Chapter 98

Chapter 98

“Hey, I’m heading to the Abyss tomorrow,” Ido repeated.

“Ah, may the winds be at your back,” Lynn replied.

Winds at my back? Ido mused, chewing on this unfamiliar phrase.

It strangely resonated with her.

“Well, thank you then,” Ido’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, hands clasped behind her back, and she walked away, her figure gradually receding as she returned to her room.

Observing her departing figure, Lynn and Ido parted ways at the intersection, with Lynn returning to his laboratory.

Inside the laboratory, goblin engineers were diligently operating the forge, forging armor for Iron Serpent No. 1. They had crafted an improved scale-like outer armor layer for the Iron Serpent, adding an extra layer of scales to its original body. Although the actual enhancement wasn’t significant, the defense had increased by about 20% in testing compared to the previous standard version, and it looked more aesthetically pleasing.

To encourage the innovative spirit of the goblin engineers, Lynn had named this more complex upgraded version of Iron Serpent No. 1 the “Noble Edition,” priced one magic stone higher than the standard version.

Surprisingly, this Noble Edition gained a considerable market share after its release.

Time flew by in Demon City without the concept of seasons.

The temperature seemed constant throughout the year.

Lynn repeated his daily routine, finding it all not dull at all.

However, since Ido went to the Abyss, she hadn’t returned. Sometimes, after finishing an experiment, Lynn would glance occasionally at the quiet gray spire next door, then lower his head and immerse himself back into his experiments.

“Chirp~”

In the laboratory, a black crow spread its wings, shattering into countless fragments with a bang, as if exploding into numerous black shadows, blending into the surrounding darkness.

Soon, these shadows coalesced and reshaped on the nearby scaffold, returning to the form of a black crow.

“The experiment was finally successful,” Nocturne said satisfactorily in the laboratory.

“I originally thought it would take at least two more years, but it turned out faster than I expected.”

Nocturne turned to look at Lynn, realizing how much this assistant introduced by Wizard Harin had helped him. Lynn’s assistance had saved him a lot of time. Some time ago, he had suddenly found inspiration, and during that period, Lynn even lived in his wizard tower, accompanying him for three days and nights of continuous work.

If Nocturne had done everything on his own, it would have not only delayed the progress of the experiment but might have also caused the loss of inspiration.

Furthermore, in the later stages of the experiment, he found that Lynn was progressing rapidly in mutation studies, often offering fresh insights and alternative suggestions for his experiments. Sometimes, Nocturne even felt that Lynn’s proficiency in mutation studies was not far behind his own.

In Demon City, there were probably no apprentices at the apprentice level who could match Lynn’s proficiency in mutation studies.

“Congratulations on fulfilling your wish, Wizard Nocturne,” Lynn smiled.

“Your help was significant too,” Nocturne acknowledged.

Lynn didn’t respond, well aware of how much assistance he had provided over the past year.

He conducted mutation experiments at home every day, which allowed him to continuously accumulate experience points in mutation studies. He gained 0.2% or 0.1% proficiency in life occupation every day, and later, after becoming more proficient, it was mostly 0.2% every day.

Later, after spending a considerable amount of general experience points, he finally raised his mutation studies to level 3 three months ago.

The reason he had focused on improving mutation studies first was because Lynn had his own motives.

His daily experiments with Nocturne had severely affected his own time management.

So, he wanted to increase his level in mutation studies as much as possible. In fact, when he reached level 2 in mutation studies, Lynn had found that although Nocturne’s proficiency in mutation studies was higher than his, it wasn’t much higher. There was only one extra level of proficiency.

Sure enough, after breaking through to level 3 in mutation studies, Lynn understood many things, so during the experiment, he occasionally, unconsciously revealed some of his thoughts to accelerate the experiment progress.

As expected, Wizard Nocturne, with Lynn’s assistance, finally completed the experiment within a year.

Lynn felt genuinely gratified by this outcome.

“I have two source materials here that should be useful to you. Take a look and see which one catches your eye,” Nocturne said, retrieving two items from his spatial accessory, holding one in each hand.

Suddenly, she turned her head towards Lynn. “Have we met somewhere before?”

“I believe it was at the academy, esteemed Lady Maybetessa,” Lynn replied.

Maybetessa’s face stiffened for a moment, her expression subtly changing.

“Oh, I remember now. You’re the boy who sat in the front row,” Maybetessa said calmly, giving Lynn a meaningful glance.

Lynn understood her gaze.

“Oh, I’m tired from the trip. I’ll go home and rest for a few days,” Maybetessa stretched lazily, revealing her graceful figure.

Nocturne patted Lynn’s shoulder before returning to his wizard tower to attend to his remaining tasks. Lynn boarded Black Crow and returned to Demon City.

Upon returning, Lynn noticed that the invitation in his hand had become dull and lifeless.

Without daily participation in Nocturne’s experiments in the inner court, Lynn suddenly found himself with an additional six hours of free time each day, which he struggled to adjust to.

Looking at the empty neighboring tower, Lynn went to the service hall and found Toby. “Is there a way to check if someone has encountered danger in the Abyss?”

“Who do you want to check on?” Toby asked. “Theoretically, it’s not possible to check.”

“Ido,” Lynn said.

Toby’s eyes showed a hint of understanding. He knew Lynn didn’t have many acquaintances, so the probability was high that he was referring to her.

Toby pondered for a moment. “Ido’s situation is somewhat unique, but I can tell you.”

Lynn looked puzzled.

“She has a special identity. Her true identity is the daughter of a legendary wizard who came to the Abyss Wizard Academy two thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven years ago.”

Two thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven years ago?

Lynn hadn’t expected Ido to be so old. It was just a hundred and three years short of a complete three thousand years.

“But in her sixth year at the wizard academy, she died. She died two thousand eight hundred and ninety-one years ago,” Toby stated a chilling fact.

Dead?

Then who had he seen?

Lynn didn’t fear the fact that Ido was supposedly dead. He was already accustomed to dissecting numerous corpses and extracting blood in the laboratory every day, let alone dealing with souls.

“I heard her death was quite special. Even her soul couldn’t be recalled, so her father delved into the river of time, leaving her past shadow in the Abyss Wizard Academy. Thus, she became a cycle here, a special existence. Every six years, she undergoes a new cycle, but she forgets the memories from the previous cycle.”

Lynn suddenly froze.

He suddenly remembered the faint sigh of the young woman standing beside him on the quiet path a year ago. ‘Always so boring, it seems like you’ve thrown all your time into seeking the truth. Isn’t the scenery along the way worth stopping for a moment?‘

Forgetting everything every six years, then repeatedly making new friends only to forget them again.

He couldn’t help but wonder who was truly lonely, her or those forgotten by her.

“After the cycle, can’t she remember anything from before the cycle?” Lynn was silent for a moment before asking.

Toby didn’t answer. He just extended a finger.

A small flame ignited at the tip of his finger out of thin air.

After a moment, the flame extinguished.

Then Toby snapped his fingers again, and once more, he extended his index finger, which ignited a small flame.

“Do you think this is still the same flame?” Toby asked.

——