"All apprentices who have completed and passed the talent assessment, proceed to the Central Square immediately! The choice of major direction is about to begin!"
The cold voice broadcast echoed through the hall, urging the crowd to move.
Jeming had just come down from the testing area, barely having time to gather his thoughts before being swept along by a surge of people towards the other side of the hall's exit.
He could sense the anxiety and confusion permeating from the apprentices around him.
The emotions brought on by the assessment results hadn't fully sunk in yet, and they were being herded towards the next stage that would decide their destiny.
The hall's exit led directly to the academy's massive central square. As Jeming exited with the crowd, the scene before him made him gasp in awe.
The square was unimaginably large, like a miniature city.
The ground, made of black luminescent material, stretched to the horizon, reflecting the light cast from above.
What truly captured everyone's attention were the huge magical images suspended in the air above the square, making their adrenaline surge.
Wizards battling fiercely on a blood-drenched Plane Battlefield, powerful magic falling like meteors, each attack accompanied by heart-pounding sound effects and visual effects.
Grotesque creatures from otherworlds, crumbling ancient ruins, enormous magical constructs traversing the starry sky... all of this was presented in the most direct and eye-catching manner.
Beneath the images, rows of enormous rune words flashed with dazzling light:
[Glory Ahead!]
[Unlimited Wealth!]
[The Fast Track to Promotion!]
[Join the Combat Element, Achieve Legend!]
Soon, a gigantic wizard's apparition coalesced from the light in mid-air, his expression stern and cold, his voice resonating from a distant starry sky, emotionless as it echoed over the square:
"Welcome to Nolun Academy. The academy will provide you with the most extraordinary knowledge to ignite your Spiritual Flame and construct the Ring of Truth."
"But power does not come without a price! According to the principle of equivalent exchange, every apprentice must sign a contract with the academy. After achieving a certain level of power or studying for a certain period, you will be sent to frontier planes connected through the astral network, to expand territory for the Federation and the academy!"
The wizard's apparition cast a cold gaze over the densely packed crowd below, his voice unwavering:
"Now, you must choose between two major directions — the [Combat Element] representing strength and conquest! And the [Logistics Element] representing creation and support!"
"You will have one day to choose your major direction. Seize this one opportunity, as once chosen, it cannot be changed!"
With those words, the wizard's apparition dissipated.
A vast magical light screen rose in the center of the square, clearly dividing the area like a barrier.
Above the screen were large labels: [Combat Element] and [Logistics Element].
Below, smaller screens marked specific subdivisions, with [Soul Element], [Shaping Element], [Summoning Element] for the Combat Element.
On the other side were [Alchemy], [Magic Potion], [Enchantment], [Mechanical Engineering]...
Close to the apprentices, several areas were occupied by academy mentors or senior apprentices, arduously making their final pitches.
"Choose the Combat Element! Shortest contract period! Most generous allocation of resources! The frontline is the best whetstone and the fastest stepping stone to becoming a High Tier Wizard!" a middle-aged male wizard shouted excitedly from the Combat Element area, his voice full of incitement.
"The academy will provide you with the most elite spell models, the most powerful Magical Equipment! And the chance to inherit ancient relics, to seize your wealth and glory across countless planes!"
This scene left Jeming somewhat dazed: "Is this a job fair... where the heck am I, have I returned home?"
Amidst these scenes of déjà vu, at the forefront of the Combat Element area, a temporary stage built by magic was occupied by a group of wizards, exuding a powerful aura.
They wore uniform robes and bore badges of at least First Level Official Wizard, with very few being First Level; the majority were Second Level Wizards, and even a few Third Level Wizards!
According to the academy's publicity, these wizards were alumni who participated in military service in the previous batch, "temporarily withdrawn from the frontline to return and guide newcomers" as returning wizards.
Some stood straight, some chatted casually, their eyes sharp and confident from the tempering of battlefields, their presence exuding a formidable air.
"Look! That's Third Level Wizard Mentor Mars! He just returned from a mission on the Red Flame Plane, reputedly having slain several powerful Fire Elemental Lords!" a nearby apprentice whispered, eyes filled with longing and awe.
"And over there, that young wizard who recently advanced to Second Level! I hear he completed his contract mission after only five years in combat and has continued honing his skills on the battlefield ever since."
"...Tsk, weren't we all just apprentices coming for the test today? How come you guys know so much?!" Jeming couldn't help but complain inwardly.
Of course, he also knew that genuine country bumpkins like himself were in the minority; many of the qualified apprentices were nobility, and the nobles of this world seemed to all be Wizards.
With constant exposure, it was only natural for these apprentices to know some things about the Wizard World.
Jeming walked to a "Puppet Element" combat element promotional area, where a light screen clearly marked the terms of contract for this division:
Apprentices joining the Puppet Element have ten years of study time, and after reaching ten years of study or becoming a First Level Official Wizard in strength, they must be dispatched to the battlefield.
During this period, all basic and high tier knowledge related to the Puppet Element is freely available, with a monthly resource provision equivalent to 100 points.
Contractors must serve on the battlefield for seven years or obtain a Second Level merit to end military service...
Jeming walked through the combat element promotional areas, sweeping through all of them, finding the conditions not much different from each other.
The study time and strength requirements remained unchanged, and knowledge related to their own element was also freely available.
The differences probably lay in the value of monthly resource provision and the duration of military service.
Each month generally offered resource provisions worth 100 to 150 points, with military service ranging from 5 to 15 years.
Having spent a good amount of time looking from start to finish, Jeming turned his head to the other side.
In stark contrast to the bustling clamor of the combat element, the Logistics Element area had relatively sparse foot traffic.
The instructors there basically weren't promoting at all, merely impatiently pointing to the light screen even if someone inquired.
Jeming glanced through the contract terms they offered and understood why the Logistics Element was so quiet.
The longest study time had not changed, but almost everything else had.
All Logistics Elements only provided the most basic knowledge, with advanced knowledge requiring points for exchange, and a meager monthly provision of resources worth 10 points.
And... a daunting thirty-year term of military service!
The conditions proposed by all Logistics Elements seemed like they were cut from the same mold, identical except for some differences in names.
"What a joke, a thirty-year contract term?" an apprentice complained in a low voice, "That's way too long, just five years for the combat element!"
The stark contrast in benefits and the visible "success stories" spurred many, whose faces lit up with a desire for power and glory, to flock rapidly to the combat element area.
Those apprentices with high talents were especially the key targets for recruitment by the combat element instructors.
Jeming's Sixth Level talent also made him a target of attention for the combat element instructors, with a few already casting furtive glances at him.
However, amidst this fervent tide, Jeming seemed out of place.
Having experienced the information explosion in his past life, he wasn't dazzled by the dazzling magical images and the glamorous "successful ones," and the constant fear of potentially becoming an experimental subject kept him vigilant, soon noticing something odd.
"Ninety-seven Wizards returning from the combat element... Strange, why such a number?" Jeming frowned deeply.
The Wizards just returned from the battlefield had an utterly unique aura, and what's more, they were gathered on a stage like exhibits, being promoted by the combat element instructors.
On the other side, although the Logistics Element had no conspicuous promotion, the returning Wizards there were also mostly gathered in one place, occasionally casting teasing glances at the combat element's stage.
Jeming suspected these returning Wizards must have taken on some task to cooperate with promotion, hence gathering together.
So the question arose, why were there only ninety-seven people?
If it was "cooperating with promotion," why wasn't the number rounded, like... a hundred?
This was a Wizard Academy, renowned for its rigor and pursuit of knowledge, supposedly not likely to have an "incomplete number" situation in such a public setting.
"Two possibilities. In the Wizard World, due to some special Wizard rule or numerical symbol, ninety-seven is indeed a 'complete number.' And two..."
Thinking of a possibility, Jeming's face turned a bit grim: "...They don't have the capability to round up to a hundred."
What does it mean to lack the capability?
Of course... it means that all the others are dead!
These ninety-seven people were very likely the few survivors remaining after being sent to the battlefield, undergoing layers of selection, and countless battles!