I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 3 Legal System Iai
Although he didn't have many silver coins in his pocket, DuPont couldn't afford to show weakness. He didn't want others to know his current financial situation, because no matter what world he lived in, poor people were probably looked down upon. "Never mind, I haven't been feeling well lately and I'm really weak. The infirmary doctor told me to go see a doctor tomorrow, but I don't have time to go."

"Oh, never mind then." Charles was clearly disappointed. "We'll talk about it when you're better."

The chubby boy went off to chat with someone else, and soon his lewd laughter could be heard. DuPont observed silently and noticed something.

There were more than 40 students in the classroom just now. After class, some left to other classrooms, but 15 people remained. The break time was not short, but only this person came to find me. It can be said that he is not very popular.

Students generally don't interact as pragmatically as people in society, and their appearance shouldn't be disliked by others. So, is it because he's a poor student that he has bad interpersonal relationships?
Charles was seated in the first row, and the fact that they could hang out together meant that this wasn't the issue. His charm wasn't something that would annoy others just because they saw him.

Perhaps the people here lead such hectic lives that they have no interest in socializing.

DuPont had an idea.

The academy only has four classes a day. I was still dizzy from the next spell class, so I tried my best to copy down the notes. Fortunately, I gained another 24 experience points.

At this rate, becoming a level 3 mage by the end of the year should be no problem at all.

A level 3 mage can cast second-circle spells, and the recycling price of a second-circle scroll is as high as 10 gold, which more than triples the efficiency.

"What are you thinking about?" Charles's voice came from behind. "Dinner's almost ready. If you're late, there won't be any left."

The college cafeteria was quite spacious, but the environment was surprisingly clean. The bright floor tiles were spotless, and the walls were covered with signs such as "No Loud Talking," "No Fighting," and "No Speculation." Even the hard-to-clean corners were spotless.

Many people did not stay overnight. At this time, there were only about 200 apprentices in the canteen. The three windows for serving food formed a long queue. Everyone carried iron trays to buy food. Some people took the food back to their dormitories directly. DuPont looked at the prices in the restaurant and felt a little toothache.

A student meal consisting of a steaming piece of bread, a fragrant beef soup brimming with ingredients, and a small plate of cabbage salad costs 30 copper coins.

This isn't expensive considering the apprentice's potential income; even if they could just hand in an extra scroll each week, they could eat nearly a hundred meals like this. However, this was a bit unacceptable for DuPont.

He didn't have many big cards in his hand.

Looking at his peers who were half a head shorter than him, Dupont asked for two more loaves of bread and a glass bottle of milk weighing about a pound, for a total of exactly 50 copper coins.

When it comes to food, DuPont has no intention of cutting corners.

Although finances are tight right now, having good health will undoubtedly make things much easier. If I can solve my current problems through dietary supplements, I can save a huge sum of 50000 copper coins.

DuPont shared a table with a few classmates he recognized. He weighed the brown bread in his hand. It smelled good and weighed about three ounces. It was also quite soft to the touch, but it was a bit rough on his throat when he put it in his mouth.

No wonder people here eat mutton soup with bread.

After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, they were about to head back to their dorm together when they faintly heard the word "glutton" coming from behind them.

DuPont glanced at it sideways but ignored it.

It seems that teenagers in any world like to give each other nicknames. Even these mage apprentices, whose intelligence should be much higher than that of ordinary people, are no exception. They are quite childish.

Just as he was about to leave, Charles, who was standing to the side, became furious and turned around to yell, "Which goblin bastard said that?"

DuPont eats a lot, but because of his height, he is quite well-proportioned. Charles, on the other hand, is definitely a little fat boy. Hearing someone expose his shortcomings like this, he was immediately furious, and his cheeks twitched.

"I wasn't talking about you, why are you so angry?" Hearing Charles's cursing, everyone in the cafeteria looked over. The apprentice named Bran was not afraid at all, and a skinny guy next to him also sneered: "I've heard that some people like to pick up money, but today I've seen someone pick up insults."

"Ha, you like gossiping behind people's backs and you think you're right?" Charles glared at the guy, about to curse again, when DuPont noticed a slick-looking young man at the next table reaching for his fanny pack.

This isn't right.

DuPont wasn't afraid of fighting; the construction site basketball he played with his workers was brutal and violent, with moves even more aggressive than those in today's NBA, except they didn't use wrenches. But if he got into a conflict with someone with ulterior motives in an unfamiliar place, the consequences would likely go far beyond just paying some medical bills.

Patting Charles on the shoulder, DuPont sneered, "Forget it, why bother arguing with this idiot who doesn't know the value of time? If he doesn't graduate, he can always sell his ass. Do you think you can do that?"

DuPont's words made many people in the cafeteria laugh. Charles felt a surge of satisfaction seeing the two men red-faced with anger. When he realized that no one at his table except DuPont was speaking up for him, he picked up his tray and left, saying, "That's right. I'm not going to stoop to your level, you bunch of idiots. I'm leaving."

These words were truly awful. The skinny man stood up and angrily said, "A bunch of inferior students are acting all high and mighty. They've really benefited from the new era; anyone can come and become a mage."

But to his surprise, all the other civil engineering apprentices standing nearby immediately stood up upon hearing this, slammed their fists on the table, and shouted angrily, "Watch your mouth!"

Before the skinny man could say anything more, the man next to him, who was putting on his armband, shook his head. The skinny man, feeling less confident, sat down and whispered, "Those two kids playing in the mud were pretty fast."

Bran didn't reply, but quietly used a communication spell: "Alright, it wasn't our intention to provoke too many people. But Connor, most people might think our outburst today was just an accident, but if we actively cause trouble again in a short period of time, people might remember us, and if it gets back to the mentor..."

Connor had already replaced his armband with a handkerchief, and wiped his mouth as if nothing had happened. He glanced at the two departing figures out of the corner of his eye: "It's okay. Even without these pushovers, we can still go find those Northerners and take them down one by one."

Meanwhile, DuPont was lying in bed, deep in thought.

The school environment has never lacked idiots. Even before he transmigrated to Earth, with all sorts of restrictions and regulations, fights and brawls were still common. This feudal society in the Middle Ages would only be more barbaric.

He could hardly recall any deaths at the academy, but almost every month someone would be put in solitary confinement for fighting, and it wasn't uncommon for someone to be injured and sent to the infirmary.

Sometimes conflicts arise without reason. The Protection Department looks down on those who can manipulate energy, the Prophecy Department thinks everyone else is a fool, and his emerging subject, Architecture, is even more inferior.

This world originally did not have architecture spells, but building fortresses and cities with spells and golems was obviously much more efficient and reliable than what mortals could do. So, suitable spells from other schools were found and incorporated into the architecture department, thus creating this new school of thought.

However, not all new projects are promising, not to mention that the architecture major has a very low ceiling, with the highest level being only fifth-circle spells. If you want to go higher, you can only study golems, which is considered to be something only 'incompetent' people without talent would study within the academy.

This is not an extreme idea. In fact, DuPont became a civil engineer precisely because he lacked talent.

The mage's main attribute, Intelligence, is only 14. Although he is young and his attribute still has room for growth, if he doesn't have any major adventures, he will be lucky to master the fifth-ring spells in his lifetime.

He couldn't even meet the prerequisites to learn the ninth-level spells that archmages in legendary tales used to turn the tide of battle. So what was the advantage of an earth mage?

A normal level 3 mage can cast second-level spells, and a level 5 mage can cast third-level spells.

However, the Architecture department has unique spells that reduce the ring, which means that as long as one becomes a level 5 mage, DuPont can cast level 4 spells of his own department.

This kind of ring-reducing spell is definitely not as powerful as normal magic, but earth and wood magic does not require combat strength. All spells are for clearing dust and speeding up the progress. As long as there are still projects to be done, they will not lack a livelihood.

Good job prospects and decent salary. Even if the career ceiling isn't high, the income is still good. After all, he's a mage, and working on a construction site is much safer than taking risks.

Those with talent can also escape worldly affairs and devote themselves to the study of arcane arts, which is a worthwhile thing for everyone.

DuPont wasn't worried about how far he could go on his path as a mage, even though his job as a mage apprentice was much better than what he used to do on construction sites.

There's no need to work from dawn till dusk, nor the risk of taking the blame or running a sewing machine. It's not a problem for someone willing to take a temporary position as a junior administrative officer (grassroots civil servant).

14 Intelligence is average in the academy, but once outside, he will be a highly intelligent talent, more than enough to be a strategist for barbarians.

However, the world doesn't seem to be very peaceful; even in schools, there's backstabbing and infighting.

Fighting and casting spells are explicitly prohibited here, but if someone is consumed by rage and loses their mind, who cares about that?
The most basic first-level spell, Arcane Missiles, is a bowl-sized ball of pure arcane energy that can be launched with a simple flick of the wrist. It has an automatic tracking function and a 100% hit rate. If it hits a low-level adventurer, it will either kill them or severely injure them. Its power is absolutely comparable to that of a modern rifle.

It's fair to say that everyone in his academy possesses the unique Iaijutsu skills of a mage. In the American world of his previous life, everyone would be armed. If these apprentices were treated like obedient children, they would definitely suffer a great loss.

However, compared to the conflict between students, his debt problem is more pressing right now. If he can't pay it back this month, the interest will amount to 10,000 copper coins per day.

Money is a good thing in any world. If a scroll is copied well, it can be like a human money printing machine. But how can he copy a scroll well?
Charles said the success rate of copying was about 50%, but the chubby boy was clearly more talented than him, and he had just found out the price of the parchment scrolls.

A level 1 parchment costs 1 gold coin. Each apprentice can receive 10 parchments for free each week and must submit 10 parchments each week.

Based solely on the system's probability calculations, he can convert four out of ten scrolls into one, meaning he can create 12 gold coins' worth of value with 10 gold coins. However, everyone says that copying scrolls is a laborious and time-consuming task. On average, he can copy one scroll per hour. If he is energetic and has 5 hours of copying time every day at noon, he can earn two gold coins in two days.
This is the ideal scenario; what about in reality?
Sitting on a wooden chair for four hours, while not exactly torture, is certainly not a comfortable experience; even concentrating for an hour carries a chance of failure.
This is no ordinary rip-off.

Thinking of this, DuPont put the bread and milk he had taken on the table as a midnight snack, fed the silly bird in the flowerpot, cleaned the table, and summoned the system that had tricked him.

"Is there a way to increase my success rate in copying scrolls?"

Several books to choose from quickly appeared before DuPont's eyes.

"Detailed Explanation of the First-Ring Transformation Spells" and "How to Quickly Copy Scrolls" are each worth 100 gold coins, while "Tips on Copying Spell Scrolls" is priced at 2,000 gold coins.

The mere sight of money gives DuPont a headache; the words "anti-fraud" echo in his head: "I'm broke right now, is there any free knowledge available?"

Everything in the world has a price, and knowledge is one of the most special. It contains the crystallized wisdom of our ancestors, the essence of time, and is absolutely priceless. If you don't have enough money to buy this knowledge, it's not that the knowledge is too expensive, but rather that you should consider your own situation.

DuPont cursed inwardly, wondering if his system was some kind of devil in disguise, but his face remained calm: "But I don't have any money right now, can I buy on credit?"

The more lice, the less itchy they are; an additional 100 gold coins in debt is nothing to him in his current situation. What matters is increasing the success rate of copying scrolls and improving his income-generating ability.

[Under review. Your current credit is average. You can only gain 100 gold coins in privileges before repaying your old debts. Please repay any excess loans within one week. Otherwise, you will be charged an extra 10% interest per day. If you fail to repay within half a month, your soul will be harvested.]

DuPont started calculating, and the more they calculated, the more disheartened they became.

He originally had three months left, but borrowing just 100 more gold coins has added so many extra conditions, which isn't worth it.

"If I buy these two books, how much will my success rate in copying the scrolls increase?"

【推理中抄写卷轴的成功率将从40%变成41%~80%不等，入手两本提升则是41%~95%之间，具体成功率多少与自身水平、心态和环境因素都有关联】

DuPont was shocked. This was beyond ridiculous: "I bought these two so-called priceless treasures, only to find that the probability of improvement is at least 1%?"

Knowledge can only raise the level of related thinking and its potential; how much one truly understands depends more on the user's individual ability.

If there's a problem, it's because I'm incompetent? This bastard is really asking for a beating.

After a moment's thought, DuPont decided to change its approach: "Is there anything free for me to try? Otherwise, we're wasting everyone's time, and you'll also suffer losses due to bad debts."

The system responded unusually slowly this time.

[Temporary simulation training function activated while under approval. In this state, your actions such as casting spells and copying scrolls are all training and will not have any impact on reality.]

Finally, I managed to get something from this stingy system for free.

DuPont breathed a sigh of relief, followed the instructions, sat on the bed against the wall, closed his eyes, and began to clear his mind.

To enter the training ground, you must first enter a meditative state.

After an unknown amount of time, the darkness before him turned into light, revealing a spacious training ground with a dazzling array of weapons and armor. A towering ivory tower stood to the side, looking somewhat out of place.

DuPont cautiously approached the tower. Before he could knock, the heavy, weathered wooden door opened by itself. He greeted it cautiously, but heard no echo. The empty tower contained only various magical artifacts, many of which he had never seen in the academy.

Bypassing the incomprehensible equipment, DuPont walked to an empty table and sat down. Just as he reached for his waist bag, ink, a quill pen, and several yellowed parchment sheets appeared out of thin air on the table.

In his previous life, this was a haunted place, but ghosts appearing in the magical world are not uncommon. DuPont did not rush to write, but carefully examined the items. He breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there were no words on either side of the parchment.

Regardless of whether there are any results, he certainly can't afford to make any more mistakes now.

(End of this chapter)