The Witch's Anatomical Notes

Chapter 70

Nure

With the schedule for the once-every-three-years "Tri-Tower Tournament" announced, the wizards of the Tower of the Four Sages all grew tense, especially the apprentices who met the qualification criteria.

The Exchange Office, which was usually deserted, was now overcrowded. Everyone was spending all their savings to exchange for various means of survival.

In the shadows of the bizarre sculptures along the tower's spiral staircase, many hastily formed or long-planned teams were conversing in low voices.

Even apprentices who had not found ideal teammates quickly banded together. Although these makeshift teams might not be united in spirit, at least they could put up a show of strength.

Dormitory

Laboratory

Lu Xi was fully focused on refining a new potion.

It was another type of apprentice-level resistance potion she had found in the library. After spending 30 Academic Points, she had developed it to an intermediate level.

[Intermediate Apprentice Gaze-Into-Darkness Drops]

The formula included man-eating flower dew, ashes from magical energy chandeliers, spikes from bloody brambles, and magic insect honey, among other ingredients.

Unlike the potions Lu Xi had previously refined, this resistance potion was in the form of drops that needed to be applied directly into the pupils to take effect, and it came with the side effect of temporary blindness.

However, due to the difficulty of refining it, this potion had never appeared in the Tower of the Four Sages before, making its price quite attractive — even at the Exchange Office it could be traded for 21 magic stones per bottle.

Of course, as a potionologist, Lu Xi did not lack magic stones. There were still at least two hundred magic stones in reserve in her desk drawer, so she had no intention of selling these potions.

After all, during the upcoming tournament, continuous spellcasting and combat would be inevitable, and resistance potions were indispensable resources.

As the final ingredient, "man-eating flower dew," was added, the "Gaze-Into-Darkness Drops" in the beaker boiled violently.

As the excess moisture evaporated, the drops stabilized.

Lu Xi swiftly grabbed a vial and carefully poured the liquid from the bottom of the beaker into it.

More than ten ingredients had ultimately yielded only two drops of potion.

Still, achieving success on the first try with only a 20% success rate far exceeded Lu Xi’s expectations.

Just as Lu Xi secured the vial containing the drops in the potion box, a pair of porcelain-white wrists encircled her neck.

A warm breath lingered by her ear.

"Teacher agreed to let me team up with you for the tournament." Olivia's voice carried a hint of pride.

Lu Xi's hand paused.

When Olivia had previously proposed participating in the tournament, she had assumed that Mentor Fernando would surely refuse  after all, this princess had only joined the tower a month ago and had not even completed her basic wizardry studies.

Yet, unexpectedly, he had agreed.

"Teacher said: 'A rose cannot bloom brightly if grown in a greenhouse...'" Olivia mimicked the teacher's tone.

Lu Xi tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Olivia's imitation was spot-on, instantly reminding her of Mentor Fernando's serious face.

"How’s your grasp of the Law of Time?"

"Not bad." Olivia answered lightly. "Although I still can't reverse time, I’ve mastered two Tier-1 witchcraft spells from the Chronological School."

In fact, her Mental Strength had already surpassed ten points two days ago, officially stepping into the ranks of an official wizard.

One month — from an ordinary person who had just awakened, she had leapt straight into the category of official apprentice.

Although the upgraded 'Bramble Loop Meditation' had contributed, the main reason was still the innate talent of a witch.

It had to be said — truly terrifyingly powerful.

"Senior sister, you better be careful, you know. The day I 'surpass' you isn't far off." Olivia deliberately emphasized a certain syllable.

Lu Xi's face turned slightly pale. She made one last attempt and said, "Is reconciliation really impossible?"

Olivia shook her head.

"You can’t think of reconciliation only when you're about to be surpassed."

After speaking, Olivia buried her face in her senior sister’s neck hollow, greedily inhaling the scent from Lu Xi’s body.

Tap~ Tap~ Tap~

Just then, the door was knocked.

"Someone's here."

Lu Xi patted Olivia’s waist, but Olivia did not move for quite a while.

It was only after the third knock that she reluctantly let go.

Creak!~

The door opened, and standing outside was still Talia.

She glanced suspiciously at the slightly disheveled Lu Xi and the deliberately aloof Olivia.

"So long? What were you two doing?"

With an outsider present, Olivia resumed her aloof demeanor. She gave Talia a slight smile before leaving the dormitory.

With the Tri-Tower Tournament approaching, she also needed to make some preparations so as not to hold anyone back.

"Olivia's period came. I was helping her check for leakage," Lu Xi made up casually.

"Period?" Talia asked. "Princess Olivia’s aunt is also a wizard?!"

"Ahem... let’s not talk about that." Realizing it was becoming impossible to explain, Lu Xi quickly changed the subject. "Why were you looking for me?"

Talia clapped her hands, finally remembering the main matter.

"Nure is back."

"Nure?"

...

This chubby man, who had left under Lilith’s sponsorship to form a caravan when it was still summer, had gone through a grueling three-month journey. By the time he returned to the Tower of the Four Sages in late autumn, he had lost a significant amount of weight, and his once fair face was now weathered with traces of wind and frost.

Lu Xi had already learned the general reason behind his departure from Mentor Fernando.

However, after meeting Nure, what he said caused a trace of unease to rise in Lu Xi’s heart.

Peak apprentice Lilith had initially thought that the ones secretly blocking the Tower of the Four Sages were Eternal Silence Blackthorn and the Witch’s Cottage. In reality, these two factions had also been attacked by unknown wizards.

Moreover, it wasn’t just the wizard factions within the Principality of Kolo. Those in the Black Mountain Principality, the Bluefeather Principality, the Finland Principality, and even wizards in the Kingdom of Cordova had all suffered varying degrees of harassment.

Clearly, this was a blockade targeting all wizard organizations across the entire kingdom.

"If everything was blocked, how did you reach the Black Mountain Principality?" Lu Xi couldn’t help but press further.

Nure scratched his head shyly, once again appearing harmless.

"When I reached the border between the two principalities, I encountered wizards from the Witch’s Cottage who had been attacked. After learning that someone was ambushing passing caravans, I spent a great sum to hire dozens of local hunters familiar with the area to map the terrain. Then, I had the accompanying knights spend a month digging a tunnel that crossed between the two principalities. Through that underground passage, I transported the alchemical components over."

"Thanks to the blockade, sales at the alchemical laboratory were also affected, so I managed to buy a large number of components at only sixty percent of their normal price."

Through this underground passage, he was also able to trade resources between various sides.

This seemingly simple yet execution-demanding plan made Lu Xi see him in a new light.

Hearing Lu Xi’s praise, the chubby man shyly scratched his head again.

"Miss Lu Xi, I’d like to join your team. Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t hold anyone back."

As he spoke, he pulled out five one-handed wands from his sleeve as if performing a magic trick, and then displayed the sorcery rings on his fingers.

"These were all purchased at low prices from the Alchemical Tower in the Black Mountain Principality."