15 - 21

Acolytes

Under the various academy names, there were details such as specialisation areas, and famous Magi, for the acolytes to consider.

"All these are for us to choose an academy according to our elemental affinities!"

Leylin nodded his head, "My elemental affinity with the Shadow and Dark elements is the highest, Fire is secondary, and lastly the Plant element is the most negligible unless I want to stay as an acolyte my whole life!"

"And..." Leylin took down the Magus ring that had been hanging around his neck.

"A.I Chip! Scan the patterns on the ring, and compare them with images of the academies I passed by before!"

[Beep! Mission initialising, beginning to scan. Scan complete, comparing with database...] [Comparison completed. Similarity level: Abyssal Bone Forest Academy 67.3%, Mercifura Academy 54.4%, Sage Gotham's Hut 23.1% ...]

"So these three academies have the highest probabilities?"

Leylin stroked his chin, "From the various introductions of the academies, I remember that Mercifura Academy specialises in the Fire and Plant elements, as well as the creation of magic artifacts. Sage Gotham's Hut is not known for famous Shadow and Dark element Magi either."

"It seems like the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy is the best choice? They're famous for their specialisation in the Dark element, and is also a pioneer in the research of souls."

"But this Abyssal Bone Forest Academy! Why does the name sound like a cult from the previous world?!"

"It seems like a Shadow and Dark element affinity user like me can never get close to the light!" After thinking for a while, Leylin still decided to take a look no matter what. At the very least, one cannot hinder their progress based on a name alone.

"I remember the recruiting area for the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy acolytes; it seems to be on the east side of the camp!"

Leylin walked for about 10 minutes and finally reached a tent that was constructed with numerous white bones. The words on top were arranged to form, "The Abyssal Bone Forest Academy welcomes you!" These big words were all written in red and dripping blood, which scared many of the surrounding acolytes away, and seeing this made Leylin rather speechless.

"Why would they construct such a scary looking scene? To frighten people? They could have at least done it after signing the contract; otherwise, all the acolytes will be scared away!"

Leylin shook his head and walked into the tent of white bones.

As he entered, a cold aura that reeked of blood engulfed Leylin and made his hair stand on ends.

"He he he...After waiting for long, finally, one comes!"

"Where are you? Who is speaking?" Leylin received a shock.

"Excuse me! You are stepping on my hand!" The voice travelling from beneath Leylin's feet, which made him jump in fright.

Only then did he realise that his shoes were stepping on a withered palm. Leylin hurriedly jumped away, "Sorry, Sir!"

"No worries, but could you move your feet? They are stepping on my right leg now!"

Leylin then realised that the ground inside the tent was uneven and there were many dried bones littered about, and earlier he had unsuspectingly stepped on some.

As Leylin moved backwards, the few dried bones of hands and legs began to assemble into a skeletal figure.

Taking a closer look, there was a faint layer of skin on top of this skeleton which had covered the bones and on the skull where the eyes were, two green light flickered faintly, which was extremely terrifying.

"I'm sorry! Sir!" Leylin gulped and hurriedly apologised.

"No matter!" The white bony teeth clacked and produced a human voice: "Let me introduce myself, I am a professor of the Shadow and Dark elements. You can call me Dorotte!"

"My most respected Sir Dorotte, hello!" Leylin bowed once again.

"You coming here, does that mean you wish to enter the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy?" The bony white Dorotte conjured a black robe from nowhere and concealed its body within it, which soothed Leylin's nerves a little.

"Before that, I wish to see the rules set by the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy!"

"Alright!" Dorotte took out a dusty sheet of sheepskin paper from behind and handed it over to Leylin.

According to the ancient agreement, after choosing our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, you are receiving the right to partake in the basic lessons of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, a set of elementary meditation techniques, 5 years of residence, lodging, and food free of charge. We also allow you to use magic crystals as remuneration, to exchange for knowledge from the professors..."

Dorotte spoke nonstop while Leylin read rapidly and compared with the information constantly presented by the A.I. Chip.

He discovered that what Dorotte said was the exact same as the information on the sheepskin paper. In terms of basic hospitality, it was pretty similar amongst the various academies.

The feedback from the A.I. Chip also indicated that although it could not successfully scan the person in front of him, Dorotte had unintentionally released a fluctuating radiation which implied that Dorotte's strength was above the 3 white robes of the travelling party and this startled Leylin.

"I have understood the basic terms now, may I know what kind of payment is needed to enter the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy?"

"Thirteen magic crystals or an item identical in value!" Dorotte said.

"I will use this item to exchange!" Leylin made up his mind and withdrew the Magus ring hung around his neck.

"You seem to have an interesting toy!" The green flame in Dorotte's eyes flashed.

The bony white hand took the ring and placed it in its palm, and then took out an item similar to a magnifying glass and inspected it.

"Mn...It is indeed rather interesting, I haven't seen these patterns in a long time!"

"A low-grade magic artifact! It looks like it was created in our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy and there is a carved inscription of a hastening spell formation, but it is broken. It's worth fifteen magic crystals!"

"Now! Newbie, are you willing to mortgage this ring for your school fees? Once you have decided, sign the ancient contract of our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy!" Dorotte said, with an accentuated tone.

"I accept!" Leylin's resolute voice sounded.

"Good! I hereby declare that the contract is formed!" Dorotte said, "Hand over your form to me!"

After receiving Leylin's form, Dorotte laughed, "Shadow and Dark element affinity, no wonder you chose our academy. In this Death Beach, we are the most outstanding!"

"Since you forked out a greater amount than the fees required, I hereby announce that you have been accepted and won't need an entry test! Take this card! Go back and rest. Tomorrow we will proceed with our journey back to the school!"

Dorotte took out something that resembled a metal card. Leylin received it and saw that a number '9' was written on it.

"It is over just like this? Don't we have to sign a contract or something?" Leylin asked casually.

"Ha ha ha...Never once was there someone who dared to deceive a Magus!" Dorotte sniggered, and it gave Leylin the chills.

"Then I will leave first, Sir!" Leylin bowed and walked out of the tent. He went to the area behind the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy tent.

Behind the recruitment area of these academies, there were rows of wooden huts erected, and in the middle, youths of both genders were walking in and out of them. They seemed to be there as the temporary residence for acolytes.

"Hey! Nice to meet you, are you new here?"

Creak!

The wooden door that was numbered '6' opened and an acolyte with red hair and blue eyes walked out from it and greeted Leylin.

"Hi! I am Leylin!" Leylin smiled.

"Ha ha! I am Beirut. As for my family background, it isn't very important since it cannot be used on another continent!" Beirut seemed to be very amiable.

"Come! Let me introduce you!" Beirut headed towards the various fan-shaped huts, "Fellows! We have a new companion!"

Several acolytes streamed out from the wooden doors and gathered together. Leylin counted a total of seven or eight people.

"Good afternoon! I am Kaliweir of the Lance Empire, a fourth-grade acolyte!" A boy who seemed to have an air of leadership did a self-introduction.

"You seem to be pretty late!" Kaliweir said.

"We met with some troubles along the way, in the Great Plains of Death!" Leylin said ambiguously, not wanting to say much.

"The Great Plains of Death? It is indeed very dangerous!" Kaliweir looked at the acolytes behind him, "Let me introduce them!"

"This is Beirut, whom you have met earlier!"

"This is Hancock, a third-grade acolyte!" A largely built Caucasian guy scratched his head in embarrassment, looking simple and honest.

"This is Raynor, a fourth-grade acolyte!" He was a small boy with a skinny build, but there was a tinge of pride in his eyes.

"This is Guricha, a second-grade acolyte! And over there are Nyssa and Dodoria, both first-grade acolytes!" Although Kaliweir had restrained himself, Leylin could still detect signs of disdain in his words.

First-grade acolyte, second-grade acolyte, they could basically only be an acolyte their whole lives so one couldn't blame him for shunning them.

"How...How are you!" Guricha forced a smile and greeting. As for Nyssa and Dodolier, they were both little girls, and some baby fat were still on their cheeks. At this point, they glanced downwards.

"Who is that?" Leylin pursed his lips.

Beside their small circle was a boy dressed in black, his face pale. Standing at the side, he did not seem to fit in with the rest and looked rather arrogant.

"He! He is Jayden! Our genius of this semester, a fifth-grade acolyte! Becoming a Magus is only a matter of time! Kaliweir's expression turned sour, and he seemed to have some bitterness in his words.

"Woah...a fifth-grade acolyte. He has a 90 percent chance of becoming a Magus! No wonder he is so arrogant!" Leylin thought, inhaling a breath of cold air, and couldn't help but to give Jayden a few more glances.

"Hmph!" As if noticing the crowd looking at him, Jayden silently harrumphed and entered his own wooden hut. This wooden hut obviously had a larger surface area, and the adornments were more exquisite.

"As a fifth-grade acolyte, his treatment will be the best Who knows, there might be some professors looking to take him under their wings early!"

Kaliweir face soured even more.

Leylin realised that this group of acolytes was split into a few cliques. The third-grade acolytes and fourth-grade acolytes were superior to the lower grade acolytes but rather inferior to Jayden, the fifth-grade acolyte.

As for the lowest grade acolytes like Guricha, they all stuck together pitifully and formed a clique. And then there was Jayden, who was segregated away from these two groups.

"Hello, everyone! I am Leylin, and my aptitude is...third grade!" Leylin said.

"Welcome!" Kaliweir revealed a smile on his face, while Guricha and the two girls seemed to have their self-esteem lower as they greeted him and returned back into their huts.

Chernobyl Islands

"Don't bother with them, their highest potential will only be that of a third-grade acolyte!"

Raynor said with disdain.

"Yeah! That's right, to acolytes, aptitudes are more important!" Leylin agreed.

Although this group of youths was pretty silent during the forming of their cliques, he naturally did the thing that would benefit him the most.

Amongst the acolytes, Jayden had the capability to be independent, but Leylin did not have such a good aptitude, so he could only join a group. Also, by comparing, naturally it was the group with Kaliweir's as the head with a better future.

"Haha...Welcome! Welcome! With your participation, our group is now more robust, there will definitely be a day where I will make that person regret!"

Kaliweir said while clenching his teeth. Afterwards, a few of them arranged to meet after dinner, and they went back to their respective huts.

"Beirut, what did you mean earlier when you said it was a different continent?" Leylin looked for the most amiable, Beirut, and asked him as he was concerned about what Beirut had said earlier.

"Oh... This, you know! Actually, the continent we're on is rather small. To the outside world, it is known as the Chernobyl Islands!"

"Island?" Leylin gaped. According to his journey in the past half a year, he could almost be certain that this continent was as huge as the Eurasian continent he was in from the previous world. But it was only an island here?

"Oh! Sorry! Geography is my weak subject, and it has often made my home tutor shudder in rage!" Leylin explained.

Truth be told, the Farlier family is only a noble family, and its heritage was pretty short. It couldn't be compared to the nobles of those huge families, so not knowing was not a rare thing.

"Ha ha!" Hearing Leylin speak, Beirut laughed jovially, "Me too! I have made 5 etiquette tutors leave in rage! In the end, my father offered a monthly salary, but still no one wanted to teach me. This was something my father had specially told me right before I left!"

"Let us continue on the previous topic, we are in the Chernobyl Islands, and the outside world has coined another name for it: The Barren Islands!"

"Barren?" Leylin was a little skeptical, "There are still quite a few people here and plenty of kingdoms, could it be that it is referring to the lack of certain resources?"

"That's right! In the Chernobyl Islands, due to the environment here, or some external factors, the land here is unable to produce any of the materials a Magus needs. Apart from the earnest acolytes and Magi in seclusion, there are absolutely no other traces of Magi here on this continent!"

"So that is the case!" Leylin nodded his head, and although there were myths of Magi back in his homeland, only the founder of the Farlier family has seen a Magus. From this, one can see the rarity of Magi.

"And so, we need to go to the other side of the seas before we can truly find a continent! I heard that not only are there various kinds of resources that Magi need, but there are countless traces of secrets and remnants of experimental labs. On the whole, the continent has various academies and organisations that trade and exchange the information of magic!"

"On that continent, Magi are not a legend! Although they are still uncommon, even a regular human may be able to see one! Only there can we advance in the progress of our acolyte abilities!" Beirut's eyes gave off obvious signs of yearning.

"So that is the case! What is the name of that continent then?" Leylin asked.

"I don't know!" Beirut shook his head, "That continent is too huge! There was never a unified name for it. As for us, we're going to the south of the continent, and it is known as the narrow coastal regions of the south! Just the south coastal regions alone is several times bigger than the Chernobyl Islands that we're on!

"Siii!" Leylin sucked in a breath of cold air.

"So huge?"

"This world is indeed very vast. The higher one stands, the further one can see! This is a phrase from a bard that I like very much." Beirut concluded.

"Thank you for your explanation! I think I need some time to digest the information!" Leylin bade his farewells and returned to his own hut.

There was a metal plaque on the yellow wooden door where a "9" was written, and it looked to be rather rusty.

Pushing the door open, an odour of rot and rust invaded his nose.

Leylin uncontrollably sneezed twice.

"It looks like this is just a gathering point, so the accommodations are rather simple!" Besides a bed and chair in the wooden hut, there was practically nothing else.

Leylin found a cloth, wiped down the chair, and then sat on it.

* Creak Creak * The wooden chair creaked continuously, which made Leylin worry that it would be crushed into pieces in the next moment.

"Lucky it is just for a night! In this condition, it would be better to clean up a little first!"

Leylin patted the dust off his body and walked out of the wooden hut. He had made plans to meet with George and the others, and since he had already chosen his academy now, he should tell them so that they could properly write to each other in the future.

For the batch of acolytes that Leylin was in, they were considered one of the later groups to reach the camp. After Leylin's batch had chosen their schools, the various tents of the academies seemed to have fewer people visiting them, and it looked to be much quieter.

"Ennea Ivory Ring Tower, it's here!" Leylin walked to the back of the student quarters and blocked the path of a familiar girl from the same travelling party.

"Hi Lisa, do you know where George is?" Lisa was a red-haired girl who had matured early; one could already see the fine curves on her body.

"Ley... Leylin!" Lisa blushed, as she had a good impression of Leylin, who had helped several acolytes along the journey a number of times.

"George is in room 13, I'll call him for you!" Lisa picked up her skirt, and rapidly ran off.

Whiffing the perfume that was lingering in the air, Leylin's heart trembled.

"Leylin!" This lecherous thought was very soon broken by a joyous voice.

George had obviously taken a bath and changed his clothes. He had also shaved his mustache and gave off a very refreshing look.

"Have you finished choosing your academy?" George said loudly, as he patted Leylin's shoulder.

"Yes, I did, the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy!" Leylin replied.

"Abyssal Bone Forest Academy!" George touched his chin, "I heard from my female seniors that it seems to be famous for its Shadow and Dark element magic! I hope you won't piss in your pants because of a skeleton during the night!"

"Female seniors?" Leylin shook his head and had even more admiration for George's abilities for seducing women.

"Hehe...Those who are able to participate in the aptitude test are all of the nobility, and it just so happens that I met a distant cousin, an elder female cousin!" George laughed smugly as if having earned something.

"As for the skeletons and whatnot, I think we'll see them not only at night but even in broad daylight!" Leylin laughed bitterly, as he had signed an acolyte contract with a skeleton not too long ago.

"No matter what, as long as you know the location it's fine! Let's keep in contact in the future!" George said seriously, a big change from his smug expression earlier.

"Let's keep in contact!" Leylin nodded.

"Oh yeah! Do you know where Bessita went to?" George asked suddenly.

"Bessita?" Leylin shook his head.

After the previous attack of the wolves, the vibrant and beautiful girl had been much more silent, but at least she had endured and safely here arrived.

"Yeah! I heard from other companions that her aptitude wasn't that great, only that of a second-grade acolyte, so she entered the Wetland Gardens Academy!

"I know now! Thanks!" Leylin was not too interested in the affairs of this girl.

Although she was the one the previous Leylin really admired, to him, a girl of thirteen or fourteen years of age was only a child! And the previous encounters were just a child's mischief.

"How is it? Do you feel a little wasteful because you were unable to get her in your hands...?" George once again changed back to having a lewd expression.

"Scram..."

After another one to two hours, the sky had already darkened. Leylin was in the camp of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy and enjoyed the dinner provided by the academy with the other acolytes.

This time, the dinner was extremely sumptuous, and because they were leaving tomorrow, they were generous with the portions.

Various fruit juices and wine, fragrant barbecue chicken, fish sauce, truffles, fruits, and salads had all satisfied the belly of Leylin who had not eaten much ever since he appeared in the grasslands.

The acolytes were eating and drinking within several groups, and Leylin's eyes looked towards the corner and found Professor Dorotte and Jayden standing at a corner. Jayden also spoke a few words to him occasionally.

"Having a fifth-grade acolyte in this semester, we are really lucky!"

Beirut tore a huge strip of chicken thigh off the barbecue and gave it a huge bite.

"Ever since Jayden arrived, Professor Dorotte and him have spoken on a few occasions, I wonder what they are talking about?"

"For acolytes, the aptitude will greatly determine the progress of a Magus. What Professor Dorotte is doing is rather normal. Beirut, eat your barbecue chicken!"

Kaliweir's voice turned cold, and only after seeing Beirut drink the fruit juice and lowering his head did he turn his gaze back on the barbeque.

"Although the aptitude is important for a Magus, it isn't everything. Only the accumulation and comprehension of information is the true motivator and key to the rise of the Magi's powers!"

A third-grade acolyte added.

Although it was the truth, the atmosphere in the group darkened as the saw Jayden and the professor chatting away. The group silently ate their delicacies, seemingly having lost their appetites.

"Ha ha... Guricha, hurry, what happened, what happened next?"

On the other side, the lower aptitude acolytes sat in a circle with Guricha was in the middle, narrating a risky adventure.

He had eloquence and was humorous in his speech. Nyssa and Dodoria held their tummies and laughed coquettishly as if they were two happy skylarks.

Compared to them, this side was pretty silent.

The group looked at each other and craned their necks, listening intently. However, only Kaliweir retained his prideful expression.

Seeing that even the fourth-grade acolyte Raynor could not bear to go over and listen and seemed afraid of losing face, Leylin laughed silently.

"After all, they are just a bunch of kids!"

After dinner time was over, the group bade their goodbyes and went back to their respective huts.

After today's simple cleaning, Leylin's hut was barely accommodative. At least there was not as much dust as before.

Leylin lay on his bed without removing his clothes, and he stared blankly at the ceiling as if he was lost in thought.

"I finally entered an academy! It is also time for the cultivation of Magi to open its doors for me!"

Dirigible

* Clang Clang *

An alarm sounded, produced by the ringing of a copper plate, waking Leylin up from his deep slumber.

He opened his eyes. A hint of sunlight shone through the window, landing on Leylin's shoes.

"It's already morning?" Leylin got up, hastily washed up, and went outside.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning! Leylin!" Beirut had two dark circles around his eyes and kept yawning.

"The conditions here are the worst! There are actually fleas and fungi on my blanket, my god! I cannot remain here for a moment longer!" Voices of complaint sounded from time to time.

These acolytes were all of the noble birth and their daily accommodations had not been lacking, so naturally they were suffering now.

Today, everyone was lacking sleep and had dark circles around their eyes.

Although Leylin could not sleep at the start, he had managed to fall asleep later in the night. Right now his vigor was greater than the others, and he still had an inclination to walk around.

The whole campground seemed to be bustling with activity. There were many who were taking down the tents, and the floors were littered with rubbish.

As Leylin silently walked around, many thoughts crossed his mind. "Every year at this time, there will be batches of acolytes risking their lives to come here and walk on the path of a Magus. And right now, this is just my starting point!"

"Gather around! Gather around! Everyone gather according to your academy, and the respective professors will take charge! Do not wander off!" A white-bearded geezer shouted in the centre of the campgrounds.

His voice, however, was extremely piercing to the ears, as he used some kind of magic to make it resound throughout the camp.

"This has a much higher pitch than a trumpet from the previous world!" Leylin rubbed his ears, which felt like they had been trampled on, and hurriedly went towards the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy gathering area.

"Hey! Leylin, you're back? Kaliweir was looking for you earlier." Beirut greeted him.

During his short time here, Leylin had only managed to match the various faces with their names, but he had the best relationship with Beirut.

"My apologies! I strayed a little far and had forgotten to keep track of time! Did Kaliweir need something?"

Leylin revealed an apologetic expression.

"It's nothing! Dorotte asked him to make a head count, so you'll just have to tell him later. Right now he is being smug about it!" Beirut shook his head.

"Alright! How are we going to leave, by ship?" Leylin looked over at the distant blue seas with boundless horizons, but there were no traces of any ships.

"Not only there are no ships, from a geographical point of view, we are not in a suitable location for a port." Leylin was filled with suspicion.

"I guess so? However, it might take another half a year to get to another continent!" Beirut scratched his head.

"Transportation in the ancient times is a little too behind in technology, needing around 1 year just to travel to school. Time cannot be wasted just like that; it needs to be used efficiently!"

Leylin touched the 3 magic crystals that he had snatched from Ourin, which was in a leather pouch hung around his waist, seemingly deep in thoughts.

"Taking a boat? What naive thinking!" A frosty voice travelled over, bringing ridicule along with it.

"Jayden?" Leylin looked at the approaching black robed student.

"We are close to the Death Seas; any random fish in it is able to kill a Knight! Not to mention enormous beasts, and even ancient creatures, they all loathe the ships of humans and often bring storms and waves to them. So we would just be courting death if we were to take a ship!"

"A fish with the ability to kill a Knight?" Leylin widened his eyes. Right now he was still a preparatory Knight, and if what Jayden said was true, he would die if he were to fall into the sea?

Leylin delved into his subconsciousness and retrieved his body statistics.

[Leylin Farlier. Strength: 1.9, Agility: 1.9, Vitality: 1.9 Status: Healthy ]

In the Great Plains of Death, Leylin had analysed the wolves' flesh and had also belatedly discovered that their eyeballs contained a special component that complemented the Knights' breathing techniques, so he had collected many of those eyeballs.

And with the contribution from these direwolves, Leylin had now reached the limits of a preparatory Knight.

According to the analysis of the A.I. Chip, when the stats have all reached 2, they have twice the strength of an average adult and is also at the bottleneck of a Preparatory Knight. Only by igniting their internal life energy can they get over this bottleneck.

Clenching his fist tightly, a strong force was controlled within his palms.

"Right now, if I were to hold a cross blade, I have the confidence to fend off against a squad of common soldiers! But even a Knight whose strength is above mine cannot defeat a mere fish in the Death Seas?"

Leylin was a little skeptical of it, "It could be that Jayden has exaggerated things, but the Death Seas containing dangers that even apply to Magi is a fact!"

"A.I. Chip! Is is possible to scan the seas nearby?"

[Beep! The radiation surrounding the host body is excessive! Unable to scan due to an interference of an unknown force field!] The A.I. Chip replied.

"Radiation? Unknown force field?" Leylin looked at Dorotte, who wasn't too far away, and had some understanding.

"In this continent, the Magi population is scarce and there isn't much interference from radiation, so the A.I. Chip is able to scan up to a 20 li radius. But acolytes and Migi professors are present in this camp, which is why the interference is too strong, and hence, the A.I. Chip has limitations with its scanning abilities!"

"Right now, what is the furthest distance you can scan?" Leylin's face darkened.

[Beep! Precise scanning range: Within 300 metres radius from the host's body! Vague scanning range: Within 1000 metres!] The A.I. Chip intoned.

"Hu..." Leylin exhaled loudly, "Not too bad! This distance is enough to warn me of dangers! However, after reaching the other continent and the academy, this scanning range will most likely shorten once again!"

[To increase scanning range, please raise the level of the A.I. Chip!] A message was sent from the A.I. Chip.

"I can still level up the A.I. Chip?" Leylin was ecstatic.

"Raise level!"

[Beep! The energy required is lacking, please replenish!] The robotic voice sounded, and brought Leylin down from Heaven into Hell.

"Damn!" The A.I. Chip has already disappeared from my original body so how can I retrieve it to replenish energy? Then again, even if I managed to, where am I going to find the energy?"

Leylin held his head and recovered after a while.

"Forget it, since its level is able to rise, I can just find a way in the future. As for now, its current functions are enough for me!"

"What did Jayden say to you guys earlier?" A voice sounded and brought the absent-minded Leylin back to reality.

When Leylin recovered, he discovered that Jayden had left without him knowing, and Kaliweir was now beside him.

"Him? He just spoke about setting off! I reckon he was bored, after all, not speaking to anyone all day is rather stifling!" Beirut surmised.

"Yeah, that's true!" Kaliweir nodded his head and then looked at Leylin. "We're about to set off, don't go anywhere now. If you were to board the wrong ship, it would be rather troublesome!"

"Ship?" Leylin looked at the surface of the sea and still didn't see any signs of a ship.

"Haha!" Kaliweir laughed loudly, "Who said it had to come from the water."

"Look!"

Following the direction that Kaliweir pointed to, Leylin and Beirut raised their heads and gaped.

On the horizon, 3 massive white ships were slowly floating towards them.

As the ship approached, a massive shadow covered the whole camp, and it seemed as though darkness had descended upon the earth.

"Oh! Look!" "My god!" "How beautiful!"

The other people in the camp had also discovered the abnormalities, and many raised their heads, exclaiming in awe and shock.

"How is it? This is one of the Magus' mode of transport, a dirigible!1 We will be riding these soon!" Kaliweir said rather smugly.

"All these were just told to him by Professor Dorotte, so what is there to be gloating about?" Jayden reappeared out of nowhere and said blandly.

"Dammit!" Kaliweir stamped his feet.

The 3 dirigibles constantly got closer and slowly lowered themselves onto the ground outside the camp, under the various cheers of the masses.

"En! They are rather similar to the blimps from my previous world, and each one has a very large aerostat gasbag on top of it, I wonder if they are filled with hydrogen gas?"

Leylin had some experience from his previous world, so he recovered from his astonishment faster than others, and pondered over the construction of the dirigibles.

The pure white dirigibles landed on the ground and let out thunderous growling noises.

The doors of the dirigibles then opened, and a few white-robed Magi walked out from them. There were also some movements within the camp, a few old geezers also walked out and exchanged words with them.

"Alright! Everyone bring all of your belongings and follow me. Don't wander off on your own!"

Dorotte had a black cloak on, and the silhouette of his body was concealed within it. He began to gather the students.

The acolytes of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy all scrambled and ran back to their little wooden huts to fetch their belongings.

Leylin brought very few things with him. His belongings only consisted of a water sack, a leather bag, a cross blade hung from his waist, and a crossbow slung over his back.

The acolytes fervently left the campgrounds under the guidance of the professors of their respective academies, and they gathered into individual groups based on their academy.

"Alright! Listen to me! Pay attention to the names mentioned next! Ennea Ivory Ring Tower, Wetland Gardens Academy... All of you will board the dirigible on the right, numbered '332'. Don't miss it! Professors, please take note of the number, and acolytes, follow your professors!"

"As for Mercifura Academy, Kerita Academy...Your dirigible is in the center, numbered '955'." The voice continued.

"... Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, Sage Gotham's Hut... Yours will be the one on the left, number '455', don't mix it up now!"

As Leylin finally heard Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, he could not help but to glance at the dirigible on the left.

As he approached it, he realised that the dirigible was simply too enormous. The aerostat gasbag at the top seemed like a gigantic rugby ball, casting its shadow on the ground.

"acolytes of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, follow me!" Green flames flickered in Dorotte's eye sockets, and behind him were two figures, which seemed to be his servants or subordinates.

Leylin walked in the centre of the group and glanced around.

Under his keen observation, he noticed a few familiar faces from his travelling party. They also noticed him and smiled at him in response, also speaking to some fellows beside them. They all had excitement written across their faces.

At the far right, George waved vigorously when it was his turn to board the dirigible, and entered the dirigible.

"From today onwards, the acolytes will all go their separate ways!"

A hint of sadness surfaced in Leylin's heart, but it was suppressed very quickly.

1. Type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power

Conflict

Very soon it was Abyssal Bone Forest Academy's turn, and Dorotte led the way, stepping through the door first.

The acolytes hurriedly followed. When Leylin put more force in his legs, there was a sturdy reverberation coming from the floor beneath his shoes, as if he was stepping on a limestone floor.

"What a strange material! It looks like wood but it's sturdier, is it some kind of alloy?"

Leylin looked at the greyish, patterned floor and couldn't help but think about it.

"We're here! This section of the corridor, from number '13' to '32', is the area designated for our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, you all can allocate on the rooms on your own. Remember, my number is '14'. Look for me if you need something!"

After he finished talking, Dorotte turned, and his black cloak fluttered as he entered his room with the two servants.

"Alright! Now let me designate the rooms!" Kaliweir stood out and said.

"Hng!" Jayden harrumphed and casually picked a room, number '18', and walked inside.

Kaliweir's face turned red, and then white. He clenched his fist several times, only to put it down. "Good! Jayden chose room 18. Next, Beirut, you will be in room 15, Raynor you're in room 16..."

Jayden left, and the remaining acolytes, Beirut, Raynor, and Leylin, were in the same clique as Kaliweir. As for Guricha and his group, they did not dare to object at all.

Leylin was allocated room 20. He didn't say anything and hurried into his cabin.

The room was rather small; it was just a partition. There was enough space for a bed, but hardly any room to stand at all.

This reminded Leylin of the beds on the trains in his previous world, which were also as cramped, with barely enough room to stretch his limbs.

"Having a bed is considered good; I was just sleeping in my seat when travelling in the Great Plains of Death!" Leylin comforted himself.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the dirigible, I am your captain – Kirkwul Kroft Leebar, I wish you all a pleasant journey ahead!"

"There are a few announcements of note. Apart from the professors, the rest are not allowed to walk on the decks unless you wish to go flying down from the skies!...The cafeteria is in Hall 1, and Hall 2 is where the washrooms are. As for Hall 3, it's a lounge; everyone is welcome to go there!"

A low pitched male voice rang throughout the room. Leylin looked around and noticed the sound was coming from a yellow bronze pipe, but did not know if it was an air duct or megaphone.

"We're taking off!" Leylin felt weightless for a moment, and the ship swayed. He hurriedly scrambled towards a window.

This window was only the size of a soccer ball and was very thick, so it was hard to see what was outside.

Following the dirigible's ascent, the ground became smaller and smaller, and gradually, the camp in Leylin's view turned into a black dot.

Leylin placed his cross blade and crossbow aside and laid on the bed.

"I heard Professor Dorotte say that the journey will last for roughly a month, what a long period of time! Half a year has already passed since I left my family, but we still have not reached the academy yet!"

Absentmindedly, Leylin shut his eyes.

"Ding...Ding Dong..."

A melodious note rang, waking Leylin from his sleep. Leylin climbed out of bed and looked out the window, and was greeted by darkness.

"It is already evening!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening!" Right now, the cafeteria is providing dinner. Today's menu is foie gras with truffles roast chicken, white bread, squirrel meat..."

This time, the pleasant voice was that of a female's.

Leylin rubbed his stomach and hurriedly stood up. He straightened his clothes and ran towards the cafeteria.

The corridor was rather dim and there was a small lamp every few steps, which produced a yellowish glow.

The surrounding wooden cabin doors opened, and acolytes came streaming out from them.

Right now, Hall 1 was already packed with acolytes but Leylin did not see any of the professors there. He wondered if there was a special room for them.

On the ceiling of the hall was a very large white coloured rock, which emanated a bright white light, just like a miniature sun.

The cafeteria was filled with long tables and white chairs, and it looked a little like a university canteen.

"Hey! Leylin, here!" In a corner, Beirut beckoned to him, sitting with a few other acolytes from the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.

"I'm here!" Leylin collected a silver coloured tray and cutlery, and after deliberating, he picked up a slice of white bread, a fried chicken drumstick, fruit salad, and a bottle of apple cider, and sat beside Beirut.

"You guys sure are early!" Leylin greeted them.

"It's you who's late, could it be that you overslept?" Beirut said teasingly.

Leylin sat down, and gulped down half a bottle of apple cider, "Yeah, I did oversleep a little!"

Looking around the surroundings again, "Are we also travelling with these acolytes?"

At this moment, besides the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy acolytes, the hall was also filled with acolytes from other academies. These boys and girls sat together according to their respective academies and seemed distant towards one another.

"That's right; we are on the same dirigible with Sage Gotham's Hut, and a few other academies! As for Ennea Ivory Ring Tower, they are headed in a completely different direction from us, so we could only go our separate ways!" Raynor explained.

"So it's like this!" Leylin said with a tinge of regret. "George and the others have all boarded the dirigible on the right, and it looks like the distance from Abyssal Bone Forest Academy is rather far. I think there'll be some problem with communication next time!"

After eating dinner, the masses returned to their own rooms to rest.

Every day, apart from eating meals and sleeping, there did not seem to be anything else to do. This boredom lasted a whole fifteen days.

One evening, the groups did not wish to go back into that tiny cabin room after eating dinner, so they sat around the table and started to chat.

"Beirut, what's wrong with you?" Leylin looked at Beirut, who seemed to be in slight discomfort, and asked.

In these ten days, Beirut, who was the reincarnation of a chatterbox, had spoken of topics ranging from his family tree, to how a dish in the capital was created as if he was speaking fondly to a lover.

Leylin and the rest had already adapted, from being annoyed at his words to getting used to them, and now it was the only joy on this boring journey.

"Yeah! I still want to listen to your past relationships!" Raynor began to jeer.

"I have finished saying everything!" Beirut rolled his eyes, "I cannot think of what to talk about anymore!"

"I'm so bored!" Beirut lamented.

"Endure it; it's only another half a month away! It was quite a distance from your home to the campground, so how did you spend your time all that while?" Leylin encouraged him, albeit a little curious.

"My house is located in the Porter Kingdom, which is on the edge of the Great Plains of Death. So we reached the campgrounds after walking for half a month!" Beirut said helplessly, as he rolled his eyes again.

"No wonder!" Leylin shook his head.

"Jayden, this is something that I saw first, what do you want?" A silver tray clattered on the floor, letting out a crisp noise.

Leylin turned around and saw Kaliweir growling, his hair slightly standing up like a furious lion.

On the other side, Jayden poked a golden barbequed chicken drumstick with his fork, "It belongs to whoever takes it first!"

Not only did the crowd not stop them, but they all appeared to be waiting to see a good show

On this tiresome journey, Kaliweir and Jayden felt that the other party was unpleasant to their eyes, especially when Jayden tried to take in two henchmen.

They had restrained themselves in the earlier conflicts due to fear, as the Magi were around. However, things seemed to be out of control now.

Leylin furrowed his brows.

"It's you who forced me to do this!" Kaliweir roared, and the muscles in his body tensed. It seemed like he had added a layer of muscle on his body.

As a noble, he had naturally trained with the techniques of a Knight. Also, he seemed to have already ignited his internal life energy, thus becoming a proper Knight.

[A.I Chip! Scan target!] [Beep! Kaliweir, Strength: 2.5, Agility: 2.7, Vitality: 3.0, Status: Currently using a secret technique] [Examination of the secret technique: After circulating, strength increases, Agility increases!]

"Today, I will let you know that you must lower your head in obedience before a prideful lion!" Kaliweir shouted, and moved his legs. An afterimage remained, as he dashed towards Jayden.

[Alert! Alert! Radiation detected! Status: Recommend distancing from the source!] The A.I Chip's voice sounded in Leylin's ears.

"Radiation source? Could it be that a Magus has taken action?

"Haha! I will let you know today, who exactly is the number one amongst the freshmen!" Jayden laughed loudly and took out a green badge from within his chest pocket.

"Pilis-Duwasha! Creature of the green! Hear my calls of summoning, and come out to the mortal world!" Jayden chanted in a strange voice.

What he used was a very rare language, but surprisingly, Leylin had actually understood every word of it.

With the incantation, a layer of light emerged from the green badge and a few brownish vines appeared from the ground and elongated, like a confused snake that was dancing wildly.

* Chi Chi !*

The vines danced as they protected Jayden from the front, and as one vine was sent forward, it tripped Kaliweir down to the ground.

The layers of vines continued to coil around him, and Kaliweir was soon wrapped in it completely, with only his face exposed.

"A magic artifact!" The surrounding acolytes cried in surprise.

"To be able to use a magic artifact, one must at least be a level 1 acolyte! He...He has already been promoted to a level 1 acolyte?"

The crowd clamoured, and they looked at Jayden with gazes of respect. This only caused Kaliweir's face to redden even further.

"How is this? As long as you swear to obey me, I will release you!" Jayden walked to where Kaliweir was.

"Ne...Never! The pride of Golden Lion family will never be dishonoured by my hands!" Kaliweir veins popped as if they were going to bleed anytime.

"If it's like this, then I have no choice!" Jayden shrugged his shoulders and the vines continued to tighten, and few cracking noises even came from within. It seemed like a few of Kaliweir's bones had been broken.

The surrounding acolytes could not watch on any longer and were about to persuade Jayden.

Bang ! The dirigible swayed, and the light dimmed.

A few of the acolytes fell onto the floor, "What happened? Did we meet with some intense turbulence?" Leylin's eyes flashed.

"Hu!" "Hu!"

The windows cracked open, and violent gusts of wind came rushing in.

Accompanied by the sound of the wind, there were also countless blue electric currents scattering in all directions.

Looking at these, Leylin pupils shrank to the size of a needle, "Thunderstorm? Where are the Magi on the dirigible?"

"You insignificant vermins, you actually dare to trespass the domain of the mighty Pendra!"

A voice reverberated, accompanied by a violent thunderstorm.

Arriving At The Academy

"It's a matured giant storm sprite!

"Damnit! How could we meet with this kind of things on this path, didn't we clear it before?"

"Where are the Magi of the various academies? We need their help!"

A few flustered voices sounded.

"Let us first activate the large-scale defense spell formation. If not, those acolytes will surely die!"

After some incantations, all the walls on the dirigible were enveloped by a layer of milky white light. All cracks in the dirigible flashed with a green light as vines climbed up and firmly blocked any openings.

"Hu hu... "Leylin's face turned red as he panted heavily.

When the giant storm sprite spoke earlier, the acolytes had all felt an ice-cold force pressing down on them.

Immense, boundless, and raw malice! Leylin found it difficult to breathe.

Fortunately, after the defense spell formation was activated, Leylin felt much better as the pressure lifted.

Otherwise, most of the acolytes in the hall might just die from suffocation moments later.

"Human beings, you must pay the price for your folly!" the giant storm sprite howled.

As the sound waves travelled through the defense spell formation , the milky white light vibrated.

"Mighty being of nature! Please appease your fury! We have a letter here!" A familiar voice rang beside Leylin's ears, it was the dirigible captain.

"This is the letter of agreement that we had with His Majesty, the storm king sprite, which grants us passage through this area!" Kirkwul said with a voice full of confidence.

"Letter of agreement?" The giant storm sprite's voice contained suspicion, which he followed up with a furious roar, "Pendra is free! The agreement does not bind me to it!"

"Keep roaring! Rage on! Damikan Buthra!" With the incantation spoken, the thunderstorm outside became ten times more violent than before.

"Damn! It is actually a wanderer, I have hit the jackpot!" Kirkwul's voice sounded once again, but it did not carry the usual confidence and was infused with exasperation instead.

"Everyone attack together!"

* Rumble! *

Many bright coloured lights flashed continuously outside the window, clashing with the lightning.

The dirigible gradually started to sway.

Leylin's face turned slightly pale. He could only pray for the Magi to use their might and chase that darn giant storm sprite away, otherwise he would not even be able to escape since he was stuck high up in the sky.

"Bang!"

There was another rumble, and the dirigible recovered its stability.

"Has it left?"

"It is only a giant storm sprite that has just matured, it is only comparable to half of an elemental Magus at most. There are nine of us here, so it running away is natural!

The voices of the Magi discussions sounded from outside. It obviously did not take a lot of effort for them, which eased the minds of the acolytes.

As expected, when the acolytes heard those words, they all shouted and cheered loudly.

"Woo! To our great Magi!"

"Damn it! I thought I would fall and be smashed into minced meat!"

"Haha! Look at that coward; he actually peed in his pants!" The acolytes all mocked an unlucky acolyte and vented the fear that they had held in their hearts.

Leylin's eyes scanned the surroundings.

When the giant storm sprite spoke earlier, Jayden had already released the vines binding Kaliweir, and right now it seemed like Kaliweir had escaped. However, although Jayden's face was rather pale, he stood his ground and maintained the pose of a victor.

"The A.I. Chip did not detect that Jayden was carrying a magic artifact earlier. It seems like it was only acquired recently, and the only means of that is through Dorotte!"

"It seems like after obtaining the magic artifact, Jayden has been leading Kaliweir into picking a fight with him impatiently. If not for this incident, it is very likely that he would have succeeded!" Leylin thought to himself.

Because of the interruption from the giant storm sprite, the fight between Jayden and Kaliweir remained unsettled as it drew its curtains.

From then on, Kaliweir tried his best to avoid appearing in the same place as Jayden. It seemed like he was afraid of his opponent's magic artifact.

This fight had greatly influenced Leylin's thoughts.

"Kaliweir has already ignited his internal life energy, and got through the bottleneck and became a full-fledged Knight. However, in front of an acolyte with a magic artifact, he is still as weak as a lamb! It seems like the strength of Magi greatly surpass that of Knights!

"Originally, I thought I must ignite my internal life energy. But after this, if I haven't ignited it before reaching the school, then I'll give up on it! I definitely have to pour all my attention and energy into my studies to become a Magus!" Leylin made up his mind.

The time slowly passed, and the dirigible finally reached another continent.

In addition to the incident with the giant storm sprite, the dirigible had several encounters with other flying creatures. This led Leylin to realise that not only was the Death Seas difficult to navigate through, it was the same in the skies.

Fortunately, Kirkwul's letter of agreement was still rather effective in front of the various large creatures and no conflicts were started.

During this period, the dirigible alighted several times and sent several Professors and acolytes off. The dirigible slowly became more vacant.

Another dozen days passed unknowingly.

* Bang! * The dirigible landed and the whole interior shuddered.

"We have arrived at the Abyssal Bone Moor! Attention to all acolytes of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy! Please bring your belongings and leave the dirigible in an orderly fashion!" A voice rang through the cabins.

"We've finally arrived?" Leylin packed his belongings and quickly left the tiny space he had been holed up in during the past month.

"Jayden, Kaliweir, please take attendance!" Dorotte held a black staff, with a large green jewel embedded in its tip.

"Alright!" Jayden and Kaliweir nodded their heads and started accounting for the attendance.

Leylin glanced at Kaliweir. Ever since the incident in the dining hall, this youth had turned much quieter and often holed himself in his own room. Looking at his face now, he seemed to be gloomier than before.

On the contrary, Jayden was extremely lively, and according to some rumours, he had already been accepted by Dorotte as an apprentice.

Apprentices were different from other acolytes as their status were higher, and they could even freely obtain a lot of advanced knowledge from their professor.

A dozen or so people walked out of the dirigible.

"So this is our academy? It seems to be a little desolate!"

Leylin looked at the surroundings, and it seemed rather desolate. There were a few small trails with obvious traces of others using it before.

There was a wooden sign in the middle of a crossroad, riddled with several holes.

There were directions written in black, showing the various locations.

"The land of shadows and death – Bone Abyssal Moor!" The words twisted, and Leylin felt his scalp gone numb.

"Hehe... Follow me!" Dorotte stretched his body leisurely, and his white bones creaked and crunched as if they were going to fall apart at any moment.

"Pay heed! Although our academy's acolytes do a scheduled cleansing, there are still some living creatures, and polluted and evil beings roaming in this area. So if you were to stray off, I think we would be able to pay respects to your deceased body soon afterwards!"

Dorotte snickered, and the acolytes' faces all changed. They followed behind Dorotte closely, for fear of losing him.

The group gradually traversed across the Abyssal Bone Moor.

"What is that?" Leylin walked in the middle of the group, and suddenly something black flashed in front of him. It seemed to be a blue creature with a horn.

"A.I. Chip! Begin scan!"

"Task initialising, Begin Scan!" The A.I. Chip chip's robotic voice sounded.

[An unknown creature of high energy! Estimated Strength: 3-4, Agility: 4-5, Vitality: About 5, Assessment: Extremely dangerous!]

"Ss! Whatever it is, it's much stronger than the direwolves and may have some strange tricks up its sleeves. A Knight would only die if they encounter one!"

Leylin hurriedly squeezed forward. In this land where danger lurked, it seemed like the black-robed skeleton, Professor Dorotte, was his only insurance.

"It seems like our little acolytes have finally understood the dangers!"

The green flames in Dorotte's sockets flickered as he said indifferently.

The group proceeded forward, and very soon the barren earth lessened and more forestry could be seen around them.

Very soon, Leylin entered a black coloured forest.

He did not know if it was an illusion, but Leylin felt as if the sun in the sky had dimmed after entering the forest, and there was a layer of white mist in the surroundings giving off a chilly feeling.

[Warning! Warning! A high energy being is approaching! Position: In the air!] The A.I. Chip's warning sounded.

Leylin hurriedly looked down and crouched.

"Kak!" A piercing sound rang.

A black raven with red eyes swooped down and passed by Leylin's position, its sharp claws headed towards the face of a female acolyte.

Boom!

A ball of greenish liquid struck at the raven directly, and the raven cawed as it fell onto the floor. A white smoke arose, giving off a corroding effect.

The female acolyte remained rooted to the ground and suddenly cried loudly.

Only seconds later, the raven on the floor disappeared without a corpse and there was only a huge impression left in the corroded earth.

"It seems like these red-eyed ravens increased in numbers yet again. I think I will need to distribute more missions after we return, and let the acolytes cleanse this area!"

"What are you all looking at? Let's go!"

Dorotte's voice sounded at the front and the crying female acolyte rubbed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she walked forward.

Leylin was startled, and hurriedly followed.

After another hour of journeying, the group arrived in the centre of the Abyssal Bone Forest.

"This is..." Leylin saw a spacious area in front of him.

And what was projected before their eyes was a large graveyard.

In the hearths of the Abyssal Bone Forest, a large graveyard sat there unknowingly.

This graveyard was extremely huge and was marbled in black and white, seeming luxurious.

Only, it seemed to have been forsaken for some time. Many of the graves had weeds growing on them, and some even had vines. Occasionally, the ravens caw on top of them, giving off a terrifying vibe.

"Welcome to your home of shadow and death – Abyssal Bone Forest!" Dorotte snickered, but no matter how Leylin saw it, Dorotte seemed to be taking joy in their unfortunate plight.

Selection Of Mentors

"The Abyssal Bone Forest Academy has a satirical sense of humour, huh; they actually have their academy under a graveyard!"

Leylin shook his head, but he felt rather comfortable, the pores on his body were all open and absorbed the air of the surroundings here.

"A.I. Chip! What is the situation now?"

[Beep! Task Establishing! Acquiring sample of the environment, analysis in progress!] [There is a significant increase in a type of energy particle here which faintly resonates with the Host's consciousness. They are conjectured to be Shadow and Dark energy particles!] The A.I. Chip's voice travelled over.

"No wonder! There is an increase in the energy particles here, which obviously benefits Shadow and Dark element Magi. It is like the novels from my previous world, where one must occupy an area that is filled with spirit energy when they practice the cultivation techniques of immortals!"

Leylin gained a slight understanding of the academy's choices.

"Password!"

At this moment, Dorotte had already brought the group to the centermost area in the graveyard, where there was a huge grave. Black marble stones were piled up one by one, making it resemble a huge black castle.

Beside the marbled door, there were two stone statues.

On the left, there was a two-headed dog with spikes growing on its body.

On the right, there was an earthworm with a pair of wings and razor sharp fangs protruding out, exuding a cruel aura.

These two statues were lifelike. They had black jewels for eyes and looked as if they were alive.

When Dorotte walked in front of the statues, the earthworm on the left side spoke in a parched voice. With each opening and closing of the mouth, dust from the stone continuously fell down onto the floor.

"Enough! Jumal, don't you recognise me?"

Dorotte had a look of annoyance on his face.

Right after Dorotte spoke; the earthworm and huge dog both guffawed. Their voices brought about a huge wind, which flipped the robes of the acolytes behind.

"Dorotte! Although we are pretty familiar with each other, rules are rules!"

Both of the statues seemed to have come alive. The huge dog licked its paws, and let out a female voice.

"Or, would you like to play with us?" The earthworm lifted its claw and made a human-like gesture, beckoning with the claw, "Then come! I feel itchy all over my body!"

"Alright! Alright! Let me think!" Dorotte rolled his eyes.

"Oh! Damnit! I should really take the head of the pig who set up this defensive spell formation and shove it up their ass!"

Dorotte suddenly bellowed.

"Hurry and say it! What is the password?" The huge dog roared and there were sparks coming out from its mouth.

"The secret password is – I hate smelly bones!" Dorotte spoke softly.

Leylin's mouth twisted, and only by using a strong willpower did he manage to suppress his laughter. Although Dorotte wore a skull, Leylin was extremely certain that he was currently sulking.

"Haha! The password is correct!" The earthworm and huge dog laughed loudly and let them pass.

"I bet the overseer keeping watch with the crystal ball is laughing to death right now!" The huge dog snickered, then returned to his original stone platform and changed into its former statue state.

"Puchi!" An acolyte finally found it hard to bear and let out a noise.

"Hng!" Green flames suddenly ignited within Dorotte's sockets, "It seems like we must educate the new acolytes on how to respect their professors!"

*Pa!* Dorotte snapped his fingers.

"Ah! What is this, don't come over here, don't come over!" The acolyte who laughed out loud earlier retreated several steps and fell onto the floor, wailing loudly.

"Rousey! What is it!" An acolyte beside him walked forward.

"No...Don't come over!" Rousey screamed, and his face gradually twisted.

Seeing this scene, the nearby acolytes all felt a chill down their spines.

"Magi are equal among themselves, so they can afford to play jokes on each other. However, acolytes must always maintain their humility!"

Suddenly, Leylin understood the code of conduct in the Magi world. Only with equal strength, one will have the status to speak to another.

Jayden and Kaliweir also seemed to be deep in thought.

"Carry him up and let us go in!" Dorotte pointed at Rousey, who was still screaming.

Both of his servants walked over and carried Rousey, one on each side.

"Both of them are at least Grand Knights!" Seeing how the two servants subdued Rousey so easily, Leylin's eyes flashed.

After opening to door to the grave, they all appeared in front of a stone staircase that spiralled downwards.

The flight of stairs was spiralled and descended all the way into the depths of the darkness until they could not be seen anymore.

Dorotte used his staff and knocked on the floor. *Dong Dong!*

Blue flames started to light up one by one, illuminating the ground within.

"Apart from the colour, it's similar to an ancient castle from the medieval times!" Leylin exclaimed, and tread down the stairs of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.

Leylin did not know how long exactly he walked for under the illumination of the blue flames, but it was definitely over 20 minutes.

"So huge! The area of this underground building is so much larger than the area of the graveyard on top, and it is not even by several times. It almost resembles an underground kingdom already."

Leylin calculated in silence.

"Our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy was constructed in the Gregorian Year 324, and it has been almost one thousand years since then... As for our academy founder, it is Merlin Falek Driwilc..."

Dorotte led at the forefront, and occasionally gave them a few sentences of explanation.

"The door which you all had entered from earlier is the main door! And besides that, there are still many exits inside the academy. As long as you have become a proper Magus, you can apply and chose an uninhabited, empty grave for your own personal passage!"

Dorotte explained.

But Leylin's lip never stopped twitching, "The purpose for us to advance as a Magus is so we can obtain a grave? How delightful!"

However, ever since the unlucky guy was used as an example earlier, Leylin only dared to rant in his heart and didn't say it aloud.

Our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy is divided into several large areas: the dormitories, classrooms, laboratories, gardening areas, trading post, mission area and such. As for their exact locations, someone will bring you for an induction later. For now, all of you must follow me to register at the administration area, and then we'll commence the selection of your professors!"

Dorotte came to the front of a slightly larger room, and pointed at the words on the steel door, "This is the administration area, however, I believe none of you will be willing to come here again in the future!"

Seeing the symbols on the door which seemed like both words and patterns at times, Leylin finally acknowledged that none of the characters were anything like what the brat1 had encountered in the past.

"Oh! I've forgotten that you guys don't know the ancient Byron language!" Dorotte tapped his head, "No worries! This is one of the basics of incantation, you guys will learn it in the future!"

"Dorotte, huh? Enter!" An aged voice sounded from within, and the steel doors moved automatically. A steel hand opened the bolts on the door and even beckoned them in.

Leylin followed Dorotte inside and realised that this room was extremely large. An old man with white beard and red eyebrows was seated at the wide, black office desk. He was scribbling something with a feather pen, and beside him was a stack of parchment.

Behind him, there were countless bookshelves of over ten metres tall, and parchment and even crystal balls were disorderly arranged on them. It looked just like a library.

"You're late!" The old man put down the quill pen in his hand, and his wrinkled face smiled gently.

"We met with some trouble along the way, a wandering giant storm sprite, so the dirigible was a little damaged, and hence the delay in time!" Dorotte explained.

The old man said, "That's really unfortunate!"

And then he looked at the acolytes at the back and his bright eyes shone brilliantly. He scanned through the acolytes, before finally landing on Jayden.

"It seems like you are well rewarded this trip!"

"Of course!" Dorotte pointed, "Jayden, come over here!"

Pulling Jayden to his side, "I have made a contract with him already! He is now my personal apprentice! Hurry! Settle the procedures for him!"

Dorotte took a stack of forms from a heavy black pouch and handed it over to the old man.

"Mn! Fifth-grade acolyte, not too bad!" The old man took out an object resembling a pair of glasses with gold threads around its rim and hung it on his nose.

"Definitely! Melda, that scum, he actually pushed such a troublesome thing to me, haha! Now I want to see him angry!" Dorotte gloated loudly.

"So then! Jayden! Are you willing to become the personal apprentice of Dorotte?" The old man asked.

"I accept!" Jayden looked at Dorotte and agreed in a low voice.

"Good!" The old man took a sheet of parchment and wrote something on it, then handed Jayden a black sack too, "This is yours, hold it well!"

"Are the procedures done? I have taught him those meditation techniques, and right now I have to rush back to my experiments! It was difficult enough to find some inspiration along the way, but I did not have any ingredients on hand, do you know how much I was suffering?"

Dorotte let out a shrill voice and pulled Jayden along, leaving the room quickly.

"Alright! Mister Dorotte's task is completed. What's next are the things that you guys should be mindful of!" The old man knocked on the desk and drew the attention of the acolytes back to him, and then said in a satisfied manner.

"Since all of you have already handed in the fees and achieved the criteria for the contract, you are all acolytes of our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy now. Right now, all of you will begin with the selection of your professors!"

"There are two methods to choose a professor. The first is to chose by placing your name inside the crystal ball and my treasure will pick a professor for you! This method is absolutely free of charge."

"Excuse me? What is your treasure?" An acolyte asked cowardly.

"Oh?" The old man laughed, and suddenly a black python appeared on the table, "This is my magical pet! Spotty! It does not recognise any of you, so I think it's the fairest for it to choose! Any other questions?"

"No...No more!" Seeing the large python, the acolyte quickly retreated backwards.

"There is also another method, which is for the acolytes to choose their own professors. Here with me is a list containing short introductions of various professors and their requirements, all for your choosing. Of course, if you choose this method, you will need a magic crystal as payment!"

"It doesn't matter which method you chose, but once you have decided on your professor, you can never change again!"

The old man said, "Next up, I will call your names, and you will come forward and tell me your choice!"

1. The brat refers to the previous host of Leylin's body.

Kroft

After the old man finished speaking, the acolytes were a little flustered.

"What now? How should we choose?" Beirut asked worriedly.

"Paying is definitely better than not paying! This is common sense!"

"You should still have excess magic crystals, don't you?" Leylin asked puzzledly.

"But... I only have 1 magic crystal left; my family sacrificed one thousand troops to get merely 2 magic crystals!"

Beirut was a little reluctant. Leylin was startled too, as he could not help but feel his pockets.

"The value of magic crystals is higher than I expected. When I extorted some from Ourin earlier, I really lucked out!"

"That's not right, the Chernobyl Islands is also known to Magi as the Barren Islands. magic crystals are already scarce, so the value of magic crystals being much higher here may be due to that!"

"A matter like this can only be decided by yourself!" Leylin said to Beirut.

"Alright! First up, Raynor!" The old man said.

"Which are you choosing?"

"I...I don't have any magic crystals left, can I first buy on credit? I am a fourth-grade acolyte!" Raynor blushed.

"Not a bad aptitude! A pity, however, rules are rules!" The old man shook his head.

As he pointed at a crystal ball on the table, Raynor's name appeared within, along with many other unfamiliar names, flickering as they appeared.

When the black python Spotty spat out a letter and dabbed on the crystal ball, the words finally stopped flickering, "Raynor! Your mentor is Gafrin!"

"Take this! A set of acolyte robes and an identity badge! A crystal ball which contains an elementary meditation technique! And your room number and keys are there too!"

The old man threw the black sack containing the items to Raynor and then snapped his fingers. *Bang!* A black ball suddenly appeared in the room and floated in midair.

"Follow this shadow slave, it will bring you to where your mentor is!"

The old man made a gesture to send him off, and Raynor helplessly followed the black ball out.

"Next! Rousey!"

The one, who laughed at Dorotte earlier, Rousey, was called. Although his complexion had recovered a little, there was still cold sweat on his face.

"Oh! What do I see? A nightmare hex! What a pitiful fellow! You're going to suffer for the next month!"

"Could...Could you remove this hex?" Rousey's voice quivered.

"Definitely! One hundred magic crystals! No credit allowed!" The old man agreed crisply!

Rousey shook his head and took a magic crystal from his robes, "I want to choose my own mentor!"

"En!" The old man accepted the magic crystal, and handed a compendium, which looked like a dictionary, to Rousey, "The mentors who are willing to accept apprentices are all there, take your time and pick!"

"Bang!" An hourglass appeared on the table, the sand falling slowly.

"I forgot to mention earlier, a magic crystal only allows for one turn of the hourglass. If you exceed it, you have to pay another magic crystal!" The old man grinned.

Rousey swallowed his saliva, and looking at the sand grains falling non-stop, he flipped through the pages in a hurry.

"This hourglass seems as though it lasts only 5 minutes worth of time! It is not even enough to skim through!" Leylin's pupils shrank.

"Time's up!" In accordance with the voice, the compendium closed automatically and made a loud snapping sound.

"How is it? Have you chosen? Or do you wish to have another look?" The old man asked.

"I have decided! I choose Mentor Vivian!" Rousey sucked in a deep breath.

"Take your belongings and follow the slave!" The old man threw a black sack, identical to the one from before, to Rousey and summoned another shadow slave.

Rousey bowed humbly and followed the floating slave out the large doors.

"Next up, Kaliweir!'

The old man continued calling, and Leylin scrutinised the acolytes who went up. Kaliweir seemed well off, as he paid 3 magic crystals and looked through the compendium before making a choice.

"As for Beirut, he did not pay the 1 magic crystal in the end. His mentor was chosen randomly, and he did not know if the results were good or bad.

"Next! Leylin!" The old man called Leylin's name.

Leylin inhaled deeply and walked to the front.

"I'll choose on my own!" Leylin handed a magic crystal to the old man.

"You know the rules!" The old man snapped, the hourglass flipped over, and time started elapsing.

The compendium was rather heavy, and the material seemed to be of high quality.

Leylin hurriedly flipped through the pages, and continuously skimmed through the information on the parchment.

"It is the language of the Chernobyl Islands. It seems like it has been specially prepared for us acolytes of this area."

"A.I Chip! Record and extract the information!"

"Mentor Lester, Department of Souls, specialises in transformation, neurology, and composition of radiation."

Able to provide information on 3 topics free of charge.

Requirements: The acolyte must assist in an experiment every month, and cannot be declined for any reason!"

"Mentor Dorotte, Department of Shadow, specialises in anatomy, conversion of energy, and necromancy."

Requirements: acolytes must pay 1 magic crystal per month, and at the same time, cooperate with experiments!"

"Mentor Kroft, Department of Potioneering, specialises in medicine, herbalism, and neutralisation of energy."

Able to provide information on 1 topic free of charge.

Requirements: acolytes must always help with the cleaning of the experimental lab, preparation and handling of various herbs, and at the same time, assist the Magus in carrying out herbal concoctions (on the basis that they cause no harm to the acolytes!)"

"Mentor Estelle, Department of Curses, specialises in curses, dissecting of human anatomy, and soul studies."

Able to provide information on 5 topics free of charge. The category is chosen by the acolytes, and can guide acolytes in their studies at any given time!

Requirements: Cooperate with one experiment! Only one!"

The pages flipped, and let out a rustling noise. By the time the last grain of sand fell, Leylin had managed to flip to the last page.

"Your memory isn't bad, which is useful for your studies in the future! How is it? Who will you choose?" The old man smiled and asked.

Leylin closed his eyes, "A.I Chip! How is the collation of data?"

[Beep! Data is in order, information on 53 mentors collated. In process of discarding the enticing conditions!]

Leylin's complexion turned bitter, "The information in the brackets for Mentor Kroft earlier made me rather mindful. It seems like the experiments of Magi are dangerous, and can actually jeopardise the safety of the acolytes!"

"Kroft is only doing experiments on herbal concoctions, but what of the others, like the shadow and necromancy experiments?"

"No wonder the requirements given are so easy to meet, not needing to give payment for information. It was, in fact, so they could lure students who would cooperate for experimental testing! Although they might not have any adverse effects, it's all over once they do!"

"A.I Chip! Carry out the filtering process, with the conditions: To match with my current circumstances."

[Beep!] The blue light flashed, and the light blue screen in front of Leylin flickered. More than half of the mentors' information was omitted, leaving only a miserable few choices, including Dorotte's.

"Mentor Dorotte, Department of Shadow, specialises in anatomy, conversion of energy, and necromancy."

Requirements: acolytes must give one 1 magic crystal each month, and at the same time, cooperate with experiments!"

"Mentor Kroft, Department of Potioneering, specialises in medicine, herbalism, and neutralisation of energy."

Able to provide information on 1 topic free of charge.

Requirements: acolytes must always help with the cleaning of the experimental lab, preparation and handling of various herbs, and at the same time, assist the Magus in carrying out herbal concoctions (on the basis that they cause no harm to the acolytes!)"

"It seems like Dorotte's temper isn't too bad amongst the mentors. If not, he wouldn't have gone to fetch the new batch of acolytes."

Leylin thought inwardly, "A pity that my magic crystals are not enough, and he has Jayden already. I'm afraid there will not be much attention given to me!"

"Also the Shadow Department mentors all require acolytes to cooperate with their experiments and cannot ensure the safety of acolytes. This is such a fraud!"

Leylin helpless omitted the mentors of the Shadow Department.

"What's left is only this Alchemy mentor! With the extreme and unique advantages that I have with my A.I Chip, I can definitely make use of alchemy to earn money and buy knowledge related to the Dark element!"

To others, Leylin had merely closed his eyes and made his choice right after opening them.

"I choose Mentor Kroft!"

"Alchemy?" The old man was a little surprised, "You wish to become an alchemist? The effort and resources invested are extremely horrifying! Do you want to change? I think Dorotte suits you well!"

"Thank you, sir!" Leylin earnestly bowed, "I have a hobby for alchemy, and have also acquired some knowledge in this field beforehand."

"The mortal world's perception of alchemy is totally different from that of the world of Magi!" The old man shook his head. Then, seeing Leylin's resolute gaze, he couldn't help but exclaim,

"Since you have already decided, so be it!" After speaking, the old man took a quill pen and scribbled on the parchment paper.

"Here are your belongings, follow the shadow slave to where Kroft is!"

The old man handed a sack over to Leylin.

Leylin bowed deeply and even nodded to the remaining acolytes, before leaving through the large door.

The black coloured ball floated in front and occasionally spun in a circle. Its speed was not too fast, and with Leylin's body of a peak Preparatory Knight, he easily followed along.

From time to time, there were acolytes passing, but they did not look at Leylin in astonishment.

Leylin followed the shadow slave and passed through several corridors, two large halls, and a garden. It then stopped in front of an area designed for experiment labs.

The shadow slave turned translucent, and immediately passed through the door, leaving Leylin outside.

Leylin was speechless, yet he did not dare knock on the door. Therefore, he just waited outside patiently.

After a moment, there came a middle-aged man's voice.

"Leylin, huh? Enter!"

"Yes!" Leylin pushed opened the doors of the experimental lab.

A sweet and spicy aroma filled the laboratory room, mingling with the odour of poisonous fumes and liquids, which made Leylin furrow his brows.

A huge table took up the space of almost half the lab, and placed on it were various test tubes, flasks and beakers, as well as some other apparatus that Leylin could not identify. This made Leylin recall his previous life.

In front of the laboratory table, there stood a white-haired, middle-aged man who wore white robes. His collar was embroidered with golden patterns, and his eyes emitted a golden light, like two golden gems.

"I'm Kroft, and I've heard the details from the shadow slave. So then, Leylin, are you willing to become my apprentice?" The middle-aged man put down the test tube in his hands and said solemnly.