Wizard of science

Late summer and early autumn.

Atlante, Dark Heart Academy Star Flower Plantation.

It was approaching autumn, many plants in the forest were turning yellow, and the grass on the ground was no longer so lush.

Only the dense yate trees continued to grow tall and straight, like a long sword piercing the sky. The branches are covered with white leaves the size of fingernails, like a tree full of small flowers.

A gust of wind blew, and a few leaves slowly fell, swirling down to a clearing in the forest.

At this time, a group of people, about dozens of them, were standing in the open space.

The first ones were two men in their thirties, both wearing Dark Heart Academy robes. There were two silver lines printed on their chests, indicating that they were second-level wizard apprentices. One is fat and the other is thin. The fat one is called Ali and is the person in charge of plantation management. The thin one is called Maifu and is the deputy management of the plantation.

Behind them were six people who were also wearing Dark Heart Academy robes. Some were younger in their twenties, and some were older in their forties or even fifties. There is a silver pattern printed on his chest. He is a first-level wizard apprentice with not very good talent. He is considered the absolute bottom in Dark Heart Academy. But in this remote Atlante plantation, he can still be regarded as a core member.

In addition to these six people, there are dozens of strong men wearing close-fitting clothes, with dull and unsmiling expressions on their faces, waiting quietly. They are ordinary staff of the plantation and those responsible for the specific planting work. Basically All are recruited locally.

On one side of the many strong men, there were two somewhat conspicuous young women standing.

They were both fifteen or sixteen years old. They were wearing gray robes that had turned white after being rinsed. They looked a little thin and their expressions were a little frightened.

The face is not bad, but the skin is darker.

The group of people kept waiting. Ali, who was standing at the front, suddenly grabbed a leaf in the air. Two chubby fingers accurately grasped a leaf of the Yat tree. He rubbed it gently, then flicked it with his fingers and turned to look to the side. Mai Fu asked aloud: "Is it almost time? Is the senior of the third-level wizard apprentice coming?"

After hearing this, the tall and thin Mai Fu stretched out a hand with obvious joints, touched into his robe, took out an old brass case pocket watch, opened it slightly, took a look at it, and nodded: "According to the time calculation, , almost there, unless something delays it.”

"Then let's wait a little longer." As Ali spoke, he grabbed another stray leaf of the Yat tree and fiddled with it while sighing, "I don't know who the person coming this time will be. What does it look like?”

"What can it be like? Just like before, a third-level wizard apprentice whose strength is close to the upper limit is preparing to break through the wizard. He has already obtained a prescription or potion, and is then driven to our remote forest to guard the Star Flower." Mai Fu said, "If it weren't for this, they definitely wouldn't come."

"That's not what I'm asking, Maiv." Ali shook his head, "I'm talking about what kind of character the person coming will have. If it's the kind of person who doesn't want to bother, that's fine. He saves us trouble.

I was afraid that someone who loved to be lively and troubled would come here. He didn't care in the academy, but when he came to our place and became the boss, he would start gesticulating in every aspect. He was happy, but he ended up in a mess.

You forgot, the senior named Gus who came here six or seven years ago insisted on improving the plantation according to his ideas, saying that it could increase production. As a result, the production of the plantation decreased for three consecutive years, and we all followed him and were punished. , it’s really uncomfortable. "

"It's quite uncomfortable." Maiev nodded, turned to look at Ali, and chuckled, "Speaking of which, no matter what kind of character the person comes this time, it will be quite uncomfortable for you, right?"

"Um?"

"After all, before you came here, you were the person in charge. After you came here, you became the deputy just like me."

"Then you are wrong." Ali shook his head, "Do you think being a person in charge is easy? I am not greedy for this position at all. Sitting in this position, I have to consider a lot of things every day when I wake up. I have to ensure that the star flower grows normally, and I also have to prevent the damn demonic creatures from destroying it from time to time. It's a big headache. And I am a second-level wizard apprentice with ordinary abilities and even more ordinary talents. I am troubled by these things every day. I barely have any time to meditate. I just hope that a boss will come and free me."

"Lies." Maiev shook his head and commented, "You don't think so."

"You!" Ali was a little anxious and was about to argue when someone behind him shouted, "Here we come!"

Ali blinked, stopped the urge to speak, and looked up.

Everyone else looked upward.

Then he saw a black dot appear in the sky, rushing towards the clearing.

When they got closer, they saw that it was a huge lizard with blue back and white belly and two wings. It was the blue-backed flying lizard, which was a common long-distance mount in Dark Heart Academy.

A person was on the blue-backed flying lizard. As the blue-backed flying lizard descended, when it was still more than ten meters above the ground, his body jumped down and fell to the ground like a meteorite.

And just as it was approaching the ground, a short spell sounded.

"Sloat!"

The speed dropped suddenly, and the opponent's feet slowly touched the ground and stood still.

When Ali looked at the others, he saw a very young wizard apprentice. Like them, he was wearing the standard robe of Dark Heart Academy, but there were three silver lines on his chest, indicating that he was a third-level wizard apprentice.

It was Li Hyuk.

There is also a badge on Li He's chest, which is shaped like a golden oak leaf wrapping a dark heart. It is the Golden Oak Leaf Dark Heart Medal, which was awarded to him by Dean Gauss before leaving the academy. On the one hand, it was to reward him for getting first place in the annual test, and on the other hand, it was to reward him for the scroll on the principles of synthetic gemstones, which helped Gauss solve several research problems.

In the eyes of everyone in the plantation, there were some changes on their faces.

After all, although there are not many third-level wizard apprentices whose strength is close to the upper limit, it is not uncommon either.

But the Golden Oak Leaf Dark Heart Medal is much rarer.

Looking at the Golden Oak Leaf Dark Heart Medal worn by Li He, the eyes of Ali and others became a little more solemn.

Taking a step forward, Ali took the lead to greet him, smiled, and greeted warmly: "Is he Senior Li He from the college?"

"Yes." Li He glanced at everyone, and his eyes fell back on Ali who was speaking. He nodded lightly, then took out a slender metal plate and handed it to Ali, "This is the voucher."

Ali quickly took it, and also took out a slender metal plate, put it together, and closed it with a "snap", making it a perfect fit. The surface also lit up with a light blue light, indicating that the verification was passed.

The smile on Ali's face grew stronger. He returned the slender metal plate to Li He, pointed to the side, and quickly introduced: "Senior Li He, let me introduce you. My name is Ali, and I was in charge of the plantation before you came. Next to him is Mai Fu, who is also the person in charge of the plantation.

As for those six people, they are members of the Dark Heart Academy just like us. They are absolutely loyal and ensure the normal operation of the plantation. The dozens of people over there are responsible for specific planting matters. They are all recruited locally. They are not very good characters, but they are quite obedient. The important thing is that they are cheap. Recently, the plantation is preparing to expand and plans to recruit a new group of people. Of course, it still depends on your wishes. "

Listening to Ali's introduction, Li He nodded lightly, turned his eyes to the two thin, dark-skinned women in the corner and asked, "What about the two of them?"

"They..." Ali raised the corner of his mouth, took two steps closer and whispered, "They are all from the Black Valley Principality. One is the daughter of the earl, and the other is the sister of the viscount."

"Um?"

Ali came closer and continued to explain: "Senior, the Black Valley Principality is a country to the west of the Gray Forest Kingdom. It is currently at war. These two people are the prisoners captured in the war. We bought them from slave traders for I'm taking care of your daily life. Don't worry, although they are young, they understand everything they need to know, and they promise to be obedient, do whatever you ask, and will not run away - their country is about to be wiped out. There’s nowhere to go even if you run.”

Li He frowned slightly as he listened to the explanation, but said nothing.

Ali continued: "Look, senior, what are the arrangements for the next step? Maifu, I and other people from the college have prepared a banquet for you. Although the place is remote and not very rich, it is all local specialties. It feels a bit like welcoming you, senior, to lead us all. Or, maybe you are a little tired from traveling all the way, so senior can take a rest first, just to see how the two slave girls serve others."

"No need." Li He said, slightly coldly, "No need to go to such trouble, let's all leave."

"Huh?" Ali was a little surprised, obviously not expecting such an answer, "Did you leave?"

"Let's break up. Apart from you, let them do whatever they should do. Send those two female slaves back to where they came from. I don't need such an existence to take care of my life." Li He said, He added in his heart: If he needs slaves, he needs slaves who are smart, obedient, and can help him with his research, not female slaves who have a single function and are useless.

"Um..." Ali hesitated a little, but under Li He's gaze, he quickly issued an order, "It's time to disperse. Let's all get busy."

The people gathered quickly dispersed, and Maifu led them away with a somewhat strange look. Only two female slaves were still there.

"Senior, these two female slaves were bought from slave merchants. You can return them, but you will lose a lot of money..."

"Then in the plantation, arrange some work for them so that they don't sit idle." Li He said softly, without paying much attention, and asked, "Where is the planting area?"

"In that direction." Ali pointed quickly in the direction ahead.

"Okay, take me to have a look, and introduce me to the overall situation of the plantation. Just keep it concise. I am a straightforward person and don't like to be long-winded."

"Yes." Ali nodded quickly, walked forward with Li He, and quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

At this time, he had a headache, and he could see that the new senior Li He was not a person who played by common sense, and acted very deliberately. In this case, if the other party is reliable, it will be fine, but if it is unreliable, it will be troublesome.

Don't make a mess like that senior Gus before.

With this thought in his mind, he spoke quickly and introduced the overall situation of the plantation to Li He.

"Senior Li He, our entire plantation is divided into four areas, two large and two small. The two small areas are for breeding some high-quality star flower varieties, and the two large areas are for pure production. Star Flowers. However, it has been difficult to increase the yield of high-quality Star Flowers, and every time it is difficult to complete the task indicators assigned to us by the academy."

Li He nodded lightly and asked aloud: "Except for production, are there any other problems? Before coming from the academy, I heard that there are more demonic creatures here?"

"That's true." Ali nodded, "To be precise, it's not more, but very much. This is one of the reasons why the yield of our high-quality star flowers cannot increase. Senior, you should have understood that star flowers can be used for Make a meditation aid ointment, which will release a very strange aroma when it matures, attracting many demonized animals to come and destroy it.”

"What kind of demonized animals are they?"

"There are all kinds of strange things. The most powerful ones are the fluorescent rhino and the thorn black bear. Their strength is close to the third-level wizard apprentice. Although the IQ is very low, it is enough trouble to meet one. Fortunately, they often live in the Atlante forest. Deep in the depths, they don't 'patronize' our peripheral area very much. The cleft-toothed dogs, scavenging gray wolves, purple-backed foxes, etc. are slightly more common, but they all have shortcomings. As long as they are prevented in advance, there is no big problem. The most troublesome thing is the weakest Green Goblin." At the end of the sentence, Ali couldn't help but frown deeply and let out a long sigh.

"Green goblin?" Li He asked in a tone of voice, "There are actually demonized creatures of the goblin species in Atlante?" He knew a little bit about the goblin race from a lot of information, and it was considered a very special kind of demon. Transformed creatures, I didn’t expect them to exist here.

"They exist, why don't they exist?" Ali smiled bitterly, "To be honest, I really hope that they will all disappear, but they don't make my dream come true at all. These green goblins are very small, but they cause a lot of trouble. They are very big. Every time when the star flowers are about to mature, they will come in groups to cause trouble. Once I actually found that they took advantage of the night to harvest the star flowers in front of us, and then gathered them and took them back deep into the forest. The nest in the place caused the production of high-quality star stamen flowers to drop by a full 10% in that quarter, which almost made me angry to death."

"Have you never thought of some ways to deal with it?"

"Of course I thought about it, but... it's hard to work." Ali shook his head and said, "Senior Li He, you don't know that these green goblins are very weak, but have very tenacious vitality and are difficult to kill. And they don't have the right brains. Normal, not afraid of death at all. Once we finally caught a green goblin and hung it outside the planting area to try to deter the other green goblins from causing trouble. The result..."

"What's the result?"

"As a result..." The corner of Ali's mouth twitched twice, "As a result, the next day, we saw three green elves hanging on the wooden frame outside the planting area. Two of the new green elves were tied by ourselves using vines. The ones that go up are tied very roughly, and you can break free with a little effort, but they just stick to the wooden frame and won't move."

"Um?"

"We at the plantation almost lost our minds before we guessed a possibility - maybe the Green Goblin felt that it was too lonely for a companion to be captured by us, so two Green Goblins took the initiative to accompany it."

"..." Li He was silent after hearing this. It was because Ali's guess was too unbelievable.