After Steward Edward discussed the plan with the two mayors, they decided not to refuse anyone the opportunity to register.
However, they established several rounds of examinations to test courage, willpower, and loyalty, screening for the final candidates.
Steward Edward had the highest magical level, so he set up a fire wall in both cities' plazas.
Only those who passed through the fire wall could enter the next stage of candidacy.
Feeling the scorching heat of those flames, some people even tried to extend wooden sticks toward the fire wall. They watched that section instantly burn to ashes, immediately causing everyone present to gasp.
They confirmed these were real flames, not illusions.
For a moment, this directly scared away nearly half the people.
They were originally very ordinary humans without great ambitions, feeling wizardry was too distant from them. Now they had only come to see what the excitement was about with a tiny glimmer of "what if" hope.
But facing this fire wall, they immediately retreated.
With those who retreated, naturally, there were those who dared to try.
In Bree, the militia captain who had previously defended the city gate against wights was first to enter the fire wall, drawing exclamations from the crowd.
The flames were fierce. Behind the fire wall was another room. Others couldn't see the scene behind the fire wall at all, not knowing what happened to the militia captain, swallowed and surrounded by flames.
But with the first person to try, others with courage also began attempting. Several militiamen who had similarly faced wights steeled themselves, closed their eyes, and directly rushed into the fire wall, disappearing from sight.
The quick-thinking ones, who didn't hear the screams, immediately had their eyes light up. These flames must be illusions. So with knowing expressions, under everyone's attention, they leisurely walked toward the fire wall.
But when they approached the fire wall and felt increasingly hot sensations on their skin, they became hesitant again.
Were these flames real?
No, wrong. Definitely fake. This sensation is definitely fake, just frightening.
So he convinced himself, steeling his resolve and charging toward the flames.
But the next second, a flame tendril shot out, burning off a tuft of his hair.
Feeling scalp pain and smelling burned hair, he stopped short. Terror washed over his face as he fell backward, desperately scrambling backward on the ground as if seeing a fierce beast.
This scene directly amused the watching crowd, but also made more people hesitate.
After all, one misstep could be deadly. Even the mayor hadn't guaranteed that this fire wall wouldn't burn people to death.
Behind the fire wall, Mayor Butch stood with Steward Edward. Beside them were several people who had successfully passed through the fire wall but still looked shaken.
Mayor Butch, seeing this scene, curiously asked Edward for an explanation. "Mr. Edward, what's the purpose of this fire wall you set up? Why are those who passed through completely unharmed, but that fellow got his hair burned off?"
The nearby people also leaned in to listen for an explanation.
Edward's lips showed a trace of a smile, speaking in a slightly proud tone.
"This is an improved version of the Fire Charm that Lord Kael taught me, useful for testing courage. If courage is sufficient and one rushes directly into the fire wall, even though they can feel the flames' scorching heat, it won't actually harm them.
But if courage is insufficient and they're hesitant, they'll be like that person just now. No different from real flames, feeling the agonizing pain of flame burns."
Hearing this, Butch became somewhat worried. "Won't this cause injury?"
Edward shook his head confidently. "No need to worry. This is only temporary. Once leaving the fire wall, the pain quickly disappears without causing serious burns. At most, it just burns off body hair."
Butch immediately felt relieved, becoming more curious and envious of this magic.
Truly worthy of being the lord's personal steward. The benefits of closely serving the lord were showing, weren't they?
Though they were mayors controlling a city's power, Steward Edward had a closer relationship with the lord than they did.
While they could only go to the castle periodically, he stayed beside the lord constantly, able to ask about magic anytime, even being taught such advanced magic by the lord.
Sensing the mayor's envy beside him, Edward said, "Mayor Butch, if you're curious about this magic, after this examination ends, I'll teach you this magic."
Mayor Butch's eyes immediately brightened. "This, this is allowed?"
"Of course," Edward said generously. "This is magic, Lord Kael taught. Everyone has the right to learn. Moreover, the lord said magic only progresses through mutual exchange and discussion. Let's consider it mutual learning and discussion."
Hearing this, Butch immediately felt ashamed yet admired Edward.
He truly understood the lord's values.
After all, when first hearing the lord would cultivate five hundred wizards, his first reaction was that his wizard status seemed to become less valuable.
With so many wizards, he, Bree's only wizard, would seem less special.
But since this order came from the lord, even with some unwillingness in his heart, he still carried it out seriously, trying to secure more wizard slots.
After all, if his wizard status advantage no longer existed, then he would compete for more wizard slots for Bree. This way, his side would have a numerical advantage, successfully surpassing that old rival Luke.
Thinking this, Mayor Butch looked at the citizens beyond the fire wall with full expectation.
He hoped more people would pass the examination to occupy more wizard slots.
By then, he could perhaps build Bree into a wizard city.
Outside the fire wall among tens of thousands of citizens, there was no shortage of brave people.
Most were militiamen, along with some young people and women. All gritted their teeth and rushed into the fire wall.
Some successfully passed through the fire wall, passing the first examination.
But others, after entering the flames, developed fear. The agonizing pain of flame burns instantly surged up. They released painful screams, struggling miserably to crawl out, but were unsuccessful.
Though their bodies showed no burn marks after exiting, that burning pain remained in memory, making them lose courage to try again.
This situation also scared many people away.
Most fire wall challengers were young people. Older people had lost their vigor and were content with the status quo.
After all, not everyone could be like Mayor Butch, with vitality no less than that of young people.
Of course, not every elderly person was like this.
Like Prancing Pony inn's proprietor Butterbur, who directly displayed surprising vigor, fearlessly walking into the fire wall and smoothly passing through to the other side, even happily greeting Mayor Butch.
The fire wall test continued for a full day.
When it ended, over a thousand people had successfully passed through the fire wall, with an elimination rate exceeding ninety percent.
The next day, these thousand-plus who passed underwent the second examination.