“Hey buddy, you wouldn’t happen to be a transfer student, would you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”
A voice reached his ears, and Ivan realized it was coming from the six-legged horse he was seated on, which had hooves at least half as wide as those of ordinary horses. He asked, “You mean to tell me you’ve seen every academy apprentice?”
The six-legged horse spoke clearly, “Don’t be upset, I was just joking. My name is Barlind, what’s yours?”
“Ivan.” It seemed that the intelligent creatures here were not limited to humans, which piqued Ivan’s interest. “You guys really run fast.”
“Of course, see these six legs? They’re the key to speed, and we can also run through swamps as if it were flat land, not something you humans can compare with,” the six-legged horse Barlind said proudly.
“I’ll have to see that for myself sometime.”
“You got it, just don’t forget my name Barlind; make sure to hire me next time you come to Windy Bay City.”
Hearing this made Ivan speechless, realizing this fellow was looking for business, quite the saleshorse indeed.
As the six-legged horse sped along, the group passed through forests, floating bridges, and grasslands, arriving at the edge of a dense forest with trees of a unique and strange shape. Here, the six-legged horses naturally slowed down.
Looking at the dense forest in front of him, Ivan noticed the sharpness and fierceness of the grass and trees. He also felt a peculiar sense of oppression.
Everyone dismounted from the six-legged horses.
“Ivan, see you next time.”
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“Goodbye.”
A group of six-legged horses returned the way they came, leaving the newcomers standing in front of the dense forest.
As Bernardson approached the forest, the trees automatically retracted their blocking branches, vines withdrew like snakes, the thatch became soft, and a path appeared before the group.
The term “serene path leading to a secluded haven” couldn’t be more fitting to describe the road ahead.
“Ahead lies our academy—the Mongna Ant Land Cottage.”
The group followed the path until a half-spherical fortress with a unique appearance came into view at the end of the road. The large fortress resembled a nest built by some creature, and its walls were faintly made out of a mix of different materials such as mud, stones, bones, stumps, scales, feathers, and more—even dried bloodstains were visible, creating a jumbled and chaotic scene.
Ivan blinked, half-believing he had seen wrong.
Noticing his confusion, Cody explained in a low voice, “This place was originally an abandoned camp of Tidal Flats Ant Beings; later, our predecessors took a liking to it and transformed it into the academy, hence ‘Ant Land’ in its name.”
So that was the case. Ivan didn’t even know what to say.
Just then, an eight-legged black spider the size of a carriage leaped out from a nearby tree onto the academy’s fortress wall, its long, fuzzy legs firmly planted on it, gazing down at everyone with a pair of crimson eyes.
The newcomers instinctively stepped back in fright.
“Harlund, open the door,” commanded Sorcerer Bernardson.
“Sorcerer Bernardson, please provide the passcode,” said the eight-legged black spider.
“These nuisances,” Bernardson muttered under his breath, his face twitching slightly as he whispered the passcode, “Let me take a look at your hair. Oh my, you’re almost bald. Shut up, I’m setting the passcode.”
The password that came from his mouth gave a sense of the absurd, yet nobody dared to make any sign of being out of the ordinary, pretending as if they had heard nothing.
“Passcode correct.”
The black spider rhythmically tapped the wall with its claw, and the mud and stone on the front of the fortress softened, flowing to the sides and revealing an arched doorway. The doorway was pitch black, like a cave entrance leading to an unknown destination.
Upon entering the archway, luminescent stones lined the walls of the passageway, their dim glow illuminating the descending staircase. The fortress wall was unexpectedly thick, and it took the group several seconds to pass through the tunnel before they suddenly came out into an open space.
They had arrived inside the academy, and as far as the eye could see, there were many buildings, including palaces, steeples, round towers, two-story housings, castles, and plazas. It was much more spacious inside than it appeared from the outside, like a city tucked beneath the fortress walls.
“Such a unique style.”
Ivan looked up and noticed a large irregular gap in the middle of the fortress, presumably created by an enemy breach. Sunlight shone through, illuminating the interior of the academy, and glowing beads and stones stuck to the walls emitting light that brightened every area.
He could feel that the concentration of energy particles inside the academy was very high, probably more than twice that of Lahr Island.
In a moment, everyone entered a spacious hall next to the plaza, a place resembling a hall for official matters, with corridors leading to many rooms.
Without paying any attention to the group, Sorcerer Bernardson walked straight into one of the rooms on the side. The newcomers unconsciously split into two groups, those from Aromatic Wheat Dukedom and Fluttering Wind Kingdom clearly distinct from each other.
Cody said, “Ivan, you go in first. Pay the fee, then proceed to the test and registration.”
“Another test?”
“The noble side only allows preliminary testing. Only those with 2nd Class talent and above are eligible to board the ship.”
Seeing how everyone else took it for granted, Ivan had a realization. It seemed that Sorcerer Bernardson couldn’t conduct private testing either, and there must be some agreement in place for allocating newcomers. That meant Toyennes had broken yet another rule.
His mentor was truly reckless.
Seeing Cody move to one side, Conley waved his hand to beckon someone closer and whispered a reminder when they approached, “Remember to pay extra magic stones later, it’s important.”
Pearney mentioned this, and Conley did as well, indicating there must indeed be something fishy going on.
Ivan instinctively glanced at Cody, who seemed oblivious to everything, his eyes gazing downward in meditation.
Ed’s face showed difficulty: “We struggled a lot to gather 14 low-grade magic stones, not even a half more.”
“That’s right, to scrape together the tuition of 10 low-grade magic stones, my family sent people to the depths of the Black Fog Forest to hunt multiple times, losing many in the process.”
The others also showed difficulty on their faces, as magic stones for the nobles of Tidal Island required a lot of effort to obtain.
At this point, Conley was unable to help; he too was not well supplied.
A few tried asking those around them, but it turned out everyone was in the same boat – all in difficult straits.
No one asked Ivan, as probably nobody thought the newcomer noble would have any extra magic stones.
Ivan also hadn’t expected that magic stones would be so scarce, even scarcer than he had imagined.
“Ivan, go on.”
After Sorcerer Bernardson came out, Ivan entered the cottage.
Inside, he saw a place resembling a toll booth, where a grizzled old man in an apprentice robe sat, his face gloomy as if someone owed him money. He spoke without raising his head.
“What are you waiting for, where are the magic stones?”
“Can I use potions as a substitute?”
Upon hearing his words, the old man made a point of looking up at him, noticing the apprentice robe he wore, and a hint of surprise flickered through his gaze.
The old man’s tone unconsciously softened a bit: “Yes, you can. What kind of potion?”
“Physical Strength Potion.” Ivan handed over a Physical Strength Potion and then asked, “Additionally, I would like to inquire, how much tuition can I pay at most?”
“You can pay up to 30 low-grade magic stones. Here, each Physical Strength Potion is only worth 3 low-grade magic stones.”
The old man’s words confirmed there was a trick to the tuition, and Ivan couldn’t bother to think about how the academy considered it. He promptly handed over 10 Physical Strength Potions as his tuition.
An apprentice robe, a crystal ball, and a crystal identity token.
Listening to the old man muttering, Ivan learned that there was something called ‘credits’ at the academy, which could only be exchanged with magic stones when paying tuition. Now it was recorded in his crystal token, totaling 30 credits.
Credits had to be something very important.
Following the old man’s directions, Ivan walked toward a room further inside.
Inside the room was just a square table, behind which sat a male sorcerer who appeared to be in his forties or fifties.
“Your Excellency, I am here for the test and registration.”
“Are you the disciple Toyennes took on without permission outside?”
“I suppose so.”
Confronting the other’s imposing gaze, Ivan stiffly nodded.
Sorcerer Joseph did not give him a hard time and began the talent testing.
The testing was much the same as at Toyennes’s, where Sorcerer Joseph recorded his name, talent, affinity, and the circumstances under which he had been taken on by Toyennes in detail on a piece of paper, casually explaining:
“Your information will be sent to the sorcerers who are interested in taking on apprentices. If someone takes a fancy to you, a Shadow Ant servant will lead you to meet your mentor.”
“Can’t we choose our own mentors?”
“Guess who holds a higher status at the academy, the sorcerers or the apprentices?”
That didn’t require guessing; of course, the sorcerers held a higher status.
Ivan inwardly cursed his luck, supposing that given his situation, he would likely be selected for the Hunting Team and be at someone’s mercy. It was wise of Pearney not to come to the Mongna Ant Land Cottage.