Wizard: Start with Biological Transformation to Grind Experience
Chapter 201 - 015: May I have the honor of dancing that dance with you?

Chapter 201: 015: May I have the honor of dancing that dance with you?

Susan remembered the first time she heard the name Lynch Valen. It was over a decade ago, when everyone was talking about a lucky boy.

Originally a peasant, he was lucky enough to be identified as having wizard talent, even luckier to take down a Black Wizard Apprentice during an evaluation, and luckiest of all to be granted the Warrior Feather by the Judge...

In short, it was as if he was favored by the goddess of luck herself, a person whose lifetime of good fortune seemed to have converged all at once.

Susan’s initial impression of him matched the rumors perfectly: earnest and humble, viewing the world through a pure and simple logic, naively believing that effort would lead to reward, that hard work could change everything.

"With my effort!"

Susan could still vividly recall his stubborn declaration in the banquet hall. At the time, it sounded so childish and laughable—nobody believed in him, and nobody cared.

And yet, that one childish declaration turned out to be true.

The next time she heard his name was three years later: the powerful and mysterious Shadow Sword was that lucky boy!

Susan initially thought the rumor must be a mistake.

That was until the day at the arena during a competitive match when she witnessed, with her own eyes, how he toyed with the reigning champion and defeated them effortlessly.

Even more incredible was what followed—the Tower’s Raven arrived with an official document in its beak and publicly announced his promotion to Netta Apprentice status, a title coveted by every Netta Apprentice but now handed to him so easily.

At that moment, she had to admit, the once-overlooked peasant truly was different.

Moreover,

he had already ascended to a platform higher than all of them.

The legend wasn’t over.

Ten years!

For wizards who possess long lives, ten years is but the blink of an eye, a span of time that hardly seems significant. During this time, she had only taken a small step forward, advancing to the rank of Mid-level Apprentice, something she had once been proud of.

However,

the apprentice whom nobody had cared about in the past was now clad in the cloak of a High-level Apprentice. She had seen his formidable strength firsthand over these days; even High-level Apprentice-level monsters could be easily defeated by him.

Looking back to the past, everyone in the banquet hall had mocked and ridiculed him, scoffing at his bold declaration, dismissing it as childish behavior akin to playing house.

At one point, she too had joined the lively discussions alongside everyone else.

Like the others, her belief was that in this world what determined one’s future was connections and resources. A wizard’s mentorship could equal years of effort; a rare magic potion could surpass years of cultivation.

Effort, in this world, was the least worthwhile thing—a fool’s gold reserved exclusively for those naive enough to believe in it!

However,

after more than a decade, those of them who held firm to their supposed truths... some had sold their bodies as playthings to Purebloods, others had humbled themselves everywhere to seek patronage—everyone was scrambling for fleeting opportunities amidst their uncertain destinies.

And the fool from back then... had already grown to a level they could only look up to...

Over the years, she had considered clinging to Wizard Families, thought about selling her body like others, pondered sneaking into certain circles to build connections—all in pursuit of a shot at success—but never, not even once, had she considered focusing earnestly on cultivation.

She had cursed the unfairness of the world, resented the Purebloods for monopolizing resources, and lamented the lack of opportunities life had given her.

Yet, she had never thought about picking up a few books to study seriously, learn a few spells, or acquire some useful knowledge.

Never thought about cultivating...

"Just train and train, and over time your power will grow."

Hearing these words again now, Susan could only find them piercingly sharp to the ear.

...

The following days, Lynch and Susan spent together, sweeping through areas marked with Blood Crystal symbols while steadily approaching the safety zone.

After several days of clearing areas, they finally reached the safety zone.

"Alright, I’ll leave you here."

At the boundary of the safe zone, Lynch stopped walking.

Susan nodded her head. "Thank you, Apprentice Lynch."

Lynch shook his head. "Don’t mention it. Besides, you’ve helped me quite a bit these days. If anything, I should be thanking you."

Over the past few days, Susan had indeed contributed; logically, the Blood Crystals they collected should have been divided with her.

However, Blood Crystals couldn’t be brought into the safety zone, rendering them useless.

Susan smiled faintly and said, "If you say that, then I’m truly happy."

Lynch laughed and added in jest, "If you’re looking for flattery, I have plenty more where that came from."

"Haha!"

Susan laughed. "Is that so? What a shame—I should’ve gotten to know you sooner. Speaking of which, we still have one dance left to finish. If there’s another banquet, would I have the honor of inviting you to complete that unfinished dance?"

The first dance at the welcome banquet had been Susan’s invitation to Lynch but was interrupted later due to Alfred’s antics.

Lynch replied, "There’ll be opportunities once we return to the Tower."

"Return to the Tower..."

Susan sighed lightly in her heart. For someone like her, an apprentice unable to control her own fate, how could she possibly have more opportunities?

She glanced at the path behind Lynch, then asked, "Where are you heading next? Are you planning to join the other Order Camp apprentices at the castle?"

In the Blood-colored Battlefield, there was a castle that was easy to defend and hard to breach, making it ideal for setting up protective measures and serving as a headquarters.

Prior to entering the Blood-colored Battlefield, Avery and a group of Order Camp apprentices had already agreed to head there first, secure the castle, and then formulate a strategic plan for progress.

Lynch pondered for a moment. "Hmm... I’ll decide later. For now, I plan to wander around on my own a bit more."

If he went to White Castle, his Blood Crystals would be subjected to unified distribution and management, with allocations based on contributions afterward—it would be no different from working for others.

Susan frowned. "Given the current turmoil outside, with Chaos Camp apprentices everywhere, being alone is always risky. Especially as your Blood Crystal count increases, more people will target you. It would be safer to join up with the group at the castle."

Over the past few days, they had already encountered several groups attempting to ambush them and steal their Blood Crystals.

Lynch nodded. "I’ll consider it."

After pausing for a moment, he glanced up at the distant sky and said, "Time’s getting late. Let’s part ways here."

Susan nodded. "Good luck. I’ll be waiting to hear your good news. Keeping order depends on you."

Lynch rejected the moral burden. "It’s better to keep control of one’s fate in one’s own hands."

Susan paused for a moment.

Lynch turned and walked into the distance.

Susan continued on her path toward the safety zone.

She was just meters away from the safe zone now, yet her steps grew slower and slower.

"It’s better to keep control of one’s fate in one’s own hands."

Inexplicably, Lynch’s words echoed in her ears once again.

Should she continue forward?

Accept a mundane fate, live passively and naturally.

Or...

Perhaps it was the scars that had healed to the point of forgetfulness. Or maybe the accumulation of the past few days had given her a new level of combat readiness. Or perhaps there were other reasons pushing her to fight, inspiring her to persevere...

Ultimately, after a fierce internal struggle, Susan stopped just short of the safety zone.

She gritted her teeth and turned toward the direction of the castle...