First Time Working

"To be honest, I don't even know what I'm supposed to do," Linfel told her the truth. 

"Wait, really?" The woman looked at Linfel with doubt for a moment before sighing. "Well, I guess it was too good to be true. However, you already accepted it, so you must perform it this night."

She continued. "By the way, I'm Aelua Thevalur, the main and pretty much the only researcher in this facility. Now, let me see..." She took out her MCOM and accessed the task she had posted. "So you are Linfel, a new Familiar. No wonder you didn't know about this place. Well, come with me."

Further inside, Linfel saw several cylinders, each of which seemed to be connected to one of the Arrowhead-like Pillars outside. On their extremes, they all had those receptors you would see in the terminals in various places of the academy. Palm-sized spheres with many diagrams runes. Of course, Linfel could easily see that these were different from the small spheres he used on the terminals to show his Magic Signature. Their purpose was different.

Aelua pointed at one of them. "Can you see that they are brimming with Yellow Magic Energy?" Linfel nodded and waited for Aelua to continue. "Well then, your job is to disperse most of the Magic Energy in the Receptors. This is the part where I mentioned that some degree of Magic Sensibility is necessary."

She then gave a demonstration, touching her hand on one of the receptors. Magic Energy then began to disperse in the air. However, Linfel could also see a little bit of a different Magic Energy with all that Yellow. It looked almost transparent, but it was truly just a tiny bit, hardly perceptible.

"Is it also Magic Energy?" Linfel couldn't help to ask.

"Oh! So you noticed it?" Aelue was surprised. "I thought I would need to accumulate a lot more of it before you finally noticed. In any case, yes, this is also Yellow Magic Energy. However, it suffered a little bit of mutation in space and is very hard to capture. There isn't much use for it since it is contaminated and not proper for use in training or even equipment. Nonetheless, this is exactly what I need."

Aelua then pulled that almost transparent Magic Energy and fused it into a Magic Energy Container near the cylinder. The Magic Energy in the receptor barely changed, so she had to continue this process. It wasn't before 40 minutes that she got it all, and the receptor became empty. "This is basically everything you need to do. The Pillars outside spend the day collecting the Magic Energy and are ready for harvesting during the night. You need to get rid of the common Yellow Magic Energy and store this other type."

Linfel then noticed that the receptor that was empty a moment ago began to shine again with more Yellow Energy. "I thought this one was empty, but it seems like that's not the case."

"The Pillars accumulate a lot of Magic Energy. It's just that the receptors we use to capture this Magic Energy can't hold it all, so most of it stays in the Pillars. You will need to perform the same task a few times before a pillar is completely emptied. Then, obviously, you move to the next receptor."

Linfel understood the principle, but he was still confused. "It doesn't look like something that hard to do; the payment is pretty much similar to the other menial tasks. Yet, the amount of time you need to work is definitely much less. That said, why no one likes to take this task?"

Aelua pointed at the receptor, which was now full of Magic Energy again. "Give it a try, and you will understand."

Linfel quickly touched the Receptor with his core and began to take away the Yellow Magic Energy. Yet, as soon as the Magic Energy passed through his core, he instantly noticed the problem. "No wonder. This Magic Energy is so impure that it makes the Low-Grade Magic Stones look like a gift from god."

Aelua couldn't agree more. "That's the problem. You see, the Magic Energy captured here comes from space, which is filled with space radiation and who knows what other kinds of impurities. Even if you don't absorb this Yellow Magic Energy, just the fact it goes through you affects your body, or your core, in the Familiar's case. 33 Academy Credits is truly not worth the bother. After all, you will have to spend almost all of it to clean your body and core later."

She couldn't help but sigh. "If the Academy gave me some extra funding, I could offer a better payment. It would compensate for the trouble of dealing with this Magic Energy. Alas, I'm struggling to simply continue my research. Don't take it to the personal side. Also, there are nine pillars, which is way too much, so you will only have to separate the Magic Energy from three of them. More than that, and it could truly affect your core permanently."

Linfel then gave it a try, absorbing all the Magic Energy inside the Receptor in one go! The impure Magic Energy filled the surroundings while he pulled the container and put the semi-transparent Magic Energy inside. "Seems quite simple."

"HOLY SHIT!" Yet, Aelua was scared out of his mind. "Are you okay?! Check your core! You took too much of this impure magic energy at once! How are you still even alive?!"

Linfel looked at her, puzzled. "What are you talking about? I just separated the energies; the impurities inside don't bother me at all."

"They... don't bother you?" She found it hard to believe. "Did you check it? Is your core and soul really okay?"

Linfel nodded. "At the very least, I can't feel anything out of place."

Aelua truly didn't know what to do. 'I can't even imagine how much his master spent to create his body. His tolerance is incredible! Still... if he has such a great background, why would he come here to take such a terrible task?'

However, Aelua quickly noticed the opportunity. "Ahem! Can you do it with the other receptors?"

Linfel nodded and repeated the process in the next receptor. Even more Yellow Magic Energy spread in the surroundings before Linfel put the Semi-Transparent Magic Energy inside another container. "Still fairly easy."

Aelua's shock changed into ecstasy! Who cares what his background is? She absolutely can't lose him! "I-Is that so? then-"

Linfel cut in. "You said I only had to do it for three receptors, right? What if I finish all nine of them? Will I get three times the payment?"

Aelua was taken aback. "Really? Do you want to do it all, even with this terrible Magic Energy passing through your core?"

"Only if you allow me to do so," Linfel answered. Impurities? He could get rid of them easily. He could come every night and get a guaranteed 33 Academy Credits quite fast. Why wouldn't he do so? In fact, he could get 99 every night! There are nine pillars, after all.

Aelua didn't waste time to confirm. She would gain quite a lot more herself, so it was absolutely worth it. "Definitely! Finish all nine pillars, and I will give you the 99 Academy Credits. Actually, I'll round it up to 100. How about that?"

"Alright, I'll finish these nine today, and I'll come back for more tomorrow," said Linfel. Suddenly, the next receptor completely emptied again as Linfel transferred the little bit of semi-transparent Yellow Magic into the container.

"I'm warning you, and you should warn your master, too," Aelua was happy with Linfel's capabilities, but she wasn't an idiot. She had to tell him about the repercussions. "I am not taking responsibility for whatever happens to you if you really do this. If you are truly fine, then great! Come back every night. If not, you should reconsider and have a good chat with your master." A master that can make a Familiar like Linfel shouldn't be offended, either.

Linfel faintly smiled. "I'm independent. I don't need anyone's permission, so there is no need to worry."

Aelua didn't know, but Linfel was happier than he looked. Others might not have use for that extremely impure Yellow Magic Energy, but that was definitely not the case for him. 'I only need to learn how to do integration later. Then, I will have a lot of free Magic Energy. Hahaha!' Linfel couldn't wait to learn how to level up.