashed across the tabletop.
A Bahov Elf appeared on the table.
“Bring some special pastries.” Nocturne ordered.
“Yes, Master.”
The Bahov Elf blinked and disappeared on the spot. After a moment, it reappeared on the table.
It held a large tray in its hands, filled with many white cookies emitting a creamy fragrance.
“Try it. It’s a specialty from my hometown.” Nocturne said.
Lynn looked at the milky-white cookies on the plate. He examined them carefully. The shape of the bugs on the cookies wasn’t drawn but was actually chubby white bugs smeared with white cream on both sides and then baked.
As he ate, the fragrance of the cream and the sour juice bursting from the bugs mixed together, surprisingly leaving a lingering sweetness.
Lynn remained silent, respecting the specialty of Nocturne’s hometown. He continued to eat several pieces in a row.
“Bring some other desserts.” Nocturne called the Bahov Elf, and this time, the desserts brought were all normal.
“Wizard Nocturne, I’ve been here for some time now, but why isn’t the Abyss Wizard Academy the kind of campus where many apprentices gather to study together? Instead, it’s structured like a city,” Lynn voiced the curiosity in his mind.
In his impression, an academy, with the word “academy” in it, should have standard teaching buildings, right?
And then, many wizard apprentices would go to the teaching buildings every day or at regular intervals to listen to wizards lecturing. That’s what he thought a standard wizard academy should be like.
Although he had heard that some official wizards occasionally came to give lectures, it always gave him a sense of being left to one’s own devices.
“The kind of ordinary wizard academy you’re talking about exists,” Nocturne replied. “But this is the Abyss Wizard Academy.”
“What kind of people do you think can come here?”
“I’ve heard them say that the Abyss Wizard Academy has high requirements. Many apprentices want to come here. Those who can come here are not ordinary apprentices,” Lynn expressed his insight.
“Correct, your answer is very accurate. The wizards who can come here can roughly be divided into four categories,” Nocturne raised his right hand with four claws.
“The first type, those with backgrounds. These people have received education from a young age. They either learned the basics at home or could find them in books.”
“The second type, recommended by their races. I belong to this type. Our plane, the Black Crow Clan, pledged allegiance to the Abyss Wizard Academy very early on, and our clan paid a great price to get me the opportunity to study here,” Nocturne confessed. “We are generally of a different race. In order for me to come here, our clan has spent a lot of resources hiring wizards to teach me relevant knowledge since I was young, and we also purchased a large number of books for me to read. The situation for other races wanting to come should be similar to mine.”
“The third type, those who participate in the Blood Arena. The Abyss Wizard Academy has a place called the Blood Arena, which simulates the Abyss Blood Arena, but it’s also very dangerous there. As long as you can rank in the top hundred on the points leaderboard in the Blood Arena for a continuous year, you can obtain a place as a student of the Abyss Wizard Academy. The ones who participate in the Blood Arena are basically wizard apprentices with insufficient talent, but the wizard apprentices who can survive there are extremely fierce, and at least they are third-level wizard apprentices.”
“The fourth type, students like you who join the Abyss Wizard Academy through other channels. Your talents are very good, and many of you have a foundation.”
“Becoming a first-level wizard is the ultimate goal for many wizards, but for the Abyss Wizard Academy, what they want to cultivate is not the kind of first-level old scholarly wizard who only knows how to recite texts mechanically when they come out of the academy.”
“If apprentices want to become that kind of old-school wizards, they should go to places like the Tower of Wisdom. Here is the place closest to the Abyss, known as the Demon City. From the apprentice stage, you have to learn to use all means at your disposal to obtain all available resources for growth,” Nocturne said meaningfully.
“The rules in Demon City are strict, but they are also lenient. You can use any method you can think of, even bolder ones.”
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