The Wizard: Starting with Infinite Part-Time Jobs

"Fiano, you shouldn't have come here." Winnie got up and walked out.

As soon as Winnie left, the young man's expression softened, as if he had changed his demeanor.

Having lived two lives, Aiden could easily see the well-concealed greed and lust in his eyes.

"Winnie, I was just worried about you. Let's go back quickly then," the young man named Fiano said with a smile, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

His smile is incredibly appealing; if it were on the mainland, it would surely charm countless innocent young girls.

"I understand." Winnie turned back and waved to Aiden, her face full of concern. "Aiden, I'll be leaving now. Take care of yourself."

Winnie looked reluctant to part.

Aiden smiled back, waved vigorously, and said, "Don't worry, Senior Winnie. I'll come find you."

"Then you'd better hurry up and train to become a formal wizard apprentice, otherwise it will be difficult for you to enter the inner living area. I'll come find you again next time," Winnie said loudly, her voice echoing in the air.

"I'll be quick." Aiden clenched his fist.

As he watched the two leave, his smile quickly vanished, and his face instantly darkened.

"Damn it, this guy trampled my flowers and didn't even apologize," Aiden cursed, kicking a nearby rock away.

What annoyed him even more was that this person only glanced at Aiden from the moment he appeared until he left.

His eyes were filled with utter contempt, as if he were looking at an insignificant person, just like Aiden was an ant that he could crush at will.

This reminded Aiden of the behavior of many formal wizard apprentices, who completely disregarded them, the prospective wizard apprentices, acting recklessly and without any emotional investment, as if they were simply unworthy.

"The difference in strength is still too great. The magic arrows that Senior Sister Winnie used earlier can only be used by formal wizard apprentices, which immediately widened the gap in combat power between wizard apprentices and prospective wizard apprentices."

"Compared to prospective wizard apprentices who can only memorize meditation techniques, formal wizard apprentices can do much more and have access to far more knowledge; they are like two completely different species."

Aiden's hands clenched unconsciously, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"It's one thing that he trampled my flowers, but what I can't accept is the way he looked at Senior Sister Winnie," Aiden muttered to himself, veins bulging on his forehead.

"He treats Winnie like his prey. That's what I can't stand the most. I need to become stronger as soon as possible; I'm far from being strong enough right now."

Aiden followed the passage to the part-time job area.

He took a deep breath, patted his face, and tried to cheer himself up.

……

As the busy day came to an end and night fell, the entire part-time job area was shrouded in darkness, with only the occasional chirping of insects in the distance.

Today, Ms. Ollie took Aiden to dissect a dying creature.

Aiden performed much better this time than last time because he was more serious and valued every opportunity to improve himself.

His scalpel fell steadily, his movements fluid, each cut precise and accurate, and his guilt and reluctance towards the creatures lessened considerably.

All of this was observed by Ms. Ollie. Ms. Ollie sat in her chair, watching Aiden's movements with an approving expression.

She asked Aiden with some curiosity, "Child, you weren't like this before."

"Because I want to become stronger, Ms. Ollie." Aiden stopped what he was doing, straightened up, and said seriously.

"I see," Ms. Ollie asked. "I think everyone will have that one day when they suddenly change. What drives you to become powerful? Is it to plunder others, a thirst for knowledge, or something else?"

"I haven't thought about that yet. I guess it's about protecting my family," Aiden replied after a moment's thought.

"That is protection." Ms. Ollie smiled, her wrinkles smoothing out, and continued, "Our school of nature specializes in supportive and defensive magic."

Aiden kept this message in mind.

He didn't know which school of wizardry he would become, but he nodded slightly, his eyes thoughtful.

"Ms. Ollie, may I ask about your abilities? Are you a wizard? A real wizard?" Aiden asked curiously, leaning forward slightly.

"Of course I'm not a wizard. To be honest, I'm a high-level wizarding apprentice, still striving to become a wizard," Ms. Auli chuckled and replied. "I can tell you with certainty that even on the continent of Aurelia right before us, there isn't a single true wizard."

Aiden was completely stunned.

He had assumed that the mysterious and knowledgeable Ms. Ollie was already a wizard, but he was surprised to find that she was not a real wizard.

Aiden learned the name of the continent and muttered to himself, "The continent of Aurelia..."

"You seem surprised. Actually, I'm not much different from you. I've been on the continent of Aurelia for over 10 years, for a project," Ms. Aurelia said calmly, gently patting her knees. "If I complete this project, I can go back to the organization to exchange for the resources I need to break through to become a formal wizard."

"Everything is an equal exchange, child."

"I see." Aiden nodded, the surprise on his face gradually subsiding.

"If I had met you sooner, the project might have progressed faster, and I might have been able to include your name in the published paper. That would have been very beneficial for you," Ms. Ollie joked.

Aiden was curious about the research topic Ms. Ollie was working on, but he didn't dare to ask.

Sometimes, knowing too much isn't a good thing, especially when you're weak.

All he knew was that Ms. Ollie had started finishing up her research before the job interview, and he felt a tickling sensation in his heart, like a kitten was scratching at him.

"You must be wondering what I'm researching, so I might as well tell you." Ms. Ollie sat at the lab bench, gently fiddling with a glass bottle containing a pale green liquid, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I'm researching the rare creatures of the continent of Aurelia. Every low-dimensional world has a unique rare species. What makes these rare creatures unique is not only their scarcity and the difficulty in their reproduction."

Ms. Ollie gently placed the glass bottle on the lab table: "More importantly, their life codes are closely related to the key to this plane."

"Once we control the key to the plane, we can completely connect this plane to the wizarding world and better exploit its resources." Ms. Ollie paused. "This is also what our natural school excels at: taking over a plane through a gentle approach, minimizing disturbance to the native inhabitants."

Aiden sat on a chair to the side and began to process the information he had heard. He had not expected that Ms. Ollie's research topic was so grand.

Rare creatures, dimensional keys, resource extraction.

The most crucial element is definitely that rare creature.

"I have the Encyclopedia of the Ring Continent, but it doesn't seem to mark any rare creatures." Aiden frowned, his face full of doubt.

"Ms. Ollie, is that rare creature in our lab?"