Planning from an Elder in the Circle

Inside the mortuary, candlelight flickered.

With the sound of flapping wings, the pitch-black crow landed on the back of a chair, its form twisting and stretching, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into Makley, clad in a black robe.

He smoothed out the slightly wrinkled cuffs of his sleeves, his gaze falling on Tylen, and he asked without preamble:

"How have your Runic Studies been going these past few days?"

Tylen bowed respectfully, offering no lengthy explanation. Instead, he turned and walked to the bed, bent down, and dragged out an object wrapped in black cloth from underneath.

Rustle.

The black cloth was pulled aside, revealing the Bone Dog that had undergone multiple modifications.

Under the dim candlelight, the stark white bones were covered in a dense network of dark red lines, like blood vessels intertwined, exuding an eerie and ferocious beauty.

Makley's pupils suddenly dilated.

As a seventh-rank formal wizard, his eyesight was exceptionally sharp.

With just one glance, he could tell that this Bone Construct was extraordinary.

Those dark red lines were not paint... but dried blood.

His gaze quickly shifted upward, landing on the thick bandage wrapped around Tylen's left wrist.

"Is this... what you made these past few days?"

Makley's voice held a hint of barely suppressed, incredulous delight, and even his tone rose slightly.

Tylen smiled, his expression calm as he said:

"All thanks to the Purple Diamond Carving Knife you gave me, Mentor. Without a tool of that level, I couldn't have carved such intricate circuits into the hard bone."

Hearing his student's modesty, Makley took a deep breath to steady himself:

"Make it move. Let me see."

"Yes."

Tylen gripped the control bone shard and infused it with 1 point of Mental Power.

Hum!

The blood-colored runes on the Bone Dog lit up instantly, as if dormant blood vessels had been refilled with fresh blood.

Clack, clack.

Under Makley's watchful gaze, this low-level undead construct, which should have been stiff and rigid, moved like a real hunting dog.

In the cramped mortuary, it ran nimbly, stopped sharply, and even executed a difficult backflip jump.

Makley immediately released invisible mental tendrils, covering the Bone Dog's body as he carefully sensed the flow of magic at every node.

A few seconds later.

Clap, clap, clap.

Makley couldn't help but applaud, a rare, genuine smile spreading across his face.

"Quite excellent."

"I can tell that your understanding of the Bone Domination rune system is already quite thorough."

"What surprises me most is that, without a necromantic flame, you thought to use your own blood as a medium of spirituality to solve the problem of mechanical rigidity."

Makley looked at Tylen, his eyes full of admiration:

"Good, good, good, Tylen. I was right about you."

The humiliation of being mocked by colleagues outside the meeting room during the day, and the powerlessness of being advised to step back by his great-grandfather, seemed to fade away in that moment.

Looking at this talented and highly practical student before him, Makley felt a sense of "redemption" rising within him.

Perhaps he was destined to be a failure who could never break through in this life.

But as long as he could nurture a second genius student, who would dare call him a failure?

Makley pulled over a chair and sat down, casually gesturing for Tylen to sit as well.

At this moment, he no longer seemed like an aloof mentor, but more like an elder concerned for his junior.

"Regarding this upcoming exam, which subjects are you planning to sign up for?" Makley asked.

Tylen replied respectfully:

"Your student's knowledge is shallow, and I am utterly lost when it comes to this tower-wide selection. I hope my mentor can offer some guidance."

This wasn't entirely polite flattery.

Tylen truly was an outsider when it came to the unspoken rules and exam trends within the Wizard Tower.

Makley's lips curled slightly, clearly pleased with Tylen's attitude:

"A wise choice, child."

"This competition is inherently unfair for you first-year apprentices."

"The scope of the questions leans more heavily toward second- and third-year apprentices, who have one or two extra years of knowledge reserves and more tempered mental fortitude."

"But at the same time, it's also an opportunity for first-years."

"Since everyone starts at the bottom, as long as you pick the right track and crush everyone else to take first place, it's actually the easiest path."

Makley then raised his fingers and began analyzing the eight major subjects for Tylen one by one:

"First is Alchemy—it's both the sky and the Abyss."

"Though the future prospects are broad and very profitable, you have no advantage in this exam."

"Alchemy requires a mountain of money to pile up materials and countless furnace explosions to accumulate experience; the relevant terms were already locked in at registration."

"Geography and Monster Studies are the same—they demand experience and insight. You've been stuck in the morgue, never seen the outside world; taking those exams would be suicide."

"As for Mental Power and Meditation Depth..."

Makley let out a cold laugh:

"Those two subjects are too subjective."

"The grading criteria are in the hands of the proctors, leaving too much room for manipulation. Many students without connections lose inexplicably."

Tylen nodded along repeatedly.

Wasn't this just interview scores? He knew that all too well.

"So my recommendation for you is these three subjects."

Makley held up three fingers:

"Runic Studies, Ritual Studies, and Ancient Linguistics."

"These three subjects fall under 'hard knowledge.'"

"If a rune is drawn wrong, it's wrong. If a chant is recited wrong, it's wrong. There's no gray area, and no one can tamper with the scores."

"Moreover, you have excellent memory and logical thinking skills—these three subjects suit you perfectly."

"As long as you can memorize them by rote, you can drastically improve your scores in a short time, even get full marks."

Listening to Makley's confident analysis, Tylen felt a sudden daze.

In that moment, he felt as if he had traveled back to his past life.

He recalled when he was choosing a major in college, listening to various admissions experts analyze 'dead-end majors' and 'hot employment fields.'

He also remembered when he was applying for graduate school, his advisor earnestly mapping out a life path for him.

Only, compared to those experts in his past life who were just chasing money, the Makley before him was far more authoritative and genuinely on his side.

This was the true value of guidance from an insider!

With that, Makley flipped his wrist and slapped three thick books onto the table:

"The exam is in three days."

"All the questions will come from the scope of these three books."

"I've already marked the key points in red."

"Use your full ability to thoroughly digest and memorize all these key points!"

Tylen took the three books with both hands respectfully; their heavy weight gave him a sense of solidity.

"Thank you, mentor! This student will not let you down!"

After accepting the books, Makley didn't leave immediately but instead grew serious:

"There's one more thing, more important than the exam."

"After you pass, you'll move from the bottom to the forefront, gaining the status of formal apprentice and attending classes alongside those noble children."

"At that point, you'll face more pressure, exclusion, and even humiliation from them."

"The class divide isn't so easy to cross."

"So, before that, you need to prepare and do your best to raise your 'standing.'"

Hearing this, Tylen nodded knowingly and asked:

"Teacher, I understand the logic, but how do I raise my standing?"

"Do I need to buy an expensive magic robe?"

Makley smiled smugly and wagged his finger:

"Of course not something that shallow."

"Remember the White Cloud Eye Rune Shop?"

"Tomorrow, they're holding a rune exchange competition among apprentices."

"The main focus is on the precision of controlling bone with runes."

"There are no restrictions on participation—any apprentice can join."

A flicker of cunning gleamed in Makley's eyes:

"Sixty people have signed up so far. Twenty-five are from our Cain Wizard Tower, and the other thirty-five... are from the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower."

"Among them are plenty of nobles and wealthy brats looking to gild their reputations through the competition."

"You're going to enter this contest."

"Then take first place and crush the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower's recent arrogance!"

Hearing this, understanding flashed through Tylen's mind.

What exchange competition?

This was clearly a custom-made gilded post Makley had set up with that shopkeeper Steampunk to boost his own standing!

A tailor-made stage for him to shine!

If he beat the Blazing Sun Tower people in this contest, he'd bring glory to Cain Tower.

Carrying that honor into class, the noble brats would surely think twice.

"Your student understands!"

Tylen immediately showed his comprehension, battle intent kindling in his eyes:

"I will not disappoint my teacher, nor bring shame to Cain Wizard Tower."

Makley nodded in satisfaction, his gaze sweeping once more over the blood-rune Bone Dog on the floor:

"Being able to craft a Bone Construct of this level, you're more than enough for this competition."

"But there's one more thing."

Makley paused, lowering his voice:

"In this contest, you need to watch out for a girl."

"Kathy Ralph Hoffman."

"She's the youngest daughter of Baron Hoffman in the city. Diligent in her studies, quite talented, and most importantly... she has a gentle temperament, no great hostility toward those at the bottom."

"Her father, Hoffman, is the cavalry captain of Lion City's City Defense Guard."

"The position isn't high, but it oversees patrols around the city defenses, smuggling inspections, hunting permits, bandit suppression, and the like."

"A classic case of a small post with big power—also the 'gatekeeper' for us wizards leaving the city on business."

Tylen's mind raced at these words.

Combining recent internal movements with his own analysis, he instantly grasped the key point.

His mentor was planning ahead!

If everyone would be frequently leaving the city to hunt magical beasts in the future, getting on good terms with the City Defense Guard was paramount.

Otherwise, they could easily hold you up, or deliberately leak your whereabouts to bandits, leaving you dead without a burial.

Tylen immediately replied respectfully:

"Please rest assured, Teacher."

"I will definitely build a good relationship with this Miss Kathy."

"So that in the future, when you go out of the city to hunt, you'll have all the convenience you need."