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Chapter 41: 008: Activate Dark Element Spell
Shadow Tower, Apprentice Library.
"Soul-Washing Water..."
Lynch sat at the table, holding a book about Spiritual Imprint in his hands. The gathered Light Elves brightened a Magic Lamp on the desk, illuminating the area.
Clutching the book, Lynch frowned deeply.
After some searching in the library, Lynch had succeeded in finding a solution to the revenge mark: a type of magic potion called Soul-Washing Water would do the trick.
It was an exceptionally high-end potion. From the description, it seemed designed specifically to counter revenge marks like Spiritual Imprints, but its exact composition was unknown, and details such as the required materials and potion level remained unclear.
Fortunately, finished products of this potion were available for purchase, though only a handful of Wizard Organizations within the vast expanse of the Ancient Ruins offered it for sale.
Luckily, Shadow Tower was one of them.
Unfortunately, the price was a staggering 3,000 Magic Stones!
"They must be in cahoots, surely?"
Lynch couldn’t shake the suspicion that the Soul-Washing Water was somehow connected to the Golden Carriage selling revenge marks. After all, the coincidence was almost too convenient. Perhaps they had deliberately opened up an expensive channel tailored for apprentices of major organizations, ensuring they wouldn’t offend these powerful forces while still maintaining their business.
But the price...
Even combined, the Tower’s rewards, Richard’s savings, and Lynch’s own funds barely scraped together 3,000 Magic Stones. For other apprentices, it would be virtually unaffordable. Solving it without the Tower’s help was unimaginably difficult!
"No matter how hard, it has to be dealt with!"
It was a matter of life and death, leaving no room for carelessness. Magic Stones could be earned again, but in moments like these, Lynch always maintained his clarity of thought.
Shaking his head, Lynch returned the book to the shelf and moved on to the second goal of his visit to the library—
The mysterious atlas left behind by Richard.
This mysterious atlas, clearly steeped in history, had lingered in Lynch’s thoughts. Besides resolving the issue of the revenge mark, this was the other reason he had come to the library, hoping to find some information that might shed light on its nature.
Unfortunately, this search proved far less fruitful. After scouring the library, Lynch still hadn’t found any relevant information, so he went to seek help from the Light Elves.
Beyond illumination, the Light Elves also served as guides in the library. They could communicate in simple terms—describe what you were looking for, and if the library had it, they would guide you to it.
But when Lynch presented the mysterious atlas to the Light Elves for assistance, they clustered around it for a while without offering any directions. Instead, they transformed into a spiral, spinning upward.
Lynch frowned: "An upward spiral... referring to the library levels above..."
The Tower’s library was divided into tiers: the Apprentice Level with the Brass Key, the Wizard Level with the Silver Key, and the Golden Level for those above Wizards, which required the Golden Key for access.
With the key in Lynch’s possession, he could only enter the current Apprentice Library. To access the Wizard Library, he would need to apply for a Silver Key or wait for the occasional reward given by the Tower.
For instance, during a previous session, apprentices like Lynch had been granted two days’ access to the Apprentice Library as a reward for completing their respective courses. Lynch’s earlier visit to the library had been during that period.
However, Lynch had no idea how to earn access to the Wizard Library next.
"Forget it, I’ll figure it out later. I should turn in the commission first."
Lynch glanced out the window. Dawn had already passed, and under the overcast sky, the forest was slowly waking up in the soft, dim light of a new day.
The Task Center should be open by now. Since he couldn’t find any information, he decided he might as well hand in his assignment and be done with it!
With that thought, Lynch left the library.
He made his way to the Task Center.
Goblin Bic was stretching in the office when Lynch arrived. Seeing him come in, Bic yawned and said, "You’re really early, Lynch."
Early? Too early?
I’ve already finished my morning training, had breakfast, and visited the library to do research. It’s past eight o’clock, all right?
Lynch replied, "Good morning."
Bic asked, "So, the commission, is it done?"
Lynch nodded. "Finished last night."
Bic complimented him, "I knew giving the commission to you was the best decision. Bring it over; I’ll inspect it. If there are no issues, I’ll notify the client this afternoon and put their earlier doubts about me to rest."
Transplanting Milk Fruit might sound simple, but it was actually quite meticulous work. When Bic had recommended Lynch, an Outer Ring Apprentice, to the client, he had faced no small amount of skepticism.
Lynch handed over ten modified Milk Fruit seeds. Bic grabbed a magnifying glass, a detector, and other tools, meticulously inspecting the finished product. As he examined them, his sharp green chin nodded repeatedly in approval.
"Not bad, not bad at all—truly flawless! You’re the best task hunter I’ve ever worked with; you never disappoint," Bic praised.
Lynch shrugged. "I was just doing what needed to be done."
Bic handed him 10 Magic Stones. "Here’s your payment."
Taking the Magic Stones, a faint smile appeared on Lynch’s face. He had completed this task in just three days—earning 10 Magic Stones in such a short time was something he wouldn’t have even dared to dream of before.
With his growing knowledge and improving Skill Levels, the rewards for the tasks he could take on were increasing as well. In the past, tasks like Milk Fruit transplantation had been out of his reach; even forcing himself to take them on would have been futile.
Securing the Magic Stones, Lynch added, "Thank you."
The ability to take on high-value tasks wasn’t solely due to his own progress. Goblin Bic’s trust also played a role. Thanks to Lynch consistently delivering perfect results and maintaining a high approval rating, Bic often reserved premium tasks for him.
...
The next morning, Lynch headed to the Magic Potion Hut to purchase the Soul-Washing Water.
3,000 Magic Stones...
To be honest, when it came time to shell out that many Magic Stones, Lynch couldn’t help but feel a pang of pain. Having been here for two and a half years, this was the largest amount of Magic Stones he had ever seen in one place—calling it a fortune would be an understatement.
But no matter how reluctant he felt, there was no other choice. When it came to matters of safety, there could be no compromise. Magic Stones could be earned again, but if a life was lost...
Well, that would be the end of everything!
Two more days passed, and Lynch finally maxed out the experience bar for Elementary Magic Plants Transformation by the evening of the third day.
Elementary Magic Plants Transformation—maxed out.
With this, all the Wizard-level knowledge categories Lynch had loaded into the system, except for meditation, had now reached mastery.
After finishing these fields of study, Lynch didn’t allow himself to rest. That very day, he loaded two new Skill lists into the system, both focused on spells.
[Detected Knowledge Carrier: "Dark Corrosion Impact." Auto-loaded.]
[Dark Corrosion Impact lv0: 0/300.]
[Detected Knowledge Carrier: "Dark Whip." Auto-loaded.]
[Dark Whip lv0: 0/300.]
The former spell gathered a cluster of Dark Elements to deal corrosive damage to enemies, while the latter condensed Dark Elements into a long whip to strike foes.
In addition to these two spells, Lynch also loaded a knowledge-based field.
[Detected Knowledge Carrier: "Basic Netherworld Studies." Auto-loaded.]
[Basic Netherworld Studies lv0: 0/300.]
