"Then, Miss Jia Na, it's been a pleasure working with you."
Putting away the successfully signed contract, Crane-Roland's expression also relaxed. He stood up and solemnly extended his hand to Jia Na.
Seeing this, Jia Na also stood up and solemnly shook Crane-Roland's hand.
"It's been a pleasure working with you!"
Ding—
The heavy weight in her heart finally lifted. Just as Jia Na was about to sit down, the system's ding for completing a daily task suddenly sounded in Jia Na's mind.
"This is the exclusive withdrawal card the Nightingale Opera Troupe processed at the Bauhinia Bank. It contains a prepayment of three hundred jin sule. The monthly salary will be deposited into the card before the twentieth of each month, and the profit sharing will be completed on the last working day of the year."
Her eyes lit up. Looking at the silver card with a bright surface and a bauhinia pattern handed over by Crane-Roland, Jia Na's attention immediately shifted from the task system to the three hundred jin sule.
"The efficiency of the Nightingale Opera Troupe truly doesn't disappoint."
The contract did not include clauses about prepayments. Jia Na, who had originally thought she would only receive her first salary next month, felt not only surprised but also a surge of goodwill towards the Nightingale Opera Troupe when she received the Wizard withdrawal card.
"Haha, a normal partner wouldn't pay a prepayment in advance... This was David's idea too."
Hearing this, Jia Na looked gratefully towards David-Berg beside her.
"After all, we all came from the apprentice stage. The expenses at this time are not low. Getting the money earlier also saves the time spent on doing tasks."
With a standard academy wizard robe without enchanting patterns, empty equipment lacking even a magic wand, and the common surname "Roland" which clearly indicates a commoner apprentice, even though Jia Na possessed outstanding appearance and a composed demeanor, she still couldn't hide the aura of poverty emanating from her.
"Thank you so much this time, Senior David."
"We're in the same club; helping each other is only right... And you can just call me David from now on."
"No problem, then..."
Putting away her usual social smile, Jia Na, who was genuinely grateful to David-Berg for connecting them, extended her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, David. You can just call me Jia Na from now on."
Looking at Jia Na's sincere expression, David also openly shook her hand.
"It's also a pleasure for me. I hope for a smooth collaboration in the future."
Seeing that everything was settled, Crane-Roland chatted with Jia Na for a while longer before he and David-Berg left early due to matters at the theater.
"Task panel."
【Today's Task: Participate in the Nightingale Opera Troupe's audition and obtain the signing qualification for a core role (Completed);
Task Reward: Talent Experience 500 points, Skill Experience 1500 points, Constitution +0.6, Obtain the character talent "Delayed Aging".】
"The attribute points rewarded this time are quite good."
As a Summoning System apprentice who had little physical training and was not as keen on body modification as Bloodline Wizards, Jia Na's physical fitness was not outstanding among Wizard Apprentices of the same age.
The increase in the Constitution attribute this time somewhat made up for Jia Na's deficiency in this area and also allowed her to face the complex work in subsequent high-intensity experiments with a healthier physique.
"Open the character panel and add all the talent experience to the 【Soul Projection】 talent."
【Name: Jia Na-Luo Lan
Profession: First-Level Wizard Apprentice
Professional Level: Level 9
Wizard Talents: Soul Projection (B-grade - Upgrade progress 85%), Plant Affinity (B-grade - Upgrade progress 5%)
Wizard Skills: ...
Wizard Tricks: ...
Constitution: 6.1 (+0.6)
Spirit: 17.7
Strength: 5.3
Agility: 5.8
Perception: 6.7
Charm: 9.9
Comprehension: 10.7
Luck: 7.5】
Looking at the 【Soul Projection】 talent which had reached 85% progress, Jia Na estimated that in just over a month, she would have accumulated enough experience to increase the upgrade progress to 100%.
"This time, in addition to a significant increase in Constitution, my Spirit also increased by 0.3 points due to meditation during this recent period."
Since Jia Na woke up from her dream because of the "Seed", her meditation speed suddenly increased. Not only that, but because she had glimpsed the "God War" in her dream last time, her Sea of Spirit had been in a state of turmoil for those few days.
After her Sea of Spirit returned to calmness, she found that her Spirit had actually increased by 0.2 points, and then increased by another 0.1 points through meditation.
This rate of increase was significantly more noticeable than the increase brought about by Jia Na's long-term meditation in the past. It was even close to the boost brought by the system rewards.
Thinking of this, Jia Na's gaze couldn't help but look at the second reward in the task description column.
"Delayed Aging... This reward is also quite good. A slower rate of physical function decline means I can maintain a state of abundant energy for a longer time within my limited lifespan..."
Although First-Level Wizard Apprentices have entered the extraordinary realm compared to ordinary mortals and have mastered powerful magical abilities, in terms of Life level, First-Level Apprentices have not broken through the shackles and achieved the true evolution of Life.
Only after advancing to Second-Level Apprentices do their bodies and souls begin to be sublimated. Abundant vitality allows Second-Level Apprentices to reach the limit of a mortal's lifespan.
Only starting from Third-Level Apprentices are they truly qualified to shed their mortal bodies and enter the definition range of extraordinary Life, with their lifespan also breaking through the mortal limit of a hundred years to around one hundred and fifty years.
But during this process, even if the lifespan is extended, the decline of functions never stops.
The aging of the body and soul will greatly reduce a Wizard Apprentice's concentration and creativity. After this, the path for an apprentice to become a Wizard will be cut off by aging, gradually falling into silence.
It is precisely because of this that the 【Delayed Aging】 talent Jia Na obtained by completing the blue task this time appears even more precious. It also gives her more room for trial and error on the path of a Wizard than others...
...
"Tick-tock—tick-tock—"
After checking the task rewards, Jia Na closed the system interface and looked up at the ticking clock on the wall.
"It's getting late, it's time to go back."
At this time, only Jia Na was left in the spacious private room. Without lingering any longer, she gently pushed open the door of the private room, Jia Na quickly descended the wooden stairs alone, passed through the slightly noisy first-floor hall, and flowed into the lively alley through the glass revolving door.
"Hmm? So this is the Bauhinia Bank?"
Just after turning from the alley where Cui Yu's String was located, a Wizard bank with a bauhinia pattern appeared at the intersection.
"Just right, I can withdraw the money..."
