I'm a Genius!

When he arrived at an alley, a little beggar who had been waiting for a long time quickly handed him a package.

Inside was a hooded robe that covered his entire body. Lynn swiftly put it on and left the alley.

He pulled his hood tight and quickly threaded through the crowd, his heart pounding wildly with nerves.

The journey was uneventful, and One-Eyed Wolf wasn't as clever as he'd imagined.

Still... it was always better to be cautious.

By the time he reached the City Lord's Residence, only a few people were still lined up at the entrance.

Quite a few older people stood nearby, craning their necks toward the gates and waiting for their children to emerge.

Like parents waiting outside an examination hall, cheering their children on.

Lynn suppressed his rapid breathing and followed the queued youths inside.

"The testing fee is one gold coin."

A guard stopped him expressionlessly.

Lynn silently took a gold coin from his clothes and handed it over.

After accepting it and weighing it in his hand, the guard gestured for him to submit to an inspection.

Another guard stepped forward. His rough hands patted and searched Lynn's body, quickly finding a poisoned dagger tucked into the lining of his robe.

Lynn had specifically prepared this weapon after the previous assassination attempt, but he hadn't had a chance to use it yet.

"You can't bring this in." The guard confiscated the dagger and gave Lynn a sharp look.

"Behave yourself once you're inside!"

Lynn's heart tightened at the guard's warning, but his expression remained unchanged. He merely nodded.

That was careless. Fortunately, they hadn't revoked his eligibility for the test.

Losing his weapon left him uneasy, but he couldn't worry about that now.

The test came first!

The moment he stepped into the main hall of the City Lord's Residence, the atmosphere changed abruptly.

The Lord of Black Marsh City, who should have been high above everyone else, was currently standing beside someone in an ordinary black hooded robe, wearing an almost fawning smile.

The Grand Knight, reputed to be Black Marsh City's strongest fighter, stood respectfully behind the black-robed man with his hands lowered, like an attendant.

Clearly, the black-robed man was the star of this occasion—the legendary Wizard.

It seemed even a Grand Knight was nothing before a Wizard.

Lynn's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the black-robed man.

He too wore a hooded robe, but beneath his hood was not a human face. Instead, there was a mass of thick black mist that constantly churned, making his features impossible to see.

After staring for only a moment, Lynn felt dizzy, as though his soul were about to be sucked into that darkness.

He hurriedly looked away, his heart filled with shock. So this was a Wizard?

Just looking at him for a few moments had affected him. How terrifyingly powerful would he be if he actually fought?

In another corner of the hall stood five well-dressed young men and women.

Their faces held unconcealable excitement and superiority as they commented on the youths being tested. They were presumably the lucky ones who had passed over the past two days.

There weren't many people in line, and the testing proceeded quickly.

The process was simple. The test subject placed a hand on a crystal ball, and the black-robed Wizard would emotionlessly announce the result in a hoarse voice:

"No affinity tendency. Mental Power: 6. Unqualified."

"Inferior Water Affinity Talent. Mental Power: 5. Unqualified."

"No talent. Mental Power: 7. Unqualified..."

One hopeful youth after another stepped forward, only to retreat moments later with faces ashen. The pass rate was absurdly low.

Sweat began to form in Lynn's palms as well.

This thing depended entirely on talent. Before being tested, no one knew what the result would be.

"Next."

The icy voice rang out. It was his turn.

Lynn took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, then strode forward.

He could feel the gazes of the failures behind him, as well as the scrutinizing and faintly disdainful looks of the five Apprentices beside the black-robed Wizard.

Pushing down all his thoughts, Lynn slammed his slightly trembling right hand onto the cold crystal ball.

Bzzzz—!

The instant his palm touched it, the crystal ball suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, dazzling radiance, illuminating the entire hall as brightly as day!

Everyone's eyes were temporarily blinded by the intense light.

Only after several seconds did the light slowly fade.

Lynn looked at the crystal ball after its radiance subsided and saw a translucent soul body inside, identical to his own appearance.

A dense earthy-yellow halo also surrounded the soul body.

"What?!"

The arrogance on the faces of the five Apprentices who had passed the test instantly shattered, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

What was going on?

There hadn't been such a huge reaction when they were tested!

"Hm?!!"

The black mist beneath the black-robed Wizard's hood churned violently, revealing his inner turmoil.

He stepped forward and carefully examined the strange sight within the crystal ball, a hint of delight in his voice.

"Hahaha... good! Very good! Mental Power: 17! Superior Soul Affinity Talent!"

"Oh? You even have a moderate Earth Affinity Talent."

Then his gaze settled on Lynn. He looked him up and down as though admiring a precious treasure. "Child, what is your name?"

"Lynn, sir."

Lynn suppressed the wild joy in his heart and answered respectfully.

17 points of Mental Power!

Superior Soul Affinity Talent!

I'm fucking amazing!

He wondered whether this body's innate talent had always been exceptional, or whether it was the result of two lifetimes' souls overlapping!

"Very good, Lynn. Go stand over there."

The Wizard pointed toward the five Apprentices, his tone exceptionally gentle.

He hadn't held much hope for this city to begin with. Even after lowering the Mental Power qualification standard, he had only recruited five Apprentices with ordinary talent.

Yet today had brought an unexpected delight: he had unearthed a genius!

More importantly, Lynn's affinity tendencies were exceptionally suited to his Withered Bone Spire Academy!

This was very important. This recruitment drive was an "out-of-bounds" operation by his Academy, so they couldn't conduct "student exchanges" with other Academies.

There was no helping it. Who could blame the Academy's Apprentices for having such a high mortality rate?

Those old fogeys in the Academy had no idea how to conserve "materials." The Apprentices they recruited simply weren't enough for them to squander.

The Admissions Conference, held once every five years, was jointly organized by several Academies, which assigned Apprentices based on their tested talents.

After all, every Academy had different focuses and research directions.

This allowed them to teach according to aptitude, ensuring that the Apprentices' talents weren't wasted and letting them go further.

But this time, Bone Spire had not informed the other Academies about its recruitment drive and had secretly conducted it in only certain cities.

While this allowed it to monopolize all Apprentices, very few of them had talents suited to Bone Spire.

Lynn's Superior Soul Affinity Talent, however, was exceptionally suited to further study at Bone Spire.

After all, the Academy's core research direction was the Undead Path, and the most suitable affinities were Soul, Death, and Mental Power.

Moreover, Lynn's Mental Power was exceptionally high, making him a perfect candidate for cultivating the Undead Path!

As for his moderate Earth Affinity Talent, it wasn't weak either, but compared to his other two major advantages, it seemed rather ordinary.

Such ordinary elemental talents were common. If Lynn wanted to study them, he could also find corresponding "teachers" at the Academy.