I, a cultivator, have ended up in the wizarding world.

Chapter 19 Victor

The most unique aspect of the Refining Essence into Qi system is that it regards "essence," "qi," and "spirit" as a unified whole.

The rapid improvement of Jieming's mental strength (spirit) greatly affected the growth of his "essence" (physical quality) and "qi" (true essence).

At the same time, the overall improvement in his cultivation level can, in turn, nourish his spiritual sea and soul strength, thereby promoting the progress of the wizard's meditation method.

In this way, with the left foot stepping on the right, the two systems secretly promote each other, forming a near-infinite cycle of rapid improvement.

If it weren't for Jieming finding several methods in the Great Dao Library to suppress cultivation and stabilize his foundation, he would probably be more than just at the first level of Qi Refining by now.

Even so, now that he has reached the peak of the first level of Qi Refining, he already feels that he can no longer suppress his power.

The true essence within his body was like a flood about to burst its banks, ready to break through the shackles and advance to the second level of Qi Refining at any moment.

However, if one were to break through in the dormitory, the powerful fluctuations that would erupt from within one's body would likely be detected by the academy's ubiquitous monitoring array, or even by a passing wizard, which would be a huge problem!

He can only make breakthroughs in a safe, isolated environment—for example, a laboratory with a good isolation array.

However... Jemin's business has collapsed halfway through, leaving him penniless.

This is also an important reason why he is so eager to find missions to earn points. Jemin never thought that he would be worried about not being able to suppress the problem of breaking through in a world of absolute spirituality.

Damn points!
He glanced at the deep night outside the window and felt the surging true energy within his body. He knew that his time was running out.

He must earn enough points to rent the lab before he makes a breakthrough.

With a sigh, Jieming left the dormitory and ran towards the mission hall of a nearby teaching building.

The task of cleaning the distillation tower is settled on a per-task basis. There are still ten days before the next task begins, and he needs to find a new task to make up for the missing points.

……

……

There are always many apprentices gathered in front of the task board.

They stared at the constantly updating task entries on the board, their eyes filled with longing.

Jemin is now one of them.

After all, he desperately needs points, immediately!
Just as he was scanning the task list, a slightly hurried voice came from beside him.

"Excuse me, look carefully before you choose! Don't block my way!"

A tall, thin young apprentice with shrewd eyes squeezed through the crowd, his fingers flying across the task board, his gaze faster than the refresh rate of the magic network terminal.

Jemin recognized the other person; the apprentice's name was Victor, and he was the last of the three apprentices in this year's alchemy class.

Victor didn't even look at Jemin. He stared intently at the task list, rapidly muttering to himself, "Cleaning task... high repetition, stable points... Sorting... time-consuming and labor-intensive... This one! 'Configure basic stabilizing agent' looks complicated, but the process is fixed, the Materials Science Department provides it, and the finished product just needs to pass the inspection... This one has high points!"

Before he could finish speaking, Victor tapped his finger, and the quest entry for "Configure Basic Stabilizing Agent" instantly disappeared from the quest board; he had snatched it.

Jemin saw all of this.

Victor was clearly a descendant of wizards. Although he hadn't trained before enrolling, he hadn't neglected any related knowledge, giving him more options when choosing tasks compared to ordinary apprentices. After securing a task, Victor smiled contentedly, only then noticing Jemin beside him.

His gaze swept over the alchemy cauldron badge on Jemin's chest, then looked at his empty mission slot, a hint of barely perceptible superiority in his eyes.

"Hey, Jemin, still looking?" Victor's tone was casual, but with an undisguised hint of boasting. "You have to be quick when choosing missions, good missions don't wait for anyone. As long as you're capable enough, there are plenty of missions to choose from!"

His words, ostensibly "offering guidance," were actually a display of his insight and ability, while simultaneously belittling the apprentices who could only take on ordinary tasks.

Jemin showed no emotion on his face; he simply nodded calmly. "Thanks for the reminder. I'm still thinking about it and want to find someone suitable for me."

Victor shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

He didn't say anything more, turned around and walked to the other side of the workshop, probably to get the materials needed to prepare the potion from the materials warehouse.

Although they were all apprentices in alchemy, they hadn't had much contact during this time, since the other's social circle was completely different from Jemin's.

Amy, on the other hand, was quite familiar with Victor thanks to her exceptional interpersonal skills, so before this, most of Jemin's impressions of him came from Amy.

As Jemin watched Victor's retreating figure, his assessment of the man became clearer.

He is intelligent, calculating, and efficient, yet possesses an unmistakable utilitarianism and sense of superiority. He makes no secret of his pursuit of profit, and even takes pride in it.

He might "kindly" remind you in public, but such reminders are often accompanied by showcasing and flaunting his own advantages.

He won't be your enemy, provided you don't get in his way of making money or gaining benefits, but he will never be the kind of person who would sincerely help you.

It can be said that Victor was cultivated under the rational rules of the wizarding world, a typical highly efficient egoist.

“He’s a classic wizard,” Jemin thought. “That’s not a bad thing for me.”

People with this personality type have very obvious strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, most of them are very intelligent and will not develop hostile feelings simply because of "jealousy" or "dislike".

If they can offer benefits, they can actually become an asset.

Of course, don't expect this guy to help you when you encounter danger.

"However... I don't think I'm in a position to look down on him right now."

Recalling his pitiful points balance, Jemin shook his head and stopped thinking about Viktor, instead continuing to carefully study the mission board.

Fortunately, Jemin was lucky and soon found a suitable task.

“Sorting common ores in Warehouse No. 5, weight: 10 tons, points: 2.” When Jemin saw this task, his eyes lit up.

These tasks don't award high points, involve a heavy workload, and are performed in harsh conditions, so few people compete for them.

The advantage is that it's purely physical labor, requiring little knowledge, and the task provider even offers ore catalogs, providing additional knowledge.

Besides, and most importantly... this kind of task, like the distillation tower, is paid per task, not per month, which is perfect for Jemin right now.

He selected the task and confirmed it.

(End of this chapter)