As the new students chattered, Nicholas stood aside, patiently waiting.
Just as Zheng Qing guessed, he was not an upper-year student at First University.
But it couldn't be denied that he was an older student at Nine Provinces College.
Nicholas Green Oswell, a first-year student at Nine Provinces College of First University. This was his third year since enrolling—he had failed the first-year promotion final exam twice already.
Dean Yao of Nine Provinces College had a frank conversation with him at the end of July.
"If you still cannot advance further by the end of the third academic year, the College might re-evaluate your admission qualifications. This will not only affect your future Wizarding career but also Lizi's future admission application."
The scene of that conversation was still vivid in his mind; Nicholas could even easily recall how many times Professor Yao had tapped his pipe that day.
It was precisely because of this that he was filled with dread for the upcoming new academic year.
He wasn't worried about not becoming a proper Wizard, but rather about his younger sister, Lizi.
Nicholas was born in Beta Town North District, a place where Tricksters gathered.
In the wizard codex, Tricksters were considered Wizards with 'restricted capacity for action'. That is to say, Wizards acknowledged Tricksters' status as Wizards, but maintained reservations about their spellcasting abilities.
Because the Tricksters' abilities were too weak.
Most Tricksters could only pull a small white rabbit out of an empty hat; or build a castle out of a deck of cards; the most powerful could only turn a bouquet of roses into a flock of white doves.
For Wizards, this ability was at the level of a preschool child.
Their weak abilities even made them unable to perform the work of Wizard apprentices: Tricksters' minds were very easily damaged in Wizard laboratories, and their Physical Bodies could not withstand the heavy pressure of Alchemy workshops.
In short, Tricksters had no way to find suitable work in the Wizarding World.
No suitable work meant no stable income.
It meant a life of hardship.
Many Tricksters had tried to escape this life. However, the very quality they had always hoped would be recognized became the shackles binding them.
The 'Wizard Behavior Management Measures' promulgated by the Wizard Alliance placed very strict restrictions on Wizards' secular lives. It explicitly stipulated that, without permission, Wizards were strictly forbidden from long-term stays in Baiding society, strictly forbidden from engaging in Baiding professions, or from having deeper economic or other interactions with Baiding society.
Thus, these poor people could only eke out a meager existence in the reserved lands allocated to them by the Wizard Alliance.
The young and strong would grit their teeth and venture into the Black Forest, doing collection work that ordinary Wizards disdained, or even serving as bait for some unscrupulous Hunting Teams; the old and infirm would huddle in street corners, performing small tricks, hoping some kind soul would drop a few copper coins.
To Wizards, they were as repulsive as cockroaches.
Stubborn Wizards believed that the existence of Tricksters diminished the mystique of Wizards, making the distance between Wizards and Baiding seem less remote, and was a blasphemy against magic; to radical Wizards, Tricksters were failed evolutionaries, and they even opposed the wizard codex's recognition of Tricksters' status.
So much so that now, calling any orthodox Wizard a 'Trickster' is like calling a normal person 'idiot' or 'mentally retarded,' which is a very serious offense.
Nicholas's mother, Mary Green, was a Trickster.
However, she was a beautiful Trickster.
Whether in the Mortal world or the Wizarding World, whether in ancient times or now, beauty has always been an outstanding Aptitude.
Perhaps the heavens felt that the beauty bestowed upon her was overly generous, so they reclaimed a bit of the gift through other means.
For example, her children.
Nicholas and Lizi, shortly after birth, were identified as having Trickster Aptitude.
This was tantamount to condemning them to a lifetime of hard labor.
Mary was a brave woman; she did not want her two children to repeat the tragic life of a Trickster.
So she broke into the werewolf's bonfire feast.
She succeeded.
Lizi and Nicholas were endowed with talent by the drunken Oswold King.
She also failed.
The frenzied werewolves brutally harmed her during the feast.
When she staggered home, her entire body was already stained with blood.
"Live well and take care of your sister."
These were the last two sentences she spoke to Nicholas.
Throughout her life, this woman could only perform the small trick of turning a bunch of thorns into a bouquet of lilies.
But this brave woman used her life to complete a great magic—allowing two children destined to be Tricksters to re-enter Wizard society.
Nicholas felt a bit of soreness in his eyes. He blinked, looking at the fresh-faced newcomers before him.
Once upon a time, he too stood here, listening to Seniors tell stories of this Hall, this University.
Now, those Seniors who told stories had all graduated, and his friends who entered school with him were busy in the laboratory.
Only he remained, lingering in the corridor on the first floor of the First Hall, enduring the malice of this world, shamelessly begging his former classmates for a credit reward.
Lizi deserved a better future; she must enter First University.
For Mother.
Nicholas murmured, his gaze firming up again.
"Let's continue." He clapped his hands, interrupting the new students' lively discussion.
"The murals on the wall behind the corridor depict the history of Wizards. Those magnificent scenes, with their grand Aura, are all traces of Wizards' existence in this world."
Zheng Qing stared at a painting, mesmerized.
In the painting, a Wizard wielded a staff, confronting a ferocious giant beast. The Void Realm behind them was dark, and lightning and fire swirled around them. Scarlet magma churned beneath their feet, and the surrounding space twisted in their vision. That world-shaking Aura seemed about to break through the mural.
Nicholas stood in front of him, blocking his view.
He looked at these young people before him, recalling the admonitions of the Seniors, and repeated those words to the newcomers:
"What you need to pay attention to is: do not overly indulge in history. No matter how grand and great history is, it is already time gone by; and the future is right beneath your feet. Indulging in history can easily lead to losing oneself."
The new students' gazes reluctantly left the murals.
Nicholas nodded with satisfaction.
He turned and introduced the First Hall to the new students:
"There are a total of nine large doors encircling the first floor of the entire Hall. One is the door behind us, leading to the outside world. Of the remaining eight, four lead to the four Colleges, and four lead to the four Research Institutes."
"The four Colleges are Nine Provinces College, Alpha Academy, Atlas Academy, and Starry Sky Academy, which you all should know. The four Research Institutes are the Alchemy Research Institute, Astronomy Research Institute, Wizard Medicine Research Institute, and Divination Research Institute. Of course, there are also places like the Astrological Tower and the Talisman Institute, which are also famous research institutions. However, those places are not open to lower-year students."
"The nine doors are in this Hall, but countless doors exist within the four Colleges and four Research Institutes. The mysteries within them are for you to slowly explore. Perhaps there are a few doors in the Teaching Building that, when passed through, will directly appear in the center of the First Hall; or a door to Beta Town might appear on a section of wall you pass every day."
"But behind most doors is just a classroom."
"Each door has its unique symbol and mark, or motto, on its lintel. As long as you pay attention, you won't go the wrong way."
"Just like the 'Academy' door of Nine Provinces College, its lintel has six characters symmetrically on either side—'The Celestial Movement is Vigorous, The Earth's Power is Vast'. Only by knowing the deeper meaning these six characters express can one cross the threshold and truly enter the Academy."