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 also looked at Leo with envy written all over her face.

Everyone present, including Sally, was shocked—everyone except Leo.

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 have this kind of talent."

"A higher spiritual power talent also means you will receive better treatment and greater recognition. You will also earn higher assessment scores."

"All right, Wizard Sally." Leo nodded. He had not expected there to be such exceptions in the Wizard world. But this was good too; he would no longer need to hide the fact that his spiritual power was improving 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 the price Sally named, 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 great expense, having a higher spiritual power talent will earn you higher scores during the assessment—enough to make up for it and more."

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

"I understand, Wizard Sally," Leo said.

Sally glanced at the three of them, feeling somewhat emotional inside.

Although they had only recruited five people this year and two had run away, of the remaining three, one could place in the top ten, another in the top hundred, and while Molly's ranking was not high, considering her Level 2 spiritual power talent, it was not at the bottom either. It was fairly average.

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

Sally had originally thought that her teaching assistant performance rating would lose a massive number of points this year.

Yet Leo had 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 rating.

Sally said, "Danville, Chris, Molly, when you first begin practicing the Intermediate Meditation Method, your spiritual energy will increase quite noticeably. As time passes, the cultivation speed of the Intermediate Meditation Method will gradually decline. Do not become arrogant because of your current results, nor should you be discouraged by them. Keep persevering."

After offering some conventional encouragement, Sally finally said, "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 for spell construction, she changed her mind and decided to have Chris go first.

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

Chris stepped forward and began displaying his Arcane Hand.

Compared with 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 average.

"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 sigh of relief.

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

"Last is Leo."

Sally, Chris, Molly... even Tesla, who was sitting to one side and had seemed indifferent to this test, now looked toward Leo.

Under everyone's gaze, Leo began the test.

A longsword appeared in Leo's hand.

Compared with before, the sword was no longer a plain longsword. It bore special runes and possessed a unique structure.

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 for a year's tuition, with some left over.

Chris's eyes widened.

Molly's small mouth fell open.

Tesla raised an eyebrow.

Sally was even more carried away. She slapped the table and exclaimed excitedly, "Good!"

Forty points was even higher than Sally had expected.

Even among newly advanced Wizard apprentices, few could surpass Leo in casting Arcane Hand.

Chris asked curiously, "Wizard Sally, what level would Leo's score rank at?"

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

A scholarship worth forty Magic Stones!

A top-five ranking!

Even Leo could not help feeling excited.

"The rankings are out," Wizard Sally said.

Then, the crystal ball began displaying the rankings of Leo and the other two for this test.

"Chris, Arcane Hand spell ranking: 921."

"That's so low," Chris said.

"Molly, Arcane Hand spell ranking: 78."

Seeing this ranking, Molly looked 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 entered the top five.

And he was third!

Sally's expression did not change, but inwardly she was overjoyed. Keeping herself composed, she said, "You have all done well with Arcane Hand. Keep up the good work."

"Of course, these results are already very impressive."

"In the early-stage Comprehensive Assessment, mastery of Arcane Hand is tied to spell model construction, so its score is second only to spiritual energy improvement and spiritual power talent."

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

Chris shrugged, looking unconcerned.

Leo's expression remained unchanged and natural.

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

The path of a Wizard was long. A temporary advantage did not prove anything.

Sally said, "The two-week Arcane Hand course has now concluded. You have also mastered the basics of spell models. Once you complete one more course, you can participate in the research lab's work."

"That course is choosing a discipline."

At this point, Sally glanced at Chris and said, "Chris, by now, you must feel certain that you can obtain those 100 Magic Stones in tuition, right?"

Chris said awkwardly, "Wizard Sally, I never thought that."

"Molly." Sally looked at the other girl. "You must also be worried about whether you can obtain the 100-Magic-Stone scholarship, right?"

Molly nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.

Sally said, "In fact, to help Wizard Seedlings who have just begun studying maintain the motivation to continue, scholarship requirements before entering the research lab are much more lenient."

"After entering the research lab, however, the difficulty of obtaining scholarships rises dramatically."

"Most Wizard Seedlings receive Comprehensive Assessment scores of around 10 to 50 points in the research lab."

"Among Wizard Seedlings like Danville, who rank in the top ten, there have been plenty in previous classes who only received around 20 points."

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

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 an eyebrow 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 Assessment points from the research lab each month."

"Therefore, although you have achieved some fairly good results now, this is only the beginning... The upcoming research lab assessment scores will be far harsher."

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

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

It was blank.

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

"This lists the disciplines with research projects at our Tower of Dawn. Choose one from among them. I can give you two suggestions for choosing: one is based on your own interests, and the other is based on the discipline's popularity."