Later in the evening, Charlie received his official student identity badge of the Arcane Circle, a metal badge that served as his unique identifier on campus.
However, Charlie was not happy about this. To be honest, for a newly established mentor-apprentice relationship, the mentor-student relationship should be in a honeymoon period and very harmonious.
However, the actual situation was not so. From the very first day of contact, Charlie had a thorn in his heart - there was something wrong with this mentor!
Anthony's behavior gave the impression that he did not want to train some apprentices, but to find a few helpers to do his work. Charlie didn't know if Eileen and Jerry were aware of this, but at least he had this feeling.
Soon, this feeling was confirmed. Charlie received his first apprentice task: to handle the excrement of corrupted bats, with Eileen as the guide, as she had done it once and had some experience.
The amount was really not small, a total of three large bags, totaling 17 kilograms, piled on a black table, emitting a nauseating sour stench. This type of omnivorous bat's excrement contained all kinds of things, and the odor was very complex.
For ordinary people, perhaps it was not a big deal, one kind of stench or dozens of stenches made no difference. But for Charlie, it was a torment that was hard to describe, this kind of stench with multiple levels constantly tormented his sense of smell.
"Ugh!" Charlie's stomach churned violently, and he suddenly bent over and vomited all over the floor.
Charlie's tolerance was quite amazing. His sense of smell was a hundred times more sensitive than ordinary people, and the same thing had a much greater impact on him. In Professor Ron's botanical garden, his tolerance had been tested, and even the bloody Arum didn't defeat him, but he was defeated in the face of these small things.
Eileen quickly said, "Charlie, are you alright?"
Jerry suppressed his laughter and said sternly, "Hey! Don't mess around! Be professional! This is the apprentice lab, and you're making such a mess, it makes me very uncomfortable! Can't you even stand this little bit of stench?!"
Charlie wiped the filth from the corner of his mouth, spat out some turbid air, and didn't even bother to respond to Jerry. He said to Eileen, "I'm fine, there won't be a next time."
After that embarrassing experience, the chip made some adjustments, allowing his body to adapt to this kind of odor.
Jerry saw that he was ignored, frowning, very unhappy, but didn't react on the spot because of Charlie's older age.
Eileen whispered, "This amount is about two days' work for me. The teacher probably won't require you to finish this excrement in two days, after all, you're a newcomer. With my tasks pressed, it will probably take me another day and a half. I'll help you then."
Charlie nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Sister Eileen. Could you please demonstrate the operation steps for me?"
Eileen's cheeks blushed slightly, she nodded slightly, perhaps not used to being the center of attention. Tiny beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose, but her hands and feet were not affected. Eileen skillfully scooped up a small amount of bat droppings and poured it into a beaker, beginning to slowly explain the entire extraction process...
The corrupted bat droppings near Grayback Mountain contained fragments of green magical energy crystals, these crystals were very precious, with wide applications in forging, enchanting, jewelry and rune scrolls. Whether for self-use or for sale, they were in high demand, and the purpose of the extraction was to extract these crystals from the massive bat droppings.
The method Eileen used was the standard Hainess method, a process summarized from the experience of an Arcane Circle apprentice, which was basically the simplest and most cost-effective method, and had been continued for many years.
Charlie followed the example and did it once. He shook the beaker, and a layer of clear liquid below, a few extremely tiny, irregular small green particles were swaying in the water.
"Is this right?" Charlie asked.
Eileen praised, "Charlie, your memory is really good, you picked it up quickly, and your operation is also very precise and standardized. The teacher will be very pleased."
Jerry coldly said, "It's just dealing with the excrement of corrupted bats, there's no technical content at all. What's there to be happy about?"
Eileen stuck out her tongue.
Charlie did not respond, he started operating while calculating in his mind.
"Analyze the extraction method, find optimization solutions." Charlie gave the chip an analysis instruction, and the chip immediately started working, projecting a series of analysis processes in his mind:
Scan the lab equipmentPlease enter the manure composition dataData collection completeAll extraction steps have been loaded, analysis begins...
While his brain was rapidly turning, Charlie's hands and feet did not stop either. Under the control of the chip, every action was like a programmed procedure, precise and efficient, without any superfluous movements. And as he said, he was no longer sensitive to the stench.
Jerry watched Charlie's movements and couldn't help but stop, with a startled look on his face. Even an outsider like him could see that someone who could repeatedly do it so precisely was terrifying.
Time flew by, and the green crystal particles settled in the beaker became more and more. Finally, Charlie stopped, having completed about half a day's work.
At the same time, the chip also analyzed several feasible optimization schemes. If the new scheme could be implemented, the workload would be reduced by 60% and the time would be correspondingly shortened, and the efficiency would be greatly improved.
53%, the chip quickly gave the calculation result.
"I'll go out for a bit." Charlie suddenly stood up and said casually.
"Huh?" Eileen was stunned by Charlie's audacious idea.
"Where are you going?" Jerry couldn't help but ask.
"I suddenly thought of a way to improve the extraction process, and I may need to buy some things. I'll go out and have a look."
A touch of jealousy flashed across Jerry's face. If Charlie wasn't lying, he must have gained the favor of the teacher, because a practical and feasible optimization scheme could not only improve his own work efficiency, but could also be reported to the academy in exchange for points, which were especially important for junior apprentices.
Making a simple comparison, Jerry had worked hard for more than a week under Anthony, but had only earned three points. Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel restless.
"Dare you?! The teacher didn't say we're allowed to go out, you'd better behave yourself! Don't always try to do something to attract the teacher's attention!" Jerry looked very serious and righteous.
Perhaps Jerry could scare Eileen, but he couldn't scare Charlie, this man with the "middle-aged man's soul". In his eyes, this warning was so weak.
Charlie smiled and said, "The teacher didn't give you the right to supervise either. Talk less, work more, and do your own job."
"Well, do you know the way back? If you get lost on the way, you might delay the teacher's task."
"No problem, I know the way." Without caring about the other two apprentices' mentality and thoughts, Charlie pushed the door and left.
In fact, the purchase was just an excuse. The optimization schemes analyzed by the chip were based on the equipment of the laboratory, and did not require any additional purchases. Charlie's real purpose was to go and take a look at the points market, trying to convert the points he currently had into real combat power, which was the top priority.
Following the fragmented map of the underground city in his mind, Charlie walked to the central area. In his memory, this area was the most bustling, and even if it was not the points exchange market, it would not be far away.
Sure enough, Charlie found the mark of the points exchange market. This time slot was not crowded, so he went straight to the service window of the points market.
"Please show your badge." Behind the glass window was a young face, and Charlie guessed he was probably also a student apprentice at the academy, but he didn't know what qualifications were required to become an operator of the points system.
Charlie handed over his apprentice badge.
"What business do you want to handle?" Seeing the quality of this badge, the operator couldn't help but reveal a contemptuous look.
Charlie handed over his black points card.
Seeing the number 300, the operator's expression suddenly changed, and then he showed a regretful expression, looking at Charlie with a rather complex gaze. "You have a good background! It's just a waste to use this method to exchange points!"
"What do you mean?" Charlie asked.
"The academy has always adopted a suppressive attitude towards transactions between students. The high points exchange tax is one of the most obvious control measures. To exchange a 300-point card like this, the exchanger probably has to pay 600 points, of which 300 points will be wasted. Isn't that just a waste?" The operator's expression was full of pain and pity, and he looked at Charlie with the eyes of seeing a spendthrift: "If you see the points exchange list, you'll understand my feelings now."
Charlie casually asked, "Besides this plan, are there no other ways?"
"Of course there are! Apprentices can also gain points in another way, that is, through the donation of rare resources. The academy's pricing for rare resources is quite reasonable, and the points given are also quite generous. By using this method, you can avoid the transaction tax. Of course, the procedure is a little more troublesome, and the time cycle is also a little longer."
And Charlie also felt that the operator was hesitant to say more, guessing that besides this method, there might be some other channels to achieve a similar purpose, but since they didn't have much relationship, he naturally wouldn't reveal so much information.
Hearing the operator's explanation, Charlie vaguely glimpsed into Xiaoshuai's inner heart. Setting aside his arrogant and straightforward attitude on that day, everything he did was for his own benefit. He couldn't get angry with him because of his rudeness, maybe his attitude was just a performance.
After a moment, Charlie said, "Please help me exchange this card, I want to consume it now."
"Okay, just a moment." The operator quickly used alchemy equipment and magical techniques to transfer the points amount into Charlie's apprentice badge.
After finishing this, the operator handed the apprentice badge and a self-made business card to Charlie: "Junior, I am Barlov, a second-year student and one of the temporary business clerks of the points system. Currently I am a second-level star mage.
If you have any needs for points exchange or points transactions, you can find me at any time. Of course, if you have any questions about the academy or the courses, you can also find me. The first piece of information is free, the others depend on the situation, and you'll be satisfied."
Hearing his fluent advertising language, Charlie detected several channels to earn points.
"Okay, could you please show me the points exchange list, senior?"