White-skinned Mushrooms

Thor's first public class was Witchcraft script studies.

The instructor was not a Wizard mentor, nor even a Level 3 Apprentice.

He was merely an unremarkable Level 2 Apprentice.

His mind was clearly nowhere near teaching. Taking this class was obviously just a way to earn Credits for a task.

He spoke quickly and did not allow questions.

After being ignored for the third time she raised her hand, Keli puffed out her cheeks in anger.

"All right, does anyone feel dizzy, or even nauseous enough to vomit after reaching this point?" The Level 2 Apprentice in charge of the class finally looked up and asked the room a question.

Seven or eight people in the large classroom raised their hands. They were clearly all newcomers.

"Heh." The Apprentice teaching the class sneered. "With Mental Power this poor, I really don't understand how you passed the test."

He snapped the heavy book on the lectern shut, straightened up, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Noah Language is the most common and fundamental of all Wizard scripts. If you can't even look at this script for more than an hour, then I advise you to just give up on advancing to Level 2."

The newcomers who had raised their hands sheepishly lowered them beneath their desks, their faces flushed red with embarrassment. Some were indignant, but none dared argue openly.

The Level 2 Apprentice curled his knuckles and rapped them against the book's cover.

"This is too basic. There's nothing much to teach. When you go back to study on your own, you can only be considered qualified if you can read continuously for more than half an hour without feeling dizzy. Longer is naturally better, but don't push yourselves too hard. I don't want a whole batch of you dying so soon."

Why had this person suddenly become kind enough to specifically warn everyone?

Thor felt certain he had another motive.

Sure enough, the Level 2 Apprentice's next words were, "If you're truly too stupid and need to ask me questions, remember to bring Magic Crystals or Credits in exchange."

His gaze fell on Keli, who had raised her hand several times, and one eyebrow rose.

"Though I doubt you have any money right now. A bunch of White-skinned Mushrooms."

With a cold snort, he picked up his book, lifted his chin, and swaggered out through the classroom's front door.

"White-skinned Mushrooms?" Keli turned to Thor in confusion. "What does that mean?"

Thor's incomplete memories contained no knowledge related to that.

A Level 1 Apprentice in the back row, not one of the newcomers, stood up and answered Keli while arranging his books. "White-skinned Mushrooms. The weakest, the cheapest... heh, and the tastiest."

With a rustle, more than half the people in the large classroom dispersed. Those who remained were still this batch of newly arrived Apprentices.

Duoze, who had fawned over Keli yesterday, hurried over, with his friend Luoji following timidly behind him.

Duoze tugged at Keli's sleeve. "Keli, why are you still... with him?"

"What do you mean?"

Duoze had seen how Thor dealt with Duke yesterday, so he did not quite dare meet Thor's eyes.

"A Level 2 Senior is targeting him. Don't get dragged into it."

He did not dare mention, in front of Thor, that Thor had supposedly cheated his way through the Apprentice test. He only planned to find a chance to tell Keli in private and persuade her to stay farther away from Thor—preferably move out of the room next to his, lest she be implicated.

"You think everyone else will treat us kindly? Heh, White-skinned Mushrooms!"

Keli hugged her books, turned, and walked away, perfectly imitating the expression of the Level 2 Apprentice when he left.

Without Keli standing between them, Duoze hurriedly retreated several steps and watched Thor warily.

Thor merely lowered his head, gathered the books and papers he had arranged on the desk, ignored Duoze, and walked straight out of the classroom.

Once Thor had left, Duoze turned to Luoji in anger. "He actually ignored me?"

Luoji frowned deeply. "We should stay away from him."

The second public class was half an hour later: a meditation class.

Following the requirements in the Apprentice handbook, Thor brought the Crystal Ball he had received yesterday to another large classroom.

This classroom was fan-shaped, high at the edges and low in the center. Thick cushions covered the floor, and it was likewise filled with many people.

Thor even spotted several Level 2 Apprentices among them.

He found an empty spot and sat down, leaving a space beside him for Keli.

But as soon as he sat down, a newcomer Apprentice to his left silently picked up the Crystal Ball in front of him and moved elsewhere.

"Childish." Thor rolled his eyes inwardly. He was not a twelve-year-old child; this level of exclusion could not affect him.

Just before class began, Keli, her hair braided into plaits, plopped down to Thor's left.

Without a word, Thor put away the books that had been occupying the cushion on his right.

"I went to ask about the price," Keli told Thor. "...What a rip-off!"

"You have Magic Crystals?"

The newly advanced Apprentices did not have any Credits yet.

"I traded my allowance for them."

Class time arrived, and even passed, yet the person in charge of teaching had not come.

The newcomers began whispering among themselves, while the older Apprentices lowered their eyes and sat quietly.

Thor opened the meditation book in his hands. Every few pages contained a strange, chaotic illustration.

Staring at the patterns for even a short while made him dizzy and lightheaded. It was far more uncomfortable than reading Noah Language.

Thor carefully avoided the illustrations and read only the text.

But the words inside were obscure and difficult, and there were many rare characters he did not recognize at all.

Just as when he had first looked through this book yesterday, Thor furrowed his brow.

At last, footsteps sounded again. Thor looked up and saw a tall blonde beauty leading in a creature that looked part lizard, part crocodile.

She walked all the way to the corner at the front of the classroom, released the chain attached to the lizard—or perhaps crocodile—and stood with her hands on her hips.

"Newcomers attending for the first time, put your Crystal Balls aside. Listen to me first. Those who have studied this before may meditate on your own."

All the older Apprentices around them opened their books one by one, held their Crystal Balls in their palms, and half-closed their eyes.

So this was meditation? he thought.

The blonde beauty at the front began speaking again. "I'm Monica. I specialize in lightning-elemental Witchcraft. If you have my class this afternoon, remember not to carry any metal items on you."

Thor had not yet realized what her words meant when a blue arc of electricity suddenly sprang across Monica's face.

The arc appeared and vanished swiftly, but it left a charred black mark running from Monica's left cheek to her neck.

Monica raised a hand and tore away the entire patch of blackened skin, exposing the bright-red flesh beneath.

No blood flowed out, but the pulsing muscles looked incredibly horrifying.

Especially when such a massive wound appeared on the face of a beautiful woman, the stark contrast made many newcomers lower their heads, too afraid to look again.

Thor gritted his teeth and stared at Monica. He had already seen Kongsha's terrifying half-head, so he could still endure this much.

"Crunch, crunch, crunch..."

The creature on the ground, part lizard and part crocodile, actually began devouring the charred skin Monica had tossed aside.

It really was crispy.

Thor and Keli both fell silent.

Every one of these Wizards was bizarre. The few who looked normal on the surface were not quite normal inside, either.

Thor lowered his head and looked at the white fingertips flowing out from his sleeve.

If he became a Wizard one day, would he also turn into a human being like a monster?

Kongsha's face, the melted chubby boy, the disgusting and terrifying Mentor Gudo, and Mentor Monica, who occasionally tore off a layer of beautiful skin before their eyes...

Was becoming a monster the price one had to pay to become a Wizard?