[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-synthetic-wizard":3,"chapter-synthetic-wizard-synthetic-wizard-chapter-63":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Synthetic Wizard",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1462486,1912,"Chapter 63: Assessment","synthetic-wizard-chapter-63",63,"\u003Cp>Bang bang bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heavy door panel sounded with intense knocking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the wooden cabin, Sherman, who was sleeping peacefully under a worn quilt, was instantly awakened, rubbed his eyes, and sleepily shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Coming.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the middle of the month of Revival, the weather was still somewhat cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After putting on his tattered clothes, Sherman picked up the leather jacket serving as a second quilt covering the cotton blanket, put it on, and then opened the wooden door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the door, old Roger leaned against the carriage, holding a whip in one hand and a tobacco pipe in the other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hurry up, it’s getting late, you’ll get scolded if you’re late.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman closed the wooden door, hurriedly climbed onto the carriage, but his expression was not hurried at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roger glanced at him but said no more, he whipped forcefully, and the old horse grunted, pulling the carriage forward slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman leaned on the carriage railing, looked at the dark sky, closed his eyes, and dozed off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to past experiences, it would take half an hour to reach the inner castle, and by then, the sky would be almost bright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman was an orphan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to old Roger, he found Sherman on a snowy day, and since he had no children, he took Sherman back to raise him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All these years, old Roger had painstakingly raised Sherman till he was twelve years old by working for the nobles collecting garbage and then disposing of it outside the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To old Roger, Sherman was filled with gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he knew he shared no blood relationship with old Roger, in his heart, old Roger was his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unconsciously, the carriage entered the Inner City District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long-formed habit automatically awakened Sherman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From afar, he saw the majestic and tall castle, with envy and yearning in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was where the lord and knights resided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman couldn’t count how many times he’d dreamed of becoming a noble, living in a luxurious castle, and enjoying an extravagant life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or becoming a powerful knight, earning the lord’s admiration, becoming the lord’s guard, and obtaining the right to live in the castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the boy’s limited understanding, the castle was the most beautiful place in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was very clear—for someone like him, a commoner, if not due to work, he could never set foot in the castle for his entire life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention living inside it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When waking, all in the dream would vanish, only the cold reality remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Roger once told him that when he dies, Sherman could inherit the two wooden houses and carriage, taking over the noble’s garbage disposal work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman thought that his future was just like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carriage stopped in front of the castle gates, and Sherman followed old Roger off the carriage, approaching the tall gate guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, when they entered the castle to clean garbage, the gate guards and inner stewards would extort them, asking for various favors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But ever since the previous lord was executed and the new lord moved into the manor, vigorously replacing the guards and steward servants, they no longer faced extortion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just for this, Sherman held a favorable opinion towards the new lord that he had never met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the past months, the gate guards became quite familiar with Roger and Sherman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon seeing them arrive, simply checked them briefly and let them pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After spending the entire morning, Roger and Sherman skillfully cleaned up the garbage, packed it all into the carriage, and prepared to transport it outside the castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before leaving, a guard suddenly stopped Sherman, sized him up, and asked, \"Young Sherman, how old are you this year?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman froze for a moment but obediently replied, \"Twelve years old.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can you read?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Commoners like him who worked for nobles typically were illiterate, but old Roger had been an accounting apprentice at a shop when he was young, and although the shop later closed, he learned to read and then taught Sherman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Sherman’s words, the guard laughed and said, \"Perfect timing, the other day the lord issued a decree, every youth aged twelve to fifteen who can read, regardless of gender or birth, must go to the testing place for evaluation. You should go too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Testing? What kind of testing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Sherman was in a daze, Roger had already panicked and hurriedly said, \"Sir, young Sherman has always worked diligently, he’s never done anything bad.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guard waved his hand, laughing and said, \"Don’t worry, it’s a good thing, Sunan is recruiting apprentices across Flashing Territory. Anyone who passes the testing will serve as his apprentice and receive a monthly subsidy of one Gold Coin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roger and Sherman listened, their eyes wide and faces filled with shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They worked hard every month, earning less than ten Silver Coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as a Sunan’s apprentice, they could receive one Gold Coin a month?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such good fortune?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon Roger hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is there really such a thing as a windfall in this world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be a scam, taking people away and doing bad things?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guard seeing Roger’s look understood what he was thinking, laughed and cursed, \"Sunan is a legendary Wizard, the decree is issued by the lord. Do you think the two gentlemen have the time to scam a poor ghost like you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I wouldn’t bother reminding you if young Sherman wasn’t usually very well-behaved.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roger quickly apologized with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking the guard made sense, the decree issued by the lord couldn’t be false.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thanking the guard, Roger pulled Sherman onto the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the way back, Roger thought for a while and told Sherman, \"When we return after delivering the garbage, clean yourself up, change clothes, and head to the testing place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman nodded vigorously, his eyes flashing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could become an apprentice under Sunan as the guard said, he could receive one Gold Coin a month, saving up for a year or two, he could bring Roger to move into the Inner City District, open a small shop, and never would they need to wake early and clean garbage again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe even have the chance to live in that castle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Sherman was exceedingly excited, itching to fly to the testing place immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning from outside the city, Sherman dashed home, cleaned himself up, put on his best outfit, and headed straight to the place the guard indicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The testing place was set at the junction between the Outer and Inner City Districts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of a hastily constructed wooden shed, more than a hundred teenagers similar in age to Sherman were lined up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many were chatting excitedly, occasionally peeking toward the front.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman noticed these people were well-dressed, at the very least in clean clothes, unlike him, dressed in washed-out clothes with patches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Understandably, people who were literate usually came from decent families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were few like him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get to the end of the line and don’t wander around.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A nearby soldier noticed Sherman and called him to queue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sherman obediently went to the end of the line, waiting quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>",1189,"2026-06-06T02:33:43.452Z",1,"novelbin.me","198f51257ce8d59b12ca5fd5e642747ae2c477e85f6128e3a352b1a3bc14a2a7","synthetic-wizard-chapter-64","synthetic-wizard-chapter-62",369,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsynthetic-wizard-cover.jpg"]