Chapter 19: Mage Tower Order

The only thing Xia Duo paid some attention to was one of the precautions—spellcasting is not permitted in non-designated areas. In fact, Xia Duo was very much in favor of this rule, raising both hands in support; after all, no one wants to live in the Mage Tower in constant fear, worried that a lethal spell might fly in from nearby.

But the problem was, Xia Duo had just lost his matches, and he didn't know what use the candle issued earlier would have in his future life. However, this question only lingered in Xia Duo's mind for a few seconds and he didn't take it to heart.

What truly concerned him was how he could learn to read.

Of course, this problem was not difficult to solve. The simplest approach was naturally to go find the Apprentice Dien from before, but Xia Duo could not yet be certain whether Dien would wholeheartedly teach him, or how much it would cost.

However, regarding this, Xia Duo already had some vague ideas in his mind; as for whether it would work, he could test it out after dinner.

Next, Xia Duo changed into the Mage robe issued by the Mage Tower. As expected, a line of text was embroidered on the chest, similar to the one on the Mage Apprentice Xia Duo had encountered outside the registration office earlier.

But for the time being, Xia Duo could not recognize the Netherese Common writing of his own name, so he did not dwell on it too much.

Following that, Xia Duo seemed to have nothing to do. Whether it was chores or classes, everything would officially begin tomorrow. As for building rapport with others, based on Xia Duo's brief understanding of the Mage Tower, he estimated that no one would be willing to waste time chatting with him unless Xia Duo was willing to pay.

Mentioning money, Xia Duo counted his assets once more. Aside from the items in the standard wooden chest issued to Apprentices by the Mage Tower, the things Xia Duo had brought from outside were a set of linen clothes, an Iron Dagger, and 27 Silver Coins.

This amount of money was enough to survive in the Mage Tower, but it was absolutely insufficient to support his study of Magic. Xia Duo thought of those who had undergone the assessment with him three days ago; even Xiao Neil had the income from an inn to support him, while Xia Duo had nothing.

However, it was not as if Xia Duo had no advantages at all. At least he had now crossed the threshold of being a nameless tool and was an Apprentice with a name. Plus, having the Permission Level to exchange for 10 Zero-Ring Magic Scrolls was already a pretty good start.

But just thinking about how he was about to "start college" while not even knowing the language, having no textbooks, and not even having ink or blank paper for taking notes, Xia Duo still felt quite a bit of pressure.

An afternoon's time certainly could not be wasted like this. Although he had already come into contact with the Magic Net, before receiving formal guidance, Xia Duo was not prepared to experiment too much, lest he go down the wrong path.

One must be cautious when dealing with Magic; this was not only the advice Mu Yan had given him, but also a requirement he set for himself.

Therefore, Xia Duo decided to practice Meditation. Although he did not know if real Mages would perform similar actions, as a rational person, regularly organizing one's thoughts, reviewing the past, and planning for the future was indispensable.

Right now, having just entered a new environment, it was exactly the time when adjustments were needed.

Furthermore, in a world with Magic and gods, this kind of Meditation might actually have some special effect!

……

It was unknown how much time had passed when Xia Duo opened his eyes. The previously somewhat restless emotions had dissipated completely. At this moment, he was exceptionally rational and had a very clear plan for the future.

No confusion, no worries, only the fire of firm determination burning brightly.

"Tower Spirit, request: current time!"

"Apprentice Xia Duo, current time: 5:15 PM."

Xia Duo had only asked casually; he hadn't expected that he could actually inquire about the current time.

When he had previously asked the Tower Spirit to recount the contents of the "New Apprentice Handbook," the Tower Spirit had mentioned very specific and precise times. At the time, Xia Duo had been somewhat puzzled, wondering how it was possible to keep track of time so precisely when he had no timing tools.

He hadn't expected the Tower Spirit to be a real-time timekeeping device.

But thinking about it, it made sense. If the Mage Tower could provide ordinary people nearby with Timing Runes suspended at the top to indicate the approximate time, then it was only natural to popularize a more precise way of keeping time inside.

Precise time—was that not the perfect embodiment of order!

……

It was almost dinner time. Xia Duo closed his door, preparing to go to the dining hall on the first floor.

However, what made him very uncomfortable was that while there was a simple locking device like a bolt inside the door, there was no lock on the outside. In other words, once a person left, anyone could enter his room.

Although there was nothing valuable in his room, coming from a modern era that valued privacy, Xia Duo found this practice of having no door locks quite hard to accept.

The Mage Tower even had flush toilets, so was installing a door lock that difficult? But clearly, the Mages above could not hear his complaints.

This time, without anyone else leading the way, Xia Duo came to the Elevator himself and naturally called out to the Tower Spirit—

"Tower Spirit, request: go to the dining hall."

With the experience of using "artificial idiots" before crossing over, Xia Duo did not state the specific floor, but the Tower Spirit still accurately grasped Xia Duo's intent and, within Xia Duo's Permission Level, sent him to the first floor of the Mage Tower.

Stepping out of the Elevator, a few steps away was a large hall, where a group of young people wearing clothes from the outside world were currently receiving training from a middle-aged Mage.

It was the common sense training after joining the Mage Tower.

If Xia Duo had come in through the normal channels, he would have gone through this as well, because he saw Xiao Neil, who looked somewhat inferior, in the crowd. Xia Duo smiled and did not take it to heart.

He also did not think about having any more interactions with him in the future. Since he had decided to teach Lao Neil a lesson, it was impossible for him to face Xiao Neil as if nothing had happened.

It would not only be disgusting to others, but even more disgusting to himself.

……

It was still a little while before the scheduled dinner time, but some Apprentices had already arrived. It was still the Mage style—not dragging things out at all. The Apprentices rarely communicated with each other, each taking their own dinner and each gnawing on their own bread.

However, most Apprentices made the same choice as Xia Duo: they took two loaves of bread and left directly.

When Xia Duo returned, that group of New Apprentices had still not dispersed, but the atmosphere was not as calm as before; some people started looking around.

As it happened, Xia Duo took a casual glance as he passed by, and unexpectedly, his gaze met with Xiao Neil, who was turning his head to look around. Both sides recognized each other.

Xia Duo's expression was calm, while Xiao Neil's eyes were somewhat evasive.

It seems he already knows! Xia Duo didn't care and walked straight toward the Elevator; he still had to go find Dien.

……

(End of chapter)