Death Wizard Diary.

Chapter 779 A Spark of Fire

"Are you really going to use the Cat Returns?" Paul looked disapprovingly at his friend Nero.

Nero took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, feeling his chest go from hot to cool.

He gave a wry smile. "Paul, you know me. I'm already thirty-five. Although there are people who become full wizards at all ages, if I can't become one before I'm forty, my mentor will stop sponsoring me. Then, to pay off my debts, I'll have to do the most dangerous and energy-consuming work at the Practical Academy."

To continue their apprenticeship in the Grand Lecture Hall or find a better mentor outside, a Level 3 apprentice often needs to invest a large amount of magic crystals and resources.

However, not everyone has a strong background or someone willing to sponsor their studies.

In Sky City, wizard apprentices who sign a contract can gain access to abundant resources and wealth. However, if they fail to advance to full wizard status before the contract's expiration date, they must perform the most dangerous and energy-consuming tasks at the Academy of Knowledge or the Academy of Practice.

Unlike those who applied for jobs at the two academies, many of those who did energy-intensive work never returned. Even those who did return were filled with a terrifying sense of having narrowly escaped death.

However, without a contract, most apprentices have no chance to continue their studies.

Therefore, even though this contract has claimed the lives of countless apprentices, many people still flock to sign it every year.

It's all for that tiny chance of becoming a full-fledged wizard.

Because in Sky City, even first- and second-level apprentices don't have a good life.

Those who are not at least level three apprentices are not qualified to work independently, and they do not even have the right to give up this way of life.

Paul looked at his friend and could only remain silent.

If he hadn't unexpectedly had Mina as his daughter back then, he probably would have signed his name on the contract issued by the Academy of Knowledge.

For his daughter's sake, he could no longer take risks and forever lost the chance to go further.

He opened his mouth, but still didn't say the promise Saul had made to him a few days ago.

On the one hand, Saul might not like seeing him give up his chance to ask for help to others; on the other hand, Nero has been listening to Saul's lectures all along, yet he still hasn't been promoted.

Paul shut his mouth, his face grim, looking like a terrifying assassin who might stab someone at any moment.

Seeing Paul like this, Nero laughed instead.

"See, it's precisely because of your personality that people are afraid to approach you." He patted his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, recently someone has figured out how to avoid the 'Cat Returns' curse. I heard that several people who have used it haven't had any problems. Besides, we're already Level 3 Apprentices, so we have a certain level of resistance. You don't need to worry too much."

Nero was comforting Paul, and also himself, "Once I find a way to circumvent the curse, I'll tell you. You can try it too, and maybe you'll become a full-fledged wizard!"

Paul, however, remained unmoved, shaking his head. "Forget it, I can't let anything happen to me."

He also has a daughter.

Sky City is still under martial law, making it extremely difficult to leave the city. He hasn't managed to secure a spot yet.

If something happens to him in Sky City, Mina...

He couldn't even imagine what Mina would go through.

Seeing that his friend's mood had worsened, Nero could only shake his head. "Fine, I'll try it myself then."

Conversations like Nero and Paul's occurred elsewhere in Sky City. However, these mostly took place among the weaker members of the population, and since the curse didn't even cause any new deaths, it didn't attract the attention of the upper echelons.

But sometimes, even small forces, when accumulated enough, can ignite a prairie fire.

After the first attempt to connect, although Thor was unable to find Pell's coordinates, he was certain that their research direction was correct.

The two sides then met to discuss improvement plans, and Ophelia suggested making a second attempt a month later.

Thor originally didn't want to drag it out for so long, but Ophelia said that the Mechanical Heart needed to be repaired every time it was activated, which would take about a month.

But Thor always suspected that a month might just be Ophelia's excuse to delay him.

There's just no way to refute it.

Upon returning to the Great Hall, Nathan began to follow Thor's instructions to have his servants, who were also forced to remain in Sky City, distribute replicas of the White Porcelain Cat to the market.

The attendant was just an ordinary person, and everyone knew he was definitely not the real mastermind. But because of this, no one knew that the person behind the scenes was actually an equally inconspicuous but legitimate wizard.

That's right, with Thor's one-on-one guidance, Nathan successfully advanced to the first tier of formal wizard.

During this period, apart from completing the tasks assigned by Saul, he spent the rest of his time studying desperately.

Because he didn't know when Thor would leave Sky City, and once Thor left Sky City, there probably wouldn't be anyone else who could guide his studies so accurately.

Therefore, Nathan wished he didn't even have time to rest, and only wanted to improve himself as quickly as possible.

A week later, Thor received a second invitation from the Academy of Knowledge.

This time, after considering it for a day, Thor finally agreed to take up a position at the Academy of Knowledge.

At the same time, he took this opportunity to secretly bring the white porcelain cat to the Academy of Knowledge.

Gradually, the legend of "The Cat Returns," which had only circulated among apprentices, also spread among lower-ranking wizards.

For formal wizards, the cat's return has little impact on their research, but it can occasionally provide some assistance.

Moreover, once a way to avoid the curse that could potentially drown people that came with the cat's gratitude, its side effects became negligible.

These crudely crafted white porcelain cats gradually became a kind of inexpensive and beautiful witchcraft prop.

Even some second-tier wizards use the Cat Returns technique to increase their chances of success before conducting experiments with high uncertainty.

Thor maintained his persona as a first-order wizard at the Academy of Knowledge. He would take on projects from the academy and hand them over to Nathan, who had just been promoted, only giving him a few pointers when he had a spare moment.

Nathan, who had just been promoted, was forced to face problems that he shouldn't have had to face at this stage.

That day, Thor had just handed a report written by Nathan to the second-tier wizard in his team when he was blocked by Wizard Ona at the entrance of the Academy of Knowledge.

Ona glanced at the gates of the Academy of Knowledge behind Thor, then at his wizard robes, and said with some resentment, "Wizard Thor, if you really like the Academy of Knowledge, the city lord can arrange a vice-dean position for you. Why waste your time as a low-ranking wizard?"

There was no one else with Thor, otherwise they would have been surprised that Thor knew a wizard directly under the White Glass Castle.

Saul shrugged, offering no explanation, "This is just me putting what I've learned into practice."

Ona still couldn't understand why a third-tier wizard would spend all his time researching topics for first-tier wizards. Wasn't that a waste of resources?

However, high-ranking wizards are generally quite eccentric. Previously, Ona thought Thor was abnormally normal. Now, seeing his penchant for disguising himself as a low-ranking wizard, she suddenly realized he truly deserved his reputation as a high-ranking wizard; anything was possible.

(End of this chapter)