Two hours later.
A microscope, with lenses crafted by Lor and other parts manufactured by Kateya, was assembled.
Lor plucked a bit of leftover vegetable leaf, approached the microscope, adjusted it slightly, and then turned to point at the eyepiece above the microscope:
"Kateya, come and see the result. Just look down from here."
"Okay." Kateya stepped forward, putting her eye to the eyepiece and looking down.
"What are these bugs?"
With just one glance, Kateya noticed the small worms wriggling between the veins of the leaves and some irregular spheres.
"These are colonies." Lor explained, "Normally, we can't see them with the naked eye, but under a microscope, they are clearly visible."
"I discovered this fascinating phenomenon when wandering by the seaside, where I happened to find several pieces of glass and had the sudden idea to stack them together."
"When I came to the Wizard Tower, I kept thinking about whether there could be any similar witchcraft, but unfortunately, I didn't find anything in the central library."
He casually fabricated a reason for inventing this thing.
"Truly amazing."
Kateya exclaimed in awe, but then seemed to realize something, her expression changing slightly:
"By the way, Lord Lor, on the other foods we usually eat..."
"Your reaction is swift; almost all food has these things." Lor laughed, "But don't worry, everything eaten becomes eg—uh, it becomes material that allows us to survive."
This time, Kateya didn't feel delighted by Lor's praise; instead, her stomach churned a bit.
After all, she wasn't one of those Bloodline Wizards who could eat anything, ignoring raw and cold foods.
"Kateya, do you think this thing could be contributed to the Wizard Tower for some contribution points?" Lor, not noticing Kateya's discomfort, continued asking.
His question actually had two purposes.
The explicit reason was to see if he could earn some contribution points.
The implicit reason was to prevent a certain first-circle wizard from making a move against him.
The precision of apprentice-level Microscope Witchcraft, at most, assists wizards in optimizing witchcraft more accurately, saving some time.
It can't reach deeper levels, let alone touch the strings at that level.
Thus, with the protection of a two-circle wizard mentor, a little precaution was fine, but being overly cautious was really unnecessary.
"This needs to be taken to the Magic Artifact Production Area to have a look; if all goes well, you should be able to earn some contribution points."
Suppressing her feeling of discomfort, Kateya explained, then suddenly realizing something, hurriedly asked:
"Lord Lor, do you want to turn this thing into a Witchcraft Model and place it in your Sea of Consciousness?"
"Yes." Lor nodded and asked back: "If I complete this witchcraft, I should be able to get a personal laboratory, right?"
"Of course!"
Kateya affirmed, "If this Witchcraft Model is completed, it will definitely assist the wizards in optimizing models, so getting a personal laboratory would be only natural!"
"Alright, then let's make a trip to the Magic Artifact Production Area and come back to construct this Witchcraft Model together, my assistant." Lor invited with a smile.
If this microscope didn't relate to other objectives, he would have preferred to delegate this task directly to Kateya.
Completing the Microscope Witchcraft Model promptly was his most crucial task at the moment.
"Alright, Lord Lor." Kateya nodded repeatedly.
At this moment, she was extremely excited, long having cast aside the discomfort she felt when she heard there were a bunch of bugs in the food.
She had thought about becoming Lor's laboratory assistant in the future, but she never expected this day to come so soon.
...
Over ten minutes later, Kateya led Lor to the Magic Artifact Production Area.
The Magic Artifact Production Area was a building complex covering about two miles, unlike the Witchcraft Model Optimization Verification Area, which was rather deserted; it was bustling.
One by one, first-level Wizard Apprentices from the Earth and Fire Faction went in with odd items and came out empty-handed.
Though their faces showed fatigue, they also revealed a hint of joy.
"These apprentices usually take on some Magic Artifact production tasks to earn contribution points and then exchange them for Magic Crystals and Spiritual Power Potions to accelerate their spiritual power training."
Noticing Lor's gaze lingering on the apprentices, Kateya immediately began to explain:
"But most tasks offer very few contribution points. It basically takes ten days to earn even one point."
"But not doing the tasks is not an option either; their Meditation Talent is low, and their innate spiritual power is weak, so normal training is too slow. They might never reach the edge of third-level apprentices in their lifetime."
"Apprentices with some combat power at levels two or three would rather guard towns, confront Temple Knights and Exotic Beasts, than do this hard work."
Lor merely nodded silently without giving any opinion.
There's nothing new under the sun; if he hadn't relied on the game panel to improve his Meditation Talent to level five, he would have been just like these apprentices at the start.
Some apprentices who couldn't stand this hardship would sign up for experiments in laboratories, voluntarily giving up their Witchcraft Positions in exchange for a sum of contribution points to enhance their spiritual power.
This is one of the sources of experimental materials for wizards, and compared to Bloodline Wizards, Elemental Mages are considered very mild.
Seeing Lor wasn't interested, Kateya spoke no more, leading him to the entrance of the Magic Artifact Production Area.
The surrounding first-level apprentices, upon seeing the third-level apprentice insignia on Kateya's collar, immediately moved aside to clear the way while sneaking curious glances at Lor, who was behind her.
"These guys aren't thinking I'm a freeloader, are they?"
Feeling the gazes around him, Lor silently muttered to himself.
However, he didn't take it to heart; time would prove everything.
Following Kateya for about another five minutes, they turned a few corners and arrived at a room where only three or four people were in line.
Scanning the people in front, realizing the highest was only a second-level apprentice, Kateya promptly spoke up: "Please make way, everyone."
The few first and second-level apprentices, and the third-level female apprentice responsible for registration sitting behind the desk, all turned to look.
Upon seeing Kateya, even the second-level apprentice registering at that moment moved aside with their items.
The red-haired female apprentice responsible for registration smiled and said, "Kateya, I heard Luce said you landed a super genius?"
"His mouth is still so big."
Kateya shook her head helplessly, emphasizing:
"Tia, I merely became Lord Lor's assistant. Talking about landing someone is a bit exaggerated."
With recent observations, she had come to generally understand Lor's personality.
This individual seemed wholly focused on witchcraft, with no interest in romantic matters.
Therefore, she absolutely wouldn't acknowledge any rumors that might incur Lor's displeasure.
"Is this Lord Lor?" Tia shifted her gaze to Lor beside her and remarked with a smile, "Not only a genius, but so handsome too."
"They overrate me." Lor slightly shook his head, baffled by any perceived connection between handsomeness and genius.
Not attempting to decipher the female apprentice's thought process, he stepped forward, placing the microscope on the table, stating:
"I unintentionally created this device. It allows for the viewing of some extremely minute objects on surfaces—see how many contribution points it might be worth."