Free Web NovelChapter 11: Chapter 11: A Reputation, Both Good and Bad
"Of course, nothing good comes easy!"
Andre leaned against a bookshelf, squatting down to examine the Beast Hide Scroll in his hands.
After reading through it once, Andre couldn’t help but worry. The reason was the information he’d found on the Beast Hide Scroll about practicing the Meditation Technique.
Practicing the Meditation Technique involved perceiving the Spiritual Power within one’s mind, taming it, and then forging it into a personal Spirit Rune. This step alone took one to two months for the quick, and three to four for the slow.
This was the normal speed for practicing the Meditation Technique. Of course, there were also abnormal speeds.
The Beast Hide Scroll recorded a way to speed up the process: one could take a Potion designed to stimulate Spiritual Power, allowing for faster perception. This was popularly known as doping.
The price for doping was that each Potion for stimulating Spiritual Power cost three Magic Stones. For new blood like them, who had just entered the Wizard World, this was a price most couldn’t afford.
’Magic Stones are the currency of the Wizard World, at least for anyone below a Level 3 Wizard. Where am I supposed to get Magic Stones?’
Andre rolled up the Beast Hide Scroll, tucked it into his clothes, and stood up. He looked at the vast Wizard Inheritance Hall before him and sighed helplessly.
This master of his had given him nothing but this Meditation Technique—not even a basic map.
’I’ll have to find one myself!’ Andre began searching the bookshelves for a map. After rummaging through four of them, he found a beast hide map that detailed the internal layout of the White Sea Wizard Academy.
Andre unrolled the map, and several black stones fell out from within.
"Magic Stones." Andre glanced toward the center of the hall. Clearly, these Magic Stones were the startup funds Radak had prepared for him.
As for why there were only a few, Andre had already guessed the reason.
Although Radak was his master, their relationship was still distant. He would help, but not too much.
This was something Andre had already anticipated.
This was how normal relationships worked. If Radak had offered him everything he owned right off the bat, Andre would have suspected his master of having ulterior motives.
Andre picked up the Magic Stones and looked at the map, planning his next move.
’Time to go. First, I’ll check the missions for anything suitable. The Wizard Inheritance Hall is nice, but there’s nowhere to eat here. And I haven’t reached my master’s level where I can just skip meals. Can’t rely on him for everything!’
With the map in hand, Andre left the Wizard Inheritance Hall. Following its directions, he arrived at a stone hall not far from the Inheritance Hall.
This was the mission distribution point marked on the map. By now, the sky had darkened, but there were still many people here, looking at the various missions on the Magic Energy Screen.
"Hunt a low-level creature, the Bloodthirsty Fierce Lizard. Bring back its heart, hide, and other materials. Reward: two Elementary Magic Stones." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"Collect the venom of a Black Death Snake. Requirement: ten milliliters. Reward: five Elementary Magic Stones."
Andre watched the missions scroll by on the Magic Energy Screen and drew in a sharp breath. When a mission appeared on the screen, an image of the Magical Beast to be hunted was also displayed.
For the Bloodthirsty Fierce Lizard hunt, the image showed a creature over two meters long and one meter tall. It had long, sharp claws and pale green saliva dripping from its mouth—obviously venomous. Yet for such a dangerous mission, the reward was only two Elementary Magic Stones.
And the Black Death Snake from the venom collection mission was nearly three meters long and pitch-black. When its venom dripped onto a stone, it instantly corroded a small pit into it.
’Magic Stones are hard to earn!’
Andre looked at the remaining missions, but every single one was more or less related to these low-level magic-energy creatures.
"New here?"
A Wizard Apprentice standing next to Andre turned to glance at him.
"Yes. Are all the missions like this?"
Andre nodded.
"You’re in the wrong place. This screen is for missions that only High Level Wizard Apprentices can accept. New blood who just joined the academy, like you, should be over there."
The Wizard Apprentice pointed out the mission screen for the new recruits.
"Oh, thank you!"
Andre nodded and hurried over.
When he reached the spot the kind Wizard Apprentice had pointed to, he indeed found a second Magic Energy Screen. The missions on this one were much simpler.
"Obtain the hearts of ten Pig Beasts? Reward: 0.1 Magic Stones."
"Gather a Basic Magic Potion ingredient, one hundred stalks of Silver Moon Grass. Requirement: do not damage the roots. Reward: 0.2 Magic Stones."
These missions were simple, but the Magic Stone rewards were pathetically small.
"You. You, the new one?"
Just as Andre was searching for a mission he could do, an old man behind the counter next to the screen opened his eyes and pointed at him.
"Me?" Andre blinked, pointing at himself.
"Yes, you. Your master has assigned you a mission."
The old man nodded, then beckoned for Andre to come closer.
Under the shocked gazes of the many new Wizard recruits, Andre walked over and took a Token from the old man’s hand. freewebnσvel.cѳm
The moment Andre took the Token, a stream of information flooded his mind.
"Comprehend the meaning of ten Demon Patterns, reward: one Magic Stone?"
After making sense of the information stream, Andre read the mission aloud.
When he announced the mission, some of the apprentices from the previous batch to enter the White Sea Wizard Academy stared at Andre with wide eyes.
"Whose descendant is he? To get a specially issued, generous mission like that!"
"Damn, why didn’t I get such a good master when I joined the academy? Wait a minute... master!"
Some apprentices realized something was off. Andre, a new recruit who had just joined the academy, already had a master?
What was going on? Among their batch, the previous group of new blood to enter the Wizard Academy, many still hadn’t been accepted as a disciple by a Wizard even after five years. Yet Andre had a master as soon as he arrived?
"If I remember correctly, the last person to receive this kind of treatment was Lord Eisen, eighty years ago!"
A Wizard Apprentice with a good memory recalled the last person to have such a privilege, and that person was now an Official Wizard.
"Let’s go, let’s go. We can’t afford to offend him!"
Some of the Wizard Apprentices quickened their pace. A person with a deep background like Andre was clearly not someone they could afford to provoke.
"What’s your master’s name?"
While some left, others wanted to connect with Andre.
After all, anyone who had a Wizard as a master right after entering the academy must have an incredibly powerful background.
In the future, even the scraps that fell from Andre’s fingers would be enough to sustain them.
"Radak!" Andre hesitated for a moment before revealing his master’s name.
The moment the name "Radak" left Andre’s lips, all traces of envy vanished from the apprentices’ faces, replaced by looks of pity.
"Impressive!" "What a madman!" "Does he have a death wish?"
The Wizard Apprentices all gave Andre a thumbs-up.
"Is there a problem?"
Andre looked at the expressions on the Wizard Apprentices’ faces, a doubt forming in his mind. ’My master seems fine. Why is his reputation out here like this?’
"Well, your master is great in every way, except for one thing. He’s just a little... strict."
The old man who had given Andre the Token noticed his confusion and explained.
The old man’s words made many of the Wizard Apprentices who had been "educated" by Radak roll their eyes. Just a little strict?
That wasn’t Mr. Strict knocking on the door, that was the whole Strict family moving in!
