Chapter 17 What Is a Wizard

Richard, after distilling the Basic Meditation Method, nearly fainted on the spot, but he managed to persist, using the Basic Meditation Method to meditate.

After his spiritual power had recovered, Richard began practicing the Basic Meditation Method.

Compared to the Basic Meditation Method, the Basic Meditation Method had seven additional spiritual runes, which although allowed Richard to stay in the Sea of Souls for longer, also made the meditation twice as difficult.

Richard failed many times but eventually, with a bit of luck, succeeded in constructing the ten spiritual runes.

The Basic Meditation Method enabled Richard to linger in the Sea of Souls for four hours, twice the time afforded by the Basic Meditation Method.

But that extra time was not to be underestimated; the longer the soul stayed in the Sea of Souls, the more benefits it gained. Although it was only two additional hours, the increase in spiritual power was more than six hours of meditation with the Basic Meditation Method.

Meditation couldn't be done frequently in a short period; otherwise, the soul would risk becoming lost in the Sea of Souls, unable to return.

Thus, after meditating, Richard chose to visit the library again.

The Academy's library was open day and night, and even at night, many apprentices could still be seen heading to the library.

There was much for Richard to learn, and what he did not lack now was time.

The entrance exam soon came to an end. In just ten days' time, over half of the nearly ten thousand apprentices who came for the exam had perished, and the rest had all entered the Academy.

During this time, Richard, through the library's free books, had gained a general understanding of the Wizard World's structure and various etiquettes. Under the effect of the Basic Meditation Method, his spiritual power had successfully increased from 15 to 15.1.

With the end of the entrance exams, the Academy's free courses were also made available.

Each student was entitled to four free lessons a month. After the four free lessons, the remaining classes required a Magic Stone to attend.

Each month for the first three years, the Academy would give out one Magic Stone but to get more, apprentices had to complete campus tasks issued by the Academy or trade with other apprentices.

New apprentices had a three-year novitiate period during which the Academy wouldn't force tasks upon them. After the novitiate ended, the Academy would assess the apprentices. To stay in the Academy, an apprentice had to have inscribed at least one Magic Mark and reached a spiritual power of 20 points, thereby becoming a junior apprentice.

...

Dong——Dong——Dong!

The heavy sound of the bell echoed inside the Academy, signaling that it was now eight o'clock in the morning.

Even in this otherworld, Richard could not escape the fate of early morning classes.

This class was an Introduction to Alchemy, Richard's first lesson.

He was currently sitting in a tiered classroom on the third floor of the Central Black Tower, with Ali at his side, the entire classroom packed full.

"Richard, why hasn't the teacher arrived yet?"

Ali glanced at Richard's profile, her mind filled with myriad thoughts.

It had been six days since they entered the Academy, and Richard was still indifferent to her, spending all day either in the library or meditating. The only time he went to the dining hall was when she had invited him.

Did she really lack appeal?

"Maybe something has held them up,"

Richard answered absently as he flipped through the Introduction to Magic he had borrowed from the library.

He was not concerned with Ali's emotions; he was immersed in the ocean of knowledge.

The discussion of Wizard spells in this Introduction to Magic captivated him—Elemental Magic, Soul Magic, Undead Magic, and even Curse Magic; each had its own characteristics and uses. The book also introduced a concept called the Combat System.

A powerful Wizard inevitably had their own Combat System, relying on their core spells and supplementing them with minor spells suited to various situations to build their combat strategy, ensuring they could face any foe with calmness and confidence during Plane Wars and Wizard duels.

If he were to construct a Combat System, it would surely need to...

Thump, thump, thump, thump...

A series of footsteps approached from outside the classroom, growing nearer. The previously somewhat noisy room instantly fell silent.

Bang.

The classroom door was flung open, and in walked a tall, curvy beauty clad in a wizard robe with long hair and black leather boots. Her stunningly cold beauty was complemented by a pair of slender eyes that added a touch of mystery to her demeanor.

A mysterious black cat.

That was Richard's first impression of her.

Stepping up to the podium, she quickly scrawled a line of large characters on the blackboard.

What is a wizard.

"Good day to all, I am Anna Dosi. I am an apprentice of Wizard Jolod from the Alchemy School. This class was originally supposed to be taught by my mentor, but as he is currently engaged in a critically important alchemy experiment at its crucial stage, I will be taking over the lesson," Anna said, her voice calm yet carrying an authority that demanded compliance.

"So, can any of you tell me what a wizard is?"

Anna, holding a pointer, scanned the entire classroom. Despite standing in a position lower than the students, everyone who looked at her felt as though she was looking down on them.

"You, tell me," Anna pointed the pointer at an apprentice.

"Um... I think a wizard is someone who can use magic," the called-up apprentice obviously hadn't prepared and gave a rather casual answer.

"Very good, that is indeed a characteristic of a wizard. Any other opinions?"

Anna waved her pointer, signaling him to sit down, then pointed at another pupil.

"I think wizards are those who use magic power to change the world."

Anna nodded, "That's also good, but it's still just surface level."

Anna then pointed at several other apprentices in succession, but their answers clearly all satisfied her.

Finally, Anna's pointer rested on Richard.

"Apprentice, what do you think a wizard is?"

Richard met Anna's eyes, this woman who had been full of confidence since the beginning of class was now watching him, her gaze so sharp it seemed to bore a hole right through him. Before him, all other apprentices had avoided her gaze, but Richard decided to meet it squarely.

Richard took a deep breath and, looking directly at Anna, said slowly:

"I believe wizards are a group of lunatics in pursuit of knowledge. Spells and magic power are essentially just by-products of that pursuit."

After Richard finished speaking, the classroom was deadly silent, with all students staring at him.

His answer was a bit too outrageous; magic power and spells were the hallmarks of a wizard, their vital means of livelihood. How could they possibly be mere by-products?

"Very good."

Anna motioned for Richard to sit down, then wrote his statement on the blackboard.

"Wizards are a group of lunatics in pursuit of knowledge. This statement is key to whether you can become wizards or not. My mentor told me this at the beginning, and now I am passing it on to you all."

Anna's words sent a shock through all the students in the classroom, wasn't the purpose of entering the Wizard Academy to become wizards?

But how were they to understand this statement?

Each apprentice had their own interpretation.

Richard, watching Anna on the podium, knew that the statement he had made was not his own invention, but came from the ruler of the Wizard World, the chairperson of the Truth Council.

When he first encountered this statement, Richard just thought the chairperson was somewhat pretentious.

I'm just pursuing knowledge, magic power and spells are just things I created along the way, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning.

But hearing Anna say it today gave Richard a new understanding of the statement.

"Lunatics in pursuit of knowledge, if it's just about seeking knowledge, then why become a lunatic?"

Richard stared at the blackboard and raised his hand to write a sentence in his notes.

"Perhaps it's not that lunatics pursue knowledge, but that one must become a lunatic in the pursuit of knowledge."