The good news Swein brought

After a week of agonizing uncertainty, the day finally came.

With graduation season underway, reviews and admissions were proceeding in tandem. Once the deadline arrived, good news began trickling through Falando Academy: graduates were being recruited by major Mage Towers and successfully gaining Apprentice Mage status.

Roland, meanwhile, had already taken a temporary job at a restaurant near Falando Academy.

This was no place for the common masses to dine, but compared with the ivory tower, it was undeniably steeped in vulgar commercialism and grime.

When Atali and Cynthia finally tracked him down, Roland had hung his usual apprentice robe by the door and changed into a coarse cloth shirt. He was washing dishes in the back kitchen, his movements somewhat clumsy.

Whether it was sweat or dishwater, something had soaked the front of his shirt.

"Roland, what are you doing here?"

Atali and Cynthia called out with concern, frowning as they looked around.

Filth surrounded them. The air reeked of cooking fumes, grease, and scraps of food, while dirty water flowed across the floor.

Bowls, plates, and cutlery formed a towering mound on the large table. Atali even spotted cockroaches crawling through the gaps, making her frown.

"What else? I'm earning a little extra money. If I really do have to leave without graduating, at least I'll have enough for the trip home."

Roland wiped his hands and paused, putting on a casual air.

"I always thought all that studying had addled your brain, but you're surprisingly clearheaded," Cynthia said. "We were afraid you'd give up on yourself, or even do something stupid in a moment of despair."

"Cynthia!" Atali tugged reproachfully at her hem, then said earnestly to Roland, "Roland, you're still a Tenth Grade apprentice student at Falando Academy. You don't have to do this."

"A Tenth Grade apprentice student?" Roland said thoughtfully. "That's a ladder we can't climb down from, a robe we can't take off.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but right now, the jingle of silver coins sounds far sweeter to me than any magic incantation."

Atali wrung her fingers helplessly, then suddenly turned and left.

"Huh? Atali, where are you going?" Cynthia hurried after her, but still turned back to brandish her Mage Staff at Roland. "You're absolutely infuriating! Hey, Atali, wait for me!"

Roland shook his head, smiled wryly, and went back to washing dishes.

Then, unexpectedly, someone else pushed the door open and came in.

Roland looked up, momentarily taken aback.

"Boss, what brings you here?"

"Roland, a mage wishes to see you. Hurry and change your clothes," the restaurant owner said solemnly.

Puzzled, Roland stood up. Before he could finish drying his hands, however, a refined-looking mage entered, dressed in an ornate mage's robe and gold-rimmed glasses, with a Mage Staff fashioned like a gentleman's walking stick in his hand.

With a soft thunk, the staff's gold-sheathed tip touched the stone floor awash in dirty water. The sight alone was enough to make anyone wince.

The mage paid it no mind. He nodded slightly to Roland and smiled.

"Atali... whew... whew... honestly, why did you run back to the dorm without saying a word?"

"Cynthia, why did you follow me? Let's go back."

"Back... back where?"

"To Roland, of course. I only came back to get my coin purse."

"Oh, heavens!"

Cynthia could only stare speechlessly at the sky, but she still had to follow her best friend back to the restaurant.

After finally arriving, they discovered that Roland was nowhere to be found.

"Where did that guy go?"

Cynthia gritted her teeth and waved her delicate Mage Staff, panting. "He made me come all this way for nothing. It's infuriating!

"And you too, Atali! Why did you go back to the dorm for money? Were you planning to support him?"

Atali rolled her eyes at her. "You're overthinking it. I just don't think he should waste his time and energy at a restaurant. I wanted to help him through this difficult stretch, that's all."

Cynthia said, "He's already given up and gone off to work. What's the point of arguing whether he should? Hey, don't run so fast! Wait for me..."

Behind the academy, along the riverbank.

Roland walked beside Swein, full of questions. "Your Lordship, you wanted to see me..."

"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm a Review Assistant with the Arcane Committee, commonly known as a reserve reviewer, a High Arcanist, an Eighth-Rank Mage, and the lord of Tanite Territory..."

With every title Swein listed, Roland's heart gave another violent jolt.

This was a genuine member of the Arcane Empire's elite, a powerful figure ordinary people could only look up to.

Above him stood only the members of the Mages' Council who truly ruled the entire Empire, the masters of Mage Towers, Grand Mages, and legendary mages.

Roland immediately judged that Mage Swein was at least on par with his academy's headmaster and dean of studies. His position as a Review Assistant might even make him more distinguished.

Wait, why would someone like him come looking for me?

Could it be...

Roland's heart suddenly began pounding uncontrollably, wild joy threatening to burst out of him.

Yet he feared it was merely wishful thinking that would leave him with crushing disappointment.

Swein smiled. "I came here specifically to congratulate you on your acceptance into our Orvisto Wizard Tower."

He did not keep Roland in suspense. He explained the entire sequence of events plainly, then added, "I'm sorry we temporarily concealed your results, but it was to facilitate the admissions process. As compensation, we'll exercise special authorization to apply for an additional spell allotment for you.

"Orvisto Mage Tower was founded personally by my teacher, Archmage Ovesto. It specializes in recruiting and training mages in Runic Studies and language-related disciplines, as well as conducting corresponding research into Arcana..."

Roland could no longer focus on the introduction. He hastily took out his apprentice badge, connected to the Magic Network, and checked his admission notice.

The man before him could conceivably be an outrageously bold fraud, but he could not falsify the Magic Network.

Sure enough, with Swein's arrival, the notice of Roland's acceptance into Orvisto Wizard Tower was now plainly visible.

All the information he had previously been unable to access had also been made public.

Still scarcely believing it, he checked several more times.

It felt as though he had been worrying just yesterday that he would not even graduate from high school, only to have a special admission letter from a top university thrust in his face an instant later.

Life really could send you plunging down before lifting you right back up!

Once the initial surprise passed, Roland quickly realized something more important.

This approach could actually work!

He had only made a last-ditch attempt, submitting material based on the knowledge he knew from his previous life. He had never expected such resounding success.

This wasn't some cheat ability. It was a gold mine!