Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 89 The Master's First Lesson

The Mage Street in Radiant City may very well have a history even longer than Radiant City itself.

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

Many materials, monster corpses, and other artifacts unearthed underground need to be processed as quickly as possible, which naturally attracts professional caravans, researchers, and material seekers from outside.

To control the market, one must at least identify the materials, which requires the help of mages. Many mages come to this market either to obtain materials or to exchange ideas with their peers.

The prosperity of resource cities is often era-specific. Mining cities, oilfield cities, and even small fishing villages rise with the demands of new technologies in the new era and decline with the changing times. During their growth phase, they continuously attract more people, capital, and investors, becoming the focus of the country.

Among these new entrants, the proportion of mages is alarmingly high.

As researchers, mages have an insatiable need for materials, and their output attracts more extraordinary individuals to trade with them.

As long as the underground ruins continue to produce a steady output, they will continue to prosper.

In fact, with the changes of the times, the decline of the kingdom did not make Mage Street desolate. On the contrary, it made this "pearl in the crown" more brilliant and important, and it was expanded at least five times in just twenty years.

"Clang clang clang!"

The church bells rang, signaling nine in the morning, the start of a busy day.

"On average, only a handful out of a thousand apprentices become formal mages, and the percentage of grand mages has never exceeded one percent. I don't expect many of you to become qualified mages, let alone grand mages; I only ask that you don't embarrass me." The course for spellcasters has also begun.

The shimmering, pale gold church is a godless sanctuary.

It was once the core area of ​​Radiant City or a town, and the joint settlement of many True God churches. As the city developed, the churches all had their own churches, which turned this place into the administrative area of ​​Mage Street.

The police station, the Arcane Knights (a security force under Mage Street), and the fire brigade are all stationed here. Now, in one of the side halls, the sound of Lang Lang reading and lecturing can be heard.

The small room was a modified version of the original preaching room. On the platform, the Third Ring Mage Royce faced only seven apprentices, two of whom he had met before.

Not everyone can become an apprentice through a crash course (a crash course on general basic knowledge for mages). Most people choose to hone their skills on their own after completing a course and then pass an exam to officially "join the ranks".

In a sense, you could choose not to attend this class and study entirely on your own. But going through this process is equivalent to having formal training and giving yourself a prestigious title.

The children of the wealthy and influential, whether to curry favor with the teacher or to speed up their progress, would make a second, third, or even more trips.

Reus, who came the most, even five times, was eventually persuaded to leave because he was too disgraced to the family.

“One person is missing. Oh, who is it?” Reus decided to ignore the blank on the list.

Reus had reviewed the information; this batch of apprentices should have eight, and it was obvious which one was missing.
"Crack! Crack!"

Before any human voices arrived, the heavy sound of metal boots hitting the floor reached the room first.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm late."

Upon opening the door, the clanking metal armor instinctively displeased the spellcasters.

"It's so bright." The apprentices were dazzled by the reflected sunlight.

"So bright." It wasn't just the sunlight that was shining, but also the excessively dazzling silver armor.

It was flashing and bright, that was probably the first reaction upon seeing the man outside the door.

Also due to the terrain design, the church's semi-transparent windows allow light to bounce and focus onto the silver armor of those entering. This was originally supposed to be the position of the preaching pastor.

The already valuable new armor appeared even more dazzling and sacred under the specially designed lighting system.

Especially when there is a faint glow around the other party.

The paladin's radiant glow, which is even more pronounced in sunlight, is jokingly referred to as the paladin's built-in sound effect, and many people are familiar with it.

The more devout and powerful a paladin is, the more obvious the difference becomes, and this one is starting to be dazzling, which seems a bit exaggerated.

But now, this silver-armored knight, who should be enforcing the law outside, suddenly bowed slightly to the podium to express his apology.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I'm the apprentice Rean Sudar."

Before the instructor could react, the apprentices below, who had been tense, could no longer contain themselves.

Wait a minute, with that armor and the sword on your back, are you here to become a mage apprentice? You've come to the wrong place! We thought you were here to arrest someone!
One of the apprentices even secretly smiled. Magus Royce was not an easy person to deal with, and as a third-circle mage, he had no need to give face to ordinary nobles and knights.

In the previous class, I was late and was severely scolded and made to stand for the entire class as punishment.

"Okay, sit down quickly. It's okay, it's just the beginning." The teacher, who was usually strict, seemed very kind and gentle at this moment.

The apprentices who had returned for the second time were completely dumbfounded. Was this still the same raging, charismatic mentor they remembered?!

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

"who is he?"

"Sudahl? That Sudar?"

Despite his growing fame in some areas, Rean is still a newcomer to the city, having been there for less than a month, and is virtually unknown in many places.

But for a hot-tempered teacher to show such an attitude, this man is clearly no ordinary person.

Rean didn't continue his reckless behavior. He walked to the back, sat down, and the wooden chair creaked as he sat down.
Snap! It broke right off!
"Boom!" He landed hard on his buttocks.

Clearly, the wooden chairs in this church were not intended for someone in full armor.

This has disrupted the classroom order. Mr. Royce should say something, at least give him a reprimand.

But Royce, the teacher above, seemed completely oblivious, simply smiling as he continued his lecture. The second-time student below was bewildered; he had never seen Royce so patient during the entire course he had completed last time. Evocation spellcasters are generally known for their short tempers.

“Spellcasting is a delicate art, it is knowledge,” Royce said with a sunny smile and gentle tone, but his gaze completely ignored the knight below who had an overly strong presence.

Alright, the apprentices all understand. It seems that even the teachers on stage can't afford to offend this guy.

In fact, when Reus saw this guy's information, he directly stated that he couldn't afford to offend him and suggested finding another coach.

"A classical Oath Paladin? There are still such gods these days? Uh, an Oath Paladin around twenty years old, are you kidding me?!" Great Knights and Great Warriors are generally over forty years old, and a twenty-year-old has this level? Is he a divine child with special bloodline, or a prince of some kingdom with maxed-out resources?
Such a monster, if it were truly of commoner origin, should appear in epic tales.

In the future, he will at least be an unlucky guy who failed to slay a dragon, and it's not his place as a third-ring mage to provoke him.

As he continued to review the data, Reus's urge to switch shifts with his colleagues grew stronger.

"There's a record from within the past week: surviving a fireball spell without sustaining any damage, then walking right over and severely injuring the caster with his fists." Surviving a level 3 or lower area-of-effect spell? Surviving an explosion of artillery-level power? What kind of feat is this, or is it just an absurdly flawless escape?
"Using a roar to shatter magic missiles—am I reading a fairy tale? Uh, there are many witnesses, 100% real?" Royce was dumbfounded. Clearly, this guy was a professional mage killer.

Who knows, he might have been a Judge before, one of those Paladins who specifically hunt down evil wizards. "A record of killing super-powerful magical beasts and cultists? And a top-tier pseudo-dragon warrior died there, yet he came out alive?" Those in the know often don't look at "reasons," and won't underestimate the victor because of so-called luck.

Reus only cares about the results; those who survive are stronger.

Having reviewed the materials, Royce was able to maintain a calm and stable teaching mindset, without any intention of reprimanding the other party.

He glanced at the man who had silently stood up to fix the chair and was busy; it seemed he didn't need his help.

Royce was genuinely worried that if he angered the other party, the knight would come up and tear him apart with his bare hands.

After all, he and that unlucky guy were both at the third ring, and their strongest spell was Fireball.

If your lateness or attire is a deliberate provocation, implying that I, Reuss, am unworthy to teach you, then yes, I am unworthy!! Please ignore me.

Royce dared not offend Rean in the slightest, even though the person in front of him was a degenerated species, even though the data said he had lost his power. No! He still had holy light on him, this data was completely wrong.

After thinking about it, Reus didn't really think there was a problem with the intelligence; he just felt that the other party's assessment was even more outrageous than his own maximum estimate.

"People who can do those outrageous things can't be judged by common sense. They can become gods if they want, as long as it doesn't affect my teaching and earning a salary."

The truth is that simple: why did this person come to be a mage apprentice? Why is he still dressed like a knight? What does it have to do with him being a hired mage?

Who knows, one day the other party might suddenly rise to great heights again. As an ordinary worker, it's better for him not to offend anyone.

"What bad luck." But Rean himself really didn't mean it, and he didn't want to attract so much attention on his first appearance.

He had come dutifully in his apprentice robes, and logically, he shouldn't have been late, having arrived early.

"Wait, this person, the blank apprentice robe, and the puppet behind him." Someone recognized him instantly.

“Metal upright lizard! That’s right! It’s him!” The main reason is the little guy bouncing around behind Rean.

So, shortly after entering the Mage Street, Rean received a “warm welcome.”

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and became increasingly skilled at using smoke grenades to seal off smoke. He quickly ran away and changed his clothes, managing to take a detour to get to class.

"I was careless." Under normal circumstances, Rean would not forget the trouble he caused a day ago.

However, the memories of the heroic spirit were inherited in the dream, causing the dreamer to experience too much and have the illusion that "a long time has passed" after waking up.

This surreal feeling made Rean, upon waking, somewhat confused about his current goals, and it took him a while to remember that he had class today.

"We need to pay attention to this as well, or we might miss some important things. We should take more notes."

He wasn't there to intimidate the teacher. Seeing the teacher begin the lesson, he obediently opened his notes and stood up to listen.

There was nothing he could do; the chair had already been completely shattered into pieces by his repairs, and he'd probably have to pay for it later.

"A mage is not a tool, nor a weapon of war. Even though many of you may come here solely for the power of magic, a mage is actually a transmitter of knowledge."

The first lesson often doesn't start immediately, but instead involves talking about "nonsense" based on the textbook.

The apprentices below were unimpressed, and the teachers above didn't take it seriously, but Rean knew just how weighty the phrase "researcher and transmitter of knowledge" truly was.

Before receiving the inheritance of the Heroic Spirit, Rean would probably have dismissed it as nonsense, but now he is seriously recording it down.

Rean's attentive listening in class was a relief to the teacher.

Judging from this, he wasn't here to cause trouble; at this moment, Royce's voice even became a little more stable.

"If you have the chance to reach the Second Ring level, your mentors will require you to minor in one subject, whether it's art, arcane history, or religion. At that point, you'll understand the importance of academics even more. Oh, and the most troublesome subjects, math and dragon language, are compulsory—so be prepared to endure them until you go bald."

The first-ring monk lays the foundation, while the second-ring monk broadens his horizons and begins to study a certain academic discipline, which is also a foundation for going further.

But rules are rules, and practice is practice. The reality is that most low-level mages don't take them seriously, and elective courses are practically guaranteed to be skipped.

"Excellent! Excellent! Our time didn't have that."

Kuku, who was eavesdropping, seemed quite satisfied with the improvement, unaware that most students wouldn't take it seriously.

The reality is that most mages hit a bottleneck after reaching the mid-to-high level, and only then do they go back to catch up on their studies, but very few of them actually realize that something is wrong.

Even if you lay a solid foundation beforehand, which is obviously more efficient, it still turns a wrong path into the right one, and makes some of the hard work of textbook and curriculum designers go to waste.

"When you reach the third level, you'll often need to choose a specialized subject, from Evocation to Prophecy, but I suggest avoiding Necromancy, as its main career paths are in cemeteries and prisons."

Royce's courses were designed to be as light and fun as possible, so that his apprentices could at least remember some of the required miscellaneous knowledge.

The first lesson mainly provides a brief introduction to the life of a monk, including some courses that must be taken in the future, so that the apprentices can have an overall understanding.

After that, there were classes every three or four days, and the course lasted for a month to a month and a half. Reuss's teaching style was more like that of a university professor.

I highlight the key points during class. If you learn them well after class, I will highlight new key points in the next class, and you can continue to follow my instructions.

Inspection? There's no such thing. How well you learn is your own business. Anyway, there's an exam to finish it off.

Those who keep up, or even exceed the schedule, will enter the next round of selection and appointment.

And today, the first day, we've already started submitting the book list.

Rean felt increasingly uneasy as he listened; the book list was really too long.
"From mathematics to history, from humanities to engineering, is this really studying magic?" Rean was truly glad that his purse wasn't empty yet, the books here were incredibly expensive.

But now, the books that Royce is talking about seem to be real core courses, which are unavoidable and require exams to determine the grade.

"Kuku, what do you think? Compared to your generation?" During a break in the lesson, Rean casually asked.

"Very good, very standardized, more suitable for basics and more forward-looking than what we did back then." Kuku was very satisfied. At least for now, it seems more systematic and better suited for training newcomers.

What I lacked most back then was probably this kind of "miscellaneous knowledge" and "common sense," which is very important for future learning, but unfortunately no one taught me that back then.

Later, I spent a lot of effort to catch up on those courses.

Despite believing that times are progressing, Kuku still made a sarcastic remark at the end.

"It's so impersonal! Not as good as my teacher's lectures! Boring! Uninteresting!"

"Mmm-hmm." What else could Rean say but nod?

(End of this chapter)