Chapter 17
The Agreement with Talia
Lilith, that rumored peak-level witch apprentice who was said to be the Tower Master's disciple?
Wait… five thousand magic stones!
Even Lucy’s pupils contracted slightly from shock at the sheer size of that number.
A trainee apprentice only received a pitiful 24 magic stones in subsidies over two years; five thousand magic stones was astronomical.
Nure and Lilith had no familial ties. Why would anyone believe he wouldn’t abscond with the funds?
Nure seemed to notice Lucy’s doubt and, without changing his expression, said:
“Of course, before leaving, I must drink a cursed potion personally prepared by Miss Lilith. After that, I must take an antidote at regular intervals every year, or else I will suffer from a bloodline curse.”
Nure’s tone was extremely calm, almost without fluctuation.
But that calmness couldn’t conceal the fact that he was already under control. Moreover, a bloodline curse didn’t just target the individual it affected the entire family.
If Nure dared to flee with the funds and failed to take the curse-suppressing potion within the designated time, every relative related to him by blood would suffer from the curse’s effects.
“By the way, Miss Lucy.” Nure suddenly straightened his expression and said, “If I manage to return alive this time, would you… never mind, let’s talk when I come back. Farewell, Miss Lucy.”
“Safe travels.”
The two exchanged a witch’s salute, and Nure quickly put on his hood and left the dormitory level.
Only when his figure completely disappeared did Lucy purse her lips.
“What a strange person.”
The conversation with Nure hadn’t affected Lucy in any way.
After eating her oatmeal breakfast, she headed toward Morgue No. 66.
Along the way, she pretended to look around casually.
At some point, the number of iron crows perched on the tower's outer walls had decreased significantly. The once densely packed flocks that used to crowd the rooftops now numbered only two or three.
The iron crows not only monitored everything within the tower but also served as its defense.
Now that their numbers had dwindled, did this mean war was approaching?
Perhaps sensing her gaze, one of the iron crows on the tower suddenly turned to look toward the West Tower.
But aside from a few hurried trainee apprentices, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
…
Back at Morgue No. 66.
She opened the iron gate to the pipeline, performed a simple maintenance on the scalpel and glass jars, then sat cross-legged on the lab table and continued constructing the spell models for the “Cradle of Enchanted Human Offspring” and the “Banshee Wail Resonance Cavity.”
Though both were Tier-0 models, having personally dissected the corresponding organ specimens, Lucy had other ideas perhaps she could use these two models to create her very first Tier-1 witchcraft.
Model combination witchcraft was not uncommon within the Anatomical School. It involved using multiple low-tier models to construct higher-level spells.
However, the requirements for creating a combination spell were stringent. A witch needed to fully understand the lower-tier models at hand.
Lucy decided to first analyze the magical vein diagram of the “Cradle of Enchanted Human Offspring,” then advance step by step.
It wasn’t a simple process, but Lucy found joy in it.
In the past few days, she had already constructed the majority of the magical vein diagram. In another couple of days, she believed she could successfully complete the full spell model.
Time passed, and Morgue No. 66 had not been assigned any enchanted beast corpses today.
Lucy closed early and left work.
After returning the banshee’s right wing to her room, she hurried to the Green Vine Garden.
Outside the strange garden, she didn’t wait long before she saw Talia’s figure.
Apprentice cafeteria.
Potatoes, bread, oatmeal porridge… even her mouth was about to forget the taste of flavor.
Lucy chewed the life-sustaining meal mechanically, while Talia across the table ate with clear delight.
They were from the same hometown and had similar family backgrounds. In this era, commoners could hardly dream of eating meat just getting enough to eat was the greatest luxury.
So for most apprentices selected from commoner backgrounds, the unlimited food supply at the trainee apprentice cafeteria was more than satisfying.
But for Lucy, whose taste had been spoiled by Chinese cuisine, this felt no different from chewing wax.
After hastily filling her stomach, Talia pulled out a small wooden box from within her robe.
“The herbs you wanted happened to be available in the North Tower warehouse. Two magic stones were enough to buy three sets.”
Lucy accepted the box and opened it. A strange, peculiar scent immediately wafted out.
The herbs were of decent quality and quite potent. It was clear that Talia had chosen them with care.
After a rough inspection and confirming nothing was missing, Lucy put away the wooden box and sincerely said:
“Thanks.”
For Talia, buying the herbs was just a small errand, but for Lucy, it was no less than a lifesaving favor.
If she had asked someone else to purchase them, not only would she have been charged a “runner’s fee,” but she also couldn’t guarantee the quality of the herbs.
Lucy silently noted the favor in her heart.
“Why say thank you between friends?” Talia waved her hand carelessly, but then her expression dimmed slightly. “By the way, Lucy, do you miss home?”
Home.
A stream of fragmented memories was instantly activated. As a child born to commoners, young Lucy hadn’t experienced much happiness brought by material things.
But the love her parents gave her in this world wasn’t lacking in the slightest.
She still remembered when she was found to have a witch’s talent and was about to leave her mother had cried so hard she nearly fainted.
Tears slipped down the corner of Lucy’s eyes. She quickly wiped them away. It was an emotional surge caused by absorbing the original host’s memory fragments though of course, part of it was also her longing for the family from her previous life.
Once inside the tower, apprentices could only leave when accepting missions but each year, only a few managed to advance.
Which meant, once identified with witch talent, ninety percent of witch apprentices would never return to their hometowns.
“People in the village all said being found with witch talent was a blessing. We wouldn’t have to suffer in the countryside anymore… Looking at it now, how ironic.”
Talia murmured. Lucy noticed her friend’s state seemed somewhat off today.
Just as she was about to ask, Talia continued.
“Lucy, if you become an official apprentice and return to your hometown, could you… visit my mother for me?”
“Of course.” Lucy answered uneasily, “Talia, no matter what happens, don’t give up. As long as we persist, there’s always a solution.”
Talia paused for a moment, then showed a strange smile. “You’re not thinking I’m about to do something drastic, are you? I’m just saying this in case.”
Lucy stared into her eyes for a long time before finally letting out a breath. “If you get the chance to leave, I’d appreciate it if you visited my parents too.”
Talia smiled and nodded. “Alright, it’s a deal then.”
…
Creak!
The dormitory door opened and closed. Exhausted, Lucy threw herself onto the bed and closed her eyes, enjoying a moment of peace.
But less than ten minutes later, she got up again.
After washing her face with cold water in the washroom, she sat down at the lab table.
Opening the wooden box filled with herbs, Lucy began carefully categorizing them, matching them against the illustrations in the Anti-Contamination Potion book to confirm their types.
Once she ensured every herb was correct, Lucy brought out her rented basic potion-making tools.
They were a fragile collection of glassware, including a distiller, test tubes, extractor, and beakers.
Once everything was ready, Lucy summoned the system interface.
“System, begin simulation of Apprentice-Level Anti-Contamination Potion.”
Wong!~
A familiar ringing sounded in her ears. The blue characters on the system interface gradually faded, replaced by new text.
[Though you’ve never studied potion-making before, the persistent and uncontrollable Contamination Value has forced you to learn.]