Wizards: Starting with Fairy Crests

051: Return to Gray Tower

A few days later, in the gray fog jungle, the gray tower, and the residential area.

The hustle and bustle of the past has vanished, leaving only a chilling, lifeless emptiness.

The lingering gray fog filtered the sunlight into a sickly pale white, evenly coating the towering, rusted black metal of the Gray Tower, and the area beneath it that was once crowded with shacks of all colors.

The shantytown—once a noisy, filthy, yet twistedly vibrant anthill where thousands of apprentices struggled to survive, where trade, quarrels, intrigues, and fleeting alliances played out every moment.

Now, what greets the eye is a suffocating scene of desolation and silence.

The vast majority of the simple wooden huts, animal skin tents, and even the slightly sturdier stone houses were deserted. Many doors were wide open, swaying gently in the damp breeze, making a monotonous creaking sound, as if lamenting the departure of their owners.

The streets were deserted, with only wildly growing, dull-colored weeds and vines sprouting from the cracks, swallowing up any trace of the people who once came and went.

The air was thick with the smell of damp mold and rotting wood, as well as a faint, almost imperceptible chill and weariness that seemed to emanate from the depths of the soul—the lingering, unsettling atmosphere left behind by the nightmare beast's continued feeding.

There was no sound of conversation, no bursts of spell practice, no clamor of bargaining, and not even the most common carrion animals or insects scavenging for food in the garbage heap were to be seen.

The presence of living people was extremely rare in the entire area. As far as the eye could see, there might only be one or two figures that flashed briefly past the door of a shack in the far distance, before disappearing into the darkness behind the door, carrying the vigilance and panic of a frightened bird.

Those were the very few apprentices who survived for various reasons, and now they can only hide like rats in the gutter, suffering in silence and fear.

"It's really quiet..." Lin Qi remarked.

The wizarding world is a highly competitive world, especially for these lowly apprentices. They can fight tooth and nail, even killing each other, for a mere one or two magic stones.

In such an atmosphere, the former shack area was always filled with resentment, and almost every apprentice harbored resentment and indignation, like a powder keg about to explode.

Now it's all spacious and open.

No one needs to compete anymore, and no one needs to resent each other anymore.

They're all dead anyway, aren't they?

However, this state will not last long.

With the human world as its foundation, a steady stream of apprentices will naturally flow into this region. With a population of tens of millions under control, it can provide tens of thousands of apprentices each year.

In a few years, this place will prosper again and fall into competition for scarce resources once more.

until...

The next harvest is coming.

This is the world of wizards, divided into hierarchical levels.

If you don't want to be entangled in the lower classes and ultimately be cruelly exploited, there's only one way—

Climb to a higher level!

Withdrawing his gaze, Lin Qi walked resolutely toward the Gray Tower.

They arrived at the fifth floor of the Gray Tower, in the laboratory of Wizard Hossman.

Several apprentices had already arrived at the laboratory, including Michelle, who had worked with Lynch at the nursery.

She was the only person Lin Qi was somewhat familiar with here. They walked over, greeted each other, and waited together.

Over the next half hour, a few more apprentices came in, but no more came in after that.

After waiting for another hour.

The heavy metal door on the inside of the laboratory slid open silently, and Wizard Hossman stepped out.

He was still wearing that slightly worn but spotless dark brown wizard's robe, his hair was neatly combed, and his face was serious.

However, compared to three years ago, his brows seemed to be furrowed more tightly, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were deeper.

He walked to the front of the hall, his gaze swept across the hall, and then he was clearly taken aback.

"Sixteen? How come there are only sixteen?"

He looked around carefully, then asked, "Where are Dyson and Jackman? Where did they go? Has anyone seen them?"

Subconsciously, his gaze swept across the crowd, lingering for a moment on the faces of several apprentices who might be acquainted with the two men, trying to find the answer.

However, he was met with bewildered glances from his apprentices, their faces showing confusion or indifference, and no one responded.

Lynch sat in the crowd, his face expressionless, simply watching Wizard Hossman, as if he too was waiting for an answer no one knew.

Hossman frowned.

Although it's unknown why the two apprentices failed to return on time, given the presence of the Heart-Eating Fly, if they hadn't returned to the Gray Tower by this point, then it's safe to say that the two apprentices were doomed.

So be it, he's dead.

His brows furrowed for only a moment before quickly relaxing.

apprentice?

The wizarding world has no shortage of apprentices.

"Lynch," Hossman said.

The deceased Dyson was an assistant in the Hossman Laboratory, and he was used to handling miscellaneous tasks. Now that this assistant was gone, it was natural to arrange a new one.

This young man with a talent for potions was someone he had his eye on three years ago.

Lin Qi stepped forward: "Mentor."

"Starting today, you will take over my work as a lab assistant," Hossman said calmly.

Although everyone had anticipated this outcome from the moment Wizard Hossman called out Lynch's name, they still couldn't help but feel envious after hearing Wizard Hossman's announcement.

Being a lab assistant is much easier than doing odd jobs in the lab, and more importantly, it allows you to access valuable knowledge.

Lin Qi quickly bowed and said, "Yes, mentor."

Hossman nodded: "Go down..."

"Um?"

Just as he was saying this, Wizard Hossman seemed to have noticed something, and his sharp eyes quickly locked onto Lynch.

He looked Lin Qi up and down, then suddenly asked in surprise, "You've advanced to the advanced apprentice level?"

Lynch was the last of the apprentices to enter the Gray Tower. Everyone remembered that he had only arrived three years ago, meaning he had just been promoted to intermediate apprentice at that time.

Only three years have passed, and this kid has already advanced to the level of advanced apprentice?

How is that possible!

Unfortunately, that's how the wizarding world is; the development of things is determined by objective logic and will not be changed by the subjective thinking of outsiders.

When asked by Wizard Hossman, Lynch simply nodded calmly.

"Yes, mentor."

Two simple words instantly caused an uproar in the laboratory!