Chapter 40: Knowledge Is Power

DeLaiErSha showed no concealment of interest in Lei En, saying, "The teachers at Clydeen Academy are of poor caliber; only a few truly have strength. You should leave early."

"I have no intention of returning to Clydeen Academy."

Lei En spent three years at Clydeen Academy; apart from swordsmanship, he learned little else. The academy grants two vacations each year; now is the summer break, and in half a month school will resume.

Each student may stay at the academy for at most five years, and must leave regardless of whether they become a transcendent.

Before he crossed over, Lei En's former self wanted to continue into a fourth year, but his father Bard did not support it, so he fell out with his family.

Now, he is already a combat Wizard, and naturally does not wish to return to Clydeen Academy.

DeLaiErSha's expression grew serious, saying, "Becoming a Wizard is only the starting point; the path of advancement is very long. The God of Magic teaches us, 'Magic is truth, knowledge is power.' As a Wizard, one must never cease the pursuit of truth and knowledge."

Lei En nodded; he had heard that saying before.

This is the God of Magic's maxim; every follower, especially Wizards, holds it as a guiding principle.

DeLaiErSha continued, "Combat Wizards, as one of the three major schools, are few in number but are officially recognized by the Supreme Council. As a true Wizard, one must never abandon the pursuit of truth and knowledge at any time."

"I have a few good contacts in Longshande; if you want to enter Silver Star Academy or the Wu Shi Ta, I can help you."

"You don't need to rush to decide; I should be at the Basil Inn lately."

DeLaiErSha finished speaking and went back to the room with LuoJue.

Lei En watched them leave, seriously considering DeLaiErSha's suggestion.

Her words make sense; Wizards have never been a secluded transcendent profession. Casting spells is a complex and subtle ability; the Arcane Element in the soul merely provides a spell template. To unleash magic's greatest power, one must constantly explore and master various casting techniques.

The most powerful Wizards have always regarded themselves as seekers of truth, not merely casters.

Beyond spells, Wizards often must master runes, alchemy, enchantments, historical myths, planes, Holy Soul Element charts, and so on; this near‑endless knowledge may not all need to be mastered, but it consumes countless effort and brings great power.

The higher a Wizard's rank, the more profound their knowledge, and they are favored by the God of Magic.

Longshande's largest Wizard organization is the Silver Star Academy and the Wu Shi Ta founded by the Silver Star Duke; unless one leaves Longshande, every Wizard living here must deal with both.

Either join Silver Star Academy or enter the Wu Shi Ta.

Of course, Lei En could join neither, becoming a wandering Wizard.

A wandering Wizard lacks backing, resources, especially the inability to access the libraries of major Wizard academies; knowledge and techniques are scarce, and even with high talent, it's hard to go far.

In Empire history, occasional prodigious wandering Wizards have risen to legend, but none have advanced to Holy Soul Wizard or entered the Supreme Council.

Lei En certainly does not want to become a wandering Wizard; refusing a better path would be foolish.

He simply hasn't decided whether to enter Silver Star Academy or the Wu Shi Ta.

Silver Star Academy's environment is relatively relaxed; like the other two academies, it has fewer students, everyone aims to become a Wizard, and even if they cannot, they strive to become other spellcasters. The students' benefits are quite good.

Of course, this niceness is only relative to the other academies; it cannot compare with the Wu Shi Ta.

Only certified Wizards qualify to enter the Wu Shi Ta; its management is strict, and its model differs from the academies,

focusing on master‑apprentice transmission.

Each Wizard entering the tower must choose a higher‑ranked teacher to study or fight alongside.

All expenses for Wu Shi Ta members, including required knowledge and magical elixirs, are borne by the Silver Star Duke; accordingly, every Wizard in the tower obeys the Silver Star Duke.

This Holy Soul Wizard is the sole ruler of the High Tower.

Lei En's knowledge of the Wu Shi Ta's interior is limited; after all, Longshande's top Wizards are almost all tower members.

His background is clear, and entering Silver Star Academy or the Wu Shi Ta is not difficult.

Now there is also a legendary Wizard as a sponsor; wherever he goes, it's a matter of a single sentence.

Lei En leans toward first entering Silver Star Academy to grasp some knowledge, and after learning more, will decide whether to join the Wu Shi Ta.

However, he now has a concern: the Shadow Blade Assassin seems to have a plot against Silver Star Academy.

In the near future, Silver Star Academy may face a major incident.

Lei En does not want to wade into this mess; although he is only a first‑rank Wizard and a negligible figure between Silver Star Academy and the Shadow Blade, he bears a mark of dispute, and if the academy discovers it, it would be troublesome.

"Better wait a while; after the conspiracy erupts, then enter Silver Star Academy."

Lei En thought this, but before that, he still has a very important matter to handle.

He left the courtyard and went up to the second floor of the Basil Inn to enter his room.

The room's rent has been continuously paid, and no one has entered during that time; the shotgun and the longsword confiscated from AiSiBoGe are hidden under the bed, showing no signs of disturbance.

Lei En took out the shotgun for a check; it was fine.

He had previously made thirty cartridges; that day he used some, leaving seventeen, but after a few days they seemed a bit damp, and he wasn't sure if they were still usable.

Lei En shook his head, deciding to discard that batch of cartridges and to remodel the shotgun as well.

The shotgun was only an emergency fabrication when he was an ordinary person; it was very useful then, but now that he is a transcendent, he temporarily has no use for it.

Because firing it creates too much noise, there is little chance to use it in Longshandecheng.

Especially in the Silver Star District, the Spirit Demon Eye atop the Wu Shi Ta constantly monitors the area; the moment a gunshot cracks, its gaze would sweep over the next second, lock on, leaving no chance to flee.

Of course, the shotgun remains very useful, compensating for his current inability to cast long‑range spells.

However, it must first be modified; the bullet powder should be replaced with smokeless powder, and it would be best to learn from ZuoErTan how to craft soul guns, combining both advantages to boost power and create a firearm suited to him.

Lei En stored the gun and longsword, went downstairs to the inn's lobby, and ordered dinner.

ZuoErTan came over to chat, complaining that LuoJue was again messing around with that woman behind him and never played cards with him.

Lei En listened helplessly, could only change the subject and discuss firearm manufacturing with him.

Sure enough, when ZuoErTan mentioned firearms, he immediately forgot about cards, his eyebrows dancing as he bragged to Lei En about a few soul guns he owned.

The meal lasted over three hours, with nearly half a barrel of beer, and Lei En benefited greatly.

After night fell, Lei En took the shotgun and longsword and returned to his apartment.

He disassembled the gun into parts, disposed of the damp cartridges, and now his usable weapons are only an eight‑sided hammer and AiSiBoGe's hand‑half sword.

He picked up the sword, swung a few times, and Lei En shook his head in dissatisfaction.

This hand‑half sword is pricey, with excellent material and craftsmanship, but it is not enchanted and is too light, weighing just over ten pounds.

Ai Lun E Si's "pound" is roughly equivalent to the "jin" on Diqiu.

A ten-pound sword is already quite heavy; an ordinary person would run out of strength after a few swings, making it hard to use in actual combat — only the extraordinary can wield it.

As a legendary Demonkin hunter, Roger was not known for his strength, and his steel sword, Wolf's Fang, weighed no more than thirty pounds.

But for Lei En, whether ten pounds or thirty pounds, both were too light.

He could now easily lift objects weighing two thousand pounds, and a weapon around one hundred pounds felt just right in his hands. Below one hundred pounds, he couldn't leverage his strength advantage; above one hundred pounds, it would affect his agility and speed, and consume too much stamina in combat.

Swords weighing one hundred pounds are very rare; they are usually two-handed swords or greatswords.

Lei En knew swordsmanship, but had no particular preference for swords — perhaps influenced by his nickname from his past life, he had a special fondness for hammers.

A heavyweight weapon like a war hammer could better unleash his strength!

He picked up the octagonal hammer beside him, hefted it a few times in his hand — a thirty-pound hammer felt like a strand of straw, far too light.

"I still need to buy a suitable hammer."

Lei En recalled that when he bought the octagonal hammer, he had seen several war hammers in that mechanical craftsman's shop, and some of them should be usable for him.

He immediately went out, crossed the street, and soon arrived at the craftsman's shop.

The shop owner was still sitting there resting, looking exhausted, and upon seeing Lei En, still had no intention of getting up to attend to him.

Lei En paid him no mind and walked over to the area where hammer-class weapons were displayed.

A dozen or so war hammers of various types were laid out, mainly falling into three categories: one was the long-handled heavy hammer, nearly as tall as a person, requiring a two-handed grip, and appearing to weigh two to three hundred pounds; another was the short-handled single-handed hammer, relatively light, weighing around forty pounds.

These two types of hammers were relatively few; the most common were war hammers of moderate length.

The war hammer was originally a weapon favored by dwarves — with a large hammer head and a shaft about one meter long, it suited the dwarves' stature perfectly, and humans could use it too, wielding it with either both hands or a single hand.

There were five or six war hammers in the craftsman's shop, almost all following the design style of dwarven war hammers.

The hammer heads were predominantly square, the handles carved with anti-slip grooves, and many small details bore dwarven ornamentation — if one didn't look closely, they might think these were weapons made by dwarven hands.

None of these war hammers were enchanted; they were just ordinary weapons.

Enchanted weapons all cost over one hundred Gold Shields, which Lei En couldn't afford right now, and the craftsman's shop wouldn't just leave them out for anyone to test.

So Lei En didn't have much to choose from; he casually picked up a war hammer to get a feel for it, and found it a bit too light.

He tried several war hammers in a row, all around seventy pounds.

This weight might be just right for dwarves and other melee professions, but Lei En possessed a strengthened "Strength" Element, and seventy pounds was still too light.

Lei En had been planning to just buy a hammer to make do, and was about to ask the price, when he noticed a war hammer hanging on the wall behind the owner that looked heavier.

He walked over and asked, "Boss, could you let me take a look at that war hammer behind you?"