Free Web NovelChapter 51: Chapter 49: Paper Reward and the Steel Bamboo Forest
To Mo Ning, the Phantom Carved Statue was irreplaceable.
It contained a sliver of extraordinary Spiritual Power. He had no way of knowing how Spirituality was born, but this particular sliver happened to stimulate his soul.
This was a one-in-ten-thousand, or even one-in-a-million, stroke of luck.
This type of Spiritual Power possessed a unique quality that was impossible to deduce using Secret Divination and Divination.
Although he had already successfully constructed a Spiritual Divine Statue in his Spiritual World, according to the books, pairing a physical statue with a Spiritual Divine Statue could improve the effects of Meditation by 20% or even more.
So how could he not be furious?
Anya’s next message instantly pulled Mo Ning’s heart back from the abyss it had sunk into.
[Fortunately, after a great deal of effort from my family, the statue has been found.]
Mo Ning’s breath caught in his throat.
Anya immediately followed up with a long string of messages:
[My father, Viscount Sege, personally oversaw the search. The family mobilized a large number of people and even called in many favors we’d accumulated over the years.]
[At three o’clock this morning, in Red Stone Town, three hundred kilometers from the Royal Capital, the Black Iron Knights dispatched by my family successfully located the statue.]
[We also found many of the Rent Clan’s other missing belongings. My father reached an agreement with the Rent Clan, and they decided to gift the statue to him.]
[The statue has already been sent through our channels and is expected to arrive at the academy in three days.]
Mo Ning slowly let out a breath.
Three days. That was much faster than he had anticipated.
He knew, of course, that there must be a very convoluted story behind how the Phantom Carved Statue traveled from Sir Rent’s desk to Red Stone Town, three hundred kilometers away.
He also understood that the Sege clan had mobilized all their resources and worked tirelessly for a day and a night, all in an effort to curry favor with him.
Mo Ning suddenly felt that having the reputation of a genius wasn’t such a bad thing.
If it were any other newcomer, would Anya and her family have put in so much effort?
’Obviously not!’
Those resources, that manpower, those connections—every single one was a cost. Yet Viscount Sege had deployed them without hesitation, for no other reason than that Mo Ning was worth the investment.
Of course, it wasn’t without a price.
Although he had saved a bottle of Life Potion, he now owed the Sege clan a favor.
But right now, he was willing to accept that debt.
Mo Ning thought of Sir Rent, and a cold glint flashed in the depths of his eyes. "Once I become an Apprentice..."
His voice was soft, yet heavy as iron. "I will make the killer pay a heavy price."
Viscount Sege had obviously failed to find the real culprit, or else Anya would have mentioned it.
’But it doesn’t matter.’
He had marked down the score for the knight’s murder on the very first page of his mental ledger.
Those people hiding in the shadows, the ones who had taken the old man’s life—he wouldn’t let a single one of them go.
This had nothing to do with justice or fairness.
It was simply because—he wanted to!
"BUZZ—"
The Secret Technique Whisper vibrated faintly again.
Mo Ning raised his hand to stroke the face of the ring, a hint of surprise on his face.
This message wasn’t about the statue, but something else entirely.
[The first newcomer mission will be available today. I’m waiting for you in the dining hall. We can discuss it then.]
Mo Ning narrowed his eyes slightly.
From those few words, he could sense the Noble Lady’s intentions.
Anya seemed to be planning to use a "shared meal" as a way to subtly display the fact that they were teammates for all to see.
There was even a subtle hint of her "staking a claim"—’Mo Ning is my guy, so everyone else, back off.’
Mo Ning didn’t mind.
After all, the Noble Lady was indeed very useful, and easy to use.
He quietly connected to the Spirit Seal in the ring and readily replied with a single word:
[Alright!]
*****
「Five minutes later.」
Mo Ning pushed open the arched wooden doors of the dining hall and stepped into the shimmering underwater world.
The dining hall was a bit quiet at this hour.
The first wave of Top Students had already left, and many of the poorer-performing students had yet to arrive.
Only about thirty figures were scattered among the more than two hundred spacious birchwood tables.
Mo Ning’s gaze habitually swept across the hall before stopping on a familiar corner.
He saw Anya.
The Noble Lady was sitting at the table where he usually ate, directly across from his spot.
Although each table could seat four people, this made him feel slightly uncomfortable.
Come to think of it, the choice of where to sit was quite an interesting phenomenon.
The newcomers hadn’t been at the academy for long, yet everyone had already settled into fixed seats.
From a psychological perspective, this reflected a certain reality: the newcomers had found their own social strata.
In this world of strict hierarchies, everyone was used to it.
And Anya was likely the only newcomer present who had changed her seat.
Just then, as if sensing his presence, Anya suddenly looked up. She turned her delicate face toward him, breaking into a brilliant smile.
He had to admit, with her far-above-average looks, it was a very beautiful smile.
The education he had received in his past life had ingrained politeness into his very being.
He gave a slight nod in acknowledgment of her smiling face.
Anya’s smile grew even sweeter.
But this sweetness lasted only half a second before the Noble Lady quickly lowered her head, her gaze returning to the plate in front of her.
Mo Ning was quite satisfied with this.
’She’s a very clever girl.’
She knew perfectly well that her teammate preferred to keep a low profile, so she restrained her own ostentatiousness.
Mo Ning mentally awarded her a point and walked toward the food service area.
The Black Wood Puppet’s mechanical voice rang out, "Serial number 7-118-256, welcome. Enjoy your meal."
The position and arrangement of the food were identical to yesterday’s, without the slightest deviation.
The Black Wood Puppet quickly loaded his plate, placing the food in the exact same positions as the day before.
Honestly, he found it a little hard to understand.
Wizards had created a "research-validate-iterate" model highly similar to the scientific systems of his previous life, pushing the field of Secret Divination and Divination to one peak after another.
So why was the academy’s food so utterly unchanging?
"THUD!"
The metal tray made contact with the birchwood tabletop with a soft thud.
Anya, sitting diagonally across from him, looked up and gave Mo Ning a gentle smile.
The Noble Lady blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering noticeably, and said in a low voice:
"I’m so sorry to hear about the knight’s death!"
Mo Ning shook his head lightly. "It’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize."
He picked up a slice of coarse bread and took a bite.
The bran scraped against his tongue, the same familiar rough texture.
Anya was very smart. She knew her teammate didn’t want to discuss the tragedy of Sir Rent, so she decisively changed the subject:
"I just received some inside information. The academy’s plantation, the Steel Bamboo Forest, will be opened to all newcomers."
"Specifically, it will open the day after tomorrow—that is, the day after our second required course. It’s going to be open long-term."
"There are a lot of missions in the plantation for newcomers, including clearing excess branches, digging up surplus rhizomes, and polishing the Black Moss off the surface of the Steel Bamboo..."
Mo Ning nodded lightly.
’Manual labor,’ he knew as soon as he heard it.
To put it bluntly, it was a way to use newcomers as cheap labor.
After so many days at the academy, all the newcomers had come to a profound realization: without Black Tower Points, it was impossible to get anywhere.
You needed Black Tower Points to eat, to attend classes, and to buy materials.
The initial stipend seemed like a lot, but it flowed away like water when you started spending it.
Even Sitt, serial number 001, who held a "fortune" of 150 points, would feel like his funds were tight.
The plantation only needed to offer a small number of Black Tower Points, and the screamingly poor newcomers would scramble to do the work.
Because they had no other choice.
The Noble Lady then asked, "You know about Steel Bamboo, right?"
Mo Ning nodded. "I’ve read about it in the Royal Library. Steel Bamboo combined with Spirit Fallen Wood is the most common pairing for the Spirit Bone of a wooden Witchcraft Puppet."
Anya immediately offered a compliment. "Most newcomers don’t know about Steel Bamboo. You’re even more knowledgeable than I expected."
Just as its name suggested, it was a type of bamboo with a hardness comparable to steel.
The strangest thing was that, despite being a plant, its iron content was as high as an astonishing 65%.
But it wasn’t just hard; it was also one of the Spiritual Plants, which meant it could be used in the creation of various witchcraft artifacts.
Steel Bamboo grew extremely slowly.
While ordinary bamboo could mature in a month, Steel Bamboo grew only about five centimeters a year.
A mature stalk of Steel Bamboo could take decades, or even centuries, to grow to a usable size.
Its uses, however, were well worth the long wait.
Its extremely hard material, excellent resilience, and a certain degree of Spirituality—these three characteristics combined made Steel Bamboo an "all-purpose" material in the Wizard World.
Anya observed Mo Ning’s expression. "The mission to dig up the rhizomes pays relatively well."
She paused, as if choosing her words carefully. "Although it’s quite difficult, I’m a Black Iron Knight, so I’m more than capable of handling it."
Mo Ning raised his eyes and glanced at her.
On her charming and beautiful face, there was a hint of anticipation and a touch of apprehension.
He instantly understood the Noble Lady’s meaning: ’I’ll do the hardest work. You just need to come with me, and we’ll split the reward afterward.’
She could clearly handle this mission on her own, but she insisted on bringing him along. To put it bluntly, she was helping him earn Black Tower Points.
’What do you call this?’
’Currying favor!!’
Mo Ning thought for a moment, then answered, "Let’s do it, then."
He had only ever read about Steel Bamboo in books and had never seen it in person, so he was rather interested.
Anya was like a child who had just been given candy; a smile immediately bloomed on her pretty face.
To be fair, the smile was genuinely captivating.
Her clear eyes curved into two crescents, the light in them astonishingly bright, as if something was Burning within.
Mo Ning knew, of course, that she was trying to use this method to continuously strengthen the "bond" between them.
But a Black Iron Knight, a teammate who proactively provided intelligence, and a clever person who didn’t talk too much—someone like that was a good resource during the newcomer stage.
He could tolerate her little schemes.
Mo Ning took a bite of cold smoked meat, the coarse, salty flavor dissolving on his tongue.
As he was chewing, he suddenly felt the familiar coolness from his Guiding Ring.
[Reward Notification: Serial number 7-118-256, Mo Ning.]
[The Witchcraft research paper you submitted, "An Optimization Plan for the Sub-zero Level Witchcraft ’Flash’," has passed its final review.]
[Reviewer Comments: This paper is well-structured, with rigorous deductions and a high degree of innovation. The experimental verification results exceeded expectations and show definite practical value.]
[Review Result: Your paper has been rated Star Badge Second Level.]
Mo Ning’s eyes lit up slightly.
Star Badge Second Level—he had read about this rating in the tomes of the Royal Library.
For an Apprentice, even achieving Star Badge First Level was rare; Second Level was as rare as a phoenix feather.
More messages followed one after another.
[Review Reward 1: Excellent Witchcraft research deserves a fitting commendation. The Rose Council hereby awards you a reward of 50 Black Tower Points.]
[Review Reward 2: Your vision, which surpasses that of your peers, and your unremitting spirit in the pursuit of truth are admirable.]
[To encourage you to continue exploring the Mystery of Witchcraft, the Rose Council hereby grants you an additional reward of 20 Black Tower Points.]
Mo Ning was taken aback.
’Why are there two rewards?!’
Based on his understanding, a Star Badge Second Level paper came with a reward. For research on a Sub-zero Level Witchcraft, the reward was typically 50 Black Tower Points, while it would increase to at least 100 Black Tower Points for a Level Zero Witchcraft.
The fact that the Rose Council had granted an additional 20 Black Tower Points was truly a surprise.
A thought flashed through Mo Ning’s mind. ’Is this the preferential treatment for a genius?’
Anya immediately noticed the change in his expression.
She blinked her beautiful eyes, her red lips parting slightly. In the end, she couldn’t help but ask, "What happened?"
