Witch, don't be so lazy

It’s not that Old Hans exploited child labor. Well, strictly speaking, there was some. Old Deng and Anke agreed to complete the production of 150 magic scrolls every month, and he would decide the content.

Don't underestimate this last point. For example, the Cleansing Spell Scroll and the Divine Inspiration Scroll, although both are magic tricks, the difference in drawing difficulty and final selling price can be as much as three or four times.

Moreover, the number of 150 scrolls was actually decided by Hans after careful consideration after evaluating Anke's work efficiency.

He even took Encore's progress rate into consideration and adjusted the content to ensure that the little girl spent four to five hours in the workshop every day.

After deducting the time spent working and attending school, if Encore wants to get enough sleep, there won’t be much free time left.

Of course, Hans is a businessman by nature and tries his best to exploit surplus value, but he also has some good intentions.

No matter what skill you want to master, it is essential to spend time and effort.

Some children rely on their talents and become wild-minded, which may lead to them becoming like Zhongyong, which is a pity.

Talent is indeed valuable, but if you want to go further on the road of magic, hard work and persistence are also indispensable.

The reason why Hans suggested letting Anke come to work in the store and tried every means to keep her in the workshop was also to prevent the girl from going astray.

After all, the other party's family is poor and he is now an orphan. If he wanders around outside all day, he might cause trouble. It is better to have an adult watching him.

Otherwise, apart from anything else, Hans’ investment would be wasted.

Anke was not really a child and could understand Hans' intention, so she did not object to the arrangement.

She was troubled by something else.

"Done?" Hans, who was lying in the rocking chair, raised his eyelids.

"Yes." An Ke handed over the scroll tactfully, one cleansing spell, two flash spells, and two light spells.

"It's just so-so. I need more practice."

Hans glanced at Anke's work. In his opinion, it was a work of craftsmanship and nothing special, so it was justified for him to give such an evaluation.

Having said that, Hans keenly sensed something was wrong. This product was too stable.

Just as the products manufactured in a factory have a certain yield rate, the process of preparing potions, alchemy, and drawing scrolls is complicated and tedious. If you are not careful, even if you lose focus for a moment, it is common for all your efforts to be wasted.

Especially for novices, being able to succeed once or twice is not considered a skill. Only when the yield rate is over half can it be considered as getting started. Naturally, the time planned by Hans is calculated based on this efficiency.

If you can achieve 70% to 80% accuracy, you are a true veteran. As for those who are even better, not only can you avoid mistakes, but you can even maintain the same quality of the final product...

Hans looked at Anke and murmured in his heart: Super strong concentration and patience are the passes to cross that threshold. I didn’t expect that in a small place like Xueshan Town, such a master seedling could be unearthed.

Well.

If Anke knew what Hans was thinking, she would probably scratch her head in embarrassment.

If I really had such a good character that I could sit on the bench, then I wouldn't have been so mediocre in my previous life.

The main thing is that every time the panel skills are upgraded to a higher level, there will be a qualitative change.

Nothing much to say about entry level.

The skilled level is different. As long as you successfully reach this level, there will be no failure in releasing skills without external interference.

The scroll making aspect has been mentioned before, and the same goes for the basic meditation method.

When other apprentices meditate, they use their mental strength to capture and absorb free magic energy, but there is often a high probability of failure. Once they fail, they have to spend time to adjust and smooth out the backlash, but Encore's process can be 100% successful.

This alone was already excessive. The quality of her meditation was even better than others. No wonder she was able to catch up and reach the mastery level ahead of Hahn.

The changes in mastering and reaching this level are even greater.

If we use the words from fantasy novels to describe it, it means that it starts from the level of perfection and moves towards the level of superb skills. It takes a long time of painstaking efforts to build up a moment of inspiration, and thus the magic is born.

Meditation is the only skill that Anke has mastered so far.

There are two so-called miraculous manifestations.

First of all, you don’t need any auxiliary props. You can start meditating as soon as your mind is calm, just like the legendary enlightened monk who can enter a state of meditation anytime and anywhere.

And there's something even more exaggerated: meditation can be turned into a passive method.

Whether she was eating, daydreaming, drawing a scroll, or even sleeping soundly, she was constantly absorbing the magical power floating between heaven and earth.

Of course, the efficiency of passive meditation is far from comparable to that of active meditation, but Encore is already satisfied. After all, over time, a trickle of water can become a river or sea.

As for the skills at a higher level.

Anke frowned.

This was exactly what troubled her.

[Basic Meditation Method: 43/5000/Mastered]

From the night before yesterday, all day yesterday, to this afternoon, this is the total proficiency I have gained from active and passive meditation.

On average, it can increase by nearly 20 points a day. It takes more than half a year to reach a new level.

And the scroll making side.

[Magic Scroll Making: 68/1000/Skilled]

Working in the workshop every day can increase your salary by about fifty yuan. If you work overtime at home at night, you can probably get another thirty or forty yuan.

In fact, Anke knows that many things are easy to get started with, but become more difficult as you go on. Even when fighting monsters and leveling up in a game, the experience required in the later stages is much greater than in the early stages.

It seems okay now, but when she learns more and delve deeper into her field, even if she has more time, there are still 24 hours in a day. It's impossible that this world also has a time converter. There is only the Tower School in the North, but no Hogwarts...

It would be great if there was a way to improve the progress.

The first thing that came to her mind was the Knowledge Crystal.

Of course, the restrictions of crystals were clearly stated in the book, and Anke had no intention of questioning it. She was just thinking that such a huge force in the North could come up with black technology. Well, magic technology is also technology, so there can't be only one kind.

Ask as soon as it comes to mind.

"Is there any method similar to the Knowledge Crystal that can improve the mastery of meditation and cantrips?"

Hans leaned back on the chair and replied leisurely,

"Of course there are. As long as you can afford the price and meet certain conditions, not only can you master some spells, but you can even turn mortals into legends on the spot. Devil's Contract, Revelation of Truth, Blessing of the Temple, Golden Balance...

Every large organization has countless methods of forcing growth, but the problem is that 99% of the world's people are neither worthy of nor able to access those things."

Hans glanced at the girl. "Don't be too ambitious. Time is fair to most people. The Knowledge Crystal is already the optimal solution that balances safety and efficiency."

He paused, then suddenly changed the subject, "But time is fair, and there's another sentence after that—but the weight of effort is different."

Time is fair, but the weight of effort is different.

Combining the above discussion, Anke quickly understood what Hans meant.

Knowledge crystal is the only approachable means, and other methods that can directly improve proficiency are not very conventional. In addition to initiation, you can also choose to improve your talent.

The so-called different amounts of effort refer to the difference in talent.

Some people can learn in one day what ordinary people can learn in three days. An Ke had already deeply understood this when he was in school in his previous life.

but……

"Improving talent, is that true? Is that a method accessible to ordinary people?"

An Ke expressed doubts, saying that the I Ching marrow cleansing elixirs and destiny-changing techniques in the fairy tales were exclusive to large sects, and at the very least, they relied on chance encounters, and had nothing to do with ordinary cultivators.

"It's true that some methods can only be used by great nobles, royal families, and large associations, but there is only one exception - the spiritual world tour."

Hans said slowly, "It is an essential experience for all mages, because without completing the spiritual world tour, it is impossible to achieve a leap in rank."

An Ke was stunned for a moment: "Is this one of the three conditions for becoming a formal mage?"

Unexpectedly, the question that Hahn had left in suspense before has now been answered.

"Oh? Have you ever learned about this in school?"

Hans raised his eyebrows. "That's right. Spells, meditation, and spirit world tours are the three prerequisites for becoming a wizard. However, the first two require a long preparation time, while the latter can only be completed during the promotion ceremony."

The spiritual world tour and promotion ceremony sound very impressive.

An Ke's eyes lit up, and he sat upright, looking like he was waiting to listen to the lecture obediently.

Hans did not hesitate at all. He smiled and stretched out his hand.

An Ke was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"What else is there to do? Give me money!"

Once money was involved, Hans would become very energetic and his voice would be so loud that it would shake the teacups on the counter.

"Knowledge is money, and money is power. This is a truth that even three-year-old children in the North understand. Equivalent exchange is an iron rule of magic. Don't tell me I haven't taught you this in school. Even the devil has to pretend to be fair when making deals... You don't want to get something for free, do you?"

It’s so cool to get something for free, who wouldn’t want it?

An Ke muttered in her heart, but she couldn't say it directly, so she had to be more tactful:

"Didn't you just say a lot of gibberish?"

Hans' eyes were rolling up to the sky.

"A few nouns and simple logic aren't worth much money. You have to be willing to cast the bait before fishing, and a bard has to sing a verse before asking for a bite. But the valuable content that comes after that, you have to pay for it."

Hans' explanation was powerful. Seeing Anke speechless, he raised his head and raised two fingers with a smile, "Friendship price, two gold coins."

What to say.

After signing the contract to borrow thirteen gold coins yesterday, in order to ensure living expenses for the next period of time, An Ke overdrew one month's salary in advance, which is a huge sum of three gold coins.

And now, Lao Deng opened and closed his mouth, actually wanting to take away two-thirds. Naturally, An Ke would not agree.

Even though she will need relevant information sooner or later, she still has a long way to go before becoming a magician.

then.

An Ke jumped off the chair, picked up her schoolbag, turned around and made a face: "No money! I'm going home!"

With a "tsk", he lay back in the rocking chair, waving his hands as if to chase someone away, his tone revealing his extreme disdain for the poor guy: "Remember to close the door."

……

An old residential area with dark and narrow streets.

The houses around are full of age, with several floors made of stone and rickety windows. The walls are probably filled with fine stones, and years of wind and frost make them look like bricks fired in a kiln.

Anke walked on the familiar road, thinking about how to arrange his time.

The advancement of meditation is a long way off, so perhaps she can focus on scroll making and the magician's hand first. She is looking forward to what surprises these two skills will bring her after reaching the mastery level.

But when she was almost in front of the house, she suddenly became alert.

The door was actually open.

You know, Anke usually goes in and out through the window because the door is locked and the original owner handed over the key.

Casino people!

An Ke turned around and ran without any hesitation.

Anyway, she took all the valuables with her, and there was nothing worth keeping in the house except a torn blanket and some potatoes.

But even though Anke reacted quickly, he saw someone approaching him quickly from the street next to him out of the corner of his eye, and his heart sank.

Damn, there are actually people on guard, so professional.

The people in the room seemed to have noticed the commotion and also came out, working together with their companions to surround the girl.

Oh no.

Chapter 8 Road Blockage

Dark streets and biting cold wind.

Blocking the alley was a tall and fat man. He was serious, had a face full of flesh, and wore black clothes and black pants. It was obvious that he was not a good person.

An Ke took a half step back and turned to run, but the person who broke into the house had already chased out and blocked his way.

The other person was thin, with a smile on his face, and a playful look like a cat playing with a mouse.

An Ke thought to himself that this was not good. Every one of these gambling thugs was a disgusting ruffian. They were like dog-skin plasters. Once you stick to them, you can't get them off. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to do this job.

"What do you want to do? This is a residential area. There's a police station just two blocks away. If something happens, you won't be able to get away easily!"

Anko quickly calmed down and then shouted loudly.

She was right.

There were rows of houses near the street, and it was dinner time now. Smoke was rising from the kitchens. Some people heard the noise, opened the windows, and stuck their heads out to look.