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Chapter 186: Magic Badge

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

"Of course. And this way is much faster compared to submitting a paper. It usually only takes about twenty minutes to get the examination done," Lazar nodded.

Simeon, who was standing beside Lazar, added, "But Evans, you have to remember that, although you can activate your badge this time by doing this, if you want to make progress in your arcana level, every time when you want to upgrade, you need to have this one basic arcana point that Lazar just mentioned, since the congress wants to see all the sorcerers and arcanists with solid foundation of knowledge, and you can only choose your research interest after becoming a real arcanist."

"I will find some time to pass the arcana examination in the Sorcerer Administrative Department," answered Lucien in a casual tone, as if he was talking about what to have for dinner tonight. Both Simeon and Lazar thought that Lucien would take the test after spending some time on studying magic and arcana first to make up the gap between his existing knowledge and what was offered by the congress.

After saying goodbye to the apprentices, led by Lazar, Lucien headed for zone four.

"Mr. Simeon has just become a level two arcanist. Hopefully, he can soon make another breakthrough." As they were walking, Lazar said to Lucien, "I don't know when I will have thirty arcana points."

"How many arcana points do you need for each upgrade?" asked Lucien confusedly, "Thirty?"

"At first, in order to get to a higher level, ten times more of one's last level arcana point was required, but it turned out to be quite impractical, since there were only ten to twenty thousand arcanists in total in this world. Later, a legendary archmage changed the rule, and now, you need ten arcana points to become a level one arcanist, thirty for level two, a hundred for level three, three hundred for level four, a thousand for level five, three thousand for level six, ten thousand for level seven, thirty thousand for level eight, and a hundred thousand for level nine," explained Lazar in detail. He enjoyed answering questions.

When they were walking across the hall, there were lights trying to approach them. The two badges that Lazar was wearing were glowing to prevent the lights from getting close to them.

…

There was an open hall in Sorcerer Administrative Department, where there were light yellow couches, coffee tables, wine cabinets and many other facilities for relaxing, making this place look more like a salon or a club than an administrative office.

There was a reception desk made of silver and gray metal beside the major corridor, behind which stood two lovely young girls. Many sorcerers, who were not as gloomy as most necromancers, liked to tease the girls a bit, and among them there were also some young men who were seriously pursuing them.

"Welcome back, Mr. Lazar," greeted the taller, flaxen-haired girl with a smile. Wearing a long yellow dress, she looked quite beautiful.

"Thank you, love." Lazar had a big smile on his face, and then he introduced, "Cindy, this is Mr. Evans, a twenty-year-old sorcerer. Evans, this are Cindy and Dona, two sweethearts in this department. Both of them are working on becoming real sorcerers as they are working here."

Knowing that Lazar was always like this, Cindy did not mind, but turned to Lucien, "Welcome, Mr. Evans. A twenty-year-old sorcerer following the ancient magic system… Wow… I have to say that you're definitely a genius. If when you become a middle-rank sorcerer, I still haven't make any breakthrough, can you have me to be your apprentice? A real apprentice?"

"Mr. Evans, can I as well?" Dona, the plump young girl, also asked while playing with her auburn-coloured hair.

The girls enthusiasm was beyond Lucien's imagination. For a moment, Lucien was too shy to say anything.

"Haha… Evans… I can tell you're quite inexperienced in talking with ladies." Lazar laughed. "It's okay. This is just their way of welcoming newcomers. Cindy and Dona are quite talented as well. As they were already senior apprentices when they were only seventeen, many sorcerers would like to have them to be their students, besides, what they want to specialize in is different from what you're good at, Evans."

"Ha, I thought somehow I suddenly became popular." Lucien joked.

"You are, Mr. Evans. You're good-looking and you look quite reliable. Better than Mr. Lazar." Cindy looked at Lucien with her beautiful eyes.

"Oh… That hurts." Lazar made a sad look, and then tried to get a bit more serious, "Anyone's available right now?"

"Only Mr. Eric is." Dona smiled and pointed at the corridor behind the reception desk, "He's waiting for you two."

Complaining about the fact that he was becoming less attractive, Lazar led Lucien to the third office under the girls' gaze. The sign hanging on the door read "Eric, director of Sorcerer Administrative Department".

Lazar gently knocked at the door. A commanding voice came from inside of the office, "Come in please, the door is unlocked."

When Lazar opened the door, Lucien saw rows of shelves in the office. On the shelves, there were no books, but pieces of silver-colored paper like sheets of metal glowing in a mysterious way. Many silver lines grew out of these sheets and extended themselves to build their connection to the light blue wall that shone all around them.

Besides the shelves, there was a black cabinet, an iron cage with a bell, and a metal shield.

In front of the shelves, there was a desk, behind which sat a bald man wearing black suit, and there was a top hat beside his right hand.

The average-looking, forty-something man raised his head. His light gray eyes were like crystal stones that could see through a person's heart. He took a quick glance at Lucien, and then started writing something down.

"Mr. Eric. This is Evans." Lazar bowed to the man respectfully.

"Welcome, our new friend. Let's have your registration thing done and get your badges." Eric nodded, then he looked at Lazar and said, "You did your work, Lazar. Take this note with you to get your reward in Task Zone."

As he was saying, the small piece of paper Eric just wrote on flew toward Lazar.

After getting the note, Lazar said to Lucien cheerfully, "I like you, Evans. I wonder if we can have dinner later together. I think we can become friends."

Talented, reliable and easy-going, that was Lazar's impression on Lucien. He felt that Lucien was someone that he could get along very well.

"Of course." Lucien smiled, "I happen to have no idea where to eat this evening."

"Great." Lazar waved this piece of paper a bit in his hand, "I'll see you later then. Good luck with your badges."

After Lazar left the office, Lucien sat down in front of Eric. Taking a closer look, Lucien noticed that there were three silver stars and four black circles on each of his badges.

"Level three arcanist, fourth circle sorcerer…" Lucien thought to himself.

As Lucien was thinking, Eric took out a piece of silver paper and handed it to Lucien, "Complete the form, so I can activate your magic badge."

Lucien quickly read the form. Only name, age, level, and the magic schools that one was good at were required to report, and nothing related to the sorcerer's personal background was mentioned.

Seeing that Lucien did not start writing immediately, Eric said to Lucien with no emotion, "If you have more information to offer, you can ask for another piece of paper. The more information you provide, the easier for the congress to get ID for you in Holm or in other countries. By the way, if you want to get married in the future, please also register that with the Sorcerer Administrative Department."

Lucien nodded, and started filling in the form.

"Lucien Evans, twenty, interested in school of Astrology and Element, first circle sorcerer."

And then he made up some fake personal information on the paper.

Eric took up the silver sheet and read carefully, then there was a bit of a smile on his face,

"Lucien Evans… What a common name… There's a famous musician in Aalto named Lucien Evans, and several days before, the name of a junior-rank elemental sorcerer who just made his breakthrough was also Lucien Evans. Why people like this name so much?"

"Honestly speaking, I never put much thought into it…" answered Lucien surprised, despite the fact that Natasha told him more than once how common his name was.

Eric did not stick to this topic, but pointed at the the metal shield on the other side of the office,

"Cast a first circle spell. I need to verify your level."

Lucien nodded and shot two black magic missiles at the shield. As the magic cover on the shield absorbed the power, there were light ripples spreading out.

Eric nodded, "The power is not from a magic item, but from your soul. You're indeed a first circle sorcerer."

As he was saying, Eric turned around and took out two badges from the black cabinet. He put one of the badges together with the silver piece of paper into the cage, and then pulled the string of the bell.

The bell started ringing, and the cage started shining. One minute later, the light disappeared.

When Eric took the badge and the paper out, there was a black circle on the badge, and a shining silver line connecting the metal paper to the light of the wall.

"The magic badge records your name, age, level, your spiritual power mark and your arcana points. You need this badge either when you earn or pay the points. Except you, no one can use it." Eric handed two badges to Lucien, asking him to leave his spiritual power mark in them.

"All of the information, " said Eric, "is kept by both me and the document office of the highest council. Do not try to change your level and your points for any purposes on your own. With this badge, you can accept missions in Task Zone and receive the basic arcana and magic books, as well as meditation methods. Besides, as a first circle sorcerer, you can ask the congress for materials or potions worth a Thale every month, or you can use it to borrow books."

Lucien put the activated magic badge in front of his left chest, and then looked at the dim arcana badge, "Mr. Eric, what about this one? My arcana badge?"

"You write your unique magic down and give it to me, if you have any," answered Eric. "So I can send it to the Arcana Review Board. It'll take around half an hour to know the result. No worries, I won't read it."

Lucien smiled, "I see, thank you Eric. Then what about arcana papers? Besides submitting my paper to the board, shall I send it to the journals as well myself?"

"Your paper?" Eric raised his head, and looked at Lucien very surprised with his gray eyes.

Chapter 187: Developing the Paper

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

"Yes, I have some interesting ideas about a unique magic that I improved on my own," Lucien smiled and nodded casually, "so I'd like to develop a paper out of it."

"You know arcana?" questioned Eric directly, as he could never believe that a young man who just started learning arcana could come up with any research results, no matter how talented this person was.

Lucien totally understood why Eric was this surprised, since no one from his original world would come up with any meaningful research outcome after studying a subject for a bit more than a month. Therefore, Lucien explained politely, "I cannot really regard my ideas as part of arcana, honestly speaking, but I just feel that the mechanism that I applied in improving this spell can be interesting. Of course, I also don't know if this is something that already exists."

Although Lucien knew that he needed to show his strength and talent sooner or later to earn more opportunities with a certain group or organization, as a newcomer, with very limited knowledge of the congress, Lucien had to stay humble and careful first.

When he made clear the current knowledge level of the congress and the progress of researches in different schools, Lucien still needed to do magic experiments on his own to verify whether the knowledge that he brought from his original world still worked the same way here, but after that, it would be time for Lucien to really show his capability.

Of course, in addition, the research results that Lucien was going to publish in the future must be released following a scientific order, or many sophisticated sorcerers would possibly realize that Lucien was more than a genius, but actually a freak, and alien! Then great danger would for sure come to Lucien before he could obtain enough power to protect himself.

Hearing Lucien's explanation, Eric's facial expression relaxed a bit, "I see… but what I have to remind you is that, if your research outcome is based on some ancient magic beliefs, the outcome from the board might disappoint you, since many of these ancient beliefs have already been overthrown by arcana."

"It does no harm to give it a try, right?" Lucien grinned.

"I guess…" answered Eric with much doubt, "Then, when do you want to submit the paper?"

"I can do it today," said Lucien seriously.

"What? Do you know we're off at six? There's only eighty minutes left." Eric felt very surprised again.

"No problem, Mr. Eric." Lucien was very confident, "I already developed the draft following the format of Arcana. Eighty minutes is enough. By the way, Mr. Eric, may I ask again if I should be the one to send my paper to the journals?"

Seeing Lucien's determination, Eric handed him a roll of parchment and said, "Yes, when a paper passes the board's review, the author needs to send the paper to the journals on his or her own. Since the congress doesn't allow one to submit the same paper to multiple journals, you gotta be careful with the journal you choose. The more influential, the better. Anyway, we can talk about it after your paper passes." Eric ended the conversation, "You can go to that room. I still have more matters to deal with."

…

In the light blue meeting room, surrounded by a few magic circles, Lucien was busy with developing his first paper in this world.

"The Application of Sound Wave in Magic Sensing: An experiment investigating the flight of bats.

"Bat; Hearing; Organ; Sound Wave; Sensing.

"As Mr. Douglas once argued, there are so many seemingly common phenomena in this world that we tend to ignore in daily life, however, in fact, there are lots of great secrets hiding behind them.

"Everyone knows that bats can easily fly and hunt swiftly in the dark, but not many ever tried to investigate why they are able to avoid obstacles at night when they fly."

Lucien was very familiar with the format. Direct and clear—that was what Lucien wanted to achieve.

The reason Lucien decided to submit the paper developed out of the apprentice spell, Bat Screaming, was that the theory behind this spell was quite independent from the current arcana knowledge, and could be drawn upon the tradition of ancient magic system, which was studying assorted magic creatures' structure and power to develop and improve spells, and the only difference in Lucien's paper was that Lucien was now studying an ordinary creature.

Compared to merely submitting a spell, the benefits brought by submitting a paper were undoubtedly greater.

Although Lucien never really did this experiment, based on his knowledge, it was not difficult for him to make up the research methodology and statistics.

In his paper, Lucien set up several groups of controlled experiments to investigate how bats could "see" in the dark.

After ruling out the possible answers including bat's eyes, wings and hair by conducting these experiments, Lucien came to the final step.

In his last group of control experiment, Lucien, in his paper, set it up by disturbing the investigated bats' ears and their organs in their noses and mouths. According to Lucien, this time, the bats could not fly properly in darkness anymore.

Therefore, Lucien drew the conclusion in the end that bats used their ears to receive sound waves produced by the organs in their noses and mouths to detect objects when they flew at night, but not their eyes to see.

Following the experiment, Lucien reported how he improved Homan's Oscillation and thus created this new apprentice spell—Bat Screaming.

In the end, Lucien explained that because of the complexity of the structures of a bat's organs, he needed to use a real bat's brain tissue as the tool for casting the spell.

After carefully going through the whole paper again, Lucien analyzed the apprentice spell, Bat Screaming, on another piece of parchment and explained how to use it, as a new spell to be submitted to the congress.

When Lucien stood up after finishing all of the work, he took a glance at the clock and found that the whole thing only took him less then half an hour. He was quite confident that no similar research had been done before him in this area, since when he was teaching Annick, Heidi and Layria basic arcana, he never encountered anything similar to this.

Opening the meeting room's door, Lucien saw Lazar, who was walking back and forth in the corridor.

Hearing the door opening, Lazar turned around fiercely and asked, "Mr. Eric told me that you're writing a paper, are you?!"

"Yes, but nothing big. I'm just introducing how I improved a spell," Lucien said casually to Lazar. "When you were improving Lazar's Burning Hand, you also wrote some papers, right?"

"Yes…" Lazar answered subconsciously. "But this kind of paper, you know, following other people's ideas and making improvements… often cannot pass the board's review. In most cases, you can only earn points with the new spell submitted."

"I know. I'm just trying." Lucien smiled and shrugged.

"I see…" Lazar nodded, "But wait… As a beginner in arcana, you can already improve spells? How's this possible?"

Lucien answered, "Come on… Ancient sorcerers also need to make improvements."

Lazar made a long "hum", and nodded seriously, "Then, Evans, I suggest you do not have too much expectation on earning any points with the paper."

As Lucien was saying, he knocked at the door of Mr. Eric's office. Lucien and Lazar walked in the office together, and handed the paper to Eric.

Eric took a look at the long parchment in his hand, then nodded, "I can tell that you're very prepared, Evans. By the way, which field does the magic belong to, may I ask?"

"Sound wave," answered Lucien short and clear.

Eric put the two rolls of parchment into two folders, and then he took a quill and wrote down "sound wave" in one side of each of them.

Putting the two folders in the cage, Eric pulled the bell again.

White light instantly covered the cage, and when the light disappeared, the folders were already gone.

"About thirty minutes later, we'll know the result." Eric sat down again, "But I suggest you do not have much hope, Evans."

…

On the fifteenth floor of the tower. In a spacious office.

There were many bells ringing here. With the appearance of the complicated magic circles, many folders showed up out of nowhere.

There were no people in this office, just a pair of arms in the air picking up the folders.

"Element, to, Mr. Ravendi, Mr.Gaston."

"Necromancy, to, …"

With some kind of machine talking, the arms put the folders back into the magic circles following different orders.

According to the rules of the congress, members of the highest council could not join Arcana Review Board, but they could be invited as special consultants when a paper was beyond the board's knowledge.

For common papers, there were usually two committee members reviewing and judging a piece of work independently and then an average score was drawn. If there was disagreement, a third committee member would be involved. And if the problem still could not be solved, a small meeting would be hosted.

"Sound wave magic… to Magic Exchange Office first to make sure this is a new spell, and then to Mr. Garfield and Mr. Jeffrey."

"The paper based on the same spell… then, to Mr. Garfield and Mr. Jeffrey directly."

The lights were flashing in the office.

Chapter 188: The Result

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

On the fifteenth floor of the tower, in another room.

As a bell rang, a puppet picked up the paper and quickly leafed through it.

"Sound wave? Apprentice level?" murmured the puppet, "Master said that he won't review papers below a certain level, and master's students are not here today as well. Alas, the paper can only be handed over to the several arcanists from Common Arcana then."

After identifying the paper's level, the puppet waited for around five minutes until it receiving the message that the spell itself, Bat Screaming, had been confirmed valid. Then the puppet called a red-beaked and green-feathered bird from outside of the window. The bird's responsibility today was to bring the several papers to another magic tower.

It was not easy to use magic circles to send things among different towers.

The bird flew very fast, with its feathers producing a cover to prevent the strong wind. Soon, the bird disappeared in the sky.

…

On the third floor of a blue magic tower, in a messy room filled with books.

A middle-aged man with light-yellow mustache was looking at the books in front of him, frowning and thinking.

For sorcerers of this level like this man, he needed to continuously make progress in his own specialized arcana field.

At this time, he heard something pecking at the power cover of the tower. Smiling, the man put the journal book down and pressed the button on the table.

The energy cover was retrieved, and the window opened. The same red-beaked, green-feathered birds flew in. Walking on the table proudly back and forth, the bird dropped the papers down, "Mr. Woods, these are the papers for today. Please review them as soon as possible."

When the bird was speaking, the bird's voice was as sweet as its chirping.

Woods pulled out a handful of small white particles and gently threw them to the bird, "Is any of these for new magic reviewing, Selena? If there isn't, come and pick them up tomorrow."

While eating the small white particles happily, the little bird answered, "There's one, Mr. Woods. Please review it now."

Then, the little bird picked out one of the parchment rolls.

When Woods was reading Lucien's new magic report, a surprised look gradually appeared on his face, "Bat Screaming… Apprentice level… Interesting…"

After reading the report, Woods hurriedly searched for something among all of the parchment rolls on the desk, "Not this… not this… There should be a corresponding paper… Yes! Lucien Evans… Bats…"

Pulling out the roll of paper from Lucien Evans, Woods started reading carefully.

"This young man… very curious. He has the potential to be an arcanist," murmured Woods. "Surprisingly, this young man carefully explored bat, this non-magical creature, while most ancient sorcerers are busy with examining magic creatures to discover their power… The controlled experiment was also very carefully designed. Although the experiment does not have much to do with arcana, this young man's way of thinking is still very creative and impressive. Wait… Lucien Evans is only a first circle sorcerer? That's quite surprising as well…"

Woods felt that Lucien Evans was too common a name for a talented sorcerer to be noticed in the academy, so Woods thought that he should suggest this Lucien Evans to put an extra word after his name for distinction.

After reading this paper, Woods stood up and asked his apprentice to catch two bats for him.

Woods only used a very short period of time to repeat Lucien's experiment and he confirmed the result in Lucien's paper. Woods got very excited, "Sound wave can really be used for the purpose of location! It's no longer merely a weapon for deterring or killing!"

Sound wave did not exclusively belong to a certain school. In fact, all of the schools had sound wave spells, for example, Homan's Oscillation belonged to the school of Force, and Banshee's Howling belonged to the school of Necromancy.

Although Woods almost could not wait to write a paper to respond Lucien's idea, he decided to sit back and write down his comment on the paper first, "Groundbreaking…"

The same scene was seen in another office in a magic tower, but this office turned out to be the headquarter of the journal Sound Wave.

…

In the hall of Sorcerer Administrative Department, Lucien was sitting in the couch, tasting a non-alcoholic beverage called Sky Blue recommended by Lazar. Lucien liked its sweetness.

Swirling the pure blue liquid in the transparent glass, Lucien was sipping the beverage while talking with Lazar leisurely about some common sense of the congress.

It was close to five forty in the early evening, and the magic tower was going to close soon, but the two sorcerers were still sitting in the hall chatting casually. Both Cindy and Donna were very curious, so Cindy, craning her neck, whispered, "Mr. Lazar, Mr. Evans, are you waiting for something?"

Lazar smiled, pointing to lucien, "I'm with Evans to wait for his new magic assessment result and the result of his paper… Well, maybe not result of the paper. You know that paper review usually takes three days, as all the board members are very, very cautious."

"Of course, the committee members always have their own business to deal with." Cindy agreed with Lazar first, then she turned to Lucien with great surprise, "Wait, Mr. Evans' paper?"

Lazar nodded.

Both Cindy and Dona were more than surprised, "Mr. Evans, you learned arcana before?"

"I started studying arcana about a month ago," answered Lucien. "Although I did make some progress, this paper is from my past experience."

"I see…" Cindy nodded and smiled, "Although this paper, honestly speaking, is not very likely to pass the board's review, I'm sure the new magic can help you activate your arcana badge, Mr. Evans. And you're the first one I've ever seen who submitted his paper on his first day in the congress! Your name will be on my diary, for sure!"

"My pleasure." Lucien grinned, feeling quite relaxed.

A while later, Lazar pulled out his pocket watch and took a glance, "Evans, we should visit Mr. Eric now."

"Good luck," said the two girls.

…

In Eric's office.

"The result is not here yet. It seems that the board is pretty busy today," said Eric. who also felt a bit surprised, since in most cases, the review of an apprentice-level magic should not take more than twenty minutes.

Lazar was a bit worried, "Mr. Eric, can we wait here?"

"Help yourselves." Eric nodded, and then turned around and picked up a book to start working on his own business.

Lucien remained quite calm. He was quite confident that Bat Screaming had already passed the review, or the bad news should have arrived way sooner than this, and this meant that Lucien already had at least one arcana point.

The office was very quiet.

When there were only a few more minutes before the tower closed for the day, the cage lit up with white light again.

Eric put down his quill and stood up, "Finally, here they are."

When the white light disappeared, Eric got confused, "Why there're three folders?"

Then he picked up one and read, "Bat Screaming, apprentice level magic. According to Mr. Garfield and Mr. Jeffrey, this magic is groundbreaking, but the structure of the spell is still very problematic. From the five aspects of judgement: level, theory, effectiveness, structure and meaning, three arcana credits and four arcana points were given."

Eric was very surprised. As he looked at Lucien, he murmured, "Groundbreaking? Three arcana credits? For an apprentice level spell…?"

Eric knew clearly that a new first circle spell could win a sorcerer two credits, and he well understood what did the word "groundbreaking" meant.

Lazar also repeated, feeling unreal, "Three arcana credits and four arcana points… with Evans' new spell?"

In contrast, Lucien stayed relatively calmer. He did not really understand how generous the reward was, and he was still waiting for the comment on his paper.

Eric took a quick but meaningful glance at Lucien, and then he handed the folder to Lazar, "Yes. Unbelievable as it is, it is true."

After Lazar read the document back and forth a couple of times, he looked at Lucien as if he never knew him, "Mimicking bats?"

"Yes," Lucien confirmed his question. "Mimicking bats to detect objects."

"Well… That's… That's very creative…" Lazar rubbed his forehead a bit. "I have to say that I'm feeling jealous now."

At this time, Eric opened the other two folders, and he looked totally stunned, "Here… are the results of the review of Evans' paper."

Lazar could not believe his ears, and there was also mixed facial expressions on Eric's face, as he thought of how he was treated when he submitted his very first arcana paper.

"Yes." Eric paused a bit and answered, "According to Mr. Garfield, this paper is groundbreaking, carefully-designed, insightful and impressive, and four arcana credits and six arcana points are suggested to be given to the author. Mr. Garfield also suggested the author to add extra words after his name for distinction."

Both Mr. Eric and Lazar were now looking at Lucien, since nothing like this ever happened before!

Chapter 189: The Choice of Journals

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

After taking a look at Lucien, Eric continued to read the comment, "As for Mr. Jeffrey, his comment is 'fascinating experiment design, cautious exploration and construction', and he also mentioned the insufficiency of your knowledge and some shortcomings in the new magic you created. However, Mr. Jeffrey said 'the purpose of the paper is not for showing how perfect this apprentice spell is, but for revealing other methods of application of sound wave, thus the paper is groundbreaking and insightful.'"

Lazar was also listening to the comment very carefully, and his eyes were shining with curiosity and excitement.

"'However, it is undeniable that this paper still lacks depth of discussion, thus the paper might not be as sustainable as it could be. Of course, we must take the fact into consideration that the author's only a sorcerer with no arcana level, and what he has accomplished is already very impressive. At the same time, this paper demonstrates to us that non-magical creatures are also worth careful investigation'." Eric read the comment from Mr. Jeffrey slowly and clear, "'What I have to point out here is that the author's way of thinking perfectly accords with the precious features of a real arcanist when conducting a study, which is: keen observation, bold hypothesis, careful experiment-design, rigorous analysis, reasonable inference and application. To my surprise, this author does not have any arcana level. In all respects, four arcana credits and four arcana points are recommended to be given to the author'."

"So what's the final result then?" asked Lazar eagerly. He looked even more excited than Lucien.

"Combining the two board members' judgements together, four arcana credits and five arcana points were given," answered Mr. Eric.

Compared to Mr. Garfield, Mr. Jeffrey appeared to be more detail-oriented, or say, very throughout, despite the fact that both of them made very similar comments.

Meanwhile, his detailed description also gave Eric and Lazar a rough idea of the subject of Lucien's arcana paper and his new magic.

"By studying the organs of bats, your paper discusses the role of high-frequency acoustic waves in locating and probing? Wow… That's something… although observing creatures is your strength since you follow ancient magic system. I also often study bats as well, but I never tried to focus on anything else except their flying behaviors." As a second circle sorcerer, when Lazar was trying to analyze one of the most important third circle spells, Fly, he observed most creatures that could fly, but never found anything like this. Honestly speaking, Lazar was very regretful.

However, Lazar also knew that this way of doing research was something that ancient sorcerers specialized in, so he still felt very happy for Lucien and sincerely embraced him, "Congratulations, Evans, you are the first person I have ever met that won so many arcana credits on the first day. I'm sure you'll have an arcana level very soon."

Many grand arcanists were able to get more than a hundred of arcana credits within one day because of their previous academic works, so getting seven credits in a day was nothing too surprising.

"Do you mind introducing your research to us a bit more in detail, Evans?" asked Lazar, "How did you develop your research based on those bats?"

Even Eric also turned around, feeling quite curious.

When Lucien was about to answer, Lazar joked, "Your paper has been reviewed by the board. Don't worry that we'll copy your work, haha. Besides, if your work is cited by someone else, you can earn more credits."

"It's actually not very complicated. Lazar, did you ever see bats flying in dark caves?" grinned Lucien, "But why they can do this without hitting anything in the darkness?"

In front of the two arcanists, Lucien's short explanation was already enough. Eric touched his half-bald head subconsciously and said, "The results of some arcana studies look very simple, but without keen observation and an arcanist's inquiring mind, they can never be found. I don't know how many times I may have missed a lot of opportunities to publish great papers."

Although Eric still doubted whether the new spell was actually invented by Lucien, or it was a unique spell invented by some ancient sorcerer from the ancient magic empire, no one could prove the fact.

"Wow… Lucien, that's really, really, something! Maybe I shall raise some small creatures in my place, haha, and who knows what I can find." Lazar was very impressed. Since Lucien did not try to hide his study from him, Lazar found Lucien even more trustworthy.

"As your paper is, like the two board members commented, 'groundbreaking', I'm sure you can publish your paper on a suitable journal. When more people start citing your paper, you can get way more arcana credits than what you have now," said Lazar excitedly to Lucien.

"That's right. About two or three months later after you publish your paper, you can look forward to getting more credits from other people's work, haha." Eric also found it pretty interesting, "If three months later, Evans, you haven't passed our arcana assessment to get the one basic arcana credit, you would be the first sorcerer who has more than ten arcana credits but no arcana level."

Hearing their comments, Lucien seized the chance and asked, "Then, which journal should I choose, Mr. Eric? Lazar? Personally speaking, I think the topic of my paper, sound wave, is quite limited, and maybe not many sorcerers would cite my work."

"That's right. Besides, after a period of time in which you can get a lot of credits, more and more sorcerers would start citing other people's paper that are developed based on your paper, but not your original paper anymore. You will still have some credits coming to you from this paper, but surely it'll get slower and more steady." Eric nodded, "If you want to have your paper to be cited more often, of course, Arcana and Magic, these two journals are the most influential ones in this magic world, but in most cases, they only publish the most important studies from the greatest arcanists, so probably they're not part of your choice by now."

Lucien nodded. He knew that Mr. Eric's suggestion was very reasonable.

"Then there are another forty-two different journals, including eleven journals belonging to different schools, seven sponsored by the divisions of the congress, three index journals, eighteen in the subdivision fields, three for junior arcanists. The other small ones have not been approved by the congress, and you will not get any arcana credits with them," explained Eric.

"I see. Can you be a bit more specific, Mr. Eric?" asked Lucien.

"Both Element and Holm Journal are very influential, but they're also very strict. Personally speaking, I won't recommend you to try these two, Evans, because your paper might not be important enough yet." As the director of Sorcerer Administrative Department, Eric analyzed carefully for Lucien.

"So I shall choose those ones in the subdivision fields?" Lucien tilted his head a bit.

"Sound Wave is obviously the most authoritative one for your paper among all of them, and it's still relatively influential. Common Arcana, while being more influential than Sound Wave, is also stricter with reviewing the papers." After pausing a bit, Eric continued, "If you send the paper to Arcana Discussion or Journal of Magic Research, the two comprehensive journals specifically for low-level arcanists, I'm sure that your paper would be published, but their influence is not that good at all. So, to conclude, to take risk or to play it safe, it all depends on yourself, Evans."

Lucien nodded sincerely, "I understand. Thank you for your detailed explanation, Mr. Eric."

"No worries. This is my responsibility." Eric's stubborn face had a bit of a smile on it, "It's almost six now. Evans, take your time to think about it tonight, and try to send the paper tomorrow before the journal is published this month."

Lazar also gave his suggestion, "I'd suggest Sound Wave. After all, it's the most authoritative one in this field."

"I hear you, Lazar. And I'll definitely think about it," responded Lucien. As he was saying, Lucien handed his arcana badge to Eric to activate it.

Taking over the badge, when Eric was just about to deal with it, he noticed the third folder in the cage which was ignored by all of them just now.

Confusedly, Eric opened the folder.

"What's in there, Mr. Eric?" asked Lazar curiously.

Holding the folder in his hands, Eric's face looked even more surprised than before. Turning around, Eric first took a deep breath and then said to Lucien, "Evans, Common Arcana wants to make an arrangement with you for your paper's contribution. If you're willing to send your paper to them, they promise that your paper would be among the first fifteen most important papers this month."

As a level three arcanist, Eric never received any contribution invitations, but only many rejection letters.

Chapter 190: More Invitations

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Although Lazar had already felt shocked many times today, hearing Eric's words, he still could not help but look at Lucien as if he was looking at a monster, "Lucien, you know what does this mean? I bet you do not. Most arcanists below middle rank would never receive any contribution invitations, and of course, I'm one of them. Our arcana credits usually come from the board and most of us can never have seven credits in several years."

"I think I got really lucky here." Lucien wanted to remain humble.

"Come on… Lucky?! This doesn't have anything to do with luck, my friend." Lazar excitedly waved both of his hands, "This is the fourth year since I graduated from my school. Among the papers I've written, at least ten of them, only three of them passed the review of the board, and among the three, only one is published on Arcana Discussion… the last but one paper in that month's journal! I heard that only those geniuses could receive invitations like this, say, Mr. Ulysses or Mr. Felipe."

Although Lazar felt quite sorry for himself, he was not being sarcastic to Lucien at all. Definitely, he was a very nice friend.

Eric's mouth moved a bit as he tried to say something but quickly gave it up. He spent his twenty years on earning one hundred arcana credits and becoming a level three arcanist. Finally, he released a gentle sigh, "The word 'groundbreaking'… No wonder this journal just directly sent the invitation. Although the application significance of your paper is relatively limited, Evans, it's really something that your paper can win the word 'groundbreaking' from the board members. Every year, except the papers from those grand arcanists and senior-rank arcanists, less than ten papers can enjoy this praise."

"I see…" Lucien finally realized how important this key word was.

Lazar hid his a slighty discouraged look and said to Lucien excitedly while pulling his fingers to show his points, "Groundbreaking, breakthrough, extremely important, highly pervasive, worth of great discussion, these are the key words used by the board members to speak most highly of a paper. Of course, if your paper is commented as having the ability to change the times, then congratulations, Evans, you'd be one of the grand arcanists!"

When Lucien took over the folder from Mr. Eric, the bell started ringing and the light flashed in the cage again.

A new folder just arrived.

Eric picked up the folder, and when he opened it, his face looked a bit discouraged just like Lazar's face just now.

"Evans, you've got another contribution invitation, from Sound Wave," Eric said to Lucien, trying to stay calmer, "They promise the same thing, plus that they can recommend your paper to another three index journals."

Both Eric and Lazar felt that they could not be any more surprised now, as long as no invitation from Arcana or Magic was coming.

"Which one to choose, Lucien?" grinned Lazar, "I personally still suggest Sound Wave, as it is more professional, and they gave you a better offer."

"Thanks, Lazar, but I personally prefer Common Arcana." Lucien smiled, "And my reason's simple: Common Arcana was the first to send the invitation, and that means they value my research."

Lazar didn't quite agree with Lucien, but when he was about to say something, the bell rang crisply three times.

Eric took a look at Lucien's arcana badge in his hand and said to him, "Evans, we're off today, and I'm afraid you have to come back here tomorrow to activate your badge."

"Mr. Eric… Can I somehow still do it today?" asked Lucien a bit disappointedly, "I was planning to visit Common Arcana Library and Magic Exchange Office."

Eric shook his head, "Prospell and the other alchemical lives never work one extra minute unless they're asked by their masters. Even if you had your arcana badge today, you could not visit the two places since they're also closed now. Come tomorrow morning, and no worries, the credits and points are always yours."

Lazar nodded, "Let's go for dinner, Evans. In most cases, those alchemical lives are quite lazy." As he was saying, he quickly took a glance at the shining wall and added, "Of course, they can be very productive and diligent when necessary. By the way, remember to follow the suggestion and add an extra letter behind your name for distinction, Lucien."

"I see. Good evening then, Mr. Eric." Lucien slightly bowed and put back his unactivated arcana badge on his clothes.

…

In the hall of Sorcerer Administrative Department, when Cindy and Dona were about to leave, they saw Lazar and Evans walking out of Mr. Eric's office.

"Congra… Eh? Mr. Evans, why your arcana badge hasn't been…" asked Cindy, but she quickly stopped herself since she did not want to embarrass Mr. Evans.

"No, no, no…" Lazar, as Lucien's friend, felt very proud and started showing off, "Our dear Mr. Evans is the first sorcerer ever whose arcana paper was approved by the board on the day he arrived at Allyn, the first sorcerer who got the comment 'groundbreaking' with his first arcana paper, the first sorcerer who have received two contribution invitations from two major journals with his very first arcana paper…"

There were so many "first" in Lazar's words, that Cindy and Dona almost could not believe their ears.

The girls' eyes were shining with admiration. "Mr. Evans, you'll definitely be in our diaries today!"

Cindy also added, "Mr. Evans, we're looking forward to reading your paper. And, again, please don't forget us when you become a middle-rank sorcerer, haha."

"What about we celebrate for Mr. Evans a bit tonight?" suggested Dona.

"If the ladies don't mind, I want to invite you two to have dinner with us." Lucien smiled. He would like to have more friends in Allyn.

"Of course! We're more than happy to go." Cindy nodded excitedly, "By the way, Mr. Evans, as you've already gained seven arcana credits, why hasn't your badge been activated yet?"

"Ha, Mr. Eric was so shocked by Lucien's accomplishment that he forgot to do it." Lazar laughed, "When he realized it, the other people were already gone for the day."

"Wow… It's hard to imagine Mr. Eric with a shocked face…" the two girls giggled.

When they were waiting for the ladies to go for dinner together, Lazar looked at Lucien and said,

"Lucien, among all the comments you just got, you know which one I felt most jealous of?"

"Um… Groundbreaking?" answered Lucien unsure.

"No…" Lazar shook his head slightly and looked a bit depressed, "It is the comment with regards to your arcanist way of thinking. In all the papers I've sent and got rejected, the board members kept telling me that my way of thinking is problematic and not rigorous enough as an arcanist."

"Reading more and thinking more can improve one's way of thinking, for sure." Lucien comforted Lazar, "If you don't mind, I can do proof-reading for you, you know, for peer reviewing."

"That'll be awesome! Thanks, man!" Lazar cheered up again, "But no worries, my next paper won't be there in two or even three months. Ah… by the way, when the apprentice assessment is done tomorrow, your teaching task will be half done, and you need to consider how to plan your life here. Well, think about what you're going to do tonight, and I will give you some suggestions as well tomorrow, when we go to the Task Zone together."

Lucien nodded seriously. His most important target now was to catch up with other people in arcana.

After the four people enjoyed grilled fish and fries, the traditional cuisine of Holm, Lucien spent the night in a nice hotel recommended by Lazar, where Lucien had a good night's sleep.

…

Early the next morning, Lazar met Lucien in the hotel and went to Apprentice Assessment Department with him.

"There you are, Mr. Evans!" As soon as Lucien stepped into zone three, Lucien heard Heidi and Layria's cheerful voice. With some books in their hands, they were excitedly looking at Lucien, and before Lucien came, they were still busy with reviewing the exercises.

"Good morning, Mr. Evans," greeted Annick. He scratched his yellow hair a bit with a happy smile on his face.

"Morning, and good luck to you all," said Lucien. All of a sudden he felt like playing a joke, "Just relax. If you three cannot pass the test, I can give you more exercises, so no worries."

"Well… Thanks, Mr. Evans, but we think we're fine here." The three apprentices shook their heads together, looking quite cute.

At this time, Simeon walked out of the office and clapped his hands, "All the apprentices, come in for the assessment."

Looking at Lucien and his three apprentices arrogantly, Sprint had a confident look on his face, as he was sure that he could perform way better than the three who received some special but useless training.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Katrina was also staring at Sprint. She told herself that this time she must beat Sprint in the assessment.

Chapter 191: Magic Schools

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Sprint also took a glance at Katrina, and then walked into the assessment room without saying anything.

Early when they were in Sturk, and also when they were on the dangerous ship, Katrina and Sprint never stopped their competition. Often they would throw tricky questions to each other, and when they had chances to practice casting spells, they would always see who was faster. As it was Sprint who always won the games, Katrina often got quite unhappy.

Seeing Sprint's attitude, Katrina stamped her foot a bit and then got in the room with a snort.

"Relax." Lucien lifted his chin a bit to point at the room.

Annick nodded seriously, "Yes, Mr. Evans."

Then he left with Layria and Heidi together a bit nervously.

Lazar, with his hands in the pockets of his double-breasted coat, smiled, "Lucien, are they the three apprentices you taught? How's their study?"

"They just started studying arcana a bit more than a month ago, and I can't brag that they've learned a lot from me. I just let them get through a lot of repetitious exercises to help them get the most basic parts done as solid as possible, and thus they can learn arcana and magic easier in the future." Lucien replied casually, having no worries at all with the assessment, since he knew that his students were already way more prepared than their peers.

"Repetitious exercises? That doesn't sound very appealing at all." Lazar grinned, "Aren't you afraid of killing their creativity?"

"Creativity is for geniuses, and these children are not," answered Lucien directly. "Relying on something they don't really have can only bring them disappointment. The only way out for them is to work hard, and the only thing they shall rely on is their perseverance." Although Lucien was still smiling, his voice sounded serious, "They shall obtain the arcanist's way of thinking by these repetitious exercises, and these exercises can lay a solid knowledge foundation for them."

Lazar was only chatting, not debating, so he just tilted his head a bit and said, "You're also very suitable for being a teacher, Lucien."

Lucien thought to himself that this was how he learned to be a student in his original world, then, very quickly he switched the topic, "Do you have many of the same black coats like this, Lazar? Why do I feel that you never change your clothes?"

Lazar laughed, "Come on, this coat is my magic robe! Don't tell me that in your mind only that type of robes with gloomy hoods can be called magic robes! We have all kinds of styles, say, formal, casual, coats, dresses… as long as you're willing to pay."

"How much is a level two magic robe? Honestly speaking, I don't have any yet," asked Lucien a bit excitedly.

"Paean of Night," Lazar pointed at his own coat, "Level two medium rank, two hundred Thales or arcana points, from Wasim's, good price, good quality, good reputation."

Lucien was amused by Lazar's words, and then quickly calculated the money he still had so far, "I only have sixty Thales and nine points right now… By the way, Lazar, is it right that one arcana point equals one Thale?"

When Lucien was traveling around, he treated himself pretty well.

"That's right," Lazar nodded, "but when you upgrade to a higher level, you'll know that arcana points actually have a much wider use than Thales. According to these greedy bankers, the points is guaranteed by the congress' own credit. It took me a long time to save the money for the robe, but fortunately, it is not hard for a sorcerer to find a job to make some money, and you can probably make ten Thales or arcana points a month, plus some extra income from other people learning your magic… So I'd say you can buy a robe like this within two years or so."

"I see. Definitely, two years is still a long time," said Lucien.

"I can lend you some. I still have the thirty points from submitting my new spell." said Lazar, "I know you will definitely pay me back, as you're such a talented sorcerer, and I'm sure that lots of people will want to learn your new apprentice level spell."

"Thank you for your generosity, Lazar." Lucien smiled and said sincerely, "I still have some materials that I can sell for some money."

Lucien was thinking of the precious Wave Stones that he got from the murloc.

"I really envy you, Lucien," said Lazar honestly. "Sorcerers who follow the ancient magic system more or less often have some materials or magic items."

Time went by quickly as Lucien and Lazar were chatting casually outside of the assessment room. Soon, the door of the room suddenly opened and Heidi showed up cheerfully,

"The assessment's so easy, Mr. Evans!"

Following Heidi, Layria also came out of the room and agreed, "Yes, way easier than the exercises we did!"

"Good to hear it." Lucien smiled and nodded, "What about you, Annick?"

"Not bad…" Annick was smiling shyly as he scratched his hair a bit as usual, "Many thanks to you, Mr. Evans."

"Maybe you guys ignored some traps there in the assessment, and that's why the test looked so easy to you three." One apprentice following them commented unhappily, "How do you feel, Sprint?"

Sprint looked less confident now, "Most of the questions are okay, but some are quite challenging… I'm not sure."

"I feel the same way…" Hearing Sprint's answer, Katrina was a bit more relaxed. She thought it was her own problem that she felt quite challenged during the assessment.

"It's really difficult… My head hurts…" agreed the other apprentices.

"Sprint, how did you analyze and construct the apprentice spell, Spectre Strike?" Seeing the door of the assessment room was closed again, Katrina asked after a bit of hesitation.

"I tried to…" Since Sprint was also quite uncertain with this one, he did not try to hide his own answer but to check it with Katrina.

More apprentices joined them to check the answers together, and they started discussing heatedly.

However, both Heidi and Layria felt quite confused, as they truly felt that the assessment was not hard at all.

Soon Annick, Heidi and Layria also joined the other apprentices, leaving Lucien and Lazar looking at them discussing energetically on the other side of the corridor with smiles on their faces.

When the apprentices finished checking all the answers, it was already close to ten thirty. All of them stopped talking and were waiting for the result.

It was completely quiet in the corridor.

At this time, the door of the assessment room slowly opened. Staring at the door, all the apprentices looked very nervous.

There was a folder in Simeon's hands, and he said seriously, "I'm now reading the result of the assessment."

All of the apprentices held their breath, including Annick, Layria and Heidi who thought the test was quite easy.

"The first group, for those apprentices who have a solid foundation of arcana knowledge, qualified spiritual power level and spell casting ability, we have: Annick, Layria and Heidi. The three apprentices' strength is in Astrology and Element."

"What?! That's impossible…" The other apprentices were stunned, "How come it's not Sprint and Katrina?!"

Both Sprint and Katrina's faces suddenly turned pale, as they never thought that they would be beaten by Annick, Heidi, and Layria, and they were hoping that this was just a mistake.

However, Simeon said seriously to them, "If any of you don't believe it, feel free to discuss basic arcana questions with them."

No apprentice dared doubt Simeon. Remaining silent, they reluctantly accepted the result. At the same time, many turned around and looked at Lucien, feeling rather regretful out of different reasons.

"Then the second group, for those apprentices who have a relatively good foundation of arcana knowledge, qualified spiritual power level and spell casting ability, we have: Sprint, Katrina and Olmos. Sprint and Katrina's strength is in Force, Electromagnetics and Element, and OImos's in Summoning and Necromancy."

As Simeon was reading the results, some apprentices felt cheerful and some quite upset. In the end, Simeon announced,

"Annick, Layria, Heidi, Sprint and Katrina will be studying in Douglas, OImos in Allyn, …" Based on the assessment result, Simeon assigned the apprentices to different schools. All of the schools were in Allyn, and no one needed to go to schools in other counties or even countries.

When they were following Simeon to the office for the admission procedures, something suddenly came to Layria. She looked at Lucien emotionally and asked with her black eyes grew moist, "Mr. Evans, are you gonna stay in Allyn? Can we still see you again?"

There was also tears welling up in both Heidi's and Annick's eyes.

"I think I will stay in Allyn for quite a long time, as long as there's nothing else emergent." Lucien smiled, "I'll visit you three when I'm free."

"Awesome!" Heidi and Layria hugged each other and laughed, with still a bit of tears in their eyes.

Annick also grinned, but he looked aside, trying to hide his emotion.

Following Lucien and the three apprentices, Sprint remained all the way silent. After all the apprentices entered the office, Katrina suddenly bowed to Lucien, "I'm sorry."

Then she quickly ran into the office, leaving Lucien no chance to say anything.

"It's so nice to be young," Lazar sighed with emotion.

…

After getting all the remaining procedures done, Lucien got the certificate from Simeon showing that his teaching job had been finished.

Then Lucien and Lazar headed for Sorcerer Administrative Department together.

"By the way, Lucien," asked Lazar, "Any idea which word to put behind your name for your paper?"

"Lucien Evans X." Lucien smiled.

The letter "X" could be mysterious, and it was also the initial of Lucien's original name.

Chapter 192: The Task

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

"Umm… Sounds like a mysterious and vicious bastard, haha." As they were getting closer and closer, Lazar joked.

Lucien said with a pretended cunning smile, "Someday, when I do something big that can shock the whole magic world, I should leave a bloody X on the scene."

"That sounds cool!" Lazar waved his fist a bit, "That reminds me of the mysterious Professor who left the bloody letters when he killed the traitor."

Lucien's face hardened a bit nervously and he quickly started talking about the famous shops in Allyn.

This time, in the Sorcerer Administrative Department, Lucien successfully activated his arcana badge. There were seven silver dots shining on the black badge, looking rather mysterious.

Right now this badge did not have any magic effects, but Lucien was told that, when he became a middle-rank arcanist, his arcana badge would be enchanted with a spell, and one more when he upgraded to senior-rank, and the same would be done to his magic badge.

"So an 'X' after your name?" asked Eric, watching Lucien putting his arcana badge in front of his left chest.

Lucien nodded seriously, "Yes. Anything else, Mr. Eric?"

"Nothing but to remind you to settle down in Allyn as soon as possible and then leave me your contact information. By the way, when you respond to Common Arcana, you'd better leave your address and contact information as well for further touch," said Eric casually. Then, he turned around and said to someone who was knocking at the office door, "Come in."

Seeing Eric was rather busy, Lucien and Lazar hurriedly bowed to him and left his office.

"Mr. Eric's got so many things to do…" Lucien looked back at Eric's office and said.

As if Lazar just heard a joke, he laughed, "Of course he's got so many things to do, after all, he only works two days a week for fourteen hours."

"Only two days? Then what about the rest of his time?" asked Lucien, surprised.

"He can study magic, do experiments, or anything he wants to do," Lazar shrugged, "and the job, as the director of the department, can still bring him thirty Thales or arcana points a month. That's why we have ten directors in Sorcerer Administrative Department, but only middle-rank sorcerers can have the opportunity to get the job."

Lucien of course longed for this job, "It's for sure a perfect job that pays well with very small amount of work."

"If the job wasn't like this, no middle-ranked sorcerer would be willing to do the tedious and troublesome work. After all, the main target for every sorcerer is to learn magic and arcana to enhance their strength, instead of dealing with those office documents. Only those who don't want make any progresses would indulge themselves in wealth." At a young age, Lazar was rather ambitious, and thus he looked down upon the sorcerers who contented with things such as those.

Then Lazar looked more serious. "What's your recent plan, Lucien? Studying arcana or accepting tasks to make more money?"

"I'd like to spend some time on studying arcana and doing experiments." In the past year, Lucien was fed up with his precarious living.

"Then I suggest you choose to work for the magic schools." Lazar nodded.

"Why?" asked Lucien, as he was planning not to do any work but focus on his study before he upgraded to a second circle sorcerer.

"Well… Since your teaching task is actually only half done," Lazar grinned, leaning his back against the wall casually, "later you need to choose one task out of two: One is that you can teach two apprentices to help them become senior apprentices, and the other is that you can work for a magic school. The difference is that the former won't bring you any money, but the latter can bring you salary. Besides, as long as there are six of the students in the class who become senior apprentices, your job's done."

"I see…" Lucien nodded thoughtfully, "It seems that I don't really have a choice."

"No, you don't." Lazar crossed his arms casually, "And am I right that you only have sixty Thales and nine arcana points right now?"

"Yup, that's right," answered Lucien honestly.

"Although that's a huge amount of money for a common person, for us sorcerers," Lazar shook his index finger to Lucien, "it's nothing. Being a sorcerer basically means burning money."

"I know many materials are very expensive." Lucien agreed.

"Yes, and it's also way more than that. You know what? In Allyn, you need money to borrow books in the libraries, to rent meditation rooms, to do experiments, to analyze spells. Everything costs your money, and when you upgrade to a higher level, you gotta spend much more, say, maybe one summoning could cost you sixty Thales."

"Once I heard a saying – 'Without enough money, one cannot become a great sorcerer'." Lucien touched his forehead a bit and said, "Fortunately, we can still make money."

"That's right. So, in addition to accepting tasks, adventuring or making magic items to make money, the congress also provides us with two ways. One is earning arcana points, which you already know. The higher your level is, the cheaper you can buy or rent many things." Lazar then put on an admiring look, "The second is that several arcanists or sorcerers can together put forward a research proposal to the congress. If the idea passes the review of Magic Research Board, they could get lots of arcana points. However, those research projects are often led by senior-rank arcanists."

The corner of Lucien's lips twitched a bit and he thought to himself, "We also have research fundings here?"

Lazar continued, "So, for us junior-rank sorcerers, if you don't want to take too much of a risk, you want to either find a good mentor or find a good job. Among the jobs, working for a magic school is the best option."

"How's the salary then?" Lucien wondered why Lazar spoke so highly of this job.

"You can work only twenty hours a week in a magic school as a teacher, and that's ten classes. Although the salary is only ten points a month, you can feel free to arrange the rest of your time. Moreover, you can use the labs and the libraries of the school for free, and you can also get some free experiment materials."

"Wow…" Lucien was actually a bit of a money-grubber. Hearing Lazar's words, Lucien was a bit excited, and what made him excited the most was definitely the free use of the labs and the libraries.

"But get real… Why anyone would save such a good job for me…" said Lucien a bit hopeless.

"Come on, my friend." Lazar patted Lucien on his shoulder, "You're not a nobody. You just earned seven arcana credits the first day you came here, and you have the word 'groundbreaking' on your paper! Although every year some arcanists and sorcerers would go to some remote areas to teach the apprentices there, I don't think you want to leave Allyn this soon, do you?"

"Definitely not." Lucien shook his head, "You're right, Lazar. I gotta try my best to get myself in one of the five magic schools in Allyn. By the way, Lazar, is there any mandatory task for us from the congress?"

Lucien was thinking of what he had heard from the Hand of Paleness.

"Yes, there's one every year," answered Lazar, "but for us junior-rank sorcerers, there are only mandatory teaching tasks for us, after all, the congress wants us to grow powerful first. Even when we become middle-rank sorcerers, we can still replace the tasks that are too risky for us with some new ones as long as we're willing to pay."

Lucien felt more relieved now, "That's not bad."

…

Zone five, Task Zone.

The zone consisted of rows of silver-gray metal counters, and behind each counter there was a dark green screen, showing all kinds of tasks from the congress, sorcerers, nobles or merchants.

Looking around, there was only one counter available right now. Behind the counter sat an ordinary-looking, middle-aged lady.

Seeing Lucien and Lazar walking towards the counter, the lady asked emotionlessly, "New task or get your pay?"

"I've finished my task." Lucien handed the certificate and the magic badge to the lady.

After quickly checking the certificate, the lady wrote several words on the paper and then she put Lucien's badge on the magic circle on the right side.

After the flashing light disappeared, there was a piece of parchment on the magic circle – the parchment used in the congress had been specially processed for magic transmission.

Taking a quick look, the lady said coldly to him, "Lucien Evans, your task is only half done. For the second part, do you want to teach the apprentices chosen by the congress, or teach in the remote areas?"

As she was saying, she took out a pile of basic magic and arcana books and started reading.

"I want to work for one of the five magic schools in Allyn, Madam." Lucien remained polite.

The middle-aged lady rolled her eyes and said directly, "Don't waste my time. Please make a choice."

"Am I forbidden from applying for the job?" Although her attitude wasn't nice at all, Lucien still insisted.

"No," the lady gave Lucien a glance, "but you're a sorcerer following the ancient magic system, and you just arrived here yesterday, there's no chance for you to get this job. Please make a choice, or I'll call the security."

"Ms. Lawette, you'd better help Lucien with the application process, or I'll complain to Affairs Committee about your misconduct!" Even Lazar felt quite pissed off.

Hearing Lazar's words, Lawette twitched her mouth impatiently and said, "All right, if you want to waste your time, go ahead."

Then she took out a form and a quill and handed them to Lucien.

After Lucien wrote down all of his basic information, with a second thought, he put the specific comment of his paper on the form as well.

If he was trying, he must try his best.

When Lucien was writing, Lawette urged him quite a few times. When she got Lucien's application form, her face looked quite surprised in an unhappy way, "You'd better be honest with what you write, or you'd be severely punished."

"Feel free to check my arcana badge," answered Lucien poker-faced, and he handed his arcana badge to Lawette.

Lawette saw the seven silver dots on the badge, and she felt shocked.

Ten minutes later after she sent Lucien's application information to the office, the result was back.

After a quick glance at the document, Lawette's face turned purple with disappointment and embarrassment.

Taking over the document from Lawette, Lucien saw the result, "Based on the schools you specialize in, Mr. Evans, we are honored to have you in Douglas."

Chapter 193: The Expensive Books

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

In the metallic silver hall of the congress tower, Lazar had been laughing for quite a while, and he said to Lucien, "Hahaha… Did you see Ms. Lawette's face? It was purple! Purple! Haha…" Lazar's own face was now red from laughing too hard, "It's just like… like a hundred arcana credits were given to her but, in the next minute, the credits were taken away again because it was given to the wrong person, haha… You know how many people don't like her? Haha…"

"I just don't really get it," said Lucien, smiling. "Why did she want to give us a hard time? I mean, she didn't have to."

"Ms. Lawette is one of those sorcerers that I mentioned before who did not want to make any progresses anymore in their lives. Those people hate other people who are still striving for a better life." Lazar gently patted his chest to calm himself down. "I hope I won't be like this in my sixties."

"We can try." Lucien laughed. "It's quite hard for me to imagine you with Ms. Lawette's disgruntled look on your face, Lazar."

"Try what? How?" Lazar was confused.

"You can lend me your thirty arcana points, and I'll try my best to not pay you back, haha." Lucien joked, "Let's see if you can still be this patient with me."

Lazar rolled his eyes at Lucien, "Come on, thirty points to you is nothing. By the way, you're going to meet your students again, and that's quite nice, isn't it?"

Among the five magic schools in Allyn, Douglas ranked the best magic school, whose strength was in the school of Force, Electromagnetics, Astrology, and Element. Following Douglas were the two schools named Allyn and Pesancho. The former was known for its subjects of Necromancy and Summoning, and the latter was good at teaching Transformation and Illusion. Besides these schools, Trident was the school known for their researches in the latest three magic fields: Electromagnetics, Thermodynamics, and Light-darkness, and many students who wanted to study Alchemy, Element or Thermodynamics would also go to Alborg.

Of course, the schools all provided courses covering all the fields, despite the fact that each had its own strength.

"It's surely nice, however, I need to buy a storage bag first, which means spending money. Right now, spending money doesn't make me happy," answered Lucien.

"Then our next destination, Wasim!" said Lazar cheerfully.

…

"Level three storage bag, mass produced, middle-ranked, 'Shrink' enchanted. You can shrink and store your belongings to one sixteenth of its original size in this bag with only twenty percent of its weight. Magic wave covered. Four hundred arcana points," introduced the owner of the store.

Lucien's heart was bleeding. This bag just cost him three Wave Stones, fifty-eight Thales and six arcana points, and right now the palm-sized pouch was already half filled with Lucien's books, notes and materials.

Seeing Lucien's desperate look, Lazar comforted him, "Come on, my friend, stop feeling heartbroken. If it wasn't from mass production, you probably need to spend a thousand arcana points on a level three storage bag! Before, this bag was way more expensive. Besides, the bag is a must to you, and you're not wasting your money."

Lucien nodded, but still felt that he just suffered a great loss.

"By the way, next time when I need Wave Stone, can I buy some from you with a bit lower price?" Lazar tried to distract Lucien, "Anyway, when your paper is published, I'm sure lots of people will cite your paper to improve your spell. At that time, you'll have lots of arcana points, trust me."

"Lazar… Is your magic robe also from mass production?" asked Lucien.

"Forget about mass production…" Lazar was amused, "Where shall we go next then?"

"Library! Basic Arcana Library!" Lucien suddenly cheered up.

…

"What?! Pay before read?!" asked Lucien, feeling shocked.

The old librarian grinned, "You are still too young and naive, boy. Soon after the library was built, many sorcerers with great spiritual power and memory were coming here to memorize the books in the library. Later they even created some tricky magic circles to copy the books here. Everyone knows knowledge is wealth, and no one can get knowledge for free."

Although the librarian's hair was half white and was pretty short, he was still a good-looking man with graceful manners. However, Lucien did not like him at all.

"But… But if I don't glance the books over first, how do I know these are the books that I'm looking for?" Lucien was still trying.

"I've been hearing this all the time, young man," the short librarian waved his index finger a bit in front of Lucien's face, "always the same reason."

Then the librarian knocked the magic circle, and smoke puffed out of it. A well-built man with naked chest appeared in the air, wearing black soft hair.

"Alex, Djinn of Basic Arcana Library, an alchemical life with great memory," introduced the librarian. "Tell him what kind of knowledge you want, and Alex can tell you what books you need and where they are, even including abstracts."

"Welcome, Alex is at your service," greeted the Djinn.

"Then… How much to borrow a book?" Lucien tried to stay calm.

"The library's only available to sorcerers from the congress. You need to pay ten Nars to keep a book for seven days."

"Ten Nars?" Lucien almost burst out that this was robbery. In Aalto, he could spend only one or two Nars to buy a thick book.

"Such a pity…" The old librarian shook his head, "Today's young men don't understand how precious knowledge is anymore. Back in the old days…"

"All right, all right…" Lazar rubbed his head a bit, "Any other ways for borrowing books?"

"If you're willing to pay two arcana points in advance, you can borrow up to forty books in a month, the same seven days for each book," said Alex. "We receive arcana points only in this case."

Obviously, the congress was encouraging sorcerers to use arcana points.

Lucien nodded, and then handed his badge to the librarian, "Forty books a month, then."

After taking away two points from Lucien's badge using a magic circle, the librarian said to Lucien seriously, "You're a sorcerer, so never be cheap with books and experiment materials. If you want to save money, save it by buying less magic items."

Lucien nodded, as he knew that this was a sincere suggestion.

Then he turned to Alex, "May I know what are the most cutting-edge research papers on soul and human body study?"

Alex thought a bit and answered, "A Few Thoughts about Soul as the Carrier of Consciousness, from Vicente Miranda, grand arcanist.

"Discussion about Elements Consisting of Soul and Special Electromagnetic Wave, from Vicente Miranda, grand arcanist.

…

"Why Regeneration is Possible: Analysis and Simulation of Mechanisms of Cytothesis, from Felipe, level four arcanist."

"Felipe?" Lucien was surprised as to how advanced Felipe's research was. However, on a second thought, under the lead of the grand arcanist, Vicente Miranda, and with the solid knowledge foundation of the study of human body and magic creatures, the birth of such pioneering work was still reasonable.

This world was still different from Lucien's original world, or say, this world was even more advanced in a sense.

"The paper shocked the whole congress. Mr. Felipe also earned great reputation with this paper and thus became a level four arcanist and one of the most promising sorcerers in the Hand of Paleness," said Lazar in awe.

Lucien nodded. Af first he thought Felipe was too arrogant, but now he realized that Felipe was for sure talented and very competitive.

Later, Lucien borrowed the two issues of Arcana and one issue of Magic, which published the papers mentioned by Alex, and another three books about the basic knowledge regarding soul.

Then he asked, "Mr. Alex, please help me to find the papers that determine the different natures of all the current existing elements, as well as the papers explaining the connections between some of the elements."

"I'd suggest you to start from reading the papers about redefining elements, Lucien," said Lazar confusedly. "It's the basic part in arcana of the school of Element, right?"

"I hear you, Lazar. As you said, as an elemental sorcerer, I absolutely need to carefully read all the fundamental papers, and I'll also borrow the corresponding books. At the same time, I also want to know the basic nature of each element and what's going on in this field lately, for the convenience of my future research and study."

"I see. You know what you're doing, my friend." Lazar nodded. Then he started considering which book he should borrow for himself.

Chapter 194: Wonderful World

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

This time, the Djinn did not give Lucien the list immediately. Pausing a bit, Alex asked, "Mr. Evans, what about those papers published but later proved wrong, and some assumption papers?"

"Of course, all of them." Lucien nodded, "Failure is also something precious that I can learn from."

"Ha… If that's what you want," said the old librarian, "or if you just want to have an overall impression of the development of the school of Element, I'd recommend you History of Element, edited every ten years by the grand arcanists. Similarly, we also have History of Necromancy, History of Astrology… and History of Arcana and Magic."

At the same time, Alex's book list was also ready, "History of Element, from the highest council.

"New System of Element, from Yaroran Hathaway Hoffenberg, grand arcanist.

"Atom – Molecule, from Oliver Constantine, grand arcanist.

"Several Ways to Measure Atomic Weight and the Latest Atomic Chart, Octave in Elements, from Fernando Brastar, grand arcanist.

"Multiple Relationship Identified in Magic Potion Experiments, Spiral Rule in Elements, from Ravendi, level nine arcanist.

"The Common Features Shared by Some Metallic Elements and the Application, from Gaston, level seven arcanist.

…

"Common Rules among Elements and Assumptions, from Ulysses, level four arcanist.

"Comparison of Mythril and Silver and the Measurements, from Timothy, level four arcanist.

…

"The Nature of a New Element – Mo, from Meredith, level four arcanist."

…

The papers presented in the list were not all the latest, but the most relevant according to Lucien's requirements. Several papers were done many years ago.

"Paper from Mr. Ulysses." Lucien looked back and said to Lazar.

"Not surprising at all." Lazar's words were filled with admiration, "Mr. Ulysses wrote this paper when he was only a level one arcanist. Although his theory of elements' characters has been overthrown by further study, this paper was still a great shock at that time. Mr. Ulysses is very creative and good at thinking out of the box, and his spirit of exploration has inspired many elemental sorcerers, including Mr. Brastar and Mr. Ravendi. If it weren't because Ms. Hathaway was exploring the secret dimension, she might have become one of them as well."

"But from the name of the papers and books, I see nothing really about the shared law among all the elements." Lucien put forward his question.

"Because all of these theories have failed." The librarian cut in seriously, "Since spectral analysis was introduced, more than ten new elements have been discovered. And they have also overthrown all the assumptions or theories put forward previously by many arcanists. For more details, you can find them in the books recommended. Young man, this is a serious topic."

"That's right," said Lazar, feeling quite sorry. "Even the theory of Octave put forward by Mr. Brastar failed as well. Later, Mr. Brastar switched to another research direction in studying electromagnetic wave, and this announced the failure of the exploration of the shared law among elements. Right now, study in this field is still suspended."

"Any reflections on the failure, then?" asked Lucien.

"There are. Some arcanists argue that no enough elements have been discovered so far, including Mr. Ravendi, and many junior or middle-ranked arcanists insist that there are no laws among the elements."

"What about Mr. Ulysses?" asked Lucien curiously. After all, this genius sorcerer was the first one who started exploring this field.

"No much progresses from Mr. Ulysses as well." Lazar frowned, "People say that he's probably changing his research interest."

"Perseverance is important to an arcanist," interrupted the old librarian.

Feeling a bit annoyed, Lucien quickly glanced at the librarian's chest to see what level this librarian was of.

Surprisingly, there was nothing at all in front of the old man's chest, no name, no arcana or magic badge.

"My robe isn't bad, right?" The old librarian said proudly, "I know, red is quite eye-catching, haha!"

Lucien rolled his eyes again, and then directly ignored the librarian. He wondered whether this world was truly different from his original world, or the laws just still had not been discovered. To figure this out, Lucien needed to go read all the papers first.

In the end, Lucien borrowed thirty-eight books in total.

"You sure you want to borrow this many, Lucien?" Walking out of the library together, Lazar asked.

"I'm gonna be working in Douglas soon, and I'll spend most of my time on teaching and on my own study. In a month, I probably won't come back to the congress again, so I want to use magic circles to copy these books first. By the way, Lazar, did you notice that the librarian wasn't wearing any badges?" asked Lucien.

Douglas was on the southeast edge of the city, remote and quiet. It would take one about half an hour to get to the congress's magic tower from the school.

"Yes, so I pulled you arm a bit in the library to remind you to be a bit more restrained when you were talking with him. Quite possibly, the old librarian was a member of some certain board, as only sorcerers of this level can walk around and control alchemical lives with no badges. And these senior-level sorcerers… some of them are a bit weird."

Lucien felt the librarian was very weird.

Seeing that Lucien did not respond, Lazar thought his friend was worrying about money, so he smiled, "Actually, borrowing books from library is not the only way to pursue knowledge, as sorcerers would secretly exchange books they have themselves, as long as you can fit yourself in some sorcerer circles. Even if you don't have the books other people want, you can still buy copies with a lower price."

"Really?" Lucien felt quite curious, "The congress won't prohibit them from doing it?"

"Why do you think the library is so expensive?" Lazar grinned, "Actually, the congress encourages sorcerers to exchange their knowledge personally, so more great ideas can thus be inspired. I happen to have two friends who probably would like to exchange books with you in Douglas, and I'll introduce you to them."

"What are their names?" asked Lucien gratefully.

"Both of them are level one arcanists, one's name is Jerome, a second circle sorcerer studying Astrology and Element, and the other's name is Rock, a second circle elemental sorcerer. Rock's a bit weird, and he's applying for a funny project right now. As for Jerome, he's quite introvert. Several years ago, when he was pursuing miss Vera, he talked about Astrology and chemical reactions."

"Poor guy…" Lucien felt very sorry for this Jerome guy.

"Haha, you know what? They're married now, and they're very sweet." Lazar laughed.

"What?" Lucien was surprised.

"You come from the other side of the ocean, Lucien." Lazar explained, still laughing, "For girls here in Holm, nothing's more romantic than magic, Astrology, Element and destiny. And a person who studies these things is very likely to be wealthy and influential."

"What a wonderful world." Lucien sighed with emotion. Then he said to Lazar, "You want to go with me to get some experiment materials? I want to follow the papers to do some experiments."

"Sure." Lazar responded casually, "By the way, there's a guy whose name's also Lucien Evans teaching in Douglas. He added a 'K' in his name."

Chapter 195: Donald's Reminder

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

The next morning, when the warm sun was shining in the sky, a carriage was driving down a remote road toward a large building in a dark green forest.

"Lucien, when you're done with the procedures, I'll introduce you to Jerome and Rock, and then you'll be able to exchange your books with them," Lazar, still wearing his black long coat, looked out of the window and stared at the green trees, "but you have to remember that you can't exchange spells with any sorcerer, unless that spell is over a hundred years old. Although learning magic or arcana can be very secret, and the congress also encourages sorcerers to exchange their knowledge, but if no purchase record can be found with the new magic you use in public, you'd be in big trouble. You'll need to either pay hundreds of times more money, or even stay in jail for ten years, and your corresponding memory will also be erased."

Lucien nodded. "I see. Thanks, man. I really appreciate all the help you've offered me."

At the same time, in Lucien mind, he felt that this strategy adopted by the congress was very smart. Since one's earning of arcana points relied largely on how many times his or her paper was cited, ideas and knowledge exchanging between sorcerers could give every sorcerer better chance to get their papers to be more influential. However, new spells were different, as they directly meant power, and needed to be protected carefully.

"No worries, after all, we are friends, aren't we?" Lazar waved his hands casually and smiled, "Actually almost every influential group has a few unique spells that have never been submitted to the board, including us, the Will of Elements. Our group and Holm Royal Magic Academy jointly own a legendary magic, Element Breakdown, which is created by the grand arcanist, Hathaway Hoffenberg. If you join our group, when you become a ninth circle sorcerer, you can buy this magic and try to analyze it, and that will definitely bring you lots of benefit when you want to upgrade to a legendary level."

Lazar was promoting his group obviously, and he got a bit excited. In his eyes, Lucien was a very promising sorcerer.

"I will think about it…" said Lucien thoughtfully.

Actually, because of Natasha, Lucien did not mind joining the Will of Element at all, so even if one day his identity as Professor was exposed, he still had a powerful group backing himself up, however, on the other hand, Lucien was also very interested in studying soul, since this was a world where soul did really exist.

And, if Lucien was going to join the Will of Element, he wanted to enjoy more attention from the group, instead of becoming one of its common members like the many ordinary members in the Hand of Paleness.

The memory of what Lucien witnessed in the viscount's castle was still fresh.

Understanding why Lucien was being quite hesitant, Lazar grinned and changed the topic, "So are you still distressed with the money you just spent buying the materials?"

"For sure." Lucien frowned. The seventeen purified elements he just bought cost him two high-quality Wave Stones, and what Lucien had now was only one Wave Stone, two Thales, one arcana point, and some different kinds of experiment materials. Lucien felt that he just got robbed.

"Cheer up, man." Lazar patted Lucien on his shoulder, "Just be grateful that the school has the other forty-eight purified elements, and doing experiments there is much cheaper, or it could even be free if your experiment was also part of the apprentices' class. Besides, you don't even need to rent a place there! The school generously offers you a small house with a garden."

"You're right, Lazar." Lucien held his head a bit higher. He was hoping that publishing his first paper could save him out of the financially difficult situation, and before he came here, Lucien had sent his agreement letter back to Common Arcana and registered the school's address with the journal to stay in contact with them.

A while later, the carriage slowly stopped in front of a black iron gate of the ancient magic empire style. A black golem, seemingly made of iron, came and opened the gate.

…

On the third floor of the black magic tower.

Lucien, wearing white shirt, brown vest, and double-breasted black coat, was sitting in front of an old, ordinary-looking, bare-headed man, who was wearing a black magic robe stitched with silver and white patterns.

"Welcome, Evans. I'm Donald, headmaster of Douglas," said the level-four arcanist, fifth circle sorcerer, who was organizing some paperworks.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Donald." Lucien stood up from his seat and bowed slightly, "Please just call me Lucien."

"Good. As another Mr. Lucien Evans we have here prefers us to call him K, I'll just call you Lucien then." When Donald was saying, he handed Lucien a folder, "Take a look. These are the courses we have so far in Douglas."

Lucien opened the folder and carefully read it. In the folder, Lucien saw Common Tongue, Ancient Magic Empire Language, Pit Language, Demon Language, Basic Magic Potion, Basic Element, Basic Electromagnetism, Basic Necromancy, Basic Magic Construction, Basic Alchemy, …, Introduction of Magic Circle, Magic Analysis, Basic Summoning, …, Culture and Customs, History and Music.

"Music?" Lucien was surprised.

"Ha, students also need to relax a bit, right?" Donald touched his white moustache and smiled, "Our last music teacher just got fired because he violated one of the rules of the school. Lucien, are you also interested in this position besides your other teaching job? Can you play any musical instruments?"

"I'm quite good at piano and violin." Lucien nodded and asked directly, "If I also work as a music teacher, can I get a higher salary?"

"Two more arcana points per month." Donald nodded cheerfully, "But remember, keep your distance from some female apprentices. They are quite… say, ebullient. By the way, I heard that there's also a musician all the way across the strait in Aalto whose name's also Lucien Evans, and he's good at playing piano as well. Quite interesting."

Lucien put on a polite smile and did not say anything. Right now, he was only interested in making more money.

"So… Let's see." Donald looked down at his folder, "Since you just joined the congress, and you probably need more time to work on your own arcana study first, what about you start with teaching Ancient Magic Empire Language, Magic Creatures and Demon Language? That's… ten lessons a week, and you'll be teaching two classes."

"No problem." Lucien agreed with Donald immediately. In his book, Astrology and Elements, Demon Language was introduced as part of magic pact and summoning knowledge.

Then Lucien added, "Can I choose the two classes, though?"

He hoped that he could teach the class in which his three apprentices were.

"I think so. All the courses are under re-arrangement right now," said Donald. Then, he registered Lucien's name for the two classes. One of them was the class called Thorn Tree, where Lucien's three apprentices were in. Lucien would also be teaching music there.

After all the paper works were done, Donald crossed his hands and leaned his chin against his hands, "I have to tell you something first, Lucien."

"Go ahead, please, Mr. Donald," said Lucien sincerely.

Donald's voice became low, "You know, working here in a school is a dream for many junior-rank sorcerers, and Douglas ranks the best among all the schools, therefore, we never considered anyone having no arcana level to be one of our teachers. However, you're an exception, since a gentleman in Affairs Committee spoke highly of you, and recommended you to us. Therefore, this school's a place not only for the apprentices to grow, but also for you. I personally don't see anything wrong with offering the talented ones more resources to grow, but you shall not waste the resources given. If you cannot get your official arcana level in a year, you'll be fired."

"I'll try my best," responded Lucien humbly.

"I trust you, though, Lucien. Many teachers in Douglas, although they haven't become middle-rank arcanists or sorcerers yet, have their specialities. For example, Mr. K is a level two arcanist. Exchanging with them can benefit you a lot," said Donald earnestly.

Lucien nodded sincerely, "Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Donald. May I ask who's the gentleman in the committee? I'd like to thank him as well."

"You don't need to know," said Donald directly. "Maybe when you become a middle-rank sorcerer, he'll pay more attention to you. Anyway, during the day, the lab is open only to students. When school's over in the afternoon, you can use the labs for free. To conclude, observe the school rules and start working tomorrow."

Donald handed Lucien a nameplate and a few pages of paper, on which there were two hundred school rules.