Wizards: Starting with Fairy Crests

030: The Unlucky Maid

Upon returning to the manor, the first thing Lynch did was instruct Martin to use manpower to build a completely enclosed stone chamber in the most secluded corner of the manor, constructed from thick bluestone.

The stone chamber had only one heavy iron door, and the inner walls were inlaid with simple soundproofing and crude runes to prevent energy leakage. Although simple, it was enough to meet his basic needs at this stage and isolate him from outside prying eyes and interference.

At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged on the cool stone slab in the center of the stone chamber. The air was filled with the earthy smell of new stone and a hint of warm wax.

Before him, a pale yellow meditation candle was lit, its steady flame flickering and releasing not ordinary candle smoke, but wisps of mist, barely perceptible to the naked eye, carrying a faint, iridescent glow.

The fog spread rapidly, filling the entire small space and slowly increasing the originally scarce elemental concentration.

Lin Qi calmed his mind and entered into meditation.

In the elemental environment created by the candle, which was several times more concentrated than the outside world, his mental perception became exceptionally active, like a dried-up riverbed receiving spring water.

The abnormal increase caused by the evil eye pollution still exists, guiding the elemental flow to flow in and transform more efficiently.

The sluggish and slow feeling I had in the human world was completely gone, replaced by a familiar sense of fulfillment as my strength slowly grew.

After an unknown amount of time, when the candle had burned down to nearly a third of its length, Lin Qi slowly emerged from his deep meditation.

He didn't get up immediately, but instead, with a hint of anticipation, he summoned the system panel.

My gaze fell directly on the experience bar.

[Meditation complete, experience points +38]

38 points!

A genuine gleam of joy flashed in Lynch's eyes. This number was even slightly higher than the experience he gained during normal meditation in the Gray Tower!

The effects of meditation candles are immediate and perfectly compensate for any deficiencies in the environment.

"Not bad." He muttered to himself, a rare slight smile playing on his lips. "Now, the fundamental problems of cultivation are finally solved."

After arriving in the human world, the tension that had been building due to environmental constraints finally eased slightly.

With a stable source of experience, the anxiety of stagnation was largely dispelled.

There is no need to further increase the element concentration.

Lin Qi was well aware that, given his average talent and current strength as a beginner-level apprentice, the elemental concentration created by the meditation candles had reached the saturation point for his current meditation absorption efficiency.

Blindly increasing the concentration of environmental elements is like pouring water into an already overflowing glass—a pure waste that won't make you gain experience any faster.

The principle of "don't bite off more than you can chew" and "too much of a good thing" is especially important in the practice of wizardry.

"The resource problem has been temporarily alleviated, so what's next..." Lin Qi's gaze became deep and focused as he looked inward into his spiritual sea.

There, the four basic runes floated steadily like stars, emitting a stable glow, while the illusory outline of the fifth rune was already brewing, waiting for enough accumulation to completely illuminate and solidify it.

"Let's meditate on the fifth rune first!"

Runes are the cornerstone of a wizard's power. Each additional rune enhances their control over the elements and their ability to construct spell models, representing the most solid step forward in their strength.

He took a deep breath of the air, which was filled with the scent of wax and the aroma of elements, and began a new round of meditation.

......

That night, at Lynch Manor, in the study.

The soft, steady candlelight illuminated the desk covered with a heavy, dark tablecloth, where Lynch was flipping through a magic notebook he had brought from the Gray Tower, containing writings on basic elemental runes.

"Knock knock knock".

A regular knocking interrupted his concentration. Without looking up, he said indifferently, "Come in."

The door was gently pushed open, and a slender figure hesitated before moving in, then quickly closed the door behind her. It was the slave girl, Lucy.

"My lord, Lord Martin said you were looking for me?" Her voice was soft, filled with undisguised nervousness and timidity, like a startled little animal trying to approach but ready to run away at any moment.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qi finally looked up from the book.

When his gaze fell on Lucy at the door, a clear look of surprise flashed across his eyes, which then turned into a scrutinizing light.

The girl standing there was no longer the filthy, disheveled girl from the slave market, who looked like a withered straw.

She had undergone a thorough washing and grooming. Her once dry and unkempt gray hair was now carefully combed and gleamed with a silvery-gray luster under the candlelight.

The grime on her face had been removed, revealing skin that was almost translucent and fair. Her features were exquisitely sculpted, with pale gray eyes like glass covered in mist. Her nose was straight and her lips were a pale rose color, which she was now nervously pursing.

She was wearing a clean, plain white linen maid's dress. Although the style was simple, the cut was well-fitting and perfectly outlined her slender and graceful figure as she began to develop.

"I never expected this dirty little slave girl to be such a rare beauty!"

Lin Qi was amazed.

With that appearance and figure, even if no elemental potential can be identified, keeping her at the manor as a toy wouldn't be bad.

This was a good deal.

Lost in thought, Lin Qi put down his quill pen: "I called you here today because I have something to tell you..."

Before the words were even finished, Lucy's face turned deathly pale, and her body trembled violently, as if she had heard a death sentence.

She fell straight to her knees with a thud, her forehead hitting the hard floor with a dull thud.

"My lord! Please! Don't send me away! It really...it wasn't me! Those things have nothing to do with me! I didn't mean to!" Her light gray eyes instantly filled with tears, which rolled down her pale cheeks. Her voice was filled with desperate sobs and pleas, and she spoke incoherently.

After arriving at the manor, Lucy once again revealed her astonishingly calamity-inducing constitution.

First, the newly bought stew pot in the kitchen suddenly exploded, splashing hot soup all over the cook.

The docile old horse in the stable became agitated and restless after just one look from her, and the next day, it broke its leg while being led out for a short walk.

The hyacinths in the manor that were about to bloom withered the next day after she touched them, and the vase that Martin had asked her to send to the study was also inexplicably smashed to pieces.

Other things like mice crawling into the bed and scaring people half to death, roof tiles falling down... there were just too many random and unlucky things to count. One bad thing after another just wouldn't stop.

Now her reputation as a jinx has spread throughout the manor. The servants who initially sympathized with her plight have also distanced themselves from her after being brutally beaten several times out of 'disbelief'.

At this point, wherever she went, people kept their distance, hoping she would leave the manor as soon as possible.

However, Lucy had no desire to leave this place, because for her, leaving the manor meant certain death.

"My lord, please don't send me away, leave this place... I really have nowhere else to go."

She sobbed, her voice filled with helplessness and deep fear.

She pleaded desperately as she bent down again, her forehead pressed against the cold floor. Her thin shoulders heaved with sobs, and her plain maid outfit looked particularly frail and pitiful at that moment.