Wizard: I'm leveling up by AFK in another world

The heavy curtain was lifted, and a young man dressed in a magnificent robe with gold trim stepped out.

He looked to be in his early twenties, with an undeniable arrogance in his handsome features, and he was toying with an exquisite magic wand in his hand.

"Cousin?" The young witch was taken aback. "Why are you out here?"

The man ignored the witch and walked straight to the counter. He used his wand to lift a corner of the eel skin, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"Lily, you're too easily fooled." The man scoffed. "This skin isn't even worth twenty magic stones."

"How could that be?" Lily argued. "The patterns and texture on this are those of a mid-level magical beast!"

"Yes, but no."

The man slowly tapped his wand on the back of the moray eel: "This friend is lucky; he caught a scavenging moray eel that is currently evolving."

"And if I'm not mistaken, its spine should have already been jade-like, right?"

Claire was surprised that this seemingly spoiled brat could see right through the eel's true nature at a glance.

"Can carrion eels also form fish spirits?" Lily's eyes widened.

"If there's a probability, it will happen, so I said this friend is lucky." The man glanced at Claire. "In order to form the fish spirit, its spirituality was concentrated in its spine."

"This skin looks shiny on the surface, but it will actually crack as soon as it is processed due to uneven spiritual energy."

"Although the dissection technique is skillful, it's essentially a defective product." The man shook his head, feigning regret. "It's worth at most five magic stones."

Upon hearing this, Claire, who had initially thought the man was somewhat capable, suddenly hardened her fist.

Although he genuinely didn't know that the formation of fish spirits would lead to uneven distribution of spirituality in materials, the price drop was simply outrageous.

"Ten magic stones," Claire said, suppressing her anger. "Plus these fangs, that's my bottom line. If that's not enough, I'll go somewhere else."

The man glanced at him sideways, seemingly feeling that arguing over such a small amount of money was beneath him, and waved his hand impatiently: "Fine, fine, consider it charity. Lily, give him the money."

After saying that, he turned and went back behind the curtain without waiting for Claire's reaction.

"Honestly, they bring all sorts of junk to me..."

A sound, neither too loud nor too soft, drifted on the wind, causing Lily's hand, which was counting magic stones, to freeze. She awkwardly looked up at Claire.

"I'm so sorry, my cousin... he has a sharp tongue, but he's really capable and wouldn't talk nonsense," she said softly.

"It's alright." Claire took the magic stone and prepared to leave.

"Um... please wait a moment!"

Claire stopped and turned back, puzzled.

"Although there were some unexpected circumstances, I can tell that the skin was peeled very beautifully; you must have put in a lot of effort." Lily blushed slightly as she counted on her fingers. "Besides, the price had already been agreed upon, so it would be wrong of us to suddenly back out..."

"To express my apologies, I'd like to invite you to dinner. Let's go to the fishing boat 'Seven Plus Nine' at the pier!"

Claire was about to refuse when the witch added, "It's a restaurant run by a high-ranking apprentice. The ingredients there are all extraordinary medicinal materials, very helpful for wizarding apprentices!"

A wizard's medicinal cuisine?

Claire turned around with a smile on her face.

"Then I shall respectfully comply."

……

……

Named Seven Plus Nine Fishing Boat, the restaurant's exterior is actually that of a large three-masted warship.

The waiter led the way silently, and Claire and Lily walked through the rather old-fashioned corridor and into the cabin, which was decorated with dim candlelight.

There are no partitions between the seats, but the guests' voices, like their faces, are hidden in the darkness that the candlelight cannot illuminate.

Claire sat somewhat awkwardly by the window.

Lily, sitting opposite him, seemed quite relaxed, chatting skillfully with the waiter.

"Three ways to prepare deep-sea fish, two servings of grilled blue shrimp. Hmm... and a bottle of Moonlight Berry Bar, please." Lily closed the menu and gave the waiter a sweet smile.

Soon, the dishes were served.

The so-called three ways to eat deep-sea fish are fish head soup, fish fillet sashimi, and grilled fish.

The rich aroma of the fish after the lid was lifted tempted Claire so much that she abandoned her reserve and quickly forked a piece of fish and put it in her mouth.

The sashimi melted in the mouth, while the grilled meat was crisp and chewy. What they had in common was the rich, juicy flavor that burst forth with every bite. Chandler couldn't help but close her eyes and savor it.

Next up is fish head soup.

It has an alluring milky white color, with a few golden oil droplets floating on the surface.

Just smelling it made Claire feel as if her mind was being stirred.

"Try it, it's their signature dish," Lily enthusiastically recommended.

The warm liquid slid down his throat, instantly transforming into a warm current that spread throughout his body.

Claire felt as if she were soaking in a hot spring on a cold winter day. The chill and fatigue that had accumulated in her bones from cleaning drains over the past few days dissipated almost entirely under the warm current.

Even more miraculously, he felt that his mental strength had actually increased slightly.

"Great stuff," Claire couldn't help but exclaim.

"Really?" Lily laughed heartily. "The fish in this soup comes from a high-level magical beast. Although it's worthless compared to the extraordinary materials inside its body, it's still quite a luxury as an ingredient!"

After a few drinks of berry wine, the distance between them had gradually disappeared.

"I'm so sorry about this afternoon." Lily brought up the previous incident again. "My cousin Charles may be a bit arrogant, but he's really talented in potions."

"He's currently being trained at the Blue Ocean branch of the family for a period of time. Once he completes that training, the family will support him in pursuing an advanced apprenticeship!"

"Charles?" Claire felt the word sounded familiar.

“Yes, the Charles family.” Lily stuck out her tongue. “You’re right, they’re the ones behind that Grey Amber workshop.”

Grey Amber Workshop is a renowned potion company on Five Flower Island, and it is said that it already has its own factories and plantations in a double-digit number of worlds.

The Charles family, who run this multi-industry company, is naturally a true wizarding magnate, with deep roots in all five wizarding towers.

No wonder Lily's cousin acts so arrogant; he's from a wealthy family.

"And you?" Claire asked. "Are you also a member of the Charles family?"

"Me? I'm just a distant, insignificant relative." Lily waved her hand helplessly. "My mother and aunt are very close, and my cousin Charles also has a good impression of me, so he asked me to come here and help look after the stall. I don't have much talent in potions, so I can only do some reception work."

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Lewis," she said, remembering something, and looked at Claire earnestly, "you were the one who skinned that eel, weren't you? In my opinion, your technique was flawless!"

"Ah, I may not be very convincing... but someone as proud as Cousin Charles, I remember he was quite impressed with your skinning skills, wasn't he?"

"To be honest, this is quite difficult for a novice apprentice. You might have a talent for potions!"

Claire paused for a moment.

The reason the skin was peeled off so well was entirely due to the method for collecting fish spirit spines provided on the panel.

I never expected that such a simple preliminary operation could be mistaken for a talent.

Where do you work now?

"The external circulation cleaning department is located at the underground drain outlet."

"This is such a waste of your talent!" Lily exclaimed. "With your skills, you could totally give it a try at our branch office. They're currently recruiting apprentices for technical positions, and the pay will definitely be much better than your current job!"