I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 180 Unexpected Advancement

Although others were willing to give way to him, DuPont did not participate in the activity. At this moment, he was happily taking stock of his gains.

The experience points given by first-circle spells were very small, and he could hardly understand the spells that his mentors prayed for. His spell comprehension was only 1%. However, he gained a lot from second-circle and third-circle spells. In addition to learning those spells, he also unexpectedly gained a total of 24700 experience points!
Including his previous reserves, he now has 119420/8000 experience points.
These reserves are probably enough for him to be promoted four ranks in a row!
Even for the more popular 3rd-level spells, such as Haste, Word of Wisdom, Counterspell, and Lightning Bolt, Dupont's progress is nearly halfway complete. As for the infamous Fireball spell, which is the most frequently asked question, even though Dupont has never attended a single class on it and has made many mistakes, his progress has reached 67%. Its side effect has even allowed Dupont to learn the Fiery Ray spell.

If he chooses his courses carefully this month, he might be able to become a third-ring mage through self-study.

Thinking about this, DuPont's hands trembled with excitement, and it took him a while to calm down after drinking a large glass of honey water.

Aside from the free training grounds for the first month, which was the biggest benefit he had gotten from the system for free, he gained valuable magical experience simply by staring intently at the flashing knowledge; it was incredibly satisfying.

If this could be held every day, the progress to the fifth ring could probably be calculated in months.

Not only him, but many apprentices also wore satisfied expressions, clearly having gained a lot from this annual ceremony. Charles, in particular, wore a smug look and said to Safis beside him, "See, I told you the mentor still cared about me. Otherwise, if I missed this opportunity, wouldn't I have had to study for at least another week?"

Safis rolled his eyes after hearing this, too lazy to argue with this gigolo.

Look at people like DuPont, they don't rely on others for their livelihood, and they still thrive in academia.

You're the kind of person who hides from other people's husbands, and you're just fooling yourself here.

DuPont calmed himself down, but he still couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

Getting something for free is so awesome!
However, such opportunities are rare. After all, even Mystra can only give voters Silverfire and spell slots; they still have to learn magic themselves.

This is the God of Knowledge directly providing the answer, taking a shortcut.

Unfortunately, the advancement of mages is not based on superstition at all. If one advances too quickly, it may arouse suspicion from others, and one cannot shift the blame to the gods.

When he met Veronica, his mentor deliberately reminded him not to make deals with demons. His current leveling speed is already incredibly fast. If he were to jump several levels in a row in his mage level, it would definitely arouse suspicion from others.

Let's keep a low profile, let time silence these doubts, and honestly solidify our foundation.

He hasn't had much time to study the Nine Swords Manual lately, but now he has time to research it.

The following shows included manipulating corpses to perform a zombie dance, and a performance of "The Perplexity of Fury" performed by both the transformation and manipulation types. DuPont watched with somewhat little interest.

It's not that these programs are uninteresting, but we waited for ages and still didn't see Paladin. I wonder if she's tied up with official duties and can't get away.

As the architecture department accepted the invitation, DuPont also came to the center of the temporary stage with his lute and plucked the strings.

With the paladin absent, DuPont's lute playing lacked focus and gained a touch of cynicism, while the charm ring on his finger, borrowed from Man Shi, shone with an eerie light under the lamplight.

As a series of light and catchy notes rang out, the previously noisy square quickly returned to silence. Men and women alike turned their attention to the lead singer playing the piano under the Flame Dancer's guidance. Wearing agility gloves, his fingers moved with lightning speed, and the amplified notes made the already fast music even more agitated, sending shivers down the spines of countless students.

"Turn on the phonograph, turn on the tape recorder, let the music start, let the rhythm never stop."

"Don't ignore me, don't hate me, you can't be late for our date~"

The unfamiliar vocabulary left many apprentices somewhat bewildered, but the lively and joyful notes still made them unconsciously sway their bodies.

"Whenever the lute notes begin to play, let's pretend we're still together~"

You can hear my heart pounding, but you pretend you don't know anything~

The faceless but alluring flame dancers seemed to be inspired, their dances becoming even more enchanting than before. Many young men and women in the square unconsciously swayed their bodies, enjoying the sweet midsummer with their loved ones and experiencing the joy of dancing with their sweethearts.

The layman watched the spectacle, but the expert was filled with trepidation. Pastor Shana looked at her fellow novice pastors who had also joined the dance with astonishment. This was no longer just music; it had been infused with magic.

If you fail the charm test, you will be inspired by the music, put aside your distractions, and find someone to start dancing.

Although she admitted that the song was decent in both lyrics and melody, overall it was short in structure, had simple lyrics, and many repetitive sections, making it nothing more than a low-brow song sung by some mediocre bards.

But DuPont was not a sorcerer, and the music does indeed have the magic of a bard!
However, she had asked Dorothy beforehand, and according to Dorothy, this was just a mage apprentice with some melee skills. In the deleted files that she could read, she had never seen this guy play any musical instruments.

She had recently learned that this guy had only practiced his instrument recently to celebrate the holiday, and his skillful playing was already comparable to that of many novice bards.

But playing music is one thing, but how come this guy's songs actually have a magical quality?

Could it be that in that instant, he has already become a bard?!
Not only was Shuni's pastor stunned, but DuPont was too.

[Your performance was a success! You have successfully used a new musical style to create a mesmerizing performance, and you have earned the Bard Rank 1.]

You are proficient in simple weapons, crossbows, longswords, rapiers, short swords, and light armor.

You can choose three musical instruments to practice with.

You can choose three skills you are proficient in.

[You've grasped the technique: the poet's inspiration]

Poet's Inspiration: Those inspired by your music or words are more likely to succeed on attribute checks, attack checks, and saving throws. The number of uses equals your Charisma modifier.

You have used the Poet's Inspiration 3 times so far.

You gain four spell slots in the first level, which can be used to cast bard spells.

[You have successfully invented a new musical style that has become very popular, and you have been encouraged by Milir, the Lord of All Songs.]

You have acquired the specialty [Musician].

You can choose three more instruments to practice with.

You can play a song on an instrument you are skilled at, and grant heroic inspiration to allies who hear it. The maximum number of allies you can influence in this way is equal to your skill bonus.

Since your bard rank is automatically gained, no additional experience points are required to level up your bard rank.

You currently have four part-time jobs. Since your new job does not earn experience points, you will not be penalized for part-time work.

Holy crap, I just randomly copied two songs and I got the titles of musician and bard?!

Although I have enough charm, this musician is worth so little. And Milier, do you have that much free time?

You god of scumbags, shouldn't you be somewhere having fun like Shuni, instead of watching me, a man?

Hopefully, this guy isn't one of those weirdos from the elven pantheon...

Looking at his level 4 mage/level 3 barbarian/level 3 warrior/level 1 bard, DuPont almost blew the strings off his lyre.

The renowned sage Elminster only had five professions, but he now has four.

And from any perspective, his professional background is just too bizarre.
(End of this chapter)