Chapter 21: Work

Lin Ke wasn't clear about something.

The one who replied in the morning and invited Lin Ke to the interview was not this girl, but the Tower Spirit of the Intelligent Management Center Tower of the Third Botanical Garden.

Based on Lin Ke's file retrieved from the college information network, the Tower Spirit determined that Lin Ke had mastered the Lesser Mist Rain Technique and the Growth Stimulation Technique, making him suitable for the part‑time position, and thus sent the invitation.

This girl also came to work part‑time at the Third Botanical Garden, but her position differed from Lin Ke's as a plant cultivator; hers was that of acting director.

If she does well, perhaps she could drop the 'acting' prefix and be officially hired at Ruowosi Biological and Medical College.

As for the so‑called interview, it was merely a procedure for the girl, the acting director, to go through; without a clear reason—for example, if Lin Ke actually did not know the Lesser Mist Rain Technique or the Growth Stimulation Technique—the acting director could not refuse his employment.

The girl also wanted to find fault.

Who would have thought Lin Ke would come with full confidence and say, 'We can verify it on the spot,' leaving the girl unable to vent her emotions.

Um…

The girl didn't dislike Lin Ke for no reason.

She was a local from the Duodou Region of the West Coast of the Mainland, studying at the North District of the Elementary Academy, having paid tuition.

The local apprentice wizards of the North District of the Elementary Academy have always looked down on the Newbloods who study for free in the South District, believing the Newbloods are country bumpkins from remote islands of the Storm Sea, not only competing with them for educational resources but also destined to compete for job resources and all kinds of resources.

So the girl's attitude toward Lin Ke was thus cold, without hiding her rejection.

If Lin Ke knew the inside story, he would surely think, secretly amused, 'I just love seeing your expression—you can't stand me but can't get rid of me.'

At this time it was still early; Lin Ke left the Third Botanical Garden but did not go to the Library to read.

Tomorrow he will officially start part‑time work at the Third Botanical Garden; although he doesn't know why the girl rejects him so, as long as he does the job well, he need not worry about anyone tripping him up.

As the saying goes, to forge iron one must be strong oneself; therefore Lin Ke planned to grind his proficiency in the two magical arts.

Lin Ke detoured to the Experimental Building and opened a magic experiment room.

He repeatedly cross‑trained the Lesser Mist Rain Technique and the Growth Stimulation Technique until his mental and magical power were completely exhausted, then Lin Ke returned to the dormitory.

Wash up, meditate, sleep.

Since enrolling, Lin Ke had never rested this early before.

……

The next day, Saturday.

During the day he conducted experiments all day in the Experimental Building.

Although he had already mastered the Lesser Mist Rain Technique and the Growth Stimulation Technique, that was merely mastery; Lin Ke wanted to improve his proficiency in these two zero‑ring magics, which required not only using the spells more, thinking more, but also observing more and experimenting more.

The three pillars of the wizard system are mental power, magical power, and knowledge.

Knowledge comes from books, from teachers' instruction, and also from observing, analyzing, and experimenting with nature.

By evening, Mo Li returned to the dormitory on her own without waiting for Lin Ke to speak.

Well‑behaved and cute, with a lonely back view, she made people feel a pang of sympathy just looking at her.

Perhaps this is the effect Mo Li intended to achieve?

Lin Ke silently sighed; the demoness's cultivation was obviously far deeper, no longer the clumsy, rigid methods she had at first.

Too bad she ran into Lin Ke.

"Brain Seal Technique", Wisdom Sword Severes Love Threads!

Lin Ke turned around calmly with no distracting thoughts, and soon arrived at the Third Botanical Garden.

After swiping his ID at the identifier beside the small gate, Lin Ke entered the garden smoothly.

At that moment his Portable Smart Brain vibrated.

Lin Ke took out his Portable Smart Brain, unlocked the screen, and saw a notice about his work duties and requirements for the coming week.

After reading the notice carefully, Lin Ke followed the map navigation toward the work location indicated in the notice.

The Third Botanical Garden is vast, with several rows of greenhouse sheds and a large expanse of open‑field land.

For the coming week Lin Ke will work in the third greenhouse of the third row, responsible for applying the Lesser Mist Rain Technique to the plant seeds already sown in the soil inside, to moisten the seeds and awaken their vitality.

Upon entering the greenhouse, Lin Ke found a brief description of the seeds at the entrance, but no instructions for applying the Lesser Mist Rain Technique—such as how many times per day to water and how much water each time.

Perhaps it wasn't absent, but someone deliberately withheld it.

Lin Ke connected yesterday's attitude of that girl and speculated.

But he didn't just act on speculation and go confront her.

What if it wasn't someone playing dirty, but the Botanical Garden had deliberately arranged this as a test?

After all, Lin Ke is a wizard apprentice; study comes first.

The college provides part‑time positions not to help apprentices earn money, nor to save labor, but to let them better apply knowledge in practice and better master wizardry.

Thinking this way, Lin Ke crouched, picked a few spots at random, and dug up some seeds from the soil.

Combining the botany course in his mind and the knowledge he'd self‑studied in the Library, comparing shape, color, size, etc., Lin Ke quickly determined that these were indeed Silver Star Flower seeds.

The Silver Star Flower lives up to its name; when in bloom it resembles scattered silver stars twinkling in the night sky, a supernatural plant whose stamens can serve as an excipient in several medicines that promote external wound healing.

Such flowers are highly valuable to wizard apprentices.

But for some reason, this batch of Silver Star Flower seeds has a problem: their vitality is dim, and without careful cultivation they hardly sprout.

Moreover, Lin Ke found that merely using the Lesser Mist Rain Technique to water could moisten the dim vitality of the Silver Star Flower seeds, but could not make them sprout.

Lin Ke buried the seeds he held back where they were, then randomly picked a few spots and dug up some more seeds.

As expected, these seeds had the same problem.

Lin Ke put his thinking cap on and began to devise a countermeasure.

After a moment, Lin Ke decided to trust the plan inspired by Pomona Sprout's Botany Talent, combining his own knowledge: each morning one application of the Lesser Mist Rain Technique, in the evening two applications of the Lesser Mist Rain Technique, and every two days one application of the Growth Stimulation Technique.

The Botanical Garden's job posting deliberately stressed that applicants must master the Lesser Mist Rain Technique and the Growth Stimulation Technique, and there was a reason for that.

"Sure enough, is this a test?"

Lin Ke thought that.

Having figured out the academy's puzzle, Lin Ke sprang into action, his consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness, skillfully constructing the witchcraft model of the secondary mist-rain technique.

A few seconds later, rain began to fall inside the greenhouse.

When the preset amount of rain had finished, Lin Ke's mental power and magical power had already been depleted by more than half.

Unmindful of the filth, Lin Ke sat down on the ridge and meditated silently.

There are two kinds of meditation.

One is the deep meditation Lin Ke performs every night before sleep, which consumes a large amount of mental power, solidifies the rune structure, in order to achieve the effect of increasing his mental power capacity and absorbing magical power.

The other is the light meditation Lin Ke is doing now, which restores mental power and magical power.

When his condition had fully recovered, Lin Ke cast another rain, and thus ended today's work.

(End of chapter)