novelraw Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Chapter 27: The First Official Commission
Lina, in a single instant, ran through every happy memory from both her past and present lives combined, only barely stopping herself from bursting into tears on the spot.
She turned around, about to let out a breath, but upon seeing Annie’s clear, puppy-like eyes that seemed to be begging for praise, she couldn’t bring herself to do it at all.
“Pfft—”
Lina abruptly turned her head and saw Fennis, whose expression appeared unchanged.
But having lived with Fennis for over a decade, Lina still caught the subtle twitch at the corner of her lips.
Did you just laugh at me?! Lina narrowed her eyes, her face darkened. “Mm, yes, I am the Slacker Witch, Your Excellency Witch of the Moon, but I would still prefer that you address me by my name...”
“Alright, Sla—... Lady Lina.” Fennis nodded. “A very interesting title...”
Seriously, you’re not even pretending anymore, huh! Lina was so angry she almost jumped on the spot.
Unfortunately, she knew that even if she flew up right now, she still wouldn’t be able to beat this “cheap disciple” from her previous life, so she gave up and said seriously, “Last night, I took some time to organize the intelligence we extracted from those cultists.”
She took out a carefully sealed letter from her storage ring and handed it to Fennis. “It’s all in here.”
Fennis accepted the letter and nodded at her. “Thank you for your contribution, Lady Slacker Witch.”
Alright, alright, you’re never letting this go, are you! Once I advance to B-rank, I’m definitely changing my name!
Lina fled the plaza with Annie as if escaping, heading to the comprehensive service office behind the association.
“Good morning, Miss Slacker Witch,” the receptionist at the front desk wore a perfectly polite, professional smile. “How may I assist you?”
“What job vacancies are currently available in the nearby association?” Lina asked directly. “Please list all positions that a D-rank witch can undertake.”
“Please wait a moment.” The receptionist turned and took down a dark gray metal plate from the document rack, placing her palm against its center.
A gentle ring of magical energy flickered around the metal plate a few times. After a moment, she handed it to Lina. “Please place your right palm at the center of this plate. We need to record your magical frequency to store your identity information.”
Lina nodded and lightly pressed her palm against the surface of the plate.
Everyone was born with a unique magical frequency, like fingerprints or irises, so many places used this method to verify identities.
After Lina completed her registration, the clerk bent down and pulled out a clearly printed form from beneath the counter, handing it to her. “All available positions are listed here, along with the corresponding salary and benefits.”
Lina took the form and gave it a quick glance, her gaze eventually settling on an inconspicuous corner in the lower right.
“I’d like to apply for this position,” Lina pointed at the form. “About how long will the procedures take?”
The receptionist’s brows furrowed slightly as she couldn’t help but size Lina up from head to toe. “Are you sure you want to choose this position...?”
“Containment Item Administrator. Is there a problem?” Lina checked the box for the position and signed her name as she added, “Oh, according to the rules, I can also bring one apprentice witch. That would be her—come on, Annie, register as well.”
Pushed forward by Lina, Annie looked a bit at a loss, but out of trust in Lina, she didn’t ask any questions and simply followed her lead, signing her name as well.
“Y-you… how about reconsidering?” The receptionist did not take the form immediately, instead speaking in a very serious tone. “This position carries a certain level of danger… under normal circumstances, we only recommend witches of C-rank or above to apply. And this job… is quite monotonous.”
“To be frank, news of your tutoring outside has already spread to the town’s elementary magic academy. The academy has privately communicated with the association—if you are willing to take a teaching position, they are prepared to hire you with the salary standard of a C-rank witch. That would be far more worthwhile than the position you’ve chosen.”
“It’s fine, I’ve already considered everything.” Lina pushed the form forward.
At this moment, however, the receptionist had no idea that Lina was already overjoyed inside.
The Containment Management Division—in the game, it had another nickname: an experience dungeon!
Although Embers had no officially defined experience dungeons, this place was undoubtedly the best spot in the early game to grind experience quickly!
When the time came, she could bring Annie here to farm levels, and around level 30, they could attempt the C-rank witch certification!
“Alright…” The receptionist accepted Lina’s application form and handed over a note. “Please write your address here. The application result will be delivered within seven working days. Be sure to bring the confirmation letter to any association office within seven days of receiving it to sign the employment contract.”
After leaving her address, Lina did not leave the association right away, but instead went to another counter.
“Hello, I’d like to take on a commission.” Lina sat on the high stool in front of the counter, quietly slipping two tea bags from the table into her storage ring. “E-rank to D-rank is fine—preferably something with higher pay.”
“Please wait a moment,” the receptionist at this counter, just like the previous one, took out a metal plate. After interacting with it, she retrieved a paper list from beneath the counter and handed it to Lina. “The difficulty levels and rewards of the commissions are all listed here. If any interest you, you may ask me for further details.”
“Mm… let me see… lost cat from a household, reward one Silver Lion; a family member suspected to be cursed into an unending sleep, reward one Gold Dragon; investigating evidence of a husband’s infidelity, reward two Gold Dragons; five workers missing from a magical textile factory, twenty Gold Dragons upon finding them… wait, what is this?!”
Lina’s pupils suddenly contracted, her gaze locking firmly onto a commission labeled with “unknown danger level.”
“Haunted residence, cause unknown. Reward: one hundred Gold Dragons.”
“I’m interested in this commission,” Lina pointed at the list. “Please tell me more about it!”
“This commission was registered by Ms. Euphemia fifteen days ago. Due to the high reward, more than one witch has already accepted it, but so far, no one has been able to complete it.”
Lina silently thought to herself: the danger level of this commission.
The feedback from her spiritual intuition flooded into her mind in an instant.
There was some danger—but it was not fatal.
“I’ll take this commission,” Lina said to the receptionist.
“Very well, next I will explain in detail the contents of the commission you are about to accept…”
---
After accepting the commission, Lina did not head to the location immediately. Instead, she brought Annie to the magic item shop operated by the town’s Witches’ Association.
It was a three-story stone building, with two walking machines stationed at the entrance, each equipped with magical machine guns.
Unlike the models inside the association’s secret realm earlier, the sides of their arms were also fitted with retractable chainsaws. The double-layered hooked saw teeth interlocked and moved in sync with the transmission gears below.
At the top of the shop hung a sign reading “Arcane Heart Chain Store,” and below it were the certification emblems of the Wizards’ Association and the Witches’ Association, along with the trademark of the “Arcana Group Company.”
Lina raised an eyebrow, not expecting the Arcana Group Company to have opened a branch even in such a border town.
The Arcana Group Company had originally been the largest magic item merchant in Celestis—the Cavendish family. After the magical industrial revolution began, they had transformed into a multinational corporation.
Beyond their original business of selling and recycling magical items, they had expanded into fields including magical devices, magic-powered factories, and financial credit, already becoming one of the largest multinational corporations in the world.
In her previous life, Lina had also bought quite a few items from this company’s stores. Although the prices were slightly higher than other shops, the quality was absolutely guaranteed.
Just as Lina was about to enter the main door, four familiar figures pushed it open and walked out.
“Sibyl, you’re here to buy things too?” Lina waved at the blonde girl leading the group, then greeted the three companions behind her one by one. “Amy, Shirley, Kailin, good afternoon~” Annie also waved along.
“Good afternoon, Lina, Annie.” Sibyl, with heavy dark circles under her eyes, returned a tired smile. “I’m going to the textile factory with them tomorrow, so I came to pick up some supplies today—things like emergency teleportation crystals and recovery potions.”
“Textile factory?” Lina blinked. “Did something happen?”
“We’re investigating a disappearance case,” Sibyl replied.
“If you need help later, call me,” Lina waved at them. “Go ahead with your business—if you need anything, just ask.”
Sibyl quickly left with her three companions. Lina rubbed her chin, watching Sibyl’s departing figure, and muttered thoughtfully, “Why does it feel like that young lady hasn’t been in great shape mentally lately?”
“It’s probably because Lina-sis makes us come to your room every night…” Annie glanced at Lina. “Sister Sibyl isn’t very good at that kind of thing…”
“If she’s not good at it, then she just needs more practice,” Lina shook her head regretfully. “You’re all about to become adults—things adults should know, you all have to learn. Otherwise, how will you manage in society later?”
After parting with Sibyl and her group, Lina and Annie successfully entered the magic item shop.
Lina pushed open the heavy door, and the brass bell on the lintel let out a string of crisp chimes. A scent blending sweet herbs, aged paper, and machine oil rushed toward them.
The interior space was far wider than the exterior suggested. Magic lamps embedded in brass fixtures along the walls cast a soft glow, blending gently with the curling blue incense smoke rising below, giving the place a dreamy and mysterious atmosphere.
The faint clicking of gears and the low hum of alchemical furnaces instead made the shop feel even quieter.
On the right side, several tall glass display counters were arranged in a curved formation, showcasing intricately structured magic pocket watches, crystal-inlaid bracers, and softly pulsing crystal cubes. On nearby racks hung dozens of staffs of varying materials and designs.
Shelves against the walls were filled with all kinds of crystal bottles and glass jars, their labels reading “Recovery Potion” or “Mana Amplification Elixir.”
Display cases embedded beneath the checkout counter in the most prominent position exhibited storage rings, magic imprinting paper, and teleportation crystals.
On the left side of the shop, the counter labeled “Item/Material Recycling” was shrouded in a faint layer of mist—this kind of cognitive interference barrier effectively protected customers’ privacy.
Behind the main counter on the right, a witch with long pale-purple hair, dressed in a blue gown and wearing a veil, leaned lazily against the back of her chair. She held a jade smoking pipe in one hand, a faint smile resting at the corner of her lips. Her gaze lingered briefly on Lina as she entered, and she calmly exhaled a wisp of smoke.
“Oh? A little cutie I haven’t seen before~ Do you need any help?” The purple-haired witch gently set down her pipe. When her eyes fell on the timid Annie behind Lina, her pupils trembled almost imperceptibly—yet Lina did not notice this detail, her attention still wandering across the display of staffs.
“Mm, I need to recycle a batch of magical items and materials,” Lina nodded. “After that, I might need to buy some magic items.”
“Let me confirm in advance—do you have any high-value items exceeding one hundred Gold Dragons for recycling?” The purple-haired witch straightened slightly. Lina felt that the lazy aura around her seemed to vanish in an instant—she even seemed a bit tense?
“No, no,” Lina shook her head. “Just some small things.”
“Is this your first time recycling items? Would you like my assistance?”
“It’s fine, I’ll handle it myself.”
Under the guidance of the purple-haired witch, Lina quickly entered the cognitive interference barrier at the recycling counter.
Directly in front of the recycling counter was a small adjustable platform. An opaque partition separated the front and back, preventing both the clerk and the customer from seeing each other’s appearance.
On the side of the counter was a clearly posted price list for common item recycling, while a neat stack of forms and a pen were placed beside the adjustable platform.
A voice, altered by special magic, came from behind the counter: “Hello, this is the Arcane Heart Comprehensive Recycling Service. How may I assist you?”