The Highly Efficient First Lesson

A distant relative was no match for a close neighbor. Although Keli's bluntness was somewhat uncomfortable, Thor could use the opportunity to gather information.

He was just about to speak when someone came down the corridor.

The person walked briskly while loudly announcing.

"All newly promoted Level 1 Apprentices, report punctually at nine o'clock to the last classroom on the tenth floor of the East Tower for your first public class!"

"All newly promoted Level 1 Apprentices, report punctually at nine o'clock to the last classroom on the tenth floor of the East Tower for your first public class!"

Hearing the announcement, someone opened their door and asked a question, but the messenger did not answer. After delivering the message, he headed upstairs along the slope at the end of the corridor.

Several new Apprentices gathered in the corridor, chatting among themselves. The atmosphere was lively, and everyone was full of hope.

"Keli!"

Two more boys ran over. One of them, with lively eyes, said, "Let's go to class together."

Keli merely glanced at them dismissively. Without even answering, she turned to Thor and said, "Let's go now."

The two boys who had been ignored did not look angry. Instead, they looked at Thor with some apprehension.

Thor realized that they likely thought he had great talent as well. He could not explain such a thing, so he simply nodded and agreed to go with her.

There was still some time before nine, but nearly all the newly promoted Apprentices rushed toward the East Tower the moment they heard the news.

The Wizard Tower itself was likely cylindrical, broad at the bottom and narrow at the top, divided down the middle into the East and West Towers.

The East Tower and West Tower were both semicircular, separated by a thick wall. Passages between them existed only on the fifth, sixth, tenth, and fourteenth floors.

These passages were closed at night, and no one was allowed to pass through freely.

Thor had seen the passage gates while cleaning the corridors, but he had never been permitted to enter the East Tower.

Following the crowd, he crossed through a passage for the first time and entered the East Tower.

Unlike the rows of rooms on the West Tower's sixth floor, the East Tower's sixth floor was filled with gray walls covered in symbols and patterns Thor could not understand at all.

Just one glance made Thor dizzy.

He turned his head away and saw that Keli beside him had kept her head lowered the entire time, never looking at the walls.

She really does seem to know a lot.

"Thud. Thud."

Two people ahead had not looked away as quickly as Thor did and fell to the ground in a dizzy stupor.

Everyone walked past them without anyone offering a hand.

As Thor passed the two, watching them struggle to stand, his anticipation for life as a Wizard Apprentice suddenly diminished considerably.

"Everyone, be quiet!"

Thor and the others had been seated in the last classroom on the tenth floor of the East Tower for about ten minutes when a man in his fifties finally stormed in through the front door.

He strode quickly to the front of the classroom and placed one hand on the lectern.

"For the first lesson, I'll only explain the rules of Gorsa Wizard Tower once. If anyone comes asking me again, I'll eat them! Blegh..."

As if on cue, the man bent over and vomited.

A large puddle of green slime splattered across the floor. Several fingers were mixed within it, falling, bouncing, then falling again.

The Apprentices in the front row jerked backward, crashing into the desks behind them amid a clatter.

Thor, who habitually sat near the back, lowered his head and refused to look at the nauseating scene.

The man on the platform was furious. After vomiting, he straightened and shouted again, "Quiet!"

No one dared move again, even while fighting back their nausea.

"First, choose a mentor based on elemental affinity. My name is Gudo. I'm a poison-element mentor, though I can teach metal-element students too. If any of you have talent in those areas, choose me on the form!"

Thor looked down. His desk was completely empty.

Mentor Gudo had not conjured forms out of thin air like in the movies, nor had anyone come in to distribute them.

Thor hurriedly spread open the booklet in his arms and began taking notes.

At the same time, a rustling sound came from beside him. Keli had also taken paper and pen from her backpack and started writing notes with the same practiced motion.

There were around twenty people in the classroom, and over half had prepared their own paper and pens.

Those who had not prepared any wanted to borrow from their neighbors, but they did not dare speak and risk attracting Gudo's attention.

On the platform, Mentor Gudo continued speaking at a rapid pace.

"...Level 1 Apprentices, first master the public courses. These include Witchcraft script, Cognition of All Things, meditation, Runes, and only then low-level Witchcraft!"

Thor's pen flew across the page. Unable to keep up, he simply used the writing system from his previous life to make abbreviated notes.

"...Don't waste your time, because you have no time to waste! Level 1 Apprentices are assessed once a month, and the first assessment will be three months from now! If the assessor determines that you have no potential for further growth..."

Gudo paused here. Narrowing his eyes, he swept his gaze across the Apprentices in the classroom and said darkly, "Then there is no need to continue cultivating you."

Thor's hand trembled, dragging one character into a long tail. Silently, he started a new line and continued writing.

"...Lastly, a reminder: look at the books in front of you. Don't think about things you shouldn't. Those are matters for Level 2 Apprentices to consider."

Thor did not understand this part. What did "other things" refer to? Witchcraft?

"All right, that's all. I'm leaving." After saying that, Gudo turned and left the classroom even faster than he had entered.

With the terrifying mentor gone, everyone began talking. The classroom instantly erupted with noise.

Thor did not join the discussion. He stared straight at the notes he had just written, seemingly lost in thought.

"Was your left hand born like that?" Keli's voice sounded again.

Thor had been in such a hurry to take notes that he had instinctively used his left hand to hold down the booklet. Naturally, Keli, sitting beside him, had seen it.

Thor did not hide his hand again. He replied as though nothing were wrong.

"No. It became like this three days ago."

Keli frowned and pressed her lips together, as though she had encountered some impossible puzzle.

At that moment, another young man entered through the classroom's front door. Smiling, he carried a stack of papers to the front of the room.

"It's ten minutes to nine. You all arrived early. Very good! As Apprentices, we must seize every moment. Better early than late. Sometimes, even being on time is a kind of lateness."

The young man tapped the stack of papers in his hand, his smile fading slightly. "I'll first distribute the mentor selection forms and the Wizard Tower rulebook. Mentor Gudo will come shortly to give the first explanation. Remain quiet. Mentor Gudo dislikes noise. If you have questions, do not ask. Read the handbook. I will explain further later."

The room was silent.

The young man was very satisfied. This batch of Apprentices was obedient; when told to be quiet, they immediately fell silent.

He walked down from the platform to distribute the forms and handbooks, only to step on something sticky.

The young man looked down, raised his foot, and saw a Severed Finger stuck to the sole of his shoe, twitching slightly.

He looked back up at the new Apprentices, the corner of his mouth twitching as he asked, "Mentor Gudo, he..."

"He already came," a girl seated in the second row replied softly.