Lucia carefully placed the three iron ingots on the bedroom floor, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reviewed all the experiences she had learned in the past in her mind. Then she stretched out her hands and released her ability to surround the target.
This was the practice method that Anna had come up with for her. The three iron ingots were also specially made by Anna. Each of them contained different components, such as silver, copper, and lead, as well as some impurities. What she needed to do now was to reduce them to their elemental form while retaining the impurities, and find the iron ingot with the highest silver content.
This meant that she had to control the output of her magic power and only operate on the target once.
Otherwise, the impurities would be further disintegrated. This was also the reason why she felt that her ability was difficult to control when she was at home in Valencia. It was the same paper, but the products produced were completely different. This was because she did not understand the relationship between the amount of magic power and the effect of her ability, which led to the paper being continuously divided several times, and finally, most of the raw materials turned into water and gas.
After coming to Border Town, the first lesson that the witches taught her was to control her magic power during practice.
Lucia did not believe that something that could not be seen or touched could be accurately controlled until Anna demonstrated the length of the Blackfire on the spot. Only then did she realize how wrong she was. Anna could even change the size and thickness of the Blackfire by adjusting the output of magic power, and every time, she could do it accurately.
"Sister, are you practicing again?" Bell curiously poked her head out of the bed. "We just finished lunch."
Lucia's hand shook, and the iron ingot suddenly turned into several puddles of powder.
"I told you not to disturb me when I'm using my ability." She turned around and knocked on her sister's head. "Focus on your book!"
"I don't understand." Bell pouted. "I don't understand half of the words. I can't read and write like you."
"That's why you have to read more. Many words have similar structures. Even if you haven't seen them before, you should be able to guess their meaning. Literacy itself is a process of familiarizing yourself."
"Okay." Bell retracted her head.
Lucia refocused on the second iron ingot and slowly controlled the outflow of magic power. In her mind, she imagined it as a thin layer of gauze, gently covering the target and wrapping it evenly.
"Hey, I'm here." The door was suddenly pushed open with a squeak, and a blonde woman flashed into the room. "Hey, are you practicing your ability?"
"Sister Nightingale!" Bell let out a carefree cry.
The second iron ingot turned into powder again.
Lucia sighed and put all the metal scraps on the ground into her leather bag. She felt that she might not be able to practice at noon today.
"Here, this is for you."
A stick of ice cream with a rich milky smell was placed in front of her.
"Thank you." Lucia took the ice cream. "But isn't this only given out during afternoon tea?"
Nightingale patted her chest proudly and said, "This is the reward I asked for from His Highness. By the way... you have a share too." Nightingale handed the other one to Bell, causing the little girl to burst into laughter.
"Sister Nightingale treats me the best!"
Lucia thought helplessly. "This girl, once she has something delicious, she has forgotten about me." However, in the instant that the ice cream entered her mouth, she felt like if she were in her younger sister's shoes, her reaction would most likely be the same as Xiao Ling's. The rich flavor of honey and milk melted in her mouth, and the cool and refreshing texture of the ice cream combined the two to further enhance the sweetness of the flavor. Even if she swallowed it, she could still feel a trace of coolness between her lips and teeth.
No one could resist its delicious taste, especially in the hot summer. No wonder His Highness only gave out ice cream during afternoon tea on weekends. Such a unique style of food must be very expensive. At least, she had never heard of such a dessert in Valencia.
Thinking of this, Lucia could not help but ask, "How did you ask for it from His Highness?"
"Hehe." Nightingale curled up the corner of her mouth. "I ranked third in the test, just behind Vendy and Leaf, but His Highness Roland thought that I couldn't pass. There was such a big deviation from the actual situation, so I naturally had to ask him for a reward. "
"I see." She hesitated for a moment. "Then, what about me?"
"68 points. I don't know where I ranked."
"Uh, so low," Lucia said dejectedly. Out of a total of 120 points, she had only answered a little more than half of them correctly, and this was based on the fact that she was already literate.
"It's not bad." Nightingale patted her head. "After all, you haven't been in class for a long time, so your math and natural science parts must be a little worse. If you have any questions, you can ask me."
"What about me? Can I ask! "Bell raised her hand.
"Of course," Nightingale replied with a smile. "You're welcome anytime."
"When I pass the primary test, will I be able to choose my own job?"
"It's still too early for you. His Highness said that the minimum age to work is 14. You're only 10 years old. What's the hurry?" Lucia stared at her.
The little girl did not want to be outdone. "I also want to help you share your burden as soon as possible. Things like getting married and having children will cost a lot of money. If you don't have enough money, your life will be very hard! "
"Who did you hear this from?" Lucia asked with her hand on her forehead.
"Dad, he often nags that he won't be able to support us."
"Pfft." Nightingale could not help but laugh. "If you can work, where will you choose to go?"
"The chemistry laboratory!" Bell raised her hand. "I want to become an alchemist and get the title of Sage. I want to receive everyone's admiration and praise!"
"This … it's better not to." She shook her head. "The laboratory is actually very dangerous."
"Dangerous?" The two sisters were surprised at the same time.
"Yes." Nightingale spread out her hands. "Not only does it often deal with acid, but sometimes it also explodes. Even the chief alchemist can't avoid accidents. Last time, four of his fingers were blown off. If it weren't for Nana, I'm afraid that Mr. Kyle Sichi would never be able to pick up those bottles and cans again. " She paused. "Moreover, His Highness recently seems to be planning to develop a new kind of gunpowder. Even he thinks that this thing is extremely dangerous, so he needs to vacate a separate laboratory to prepare it."
"Well, in that case, do you have any good suggestions?" Lucia hugged Bell and made up her mind. She would never let her sister work in such a terrible place.
"Of course, it's to enter the City Hall and become a civil servant."
"Civil … servant?" she repeated.
"Ahem, this is what His Highness says when he talks to himself. In layman's terms, it's a City Hall official. "Nightingale coughed twice." It's stable and safe. The salary is above average, but the prospects are good. When I become a department head, the salary won't be lower than a witch's. "
"I see," Lucia said thoughtfully.
"Sister Nightingale, do you like His Highness?" Bell shouted. "There are a lot of words in your words that His Highness said. Mom said that only people who they like very much will often talk about it."
Her sister's question made Lucia's face stiffen. Damn it, how can this kind of thing be asked directly? It's too rude. Even ordinary friends can't be asked directly, not to mention that the other party is a senior that I respect. She hurriedly covered Bell's mouth. When she was about to apologize, she heard Nightingale frankly answer.
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