Below the names of each academy, their specialties, famous wizards, and other information were listed for the apprentices to choose from.
"These must be telling us to find an academy based on elemental affinity!" someone murmured.
Leilin nodded. "My elemental affinities are highest for Shadow and Dark, followed by Fire. Plant is out of the question, unless I want to remain an apprentice forever!"
"Also..." Leilin took the
"Chip! Scan the patterns on the ring and compare them with the academy emblems I've seen before!"
"Beep! Task established. Scan commencing. Scan complete. Comparing against database..."
"Comparison complete. Similarity scores: Black Bone Forest Academy 67.3%, Mesopotamia University 54.4%, Gothic Sage's Cottage 23.1%..."
"So these three academies have the highest probability?"
Leilin stroked his chin. "Going by the academy descriptions, I recall Mesopotamia University is famous for Fire, Plant, and crafting Magical Items. Gothic Sage's Cottage has a lower similarity score, and it's not particularly renowned for Shadow or Dark system spells either."
"Looks like Black Bone Forest is the only real choice then? Their Dark system spells are the most famous, and their research into the soul is ahead of most other academies."
"Only... Black Bone Forest! That name sounds way too much like some 'demonic path' from my previous life!" Leilin hesitated.
"With my Shadow and Dark affinities, I suppose I was never going to walk the path of Light!" After thinking it over, Leilin decided to at least go look. He couldn't let a name hold back his own development.
"The recruitment point for Black Bone Forest Academy... I think it was on the east side of the camp!"
After walking for about ten minutes, Leilin arrived before a tent constructed entirely from countless white bones. Letters formed on its surface spelled out "Black Bone Forest Welcomes You!" in large, dripping blood-red characters, scaring away many of the surrounding apprentices. Leilin was left speechless.
"Why create such a terrifying scene? To scare people? At least wait until after we sign the contract, otherwise you'll scare all the apprentices away!"
Leilin shook his head and stepped into the bone tent.
The moment he entered, a gloomy, bloody chill enveloped him, raising goosebumps all over his body.
"Heh heh heh... We've waited so long, and finally someone comes!"
"Where? Who's talking?" Leilin was startled.
"Sorry! You're stepping on my hand!" The voice came from beneath Leilin's feet, making him jump in fright.
Only then did he realize that his shoe was stepping on a withered, dried hand. Leilin quickly jumped away. "I'm sorry, sir!"
"It's fine, but could you move your foot? It's stepping on my right foot!"
Only now did Leilin notice that the bottom of the tent was uneven, scattered with quite a few dry bones — he had simply not been paying attention and stepped on them.
As Leilin backed away, several withered hands and feet quickly gathered together, assembling themselves into a skeletal humanoid figure.
Looking more closely, the skeleton still had a thin layer of skin stretched over its bones, and two points of green ghostly fire flickered within the skull's eye sockets — extremely terrifying.
"Sorry! Sir!" Leilin swallowed hard and quickly apologized.
"No matter!" The white bone teeth rolled up and down, producing a human voice. "Allow me to introduce myself — I am a professor of the Shadow System at Black Bone Forest Academy. You may call me '
"Honored Lord Duolote, greetings!" Leilin bowed once more.
"Did you come here wanting to join our Black Bone Forest Academy?" The skeletal Duolote produced a black robe from somewhere and draped it over his body, hiding the bones from sight, which made Leilin feel much better.
"Before that, I'd like to first look at Black Bone Forest's regulations regarding apprentices!"
"Of course!" Duolote pulled out a dust-covered piece of parchment from behind his back and handed it to Leilin.
"According to the ancient agreement, once you choose our Black Bone Forest, you may receive basic course instruction, a set of introductory Meditation Methods, and five years of residency rights. Both dormitory and meals are provided free of charge. Furthermore, we permit you to exchange knowledge with our various instructors through payment of Magic Stones or other compensation..."
Duolote kept talking, and Leilin scanned through it at lightning speed, using the Chip to cross-reference and compare in real time.
He found that everything Duolote said matched what was written on the parchment — in terms of these basic benefits, the various academies were all roughly the same.
What truly startled Leilin was the Chip's feedback. It showed that while it still couldn't scan the target, the ambient energy fluctuations unconsciously emanating from Duolote before him indicated that his strength was far beyond that of the three white-robed wizards in the carriage.
"I've understood the basic situation. May I ask — what is required to enter Black Bone Forest Academy?"
"Thirteen Magic Stones, or items of equivalent value!" Duolote said.
"I'll use this instead!" Leilin steeled his resolve and took out the Wizard Ring from around his neck.
"It seems you have an interesting little trinket!" The green flames in Duolote's eye sockets suddenly blazed much brighter.
The bony hand took the ring, rubbed it between its palm, and even produced something resembling a magnifying glass to examine it closely.
"Hmm… a very interesting item. It's been quite some time since I've seen this kind of pattern!"
"A low-grade Magical Item! It appears to originate from our Black Bone Forest Academy as well. There's an acceleration Wizard Rune inscribed on it, though it's damaged. Its value is fifteen Magic Stones!"
"Now then, New Blood, are you willing to use this ring to cover your enrollment fees? Once you decide, you will enter into an ancient covenant with our Black Bone Forest!" Duolote spoke in a resonant, declamatory tone.
"I'm willing!" Lei Lin's voice was firm.
"Very well! Then I declare — the covenant is established!" Duolote said. "Hand me your form!"
Taking the form Lei Lin handed over, Duolote let out a laugh: "Shadow System affinity, no wonder you chose our Academy. In this regard, we are the finest in all of the South Coast!"
"Since the value you've offered exceeds the tuition, I hereby grant you the right to skip the entrance examination! Take this token. Go rest in the back, and tomorrow you'll travel with me back to the Academy!"
Duolote tossed over an iron-plate-like object. Lei Lin caught it and looked — the number "9" was inscribed on its surface.
"That's it? I thought there'd be signing or something!" Lei Lin remarked casually.
"Hehehe… no one has ever dared to deceive a formal Wizard!" The white-boned skeleton chuckled, sending a chill down Lei Lin's spine.
"Then I'll take my leave, sir!" Lei Lin bowed, stepped out of the tent, and made his way to the area behind the Black Bone Forest Academy tent.
Behind these academy signboards stood rows upon rows of wooden cabins. A few young men and girls drifted in and out between them — they seemed to be quarters specifically for incoming apprentices.
"Hey! Hello there, are you new too?"
Creak!
A wooden door marked with the number 6 swung open, and an apprentice stepped out — red hair, blue eyes — and greeted Lei Lin.
"Hello! My name is Lei Lin!" Lei Lin smiled.
"Haha! I'm Beilu. No need to get into family backgrounds or anything — they won't be of any use on another continent anyway!" Beilu was quite enthusiastic.
"Come! Let me introduce you around!" Beilu called out to the various doors: "Guys! We've got a new buddy here!"
Three or two apprentices emerged from the wooden doors, gathering together. Lei Lin counted — there were seven or eight of them.
"Good day, sir! I'm
"You seem to have arrived a bit late!" Kreweir said.
"Ran into some trouble crossing the prairie!" Lei Lin said vaguely, clearly not wanting to elaborate.
"The
"Beilu — you've already met!"
"This is Hank, third-grade talent!" A tall, stocky white boy scratched his head sheepishly, looking rather simple and honest.
"This is Lannuo, fourth-grade talent!" The one called Lannuo was a thin, short boy who stood well below the rest, though there was an unmistakable hint of pride in his eyes.
……
"This is
First and second-grade talent basically meant a lifetime stuck as an apprentice, so it was no wonder he was somewhat dismissive.
"H-hello!" Gulicha forced a smile and managed a stiff greeting. Niss and Duodulier were two little girls, still a bit baby-faced, who hung their heads deeply at this point.
"Who's that?" Lei Lin jerked his chin toward someone.
Near their small circle, there was also a boy dressed in black. His face was pale, and he stood off to the side, looking both out of place and somewhat arrogant.
"Him? That's Jiamen! The genius of our intake — fifth-grade talent! Becoming a full Wizard is only a matter of time!" Kreweir's expression darkened, his tone clearly tinged with sourness.
"Fifth-grade talent... there's a ninety percent chance of becoming a Wizard! No wonder he's so full of himself!" Lei Lin sucked in a sharp breath and couldn't help giving Jiamen a few more glances.
"Hmph!" As if sensing everyone's gaze, Jiamen let out a cold snort and stepped into his wooden hut. It was noticeably larger than the surrounding ones and far more lavishly decorated.
"As a fifth-grade apprentice, he gets the best treatment. There might already be mentors who've reserved him as their student!"
Kreweir's face grew even uglier.
Lei Lin noticed that among this batch of apprentices, several small cliques had already formed. The third and fourth-grade boys were caught in the middle — too lacking to measure up to those above, but still far better off than those below. They looked down on the lower-grade apprentices, yet felt somewhat inferior whenever they faced Jiamen.
As for the low-talent apprentices like Gulicha, they naturally bonded over their shared misfortune and stuck together. Then there was the genius Jiamen on the outside, drifting beyond both groups entirely.
"Hello everyone! I'm Lei Lin, and my talent... is third-grade!" Lei Lin said.
"Welcome!" Kreweir's face broke into a smile, while Gulicha and the two girls felt somewhat self-conscious. After offering a brief greeting, they retreated back into the wooden cabin.