Evolution:The Bloodthirsty Saga of the Magic Engineer-Chapter 43: Tour

After five long hours of work, I heard the characteristic sound of Charlotte’s clock.

"Ding~~ Ding~~ Ding~~"

I clenched my fists as the alarm rang, letting out a mental sigh of relief. "Finally, I’ll get out of this horrible place," I thought, while my arms still felt heavy from the monotonous repetition of striking the stone.

I looked at the wall where I had been mining with an almost mechanical determination. A shiny, irregular crystal was partially loosened, almost as if it were begging to be taken. I turned the tool one last time, carefully extracting it, and placed it in the bag along with the pickaxe.

As I turned around, I saw Charlotte fiddling with the clock, deactivating the alarm with a tired motion.

She leaned against the cave wall and took a deep breath, clearly exhausted. It wasn’t from the physical effort of mining but from the light spell she had sustained for five consecutive hours. The glow of the magical orb still hovered faintly above her head, almost as if it too were weary.

I couldn’t help but smile as I observed her pitiful state. "I’ll still leave your pussy burning with my blows and you’ll get tired too," I thought, but kept the comment to myself. It was then that I noticed something curious: neither my white clothes nor hers were dirty, despite all the dust and dirt in the room.

"These uniforms have basic cleaning enchantments," I concluded, analyzing the detail. "But the miners I saw earlier wore the same uniforms, and many of them were filthy. This can only mean that these enchantments don’t last forever. They wear out over time until the uniform becomes just a regular, useless piece of fabric."

Charlotte wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and, after a few seconds, straightened up. Her voice was firm despite the exhaustion: "Let’s go. We need to get out of this place."

"It’s about time," I replied pragmatically, adjusting the strap of my bag and walking behind her.

We climbed the stone staircase with steady steps, the damp and silent surroundings adding to the heavy atmosphere. When we reached the cave leading to the wooden planks suspended over the ravine’s abyss, a chill ran down my spine.

I glanced to the side, and my breath caught in my throat for a moment. A large natural stone spike, sharp as a spear, jutted out from the bottom of the abyss. Impaled at the top of the spike was the body of a young man.

His chest had been brutally pierced, and dried blood stained the stone with a dark, grotesque hue. The body was rigid, his face frozen in a contorted expression of pain he no longer felt. Flies buzzed around, hovering over the remains like macabre sentinels.

My mind swirled with questions as I looked up at the top of the ravine, where he had likely fallen from. Up there, a rope hung near a nearly extinguished torch.

"Lab, enhance my vision and zoom in."

["Beep!"]

["Zoom 20x"]

My vision adjusted instantly, focusing on the details. As I suspected, the rope that should have been supporting the young man had been cut — and cleanly. The cut was so precise that only something extremely sharp, like a blade or high-quality tool, could have made it.

I shook my head, accepting the situation. "It was certainly some intrigue among miners," I thought. This ravine wasn’t only dangerous because of its natural conditions; the human environment made it even worse.

Charlotte, on the other hand, completely ignored the body. She didn’t even glance in its direction, maintaining her steady pace as she walked across the planks. For her, that kind of scene seemed as commonplace as the work we had just done.

Once we reached the central area of the ravine, we headed straight to the ghost to sign the scroll again. It floated there with the same weary air, handing us the pen and observing us as though our very existence was a burden to it. After formalizing our departure, we headed to the elevator.

As the cabin ascended, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. The clean, well-lit environment of the tower was a stark contrast to the dirt and chaos of the ravine. Charlotte seemed relieved too, though she didn’t show it as openly as I did.

When we arrived at the engineering lab, we stored the tools in their designated spots. Then we handed over the minerals we’d collected to Miguel, who was still working on the automaton. He handled the crystals with near-surgical precision, bringing them close to his face to analyze them through the steampunk glasses perched on his nose.

After examining a larger crystal with particular interest, he finally spoke:

"Alright, you’re free to go. But before you do whatever you want, Charlotte, take Tyler and show him all the areas of the tower."

Miguel didn’t even wait for a response. He set the crystal down and turned his attention back to the automaton he was building, muttering something about the synchronization of its mechanical movements.

Charlotte sighed, casting a bored glance at me.

"You’re lucky to have this lovely senior to guide you around the academy. Back in my day, I got lost several times before Mateo decided to show me around the tower."

Taking the opportunity, I smirked.

"Oh, who could resist such a beautiful senior like you? I’m sure Mateo showed you the entire tower for very obvious reasons."

She stopped in the middle of the corridor and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha~~! You’re funny, I’ll give you that."

With a mischievous smile, Charlotte stepped closer and ruffled my blonde hair with her delicate fingers. Her touch had a playful edge, but I didn’t let myself get drawn into her teasing.

"You could make a decent comedian, junior."

With each step, Charlotte pointed out directions and explained what each area represented. As we walked, I decided to continue the banter.

"I wasn’t lying when I said you’re beautiful."

She glanced over her shoulder at me, her eyes shining with a mix of amusement and weariness.

"Don’t waste your time, junior. Your senior isn’t interested in ordinary men."

She kept walking, but her voice carried that tone of superiority that occasionally annoyed me.

"You’ve got a good physique; it’s clear you were a warrior before. But here in the tower, what matters is magic and talent. If you’re not exceptional at something, you’ll never have a chance with me—not even for a casual moment."

"What a bold woman," I thought, suppressing a sigh. "She’s not even ashamed to admit she has a price."

I let out an audible sigh but remained silent. Charlotte didn’t seem to notice or care.

She stopped beside a large passage and pointed toward an isolated area of the tower.

"This is the faculty residence. Acolytes usually aren’t allowed here. If you’re summoned, you’d better be prepared."

I made a mental note to mark that location in my virtual lab, though I had already flagged this area in red before. We kept walking, and soon Charlotte pointed to a bustling space filled with people in similar attire.

"This is the trading post. Here, acolytes can trade, buy, and sell items. And just over there is the mission area."

She pointed to a series of floating scrolls that hovered in the air, illuminated by small magical glows. "The missions and their different levels are described in these scrolls. Acolytes can complete them to earn magical crystals, rare books, or other valuable items. This is where a lot of people earn their daily bread."

We arrived at another area that Charlotte deemed "essential." She stopped in front of a massive mural filled with floating scrolls and blackboards where notifications were magically pinned.

"The academic area usually posts the schedule for the next day’s classes here. There are many free and public classes to choose from. As a rookie, you can’t miss these."

I observed the mural with suspicion, my eyes scanning descriptions of basic topics such as "Introduction to Magical Literacy" and "Fundamentals of Enchantments."

"I assume these public classes are low level or of poor quality," I asked, crossing my arms.

Charlotte laughed, giving a small nod. "That’s right! But they’re still useful for beginners. Of course, there are also the classes that charge fees. Advanced topics usually cost 1 magical crystal for 10 lessons. They’re much better than the public ones, but still inferior to the knowledge we receive directly from our mentors."

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

Her words carried a tone of exaggerated pride. Of course, she was trying to assert her superior position as a senior. But that wasn’t what intrigued me at the moment. I kept following Charlotte as she led me through the corridors.

We approached a more secluded area. It looked like a restroom, but something was clearly wrong. The walls were covered in strange drawings, almost like graffiti. People were coming in and out, many of them with an unusual gleam in their eyes, while some had traces of colored powders on their noses or were carrying mushrooms that looked peculiar.

"Wait... this can’t be what I’m thinking, right?"

....

1954 Words