Residence

Charles followed the servant into an alley behind the side of the square.

Charles asked, "Where are you taking me?"

The servant had kept his back bent. Only upon hearing the question did he reply, "My lord, after new apprentices arrive at Isata, they are given a free room to live in for their first two years."

"I am taking you there now."

Charles looked at the surrounding towers and asked, "Will I be living in a tower like these too?"

The servant shook his head repeatedly. "Towers like these require Magic Stones. The one assigned to you is like this..."

As he spoke, the servant stopped walking.

Ahead, beneath the shadows of the towers, stood a cluster of low buildings.

The contrast between this place and the towers was as stark as the contrast between office buildings in a city's CBD and the urban villages not far away.

It was even more stark, because urban villages would not have their sunlight blocked by the shadows of office buildings.

Charles's suspended heart finally died.

Upon entering the low building complex, he found the surroundings far from pleasant.

Along the way, he saw quite a few people with slightly numb expressions, as well as some newcomers who, like Charles, had only just arrived.

The difference between the two could be easily seen from their expressions.

The older residents looked exhausted, as though they had lost all desire for life.

The newcomers, meanwhile, were full of longing for the future.

The servant led Charles into a four-story building. After going up to the third floor, he pointed at a row of rooms and said, "You may live in any vacant room here."

"I'll be going down first."

Charles took a quick look around and chose a relatively tidy room to settle into.

The layouts of the rooms were all basically the same. The windows were so narrow they might as well not have existed.

The room also carried a damp, moldy smell.

Charles sighed. "This room is even worse than the urban village room I rented in my previous life!"

"Fuck!"

After setting down his luggage and doing some basic cleaning, Charles changed into the gray robe of a wizard apprentice.

He sat on the bed and began reading the Newcomer Guidelines.

Compared to the dynasty Charles had lived in, Isata's productive capacity was undoubtedly more advanced.

These Newcomer Guidelines had all been printed on paper.

The booklet was at least thirty pages long, packed densely with all sorts of information.

A sentence was written on the title page:

Knowledge is power, resources are everything!

Charles lingered over those words for a moment before seriously reading onward, drawing from it the key factors for surviving in Isata.

After spending more than two hours, Charles finished reading the entire booklet.

Aside from the various rules and regulations, only a few points truly mattered.

Someone like Charles, who had become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice while still aboard the sea vessel, would only be considered a true apprentice after arriving in Isata.

The others did not even count as apprentices.

They had only half a year. If they still could not become apprentices within that half-year, they would become servants.

Servants in Isata basically had no human rights. Even killing a servant would not bring severe punishment, at most a fine of a few Magic Stones.

Only by becoming a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice could one escape the status of servant.

The servant who had just led Charles here looked rather old. He might have been a newcomer once, only to have never become a wizard apprentice.

In Isata, Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices were also at the very bottom of society.

There were no so-called newcomer benefits for studying in Isata. Everything here cost money: studying required tuition, and living required living expenses.

The only free classes in Isata were the lectures held once every ten days, when many wizards taught knowledge in large classrooms.

There were quite a few such large classrooms in Isata. The booklet contained a simple map with their locations marked.

Other than that, every other course required payment.

The cheaper ones cost one Magic Stone and allowed one to attend several lessons.

The expensive courses could require dozens, or even hundreds, of Magic Stones.

Food also cost money. There were cafeterias nearby, but one had to pay a monthly fee before being allowed to eat there.

Other currencies were useless here. Only Magic Stones held spending value.

Everything in Isata consumed Magic Stones. Without them, one would probably starve to death here.

Even lodging was the same.

Newcomers could stay for free during their first two years, but once those two years were up, they would have to spend money to rent or buy a home.

Setting down the booklet in his hand, Charles let out a long sigh. "Living in Isata is no easy thing!"

Charles counted the Magic Stones in his possession. He only had twenty-one now.

With that number of Magic Stones, he belonged to the utterly impoverished class in Isata.

Everything here cost money. Attending classes cost money, buying new wizardry cost money.

Learning a new Meditation Technique also cost money.

The sky had already darkened. Charles ate some dry rations and went to sleep.

After waking, Charles began considering the issues of cultivation and survival in Isata.

There were countless residential areas like the one Charles lived in throughout Isata, and the newcomers were relatively scattered.

Isata had probably arranged things this way deliberately.

He had no way of finding Molly now. Otherwise, if the two of them were together, they could at least look out for each other.

There were several urgent matters at hand.

Theoretically, the most important was acquiring a new Meditation Technique.

From Wood's cultivation notes, Charles had learned that the Basic Meditation Technique had the worst cultivation efficiency. If he could change it, he should do so sooner rather than later.

Charles had bought Wood's cultivation notes from Wu Duo Duo Mall, thereby obtaining Wood's current Meditation Technique as well.

That could save him some Magic Stones.

But Charles had not dared to change it aboard the ship, for fear that someone would notice.

Now that he had arrived in Isata, he could consider switching.

There was no rush, though. He would wait a few days, adapt to the surroundings, and learn more about the situation first.

Second, he needed to find a means of making a living.

Otherwise, there would be no point even thinking about further studies. Survival itself would become a problem.

Only after that would come serious study and cultivation.

Over the next few days, Charles wore his gray wizard robe and wandered back and forth through crowded places such as the small square and the cafeteria.

He deliberately dirtied his wizard robe, doing his best to keep others from realizing he was a newcomer.

In this way, he listened to the discussions of others in crowded areas and gradually deepened his understanding of Isata.

On the fifth day after arriving in Isata, Charles finally attended his first free class.

Inside a massive tower, classroom after classroom was packed to the brim.

Charles had even arrived a little late and could only sit far back in the rear row.

After waiting for a long time, a wizard wearing a black robe entered the classroom.

The previously noisy classroom fell silent as the wizard arrived.

The wizard looked over the packed room of students and said, "I do not like having this many people in my classroom!"

"Everyone standing, get the hell out!"

"Ah!"

Some cried out in alarm, while others had already turned and run, not daring to remain in the classroom any longer.

Charles stroked the chair beneath him and could not help feeling fortunate!