After reaching the maximum level, my "soft rice system" finally arrived.

With a slight thought, he probed his consciousness into his own sub-plane.

In a corner of the sub-plane, countless parchments covered with mysterious characters were carelessly piled together like trash, forming a small mountain.

These are all notes and insights that Xia Er casually jotted down over the years while researching arcane arts and developing forbidden spells. Since they came from the hand of a legendary figure at the pinnacle, they can naturally be called "Legendary Notes." Moreover, they are all complete versions, and each one should be worth more than 1 points.

"How many points can these sell for? Enough to buy you out?"

The in-store buyback feature is not yet unlocked.

Unlocking this feature requires 1000 system points (current points: 0)

Please complete the task to earn points to unlock this feature.

"Help me unlock the trading function first. Once I sell these journals, I'll have some money, and then I'll return the 1000 points to you." Xia Er explained patiently. After all, this was a big deal concerning his future happy life as a couch potato, so he decided to give the system some more patience.

Please complete the task to earn points to unlock this feature.

"Please be lenient with me. This pile of my notes is worth at least several hundred thousand. I really don't need your 1000 points."

Please complete the task to earn points to unlock this feature.

"Please, it's just a matter of changing the order. At worst, I'll give you ten times the points after it's done."

Please complete the task to earn points to unlock this feature.

"you win."

Charles felt as if he had reviewed the idiom "playing the lute to a cow" for the second time in just a few minutes.

Chapter Three: Cheese is Power

Charles ultimately decided to accept the beginner's mission, though the main reason wasn't the original Coca-Cola.

Thanks to the legendary mage's boundless spiritual power, Xia Er clearly remembered that in the panel that appeared when the system was first activated, there was an attribute bar with the option of "[Ascension to Godhood: Not Activated]".

Ascending the Divine Steps... In layman's terms, it's the so-called path to godhood.

The path to transcendence leads to legend; this is a universally acknowledged rule in the Western Continent that has remained unbroken for thousands of years.

However, Shire, who had full access to the Black Tower Library, knew that the ranks above the legendary were real.

Above the legends, there are demigods... and even true gods.

However, due to some hidden reasons, the path to godhood has been completely severed for the past three thousand years, and even the most talented individuals find it difficult to overcome this bottleneck.

Since the system has provided the attribute panel for the path to godhood, it means that the other party may be able to provide relevant clues.

However, the system was watertight in this regard, and no matter how much Xia questioned, the answer was always the same: "This feature is not yet unlocked, please stay tuned."

"Regardless, at least you've proven that you're not entirely useless." Charles was quite gratified and decided to pay more attention to his unfortunate system.

Ciel himself did not have any fanatical pursuit of becoming a god.

There's a saying in the Black Tower: "Knowledge is power." For a wizard, one's rank is not everything. As long as one continuously deepens their arcane knowledge and builds up their foundation, their strength can accumulate endlessly.

In the extraordinary world, there are countless examples of fifth-circle wizards defeating sixth- or even seventh-order opponents thanks to ample preparation and experience.

It took Sharl only seven years to go from completing his arcane initiation to becoming a legendary mage.

At this moment, a full seven years have passed since he broke through to the legendary rank, and even Xia Er himself is not quite sure what stage he has reached now.

However, based on the level described in the ancient books, he was not worried at all that an ordinary demigod could defeat him, who possessed dozens of self-created forbidden spells.

However, as a wizard, Shar also possesses an extremely strong thirst for knowledge.

The severance of the path to godhood three thousand years ago... one wonders how many secrets of the old era it might involve, it's enough to make one fascinated.

Xia Er himself had also spent a lot of time researching this, such as imitating the cultivation novels of his previous life and continuing his path to godhood by undergoing the tribulation of lightning with his physical body.

The previously forbidden spell, [Cial Lightning Rod], was one of the byproducts of this failed experiment.

There's no way around it; this level of secrecy is like the absolute territory that's barely visible between a girl's miniskirt and knee-high socks to a wizard—no one can resist the allure of exploring the forbidden and unknown.

……

The capital of the Aran Empire.

Charles stood outside the wide city gate made of fine steel, silently watching the bustling crowds coming and going inside the city.

Although the Arcane City is prosperous, it is essentially a wizarding city dependent on the Black Tower, filled with an academic atmosphere, unlike the diverse human life reflected in the capital of Aran.

The young adventurers chatted loudly, polishing their gleaming weapons in preparation for their journey.

The portly merchant wiped the sweat from his brow, his face contorted with pain as he negotiated the escort price with the armored mercenaries.

The noble ladies huddled together, whispering about the latest romance novels published by Black Tower Bookstore, amidst the helpless glances of their butlers...

The scene before him was not unfamiliar to Charles, for the capital of Alan was also his hometown.

More than a decade ago, he also stood before this magnificent city gate, just like those spirited young adventurers, full of curiosity and unknowns about the outside world, with ambitions to conquer the entire continent surging in his chest.

"Youth knows no sorrow," Charles remarked, watching the noisy adventurers. Though, if one were to be precise, his actual age of twenty-something was probably even younger than those adventurers.

If time is to be saved, then Charles can simply activate "Astral Walk" to reach the destination directly.

However, revisiting this familiar place and seeing the familiar or unfamiliar scenery in the city is a unique form of entertainment for Ciel, who spends most of his time in the Great Library and sub-dimensions.

He walked slowly, following his memory, and soon arrived at the Imperial Advanced Extraordinary Academy.

The two armored guards at the entrance did not even glance at his arrival, and the protective array set up around the academy remained completely still.

The Imperial Advanced Academy of Extraordinary Talents holds extraordinary significance for the Aran Empire. It can be considered the core hub for cultivating extraordinary talents. Many high-ranking nobles in the capital also send their children to study here, so the academy's security measures are naturally exceptional.

Both guards alone were mid-level transcendents at the fourth tier.

The protective array is made up of the crystal cores of nine high-level magical beasts, supplemented by a large amount of rare materials. It is said to be unbreakable by anyone below the legendary level, and can withstand even a legendary opponent for half an hour, giving the teachers and students enough time to evacuate.

"I should have added a '[Advertisement for reference only, subject to the actual product]'" Charles muttered to himself.

He was very familiar with this protective array, because it was created by him.

He achieved the sixth-circle wizardhood in just four years. As Charles's teacher, the Black Tower Master, Vimers, believed that Charles's advancement speed was too fast, his foundation was unstable, and his arrogance was not conducive to his future growth. Therefore, she gave him this task as an exam to advance to the sixth circle.

This was an assignment that theoretically only a near-legendary wizard with a seventh or even eighth ring could complete. It had troubled Charles for a long time back then, and after repeatedly hitting walls and failing, it took him a full month to complete the task.

Keep in mind that even if Charles were to develop a completely new forbidden spell in the future, it would only take him a week or two.

When Sharl enthusiastically showed the completed magic circle to his teacher, Vemus remained silent for a long time. Finally, after saying "Whatever makes you happy," she slipped away to the Astral Plane to relax.

Of course, from Xia Er's current perspective, his vision when he created this magic circle was rather shallow.

At least for him, a legend, this magic array wouldn't even last three seconds, let alone half an hour, let alone three.

"It's an unspoken rule in the industry that the buyer's photos and the seller's photos don't match." Xia Er comforted himself, "Anyway, if something really goes wrong, I can't give a bad review."

He cast an eighth-circle spell, "Disciplined Cognitive Distortion," and a seventh-circle spell, "Double Illusion," on himself, then swaggered into the academy.

According to the feedback from the spiritual power, today is the day for the entrance examination of the Advanced Extraordinary Academy.

Chapter Four: You all like nesting dolls, right?

As soon as Charles stepped into the academy, a cold, mechanical voice rang in his ears.

[Host detected arriving at mission location; remaining information for beginner missions published]

[Newbie Quest Completion Requirements: Rank first in overall score during the Extraordinary Academy entrance exam]

This system prohibits cheating, including but not limited to bribing examiners, altering scores, and any unfair practices such as favoritism.

[Friendly reminder: Aisveta Brunstad, the target of this mission, will also be participating in this entrance examination. Please seize the opportunity to approach her and make her blush. The overall mission score and rewards will increase based on the progress of your conquest.]

[Task time limit: 3 days. The task will be considered a failure if the time limit is exceeded.]

[Punishment for mission failure: ...None]

"I have a feeling you were thinking something unpleasant just now."

[Host is overthinking it; it's absolutely impossible.]

"I hope you're serious." Charles's consciousness glanced almost imperceptibly at a corner of his mental ocean, then ignored the other party.

As for the system's additional friendly reminder, "Conquer the girl and make her blush," Ciel naturally ignored it.

Unfortunately, Ciel was well aware of his own shortcomings when it came to women, and conquering the opposite sex was simply too difficult for him.

This is not Charles's own self-deprecation, but is supported by countless real-world examples.

For example, whenever he arrived at the Black Tower, the young witches would unconsciously avoid his gaze and dare not meet his eyes, making Charles wonder if he had unknowingly cast a deterrent spell on himself, such as "Dragon's Majesty".

For example, every time Charles went to the Holy Maiden of the Dawn Church to discuss the cooperation between the Black Tower and the Church, she would delay for two or three hours before she would meet with him, and when asked, she would say that she was still choosing clothes.

They were once in the same adventurer team, going through thick and thin together. Even if she wants to put on airs as the Dawn Saintess now, is it necessary to use such a clumsy excuse as changing clothes?

Who needs two or three hours to change clothes?

To this day, Charles still harbors some resentment about it.

Such cases were repeated repeatedly in Charles's life.

So much so that one night, around three or four in the morning, Charles got angrier and angrier and sent a magical telepathic message to the Dawn Saintess: "As a woman, is there any possibility that you might develop romantic feelings for me? Even if it's only one in a thousand."

Ten seconds later, Ciel received a voice reply: "How could I possibly like you! You big idiot!"

Since then, Ciel has come to terms with reality and stopped struggling.