"I finally advanced!"
Pei Ze let out a delighted sigh of relief.
Competition in High Tower Academy was fierce, governed by the law of the jungle: only the fittest survived.
Students who failed to advance to Wizard Apprentice within a month of enrollment would face reassignment.
They could either leave the academy, transfer to a regular school, and live out a peaceful but mediocre life as an ordinary person.
Or, they could transfer to the Knight Academy and start their training from the lowest rank of Sword-Bearing Attendant. As long as they graduated as a Knight, a decent future awaited them, whether it was joining the Silver Light Legion or the City Guard Army, or becoming the follower of a Wizard.
Of course, the Knight Academy also had its own competition, but that was another matter entirely.
In any case, becoming a First-level Wizard Apprentice meant he no longer had to worry about being kicked out of High Tower Academy.
'Next up is constructing Will Rune No. 2.'
Within the ranking system for Wizard Apprentices, the standard for a Second-level Wizard Apprentice was to have successfully constructed six Will Runes and reached a Spirit of 18 units.
The standard for a Third-level Wizard Apprentice was twelve Will Runes and a Spirit of 50 units.
And above a Third-level Wizard Apprentice was an Official Wizard.
Pei Ze still had a long way to go before becoming a Wizard.
'Omniscience, begin analyzing Will Rune No. 2.'
[Task created. Analyzing Will Rune No. 2. Estimated time: 5 days]
Pei Ze nodded to himself.
The later Will Runes had increasingly complex structures.
The Eye of Omniscience had taken three days to analyze Will Rune No. 1, so it wasn't surprising that Will Rune No. 2 would require five days.
And this was after his Spiritual Power had increased.
The analysis speed of the Eye of Omniscience depended on Pei Ze's Spiritual Power. The stronger his Spiritual Power, the faster the analysis, and the more things it could analyze.
The difference wasn't obvious for now, but as his strength grew, the Eye of Omniscience could one day become a powerful ability capable of analyzing all things.
It was worth noting that five days wasn't even the Eye of Omniscience's fastest speed.
'Omniscience, consume Spirit to accelerate the task!' Pei Ze commanded mentally.
[Accelerated. Estimated time remaining: 3 days and 14 hours.]
A wave of fatigue instantly washed over him. Pei Ze summoned his panel and saw that his Spirit was down to just 0.05.
The Eye of Omniscience could use his Spirit as 'fuel' to increase its analysis speed.
'If I accelerate again tomorrow, the analysis of Rune No. 2 should be complete the day after!'
A smile touched the corners of Pei Ze's lips.
As far as he knew, the fastest-progressing student in Class Three, Cheng Li, had supposedly taken nine days to construct Will Rune No. 2.
From this perspective, the Eye of Omniscience's analysis speed was far greater than Cheng Li's pace.
As expected, no amount of genius could beat a cheat system!
But despite his excitement, Pei Ze didn't let it go to his head.
As one of the four great Wizard Academies in Chenxi City, High Tower Academy recruited tens of thousands of students every year. It was teeming with all sorts of geniuses and "wizard scions," and compared to those top students with both talent and connections, he still had a long road ahead of him.
Taking a deep breath, Pei Ze cleared his mind of stray thoughts, sat down cross-legged, and began his Meditation.
...
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast, Pei Ze hurried to the academy.
The morning air was damp and cool. As he walked along the street paved with gray stone blocks, Pei Ze felt brimming with energy, his Spirit more abundant than ever.
After his Meditation session yesterday, his Spiritual Power had increased by another 0.04.
By his estimates, as long as he maintained his maximum Meditation time, he could increase his Spirit by at least 0.1 every day!
This was so much more efficient than before!
Moreover, as the number of constructed Will Runes increased, his Meditation efficiency would improve even further.
Everything was looking up, which put Pei Ze in a very cheerful mood.
CAW CAW!
With a whoosh, a crow swooped past Pei Ze, circled a few times, and then vanished.
Pei Ze looked up. Hundreds of crows were circling in the sky, their harsh caws rising and falling in waves.
This was a common sight in Chenxi City's Outer City.
You could see countless crows flying all over the place every day, which had even given rise to the profession of Crow Catcher.
Before long, Pei Ze arrived at the main gate of High Tower Academy.
The academy gate was bustling, crowded with all sorts of Riding Beasts and carriages.
The bizarre and varied appearances of the Riding Beasts made it feel like a zoo.
However, what interested Pei Ze more were the carriages—or to be precise, the coachmen driving them.
Some were two meters tall with knotted muscles, exuding a savage and primitive aura.
Despite wearing the same clothes as ordinary people, one could still sense an inhuman aura about them.
Drawing on the memories in his mind, Pei Ze quickly recognized their origins.
Diluo Barbarians!
The native inhabitants of the Diluo Plane, one of the Colonization Planes controlled by Chenxi City!
After the Diluo Plane was conquered by the Wizards of Chenxi City, large numbers of Diluo Barbarians were enslaved. The luckier ones became guards or soldiers.
And besides the Diluo Barbarians, there were also dwarves and Goblins among the coachmen.
The latter two also hailed from Chenxi City's Colonization Planes.
Pei Ze marveled at the sight, the reality of his transmigration hitting him once again.
'Where could he have ever witnessed such a fantastical scene in his past life?'
Passing through the bustling academy gates, Pei Ze didn't head to his classroom as usual. Instead, he made a beeline for the administration building.
Before long, he arrived at Zhou Han's office and knocked lightly on the door.
"Come in."
Zhou Han's voice quickly came from inside.
Pei Ze pushed the door open and walked in.
Zhou Han, sitting behind his desk, looked up. His gaze paused on Pei Ze for a moment, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
"Advanced to Wizard Apprentice? Not bad."
Zhou Han nodded, pleased.
He had always felt it was a bit of a shame about Pei Ze, who was so outstanding when it came to theoretical knowledge.
True, knowledge is the most important thing for a Wizard, not so-called talent.
But that didn't mean talent was unimportant.
A person who couldn't even construct a Will Rune, no matter how learned, could at best become a scholar, not a Wizard.
In his eyes, the old Pei Ze was someone with zero aptitude for being a Wizard, a person who was wasting his excellent capacity for learning and memorization.
But now, it seemed he had underestimated Pei Ze.
"Come, let's get you tested."
Although he could see the change in Pei Ze, Zhou Han still followed protocol. He pointed to a Crystal Ball on the edge of his desk, motioning for him to come forward for the test.
"Yes, Teacher."
Pei Ze calmly stepped forward and placed his palm on the surface of the Crystal Ball.
In the next instant, he keenly felt an invisible ripple emanate from within the Crystal Ball and envelop him.
For a moment, Pei Ze had the strange sensation of being scanned from the inside out.
"3.49 units. Not bad. You pass," Zhou Han said with a smile and a nod.
Pei Ze breathed an inward sigh of relief.
For a moment there, he had been worried Zhou Han would discover that he was a transmigrator. Fortunately, the man didn't seem to have noticed anything.
Not noticing the shift in Pei Ze's expression, Zhou Han flicked a finger. A nearby drawer slid open on its own, and a gray robe, a silver badge, and a small booklet floated out, drifting slowly toward Pei Ze.
"A set of Apprentice Robes enchanted with a Cleaning Technique, and a First-Level Apprentice Badge. The badge has a Secret Technique Mark on it, which will grant you access to the Experimental District, mission area, and Garden District. Be careful not to lose it. A replacement costs quite a bit of money."
"That little booklet contains the academy's rules and regulations for Wizard Apprentices. Read through it when you have the time."
"Also, according to the rules, every student who advances to First-level Wizard Apprentice can choose one free spell model. You can take your Apprentice Badge to the logistics department later to claim it."
"I understand. Thank you, Teacher!" Pei Ze reached out and carefully accepted the items.
Zhou Han glanced at Pei Ze, then suddenly flicked his finger. With a clear, crisp ring, a Gold Coin tumbled toward Pei Ze, who hurriedly reached out and caught it.
"Take this Gold Coin. You can use it to claim an extra free spell model from the logistics department. Consider it a little personal bonus from me."
Zhou Han paused, then said earnestly,
"Remember this: wisdom is the true source of a Wizard's power. All other external conditions are merely secondary aids. Make good use of your ability to learn. It will be a great help on your path to advancement."
Pei Ze was stunned for a moment, then nodded firmly. "I understand. Thank you, Teacher!"
He said the same words, but this time, they were far more sincere.