blueteamnovel Chapter 6 The Sands of Time: Elemental Resonance
Chapter 6 The Sands of Time: Elemental Resonance
After explaining the precautions, Morris hurriedly left the recycling room.
Before leaving, he said, "Today, let's get rid of the residue from the previous batch that's been piling up in the recycling bins. I'll record your work hours in the register."
The door closed, and the recycling room was once again enveloped in the dim light of the fluorite.
Suen stood in front of the potion recycling jar and, following the instructions in the manual, placed her hands on the mental energy sensing matrix on the side of the jar.
A faint suction force came from the palm.
Inside the canister, the rune matrix lit up in sequence, and the filter began to rotate slowly, emitting a fine humming sound.
"We need to wait fifteen minutes until all the runes have extinguished before we can move the residue."
Suen withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on the observation window. Inside the jar, a murky, grayish-green liquid was seeping through layers of filters, the rune matrix above each filter shimmering with different colors of light.
"Only people like us get assigned to the recycling room."
A bitter laugh came from behind.
Suen turned her head. The one who spoke was the short freshman, who was leaning against the conveyor belt with his arms crossed and a self-deprecating expression on his face.
"My name is Deitz, from Lopestan. My family spent most of their fortune to send me to this border region, and what's the result?" He kicked an empty barrel on the ground, the metal making a hollow echo. "Fourth-class qualification, scrap metal recycling room."
Suen was silent for a moment.
Another freshman who hadn't spoken much spoke up: "Rakum, a Luskaya, whose ancestors were blacksmiths. Like you, he's a mid-level fourth-rank."
He looked at Su En, his tone calm, but he couldn't hide the resentment in his eyes.
"Back in my hometown, the mayor said I had a talent for witchcraft, and the whole village chipped in to send me on my way. I thought I was the chosen one."
As Rackham finished speaking, he suddenly chuckled, but the laugh was dry and hoarse.
"It wasn't until we reached the border that we realized that fourth-class aptitude was barely enough."
Suen withdrew her hand from the recycling can and turned to look at the two of them.
He suddenly felt a little dazed.
He recognized the expressions on those two people's faces.
In his previous life, Hans had the same expression on his face when he learned that he had not been chosen.
"Did you also apply for freshman loans?" Suen asked.
Detz nodded, then pulled a thumb-sized empty bottle from his pocket, with a faint green residue of ointment still on the bottom: "For people like us with poor qualifications, it's already a miracle if we can even get a freshman loan."
"It was processed three days ago, otherwise I wouldn't be able to report for duty," Rackham said in a somber tone. "The interest on overdue wages is terrifying."
Suen did not respond.
He understood the design logic of this mechanism better than the other two.
Wizard Tower doesn't need waste, but waste can be turned into resources.
Apprentices who are behind on their work hours will be forced to be assigned to high-risk positions, serve as volunteers as experimental materials, or be sent to Moonlight Garden as culture medium.
Because the rules of wizards are based on equivalent exchange.
"So we only have one path."
Su En spoke, her gaze sweeping over the two of them.
"Complete tasks on time and do not fall behind on deadlines."
Deitz and Rackham exchanged a glance and nodded silently.
Just then, the potion recycling jar emitted a low hum.
The rune matrix inside the observation window extinguished one by one, and the bottommost discharge port slowly opened.
"Processing complete."
Suen stepped forward and followed the instructions.
Mental energy was injected into the control matrix, and a layer of dark brown powdery residue had accumulated inside the copper container connected to the discharge port.
He put on protective gloves and sorted the residue into storage containers.
Dragon bone powder, earth vein moss, ice crystal grass root and rhizome...
Each type of residue is attached to a label indicating the product name, batch number, and recycling date.
Suen moved slowly. He needed to refer to the diagrams in the manual to identify the types of these residues one by one.
Just then.
The hourglass of time floating before his eyes suddenly shimmered with a faint light.
Suen paused in her movements.
He lowered his head, concealing the emotion in his eyes, while his hands remained still.
The hourglass of time is reacting.
He suppressed his racing heartbeat, sealed the last batch of residue, and then slowly activated his spiritual vision.
The field of vision suddenly changed.
The energy particles floating in the air are still moving erratically.
But this time, his attention was drawn to the storage container at hand.
From the perspective of spiritual vision, the residue was emitting an extremely faint elemental glow, the fire dragon bone powder was glowing with dark red sparks, and the roots of the ice crystal grass were radiating a cold blue halo.
But what really caught his attention was the waste liquid pipe connected to the bottom of the recycling tank.
Secondary waste liquid.
According to the manual, the waste liquid treated by the recycling tank has reached the discharge standards and can directly enter the purification process.
However, in the state of spiritual vision, the waste liquid in the pipe was emitting a more intense elemental light than the residue, mixed together and surging forward at an irregular flow rate.
"The purification efficiency of the recycling tank is not high, and more effective components remain in the waste liquid."
The residual elemental energy in these waste liquids is precisely the raw material needed for the condensation of the Sands of Time.
Su En closed his eyes and slowly withdrew his spiritual vision.
His breathing was steady, and his face remained expressionless, but his mind was racing.
The disposal of potion residue involves two steps. First, the active ingredients are extracted using a recycling tank, and then the remaining waste liquid is put into a purification device for tertiary discharge treatment.
The purification process involves directly decomposing and neutralizing the remaining magical energy and active substances; in other words, it's equivalent to destroying 80% of the effective ingredients.
"How much of this waste liquid is left?"
Suen turned her head and asked casually.
Deitz, who was moving the recycling tanks, didn't even look up: "The manual says that each recycling tank can hold three barrels of raw liquid, and after processing, it will produce half a barrel of residue. As for the waste liquid, it's probably a little over two barrels."
More than two barrels.
Su En silently calculated in her mind.
Waste liquid is discharged twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, which is eight to nine times a month.
Little by little, it adds up to a considerable sum.
However, he suppressed his excitement and focused his attention on the hourglass in front of him.
Around the hourglass, a cluster of pale golden light particles is gathering.
That was the luster of the sands of time.
The next second, new information surfaced in his mind:
【Sands of Time: Elemental Resonance】
[Level: Tier 1]
[Progress: 1/100]
[Effect: Absorbs elemental energy contained within matter and transforms it into Sands of Time. Increases elemental affinity and enhances the perception of elemental energy upon use.]
Elemental resonance.
Su En murmured the name, a surge of indescribable emotion welling up inside him.
Since transmigrating to this world, the hourglass of time has never condensed any sand of time, except for accumulating the power of time for rebirth.
It's not that Sandglass lacks ability, but rather that he has never been exposed to extraordinary energy.
The waste recycling room, a position considered the worst by other apprentices, became his first opportunity to activate the Sands of Time.
Suen's gaze fell on the secondary waste liquid pipeline, his expression unchanged.
"Don't rush."
He silently recited it in his heart.
Deitz and Rackham were still nearby, and Morris could come back to check at any time.
The wizard's tower's roots spread across the walls; who knows if someone is watching.
He can wait.
After all, for someone who has already died twice, patience is the one thing he has in abundance.
"Ian, give me a hand!"
Detz was carrying a storage tank full of residue, the tank being thicker than his waist, and he was walking unsteadily.
Su En gathered her thoughts and stepped forward to support the bottom of the jar.
"Thanks." Deitz caught his breath, glanced at him, and said, "What were you staring at that pipe for?"
"Nothing," Su En replied casually, "I'm just a little curious about how the purification device works."
Deitz yawned: "Don't even think about it, that's knowledge for intermediate apprentices. We're lucky if we can even understand the procedures in the manual right now."
Rackham chimed in, his tone unusually relaxed: "At least we didn't miss any work hours today."
The three exchanged a glance and simultaneously gave each other a wry smile.
Under the dim glow of fluorite in the recycling room, three figures busily moved between the conveyor belt and the recycling tank.
The root veins on the wall quietly emitted a faint green glow, like a pair of silent, watching eyes.
The row of waste liquid collection tanks stored at the bottom of the storage cabinet had been secretly marked by Su En.