「Eight months later.」
In the *Magic Material Research (General)* class.
The afternoon sun streamed through tall, arched windows, casting mottled columns of light into the tiered lecture hall. Dust motes tumbled silently within the beams.
Most of the apprentices were listless. The class was known for being tedious and complex; two straight hours of "On the Inert and Active Transformation of Demonized Metals" was enough to exhaust even the most focused mind.
On the lecture platform stood Professor Elmsworth, an elder Wizard with graying hair who belonged to the school of alchemy.
BAM.
He slammed his textbook shut, the dull thud jolting several drowsy apprentices awake and causing them to sit up straight.
"That's all for the theory."
Elmsworth's voice was raspy, like grinding gears. "I know some of you think this stuff is useless, that you just want to hurry up and learn how to sling fireballs and cast lightning bolts."
His cloudy eyes swept over the students below, carrying a kind of all-knowing indifference.
"But in the world of Wizards, the foundation is always knowledge. If you do not understand matter, you can never truly manipulate it."
He paused, tapping his bony fingers on the lectern before picking up a piece of ordinary granite that had been used as a teaching aid.
The stone was grayish-white with a rough surface, the same kind of building material seen everywhere around the academy.
"Mortals pursue gold because they believe it to be the ultimate form of wealth. To them, turning stone into gold is a miracle."
Elmsworth rested the stone in one palm and gently covered it with his other hand.
An alarming fluctuation of Magic Power rippled through the air. There was no incantation, only the sound of crackling electricity that filled the classroom.
When the professor completely removed his hand, a piece of lustrous, reddish-gold that shimmered with a dazzling light lay quietly in his palm.
Everyone in the classroom stared with wide eyes, having even forgotten to breathe.
Vera, sitting in the row in front of Allen, covered her mouth, her eyes wide as saucers.
Colin leaned forward, almost rising from his seat, his eyes glued to the gold that still retained the rough outline of the original stone, his face a mask of disbelief.
For these young people, who had been introduced to the Extraordinary World less than a year ago, the impact of this scene far surpassed that of any magic spell.
It was a complete subversion of the most fundamental concept of "value" in their worldview.
"See that?" Elmsworth tossed the gold casually onto the lectern, where it landed with a dull CLANG.
"For any First-level Wizard specializing in the school of alchemy, this is reality. The very thing that wars are fought over in the mortal world, that countless people die for, is something we can create with a flick of the wrist."
"Your long hours of arduous study seem to have left you feeling lost. So today, I'll use this little trick to show you that only by becoming Wizards can you step onto a grander stage."
He paused again, his tone growing more precise. "Of course, this is merely the transformation of non-magical substances. The truly valuable work lies in the transformation and reconstruction of materials that contain Magic Power—a field that even Advanced Wizards are still exploring. Class dismissed."
With that, the elder Wizard picked up his textbook and left the classroom without a backward glance, leaving behind a room full of shocked students and that glaring piece of gold.
The apprentices immediately erupted into a clamor, swarming the lectern to touch the gold for themselves and feel the lingering warmth of the miracle.
Allen didn't move.
He only agreed with half of what the professor had said.
'Mundane wealth certainly doesn't directly help a Wizard in their pursuit of power,' he thought, 'but the professor deliberately ignored a crucial transitional element—resources.'
'He used the shock and awe of turning stone to gold to cleverly mask the cruelest reality of the apprentice stage: without initial capital, you can't even cross the threshold to acquire knowledge.'
He stood up and walked out of the classroom amidst the noisy chatter of those around him.
Sunlight washed over Allen. He narrowed his eyes slightly and pulled up the DSeek database.
In eight months, his "mutual aid group" had completely transformed.
It was no longer a loose study group but had become an efficient, precise business organization with high barriers to entry.
Draven's Workshop No. 17 was churning out a steady supply of targeted support potions.
And Allen, as the sole "chief architect," held a firm grip on the core technology: the "Learning Diagnostic Report" for each client.
He opened the finance section, where a string of numbers lay quietly.
[Personal Account Balance: 6,087 Low-Level Magic Stones]
It was a figure staggering enough to leave any junior apprentice—and even some destitute advanced apprentices—breathless. It far exceeded the limits of wealth a new student could possibly imagine.
He switched to another project interface in DSeek.
[Project: Junior Apprentice Stage Promotion Plan]
[Core Objective: Promotion to Advanced Apprentice within one year (Time elapsed: 10 months, 7 days)]
[Sub-project: Inscribing the 'Basic Meditation Method' Runes in the Sea of Consciousness]
[Status: Complete (36/36)]
[Cultivation Resources Consumed: 102 vials of 'Junior Spiritual Power Recovery Potion,' 15 boxes of 'Deep Meditation Incense,' 27 vials of 'Soul Strengthening Liquid' (diluted version)... Total cost: 1,436 Low-Level Magic Stones.]
His mutual aid study group and potion profit-sharing brought him an income of about 900 Low-Level Magic Stones per month.
An ordinary apprentice's Spiritual Power would be exhausted after two Meditation sessions a day, requiring several hours to recover.
If an attempt to inscribe a Rune failed, the piercing pain from the Spiritual Power backlash would take a full day or even longer to subside.
But Allen, bolstered by a mountain of resources bought with Magic Stones, could drink a "Junior Spiritual Power Recovery Potion" and perform five to six high-intensity Meditation sessions every day.
Lighting the "Deep Meditation Incense" allowed his consciousness to sink into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness more quickly.
And the "Soul Strengthening Liquid" greatly enhanced his resistance to Spiritual Power backlash. Even if a construction failed occasionally, he would only feel a slight dizziness and could recover within half an hour.
He was essentially constructing the Runes in his Sea of Consciousness with four to five times the efficiency of anyone else.
Allen sank his consciousness into his body. The once-empty space was now a completely different scene.
Thirty-six faintly glowing Runes, linked by invisible threads of Spiritual Power, formed a vast and intricate three-dimensional Star Map. They rotated slowly, following a specific trajectory.
His total Spiritual Power was more than ten times what it had been eight months ago.
His recovery speed was even more astonishing.
This was the power of wealth.
While other apprentices were still scrambling for the dozen or so Magic Stones needed for a single "Focus Potion," Allen had already used enough resources to rent a small Alchemy Workshop to pave himself an expressway to becoming an Advanced Apprentice.
He never considered himself a genius.
Vera's natural affinity for Magic Power, or Marcus's innately high reserves of Spiritual Power—those could perhaps be called talent.
He, on the other hand, was just a "pay-to-win player" who had the "official answer key."
The promotion project's progress bar in DSeek was currently stopped at 95%.
Allen reviewed the remaining 5% as he walked along a tree-lined path in the academy.
[Pending Tasks:]
Final Assessments:
*Magic Material Research (General)* - Estimated Pass Rate: 99.8%
*Basic Potions and Toxicology* - Estimated Pass Rate: 96%
*Basic Runes and Linguistics* - Estimated Pass Rate: 100% (Core database already mastered)
*Fundamentals of Astrology and Divination* - Estimated Pass Rate: 93.9%
...
It was a long list of general education course assessments.
The pass rates were all over 90%. For the current Allen, passing the exams was just a matter of time.
The final item on the list was marked in bold, red font.
[Final Objective: Submit 'Application for Promotion to Advanced Apprentice']
Promotion to Advanced Apprentice meant entirely new courses, greater privileges, and the possibility of accessing the academy's core knowledge.
That was his real stage.
The junior apprentice section had already become too small for him.
His footsteps halted.
His original destination was the library, where he had planned to further enrich DSeek's knowledge base.
But Professor Elmsworth's "transmuting stone into gold" was like a pebble tossed into a calm lake, and it had made him change his mind.
It wasn't a craving for gold, but because of what the demonstration revealed: a Wizard's "right to define" the rules.
Turning stone to gold defined mortal value.
'So, what can an even greater power define?'
He didn't want to wait any longer.
Allen turned, his gaze falling upon a white spire of the academy—the administrative center.
That was where all the academy's authoritative bodies were located, including the Academic Affairs Office, which was responsible for apprentice promotions.
He straightened his Apprentice Robe, smoothing out the collar.
The black Apprentice Robe appeared calm and solemn under the sun.
There was no trace of excitement on his face, only his usual calm, as if he were simply going to the library to check out a book.