Wizard: Start with Biological Transformation to Grind Experience-Chapter 130 - 005: Water goods?

Lynch’s days returned to normal, with cultivation, reading, and studying filling each day. Time always flew by with this kind of focus.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.

Shadow Land, Classroom Three, public lecture.

Walking down the long corridor, Lynch hugged his books and headed toward the classroom.

Today’s public lecture covered content Lynch hadn’t encountered before, so he arrived early to secure a good seat.

As he walked toward the classroom, Lynch opened the panel to check his information.

After persistent effort over these past two weeks, Lynch had achieved mastery in yet another spell.

[Space Distortion max]

Counting up, he’d already maxed out four of the six mid-level apprentice spells he’d purchased at the market back then. Only [Dark Flame] and [Earth Sinking Spell] remained unmastered. He was confident he could max out the former by the end of the month and the latter within another month at most.

He couldn’t deny that the [War Comprehension] trait was incredibly useful—just staying in combat allowed him to gain a significant skill level boost, and even casual hunting trips could yield a hundred or more skill points.

Coupled with the [Magic Little Expert] trait, which granted high skill-level bonuses while studying magic, these two traits together allowed Lynch’s spell cultivation progress to defy the limits.

It was no exaggeration to call it miraculous—after all, for other apprentices, cultivating a mid-level apprentice-level spell from beginner to mastery typically required at least half a year or even one to two years. For Lynch, it only took a little over a month.

Walking through the long corridor, Lynch soon arrived at the classroom.

Following his usual routine, he went to the third seat on the left side in the last row. The spot offered a wide view while also being secluded, making it Lynch’s carefully chosen throne. Unless someone else occupied it, he always sat there.

The classroom was very crowded today, filled with chatter as people talked with their companions about various topics. The whole room was noisy and lively.

Normally, no one would pay any attention to Lynch during moments like this. After all, he had been an invisible figure among the apprentices for years, spending most of his time alone.

But today, as soon as he walked into the classroom, the originally noisy room quieted down suddenly. The apprentices all turned to look at him.

Soon after, whispers of speculation filled the room:

"Is it him?"

"That’s him—the one with the black-framed glasses and tightly cloaked outfit. He’s always dressed like this."

"Quiet and unassuming. Is he really the Shadow Sword? The one who turned the tide during the task with Miss Avery, even killing the Ausen Giant Python?"

"You’d never be able to tell..."

The aftermath of the previous incident hadn’t faded; instead, the discussions had intensified following Lynch and Avery’s return. Lynch heard rumors about himself wherever he went recently.

’Honestly, couldn’t you spend that energy on cultivation instead?’

Lynch felt somewhat irritated.

He ignored the attention, walked to his seat, placed his books down, and began organizing the witchcraft tools he’d need for class.

However, shortly after sitting down, a crisp voice rang in his ear:

"Lynch."

A sharp, pretty girl appeared beside him, her chestnut hair braided into a long tail. Her cloak was perfectly neat—Jessica, the same girl who entered the Inner Ring with Lynch after passing the assessment years ago.

Over three years had passed, and the once-little girl had grown into a graceful young lady. With her good upbringing and charm, she was quite popular among apprentices, attracting numerous admirers.

She and Lynch maintained a decent relationship, often discussing course material together. Over the years, no one ever found anything amiss about their friendship.

Yet, for some reason, Jessica sitting next to Lynch today felt particularly conspicuous.

Curious, Jessica asked, "Hey! Tell me—are the rumors about you true?"

Lynch replied impatiently, "Can we talk about something else?"

Jessica chuckled lightly, "Haha, welcome to the club of being a public obsession."

Lynch glanced around quickly, "Where’s your little sidekick?"

By "little sidekick," Lynch was referring to Kane, another apprentice who entered the Inner Ring with them after the assessment. Kane had always lacked initiative and was often bossed around by Jessica, eventually turning into her de facto assistant.

Jessica replied, "He’s off registering us for the competition forms."

Lynch raised an eyebrow, "Registering?"

Jessica nodded and eagerly explained, "Haven’t you heard? The Tower is organizing a magic competition—every apprentice can register to participate."

Lynch asked skeptically, "A magic competition? When did the Tower start doing this kind of thing?"

On occasion, apprentices had informal magic duels, but there had never been a large-scale competition organized by the Tower before.

Jessica shook her head, "No idea. Maybe they think our practical experience is terrible and want to improve it."

Improve practical experience?

Does she even know what she’s talking about...

Jessica clearly hadn’t considered the deeper implications and continued excitedly, "So? Are you going to register?"

Her question immediately drew the attention of many apprentices nearby. The room noticeably grew quieter as everyone seemed anxious to hear his response.

Lynch shook his head decisively, "I’m not interested in joining the chaos."

Several apprentices visibly relaxed.

Jessica frowned in confusion, "Why not?"

This piqued the curiosity of the other apprentices as well. If the rumors were true, Lynch’s abilities would undoubtedly make him shine in the tournament, right?

Could the rumors be false?

Was Lynch just an overrated hack?

Jessica quickly added, "Do you know? The Tower has already said that apprentices who perform well in this competition will have a chance to enter the Inner Tower!"

Enter the Inner Tower? Looks like the Tower is really emphasizing combat power...

With doubt in his mind, Lynch still shook his head, "I’ll pass."

Before, he wouldn’t have missed an opportunity like this. But now, entering the Inner Tower was no longer an issue for him, so there was no need to expend the effort. He’d rather spend his time improving himself through cultivation.

After a pause, he explained further, "Subaru and Carl’s Inner Ring assessment is coming up soon. I already promised to help tutor them, so I won’t have the time. Sorry."

After years of waiting, the Inner Ring apprentice assessment process was finally restarting. Subaru and Carl had sought Lynch out specifically, pleading with him to help them prepare.

The gap between the Outer Ring and Inner Ring was massive—not just in terms of resources but teaching quality as well. Joining the Inner Ring earlier brought immense benefits to apprentice cultivation.

Subaru and Carl had been waiting for years and didn’t want to miss this chance. Who knew when the next assessment opportunity might arise? Failing the test and leaving the Tower upon turning thirty was more common than one might think.

Graduating as an Inner Ring apprentice versus an Outer Ring apprentice had a huge impact on one’s future prospects.

Since they were friends, Lynch couldn’t justify turning down their request.

To the other apprentices nearby, however, this decision seemed utterly baffling. Who would ignore their own prospects to focus on helping others?

Advancing from the Outer to Inner Ring was important, but progressing from Inner Ring to the Inner Tower was an even greater leap...

Unless he had a screw loose in his head, the only other plausible explanation was that Lynch knew he wouldn’t perform well in the tournament and was using a fancy excuse to cover his tracks.

So, in that case...

This guy really might just be a hack?