The Wizard: Starting with Infinite Part-Time Jobs

After learning just now how dangerous dark wizards were, Aiden realized that even under the rule of the Wizarding Council, the wizarding world wasn't as peaceful as it seemed.

His mindset had changed slightly. Thoughts were constantly swirling in his head.

Hiding one's shortcomings is not advisable.

"Sector 147 is very remote. The chances of encountering a titan like Master Valyria are slim. I have to seize this opportunity," Aiden thought, his breathing becoming slightly heavier and his chest heaving. This was his chance; he couldn't afford to mess it up.

"So fast? Are you sure?" Senior Sister Iseli was dumbfounded. The drawing pen in her hand stopped in mid-air, her mouth slightly open, her face full of disbelief, and her beautiful eyes wide open.

She had originally thought Aiden would take at least an hour to carefully select.

"I'm sure, you can trust me. There's no need to look at anything else." Aiden's expression was very confident, not like he was joking.

As he spoke, he turned his head and met the gaze of the Valyrian master who was looking at him.

The master sat on the high observation seat, expressionless, with his hands folded on his knees.

But he tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice, very slowly.

Those eyes were so deep you couldn't see the bottom.

The master's gaze didn't change much, but in his heart, a storm was brewing.

"Is this kid just guessing? Meteorite Wood is the best wood in there," the Valyrian master wondered, somewhat puzzled.

"Okay, I believe you." Iseli nodded and took the meteorite wood directly.

A layer of pale blue magic surged from her palm, enveloping the entire piece of wood in light. At the same time, she poured detergent on it. The liquid sizzled upon contact with the wood surface, emitting wisps of black smoke. Black impurities began to seep out, slowly flowing along the wood's grain.

Cleaning is the second step in making a wand, and wand-making apprentices are not good at this job, as it requires extremely precise control.

Aiden and his companion's commotion quickly drew the attention of everyone outside the arena.

"So soon? You've already decided to clean it? You know, once it's cleaned, there's no going back. It'll probably take too long to make a new wand, and we don't have enough detergent, we only have one batch." Joanna and Lanica looked at each other and said.

Especially Lanica, she bit her lower lip, her expression a complex mix of surprise and worry.

"We have no choice but to trust him. From what I've seen these past few days, Aiden doesn't seem like a frivolous guy; on the contrary, he's quite cautious," Lanica said helplessly, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

Although she said that, she was still a little unsure.

"This is meteorite ironwood. Although it's quite valuable and can be used to forge a two-star wand, there might be even better wood among all those available," a wizard said, frowning and crossing his arms, his face full of uncertainty.

He stared at the meteorite wood for a long time, seemingly deep in thought.

"Indeed, it's more of a gamble. This might be their strategy," a wizard said after thinking for a moment.

"However, this strategy allows them to quickly skip the step of selecting wood, giving them at least an extra hour," one wizard said.

In short, let's wait and see.

……

An hour passed. In the other laboratories, wand-making apprentices gradually selected the best wood.

It was that one and only meteorite ironwood.

Among them, Aiden and Harriet's assistant, who lived next door to the witch, was the fastest to choose.

However, even at the fastest pace, it still took more than an hour, and his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, making him look extremely tired.

Two other people were still choosing, and one of them picked out a different piece of wood.

Clearly, its quality is not as good as that of meteorite ironwood.

All ten labs operate on a one-way basis; they cannot judge the performance of others and can only follow their own procedures.

However, they could see the expressions on the faces of the audience and the Valyrian masters outside, all looking at the central laboratory with great surprise. Several people were speechless, and a low murmur of discussion arose from the audience.

"Damn it, what happened?!" The wizard Lorne next door said with a stern face.

He slammed his fist on the worktable, his face turning ashen.

"I have a feeling the situation is not going our way," said the witch Harriet, her expression also looking rather grim.

"Mentor, let's continue."

"Um."

Soon, the one-star wand makers began the cleaning process and got to work.

Lanica covered her mouth, her fingertips turning slightly white, and said to the witch Joanna beside her, "That Aiden guy picked the best one right away. It really is the best meteorite wood."

Joanna crossed her arms, raised her chin slightly, and curled the corners of her lips: "Is this kid lucky or talented? For a newcomer, his eye for talent is really sharp."

"In short, the part we were most worried about has turned out to be the best. Iseli's chances of winning have increased significantly. With an extra hour, the quality of the wands we create can be improved by at least 3-5%," Joanna said with a smile.

Lanica leaned closer, lowered her voice, and said with barely concealed smugness, "Look at how he was picking out the ingredients just now. He grabbed the best one right away, while everyone else was still hesitating."

Joanna nodded, her gaze never leaving the busy figure in the arena.

The two men looked at Aiden with obvious satisfaction.

……

After nearly three days, the crafting of the ten wands by the ten wand makers was nearing completion.

The laboratory floor was littered with sawdust and scraps.

Aside from the initial selection, Aiden did a commendable job in other support roles. Although he was still a bit rusty, he wasn't much worse than others.

"How's it going? Almost done. This wand will definitely meet the master's requirements." Senior Sister Iseli said with satisfaction, looking at the black wand in her hand, which had a slightly purplish hue.

She held the wand up to her eyes; its purplish-red surface seemed to have a subtle, flowing sheen.

The luster was not uniform, but rather flowed slowly across the staff like ripples on water.

"Um, senior sister, I think we can try to optimize this point." Aiden said, pointing to the corner of the wand with a magnifying glass.

Aiden has activated his special talent—basic energy vision—and has begun to examine the energy flow of the wand.

A faint gray tinge appeared deep within his pupils, and the energy lines inside the wand became clearly visible in his vision, like countless tiny snakes winding and swimming within the wood.

The energy lines varied in thickness, and the places where they intersected were tinged with a faint gray.

"Are you sure?" Senior Sister Iseli raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with doubt.

"Hehe, I was just talking nonsense." Aiden chuckled and put the magnifying glass away.

He casually placed the magnifying glass on the corner of the table.