Chapter 18: Apprentice Dien, Single Dormitory

"A good choice." The person who came over offered a compliment and stated his own name, "Xia Duo, right? You can call me Dien. If you need any help in the future, you can still look for me. Now, let me tell you how to communicate with the Tower Spirit—"

"First, 'commands' can only be used by Official Mages. Apprentices can only say 'requests.' You don't need to shorten your sentences; just speak normally as you would with a person. But do not ask meaningless questions, such as asking the Tower Spirit about things beyond the Mage Tower, or inquiring about other people's privacy. This will only increase the time it takes for the Tower Spirit to respond to you in the future, which will do you no good."

"Second, if you encounter a situation where the Tower Spirit does not answer or does not react, it means the Tower Spirit cannot resolve it, or your Permission Level is insufficient."

Hearing Dien's words, Xia Duo was lost in thought. The Tower Spirit could be understood as a type of relatively Advanced artificial intelligence, but this human-computer interaction was far too unfriendly! If a request is invalid, you don't even get a hint or feedback.

Perhaps having no hint or feedback is, in a sense, a form of improvement or feedback.

Xia Duo couldn't help but try it out, "Tower Spirit, request: Where is my current location?"

"Apprentice Xia Duo, your current location is Mage Tower - Public Level - Material Requisition Office No. 3 - hallway outside the door." A hollow, very mechanical voice rang out in the space between Xia Duo and Dien.

Seeing that Xia Duo wanted to continue trying, Dien hurriedly said, "Xia Duo, I think you can communicate with the Tower Spirit later. You should give me the matches."

Dien being so impatient to get the matches made Xia Duo realize he had underestimated the value of this box of matches. However, value is relative; at this very moment, trading them for Dien's answers, Xia Duo didn't feel it was too much of a loss.

He opened the box, took out the matches, and tossed them to Dien, "Thank you for your answers."

Dien took the matches and revealed a satisfied smile, "In return for you being so straightforward, I can answer one more question for you. Think it over before you ask."

Hm? Xia Duo immediately asked the question he was most concerned about, "What should I do next?"

Xia Duo worried that the Tower Spirit wouldn't be able to answer such a highly subjective question, so he hurriedly posed it to Dien. If he could get an answer, it would save him a lot of trouble.

"This question of yours makes me feel a bit at a loss, but since I promised, I will certainly give you an answer." Dien smiled and did not go back on his word.

Perhaps because of that box of matches, Dien seemed to be in a very good mood at the moment. He signaled for Xia Duo to pick up the wooden box and follow him, saying as they walked, "You shouldn't be able to read, right? Otherwise, you would have known what to do after finishing that manual."

Upon hearing this, Xia Duo knew his question had been wasted. He could have completely requested the Tower Spirit to read the contents of the manual aloud, and then asked Dien about issues newcomers need to pay attention to.

But it was useless to regret it now. If Dien hadn't said it, he might not have thought of it. He had originally assumed the manual might be something like student rules or Mage Tower regulations; he hadn't expected it to be a complete "Newcomer's Guide."

He could only blame himself for not being able to read. How could one get by in the Mage Tower without being able to read! Xia Duo had already made literacy the top priority he needed to handle after entering the Mage Tower.

The two soon arrived at the Elevator and stepped on.

"Tower Spirit, request: Go to the Apprentice Dormitory level." Dien said this, then turned back to guide Xia Duo, "The first thing you need to do now is get settled. All apprentices in the Mage Tower live on the dormitory level. For meals, there is a cafeteria on the first floor."

Xia Duo nodded and did not ask again.

Soon, the Elevator stopped. This level was very similar to the previous Public Level; it was also a circular hallway with doors on both sides. Behind the doors should be the dormitories.

"Just go to the management office to register. My dormitory number is 02163. If you need any help, you can find me. I'm in my room for a few hours after dinner. Just bring the payment!"

Dien pointed out the Apprentice Dormitory management office to Xia Duo and then left directly.

Xia Duo knew what to do next. He very smoothly registered his information at the management office and then chose a dormitory for himself. The Mage Tower was not stingy regarding living conditions; all apprentices had single-occupancy dormitories.

"02404, this is it!"

Having walked almost halfway around the circular hallway, Xia Duo finally found his dormitory.

Looking at the marked number on the door, Xia Duo let out a long sigh of relief, thinking that he was finally settled in.

Seen from the outside, the distance between doors on the same side of the hallway was not even as wide as a single door, but once you walked inside, you would discover that there was a whole new world within—

A reasonably spacious bedroom and an independent Wei Sheng Jian.

In the bedroom, there was a wooden table, a chair, and a bed. On the bed were two blankets. The temperature inside the Mage Tower seemed to be constant, neither cold nor hot, so Xia Duo wouldn't be unable to get by just because he lacked bedding.

As soon as he walked into the Wei Sheng Jian, Xia Duo saw a device that looked like a modern flush toilet. Clearly, the mages had already paid attention to the issue of using the restroom. This made Xia Duo feel very favorably toward them; heaven knows how much he had suffered because of bathroom issues during the half-year he worked at the Old Neil Inn!

Besides the flush toilet, there was also a basin in the Wei Sheng Jian that looked like a sink in a modern kitchen. It extended from the wall and was filled with water. Xia Duo reached out to test it—the water was warm.

Moreover, Xia Duo noticed that there was a vortex at the bottom of the sink that was constantly rotating. Xia Duo didn't dare to touch this vortex; he was still quite cautious regarding the unknown.

However, Xia Duo guessed that this should be a type of water circulation method that could keep the water in the sink clean at all times.

Placing the previously issued wooden box in a corner of the bedroom, Xia Duo lay straight down on the bed. The feeling the inside and outside of the Mage Tower gave him was extremely fragmented. The Savile Town outside seemed like a backward Middle Ages, while inside the Mage Tower, it was as if he had returned to the modern era.

He just didn't know what new discoveries there would be in the future; Xia Duo was immensely expectant.

With a roll, Xia Duo jumped up from the bed, took everything out of the box, and spread it on the bed. Pointing at the thin manual, he called out, "Tower Spirit, request: Please read the contents of this manual."

With almost no delay, the Tower Spirit understood Xia Duo's request and replied with its hollow and very mechanical voice, "Apprentice Xia Duo, the contents of the 'Life Guide for Mage Tower' are as follows: Life Section, Work Section, Study Section, Important Notices."

Xia Duo listened while flipping through the manual, trying to memorize the syllables and meanings of some words, but he soon gave up. Because he didn't know where the Tower Spirit had started reading from, and to avoid missing other content while focusing on the marked numbers, Xia Duo simply closed the manual and focused on listening to the Tower Spirit's narration.

A small booklet actually didn't have much content; it was generally about the food, clothing, housing, and transportation within the Mage Tower, the daily schedule, and some important notices. It was similar to attending university before Xia Duo traveled here, except there were many chores to do here, and one wasn't just here to study.

In fact, for an Apprentice, it was more like being a servant. Study was just a benefit of the Mage Tower, and the priority was definitely to complete the day's tasks.

Of course, the tasks were not heavy; there was only one hour of task time in the morning and one hour before going to sleep at night.

And the afternoon was the study time Xia Duo looked forward to most. The Mage Tower would arrange for Official Mages or excellent apprentices to teach the Ordinary Apprentices. Only the three hours after meals belonged to one's own schedule.

What Dien said when he left earlier about being free after dinner was likely referring to this.