Chapter 107 - 85: Good Things Fall From the Sky
The specific details of the rewards were slow to arrive.
[Reward 1: In light of your outstanding contributions to Witchcraft research, the academy has decided to grant you an author’s fee of 500 Black Tower Points.]
A slight smile touched Mo Ning’s lips.
He keenly noted the difference in wording.
For his last paper, the academy had called it a "significant contribution." For this one, however, the evaluative term had changed to "outstanding contribution."
He was quite calm about the reward of 500 Black Tower Points.
As a tycoon among the newcomers and even the apprentices, this amount of money was hardly enough to make his heart race anymore.
He also discovered that he seemed to be hurtling down a path where "the more he spent, the more he earned."
[Reward 2: In light of the Divination Theory you created, "Highway Bridge Technique," which has provided a highly creative and practical new tool for solving the isolated-state problem in complex systems of equations and made an exceptionally outstanding contribution to Witchcraft research, the academy has decided to grant an additional special reward of 500 Black Tower Points.]
[The payment has been transferred to your Guiding Ring account. Current Balance: 4,248 Black Tower Points.]
The size of the additional reward was a little surprising.
But considering this was a paper worthy of the journal’s cover, a reward of 1,000 Black Tower Points was merely the expected standard.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the words "highly creative and highly practical."
This led Mo Ning to a thought:
’The Wizards have most likely already used the "Highway Bridge Technique" to successfully solve a practical problem. Otherwise, the paper wouldn’t have made the journal cover, and the additional reward wouldn’t have been so high.’
His guess was immediately confirmed.
[Reward 3: The Clear Spring Witchcraft Laboratory has used the "Highway Bridge Technique" you created to successfully solve a highly complex system of Divination equations.]
[To commend your contribution to Witchcraft research and to encourage your continued exploration of the ocean of Witchcraft knowledge, the Qingquan Laboratory will sponsor you with one bottle of "Celestial Wave Streaming Light Potion."]
Mo Ning smiled knowingly.
Just as he expected!
A description of the Magic Potion followed.
[Description: This Magic Potion contains the Spiritual Power of "Celestial Wave Spirit Essence" and "Flowing Light Grass." It can effectively nourish one’s spirit, permanently increasing Spiritual Strength and one’s Magic Pool.]
[Quality Evaluation: Excellent. Compared to a normal Celestial Wave Streaming Light Potion, this Magic Potion’s efficacy is 22.3% higher and its side effects are 41.4% lower.]
[Efficacy Evaluation: Experiments show that within one month of consumption, Spiritual Strength can increase by 0.05-0.06 points, and the Magic Pool can increase by an additional 8.5 to 9.6 points.]
[Side Effects: This Magic Potion can cause a change in skin color over the entire body; the skin will turn light or dark blue. It also increases skin moisture, with a high probability of sprouting "Lan Water Seaweed." The side effects will last for ten to fifteen days.]
[Usage Restriction 1: The effect is optimal when used by individuals with a Spiritual Strength below 15.0. Otherwise, the effect will be significantly diminished.]
[Usage Restriction 2: Do not take more than twice within a single year, and no more than three times in a lifetime. There must be an interval of at least six months between doses. The potion’s efficacy diminishes with each use. Exceeding these limits will cause the effect to drop significantly.]
[The Magic Potion reward will be delivered to your secure locker within half an hour.]
Mo Ning was pleasantly surprised.
It was another high-quality Magic Potion, and one that had never appeared on Dawa’s Grocery List.
’So, if you write a good paper, a Witchcraft Laboratory will actually "sponsor" a reward,’ he thought.
Judging from the description, this was clearly a Magic Potion for First Level Apprentices, so he couldn’t use it yet.
The mention of "increased skin moisture" and "sprouting ’Lan Water Seaweed’" in the potion’s information astonished him.
It was the first time he had ever heard of such a strange, "unpresentable" side effect.
Mo Ning quickly suppressed his joy and threw himself back into his research.
*****
「Deep inside the Black Tower, within an Observation Room.」
"A journal paper written by a First Level Apprentice is about to become the cover article for the next issue of *Shine*"—this shocking news spread rapidly through the academy like a sandstorm whipped up by a Gale.
Nasha, the Sharp-eared Female Apprentice, naturally received this news as well.
She, however, was even more shocked than everyone else.
Because the Female Apprentice knew perfectly well who the anonymous Apprentice with the pen name "The River Flows Eastward" truly was.
This guy wasn’t a First Level Apprentice at all, but a newcomer who had only recently entered the academy!
At that moment, Nasha stared up at the young face in the sphere of light—currently drafting a theoretical framework—as if she were looking at a monster.
She muttered to herself, her voice so quiet only she could hear, "I knew this kid was incredible, but I never thought he’d be *this* incredible."
The Female Apprentice even felt that her lifetime of achievements in writing papers could never surpass what Mo Ning had accomplished at this very moment.
After all, it wasn’t easy for even an Official Wizard’s paper to make it onto the cover of *Shine*.
And she wasn’t very confident she would ever be promoted to Official Wizard herself.
"CLICK—"
A strange, soft sound emanated from within her robes.
Nasha was startled.
She knew this was the signal from her Rose Silver Mirror, which meant her mentor, Yi Lin, was initiating contact.
Before she discovered Mo Ning, her mentor had only initiated contact with her once or twice a year, at most.
But after she found Mo Ning, her mentor started contacting her every few days—a frequency she was still very much not used to.
Nasha fumbled to pull the Silver Mirror from her robes, calling out respectfully, "Mentor!"
She had already guessed that her mentor was calling about that sensational cover paper.
A blood-red rose rapidly grew from the mirror’s surface, its petals layered one upon the other. A crimson light flowed across them, blooming with a bewitching radiance in the dim Observation Room.