Soon, a Wizard Tower piercing the clouds appeared outside the window. They had arrived at Shadow Moon Tower Academy!
Figures hurried about at the main gate. The faces of many Apprentices were etched with exhaustion, their clothes stained with dust or blood. These were the ones returning to turn in their missions.
After entering the gate, Ian's eyes were filled with a sense of exploration. This was his "first time" at the Wizard Academy.
The stone walls of the corridors on both sides still emanated a deathly pale, cold light.
The public lecture hall was always filled with Apprentices listening attentively, their hands quickly jotting down abstruse content.
The very air around the Potion classrooms was permeated with a pungent, mixed smell of bitterness and spice.
…
Ian observed his surroundings as he walked, turning down a small path he remembered and arriving at the administration building for Apprentice promotions.
A row of six or seven large doors stood open in front of the long administration building, with many Apprentices waiting outside.
Ian chose a familiar window and quietly got in line. Half an hour later, it was his turn.
Just as he was about to enter, a shriek came from above his head. The sound was piercing, as if deliberately forced from a pinched throat.
"Brat, what are you doing here?"
Ian looked up to see a Raven, half as tall as a man, hovering above his head.
The Raven spoke the Tua Language. Tua, which meant "to pursue knowledge and explore truth," was the most common language in the Wizard World.
At that moment, its two jet-black eyes were staring at him.
Ian understood the expression in the Raven's eyes. 'It's a shakedown!'
'This didn't happen when I first enrolled!'
Ian reached into his robes and held something out to the bird.
A shiny Magic Stone lay in his open palm.
"GAGA! You're not bad, brat. I permit you to address me as Lord Uma'Er. Now, you may ask a few trivial questions."
After snatching the Magic Stone with its beak and swallowing it in one gulp, Uma'Er's attitude did a complete one-eighty.
Ian knew this creature was the Summoned Demon of Official Wizard Luca Marino and couldn't be offended.
"Lord Uma'Er, what kind of mood is Luca Wizard in today?"
"Luca's mood is average today, which I suppose counts as good news."
Uma'Er bobbed its head, then suddenly froze, tilting its head to look at Ian.
"GAGA, I remember you. You came to the academy two years ago. Back then, there was a genius with Special Talent, what was her name... Irena. She was in the same batch as you."
"You have an excellent memory, Lord Uma'Er. I wonder how Irena is doing now?"
"She broke through to High Level Apprentice a year ago! In the last hundred years, she's the High Tower's most promising…"
Uma'Er suddenly stopped, not continuing.
Ian asked a few more questions, but seeing the bird grow increasingly impatient, he didn't press any further.
The light dimmed abruptly upon entering the hall. Up ahead, Ian saw a man sitting behind a desk.
"Greetings, Luca Wizard." Ian quickly bowed his head.
"State your business."
Luca Wizard's voice was even more grating than Uma'Er's.
It sounded like the sharp edges of two pieces of glass being forcefully scraped against each other.
"I recently broke through to Middle Level Apprentice and have come to register my advancement."
"Mm." Luca took a Compass out of his desk drawer.
"Place your hand on it."
Ian stepped forward and did as instructed. A soft light emanated from the Compass.
"That's enough. Verification passed." Luca put the Compass away and took out a sheet of Parchment.
"Sign here. And try your best to break through to High Level Apprentice within ten years. Work hard, kid."
"Thank you for the guidance, Luca Wizard."
As Ian signed, he carefully read the contents of the parchment.
It listed some of the free benefits that came with his promotion, as well as access to new missions.
As a Low Level Apprentice, he hadn't been qualified to accept even many of the most basic missions within the High Tower.
"You can also learn one Low Tier Middle Level Witchcraft for free." Luca handed over a witchcraft catalog.
Ian took it carefully and quickly scanned the catalog.
[Repulsive Force Technique]
[Flash Technique]
[Energy Missile]
[Acid Splash]
…
Ian weighed the options in his mind and finally selected a Witchcraft.
"Luca Wizard, I choose this Witchcraft."
Luca Wizard glanced at his choice, unsurprised.
After fumbling in the drawer for a moment, he took out an Inheritance Crystal Ball and handed it to Ian.
Ian took it. He had used one of these before when he learned Wizard's Hand.
He gently covered the Crystal Ball with his Spiritual Power, and a flood of information soon poured into his mind.
After the information transfer was complete, Ian bowed to Luca Wizard once more.
"Thank you, Luca Wizard!"
With that, the process was complete. Luca waved a hand, dismissing him.
When he came out, Uma'Er was gone, having no doubt flown off to extort Magic Stones from someone else.
Ian decided to head to the mission area in the plaza first.
After a few turns, he arrived at the mission assignment area. In its center was a wide Crystal screen.
'Yes, there's a Crystal screen here, too. It looks a lot like the advertising screens from my past life, but it's a completely different thing.'
A crowd of Apprentices looking for missions was squeezed together beneath the screen, among them quite a few figures in red.
They stared intently at the constantly refreshing list of missions on the screen.
Ian found it fascinating and moved closer for a better look.
[Clean the Dust Mites in the Old Library, Fixed Reward: 35 Magic Stone Fragments per day]
[Maintain the Underground Water Source Filtration Runes, Reward: Varies]
[Test Subject for the Improved "Calm Potion" Formula, Reward: 5 Magic Stones per dose]
[Acquisition of Wood Charm Beast Heart Cores, Reward: 10 Magic Stones per core]
[Recruiting for Ruins Exploration. Requirements: Middle Level Apprentice or higher, knowledge of at least two Attack Witchcrafts. Reward: Acquired resources to be distributed based on contribution.]
…
…
Ian saw that the high-reward missions were being snapped up quickly and disappearing from the screen.
The mission titles alone made them sound extremely dangerous, yet they were all snatched up in an instant.
Suddenly, a cry of pain and a string of curses erupted from the crowd behind him, only to be followed by an abrupt silence.
"It's Nolan Monroe from the Night Shadow Association! He has a High-class Dark Attribute Talent—a true genius!"
"Why is he so crude and disrespectful? It's not like anyone offended him…"
"Most people from the Night Shadow Association act like that. I bet one of these days…"
"Shh! He's a High Level Apprentice. Don't look for trouble."
…
Nolan shot the crowd a cold glance, and everyone immediately fell silent.
He snorted and turned his gaze back to the screen. In truth, he already had more missions than he could handle.
He was just here waiting for his younger brother to arrive and decided to see if any missions caught his eye.
Ian covertly sized Nolan up. The man was certainly handsome.
His long, reddish-gold hair was tied back, he had a high-bridged nose, and a well-fitting red Long Robe accentuated his tall, well-proportioned figure.
However, his sinister eyes and thin lips gave him a cold and ruthless air.
Ian watched the missions refresh and disappear, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Some of the missions listed were very tempting, even to him.
Among them was a recruitment mission with an extremely generous reward, one that only a Magic Potion Alchemist could accept.
The reward wasn't a fixed daily or monthly salary, but a profit-sharing partnership based on the sale of the Potions.
The recruiter also promised to provide various Potion formulas at a low cost.
He remembered the Witchcraft Mark on the mission post: a green leaf.
…
Leaving the mission center, Ian hurried to the library.
He planned to spend more time in the High Tower. In addition to attending specialized classes, he wanted to read more books and learn as much as he could about this world.
'The original owner's memories are unreliable, so I'll have to correct them bit by bit.'
After arriving at the library's free section, he picked out more than a dozen books, settled into a corner, and began to read.
[Anoraya Continent Structure]
[The Unwritten Rules of Wizard Society]
*Wizard Tier and Apprentice Rules*
*Wizard Economy and Trade Guide*
…