Lynn hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue, only to be held back.

“What’s on your mind?” Harin glanced at Lynn.

“Nothing,” Lynn shook his head.

“The competition for the top spot is fierce. It’s a challenge you may not be ready for,” Harin remarked.

“Understood,” Lynn nodded. At this point, there was no use in complaining. Besides, he was just a wizard apprentice. Even though he had some relationship with Wizard Harin, there were more wizards than just Harin in the academy.

Seeing Lynn’s understanding demeanor, Harin nodded approvingly.

“However, teacher, points can be exchanged for magic stones. With fewer points, I’ll have fewer magic stones. I feel quite pitiful. Are you just going to watch as your student is mistreated? It seems like fate for a commoner apprentice like me without any background to be bullied,” Lynn lamented.

Harin knew Lynn’s character too well. This mischievous lad was always looking for benefits. “Do you think every year’s competition is the same as this one?”

“Isn’t it?” Lynn was surprised.

“Of course not. Moreover, each time, the participating wizard factions also depend on their mood. The selection process in my day was different from this one,” Harin explained.

“A bunch of newcomers who haven’t officially entered the wizarding world yet can exchange points for magic stones, and you should be grateful to encounter the generous Mechanist City,” he continued.

“Is Mechanist City that wealthy?”

Harin chuckled. “No, it’s just that they have mastered the technology to produce artificial magic stones, so they have plenty. But when it comes to true prosperity, there aren’t many factions that can match our Abyss Wizard Academy.”

“I understand,” Lynn nodded deeply in agreement.

Resources, apart from being recyclable and renewable, the quickest way to accumulate them is through plundering.

In some countries of his previous life, it was through this that they accumulated their first and second buckets of gold for rapid development.

Compared to plundering resources, when Wizard civilization encountered Abyss civilization, it was like dung beetles following stink bugs—birds of a feather flocking together. 

And one acts as the good cop, the other the bad cop. They cooperate quite seamlessly, probably selling off entire planes and still helping count the money.

“After you arrive at the Abyss Wizard Academy, I will recommend you for a special experimental project. Of course, whether you can participate in this project depends on your performance,” Harin said.

“Teacher, what are the criteria for starting an experimental project alone?” Lynn asked. As an assistant, he wouldn’t receive any rewards, and he had bigger ambitions.

“Only official wizards at the lowest level can apply for projects themselves. Becoming an official wizard is not something you can consider at the moment,” Harin replied.

“Don’t aim too high. Whether you can join the experimental project is still uncertain. Normally, only third-level wizard apprentices who excel in this field have a chance to compete,” Harin said. “You can learn a lot from these experimental projects, which will also be helpful for your future. Moreover, there will be additional rewards after the project succeeds, some of which are targeted rewards, such as raw materials for building wizard towers.”

Hearing about the raw materials needed to construct a wizard tower, Lynn’s interest was piqued. In his current pool of knowledge, he had come across the concept of wizard towers, a familiar entity. 

A wizard tower is a multifunctional structure that expands and even undergoes recasting as the wizard grows in power. It serves as a comprehensive building combining functionalities such as a fortress, research facility, living quarters, and even a mobile fountain of blood. Within their wizard tower, a wizard’s power would be greatly amplified. 

However, as wizards specializing in the construction of wizard towers vary in their expertise, the types and functions of these towers also varied. However, every aspect related to building a wizard tower hinted at one thing—expensive.

It was said that constructing a wizard tower could drain the savings of any wizard, as it was akin to home renovation, with no upper limit.

“Thank you for your guidance, teacher,” Lynn said, preparing to assess the situation before making a decision. Observing the other wizard apprentices around him, he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. “But I don’t think there are many commoner wizard apprentices who can make it to the mountain summit. Most are noble wizard apprentices.”

   

From their attire and demeanor, it was easy to distinguish between wizard apprentices of commoner and noble origins.

Most commoner wizard apprentices were not as proficient at this stage compared to their noble counterparts. 

After all, the elite education and training that nobles received from a young age were not something that commoner wizards who were fortunate enough to obtain the wizard inheritance could easily surpass.

Harin fell silent for a moment. “Because this is a screening process. After entering the maze, you can avoid most dangers by heading straight to the mountain summit or selecting suitable companions to explore monster lairs together.”

“There are various ways to screen apprentices, but the most important thing is to be able to recognize oneself.”

“Let’s go,” Harin led Lynn into the palace, where they found the staff in charge of exchanging points.

The administrator responsible for exchanging point resources was an entourage of a certain wizard from the Mechanist City.

He was very courteous and handed a resource list to Lynn.

On it, Lynn saw high-concentration yellow jasper raw ore, with 10 kilograms of the raw ore requiring only 10 points, the same cost as exchanging for one magic stone.

The yellow jasper was the raw material needed to make Iron Earthworms, and after this period of use, Lynn found Iron Earthworms to be quite a decent alchemical monster.

With its ability to burrow underground, it proved useful in many situations.

However, its individual strength needed improvement, and Lynn planned to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Iron Earthworms when he had time later on.

“May I take a look at the raw ore?” Lynn inquired.

The administrator glanced at Harin beside Lynn and then replied, “Of course.”

Soon, the yellow jasper ore was brought over.

Lynn inspected it.

Inside the raw ore, the rate of yellow jasper was roughly between 50% to 60%.

If he could extract the yellow jasper himself and grind them into powder, he could make a profit compared to directly purchasing 5 kilograms per magic stone finished yellow jasper powder on the market.

“I’ll take 500 kilograms of yellow jasper raw ore, and can I also see 10 kilograms of amethyst raw ore?” Lynn asked shyly yet politely.

In the end, Lynn purchased a large amount of raw ore and went back.

It had to be said that the quality of the raw ore produced by the Mechanist City was indeed good. As long as he put in some time for processing, it was more profitable than buying directly from the market.

While Lynn was making the purchase, Harin occasionally chimed in with some suggestions about the market prices of finished ores.

After Lynn and Harin left, a wizard apprentice waiting behind stepped forward.

Rubbing his hands together, the wizard apprentice politely asked, “Hello, may I see the Onyx Luminescent Scales raw ore?”

The administrator’s face darkened. “Get lost, take it or leave it!”

——

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