The Last Witchblood

Chapter 4: Commission

"You made this yourself?" Ariya gulped as she asked with some difficulty.

Kai grinned as he enjoyed every bit of her changing expression, "Not bad, right?"

She lowered her head, repeatedly examining the Item in her hand, which exuded a metallic aesthetic, feeling like everything was somewhat unbelievable.

In her opinion, his grades in various subjects could only be described as "terrible."

And Alchemy Construct Studies and Runology, which are used to make mechanical eyes, are both relatively obscure and difficult subjects. It didn't look like knowledge Kai would master...

Could it be...

Was it because he lost his family's sponsorship, and the fear of death induced him to start working harder?

Ariya really didn't know what the truth was, but she didn't care much either, as long as he was out of danger...

As an Apprentice, like most people in the Academy, she only valued results, no one really cared about the process unless they wanted to steal it.

"How much do you plan to sell this for?"

Although their relationship was good, as soon as business was mentioned, she quickly got into character.

Kai already had a number in mind, so he said, "100 mana stones."

This amount wasn't much, but at least it could help him stay in the Tower for a longer period without family sponsorship, after all, he had rent to pay and other bills. This was also one of the reasons why he hasn't moved to the upper levels of the tower, even though he became an official wizard, he was still poor.

Hearing his offer, she couldn't help but hesitate.

Selling a mechanical eye for 100 mana stones was indeed not expensive, but the problem was that she had already spent too much money to make her combat puppet, and didn't have many mana stones left.

Finally, after deliberating for a full five or six minutes, she gritted her teeth and said,

"Okay!"

Immediately after, she took out ten thumb-sized dark blue mana stones from the cloth bag at her waist and handed them to Ivan.

Feeling the heavy weight in his hand and the strong magical energy, he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of security.

At least he could pay for the next few months of rent and tuition, He looked up at Ariya once more, she looked heartbroken:

"Do you have any other Alchemy Construct Studies textbooks here? Papers, monographs, anything is fine. If you have construct blueprints for a bronze ranked combat puppet, that would be even better." he asked while hinting at something else. He hasn't forgotten how he made this mechanical eye.

Like the meditation method, when he taught Selene the content from the introductory Alchemy Construct Studies textbook, he himself immediately gained corresponding advanced knowledge.

When he picked up the blueprint, his hand didn't shake this time. Runes that had once been meaningless squiggles now clicked into place, like puzzle pieces snapping together. Energy flows here... the circuits weave there... He couldn't  help but marvel

These advanced knowledge points, which he previously could never grasp, were now learned for the most part in an instant, thanks to her intelligence and effort.

Otherwise, if it were according to his previous abilities, he would absolutely not have been able to make this mechanical eye.

Originally, he only wanted to teach her some meditation methods and basic wizardry to improve his own strength.

But he now found that teaching knowledge in certain special subjects could bring him greater benefits instead.

Take Alchemy Construct Studies as an example. Although this subject is obscure and difficult to understand, the materials and money required during study are enormous.

But once learned, the benefits are not insignificant.

He closed his money pouch, the weight of the stones warming his hand. If one eye could pay his rent for months... then a whole puppet could buy him freedom. No Council, no sponsor, no leash.

"Other textbooks?"Ariya looked him up and down, her expression becoming increasingly strange:

"Are you really planning to start working hard now?

I always thought you bought those introductory textbooks to teach Selene..."

Then, she seemed to suddenly think of something:

"Wait! You're not secretly working hard yourself, and then teaching her wrong knowledge, causing her to fail in choosing a mentor, and ultimately leading to a miserable end, are you?"

Kai's mouth twitched, his expression between Annoyance and amusement, "Ariya, how come I didn't know your imagination was this rich?"

She looked at him skeptically and waved her hand:

"Forget it, forget it. Anyway, this is your Family's internal matter, it has nothing to do with me. I really can't understand aristocratic families."

"However... I really don't have the advanced textbooks and blueprints you mentioned here.

But I can give you a commission instead."

"A commission?"Kai pretended to be stunned.

"That's right." She looked directly into Ivan's eyes: "You know I'm making a combat puppet, but I'm running out of time. If you're interested, I can outsource some parts of it to you."

"What's the reward?" he asked.

"You need to help me make two Mana Mechanical Arms and add precision runes on their fingers. After the commission is completed, I will give you 500 mana stones in one go."

500 mana stones...

Kai was excited, this was what he had in mind, for him, who lost his family sponsorship, this was undoubtedly a huge sum.

"Sure, why not..." he responded calmly.

"That confident?" She asked with her brow raised, "Since you are so confident, I'll add another commission, A dual-faced mana core heart for 2000 mana stones. Would you be able to handle it?"

Kai's eyes narrowed at the question, it's not that he couldn't do it, but it was too generous and didn't sound like what Ariya could afford. "Which 'Lord' sent out this commission?"

Although most wizards value contracts highly, some unscrupulous official wizards can have poor financial situations.

If he encountered them, it was common for payment to be delayed by half a year, or even more, in some cases, if the level of power were the same, it could result in a fight. So it was better to ask now...

Hearing his question, a mysterious smile appeared on Ariya's beautiful face, "It's your mentor, Lord Pedrov."

Kai was surprised, he had casually thrown the word 'Lord' to know if the one who commissioned the item was a Gold-ranked wizard or not, but who would have thought that it would be his 'Mentor'.

He clearly hadn't expected such a coincidence.

However, this was not surprising, after all, his mentor Pedrov was one of the top experts in the field of Witchcraft in the Black Stone Tower.

So It was reasonable for him to issue some commission tasks related to Alchemy Construct Studies that wasn't his major expertise.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and immediately said:

"Okay, I'll take this commission!"

The reason he made this decision was not only for money, but also for other considerations. If they completed this commission outstandingly together, he might be able to regain his mentor's attention and she could gain a good harvest.

This way, he wouldn't drop in value and might be able to join the list of Core Apprentice or disciple candidates. Lord Pedrov was one of the few Gold-ranked wizards without any official core apprentice.

Soon, he confirmed the commission's details, left Ariya's stall.

He took the newly earned 100 mana stones and almost toured the entire Academy Market, purchasing two mechanical arm blueprints, several steel plates, seven enchanted materials, various mechanical parts, and some brand-new cutting tools.

And when he had finished all of this, there were only a few magic stones left in his money bag.

However, he did not feel disappointed.

On the contrary, he felt an unprecedented joy.

Because he knew very well that the money he spent today would surely be returned a hundredfold, a thousandfold in the future...

It didn't take long to return to the 3rd floor where his dormitory was located.

And as he walked through the dimly lit corridor, he found a beautiful figure already waiting there for a long time.

"Selene, why are you standing here? Why don't you go inside and wait?"

At this moment, she was standing alone in front of his door, her platinum hair casually tied up, and an unresolvable sorrow on her delicate face.

"Brother..."

Seeing his approach, she immediately took a few steps forward to greet him.

But she quickly lowered her head, looking as if she wanted to speak but hesitated...

"What happened?"

At this moment, he also noticed that something was wrong. He frowned and asked.

She hesitated for a moment, but still took out a sealed letter from her pouch and handed it to him.

"The family sent a letter. It seems... It seems like Father wrote it himself..."

A personal letter from Father?

The moment Kai took the letter, he immediately felt that something was wrong.

The rustic envelope was sealed with the Meolyn Family's special lacquer and stamped with their seal.

Clearly, this was a letter from the Family Council.

Through Selene's complex and apologetic expression, he had already guessed the content of the letter.

However, he still maintained enough composure and gently tore open the envelope...

"W-What did it say...?"

After a long, agonizing silence, she finally couldn't bear it anymore and took the initiative to ask.

As she asked this, her eyes constantly darted towards his expression, fearing that he would be displeased.

"Nothing." Kai chuckled after reading the letter, and with a flick of his finger, a scorching flame instantly shot out, burning the letter to ashes...

Ignite Spell...

Looking at the flickering flame on Kai's fingertip, Selene immediately recognized the name of this spell.

Although she hadn't had time to gain much mastery over these spells yet and only understood their basic theories, she was quite familiar with some of the most common low-level spells. She was surprised at the ease with which he performed the spell.

'Was it because he is an official bronze wizard? Or his mastery over the spell is extremely high...' her thoughts churned as she stared wide-eyed.

The ashes slowly fell to the ground as he looked at Selene with a relaxed expression, "It's just that the Family Council passed a formal resolution, informing me of the withdrawal of their sponsorship."

The look of guilt on her face deepened by a few shades."I'm sorry... Brother."

Kai smiled and said, "I told you, you don't need to apologize for this at all."

"They're not wrong," Kai said softly. "Why waste stones on a son they already buried in their hearts? Better to water the fields that still promise harvest."

"Then... What are you going to do?", There was an undisguised worry in her eyes. Even though she hasn't stayed long in the Academy, she has heard stories and rumors...

Kai patted her head gently as he continued, "Without family funding, I can pursue the path of a Wizard."

"Then... then I'll support you!"She said firmly, "I've already asked Ariya, and she said I'm very smart and learn things quickly.

Once I choose a mentor, I'll definitely get more resources. Then we can use them together!"

Now it was his turn to be surprised. He clearly hadn't expected his half sister to say such a thing.

At this moment, the smile on his face also became much gentler. He could only imagine how much weight he had in her heart, no wonder the system rated her loyalty at 74%, it was definitely above the norm.

"That's not necessary. I'm more capable than you think; I can easily support myself in this tower. Don't forget, I'm now an official wizard."

Perhaps infected by his mood, she also broke into a bright smile while nodding vigorously, "I know! A brother who can teach me so much knowledge is definitely not an ordinary person.

Father and those old men on the Family Council are all idiots!"

"Oh, and brother's mentor too!"

"Shh! Don't talk nonsense!" Kai was startled and quickly covered her mouth as he looked around the corridor.

He only breathed a sigh of relief when he found no one else in the corridor.

He playfully tapped her forehead, "The Academy has strict hierarchies; you're only a First-Level Apprentice. Are those formal Wizards people you can casually judge?

Come, let's go into the room with me; I have something to tell you."

"Oh..."Selene rubbed the spot that had just been flicked and followed Kai into the room.

His dormitory was small and simply furnished.

It only had a table, a wooden chair, a single bed, and a bookshelf.

Since there was no wardrobe, his changed clothes were casually left on the floor.

"Brother really... Your room is so dirty." Selene grumbled lightly and then bent down to pick up and fold the clothes:

"It seems you need to find a wife soon, otherwise no one will take care of you."

He didn't even turn to look at her; he simply placed the bag he was carrying on the table, "Haha, Wizards don't marry so early, let's talk about it when I turn 25."

"Then it would be good to get a few Wizard Servants or slaves."Although she was a girl, she seemed extremely open-minded about this.

She even proactively mentioned, "Yesterday, when a Guide took us new Apprentices to visit each Wizard Tower, I saw several servants for sale who were quite good-looking and well-built. How about I buy two for you?"

In the Wizard World, the identities of servants and Apprentices were vastly different; the former often appeared as the latter's private property, so he didn't feel anything amiss.

However, his mind was clearly not on this matter at the moment. He stood at the table and beckoned to Selene "Don't bother with irrelevant things. Come here and take a look at this first."

She leaned closer and saw an unfolded blueprint on the table.

"Can you tell what this is?"He asked.

She frowned as she said: "It looks like a blueprint for a mechanical arm?"

Since Selene had already learned about Alchemy Construct Studies and Runology, she recognized the content of the blueprint without much effort.

"Not bad." Kai nodded in satisfaction, "In the coming time, I will mainly teach you how to make this mechanical arm."

"Make a mechanical arm?"She asked in confusion: "Don't I need to perfect Gander's Star Cluster Meditation and spells anymore?"

"Of course, you need to perfect them, those would either increase your strength and keep you alive here, besides they say, learning never ends, but you don't need to spend too much time on it, your rank is enough to gain you the much-needed attention, what would keep this attention is where you have a natural talent. Alchemic constructs. Besides talent, a Gold-ranked wizard doesn't care about spells or rank when evaluating new apprentices, they all care about one thing and one thing alone! 'Are you useful?'."

He explained, "Now you already have basic mastery of your Meditation method, which is enough for an Apprentice who has just entered the Wizard World.

And your aptitude is very good; compared to other Apprentices, your mental power will increase much faster.

But you must understand that when choosing a mentor in the future, what truly makes you stand out is often not these things that everyone knows.

If you can demonstrate extraordinary talent in a certain discipline, then you have a chance to be chosen as a core apprentice."

"Selene, rank and spells make you look promising. But a Gold wizard won't care how many sparks you can conjure. They'll ask only one question: What use are you to me? If you can answer that, you'll never lack for resources.

This will be of great benefit to your development."

"I understand." Listening to his earnest guidance, she nodded gratefully.

In fact, when she first began learning the introductory knowledge of Alchemy Construct Studies, she had already developed a strong interest in this profound discipline.

During her childhood, she had always disliked staying in the gloomy castle and learning etiquette lessons with the rigid female officials.

Her happiest time of the day was sneaking out of the castle with Kai to tinker with wonderful gadgets in town.

Moreover, after mastering some basic knowledge, Selene also understood the uniqueness of the Alchemy Construct Studies discipline.

As a noble child, she had seen imperial airships soaring in the sky, alchemic floating castles, and magic-powered battleships docked at the port.

These mechanical creations, a perfect combination of power and precision, were the ultimate embodiment of the charm of Alchemy Construct Studies...

Seeing her agree, Kai also nodded in satisfaction.

In fact, the reason he arranged this was partly for himself to gain benefits during the teaching process.

At the same time, it was also to allow Selene to successfully become a core apprentice of a Gold-Ranked Wizard.

After all, he hadn't forgotten that this was one of the first tasks issued to him by the System.

And as he understood, Wizard Zachary Atilsan of the Redwind Tower—would also participate in this new Wizard Apprentice recruitment.

And as a master in the field of Alchemy Construct Studies, Zachary would naturally prefer Apprentices with talent in that discipline.