Inside the sea of consciousness, four wizard runes radiated light in the upper space, resonating with one another. Sharing the same root and origin, Ryan's harvest on the wizard ship over the past two months certainly amounted to more than just this.
Returning his consciousness to reality, he observed the very simple room layout.
A bed, a bookshelf piled with numerous books, a desk leaning against the window, and a feather pen inserted into a pen holder.
The environment was largely indistinguishable from the room on the wizard ship.
Naturally, the space was somewhat more spacious.
The sea breeze blowing from the ocean was blocked by side-by-side ancient trees that had been planted there. The forest leaves fluttered, casting shifting lights and shadows that filtered through the window and struck the black long robe.
Pushing the door open, he saw a vast cluster of similar residential buildings, sparsely distributed among the leafy ancient trees and interconnected by paths of cobblestone.
The trees grew at a truly astonishing rate; trees ten people could wrap their arms around were common. Ryan's pupils carried a faint, sparkling blue luster as the dense natural particle energy lingered among these ancient trees, with obvious traces of wizard-array casting still remaining upon the cobblestone paths.
As for their function?
The ancient forest thicket before his eyes was merely the tip of the iceberg. In more distant regions, there was even more exaggerated tree growth, reaching heights of several hundred meters.
It was likely related to the concentration of natural particle energy.
This area, belonging to the living quarters of the wizard freshmen, was named Ancient Forest Mountain. Ryan had already been here for two days and had roughly figured out the situation.
It was not just them alone; freshmen from other wizard ships were also here, undergoing a joint six-month assessment.
The Umbral Wizard Academy was located deeper within the ancient forest thicket. Only after meeting the assessment requirements could freshmen enter to truly become members of the Umbral Expanse and obtain the Umbral Wizard Mark.
Ancient Forest Mountain, along with the port and a vast expanse of the surrounding sea, belonged to the sphere of influence of the Umbral Expanse.
Aside from Ancient Forest Mountain being a restricted area, the arrival of foreign wizards was not prohibited in the other places.
At the foot of the mountain lay the Wizard City, where eliminated wizard freshmen, unwilling to leave, had reproduced through generation after generation to form wizard families.
The Wizard City was fairly bustling. Wilderness wizards relied on going out to sea to obtain supernatural resources, and then traded within the Wizard City to acquire what they needed.
Within the Wizard City, the number of mortals remained the highest.
Even among the wizard families, individuals possessing wizard aptitude were very scarce, and they usually pinned their hopes on sending them into Ancient Forest Mountain to pass the assessment and become members of the Umbral Expanse.
Target: Ryan Spiritual Power: 7.2 Physique: 6 Particle Energy: 3.2 Units Mastered Spells: 'Fearful Flame', 'Fire Element Particle Energy Shield', 'Scarlet Heat'
Ryan had fully mastered the spell knowledge from the basic parts of the legacy wizardry book, and he could cast each spell very smoothly.
Naturally, the particle energy units within his body could barely support two spell castings.
Ryan had not attempted to study the advanced portions of the spell knowledge.
His supernatural basic knowledge was far too weak; the drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
He had already met the requirements for entering the wizard academy, and right now the most important thing was to make up for this weakness.
It was a huge arched building crafted entirely of timber, its exterior seemingly coated with some kind of substance so that it looked like metal. It absorbed the light, resting in gloomy tones.
Many wizard freshmen arrived one after another, entering this building named the 'Ancient Forest Pavilion'.
There were many unfamiliar faces, and their number far exceeded one hundred; Ryan was unremarkable among them.
Wizard Tuta had never appeared again after delivering the wizard freshmen to Ancient Forest Mountain.
The wizard responsible for all freshman matters was another wizard named 'Ethan'.
Stepping into a space resembling a large conference room, he saw a podium positioned at the center.
Every wizard freshman possessed his or her own numbered information, and Ryan's seat was in the corner of the third row.
The seats were almost entirely filled with wizard freshmen, and everyone lowered the volume of the sounds they produced, making the massive space appear exceptionally quiet.
Before long, a figure appeared on the podium. He wore a brown wizard robe, had purple hair, looked to be about forty years old, and wore an expression of absolute indifference.
A wizard's true age could not be confirmed from their appearance, as there were far too many ways to change it.
Ryan's gaze grew solemn. This was Wizard Ethan; when Wizard Tuta had handed matters over to him, Ryan had briefly observed him from afar using the Eye of Truth.
The particle energy within the man's body was terrifying beyond compare, akin to an abyss, and likely not much inferior to Wizard Tuta's.
Neither did he carry the aura of twilight seen on Wizard Tuta; instead, he displayed his strength as unrestrainedly as a morning sun.
He was at least a third-level wizard apprentice.
Wizard Ethan's lips moved, and though his voice was not loud, it allowed every wizard freshman to hear him with absolute clarity.
"The duration is six months. Complete the mastery of a single spell and demonstrate it completely before me, and you can take away this ticket to the Umbral Wizard Academy."
On the palm extending from beneath the brown wizard robe appeared a floating device overflowing with astonishing particle energy. It was square, somewhat resembling the magic cube from the memories of Ryan's past life, but the wisps of crackling current winding around it caused every wizard freshman to feel a pang of dread.
The aura was terrifying, far exceeding the particle energy fluctuations of their current tier.
Wizard Ethan's words were brief, but his meaning was expressed with absolute precision. "Ancient Forest Mountain has various facilities to meet your daily needs. There is only a single rule: no death events are permitted to occur in Ancient Forest Mountain. Regardless of any means used, I will investigate them out, and anyone involved will die, regardless of right or wrong."
Wizard Ethan paused, his eyes narrowing as he forced a stiff smile. "If you have the capability to commit murder and still manage to conceal it from me, then by all means go ahead. I very much look forward to it."
The wizard freshmen present wore varied expressions. Maintaining a basic silence, they listened as Wizard Ethan recounted some information concerning Ancient Forest Mountain.
Ancient Forest Mountain did not restrict the freedom of the wizard freshmen, allowing them to enter and exit at will, but doing so meant losing the protection of the rules.
Still, this failed to dispel the curiosity of certain wizard freshmen regarding what lay beyond Ancient Forest Mountain—for instance, the Wizard City at the foot of the mountain, the wilderness wizards, and the industries related to wizards; what kind of conditions existed there?
Most of them were freshmen recruited by the Umbral Expanse's recruiting wizards who had traveled to the various islands and continents of the Endless Sea.
Some possessed noble status, being princes or princesses of a nation, or else the scions of aristocrats. The slightly lesser ones included the descendants of knights or the sons of wealthy merchants, while commoners, though relatively scarce, still existed.
They had stepped out of the mortal world, yearning for the novelty and unknowns of the wizard world.
Lord Ethan's words are going too far. How could it be so exaggerated? Murder has even been brought up. We are all classmates; why would anyone kill each other?
They simply regarded it as the strict discipline of a stern and uncommunicative teacher, meant to remind them to earnestly and diligently master their spells.
Six months of time to master just a single spell—surely there was no great difficulty to it.
Most freshmen with slightly better wizard aptitudes thought this way.
Only Ryan's eyes flashed with a hint of deep contemplation.
This freshman meeting gradually drew to a close. As Wizard Ethan was leaving, he suddenly added a sentence.
"I forgot to tell you, the number of tickets is fixed."
Ryan's expression shifted, and he instantly understood the sole rule.
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