Chapter 89: The Mage's First Lesson

The Mage Street of Brilliance City is very likely older than Brilliance City itself.

Its predecessor was a black market for extraordinary materials, an off-site bazaar directly tied to the underground ruins.

Many materials, magical beasts, and monster corpses hauled up from underground had to be processed as quickly as possible, and naturally professional caravans, researchers, and material buyers came from outside.

And to keep the place in order, at the very least appraising those materials required mages, so large numbers of mages — whether seeking materials or exchanging ideas with peers — came to this bazaar.

The prosperity of a resource city is often tied to its era; mining towns, oil-field towns, even small fishing villages, all rise with the demands of new eras and new technologies, and decline as the times change. During its ascent, it continually draws in more population, capital, and investors, becoming the nation's focal point.

Among these new arrivals, the proportion of mages is terrifyingly high.

As the researchers and developers, the mages' demand for materials is endless, and their output in turn draws even more extraordinary beings to trade.

It's foreseeable that, as long as the underground ruins keep producing steadily, it will remain prosperous.

In fact, along with the changes of the times, the kingdom's decline did not cause Mage Street to wither; instead, it made this "pearl on the crown" even more brilliant and more important, expanding at least five times in just twenty years.

"Dang dang dang!"

The great bell of the cathedral was struck; the hour had reached nine in the morning, the start of a busy day.

". On average, out of every thousand apprentices, only a single-digit number become full mages, and the ratio of archmages among mages has never exceeded one percent. I don't expect how many of you will become qualified mages, let alone archmages — I only ask that you don't embarrass me." The spellcasters' course had already begun.

The faintly gleaming pale-gold cathedral is a godless hall.

It was once the core district when Brilliance City was still a town, the joint foothold of many churches of the true gods; as the city grew, the churches each got their own cathedrals, and this place instead became the administrative district of Mage Street.

The police station, the Arcane Knights (the security force under Mage Street), and the fire brigade are all stationed here; now, in one of the side halls, the clear sound of reading and lecturing rings out.

The modest room was a remodeled old chapel; on the podium, Third-Circle Mage Luo Yisi faced only seven apprentices — among them, two he had met before.

Not everyone can become an apprentice through a crash course (a fast-track foundational-knowledge class for mages); most people, after completing one round, choose to self-study and hone their skills, then pass an exam at some point to officially "join the ranks."

In a sense, you could perfectly well skip this class and self-study the whole way — but going through this process is the equivalent of a proper academic background, gilding your own name.

Meanwhile, the children of the wealthy and well-connected, whether to get closer to a teacher or to speed up their progress, come a second time, a third time, or even more.

Luo Yisi had even seen someone come five times; in the end, because they brought too much disgrace on their family, they were persuaded to drop out.

"One person didn't come. Oh, that one." Facing the blank on the roster, Luo Yisi decided to simply ignore it.

Luo Yisi had read the files; this cohort of apprentices was supposed to be eight people, and as for which one was missing, it was obvious.

"Clap! Clap!"

Before the voice arrived, what reached the room first was the heavy thud of metal boots hitting the floor.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm late."

After the door opened, the clanking metal armor instinctively irritated the spellcasters.

"So shiny." The apprentices were dazzled by the sunlight reflected back at them.

"So bright." What glowed was not only the sunlight, but also that excessively dazzling silver armor.

Shiny and bright — that was probably the first reaction upon seeing the man outside the door.

Also because of the terrain's design, the cathedral's translucent windows let the light, after bouncing, gather on the silver armor of the one entering — this was originally where the preaching priest should have stood.

The already expensive new armor, under the specially designed lighting system, appeared even more glittering, even sacred.

Especially given the faint glow clearly visible around him.

The "Holy Knight" — a radiance that shines even brighter under sunlight, light pouring out from the body — is jokingly called the Holy Knight's built-in sound effect, and many people know of it.

The more devout and powerful a Holy Knight is, the more obvious it becomes; and this one has already reached the point of being blinding — that seems a bit exaggerated.

But now, this silver-armored knight, who should have been out enforcing the law, instead slightly bowed his head toward the podium to express his apology.

"Sorry I'm late. I am apprentice Li En. Sudar."

Before the instructor could react, the apprentices below, who had been tense-faced, could no longer hold it together.

Wait — that armor of yours, and the sword on your back, you're here to be a mage apprentice? Wrong door, right? We thought you were here to make an arrest!

And one of the apprentices even let slip a hidden smile. Mage Luo Yisi is not an easy man to deal with; as a Third-Circle Mage, he has no need to give face to ordinary nobles or knights.

In any previous cohort, anyone who was late got thoroughly scolded and made to stand for an entire class.

"Mm, hurry and sit down. It's fine, we just started." Yet the normally stern teacher, at this moment, appeared very affable, very kind.

The repeat-attendance apprentices below were instantly dumbfounded — is this still the memory of that hot-tempered evocation instructor?!

Naturally, this bizarre scene made many apprentices remember the man before them.

"Who is he?"

"Sudar? That Sudar?"

Li En, already rising to fame in certain circles, was still a newcomer who had been in this city less than a month; in many places he truly went unknown.

But anyone who could make a hot-tempered teacher show such an attitude was clearly no ordinary man.

Li En didn't keep causing trouble; he walked to the very back, sat down, and the wooden chair creaked loudly.

Crack — it broke outright!

"Boom!" He landed hard on his backside.

Clearly, this cathedral's wooden chairs were not made for someone in full armor.

This disrupted the classroom order — surely Mage Luo Yisi should say something now, at least offer some criticism.

But the instructor above, Luo Yisi, seemed to have seen nothing at all, merely smiling as he continued the lesson. The repeat-attendance apprentice below was dumbfounded — in his entire previous course, he had never seen Luo Yisi this patient; evocation spellcasters are notoriously short-tempered.

". Casting is a delicate art, a body of knowledge." Luo Yisi smiled brightly, spoke gently, yet his gaze completely ignored the knight below whose presence was far too overwhelming.

Alright, the apprentices all understood — it looked like even the teacher on stage couldn't afford to offend this lord.

In fact, when Luo Yisi saw this lord's file, he really did immediately declare that he couldn't afford to offend him, and suggested switching to someone else to teach.

"A Classical Oathbound Holy Knight? In this day and age there are still such divine beings? Uh, an Oathbound Great Knight around twenty years old — are you kidding me?!" Great Knights and Great Warriors are generally over forty; having that level at twenty — is he a specially blooded divine child, or some kingdom's prince with resources maxed out?

A monster like this, if truly of common birth, should belong in an epic tale.

In the future, at the very least a dragon-slayer who failed his attempt — not someone a Third-Circle mage like himself should provoke.

And as he continued reading the file, Luo Yisi's urge to swap shifts with a colleague grew stronger and stronger.

There's a record from within the past week: took a fireball spell head-on, unharmed, walked right through it, and punched the caster into critical injury. Took a direct hit from a level-three-or-below area-of-effect spell? Survived a bombardment-level explosion? What kind of move is this? Still an unharmed feat?

"Shattered magical missiles with a roar? Am I watching a fairy tale? Uh, there were plenty of witnesses, one hundred percent real?" Luo Yisi was stunned—clearly, this guy was a professional mage-killer.

Maybe he used to be a Judicator, a specialized branch of Holy Knight that hunted down evil wizards.

"Records show kills of ultra-powerful beasts and cultists? And a top-tier pseudo-dragon warrior died there—but he walked out alive?" Those who understand never look at the "reasons"; they don't underestimate a victor because of mere luck.

Luo Yisi only cared about the outcome: whoever survived was stronger.

Having reviewed the files, Luo Yisi now easily maintained a calm, steady teaching mindset—not a single thought of reprimanding the other.

He merely glanced over—the man quietly standing to repair the chair was busy; clearly, he didn't need help.

Luo Yisi genuinely feared provoking the knight, who might just tear him apart on the spot.

After all, he and that unlucky fool were both third-ring, and his strongest spell was also the fireball.

If your tardiness or attire was intentional provocation—saying I, Luo Yisi, am unworthy to teach you—then fine, I truly am unworthy!! Please ignore me.

Luo Yisi dared not offend Li En at all, even though the man before him was a degenerate, even though the files said he'd lost his power. No! There was still holy light on his body—this data was completely off.

After thinking it over, Luo Yisi didn't truly believe the intelligence was flawed; he just felt the man was even more absurd than his maximum estimate.

"Someone who accomplishes such absurd feats can't be judged by common sense. He could ascend to heaven and become a god—so long as he doesn't interfere with my teaching and salary."

The truth was this simple: why had he come here as a mage apprentice? Why did he still dress like a knight? Did any of it concern Luo Yisi, the working-class mage?

Maybe one day he'd soar beyond all bounds again. As a working-class mage, it was better not to offend anyone.

"Bad luck." But Li En himself hadn't meant it—he never wanted to draw attention on his first appearance.

Originally, he'd come wearing a proper apprentice's robe; logically, arriving early meant he shouldn't have been late.

"Wait—this person, blank apprentice robe, and that puppet on his back…" Someone instantly recognized him.

"Metal upright lizard! Yes! It's him!" The main reason? That little bouncing creature on Li En's back.

So, barely stepping into Mage Street, Li En received a "warm welcome."

Fortunately, he reacted quickly—his smoke bomb technique had grown proficient—and he fled, changed clothes, and circled around to make it to class.

"Slipped up." Under normal circumstances, Li En wouldn't have forgotten the trouble he'd caused the day before.

But the ancestral soul's memories inherited in his dream had overwhelmed him with too many experiences; upon waking, he felt as if "a long time" had passed.

This sense of having lived through ages made the awakened Li En momentarily confused about his current goal—he took a moment to remember he had class today.

"Need to watch out for this—might miss important tasks. Better take more notes."

He truly hadn't come to undermine the teacher. Seeing the instructor begin, he calmly opened his notebook and stood to listen.

No choice—the chair had been shattered into pieces under his repair; he'd probably have to pay for it soon.

"Mages are not tools, nor weapons of war. Even if many of you are here only for the power of spells, they are, in truth, inheritors of knowledge."

The first lesson rarely began directly; instead, the textbook was used to deliver some "empty words."

Below, the apprentices paid no mind; above, the teacher wasn't serious—but Li En knew the weight behind the phrase "inheritor of knowledge."

Before receiving the ancestral soul's legacy, Li En would have dismissed it as empty words; now, he recorded it carefully.

Li En's attentive listening, showing respect, eased the instructor's breath.

He wasn't here to cause trouble—starting now, Luo Yisi's voice even steadied slightly.

"If you ever reach the second ring, your mentor will require you to study an additional subject—art, arcane history, religion, anything. Then you'll truly understand the importance of scholarship. Oh, and you can't pick math or draconic tongue—they're mandatory, so prepare to go bald."

First-ring mages build foundations; second-ring mages expand their horizons, studying auxiliary disciplines to lay groundwork for greater advancement.

But rules are rules, practice is practice—the reality is most low-rank mages don't take it seriously; electives equal skip classes.

"Excellent! Excellent! Our era didn't have this."

Kuku, eavesdropping, seemed satisfied with this improvement—yet unaware that most students wouldn't take it seriously.

The reality was, most mages only returned to catch up on these subjects after hitting a mid- to high-rank bottleneck—and even then, few truly felt anything was wrong.

Even though laying a solid foundation clearly improved efficiency, the wrong path had become the right one, rendering part of the textbook designers' efforts useless.

"At the third ring, you'll usually choose a specialization—evocation to divination, all acceptable—but avoid necromancy; its main employment is in graveyards and prisons."

Luo Yisi made his lessons as light and entertaining as possible, hoping the required side subjects might stick in the apprentices' minds.

The first lesson was mainly a rough overview of a mage's career, introducing future mandatory courses to give apprentices a broad understanding.

After this, classes came roughly every three to four days, ending in a month to a month and a half—Luo Yisi's teaching style was more like a university professor's.

I'll highlight key points during class; you study them on your own time. Next class, I'll mark new points—you follow my lead.

Checks? Nonexistent. How well you learn is your own business—there's just a final exam at the end.

Those who keep up—or even surpass the pace—move on to the next round of selection and assignment.

And today, on day one, he already handed out the reading list.

Li En grew more numb as he listened—the reading list was absurdly long.

"From math to history, from humanities to engineering—is this really learning magic?" Li En was truly grateful his coin purse wasn't empty—books here were insanely expensive.

But the books Luo Yisi mentioned now were clearly core courses—no escaping them, and you'd have to pass exams to earn grades.

"Kuku, what do you think? Compared to your era?" Mid-lesson, during the instructor's break, Li En asked casually.

"Excellent. Highly structured. Better suited for fundamentals, more forward-looking than ours." Kuku was satisfied—at least for now, it was more systematic and better for training newcomers.

What he'd lacked most back then was precisely these "side subjects" and "common knowledge"—vital for future learning, yet utterly untaught in his time.

Later, he'd spent tremendous effort just to catch up on those courses.

Even though he felt the era had progressed, Kuku still muttered bitterly:

"Too cold! My teacher explained it better! Boring! Dull!"

"Mm-hmm." What else could Li En say? He nodded.

(End of Chapter)