Chapter 17: Tower Spirit, Registration

The destination was less than twenty meters to the left after exiting the elevator; in this circular corridor, the number of rooms with doors left open could be counted on one's fingers.

Xia Duo followed closely behind Leonard into this room, which contained an ordinary wooden table holding only a few books, a stack of Parchment, and an ink bottle with a quill inserted; behind the table was a small, waist-high bookshelf, though it was not filled with books.

Finally, there was a circular platform in a corner of unknown purpose.

A middle-aged man wearing mage robes was reading behind the wooden table; seeing Leonard and Xia Duo enter, he flipped the book in his hand face down on the table and smiled: "Leonard, what brings you here?"

"No time, hurry up and register him; the experiment on my side was only half-finished when I was grabbed by the teacher to run errands." Leonard was somewhat impatient, and after finishing, he added, "Right, give him Permission Level for 10 Zero-Ring Magic Scrolls, deduct it from my quota for this month."

"Tower Spirit, command: Teleport, Leonard Research Lab."

A flash of white light passed, and Leonard vanished, leaving only Xia Duo and this middle-aged Mage staring at each other.

"Ahem—Mage Leonard is a bit—unconventional, you don't need to mind it." The middle-aged Mage explained, then began the procedure: "Young man, what is your name?"

"Xia Duo."

"Where are you from?"

"A commoner of Savile Territory." Registering in Savile Town was not difficult; Xia Duo had already registered over half a year ago.

"Hmm, that will do. One more question, what is your relationship with the Lord? If you don't want to say, you don't have to."

"..."

Xia Duo did have the intention to borrow the prestige of a tiger's skin, but he dared not do so inside the Mage Tower; heaven knows if the Lord might be observing him through some method. Xia Duo could only answer truthfully: "There is no relationship whatsoever."

The middle-aged man was somewhat skeptical; since he was personally sent by the Lord's student, how could there be no relationship at all? But inside the Mage Tower, he dared not use spells to interrogate him at will, so he had to let it go, pointing to the circular platform in the corner and saying to Xia Duo: "Stand on that circular platform."

Xia Duo obeyed and did as told.

The middle-aged Mage said again: "Turn around in place, say a few words, anything at all."

Xia Duo did the same: "The weather is really nice today, is that okay?"

"That's fine."

The middle-aged Mage took one sheet from the stack of Parchment on the wooden table, held it in his hand, and uttered a few short syllables; a faint light flashed, and Xia Duo saw a three-dimensional image of himself appear above the Parchment, slowly rotating.

Before he could observe it carefully, the three-dimensional image dissipated on its own, leaving only a frontal bust of Xia Duo on the paper surface. The middle-aged Mage took the quill from the ink bottle on the table, added a few strokes to the Parchment, and cast a Magic.

This piece of paper then vanished from his hand!

This was the second time today Xia Duo had seen space Magic; if the entrance was also space Magic, then he had seen it a third time, which greatly increased Xia Duo's desire to learn Magic.

"Alright, registration complete, the first one on the left as you go out!"

Xia Duo was just about to ask how he would be arranged, but the middle-aged Mage had already picked up the book on the table again, shooing him out the door. Fortunately, this person had also explained where Xia Duo should go next; otherwise, in this unfamiliar Mage Tower, Xia Duo would not have known what to do.

Walking out of the registration room, counting six doors to the left, there was also a room with an open door. When Xia Duo arrived here, he happened to see a young man wearing mage robes leaving, and he had no intention of greeting Xia Duo.

He also did not care at all how a Commoner had suddenly appeared in the Mage Tower, while Xia Duo judged that he was also an Apprentice, because his mage robes were exceptionally simple compared to Mage Leonard and the middle-aged Mage from before.

It was just a hooded linen robe with a line of text embroidered on the chest; Xia Duo could not read it and guessed it might be the Apprentice's name. As for whether it was, he would know later when he saw the clothes assigned to him.

Walking into this room, the interior was similar to the previous registration office; likewise, a middle-aged Mage was reading a book, except this Mage's table had many loose Parchment Documents and a wooden box slightly smaller than a standard suitcase.

Seeing Xia Duo enter, the middle-aged Mage only glanced at him, reached out and pointed to the box on the table, and said—"Xia Duo, right? The things are on the table, there is a manual inside, just follow it. If you don't understand, ask the Tower Spirit. Now take the box and get out!"

Having said that, he went back to reading his book, ignoring Xia Duo.

Xia Duo picked up the box and walked out of the room; this was already the second time he had been chased out. Could Mages really be this cold and indifferent? Not willing to say even one extra word?

Filled with suspicion, Xia Duo opened the wooden box right there in the corridor outside the door. At the very bottom appeared to be the clothes issued to him, and resting on top of the clothes was a manual. Calling it a manual was a stretch, but Xia Duo squeezed it; it was just a few sheets of Parchment sewn together with thread, very crude.

Since Xia Duo could not read the words on it anyway, he set it aside first and checked the other items—

A quill, but no ink, and blank Parchment;

A candle—did the Mage Tower still need to light candles?

A box of matches, for lighting the candle?

A wooden wine cup, very similar to the ones at Old Neil Inn—could Mages drink alcohol?

There was nothing else, nothing!

Xia Duo stood in place, somewhat bewildered. Should he ask the Tower Spirit next? Recalling the scene when Mage Leonard summoned the Tower Spirit, Xia Duo tried saying:

"Tower Spirit, command: Guidance."

No response.

"Tower Spirit, command: Explain."

Still no response.

Xia Duo prepared to try one last time; if it didn't work, he would have to go back and ask those two middle-aged Mages.

"Tower Spirit, I am Xia Duo, what should I do next?"

Still no response. Just as Xia Duo was about to turn back to find the Mages for help, a light chuckle came from somewhere unseen in the circular corridor, and immediately after, a young Apprentice appeared in Xia Duo's line of sight.

"You cannot command the Tower Spirit unless you are an Official Mage."

Xia Duo's eyes lit up; he had finally met someone willing to talk to him voluntarily. "Hello, my name is Xia Duo, I just joined the Mage Tower today. May I ask you a few questions?"

"Of course you can." The person did not refuse, but then changed the subject and said, "However, Mages have always respected the principle of equivalent exchange, and Apprentices are no exception. If you want to obtain my guidance, you must pay a price."

"What do you want? I don't have any money to give you, perhaps you can ask me for help in the future."

"Heh, I don't want your money. Just give me that box of matches in your box, and I will teach you how to communicate with the Tower Spirit, and perhaps even some precautions for Apprentices. What is your choice?" the person said.

Xia Duo thought about it and couldn't think of any time he would need matches. Furthermore, if he really needed to, he could use 【Prestidigitation】 to create fire; he was now someone who could cast Magic.

Compared to going back to ask an Official Mage, paying a box of matches to have this Apprentice answer his questions was not a very difficult choice.

"Fine, but I can only give you the matches after you answer."