Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 20 Qualifications
Locke then discovered that, besides them, there were many other aspiring wizards on the deck of the wizard ship, numbering in the dozens.

Because the deck of the wizard ship is very spacious, it does not feel cramped even with dozens of people standing on it.

Almost every one of these people possesses extremely strong spiritual power, and many of them are even far more profound than their own magical abilities.

Locke calmed himself down. That made sense. His level three aptitude was a good wizarding aptitude on Corfu, but on this wizarding ship in the southeastern corner of the region, it was very ordinary.

There must be many wizarding talents with fourth or fifth-level wizarding potential on this ship, and even some sixth and seventh-level wizards.

One of the three wizards on the wizard ship was holding the files of Locke and his two companions. After flipping through them briefly, he said, "I am the wizard mentor in charge of your life on the ship. Before you are assigned to your academy and disembark, you will all follow my instructions."

"Now I will test your magic and examine your spells."

“First, Locke Augustine, use your magic to attack the amethyst matrix in my hand with all your might.”

"First, let me confirm, Locke Augustine, you are sixteen years old, right?"

Locke nodded and said, "Yes, mentor."

He picked up a wildflower with his left hand, then whispered a spell, and the wildflower in his hand withered instantly.

From beneath Locke's right-hand coat, five branches of mandrake emerged, resembling five fingers of a person, covering the amethyst matrix and causing ripples to spread across its surface.

Inside the amethyst matrix, two numbers appeared: [18, 0.2].

The wizard instructor in charge of the test announced: "Mental strength 18, power of Vine Hands 0.2 rings."

"The study period is two years, the wizard aptitude is level 3, the primary compatible element is wood, and the secondary compatible element is metal. Alright, next."

Locke looked at the amethyst matrix; so this was the tool Dean Tunguska had mentioned, used to test specific magical power values.

Therefore, my current mental strength is 18.

According to Dean Tunguska, the minimum mental strength for a third-class wizard apprentice should be 10, while his current level is 18, which is probably because he has learned two magic tricks.

Next, Patty conducted the test, using Scorching Sparks on the Amethyst Matrix.

As a wave of fire surged forth, the amethyst matrix within the flames displayed two numbers: [10, 0.1].

This means that Patty's mana is 10, while the ring level of the scorching fire just now was only 0.1.

Patty walked to the side, her face looking a little pale. Locke comforted her, saying, "It's alright, Patty. I think your spell power is higher than 0.1 ring, just not quite at the 0.2 ring level."

Patty smiled slightly. "I thought so too."

"Thank you, Locke."

Next was Kord. Since he hadn't learned any magic, his wizard mentors simply had him place his palm on the amethyst matrix and use his magic to strike the amethyst. Eventually, a number [7] appeared in the amethyst.

Kord was pale. He had always thought he was very close to being able to use his first spell, but the minimum mental strength required to cast a spell was 10.

His current mental strength is only 7.

This means that he is currently quite far from being able to use his first spell.

The wizard mentor said, "Cord is 15 years old, has a wizard aptitude of level 1, and his primary elemental affinity is water, while his secondary elemental affinity is wind."

"The test is complete."

"The rooms inside the wizard ship are divided into seven types, which are arranged according to the wizard's aptitude level. Wizards with aptitude level 1 can only live on the lowest deck of the wizard ship, while wizards with aptitude level 3 and below can only live below the deck of the wizard ship."

"Only wizarding talents with a wizarding aptitude of level 4 or above can live in the rooms above the deck of a wizarding ship."

"I will only explain these words once. Now you can find the corresponding room to live in according to your wizarding aptitude."

"Also, I'll only remind you once: the Endless Mysterious Sea is extremely dangerous. If you have nothing to do, don't wander around."

Locke looked at Patty and Cord in surprise. Because of Dean Tunguska, he had originally planned to stay in the nearby dormitory with the two of them.

Who knew that on the wizard ship, the dormitories were arranged according to different wizard qualification levels.

In other words, from the very beginning of boarding the ship, the hierarchical framework of the wizarding world already divided people into different categories, granting them different treatment.

Codd was somewhat disappointed. "Mentors, can't we live together? We're friends, and we're from the same continent."

At that moment, the three wizard mentors on the wizard ship didn't even bother to listen to what the three of them, and simply turned around and left.

The three wizard instructors were still whispering among themselves. One of them said to the leader in a low voice, "Jarvis, wasn't the spell that the first child used one your specialty, Hand of Vines?"

"But why is he using Mandragora vines? Haven't these vines long been replaced by Tiffanora vines because they're outdated?"

"There should be a corresponding advanced spell after the Vine Hand, but he used Mandrake. I guess it will have to be abolished later and he'll have to learn it again."

Jarvis glanced at him but didn't say anything.

The third wizard mentor on the ship scoffed. "That's how wizarding talents from small towns are; their magic is decades behind the times. He seems to be from Corfu..."

"In the mortal realm of that place, I've heard that even wizards have become something of legend."

"Their belief in the Seven Gods was probably spread by some official wizards in the southeastern corner of the region."

"The souls of mortals who have embraced the faith in the seven gods fabricated by the official wizards will be locked. After death, their souls will fall directly into the soul prison created by the official wizards, becoming experimental subjects."

"This is what a powerful, fully-fledged wizard looks like. Will I ever have the chance to become a fully-fledged wizard in my lifetime?"

Jarvis looked at the man with disdain. "Dali, you talk too much. With your level 4 wizarding aptitude, do you even have a chance to become a full-fledged wizard in this lifetime?"

"It's already quite an achievement that you've reached this point."

"Don't be too greedy."

"You!" Dali glared angrily at Jarvis, but then he remembered that Jarvis was a first-class wizard apprentice in the botanical field of the Life Magic School of the Four Seasons Garden, and he had heard that Jarvis's magical power was already very close to that of a formal wizard, his magical attainments were extremely high, and his wizard aptitude was a full level 6.

Dali forcibly suppressed his anger, fearing that he might make a mistake and incur the wrath of Jarvis, a first-class wizard apprentice who would surely become a formal wizard in the future.

Meanwhile, Locke overheard the conversation between the wizard mentors and learned that the Vine Hand spell in the southeastern corner region had changed the seeds of the magical vines.

But it didn't matter. Locke calmed himself down and looked at the world on the deck of the wizard ship, which could be described as a wonder.

Take it one step at a time.

Later, I can find a way to replace it with a more advanced magic vine, and I may not even need to actually replace it.

After all, he had the Horadric Cube, so he could use the synthesis method to forcibly improve the quality of the Mandragora.

Locke and the others said their goodbyes on the deck of the wizard ship, and then headed to their respective rooms on different levels according to their wizard aptitude.

Codd could only descend to the bottom floor via the deck stairs, through dark passageways, and live in the dark, damp room at the very bottom.

Patty, on the other hand, lived on the second-to-last floor.

Although Locke cannot live on the deck above, his talent is level 3, so he can live in the room on the floor closest to the deck.

Although this room is also below the deck of the wizard ship, the windows on both sides of the room allow some sunlight, and it is not as humid, so there is not much mold.

At this time, most of the rooms on the floor below the deck were still empty, so Locke randomly picked one and moved in.

The room is oval in shape, as if you were living inside a wine barrel.

This could be to save space, or it could be to adapt to the structure of the ship's bottom.

There is a glass window on the wooden wall on the left side of the room, through which you can see the stormy sea and the gray sky outside the cabin.

The wooden plank bed was placed on top of a ring of wooden barrels, but the blankets, mattresses, and pillows on it were very clean.

The materials were all clean and soft fabrics, and the quilts and pillows appeared to be stuffed with cotton and goose down.

It was surprisingly comfortable to sleep on.

Locke had just sat down on the bed, about to rest for a bit. Anyway, the wizard ship still had many islands to visit to pick up and drop off young wizards, and it would be a long time before they disembarked.

So I can rest here a little longer.

But he had only been sitting on the bed for a short while when he heard arguing coming from the hallway outside the door.

"Why can't I, a third-class wizard apprentice, live on this floor? I'm already a third-class wizard apprentice, and my mental strength is still 14, far exceeding the threshold for a third-class wizard apprentice."

"The people in the lowest cabins are mostly ordinary people. I'm different from them; I'm going to live on this floor!"

(End of this chapter)