Chapter 5 New Blood_1

Room 3—016 was not large.

Its arrangement was also quite simple, a bed, a desk, and a chair.

There were pillows and bedding on the bed and several booklets placed on the desk.

As for the switches on the wall by the door, the power lines similar to electrical wires, and the light fixtures on the ceiling similar to electric lights, they no longer shocked Link.

Had he grown accustomed to it?

No, he had just adjusted his mindset.

In the Wizard World, no matter how sci-fi or magical things appeared in the future, Link could quickly accept them, even if they were Gundam or transformers.

Link closed the door, sat down at the desk, and opened the package he had placed on it.

The contents of the package were simple.

Two sets of clothes without patches, some dry food easy to store, and 2 gold coins and 63 silver coins wrapped in layers of cloth.

For a blacksmith's family, taking out 2 gold coins and 63 silver coins, without crippling their ability to survive, was indeed draining their entire savings.

Wrapping the coins again, Link pressed his right hand on the package, his emotions complex.

Was this just money?

It was also a solid expression of love and care.

After a long while, Link took several deep breaths and, with the help of the "Mind Closure Technique," finally regained his composure.

He stood up, placed the package beside the bed against the wall, and then sat back down at the desk to look through the booklets on the desk.

Link could read.

He wasn't sure about other places, but in Viscount Holliday's domain, children aged six to twelve were required to receive education in reading and writing.

When Link first arrived in this world, he didn't know the reason for such rules.

After all, Viscount Holliday was not a public servant who served the people; instead, he usually rode roughshod over his subjects.

Now, Link could somewhat guess the reason—it surely had something to do with the annual Wizard Qualifications assessment.

Illiteracy isn't beneficial for receiving a wizard's education, right?

The written language in the Wizard World primarily consisted of pictographs, mixed with some phono-semantic and ideographic characters, highly similar to oracle bone script in form, but greatly different from Chinese in pronunciation.

To give a somewhat unfitting example, the character for "mine" that would be pronounced as "kuang" in modern Chinese sounds something like "kou-ang" in the Wizard World.

To give another unfitting but illustrative example, "lamp" is written as "lamp".

That was more or less the situation.

If it were not for the original body's memory and habitual grounding, Link could not have quickly adapted to the Wizard World's written language and pronunciation.

The first booklet was thin, merely five or six pages, with the cover titled "Passenger Prerequisites".

Link read it seriously from start to finish and summed it up—there were just three points that needed particular attention.

Firstly, no fighting on the ship, secondly, intentional damage to ship property and facilities was forbidden, and thirdly, the restaurant was on the fourth deck and operated around the clock, serving food as needed but forbidding wastage.

As for not casting spells or conducting experiments in the rooms and instead going to a specialized area, Link thought, I don't even know how to do those yet!

He set aside the "Passenger Prerequisites" and picked up the second booklet, "New Blood Prerequisites".

After reading it, Link's mood wasn't affected by its contents; he had more or less expected them.

"New Blood" referred to the young men and women who possessed wizard qualifications and had been gathered by the Wizard Organization from various islands scattered across the seas of the Mainland.

These young men and women, who hadn't received relevant education from a young age nor did they have the common currency of the Mainland—Magic Stones—simply couldn't survive on the Mainland on their own.

So, the New Bloods had tacitly agreed to sign a contract with a Wizard Organization on the mainland the moment they were selected.

The gist of the contract was that the Wizard Organization would cover the costs of traveling to the mainland, four years of tuition and accommodation, ensuring the basic learning and survival of the New Bloods, while the New Bloods would need to sign a further agreement with the Wizard Organization after four years, thus formally joining the organization.

However, there was a significant difference between successfully advancing to an Official Wizard and failing to do so during those four years.

Official Wizards signed a ten-year employment service agreement, which allowed personal freedom, paid work, and good benefits.

Non-Official Wizards signed a twenty-year employment service agreement, which lacked personal freedom, included extremely low remuneration, and was akin to slavery.

In the event of war, the latter would even have to serve as cannon fodder!

"Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, whatever it is, a price must be paid."

Link closed the "New Blood Prerequisites" and moved it under "Passenger Prerequisites," then picked up the third and last booklet, "Overview of Wizard Organizations in the Mainland West Coast Tudor Area."

This booklet summarized the situation of the Wizard Organizations at White Sail Ship's final stop in the Mainland West Coast Tudor area, albeit in very general terms.

It briefly touched on each Wizard Organization, sketching out the founder, the current leader, what they specialize in, and their location.

After reading, Link did not find it entirely uninformative.

He identified one of the thirty-nine Wizard Organizations that was extremely suitable for himself.

Ravensmouth Biological and Medical College.

The name was somewhat peculiar, but its description highlighted its prowess in the cultivation of plants, breeding of animals, Extraordinary Medic, and Life Blessings, suitable for New Bloods with affinity for Water Element, Wood Element, Earth Element, and Light Element.

"Unless something unexpected happens, I'll choose this one."

Link decisively shut the booklet and made his decision.

Of course, he wasn't absolutely fixed on this option.

If there were other, better choices, why not go for them?

Having organized the three booklets neatly and placed them in the upper right corner of the table, Link suddenly realized he was unencumbered by any tasks.

Wizard Palo had disappeared without a trace.

There was nothing worth digging into from Jimmy, Chris, Christina, and Jasmine, so there was no need to forcibly intermingle; it was better to let relationships develop naturally.

The "Passenger Prerequisites" mentioned that they would reach Manheim Harbor in the West Coast Tudor area in five days.

"What shall I do with these five days?"

Link couldn't help but contemplate.

After a moment, Link made a decision to thoroughly practice the "Mind Closure Technique."

After all, it was a premier draw purchased with hard-earned money, and he had to make full use of it.

Thus, Link's life on the ship for the next five days became structured.

He would go to the restaurant on the fourth deck to eat meals and chat briefly with Jimmy, Chris, Christina, and Jasmine.

The rest of his time was spent in his room, wholly dedicated to practicing the "Mind Closure Technique."

He didn't bother with social interactions among the New Blood at all.

It must be said, though frugal, the System was effective.

The "Mind Closure Technique," which had a notoriously high learning curve, was as simple as eating and drinking for Link.

In just five days, Link had mastered the "Mind Closure Technique" to its highest realm, maintaining it all day without letting others' spiritual power invade his brain, and also disguising memories at will to confound others.

Link also conducted an experiment.

Using the Hall of Memories Technique as a theoretical basis, he operated the "Mind Closure Technique" to construct his own Hall of Mind.