New Stage, Second-class Talent

Several days later.

In the classroom, Ian saw Rune.

Compared to a few days ago, Rune had his head lowered, as if he had suffered a blow.

Victor walked into the classroom with a dark expression.

Most of those who had died were his students, and this would seriously lower his assessment score this time.

"It's currently confirmed that it was probably the work of wandering wizards. They had their eyes on the Magic Stones in their possession, but the culprits haven't been caught."

Victor's gaze was grave.

"That's it?" Rune raised his head, somewhat unable to believe it.

"What else? Do you think the academy will launch a major operation to avenge them? What value do they have that would make the academy go to such lengths?"

Victor shot him an annoyed glance.

The academy certainly had ways to deal with it, but the price it would have to pay was far beyond what a dozen or so apprentices were worth.

Moreover, the academy seemed to have recently come into conflict with other forces along the edges of its territory, leaving it even less time to care about this.

Rune lowered his head again and said no more.

The atmosphere in this lesson remained rather gloomy.

"In the extraordinary world, human lives are even cheaper."

Ian sighed softly as he continued taking notes from time to time.

Watching the drama was one thing; he couldn't let his studies fall behind.

In the blink of an eye.

A month later.

[Name: Ian Green]

[Age: 12]

[Strength: First-class Wizard Apprentice (3/100), Knight (20/100)]

[Talent: 114 (Fourth-grade Star)]

[Skills: Basic Meditation Method (Proficient 200/300), Lionheart Knight Method (Knight Chapter - Expert 10/400), Light Spell (Master Level), Breeze Spell (Master Level), Dust Spell (Master Level)...]

In the classroom, Ian looked at the panel as he listened to Victor speak.

Compared to a month ago, the panel had changed enormously.

His talent had increased by another eight points, nearly one point every four days.

He could now meditate six times, and the quality was much higher than before.

The progress of his meditation method had passed the halfway mark.

His Knight progress, meanwhile, was advancing at an astonishing speed.

At that thought, Ian lowered his head slightly, as though he could see the strength contained in his arms.

The progress of his meditation method, on the other hand, was rather ordinary, increasing by only two percent over the month.

"To go from a first-class to a second-class apprentice will take several years this time as well, unless you use certain rare materials. But those are difficult to obtain. Still, over the next half year, as long as you are outstanding enough, you can obtain them."

Victor was still speaking at the front, his gaze sweeping over the ten people before him.

"Rune, Ian, Logan, Emily, William, Coro, Zalan, Halman, Alfie—congratulations. You have become members of the Horton Wizard School and entered a new stage of learning."

Looking at them, Victor could not help but sigh. If not for that accident some time ago, there should have been more of them.

As for the others, they would naturally become slaves of the school.

"No, I don't want this! I don't want this!"

"Lord Victor, please, give me one more chance!"

Not far away, apprentices unable to accept reality struggled as they were dragged away.

Shirley, Luke...

As he watched many familiar faces from the Mutual Aid Society being hauled away one by one, a trace of reluctance flashed through Ian's eyes.

What would become of them?

Ian did not know, but he knew it would definitely not be a good ending.

He simply had not expected that Shirley, one of the faster-progressing girls in the Mutual Aid Society, had failed as well.

She had fallen during the process of condensing her Mental Power Rune.

"If I didn't have the panel, perhaps I would have been among them too."

Ian sighed.

He understood himself clearly enough. He worked hard, but that was all.

Without the panel, he would not have been any better than these people.

As these people left, the classroom grew empty.

Everyone looked at Victor, curious about the arrangements ahead.

Victor looked at them and said calmly, "For the next six months, your studies will be divided into three courses.

"Meditation, practical wizardry, and the fundamentals of potion-making."

Meditation was clearly meant to assess Mental Power, which made perfect sense. Learning wizardry was meant to give wizards a certain degree of combat ability.

But the fundamentals of potion-making?

"Instructor, doesn't our Academy also have an Alchemy Department? Why isn't there a fundamentals of alchemy course?"

Ian cast him a curious look.

Victor explained, "Very simple. Because the only complete foundational curriculum our School possesses is potion-making."

"So after we study for a while, will we be assigned to different departments based on our performance?" someone asked.

Victor nodded.

"That's right. Once the assessments are over, you may choose among the three major departments yourselves. The departments will then select candidates based on their results. Only a small number will be able to enter the core of each department." Victor nodded.

The School was not large, but there were still ranks and distinctions within it.

Take the Logistics Department, for instance. Its absolute core was the Potions Department, followed by the Magic Plant Department, the Alchemy Department, and so on.

Yes, the Alchemy Department even came after the Magic Plant Department.

The Combat Department was likewise divided into the Guard Unit, Patrol Unit, Watch Unit, and so on.

As for the Secret Source Department, there was no need to mention it. It recruited very few people each year.

The resources allotted to the most and least favored could differ by several times, not to mention all sorts of privileges and the like.

In short, though they all belonged to the same Academy, the difference in treatment was as vast as heaven and earth.

Hearing this, Ian's gaze gradually turned serious.

He needed an environment that was safe and rich in resources. Clearly, the Logistics Department suited him best.

Only the Potions Department possessed a complete inheritance, so naturally he had to strive to enter it.

In the blink of an eye.

A week later.

Ian and the members of the Mutual Aid Society arrived at a new classroom.

The new classroom was several times larger than the previous one.

A lectern stood at the center, while desks spread outward in a semicircle.

It resembled a theater stage.

"There are really a lot of people!"

Emily, beside Ian, sighed. She wore a Witch Robe today, but even it could not fully conceal her long legs, leaving a small stretch of pale skin exposed.

"The School may not be big, but it still controls several mortal kingdoms, you know."

Logan stepped forward.

"The wizarding world is still far too vast."

Ian sighed.

As far as he knew, the Veridian Forest where the School stood stretched across thousands of kilometers, comparable to the Amazon rainforest from his previous life.

Yet this was merely an inconspicuous little forest in the wizarding world, occupied by nothing more than a few minor forces.

"Boss, quit sighing. I saved seats for you."

A few meters away, Coro had found an open patch of seats and waved them over.

The seats were fairly close to the front, and everyone hurried over to sit down.

Before long, people arrived one after another. Many of them came in little groups as well.

But three people were particularly unusual, immediately drawing Ian's attention.

One was a girl whose eyes and hair were both blue.

Another was a burly youth, nearly 1.9 meters tall, like a wall.

The last was a skinny youth.

What made them stand out was that the space around all three of them was completely empty. Not a single person approached them.

Faintly, Ian heard the others discussing them.

"Second-class Talent!"