Jia Xiu's Professionalism

On the high platform before Saint Delro Academy's square, an elderly mage who looked every bit the grand archmage was announcing the rules for the next round of exams.

"Adventure is a caster's original profession. Solving all kinds of problems through adventure is an essential quality for casters.

"The venue for this round is a simulated city in Phantom World, built around the ruins of the Sun Temple. The city's core functional areas are the Adventurer Association and the Caster Association.

"All examinees must first complete their profession and identity verification at the Caster Association to obtain items and supplies, then accept commissions related to the ruins' dungeon at the Adventurer Association.

"The process of accepting commissions and adventuring will be fully simulated. Choosing commissions suited to yourself and identifying your strengths to select the appropriate direction are also qualities a caster needs.

"To pass this exam, you must earn thirty crowns through commissions in Phantom World within three days.

"Note that during the exam, you will experience pain, hunger, fright, and other sensations. If you cannot endure them, you may choose to withdraw. Likewise, dying or losing the ability to act during dungeon exploration will be considered exam failure, and you will be directly removed from Phantom World.

"Private magical items and personal wealth are prohibited during the exam. You may wear only the clothes provided by the academy. Robbing or stealing the property of other examinees is forbidden. Once a violation is discovered, your exam qualification will be revoked.

"Because Phantom World has a capacity limit, examinees will be divided into three batches according to their numbers. Examinees in the first two batches must sign confidentiality contracts and are forbidden from disclosing related information.

"Before the exam officially begins, all examinees will have one day to enter Phantom World and familiarize themselves with the environment.

"Good luck."

With that, he flashed away.

The examinees in the square immediately broke into noisy discussion, talking over the exam rules or seeking teammates in advance.

A team adventure was bound to be safer than going alone. Lone wolves charging into dungeons were usually professionals and powerful adventurers.

More people meant splitting the money, but that was still better than suddenly dying and being kicked out of the exam.

"Have either of you gone adventuring before?" Jia Xiu asked.

He had been in this world for nearly three years, but aside from catching a few cultists, he had never taken a single commission from the Adventurer Association.

Even catching cultists had only been something he did along the way. Completing commissions had not been his main goal.

It was not that Jia Xiu lacked an adventurous spirit.

Mostly, he had either been learning the language or creating different versions of healing spells, and Creekwood Town did not have any serious commissions anyway.

It was a tourist village. What was there nearby worth exploring?

The available jobs were nothing more than catching wild beasts here or driving off low-level magical creatures there.

During peak tourist season, inns and restaurants would post commissions at the Association to hire temporary workers.

"No." Mia shook her head. "When I was little, I stayed in the settlement growing mushrooms. I was sick every day, and even if I wanted to go adventuring, Grandma wouldn't allow it. Later, I came to the city to ghostwrite papers."

"I've gone adventuring." Ram answered foolishly from the side.

"You have?"

Jia Xiu was a little surprised.

"Yes. When I was little, I ventured into the kitchen to steal roast chicken, then got whipped more than thirty times."

"No, Ram. Adventure doesn't mean adventure in the literal sense."

Jia Xiu rubbed his forehead in frustration.

The pressure suddenly felt enormous.

"Forget it. Let's first see whether we're in the same batch."

A few minutes later, they received bad news.

The three of them had been assigned to three separate batches. Mia was in the first batch, Ram in the second, and Jia Xiu was last.

"It's fine. If it doesn't work out, I can just take the exam again next year." Mia had already given up after seeing the batches. "Since we know each other now, if you want me to ghostwrite for you in the future, I'll give you a twenty percent discount."

"Don't panic. There might still be a way."

Jia Xiu pondered what the true purpose behind this exam setup was.

Saint Delro Academy was not famous for practical combat. Among the renowned mages who had graduated from here, more had gone down in history for contributing to production and daily life through magic than for their combat strength.

Logically, clearing a dangerous dungeon should not be a mandatory requirement for the exam.

Impossible. The purpose of this exam arrangement could not be as simple as it appeared.

Outstanding examinees should be able to discern the examiner's intentions.

The person who designed this exam definitely had a deeper meaning in mind.

Jia Xiu decided to focus on things beyond adventuring.

"Let's make good use of the one day we have to familiarize ourselves with the environment. Mia, write this down. Here are my arrangements."

Jia Xiu spoke seriously. "Once you enter, go to the Adventurer Association and record every type of commission, the corresponding rewards, supply prices, difficulty levels, danger levels, the Association's commission rules, the conditions and details for registering an adventuring party, whether commissions can be posted, and what requirements there are. If you have extra time, find out what other facilities the city has."

"I'm good at that." Mia patted her chest.

"Ram."

"Ram is here."

"You, uh... just wander around the city later. Keep wandering. If anything makes you curious, go take a look. If anything unusual happens, describe it to me afterward."

Jia Xiu intended to make full use of Ram's incredible luck and see if he could trigger some special event.

"Ram understands."

"Good. Then that's the plan. Let's go."

Before long, they arrived at the entrance to Phantom World.

Amid countless runes and magical machinery stood a massive gate over ten meters tall, its surface possessing the texture of liquid.

Since the other examinees were still busy forming teams, not many people had come here. Phantom World had not reached its capacity limit, so they could enter without lining up.

Jia Xiu took the lead.

With the help of an academy volunteer senior, he entered Phantom World.

In an instant, he felt himself melt into darkness stripped of all five senses.

Jia Xiu had heard of Phantom World before. It was an enormous spell developed during the previous war against the demon race.

It had initially been used to simulate real battlefields, allowing new recruits to gain experience as close to actual combat as possible.

After the war ended, the spell was widely promoted. It was used not only for military training, but also for theoretical testing of new spells, as classrooms for noble children, and even purely for entertainment.

After a period of waiting, a sensation of weightlessness struck. The entire world seemed to be falling. Just before Jia Xiu became dizzy enough to vomit, the darkness faded.

A brand-new world unfolded before him.

The city was bathed in warm, sunlike golden radiance, with every building dominated by shades of yellow. In the distance stood a magnificent golden temple. That was likely the theme of this Phantom World: the Sun Temple.

The adventure-filled dungeon should be beneath it.

Jia Xiu saw many examinees who had just entered this world immediately run toward the temple. Most of them wanted to learn the dungeon's details as quickly as possible.

But Jia Xiu had no intention of doing that. He was convinced the focus of this exam was not the dungeon, or at least not only the dungeon.

He decided to strictly follow his own plan.

So Jia Xiu moved against the flow of people and came to the roadside.

Besides examinees, this world also contained quite a few "NPC" characters.

When he entered, Jia Xiu had already sensed that this world was somewhat like the dream-entering item he had used before, except it was a super pro plus max version.

In other words, it was somewhat close to his old profession.

Games.

As everyone knew, no matter how carefully and diligently something was developed, there would always be bugs.

Jia Xiu suspected that besides testing practical adventuring ability, the academy also wanted to examine the candidates' grasp of magical details—whether anyone could keenly spot the flaws in this world and use them to pass the exam.

Finding problems and learning to adapt were also qualities of a caster.

Before looking for bugs, Jia Xiu needed to test the degree of freedom.

He walked up to an NPC by the roadside.

Then raised his hand and threw a punch.

"Ah—" The other person clutched his face and fell to the ground. "Someone! Help!"

Watching this reaction, Jia Xiu nodded. It was surprisingly realistic.

The instant the man called for help, a squad of guards suddenly appeared.

They were so fast, it was practically like they had spawned in.

"I've got you, you thug from out of town!"

"Wait, let me explain." Jia Xiu raised both hands. "I'm actually carrying out a secret mission..."