Chapter 37
Problem Solved
(The plot of the previous chapter was not well thought out, so I made a small revision. A few comments 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 temperament far exceeded my expectations, making me, as your mentor, 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 Mentor Fernando said, if she could successfully dissect the dragon heart into a specimen 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, Mentor."
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 some time 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 time. The suppression array in this laboratory will remain active until you finish dissecting the dragon heart."
"From now on, I will set aside time to instruct you at least once a month. When I conduct dissection experiments, you will assist me 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 Mental 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 Mental Strength to memorize 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 meditation 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 meditate.
"Mentor, I would like to trouble you to check something for me. I've been having the same 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 me."
Fernando only glanced briefly at Lucy.
"Just a low-level anomaly that cannot even condense a physical form... But it is indeed troublesome for you."
"Meditate while holding this scalpel. It will help you remember your identity."
"Remember 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 merely a specimen carrier."
Lucy took the seemingly ordinary scalpel.
But the system quickly refreshed its presence before her eyes.
[Equipment: 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 metals within it.)]
Midnight Dissector?
Was this Mentor Fernando’s title?
She had previously suspected that Fernando was The Pale Scalpel, but it now seemed that this "Scalpel" was someone else.
By the time 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 merely 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 time for regular meditation. After thinking it over, Lucy could only try to find a solution through potionology.
She remembered that President Carlton of the Advancement Society had previously mentioned a type of Mental Strength Enhancement 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 some meat jerky to the lump of flesh inside the glass jar.
Then she sat cross-legged on her bed, stroking the scalpel her mentor had given her.
"Anomalous lifeform? It seems rather interesting..."
With her eyes closed, Lucy quickly entered a meditative state while gripping the scalpel.
The dim wall lamp cast branch-like shadows in the hallway, and Lucy instinctively shrank toward the corner.
Her memories were like water-soaked parchment, 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, emerged from the shadows...
"No, I can’t let it see me, otherwise..."
Just as she panicked and tried to hide in the bushes once again, a sudden sharp pain came 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 memories 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 merely a specimen carrier."
She was very curious just what kind of organs lay hidden beneath this bodiless torso.
"You... you’re not afraid of me!?"
The anomaly retreated half a step, speaking somewhat flusteredly.
Realizing its own loss of composure, a hint of shame and anger surfaced on that ghostly face which resembled Orlando.
"I told you I would find you. Now is your time 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 moment,
A liquid torrent of molten metal, 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 meters, 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 remember 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 memories with each occurrence.
Once the memories were completely consumed, the anomaly could take over the victim’s body.
But it should have almost completely devoured Lucy’s memories by now. She was merely 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 Mental 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.