Training

Within a vast complex of buildings atop Number Nine Floating City, there lies a sprawling open space.

Such open spaces are extremely rare in Floating City where every inch of land is crucial.

Because every piece of land Floating City in the sky, whether near the center or on the edge, comes at a cost.

This results in very few empty spaces on the Floating City; no mage would want to see a vacant plot of land.

However, this is the Mage Academy of Number Nine Floating City, the only Mage Academy on Number Nine Floating City. All the people here will undergo a Mental Power test at the appropriate age and then enter this unique Mage Academy to study.

The Mage Academy follows the Alliance's approval process, so it's not just an economic issue. That's why there are some unused vacant lots within the academy.

Despite the lack of buildings or magical facilities, the land was still rented out by mages to generate some economic benefits.

Currently, this open space belongs to the Sword Chant School's headquarters at the Number Nine Floating City Academy. It consists of only a few temporary buildings and mostly rudimentary training grounds.

After all, a mage of the Sword Chant School must know how to use a sword. If they can't even use a sword, what kind of Sword Chant School is that?

Even learning to cast spells with a sword is something that requires practice, so the Sword Chant School needs a large space for training.

Fran took a liking to this spot, and after paying her one silver coin a day, several of her apprentices stopped practicing their swordsmanship and came here to practice with her instead.

Many apprentices almost came to blows over the right to help Fran practice her swordsmanship.

An apprentice, holding a small flying device specially made by Fran, forcefully flung it over Fran's head. The black, paper airplane-like structure stood out conspicuously across the training field.

With her powerful Mental Power, Fran's body keenly detected the faint sound of something cutting through the air. With the combined effect of these two factors, she could sense the location of the small object even with her eyes closed.

She instinctively wanted to jump up because she knew Elven Swordsmanship, and even if a flying target made a 90-degree turn, she could still easily catch it.

But she held back, because what she was going to practice now was the Broken Wing Sword Art, not the Elven Swordsmanship.

Moreover, even if you practice the Elven Swordsmanship Technique for half an hour, you might not get a proficiency boost, because the Elven Swordsmanship Technique isn't even designed to kill these kinds of small birds.

If she really wants to improve her Elven Swordsmanship, the best way is to find a Second Order Profession User and practice sparring with them; that's the fastest way to increase her proficiency.

Although her Panel can help her increase proficiency and improve her Arts mastery, how to increase proficiency is also a problem.

Those methods that are inherently conducive to learning this Arts will increase proficiency even more.

Just like the Broken Wing Sword Art that Fran is currently learning, she practices like this, although in the long run, the training effect will decrease because she gets used to the throwing force of these apprentices.

However, in this Floating City where there are hardly any birds, it is the only efficient training method available.

Fran held a fine iron sword in her right hand, stood on tiptoe, and sensed the trajectory of the object flying towards her. In that instant, she suddenly began to swing her sword.

The sword tip sliced through the air with a whooshing sound, followed by a soft crack.

The black object that was grazed by Fran's sword tip had already been slashed by Fran several times before, but this time it finally couldn't withstand it.

The black object split into three pieces and fell onto the wooden floor next to Fran.

[You successfully executed a sword technique, shattering a flying object that swept overhead into pieces. Broken Wing Sword Art Proficiency +1.]

[Broken Wing Sword Art (Beginner) (4/10): A swordsmanship specifically designed to deal with flying objects. Although there aren't that many flying objects in the world that can be used to counter them, it is still a true swordsmanship.]

Just as the Panel says, this sword technique is actually applied to a very small range of objects, and it is very rare even among flying Magic Creature in most parts of the continent.

The true value of this swordsmanship lies almost entirely in the fact that it is a genuine swordsmanship technique that can be used to meet the requirements for advancement.

Just like a third-tier Sword Saint, many First Order- and second-tier Profession require this sword technique as a condition for advancement; this is the purpose of this sword technique's existence.

On this continent, there are far too many things that create a Arts simply for the sake of creation.

Fran glanced at the scattered black objects on the ground and gestured for an apprentice to pick them up; she would deal with them later when she returned.

As Fran practiced her somewhat clumsy swordsmanship, many eyes noticed the unusual activity.

After all, paying so many apprentices to train with you is no easy feat.

Moreover, the Broken Wing Sword Art Technique that Fran practices is so obscure that everyone would want to take a second look at it.

Why does she practice this kind of swordsmanship?

An apprentice raised a question, glancing at Rosa, the mage from the Sword Chant School who was stationed there.

Rosa rolled her eyes and asked in return:

"Don't you think the swordsmanship she practices has no practical value? This kind of swordsmanship, which is specifically designed to attack flying objects, is completely useless."

The apprentice who had asked the question nodded and continued:

"Master, is a sword technique that can't increase combat power at all really worth practicing?"

Rosa blinked and replied with amusement:

"No, apprentice, sometimes the very act of practicing a new sword technique can benefit a Profession, and this benefit goes beyond just improving combat skills."

"When you become Second Order Mage, you'll understand that while these various sword techniques are useless in combat, learning even one can greatly benefit your advancement."

Rosa paused for a moment, as if remembering something, and then continued:

"However, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with the current apprentices. You're not even Formal Mage yet, so there's no need for you to judge the behavior of a Second Order Mage."

"Go practice diligently and don't take this to heart. You'll be qualified to talk about these things when you become Formal Mage."

"Also, I'll be leaving the academy next month to participate in a long expedition organized by the Alchemy School, which may last at least three months. During that time, I won't be able to instruct you for this year's apprentice assessment."

The apprentice nodded, hesitated for a moment, but still didn't make any move. Just as Rosa was about to ask further questions, the apprentice spoke up.

"Master, I'm here because I heard that a mage is recruiting apprentices for sparring, one silver coin a day, so I'd like to..."

Rosa sighed, knowing that these apprentices, without the support and funding of a mage, were actually facing considerable financial difficulties.

This is due to the Alliance's apprenticeship subsidy policy for the Mage Academy; all apprentices, regardless of region, only receive a subsidy of 5 silver coins per month.

This has led to a uniformity in prices within most Mage Academy, but the situation is different in the Floating City.

Prices in the Floating City are quite high. Just transporting food and clean water to the Floating City incurs costs, which leaves these apprentices struggling to make ends meet.

Fran's daily sparring fee of one silver coin is quite competitive.

Other methods only earn you fifty or sixty copper coins a day, and it's very tiring, while this one silver coin method only requires you to throw things outside and then pick them up.

It's perfectly normal for an apprentice to be interested in such a lucrative job.

"You're too late. I doubt this mage will accept anyone... You can come earlier tomorrow. Just to get her swordsmanship to a decent level, it will take at least half a month of practice."

Rosa sighed and gave the apprentice a reminder, after which the apprentice reluctantly went to practice on the other side.

Rosa then looked in Fran's direction, only to find that Fran had already started packing her things, distributing silver coins to the apprentices who were training with her, and then turned and left.

"He only practiced for two hours. Oh well, maybe the monk had some urgent business."

Fran arrived at the main gate of the Aether Palace, and after walking a short distance to her right, she entered a room called the [Mage Project Recruitment Office].

As soon as she entered, she went straight to the point and asked the monk opposite her.

"There are any large-scale projects recently involving leaving the Floating City, which are expected to take a considerable amount of time."

The monk flipped through the forms in front of him, turned to a page, and then rested his hand on the table as he answered.

"Yes, in about thirty-three days, there will be an Alchemy exchange meeting organized by several Third Order Mage in the Free City-State of Bohan, to hold a meeting with Heavy Silver Hand Alchemists and other organizations."

"It will be at least three months before there are any group flights returning. The exact timeframe depends on the arrangements for those Third Order Mage, and it could potentially be delayed up to a year. Alternatively, you can apply to return on your own."

Fran blinked. The Free City-State of Bohan was not a small, unknown place in the Alliance.

Although it is similar to White Dragon Port in the Northern Territory, with only Third Order Professional stationed there at most, its management is very chaotic due to some geopolitical factors, and other forces find it difficult to extend their reach.

This means that if you are a wanted criminal, it will be very difficult to find you once you escape under an assumed name.

For this reason, many mages in the Alliance would flee to Bohan after committing crimes, and even now, there are still many fugitive mages in Bohan.

Why would Alchemy School organize a trip to such a place? The mage who received them provided an explanation.

"The Bohan region is so big. You've gone to a place with an organized structure, I think it's the territory of those Alchemist."

Fran blinked. She needed a project that would allow her and Philly to get away, and this project in Bohan was just right.

Moreover, she will use a clone technique to handle this matter, so there's no need to inform Iris at all. In any case, after the Gold Alchemy Award, the identity of ' Lai ' will be useless in the Floating City.

Furthermore, she seemed to have heard that one of the sword techniques she had chosen had led to the attainment of Sword Saint status, and that Sword Saint had appeared near Bohan. If possible, she might be able to save some travel time.

"Register my name as ' Lai,' Second Order Mage. Do you have the authority to come along?"

"Can."