Banquet

Fran arrived at the entrance of a manor and glanced inside.

The manor wasn't large, but it was extremely well-decorated, with decorations everywhere indicating that the resident was a mage.

The Nameplate at the entrance has a staff design, indicating that this is the residence of a sorcerer.

Looking from the entrance, there is a small pond with a statue of a mage in the middle, gripping his staff and looking at the books floating in front of him.

Inside the manor, there is a somewhat old house. Although its exterior walls show signs of maintenance, there are still quite a few gaps.

Many windows have reinforced wooden strips, and some places that should be windows have been blocked off with wooden strips.

There is a protruding pavilion in front of the house, with supporting pillars that look like they have just been renovated and are painted dark brown.

Upon seeing Fran standing in the doorway, a maid immediately stepped forward, slightly crouched, placed her hands on her abdomen in a gesture of greeting, and then inquired:

"Your Excellency, were you invited to the banquet?"

Fran nodded, and the maid led Fran into the manor and opened the door to the house.

He led Fran through a dimly lit corridor to a long dining table.

A man with blond hair and blue eyes was already seated at one side of the long dining table; this must be the administrator of Gede Town.

He wore a conservative blue-gray robe and gloves of the same color, and had no insignia of School on his person.

Two mages were already seated on either side of the long table, while Fran, guided by a maid, sat down in the second chair on the right.

The chair has red cushions and a slightly tilted back, making it fairly comfortable to sit on.

The man in the main seat spoke suddenly after Fran sat down, and he slowly said:

"Praise be to magic, welcome our fellow mages... I am Caleb Walker, the administrator of Gede Town, and I have been stationed in this town for thirteen years."

He pointed to the man on the left of the table, who had a chiseled face, brown hair, and wore a robe that signified the Necromancy School.

"Zeno Harper, a member of the Necromancy School, is a researcher at the Skeleton Society."

Zeno raised his head when introducing him, seemingly quite pleased with the way he was introduced.

To the right sat a woman with beautiful purple hair flowing outside her robes, and her fingers were as white as winter snow.

Without waiting for Caleb to introduce her, she began to speak on her own:

"Daphne Marlowe, a researcher at the Alchemy School and a member of the Brass Society."

Then she looked at Fran eagerly, wanting to hear Fran's self-introduction.

Fran glanced at the three people and slowly said:

"Fran, of the Forge School, has no surname, and is a researcher at the Northern Lands Society."

Daphne, who was closest to her, paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

"I thought you were from the Transmutation School. You're so young, yet you've become Formal Mage. May I ask how old you are?"

"Eighteen." Fran concealed her true age. It was not uncommon for her to become Formal Mage at the age of fifteen, but it was quite rare for a commoner to become Formal Mage at the age of fifteen, so she hid her age.

"Then you're growing a bit too slowly. You'd better seek help from the Transmutation School..."

Daphne teased, then stopped talking and said to Caleb:

"Now that everyone's here, let's eat. I'm a little hungry."

Caleb gestured to the servants nearby to begin serving the food to everyone.

No one questioned or was surprised by Fran's lack of a surname or her status as a researcher at the Northern Lands Society.

It's normal for commoners to become Formal Mage. A bunch of their colleagues also became Formal Mage, and soon after, they got their own surnames. They just needed to apply to the Alliance for registration.

They had never heard of the Northern Lands Society, but they didn't care. After all, there were many societies in the Alliance, and it was normal to hear about a School whose name they had never heard of before.

In contrast, Zeno's Skeleton Society was known to almost every mage, and he was very proud of being a member of the society.

"The Skeleton Society recruits members not only from the Necromancy School, but also from the Alchemy School, Transmutation School, and Elemental School. As long as you have unique insights into skeleton creatures, you can join."

"Although it's called the Skeleton Society, the mages there don't really research anything related to skeletons. They focus more on the study of the Land of the Dead and some research on spirits..."

After the food was served, Zeno didn't touch the food in front of him at all, and instead kept talking to the other three about the Skeleton Society.

Fran looked at the food in front of her, but she had no appetite.

A steak covered in a rich, sour sauce, accompanied by some vegetables smeared with seasonings, a long strip of black bread, and red powdered seasonings.

After arriving in the other world, she only cared about food that could fill her stomach; she didn't care if it had much flavor.

This meal was considered a grand feast since she arrived in the other world. The ingredients were all luxurious, and at least all the food had seasonings. However, Fran had no appetite and could only eat slowly.

She had originally thought that since someone was treating her to dinner, she might be able to find other kinds of food, but it turned out to be the same old thing. She only let Fran try a few more bites of the steak.

After swallowing some vegetables, Caleb, seated at the head of the table, asked:

"Could you reveal what research you saw at the Skeleton Society?"

This is a rather sensitive issue, after all, knowledge is a very precious resource among mages, especially since this knowledge is unique to the other sects.

Zeno didn't mind at all and said:

"No problem, let me tell you about a free experimental record I saw, it's about optimizing the spell to Soul Creation."

Zeno then explained the details of the experiment to the mages present, including what actions to take after killing the target to increase the success rate of the spell, which led to a new First Order spell, Powerful Spirit Awakening.

He believed that these people would not be able to Soul Creation Necromancy School's unique spell, the Undead, so he confidently explained the principles of the spell, leaving only the final spell structure unexplained.

[You overheard the experiment about Soul Creation. Your proficiency in the spell "Soul Creation" has increased by 50.]

To be honest, Fran had no intention of practicing this spell, and she never expected to hear about a First Order spell while just having a meal.

This gave her an idea: if she went back and experimented, she would most likely be able to create that powerful First Order spell for Powerful Spirit Awakening.

"This is truly brilliant content, no wonder it's a research achievement of the University Association..." Caleb clapped his hands and exclaimed in admiration.