Sally Struck Gold

Chris looked at Leo enviously and said, "With the points from Arcane Hand added in, a year's tuition is within reach. That's way too enviable!"

Molly, too, looked at Leo with envy written all over her face.

Everyone present aside from Leo, Sally included, was deeply shocked by this.

Leo's rate of spiritual power cultivation had completely exceeded Sally's expectations, making her think of one possibility.

Sally said, "Danville, if you have enough Magic Stones, you can try undergoing a second appraisal of your spiritual power talent."

"Some wizard seedlings experience a major increase in their spiritual power talent shortly after coming into contact with a meditation method. I think you may very well possess this kind of talent."

"Higher spiritual power talent also means you'll receive better treatment and greater recognition. You'll also obtain higher assessment scores."

"Understood, Wizard Sally." Leo nodded. He had not expected such an exception to exist in the wizarding world. Still, this was good. He would no longer need to hide the fact that his spiritual power was increasing far faster than his tested talent suggested.

Leo asked curiously, "Wizard Sally, how many Magic Stones are needed for a second appraisal of spiritual power talent?"

"One thousand Magic Stones."

Hearing Sally name that price, Leo could not help frowning.

He had not expected the second appraisal to require so many Magic Stones.

That was equivalent to ten years of tuition.

Seeing Leo's expression, Sally knew what he was thinking and reminded him, "Danville, although one thousand Magic Stones is a considerable expense, having higher spiritual power talent means you'll receive higher scores during the assessment. It will be more than enough to make up for it, and then some."

"When you become a graduate student, teaching assistant, or even an instructor in the future, higher spiritual power talent will always be beneficial."

Hearing that, Leo said, "I understand, Wizard Sally."

Sally swept her gaze over the three of them and felt somewhat emotional.

Although only five people had been recruited this term, and two had run away, of the remaining three, one could enter the top ten, one could enter the top hundred, and although Molly's ranking was not high, considering her Level 2 spiritual power talent, it was not at the bottom either. It was fairly respectable.

Leo in particular would have ranked among the best even compared to past classes.

Sally had originally thought her teaching assistant performance this term was going to lose a huge number of points.

Yet Leo had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

That made Sally look at Leo with a hint of delight in her eyes. These were all part of her teaching assistant performance.

Sally said, "Danville, Chris, Molly, when you first begin practicing the Intermediate Meditation Method, your spiritual energy will improve quite noticeably. As time passes, however, the cultivation speed of the Intermediate Meditation Method will gradually decrease. Do not become arrogant because of your current results, nor lose heart because of them. Maintain a persevering attitude."

Sally first said a few formal words before continuing, "Next is the Arcane Hand test."

"Danville... Chris, you go first."

Sally had originally intended to let Leo go first, but after considering Leo's talent in spell construction, she changed her mind and decided to have Chris go first.

She was worried that if Leo went first, he might affect the performance of Chris and Molly.

Chris stepped forward and began displaying his Arcane Hand.

Compared to the first day, Chris's harpoon had already begun to take shape.

It was no longer limp and floppy.

"Chris, 20 points."

Chris shrugged.

He had to admit that his talent in spell construction was ordinary.

"Next, Molly."

Molly extended both hands, and a blue-white gemstone appeared in her palms.

Compared with Chris, Molly's Arcane Hand was already quite complete.

"Molly, 25 points."

Molly let out a breath of relief.

With no talent in spiritual power aptitude, if she wanted to become a wizard, she could only seek scholarships through other avenues.

"Lastly, Leo."

Sally, Chris, Molly... even Tesla, who had been sitting to one side and showing no interest in this sort of test, turned to look at Leo.

Under everyone's gaze, Leo began the test.

A longsword emerged in Leo's hand.

Compared to before, this was no longer a plain, monotonous longsword. Special runes covered it, and its shape possessed a unique construction as well.

Soon after, Leo's test result appeared on the crystal ball.

"Leo Danville, 40 points."

Leo's gaze shifted slightly.

Forty points for Arcane Hand and seventy points for spiritual energy—enough to cover a year's tuition, with some left over.

Chris's eyes widened.

Molly's little mouth fell open.

Tesla raised a brow.

Sally lost her composure even more, slapping the table as she exclaimed excitedly, "Good!"

Forty points was even higher than Sally had expected.

Even among newly advanced wizard apprentices, not many could surpass Leo in casting Arcane Hand.

Chris asked curiously, "Wizard Molly, what level would Leo's test be at in the rankings?"

Sally said, "If it were placed among previous classes, this level should rank in the top five."

A scholarship of forty Magic Stones!

Top-five level!

Even Leo could not help becoming excited.

"The rankings are out," Wizard Sally said.

Immediately afterward, the crystal ball began displaying the rankings for Leo and the other two in this test.

"Chris, Arcane Hand spell ranking: 921."

Chris said, "That's so low."

"Molly, Arcane Hand spell ranking: 78."

Seeing this ranking, Molly became extremely excited.

She had not expected to make it into the top hundred.

"Danville, Arcane Hand spell ranking: 3."

Just as Sally had judged, Leo had made it into the top five.

And he was third!

Sally's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly she was overjoyed. She steadied herself and said, "You all did quite well with Arcane Hand. Keep up the good work from here on."

"Of course, being able to achieve these results is already very good."

"During the early Comprehensive Assessment, mastery of Arcane Hand is rated only below spiritual energy improvement and spiritual power talent, because it concerns the construction of spell models."

Hearing Sally say this, a smile also appeared on Molly's face.

Chris shrugged, looking unconcerned.

Leo's expression remained unchanged, calm and natural.

After her excitement faded, Sally had adjusted her emotions as well.

The road of a wizard was long. A temporary advantage could not prove anything.

Sally said, "The two-week Arcane Hand course has now concluded. You have also grasped the basics of spell models. After completing one more course, you will be able to participate in laboratory work."

"That course is the selection of a discipline."

At that, Sally glanced at Chris and said, "Chris, by now, you must feel certain that you can obtain those one hundred Magic Stones in tuition, right?"

Chris replied awkwardly, "Wizard Sally, I wasn't thinking that."

"Molly." Sally turned to the other girl. "You must also be worrying about whether you can obtain the one-hundred-Magic-Stone scholarship, right?"

Molly nodded like a chicken pecking at grain.

Sally said, "In fact, so that wizard seedlings who have only just begun studying can have the motivation to keep going, the scholarship requirements before entering the laboratory are much more lenient."

"Once you enter the laboratory, however, the difficulty of obtaining scholarships will rise sharply."

"Most wizard seedlings receive Comprehensive Assessment scores of around 10 to 50 points in the laboratory."

"Among wizard seedlings like Danville, whose rankings enter the top ten, there are countless students from past classes who only received around 20 points."

Chris and Molly's eyes widened. They had not expected that even Leo could only receive twenty points in such a setting.

For a moment, they realized that the scoring standards for the first month's Comprehensive Assessment did not seem so difficult after all.

Leo also raised his brow slightly.

He had not expected obtaining Magic Stones to be so difficult.

"And most wizard seedlings can generally obtain only around 5 to 10 comprehensive points from the laboratory each month."

"Therefore, although you have now achieved some fairly good results, this is only the beginning... The assessment scores in the laboratory ahead will be far more perilous."

Seeing the serious expressions on all three of their faces, Sally nodded to herself.

Then Sally took out a sheet of white paper and spread it open.

It was blank.

However, Sally lightly tapped it with her fingertip, and words began appearing on the paper.

"This records the disciplines with research projects at our Tower of Dawn. Choose one from among them. I can give you two suggestions for your direction of choice. One is based on your interests, and the other is based on the popularity of the discipline."