The Cruel Truth

Benjamin was startled by the conclusion he had reached.

"No... that can't be possible..."

Benjamin instinctively wanted to deny his conclusion. After all, Noren Academy recruited across the entire plane once every five years. Even with its stringent requirements, each intake numbered several thousand students.

If only around a hundred students remained from each class, just how high was the death rate on the front lines?!

Yet the thought hung over his heart like a dark cloud, impossible to dispel.

Glancing over, Benjamin saw that the Combat Department's presentation had entered its question-and-answer segment. A group of spirited returning wizards answered the apprentices' questions one by one or shared their battlefield experiences, making for an exceptionally lively scene.

"...It's practically an idol meet-and-greet."

Muttering that, Benjamin decisively turned and headed in the other direction. Several weary-looking wizards with traces of hardship on their faces were gathered there.

They wore standard Logistics Department robes, with crucibles representing Alchemy, flasks representing the Potions Department, or runes representing Array Studies embroidered on their chests.

They looked exceptionally plain, and some of their robes even appeared rather worn.

Their ranks were not high. Most were merely Rank 1 official wizards, while two were even only Level 3 Wizard Apprentices.

Their gazes also lacked the sharp confidence of those combat wizards. Instead, they possessed a calmness born of having weathered life's trials.

In contrast, the combat wizards from the same intake not only carried themselves completely differently, but every one of them had achieved remarkable accomplishments.

From this perspective, the Academy had likely sent this group of wizards back precisely for comparison-based promotion.

Almost the moment Benjamin turned toward them, several wizards all fixed their gazes on him.

Benjamin calmly stepped forward and politely asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, seniors. I'm a new apprentice this year and am considering my main field of study. May I ask you a few questions?"

Hearing Benjamin's question, the wizards exchanged glances, amusement flickering in their eyes.

An Alchemy wizard spoke first. "A newcomer? You want to ask about the Logistics Department... What, you don't plan to seek your future in the Combat Department? The benefits there are genuinely better than those in the Logistics Department."

Being watched by a group of wizards far stronger than himself was deeply oppressive, even though they were not deliberately releasing their aura. Fortunately, years of cultivation had greatly tempered Benjamin's will.

He shook his head sincerely. "I'm not particularly interested in fighting and killing, and... to be honest, I'm somewhat afraid of those battlefields."

"It's normal to fear the battlefield. You're a newcomer, after all," said a wizard from the Potions Department. "But the Logistics Department... how should I put it? Advancement is indeed not as fast as in the Combat Department, and you have to fight for resources yourself."

"I'm more curious about why you think we'd answer your questions." Another wizard interrupted him and looked at Benjamin curiously.

"Wizards value the equivalent exchange of knowledge. You don't seem to have anything that could serve as the price for us to answer your questions, do you?"

"Because..."

Benjamin did not say it outright. He merely turned his gaze toward the Combat Department wizards on the other stage, who were still interacting with the new apprentices.

The Logistics Department wizards also tacitly looked in that direction, then all began to laugh.

"Your guess is correct. We all received assignments to cooperate with the Academy's promotion." The Alchemy wizard looked at Benjamin with admiration in his eyes.

"The assignment does include the obligation to answer new students' questions. However, due to contractual restrictions, each new student only has one chance to ask a question, and I can only answer facts you already know or will soon know that aren't restricted by the contract. If your question exceeds those limits, I also have the right not to answer."

"Now... what do you want to ask?"

Benjamin did not hesitate. "I'd like to ask why there are only ninety-seven returning wizards from the Combat Department participating in the promotion over there."

Upon hearing Benjamin's question, the Logistics Department wizards fell silent for a moment.

They stared at Benjamin with varying expressions until even he began to feel a little uncomfortable. Only then did a wizard from Construct Studies burst out laughing. "Hahaha... This kid is much smarter than I was back then!"

One wizard even directly tried to recruit Benjamin. "Kid, come to Runology. With that brain of yours, you'll definitely become someone important!"

"Hey, hey, hey. Aren't you afraid of violating the contract by recruiting him outright? And keep your voices down, you lot. What if the other students hear you?" The Alchemy wizard waved at the others.

The wizards paid no heed to the Alchemy wizard's words. One Construct Studies wizard even smugly pointed upward.

"Don't worry, Jack. If this kid could ask that question, he must have already seen through the trap behind this promotion. As for those apprentices outside... I set up an illusion barrier long ago. Those little ones outside won't notice anything here."

Benjamin looked up, his heart jolting.

At some unknown point, a frosted-glass-like curtain of light had appeared around him and the group of wizards, enveloping them all.

This must have been the illusion barrier the wizard had mentioned. Yet Benjamin had remained in a state of intense vigilance the entire time and still had not noticed when the wizard had set up the barrier.

If the man had not pointed it out, Benjamin would not even have noticed the change around him.

"Don't be too surprised. Once you reach the battlefield, you'll gradually learn these things too if you want to survive."

Jack noticed Benjamin's surprise, but he did not think much of it.

Judging by Benjamin's clothing, he had previously been nothing more than a commoner. It was perfectly normal for him to be astonished by something like this.

Ignoring the teasing from several bad friends behind him, Jack turned to Benjamin, looking quite pleased with him.

"I didn't expect you to discover the problem from this angle. That was somewhat beyond our expectations. That's right! It's exactly as you think—or rather, the front-line battlefield is even more dangerous than you imagine!"

At this point, Wizard Jack's smile faded, and his expression turned grave. "I can tell you clearly that whether from the Combat Department or the Logistics Department, everyone you see now is all that remains from our intake."

"Wha..." Benjamin could not help widening his eyes.

He instinctively searched the area. The returning Combat Department wizards were easy to find; they were all on the stage.

The returning Logistics Department wizards were not gathered together, but they were scattered around nearby in groups of two or three. With Benjamin's abilities, he arrived at the exact number almost instantly.

"One hundred and fifty-three..."

"Our intake had over five thousand students. The ratio of Combat Department students to Logistics Department students was fifty to one, and the 153 remaining are all here now."