Mages Association (2)

Registration with the Mages Association was free, and after registering, one received a monthly stipend based on rank. However, equipment and spellbooks purchased through the association had to be paid for. Green had learned all this from Doctor Wilkins. Though it was common knowledge, it was very useful to Green.

However, Green had little savings. An apprentice butler's wages were meager, so he had come to borrow twenty gold pounds from Vincent, intending to buy a staff that could boost casting speed after registering.

The Mages Association's office stood beside City Hall, a circular tower built of white marble, more than twenty stories tall.

By the time Green arrived at the Mages Association by carriage, it was already afternoon. The first-floor hall was quiet and deserted. Two young women in charge of reception were chatting when they saw Green enter, and both looked slightly surprised. Mages were few to begin with, and most business was handled in the morning; it was rare for anyone to come in the afternoon. Neither dared neglect him. They immediately went over, bowed, and asked what he needed.

Green directly stated his purpose and produced the letter of recommendation written by Doctor Wilkins.

Doctor Wilkins was an old hand at Landon City's Mages Association, with extensive connections and considerable standing. This letter of recommendation saved Green a great deal of tedious procedure.

Sure enough, when the two receptionists saw the signature on the letter, they became noticeably more respectful. They invited Green inside, had him fill out a mountain of forms, then sent them upstairs for stamp after stamp. After a full hour, they finally handed Green a little blue booklet.

Afterward, Green spent thirteen gold pounds to buy a magic staff within the association.

The staff was made of laurel wood. It was over half a meter long and weighed two jin and seven liang. Its entire length was inscribed with intricate runes. It could slightly increase casting speed and store one defensive spell below the third circle.

As far as Green was concerned, the staff's performance was merely passable. He did not yet know a single defensive spell, so its ability to store one was useless to him. He had bought it for two reasons: it was cheap, and it accelerated casting. Of those two, the first was the more important. Thirteen gold pounds was practically the cheapest price for a magic staff in the entire Mages Association.

Finally came the combat power test Green had long been looking forward to.

After becoming a registered mage, one could voluntarily undergo a combat power test.

After transmigrating, Green had become a Novice Necromancer Apprentice and learned two spells in total: [Soul Summoning] and [Bone Spikes]. Under normal circumstances, learning and proficiently using four first-circle spells was enough to advance to Intermediate Magic Apprentice. Green naturally could not advance to Intermediate Apprentice, but because of the Graveyard, he differed from ordinary people. The Skeleton Soldiers generated in the Graveyard were visibly far more elite than those summoned through ordinary [Soul Summoning], but Green had no idea how much combat power they possessed in a real fight. Thus, he was also looking forward to the combat power test.

The entire fifth floor of the Mages Association was a testing ground, where magic was used to simulate all kinds of randomly triggered battle scenarios.

Following the receptionist, Green listened carefully to her explanation, gained a thorough understanding of the process, signed a liability waiver, and finally stepped through the entrance to the testing grounds.

"Combat power test, first act, third scenario: wilderness forest terrain; combat level, Junior Apprentice..."

The moment Green stepped through the testing ground entrance, a completely flat voice sounded beside his ear. Then the light and shadows before his eyes swayed. The surroundings dimmed, a mournful wind howled, and waves of chill washed over him. After taking another two steps, trees appeared around him, and Green found himself in a dense forest on a winter night.

Such an enormous magic array can actually simulate such a vast and realistic holographic scene. Magic truly holds limitless possibilities. Even before I transmigrated, with Earth's advanced technology, nothing similar could be created even in the twenty-first century. Green marveled inwardly as he heightened his vigilance, tightened his grip on the staff, and without hesitation cast Soul Summoning first, calling a Skeleton Soldier from the Graveyard to stand guard in front of him.

For a Necromancer, when trouble arose, tossing a minion out front first without asking questions was standard practice.

With a tall Skeleton Soldier blocking the way ahead, Green felt slightly more at ease. Looking into the distance, all he saw was pitch-black darkness and the faint undulation of mountains. Gusts of sinister wind brushed past his ears. Even knowing that this was merely a simulated testing ground, he could not stop a cold, eerie feeling from rising in his heart.

The forest in the scenario was extremely dense, and because it was nighttime, visibility was limited. Everywhere he looked was blackness, with only an indicator lamp glowing at the entrance behind him.

Green raised his staff, and a beam of white light immediately shone from the gem set at its tip. Like a flashlight, it illuminated the area ahead, creating a fan-shaped field of vision.

The staff came with a Light Spell attached. That was standard equipment for every magic staff.

Green held up the staff and walked forward, while the Skeleton Soldier ahead held its sword and shield, remaining on guard.

After walking more than ten meters, the trees around him grew somewhat sparse. Green faintly heard a rustling sound from the front left, as though something was walking through the grass and scraping against the turf.

He immediately stopped and looked in that direction, raising his staff across his chest, ready to cast Bone Spikes at any moment.

Green's only combat experience came from playing games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Honor of Kings before transmigrating. Though he had prepared himself, facing the real thing still made his heart pound wildly. His nerves tightened, and he held his breath. But he could not maintain that state forever. About half a minute later, he could no longer hold it in. Just as he let out a slight breath, a black shadow suddenly lunged at him from another side.

"Not good—making a feint in the east and attacking in the west!"

Green cried inwardly. Forgetting all about a mage's dignity, he rolled across the ground like a lazy donkey to evade the shadow's pounce. At the same time, he swung his staff and unleashed Bone Spikes. In the next instant, bang bang bang bang, a series of rock spikes over a meter long burst rapidly from the ground where he had just been standing.

The black shadow was struck by the spikes and let out a muffled growl. Its speed immediately faltered, revealing its true form: a green-skinned monster covered in fangs and claws.

Green had never seen such a monster before. Judging by its appearance, it resembled a troll from World of Warcraft, but Green knew full well that it was no troll. It was a construct puppet simulated by the Mages Association.

At the same time, the clash of metal rang out from the front left. Green's Skeleton Soldier had engaged another green-skinned monster in close combat. The Skeleton Soldier moved with astonishing agility and possessed powerful battle instincts. When it spotted the enemy pouncing, it first blocked with its round shield, then slashed with its sword. In a single exchange, it severed the green-skinned monster's reaching arm at the root. It followed up with a kick—bang!—sending the enemy flying, then chased after it and swung another sword strike at its neck.

"So strong!"

Even Green was startled by the Skeleton Soldier's ferocity. Its combat power far exceeded his expectations, roughly equivalent to that of a Junior Apprentice Knight.

Green's heart settled completely. He had originally worried that the Skeleton Soldiers from the Graveyard were silver-speared wax heads—impressive-looking but useless—but it seemed he had worried for nothing. This Skeleton Soldier was absurdly strong. Seeing how things stood, he did not rush to summon a second Skeleton Soldier. It was only a test; there was no need to go all out and flaunt every trump card he possessed.

Green quickly retreated to one side and mentally ordered the Skeleton Soldier to attack the other green-skinned monster.

The Skeleton Soldier raised its shield and charged forward, smashing into the green-skinned monster like a galloping horse with another muffled bang. Beneath the round shield, its shortsword shot out like a venomous snake, instantly piercing straight through the monster's lower abdomen. Then, with another bang, a cloud of white smoke burst forth, and the slain green-skinned monster directly transformed into a beast-shaped puppet made of wood and iron sheets.

The battle was over in less than a minute.

Green was fairly satisfied with the result. The Skeleton Soldiers produced by the Graveyard possessed formidable combat power.

The Mages Association's combat power test was no child's play. Usually, a Junior Apprentice Knight or Junior Apprentice who could hold out for five minutes against the siege of two construct puppets was considered qualified. Lasting ten minutes was considered excellent. But someone like Green, who directly turned the tables and killed them instead, had appeared only twice in the past decade or so.

After the battle ended, the surrounding scenery vanished, revealing a circular field more than twenty meters in diameter.

The receptionist accompanying Green stood dumbfounded at the entrance through which he had entered. Only when she noticed Green looking at her did she come back to her senses. She hurried over, her attitude even more respectful than before.