Awakening Hall

Zhao Xu had not explained much to Zhang Qi, even when he logged into the game himself the next day.

Nor did he tell Zhang Qi that he had already completed his zero-level spell transcription, effectively entering the first rank of player Wizards.

With Zhang Qi's big mouth, if he knew Zhao Xu had made that much progress, he would have shouted it to the entire class long ago so he could slap every poser in the face.

The only thing Zhao Xu did was pat Zhang Qi on the shoulder and tell him to have fun.

The Resurrection Stone was the tuition players paid to Arthur. No matter how beautifully Zhao Xu imagined things, Zhang Qi still had to pay up honestly.

When Zhao Xu logged in the next day, Antinoa arrived punctually as usual.

It was as if her sudden disappearance yesterday had merely been an especially unusual incident.

By then, Zhao Xu had chosen his three First-level Spells: Protection from Evil, Prismatic Spray, and Magic Missile.

When Antinoa saw his choices, she smiled faintly. "They're all quite cost-effective. You players do have good judgment."

Indeed, the zero-level and first-level spells available for players to learn had long since been posted on the forums for discussion.

It was one thing that Wizards learned all zero-level spells, but everyone could only learn three First-level Spells, then gain additional First-level Spells based on their Intelligence Modifier.

After that, how they acquired Second-level Spells was entirely up to the Wizards themselves.

As a result, Arthur's First-level Spells were no secret in the future. But starting from the second level, the spell lists provided by the forums began to have gaps. Some spells were only known by name, while their exact effects remained completely unknown.

Analyzing the strength of various zero-level and First-level Spells had also become one of the offline pastimes of aspiring Wizards who could not transcribe zero-level spells.

Judging by Antinoa's expression now, the powerful spells universally acknowledged on the forums that he had chosen could not possibly be bad.

"I have backup scrolls for all these First-level Spells. You can transcribe them directly from the scrolls later."

With that, Antinoa pulled three scrolls out of thin air and handed them to him.

Zhao Xu took them and felt them over. They were all made from premium parchment, just like the ones he had encountered in his Previous Life.

The scrolls were roughly twenty by thirty centimeters. Both ends of the paper were secured with thin rods, then rolled inward, resembling the imperial decrees from costume dramas. The only difference was that the scrolls were covered in Magical Script, and once a scroll was used to cast a spell, those words vanished without a trace.

One scroll could contain one spell or several spells, up to a maximum of six.

"Mentor, why are you giving me scrolls instead of a Spellbook?" Zhao Xu asked curiously.

A scroll itself was a backup Spell Slot. Players could cast directly from it without expending their own Spell Slot.

In theory, if a player had a huge pile of scrolls, they would become a humanoid self-propelled cannon with effectively unlimited endurance.

Unlike Wizards, who were one-shot wonders in the early stages.

But Wizards could transcribe spells from Spellbooks. They did not have to copy them from scrolls.

Even if a first-level scroll cost only 25 GP, cheaper than the transcription fee, it still could not compare to a Spellbook that cost nothing.

"They're just a few gold coins. It'd be too much trouble for me to specifically find Spellbooks for you. These scrolls will do." Antinoa sounded indifferent.

Hearing that, Zhao Xu could only accept them silently.

Money talked, after all. And the woman before him could create 25,000 gold coins barehanded.

"Before you transcribe these scrolls, I have a piece of advice for you."

Zhao Xu immediately pricked up his ears and listened carefully. Advice from a spellcasting big shot would have been like an academy fellow teaching foundational courses to undergraduates in his Previous Life.

"There are no useless spells, only useless Wizards."

"That's bullshit. Forget it."

Before Zhao Xu could fully savor the profundity of the first sentence, the second one nearly knocked him senseless.

He really wanted to say that those were two sentences, but he still pondered the deeper meaning behind Antinoa's words.

"Some spells are garbage created by garbage Wizards just to take up space. They're inherently weak. We Wizards need to pick out the strongest spells from that vast ocean of magic, along with those that suit our own style."

Zhao Xu could only nod obediently. Then he returned to his desk, applied those pungent ointments, and began transcribing the spells by copying them step by step.

Unlike his smooth, uninterrupted transcription of zero-level spells, everyone took twenty-four hours to study First-level Spells properly and methodically in order to avoid magical accidents.

After two days, many people had already gathered a fairly complete picture of the Wizard who had graduated first.

That person had apparently been a prodigy since childhood, born with the ability to remember everything at a glance.

But even so, in pursuit of the record for first place, that person had given up the additional First-level Spells granted by their Intelligence Modifier.

Zhao Xu himself was not chasing speed. To him, proceeding steadily, one step at a time, was naturally best.

No one knew that the training academy was the safest haven in all of Arthur.

He wished he could stay there forever.

A character's first-level Feat was not a class prerequisite, so some players were not in a hurry to decide on their Feat immediately. They intended to choose according to their needs during their adventures.

Zhao Xu was different. Unless he learned four powerful Feats, he would never step outside Mystra's gates.

For the entire following week, Zhao Xu spent every day carrying out the massive task of transcribing First-level Spells.

But after he finished, there was no miraculous phenomenon unique to some protagonist template descending from the heavens.

Later, Zhao Xu had specifically asked Antinoa for gossip from the inside and confirmed that even when Wizards developed spells, strange phenomena did not necessarily occur. Much less when someone merely copied and learned another person's spell.

By then, talented players who had chosen Wizard were also beginning to complete their training one after another, with the second and third graduates appearing in succession.

By the time the second week after launch had just ended, Zhao Xu had finished learning all his free First-level Spells.

At that point, the number of first-level player Wizards had only just exceeded one hundred.

Zhao Xu had a 3-point Intelligence Modifier, and the Mage Association gave him three additional free spells along with the transcription.

This time, he sought Antinoa's opinion. Following her advice, he chose Mage Armor, Ray of Enfeeblement, and Dimension Door.

The first two common spells were nothing special, but Dimension Door was a closely guarded secret.

In other words, this spell was not on the learnable lists available to other players. Only people like Zhao Xu, who had private mentors, could obtain it from their mentors' collections.

According to Antinoa, under certain circumstances, this spell could count as a disguised movement spell.

At last, the spell list in Zhao Xu's mind reached a stable state. At least until he acquired money to transcribe new spells or leveled up, it would not change again.

Zero-level Spells: Resistance, Acid Splash, Detect Poison, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Daze, Dancing Lights, Flare, Light, Ray of Frost, Phantasmal Sound, Disrupt Undead, Touch of Fatigue, Mage Hand, Mending, Telepathic Message, Open/Close Spell, Arcane Mark, Prestidigitation

First-level Spells: Protection from Evil, Prismatic Spray, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Ray of Enfeeblement, Dimension Door

This was only a first-level Wizard, yet he already commanded twenty-five spells. No wonder the Wizard class had been so unpopular in his Previous Life.

"Are you ready?" Antinoa asked after the words on the final Dimension Door scroll disappeared.

"Ready for what?" Zhao Xu asked blankly.

"To take you and awaken you as a Wizard."

At those words, the numb exhaustion that had built up in Zhao Xu over the past week instantly vanished. It was finally here.

"Mentor, then let's go. I have nothing to pack."

Zhao Xu hurriedly stood up. He was alone, a poor man with no possessions to his name.

Even the Spellbook that Wizards would risk their lives to carry out of a fire had already been committed to his memory.

Seeing that Antinoa did not turn to open the dormitory door, Zhao Xu assumed she was waiting for him to act and quickly stepped forward to open it first.

Suddenly, Antinoa's figure flashed.

In an instant, Antinoa appeared before Zhao Xu. Then one snow-white arm emerged from the sleeve of her robe and grabbed him directly by the collar.

Fourth-level arcane Misty Step!

Without any gestures, merely an incantation could teleport the target anywhere within the spell's range. His Dimension Door was a version of this spell weakened by three orders of magnitude.

But before Zhao Xu could think further, he felt a pulling force seize him the moment his collar was grabbed.

He was no stranger to that sensation. It was precisely the feeling of passing through a portal.

He could sense that he was capable of resisting the spell's effect.

But the person before him was his mentor. If she truly wanted to kill him instantly, she would not need anything so complicated. One fireball would leave not even ashes of Zhao Xu behind.

So Zhao Xu gave up resisting and followed the spell's guidance.

If he wanted to cling to a powerful backer these days, he should cling on honestly instead of constantly overthinking everything.

In an inconspicuous bedroom within the Floating City, the silhouettes of a man and a woman instantly turned into white light and vanished.

When Zhao Xu finally recovered from his daze.

He realized he was standing in a grand hall that resembled a theater.

At the very front stood a silver seat resembling a throne, constantly gleaming with metallic luster.

Around that throne were magical inscriptions carved directly into the floor. Even after studying magic for several days, Zhao Xu still found them completely incomprehensible.

At the back of the hall, tiered rows of seats stretched upward. If not for the greater openness and brightness around him, Zhao Xu might have thought he had entered some luxurious cinema.

Many people were already seated in the cushioned chairs on those tiers, with the front half nearly full.

"Mentor, this is?"

"The Wizard awakening ceremony," Antinoa explained.

"All of Mystra and these Floating Cities are protected by Legendary Spells, which impose casting restrictions on outsiders. If your identities are not added into those Legendary Spells, then you novice Wizards can forget about successfully casting spells in Mystra."

"That's why awakening ceremonies in other towns are simple. Whenever there's a new Wizard, they awaken one. But because Mystra has to modify the Mythal, it can only hold a Wizard awakening ceremony at fixed intervals each month."

Only then did Zhao Xu realize that the people seated here represented Mystra's monthly output of Wizards.

He counted them. There were at least several hundred, perhaps over a thousand. That was far too many for one month.

"Mentor, your Floating City is really productive," Zhao Xu praised.

"Not your Floating City. Our Floating City," Antinoa corrected. "There normally aren't this many. There are only so many this time because player Wizards are also rushing to make this ceremony."

Only then did Zhao Xu snap back to his senses. The forums had thoroughly dug up information on the first ten Wizards, yet not a single one had come from Mystra, the holy city of magic.

Logically, the players with the greatest talent for magic should have been assigned here, aside from special cases like him who had entered through the back door of a special talent route.

Now he understood. Mystra's players had to wait for the Mythal to be modified as a group each month before holding the ceremony, so naturally they had missed out on everything.

Zhao Xu also noticed that quite a few novice Wizards seated there, waiting their turn to go up for the awakening ceremony, were quietly discussing the two uninvited guests.

Everyone present had come here honestly, step by step. Unlike the two of them, who had swaggered in through teleportation.

They were showing off their special treatment a little too blatantly.

Relying on the distinctive clothing of players, Zhao Xu barely managed to identify the group seated on the left as players.

Suddenly, Zhao Xu's pupils widened.

He saw a beautiful young woman seated properly in the first row, her expression calm.

Wang Ningwei!

At the time Arthur merged with reality, she had been the player with the highest Wizard Level. She had consequently become one of the highest-ranking leaders among Earth's forces.

So her novice Wizard training location had been Mystra.

Right here at the Gate of Arcane, in this Floating City.

Several years after the crossing, Arthur faced the invasion of the Abyss and Hell. Earth's forces sent a delegation to visit the Northern Alliance, hoping the alliance would jointly shelter Earth's civilians.

At the time, Zhao Xu had served as a guard in the Northern Alliance. His family had long since been included within the protected population because of him and arranged in towns deep in the rear. Who could have expected that while Zhao Xu was away on campaign, a Black Dragon would raid his home?

It was through that diplomatic mission that Zhao Xu had been given the chance to witness this favored daughter of heaven.

But back then, he had merely been a guard at Northern Alliance headquarters. At best, he had risen above the rank of ordinary cannon fodder and become a somewhat higher-ranking guard.

As for her, leaving aside the halo of leading the Earthlings who had crossed over, her identity as a high-level Wizard alone was enough to make her an honored guest of the lords of the northern cities.

The Wang Ningwei before him did not possess the transcendent bearing he had seen in the future, honed through years of experience. She was merely an ordinary player sitting below and waiting to go onstage for her awakening.

Zhao Xu suddenly recalled a legend he had heard in his Previous Life: Wang Ningwei had awakened as a first-level Wizard on the twentieth day, later becoming an example novice Wizards used to console themselves.

Now he knew why it had taken so long.

But by his calculations, today was only the fifteenth day since launch. Where had those missing five days gone?

Could it be that the rumor had deliberately added them to exaggerate how Wang Ningwei had come from behind?

After all, on the fifteenth day, she could still rank among the first hundred or so.

"Mentor, how many days ago was the last one?" Zhao Xu asked quietly.

"Twenty-five days ago," Antinoa replied.

"Didn't you say it was once a month?"

"I eat three meals on time every day. Is it not okay if I only eat two?"

Listening to Antinoa's nonsense, Zhao Xu said irritably, "Mentor, even an outsider like me knows modifying a Legendary Spell can't possibly be so casual."

Rules were called rules precisely because they were difficult to change.

"Oh, you're asking why?" Antinoa seemed to have only just grasped the point of Zhao Xu's question.

But Zhao Xu already knew she was doing it on purpose.

"It's simple. Since you finished learning six First-level Spells today, we arranged for everyone to awaken early today."