The base was quiet.
Atiel walked lightly on the cobblestone path, her lips curving into an unsuppressed smile. Just a moment ago, she had sessfully cast the Repair Spell. This was the second zero-ring spell she mastered.
“After finishing the next task of tending to the magic nts, I’ll have enough contribution points to exchange for another zero-ring spell model book,” she thought. “What should I learn for my third spell?”
While contemting, she headed towards the magic nt garden. Before reaching the entrance, she heard cheerful, lighthearted singing, interspersed with the sweet, tinkling sound ofughter. Atiel couldn’t help but be infected by the joy in theughter, her smile deepening.
Entering the magic nt garden, she immediately saw a group of little people sitting on flowers, singing happily. Each one was less than ten centimeters tall, wearing clothes woven from leaves, with petal-like wings. Their skin color resembled that of various flowers, ranging from grayish white to vibrant red or yellow. They had no hair, but instead sported various flower petals.
They looked like little fairies from a fairytale.
In fact, these little people belonged to the category of ultra-small spirits. They were Flower Spirits, strange creatures summoned by Lord Su Nan from another world. They were adept at tending nts and could promote their growth. The only downside was that they were quite mischievous. She, Xieman, and Kore had been tricked by these little guys many times while working in the magic nt garden.
However, Atiel still liked these little guys. After all, they were really adorable.
Upon seeing Atiel, the Flower Spirits immediately flew over, chirping with joy. Atiel smiled and yed with them for a while before bidding them farewell and heading inside. Along the way, she encountered a humanoid creature who looked like a female elf but had tree bark-like skin and hair that resembled leaves.
“Good morning, Ms. Madeline,” Atiel stopped and greeted her.
This was another creature summoned from another world by Lord Su Nan. She was said to be a Child of the Forest and was responsible for guarding the magic nt garden.
Madeline nodded lightly at Atiel and continued her patrol. Atiel didn’t mind. She knew Ms. Madeline was a bit taciturn.
In the past two years in the base, Atiel had grown ustomed to discovering new creatures from other worlds every few months.
Reaching the Silver Moonflower ntation, Atiel immediately saw Xieman watering the nts.
“Xieman,” she called out.
Xieman turned around, saw Atiel, and his face lit up with a smile. He quickly put down his watering can and ran over.
“Atiel, why are you here?”
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Atiel rolled her eyes helplessly and said, “Are you out of your mind? Forgot what the teacher told us to do?”
Xieman pped his forehead and quickly recalled the task, chuckling awkwardly.
“Oh, right, today is the day.”
The grand Wizard Aptitude Assessment had ended five days ago. Unlike their experience back then, the base was now fully equipped, and neers who passed the assessment no longer had to learn at the lord’s manor. They could move directly into the base.
The only issue was that their teacher was busy and couldn’t spare the time, so they were tasked with familiarizing the neers with the base and exining some things to them. Xieman had been busy with his taskstely and almost forgot about it.
“Where is Kore?”
“He is already at the base gate.”
“Then let’s go.”
They walked out of the magic nt garden side-by-side, discussing the assessment along the way.
“I wonder how many people will pass the assessment this time.”
“Definitely more than our batch.”
“Makes sense.”
Compared to two years ago, the territory of Shining Light had more than quadrupled in size. The poption had also increased dramatically. With arger poption base, the number of eligible children with aptitudes would naturally increase as well.
And since this was the first assessment, the number of participants would likely be exceptionally high. The base might gain ten or more apprentices this year.
Thinking about soon bing a senior, Xieman felt a strange sense of excitement. The current base was so quiet. He couldn’t wait to have more people around to liven things up, more people to exchange ideas with and learn from each other.
He wasn’t worried about resources being stretched thin by the influx of apprentices. ording to Ms. Gree, the resources in the warehouse were more than enough for dozens of apprentices.
“I heard you started making potions recently. How’s it going?” Atiel asked suddenly.
Xieman scratched his head and chuckled wryly, “It feels really hard. I failed ten times with the Brute Strength potion. All the materials I managed to save up this month went to waste.”
To reduce the difficulty, Xieman had deliberately chosen the Brute Strength potion, a rtively beginner-friendly potion, instead of the more difficult Lower-Grade Revitalization Potion or Lower-Grade Dragon Blood Potion. But his first attempts were still terrible.
“Don’t worry, the teacher said everyone finds it tough at first. It will get better once you get the hang of it,” Atiel consoled him.
Xieman nodded but sighed internally.
It wasn’t that easy.
He wasn’t like Kore and Atiel, who came from wealthy families. Even without contribution points, they could buy materials from their families. He had given all his coins to old Roger. The materials he used daily were all exchanged using contribution points.
This failed attempt at potion-making, wasting those materials, made him feel a pang of heartache.
“Speaking of which, what is Kore doing these days?” Xieman asked.
He hadn’t seen Kore in quite a while. While they all lived in the base, they didn’t meet very often, busy with their meditation and studies.
Atiel said, “Kore has been learning to refine ckrock Beaststely. But the progress seems to be a bit slow.”
“Refining puppets is indeed pretty difficult,” Xieman nodded in agreement.
He had also tried refining ckrock Beasts, but all attempts had failed. His talent in puppetry was even worse than his potion-making.
Thinking about refining puppets, Xieman also felt a tinge of emotion.
The ckrock Beast was a knight-level puppet. Two years ago, knights were high-ranking figures to him. He never imagined that he would be refining a puppetparable to a knight.
The changes that had happened to him in the past two years were truly incredible. And all of it was thanks to their teacher.
Thinking of their teacher, Xieman couldn’t help but feel grateful.
As they talked, they had reached the base gate and saw Kore waiting there from a distance.
Compared to two years ago, fifteen-year-old Kore had grown taller, his figure elongated. Coupled with his handsome features, he fit the mold of a noble young master that girls loved.
Sensing someoneing, Kore turned and looked over. His eyes lit up slightly when they met Atiel, but they quickly returned to a nk expression upon seeing Xieman.
Xieman couldn’t help but roll his eyes inwardly.
This guy, Kore, really saw him as a rival. Since falling behind him in the Star Ring Meditation Method and the construction of the first Star Ring, Kore’s self-esteem seemed to be hurt. He became even more diligent in his cultivation, determined to surpass him.
While Xieman didn’t like topete, he had to admit that Kore’s actions put a lot of pressure on him, pushing him to work harder. His progress in meditation and studies had be rapid.
Not long ago, their teacher had praised both him and Kore. Perhaps this was the advantage of having a rival.
The three of them were just starting a conversation when a group of figures appeared in the distance.
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Twelve boys and girls, riding ckrock Beasts, escorted by a team of ckrock cavalry, were approaching the base.
The leader was Lord Bred.
“I heard that Lord Bred has been promoted to a Great Knight. He is the second Great Knight in Shining Light besides the lord,” Atiel whispered.
“With the Dragon Blood Fruit, there will only be more Great Knights in the territory.”
Xieman responded softly but his gaze was focused on the twelve boys and girls. Based on their clothing and demeanor, they were both noble children and those from middle-ss families. But none of them were like him, from a poor or peasant background.
Literacy was still a major constraint, blocking the path for poor peasants to be wizard apprentices. Xieman had actually considered changing this situation. However, reforming education involved various aspects. Even the lord himself would find it hard to aplish, let alone him.
“Good morning, the three of you.”
Upon approaching, Bred dismounted his ckrock Beast and bowed to Xieman and the others. Although he could be their father in terms of age, and was a Great Knight and lord, he still showed due respect to Su Nan’s three students.
“Lord Bred, long time no see.”
Xieman, Atiel, and Kore bowed in return.
“I have delivered the people. My task is done. It’s your turn to take care of them from here on.”
Bred left with his soldiers after dropping off the neers.
Watching Bred leave, Xieman and the others turned to the twelve neers.
“Good morning, senior brothers and sisters.”
The twelve neers bowed and greeted them, their expressions revealing a palpable sense of nervousness and apprehension.
After two years of meditation and study, Xieman, Kore, and Atiel had developed an aura of mystery and depth. To ordinary people, they somehow seemed profoundly enigmatic.
Even Xieman, who was from a peasant background, had been transformed. His every move radiatedpetence and decisiveness. Anyone who saw him for the first time would never guess that he had once been a timid and self-conscious child.
Standing before these three, even the noble children felt a strange pressure.
“Don’t be nervous. We are ssmates starting today,” Atiel said gently.
Her kind and gentle smile eased the tension on the neers’ faces.
“Let’s go, it’s gettingte,” Kore said with a nonchnt tone. “Let’s finish this quickly, I still have to go back to refine puppets.”
His impatient tone brought the newly rxed atmosphere back to a state of awkwardness.
Atiel red slightly at Kore, leading the neers into the base.
“The base is veryrge, divided into many areas, but they are all easily identifiable.”
“Most areas are open to you, but ces like the Detention Zone and the Energy Control Room are off-limits to apprentices. There are also magic rms set up, so be careful not to trigger them.”
“These are y Golems, responsible for doing odd jobs. There are also Stone Golems, mainly responsible for guarding and patrolling the base.”
“Besides us apprentices, there is Ms. Gree, who guards the warehouse, Ms. Madeline, who guards the magic nt garden, and the Flower Spirits who cultivate magic nts. They are all helpers summoned by the teacher from another world.”
Along the way, Atiel enthusiastically introduced the base to the neers, exining some important things. Xieman would asionally interject and add a few points. Kore remained silent, with a detached expression throughout.
Thankfully, the neers didn’t mind. Everyone’s eyes were wide with wonder as they looked at the scenery, finding everything incredibly new.
Looking at the neers, Xieman couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of emotion. He felt like he was seeing himself two years ago. Back then, his reaction upon visiting the base for the first time was probably simr to these neers.
“And there is the Stealthy Dragon and Ms. Amy.”
“The Stealthy Dragon is the teacher’s magicpanion, a powerful dragon lizard capable of concealing itself.”
“Ms. Amy is a friend of the teacher. Her origins are shrouded in mystery, but she’s not in the base today. Otherwise, she would likely havee to see you all.”
After touring most of the areas, Atiel brought them to the warehouse.
Gree was sitting in front of the warehouse door, ying the violin. The melodious sound brought a sense of peace and tranquility.
Atiel motioned for the neers to stop and wait patiently until Gree finished ying a piece, put down her violin, and then walked up to her, saying, “Ms. Gree, I have brought the neers.”
“There are quite a few neers this year.”
Gree looked at the neers with a smile, pointing to the books on a table nearby.
“This is what Lord Su Nan wants me to give to the neers, including the Star Ring Meditation Method and some basic books. Please take them.”
Atiel thanked her and took the books to distribute to the neers.
“By the way, there’s a new guy in the Detention Zone who’s a bit difficult to deal with. Lord Su Nan asked me to tell you all to stay away from the Detention Zone as much as possible.” Gree added a reminder.
A difficult guy?
Xieman, Atiel, and Kore exchanged nces.
Clearly, the difficult guy Gree mentioned was another helper summoned by their teacher from another world. It was just unclear what was wrong with him, for Gree, who was usually kind and gentle, to describe him as “difficult”.
They were curious, but they had always followed their teacher’s instructions. They readily agreed upon hearing this.
Leaving the warehouse, they went to the living quarters for the neers to choose their rooms.
*Woo-woo-woo!*
At that moment, a piercing rm sounded in their ears.
Xieman, Atiel, and Kore’s expressions changed simultaneously.
“Someone has triggered a magic rm!”
“It’sing from the gate direction. Let’s go check it out!”
“Stay here, don’t wander around.”
After giving the neers instructions, Xieman and the others rushed towards the base gate.
From a distance, they could see a group of Stone Golems surrounding the base gate.
As they approached, they discovered that the Stone Golems had surrounded the intruder.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
To their surprise, there was only one person.
The person waspletely covered in a long robe, revealing only a pale, stiff male face. He looked to be about thirty years old, radiating a gloomy aura.
Looking at the face, Xieman, Atiel, and Kore felt a strange tingling sensation on their skin, as if their spines were turning to ice.
The man’s gaze swept over Xieman and the others.
“Three young First-Rank Wizard Apprentices.”
“Interesting. These days, not many people take on students.”
The man’s voice was hoarse and unpleasant, like sandpaper. But what surprised Xieman and the others even more was that the voice came from beneath the man’s robe. His mouth never moved throughout.
A gentle breeze blew past.
Xieman and the others felt something and turned to see Su Nan standing beside them, as if he had materialized out of thin air.
“Teacher!”
The three young apprentices bowed hurriedly.
Su Nan waved his hand, saying, “You go back, I’ll handle this.”