Chapter 34 Experiment (2)

“Have we been abandoned?” Lauren questioned, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

He gazed eagerly at Lynn.

In truth, becoming a lizard-man had made him feel the most insecure.

Transforming from a human into an heretical existence deemed unacceptable in human society.

Although he hadn’t tried, Lauren believed that if he were to walk down the street without the curtain-like cloak that concealed his form, he would undoubtedly elicit numerous screams and horrified stares.

The only person in this world who could tolerate his peculiarity was the young lad in front of him.

“No, we haven’t,” Lynn reassured him. “At least, I won’t suddenly disappear.”

The next morning, Lynn observed the completed framework of the Sleeping Curse in his mind.

It was a three-dimensional model difficult to describe in words.

At the moment all the nodes were completed, the spell framework seamlessly melded into one.

Lynn noticed numerous details in this model.

With the formal completion of the spell framework, it meant he had successfully mastered the zero-ring spell— Sleeping Curse.

However, he still needed a test subject.

Lynn went to the backyard of his residence.

The soil on the lawn in the backyard loosened, revealing an iron head the next moment.

The Iron Earthworm had no idea what awaited it.

Regarding the casting of the Sleeping Curse, there were two modes.

One was the silent casting, advantageous for its stealth, yet not entirely concealed. This was because releasing the spell activated the mental energy in the caster’s mind, imperceptible to ordinary people and beings with significantly lower mental energy. 

However, it became very apparent to those with mental energy comparable to or only slightly lower than the caster’s. Additionally, silent casting was slower.

The other was casting with an incantation, requiring the utterance of a spell. The only downside to vocal casting was that chanting the incantation was quite conspicuous. However, the advantage was a faster casting speed!

As for how much faster exactly, Lynn didn’t know. The magic book only mentioned in passing that vocal casting would be faster, and it was influenced by proficiency.

Lynn raised his right hand, and with a mental command, his mental energy flowed into the Sleeping Curse’s spell framework like water gushing from an opened valve.

A considerable amount of mental energy continuously dissipated. It stopped only after consuming more than a quarter of his mental energy.

Lynn estimated that it was approximately twice the consumption of a zero-ring spell on a magic staff.

Was it because the magic staff could save mental energy, or was it because the spell was engraved on the magic staff? Lynn pondered.

With the successful release of the spell, a grayish-white mist coalesced in his palm.

Just like what he had seen at teacher Angley’s place initially, it could be released at any moment through his intention.

Choosing the Iron Earthworm as the target, Lynn commanded, and the grayish-white mist in his hand shot out at incredible speed.

Sleeping Curse unleashed! 

The grayish-white mist instantly merged into the Iron Earthworm’s body, and the Iron Earthworm’s body stiffened.

The next moment, it collapsed.

Lynn received no feedback through the metal wristband.

The connection was completely severed! Lynn roughly understood the range and trajectory speed of this spell.

Taking out his magic staff again, Lynn released the Sleeping Curse once more.

This time, as Lynn depleted his mental energy, he felt a feedback force from the magic staff in his hand.

This force was constant and very resilient.

In an instant, Lynn understood that the reason for the reduced energy consumption during spell release was due to this magic staff.

This magic staff was a valuable item.

Being able to reduce the mental energy needed to cast spells was highly important for a wizard!

Without the magic staff, he could release at most three zero-ring spells. With this magic staff, he could release approximately six or seven spells.

‘Lynn

Level: Level 3 (0/100)

Physical Fitness: 1.63
Mental Strength: 3.7

Mastery:
—Earth Ring Meditation (11%)

Life Occupation:
—Level 1 Mutation Studies (11%) (0/10)
—Level 1 Bloodline Studies (1%) (0/10)

General Experience Points: 0′

The improvement in physical fitness compared to before was a mere 0.01, a small increase.

On the other hand, mental strength had increased significantly with the rise in levels and meditation techniques.

Lynn estimated that without the magic staff, the standard mental energy consumption for casting a zero-ring spell would be one unit.

With the magic staff reducing the mental energy consumption by half, it could reach 0.5 standard units.

For an ordinary person without enhanced mental strength, even if granted the ability to cast zero-ring spells, without a magic staff, one spell could completely drain their mental energy.

“Brother, I got the glassware you wanted, but that merchant raised the price suddenly and demanded two extra gold coins from me,” Borg grumbled while holding the experimental glassware. “Seeing his cunning face, I really wanted to give him a good beating, then I wouldn’t have to pay him even a single gold coin.”

He felt that he hadn’t handled the situation well and ended up spending two extra gold coins for his brother. How many loaves of white bread could two gold coins buy!

“It’s okay. How much is it, anyway?” Lynn checked the glassware brought by Borg for experiments.

It was said that this set of glassware was originally purchased by a priest who enjoyed studying pharmacology. However, the priest had some accidents, and the merchant ended up with this set of glassware, purchased at a high price from abroad.

After inspecting the glassware and confirming its quality, Lynn patted Borg on the shoulder. “You did well, little guy.”

Encouraged by his older brother’s praise, Borg’s spirits soared, filled with excitement.

After dinner, Lynn eagerly returned to his room.

Taking the glass experimental vessels into the Alchemy Laboratory, Lynn then retrieved the medicinal herbs procured by his little errand boy, Borg, a couple of days ago.

“Let me think about what else I need,” Lynn rubbed his forehead, recalling the knowledge stored in his mind.

It was preferable to use pure water and a flame of constant temperature. However, obtaining pure water required the condensation of spells, though distilled water could serve as a temporary substitute. As for a flame of constant temperature, Lynn opted for a makeshift version using an alcohol lamp.

Having prepared these materials in advance, Lynn meticulously arranged them on the table. Extracting plant essences, he followed the knowledge in his mind, step by step, heating, modulating, and stirring various plants in different proportions.

The process took close to two hours.

After this duration, Lynn gazed at the dark purple liquid in the test tube in his hand, deep in contemplation. He recalled that the correct end product should be a shade of green, yet the liquid in his bottle was a dark purple. What had gone wrong in the process?

Lynn’s head throbbed with a headache.

But soon, the headache vanished.

A black line brushed across the corner of his vision.

“Daily task completed: Experiment (1), Completed an experiment of extremely low difficulty.”
“Completion: Unqualified (︾)”
“Reward: None.”

Indeed, completing the experimental series of daily tasks earned rewards.

There was an expandable symbol following the “Unqualified” status.

With a thought, Lynn expanded the symbol following “Unqualified.”

Completion: Unqualified (︽)
Mistake ① The yellow sprout grass extraction lacked thorough and uniform stirring. Mistake ② The neutralizing agent should have been preheated for 30 seconds, with a preheating time exceeding 2 seconds being an error. Mistake ③.

Lynn was pleasantly surprised— there was an explanation accompanying these mistakes. Though it was only textual guidance, it was better than having nothing at all.

Now aware of where his experiment had gone wrong, he could avoid such errors in the next attempt. Lynn took out his notebook and transcribed all his mistakes onto its pages.

Afterward, he tidied up the experimental utensils on the table.

“Daily task completed: Laboratory Cleanup (2), Clean the laboratory thoroughly, maintaining its cleanliness.”
“Completion: Qualified”
“Reward: 10 general experience points.”

Lynn pondered whether the different difficulty levels between the laboratory experiments and the post-experiment tasks were due to the assessment criteria being related to the laboratory’s specifications.

Squinting his eyes, Lynn contemplated this in his mind.

However, he wondered why it was only deemed “Qualified.” Achieving an outstanding evaluation seemed to be quite challenging.

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