Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 137 Cooperation? A Deal!

"Um."

Link nodded, without giving any special response.

However, his tone and expression showed that he had indeed listened to Jasmine's words.

This made Jasmine feel a little better.

"Everyone, go and rest, recharge your energy, and fight again tomorrow."

Lin Kechong waved to the crowd who were happily watching the drama unfold, indicating that it was time to call it a day and that everything was over.

Everyone hurry back to their tents and get some sleep.

The group, still feeling unsatisfied, reluctantly returned to the tent area.

Watching the big boss and the big sister engage in their ambiguous tug-of-war is much more entertaining than brainstorming ways to save this messed-up world.

Speaking of which, that topspin serve from the eldest sister just now was really well played.

It's only because you've met a big shot; otherwise, who could stand it?

Jasmine hesitated for a moment, then swallowed the words she wanted to say.

She gave Link a deep look, turned around and went back to her tent, crawled into her sleeping bag, and went straight to sleep.

Even if you don't speak, you are the master of your words.

Once you speak, you become a slave to those words.

Link once told her that.

Now, she needs to use the principles Link taught her to control her emotions.

Emmm...

Be independent and self-reliant; don't let personal feelings get in the way.

Link entered the tent, his consciousness sank into his sea of ​​consciousness, reflected and introspected in his memory palace, then meditated deeply before falling asleep.

Unbeknownst to me, the small transformation of my consciousness had already ended.

Link is now a genuine, unadulterated third-class wizard apprentice.

You are already capable of practicing the third level of the "Water and Wood Mutual Generation Meditation Method." Continue accumulating spiritual power to 99 points.

Afterwards, he switched to the fourth level of the "Water and Wood Mutual Generation Meditation Method," shaping the rune structure of the meditation method into a perfectly round sphere.

Then one can try to inscribe one's innate magic, prepare for a leap in the essence of life, and launch an attack to become a formal wizard.

What changes did Link experience after the Minor Transformation in His Sea of ​​Consciousness ended?

The spiritual power and magic remain unchanged, without any qualitative change.

The space of the sea of ​​consciousness was further expanded, becoming not only larger, capable of accommodating more spiritual power and more runes, but also more solid, able to withstand the impact of the leap in the essence of life.

In terms of strength, there is no essential difference between a third-class wizard apprentice and a second-class wizard apprentice, except that the second-class apprentice can use more spells at once.

Link is still the same Link he was yesterday; he hasn't become invincible in his first year just because he's been promoted to a third-class wizard apprentice.

Well……

In a magic duel, Link could confidently declare, "Who else dares to challenge me?"

If rune items and magical artifacts are taken into account, Link has no choice but to turn around and run away when facing a super-rich person like Iris Clark.

This is exactly what they mean by "spending money to change your fate".

I slept soundly all night.

The next day, Link woke up on time.

While it was still early, Link greeted Lynn, who was changing shifts, and then glanced at the real-time reconnaissance footage of the circular flying saucer.

After confirming that no one was lurking or observing nearby, Link took the two reconnaissance golems and left the tunnel.

Some things are better done sooner rather than later, such as a brief separation, to keep things clean and efficient.

To avoid any fuss and arguments that might affect your mood.

Arriving at the riverbank, Link gazed into the distance, watching the mighty river flow eastward, and his mood lightened considerably.

It was still too stuffy in the tunnel.

Link was somewhat affected.

Although "brain shut-in" can ignore this, who wants to be poker-faced all day if they can have a good mood?

Having chosen a spot where the current was relatively calm, Link began to cross the river.

He first activated the levitation function of the "Defender 3202" suit boots and cloak, and his whole body floated into the air, with the height above the ground controlled at about 5 centimeters.

With a thought, a pseudo-natal sorcery is performed: "Double Casting" and "Simultaneous Casting".

The four-shot water shield technique, which had reached the level of "innovation", was quietly unleashed. Two double-layered water shields appeared, one in front and one behind, laid horizontally on the river surface.

The water shield clings tightly to the surging river.

Link stepped on the water shield behind him with his left foot, using it slightly to lean forward, and then stepped on the water shield in front of him with his right foot.

Lean your weight forward, lift your left foot, and step forward along with the water shield.

The two double-layered water shields seemed to be firmly stuck to Link's feet.

With the levitation function of the "Defender 3202" suit boots and cape, it carried Link across the river, quickly heading to the other side.

Like a dragonfly skimming the water, her steps were light and graceful.

From a distance, Link looked just like the young swordsman described in martial arts novels from his previous life.

He was graceful and had exceptional lightness skills.

With feet treading water, they easily crossed a wide river.

The ferocious beast lurking in the river refused to submit.

This is our territory. You think you can get past us without paying some protection money?

They leaped out of the water and pounced on Link.

But what awaited them was a heavy, devastating blow.

After unlocking the ability to meditate at any time in daily life, Link now has no shortage of magic power and spellcasting opportunities.

The technique of "continuous casting" was also used.

One after another, double-layered water shields appeared.

Or they might stick to Link's feet, replacing the vanished predecessors, and carry him across the river;

Or they could smash the heads of the ferocious beasts in the water, knocking them back into the river.

It doesn't matter if the double-layered water shield is broken; there will be other shields to follow.

One water shield shattered, but millions more followed.

And so, Link safely crossed the river and arrived at the riverbank.

Two reconnaissance golems flew out from behind their empty backpacks and began their reconnaissance mission.

Link glanced at the live reconnaissance footage and noticed something unusual about the hill where the ropes had been tied two days ago.

After confirming there were no ambushes, Link cautiously made his way towards the hill.

The journey was smooth, and no traps were encountered.

Beneath the boulder where the ropes were tied, there was a line of writing, the handwriting delicate, but it conveyed a deep sense of resentment.

Link recognized it immediately; it was left by Lani Taylor, though the exact date was unknown.

But it is highly likely that this occurred before the private message exchange.

The message reads:

Link Grand, whatever misunderstandings we may have, the priority must be the inter-district competition and the wager with the Wizard of Paro. I urge you to seriously consider joining forces with me and cooperating sincerely. I can guarantee that I and my companions will follow your orders.

The signature is: Lani Taylor.

After reading the comments, Link was speechless.

In other words, the Wizarding World doesn't have an abacus.

Otherwise, Lanny's wishful thinking would have been laid bare for Link's eyes.

They're all ancient foxes, why are they playing at Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?

If Lani Taylor really wanted to team up with Link, she wouldn't have done all this.

This message, like the previous private messages, was prepared in preparation for potential accountability, so as to shift the blame onto Link.

"Too cunning."

After giving a brief evaluation, Link left, completely unmoved.

After leaving the riverbank and walking a short distance, Link made some adjustments to his watch and then posted two announcements in the faction channel:

Significant progress has been made, and completion is expected.

Wait patiently for three days, and good news will surely come.

What does Link mean by this?

They're baiting the spot, getting ready to fish.

Then he switched to private chat mode and messaged Iris Clark: "I need to discuss something. Would it be convenient for us to meet?"

Ignoring the dozen or so private messages that followed, Link waited patiently for Iris's reply.

Soon after, Iris sent a request to locate each other.

Link readily agreed.

Hey, the two of them aren't far apart.

Link checked his surroundings and, comparing them to the incomplete "world" map in his mind, recognized the location of Iris.

It was a forest, with tall, dense trees and thick shrubs.

I passed by there before and didn't notice anything unusual.

Looking back now, something seems off about everything.

Generally speaking, when trees are close together, they compete for sunlight, water, and soil nutrients.

It's impossible for every tree to grow tall and straight.

There are always trees that can't compete with their brothers and sisters, and they end up crooked and twisted, looking completely out of shape.

Or it could die prematurely.

But at first glance, that grove of trees didn't have a single crooked or twisted tree; every single one was straight.

Even the shrubs underneath are growing exceptionally lush.

Putting aside his distractions, Link walked into the woods.

With a map in mind, one is familiar with the terrain; with scout puppets surrounding one, one is able to eliminate dangers.

Link moves at a very fast speed.

It took less than an hour to get to the vicinity of the woods.

As soon as he got close, before Link could even contact her with his watch, Iris flew right in front of him.

"What good news is there that you're in such a hurry to see me?"

Iris changed her clothes, wearing camouflage suitable for jungle movement, and painted several lines of face paint.

Combined with the concealment function of magical artifacts, they are extremely difficult to spot when hidden in the jungle.

"There is something I need to do, but I don't know if it's good or bad for you."

Link didn't try to deceive him; he got straight to the point and said, "I really have found a way to complete the faction quest, but our team's capabilities are limited. If we do it alone, we might be able to complete it in the end, but it will take a long time. I'm just afraid that something might go wrong along the way."

"Um."

Iris regained her composure and calmly asked, "So you want to contact some apprentices in the North District through me, preferably half-bloods, not pure-bloods?"

Link replied, "Half-blood, pure-blood, that's your way of dividing people, I don't understand it. I only have one request, and that is to exclude members of the 'Pure-Blood Will'."

"I see."

Iris nodded, seemingly lost in thought, as if she had gained some insight.

A moment later, she put her right thumb and forefinger into her mouth and whistled a sharp, high-pitched whistle.

Mental and magical powers are applied to the whistling sound.

This allows the whistle to travel a very, very long distance.

A short while later, five boys and girls, also dressed in jungle attire, flew over.

These people were all nouveau riche, and each of them wore a pair of boots that could fly around.

Link is so envious.

"Iris, what do you mean?"

A tall, handsome young man, whose face was painted with makeup, walked up to Iris, stood side by side with her, and asked softly.

He didn't look at Link once the whole time; his mind was entirely on Iris.

Link sensed a hostility.

Iris, with her keen senses, immediately glared at the boy with displeasure and said, "Stop with the formalities, they're here to seek cooperation."

Still not satisfied, she punched the boy in the stomach.

The boy neither dodged nor avoided the punch, taking it head-on, and chuckled, "Isn't it because I care about you too much?"

“Eh…”

Iris shivered, seemingly stunned, and couldn't stand the boy's directness. "You guys talk, I'm leaving."

After saying that, Iris vanished in a flash.

"Hello, I am Monroe Briseño."

After Iris left, the boy immediately resumed his shrewd and capable demeanor, grinning a friendly smile and extending his right hand.

"Link Grande."

You can't hit someone who's smiling, so Link and the young Monroe shook hands briefly.

"How do you want to cooperate with us? Continue to use us as thugs to hold off the other side?"

Monroe Briceño withdrew his right hand, his tone still gentle, but his words were very sharp.

This directly exposed Link's little tricks in the faction channel and private chat channel.

Link never imagined that he could hide his thoughts from everyone.

It's normal to be seen through.

"That depends on your choice."

Link said calmly, showing no embarrassment at having his scheme exposed.

"Oh?"

Monroe became slightly interested.

To be honest, if it weren't for Iris acting as a go-between, he wouldn't have planned to meet with Link, let alone cooperate with him.

Yesterday I saw the four announcements Link posted in the faction channel, the private chat between Iris and Link, and the same message that another teammate received later.

Monroe could see Link's deep wariness towards the local apprentices of the North, even those on the same side.

How can we cooperate if we are wary of each other?

Cooperation is out of the question.

However, after receiving a private message from Link this morning, Iris insisted on meeting him.

This provided the basis for dialogue.

Monroe suppressed his hostility and asked, "Tell me more?"

Link replied:

"If you are willing to conduct research and experiments, I can share some ideas with you. Of course, this is not free; you will need to offer some valuable information or equipment in exchange."

If you are unwilling to conduct research and experiments, I can share other ideas with you free of charge, to help you deal with the opposing camp.

"That's interesting."

Monroe sensed the confidence and assurance in Link's voice and his interest surged. "I want both approaches! Name your price!"

What does it mean that he's so generous in asking Link to name his price, acting like he's ready to give "money" at any time?

This means that Monroe Briseño doesn't want to cooperate, but rather to make deals.

Cooperation can foster friendship.

When it really comes down to the last moment, after the team wins, it's hard to backstab someone when it comes to competing for individual achievements!

Transactions are still the purest form of business.

When the time comes, we will act decisively, no matter how harsh or ruthless the methods, without any guilt in our hearts.

Link understood Monroe's intention and was not surprised at all.

Isn't that what he was thinking too?

"I need some laboratory equipment, for botany, zoology, and microbiology, anything is fine."

Link first stated his needs.

"no problem."

Monroe waved his hand, displaying the air of a nouveau riche, and said, "I can provide you with a complete set, as long as the ideas you offer are worth the price."

Link smiled and, without beating around the bush, said directly, "I wonder if you have discovered any relics that tell the story of how this world was on the verge of destruction and the reasons behind it."

We discovered that this world once had a god-killer who waged a great war against the gods of this world that lasted for thousands of years.

In the end, the gods fell, humanity was destroyed, and the very essence of the world was severely damaged, teetering on the brink of destruction.

This has led to the unbalanced ecosystem of this world today, resulting in various anomalies.

For example, the grove of trees behind you demonstrates this.

While speaking, Link carefully observed Monroe's eyes and expression, trying to discern his reaction.

However, Monroe maintained his faint smile throughout, without any change.

He has a good temperament, but is quite shrewd.

Link abandoned his attempt to read the other person's mind and instead presented the real facts:

"Saving the world and destroying the world are actually two sides of the same coin."

The essence of the opposing faction's mission is to destroy first, then save.

The true essence of our missions, whether for the good or the bad, can be to destroy while simultaneously saving.

I call it a devastating rescue.

After a pause, Link emphasized:

"As long as we destroy everything that needs to be destroyed before the opposing camp does, we're guaranteed to win."

Follow other people's paths and leave them with nowhere to go!

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(End of this chapter)