Chapter 20 Bernie and the Fifth Magic Workshop

"Lis, why did it take you so long to get here?"

Hearing this voice, Lis immediately knew who it was.

A handsome young man with short, slightly curly brown hair walked out from the door of the Magic Workshop, a gentle expression on his face.

"Long time no see, Bernie. I ran into a bit of trouble on the way, just solved it," Lis said with a shrug.

"Who would dare to trouble you?" Bernie frowned, puzzled. In his view, Lis was such a low-key person, and with a noble title to boot. Who would be so misguided?

"It's nothing. But since you're here waiting for me, does that mean the invitation has something to do with you?" Lis didn't bring up the matter involving Camus and others, as he was still waiting for their next move.

Seeing that Lis didn't want to talk about it, Bernie didn't press further but took note of it in his heart.

"Did you guess?" Bernie smiled, "I've been learning from Master Daher, and he recently managed to secure the rights to use the Fifth Magic Workshop at the academy. We were short-handed, so I mentioned it to him."

It might sound light-hearted the way Bernie described it, but the opportunity to study at the academy's Fifth Magic Workshop was incredibly rare, especially for students from ordinary backgrounds. It might be their only chance to come in contact with the very best magic instruction.

Being ranked within the top five Magic Workshops at the Royal Magic Academy meant that in a sense, it was also among the top five in the entire Feis Kingdom.

Not to mention, the Royal Mage Corps was stationed at the Royal Magic Academy, and its captain was the Legendary Mage "Judgement Flame" Lord Fran Stephens, which testified to the institution's formidable strength.

So Bernie indeed secured a very valuable opportunity for himself, but Lis was not one to make a fuss. While it might be precious for others, it was not a difficult matter for Bernie.

If Camus, who had caused Lis trouble earlier, ranked among the top ten students in their batch, then the man before him stood out as a genius ranked among the top three of all the students of the academy in the last ten years.

As the prized disciple of the Magic Rune Master Yousef Daher, Bernie had broken through to become an Intermediate Mage. Moreover, his talent in magic runes was so astonishing that he had become an Intermediate Magic Rune Master at a young age.

Although Bernie was born into a commoner's family, he never indulged in self-pity or envy toward others, instead advancing and improving through his own efforts, getting to where he was now.

What baffled other people in the academy was the fact that Bernie Bevin, of commoner origins; Mora Karl, the second young master of the Golden Vine Flower Commerce; and Lis Kain, who held the title of Court Viscount, had built a relationship as close as long-lost brothers from the time they started at the academy.

If it weren't for Mora's lack of interest in continuing his magical education, preferring to engage in commerce and make money instead, Bernie likely would have secured a spot for him at the Fifth Magic Workshop as well.

Lis felt the same. He remembered providing Bernie with various precious resources in the past, and Bernie even had free access to use his private underground laboratory that was off-limits to others.

So naturally, Lis was not going to say any words of thanks this time.

"Where is Master Daher?" Lis followed Bernie into the Magic Workshop. The wall that had opened behind them closed, leaving no trace of the passageway.

"After all, the Fifth Magic Workshop has just been acquired by the teacher. There are many preparations to be made," Bernie said, pointing to the large and small boxes piled up around the wall.

"The teacher has just finished adjusting the workshop's Magic Intelligent Life, and he's probably applying for various resources at the academy right now."

"Oh, that's right." A flash of Magic Light appeared in Bernie's hand, and a somewhat cold female voice emerged.

"Mr. Bernie, may I ask if there are any instructions?"

"This is Lis Kain, he's the new assistant. Could you enter his information into the system?"

"Certainly, Mr. Bernie." As the voice faded, a beam of white light swept over Lis from somewhere unknown.

"Personnel information entry complete. Welcome, Mr. Lis, you now have third-level authority in the Fifth Magic Workshop."

In his previous life, Lis had seen many magic intelligent lives in games, but this was his first time encountering one in this world, which naturally aroused some curiosity.

"This is the Magic Intelligent Life of the Fifth Magic Workshop. The teacher hasn't had the chance to name it yet. With the authority, you can now move around normally, but you still can't enter some important places such as the teacher's laboratory and the storeroom," Bernie explained as he showed Lis around the workshop slowly.

Inside, the Magic Workshop was a bit more bustling than it looked from outside, although without too much decoration. The floor was already covered with exquisite Feis carpets; the deep gray walls were outlined with magic patterns that emitted pinpoints of dreamlike light, elegant and uncluttered.

With the intelligent life present, Bernie didn't have to worry about cleaning and maintenance; the pre-set Cleaning Skill easily took care of it.

The first and second floors were the public resting areas and some common laboratories, while the third floor contained some valuable equipment in the large laboratories.

"The teacher plans to make the third floor into a Magic Rune research laboratory, while the fourth floor and above are the teacher's own laboratories and resting rooms. Normally, I wouldn't go up there either," Bernie pointed upwards and said, "However, I am in charge of this laboratory on the third floor. If you'd like, you can join me in studying magic here."

Lis inspected the place carefully. The ordinary laboratories on the second floor were already about the same as the laboratory equipment he had funded using most of the Kane family's savings beneath their estate, not to mention the even more advanced equipment on the third floor.

Not to mention anything else, just the Element Stabilizer to the left of Lis was whole two sizes larger than his own and should be capable of achieving the element stabilization effect for Advanced Magic.

As for the Magic Rune Burner on the other side, the silver-white color on the accompanying engraving pen seemed off to Lis; it couldn't be Mithril, could it?

Bernie noticed Lis's interest in the Magic Rune Burner and explained:

"This Engraving Device isn't from the lab; it was previously used by Master Daher himself. He plans to replace it with a better one from the academy and has passed this one to me."

Lis was somewhat speechless, "How come Daher is so good to you, entrusting you with such equipment to use?"

It was known that Yousef Daher ranked among the top three Advanced Magic Rune Masters in the Feis Kingdom. The engraving device he had used was incredibly valuable, and now it was directly handed over for Bernie's use. It seemed that Daher truly regarded Bernie as his inheritor disciple.

"That's the teacher's care for me," Bernie nodded, speaking wistfully.

"I've been busy helping the teacher organize the workshop and tidy up recently. It's a pity I couldn't attend Mora's birthday party."

"No worries, you don't know him; he won't mind this kind of thing," Lis said nonchalantly.

"I see you're about ready here in the laboratory. What are you researching at the moment? Is there anything I can help with?"

"Oh, I've been studying the work on Enchantment Solidification recently, and I've made some progress."