New Image

He opened his eyes.

Above him was no longer the crude roof of a tent, but a reassuring wooden ceiling.

He had slept very comfortably.

Judging by the sunlight outside the window, it was nearly noon already.

Zeliel lay in bed in a daze for a while before slowly sitting up.

A dreamless sleep that had relaxed both body and mind had greatly restored his condition.

His eyes flickered as the panel appeared, its data showing slight changes.

Mistflow Veil's analysis progress had reached 4%.

It could increase by 4% a day... so it would take over twenty days to finish analyzing it. What a grind.

Spell Structure Evolution really needed time to develop. If he had chosen Spell Surge, it would have directly increased his immediate combat power.

His gaze moved downward, and the mysterious Great Creation Art was still at 0%.

Zeliel flopped back onto the bed and began considering what to do today.

Taking on a mission at the Adventurers' Association... there was no need to rush. He still had enough money to live on for a while.

Besides, the original owner's first adventure had been far too reckless. He had brought only a dagger, and his protective gear had been practically nonexistent.

Luckily, the target had only been wild wolves, and Marcus Gray had held off the Mist Demon. Otherwise, something would have probably gone wrong.

He needed to make thorough preparations before his next adventure.

There was also the matter of his mage rating.

Zeliel was eager to explore this world's magical system.

In the original owner's memories, Blackstone Town had a Mages' Guild. However, because of cowardice and inferiority, he had never dared approach it.

Since he had chosen the path of a mage, he would definitely have to deal with that organization in the future.

Perhaps he might even witness some mages casting advanced spells and let Spell Structure Evolution do its work.

"Then... I'll visit the Mages' Guild today and get myself rated while I'm at it," Zeliel muttered as he got out of bed.

After washing up, Zeliel ate another meal of minced salted meat with roasted potatoes before leaving the inn.

His first stop, however, was not the Mages' Guild, but a clothing store.

What Zeliel was wearing now was rather shabby. He was not quite dressed like a vagrant, but not much better either.

The coarse clothes stained with wolf blood and mud made him look wild and unkempt.

That was fine at the Adventurers' Association, where everyone looked like that, but the Mages' Guild would clearly not accept such attire.

Those esteemed mages might just mistake him for a beggar and throw him out.

Standing before a mirror, Zeliel admired his new image.

He had chosen a gray long-sleeved fitted tunic, paired with black linen trousers and soft leather boots that reached halfway up his calves.

Though it was a fairly common outfit, Zeliel's Charisma score of 46 was clearly doing its work.

Years of farm labor had not tanned his face dark or made it rough. His skin remained fair.

His low body fat gave Zeliel a defined jawline and clear facial contours. His black hair and eyes, paired with his gentle features, gave him the handsome air of a beautiful young man.

The person in the mirror looked less like an adventurer and more like a young instructor at an academy.

"Not bad." Zeliel adjusted his collar and smiled softly.

He bought the outfit for five silver coins, leaving him with three gold coins and fifty-three silver coins in savings.

After asking around for directions and taking several turns, Zeliel finally arrived at his destination.

Compared with the Adventurers' Association, the Mages' Guild was undoubtedly far more luxurious and imposing.

It was not a single building, but a large compound made up of several structures, enclosed by walls. At its entrance stood a huge white stone archway.

Even the guards stationed beneath the arch looked more alert and better equipped than those at Blackstone Town's gates.

Zeliel took a deep breath and walked forward.

"Please stop."

The guard raised a hand. "Present your identification."

As usual, Zeliel took out his adventurer's badge.

The guard accepted it and looked it over, confusion in his voice. "You don't have a badge issued by the Mages' Guild?"

"This is my first time at the Mages' Guild. I came today to undergo a mage rating," Zeliel said.

"Please wait."

The guard turned around and searched through the room beside the archway for a while, then brought out a small crystal ball.

At the guard's request, Zeliel placed his palm over the crystal ball.

He channeled a little mana into it, and a glow began to emerge within the slightly cloudy crystal.

So it's a small tool for detecting mana... Zeliel guessed.

"All right, you may enter."

The guard stepped aside and pointed Zeliel in a direction. "The Comprehensive Affairs Office in charge of mage ratings is over there."

"Thank you." Zeliel nodded.

The Mages' Guild was somewhat deserted inside. Looking around, Zeliel saw only a few people passing by sporadically.

That was normal, really. Compared with other professions, mages were few in number to begin with.

If Blackstone Town had not possessed both the Blackstone Vein and Graywood Forest as resources, the Mages' Guild would never have established a branch here. Usually, only city-level settlements qualified for one.

After crossing the lawn, Zeliel arrived at the Comprehensive Affairs Office building indicated by the guard.

Inside was a spacious, brightly lit hall, and the air carried a pleasant scent of books.

The receptionist was an elderly-looking mage with a long white beard, slumped behind the counter and dozing.

"Hello."

Zeliel softly woke him. "I'd like to undergo a mage rating."

The old mage did not even raise his eyelids. He merely pointed toward a bench to the side. "Wait over there for a while."

Following his gesture, Zeliel found that a girl was already sitting there.

She appeared to be around Zeliel's age. She wore a well-tailored light purple mage robe, with beautiful long golden curls draped down her back. An exquisite dark red wand hung at her waist.

The girl seemed to notice the movement. She turned her head slightly, and her gaze met Zeliel's.

Gem-blue eyes... pretty nice.

That was Zeliel's first impression.

Zeliel gave the girl a polite nod, then sat several empty seats away from her.

Perhaps because the wait was rather boring, the girl took the initiative to speak.

"Hey, are you here for a rating too?"

"Yeah." Zeliel nodded.

"My name is Bev Alberti. What about you?" Bev introduced herself with easy confidence.

"Zeliel."

"Zeliel..."

Bev rolled the name around in her mouth, her tone carrying a hint of curiosity. "No family name... so you're not the son of a noble family?"

"That's right. I'm just a commoner."

Zeliel chuckled quietly. "I taught myself magic, so I thought I'd come get rated."