The entry and exit was clearly within the hands of the man called Zhankong. As the hundred Elite students exited the bus, they all began entering the Snowy Peak Mountain’s stronghold.
The stronghold was very simple, with only a single main road. On the main road were many shops and vendors, it was virtually no different than the market place for a town.
The only difference was that they didn’t sell chicken, duck, or fish meat. They sold the necessities required for a Mage’s battles and cultivation.
“Come, come, top-rate Magic Boot Equipment. Let me tell you, this is some good stuff. Do you know what the fastest Magical Beast is?… That’s right, it is made of the skin of a Speed Beast’s hind legs, with the Wind Trail magic pattern. It also has a pure wind stone increasing its energy. If you were to run using this…you’ll definitely cause the One-eyed Magic Wolf to stare helplessly. If you were to buy this, I will give it to you with a discount, seeing how you and this treasure have interlinked fate.”
“Second Baldy, stop bullshitting. How can this thing be called Magic Equipment? Any random Nike would be be better than your pair.”
“Bullshit! We lost two people killing a Speed Beast, and I was awarded the skin of the hind legs. It’s definitely a genuine pair of Magic Boots Equipment!” The Second Baldy immediately began a dispute with the person who made fun of him.
Further up was a vendor, and they had Magic Stones of all colors.
‘Magic Stones’ were very simple. They were produced when the elements – Fire, Wind, Lightning or Earth – were dense, producing an extraordinary stone. Inhabiting these stones was energy similar to the Magic powers within a Magician’s Stardust. Although they couldn’t be directly used by Magicians, they could still be used by embedding them into Magic Tools and Magic Equipment to supply them with constant energy.
This knowledge has already been discussed by the teacher during class, and Mo Fan had earnestly listened to it at the time.
They had said that that on many occasions, the purified Magic Stones could also be used as a currency.
The consumption rate of the Magic Stones was colossal; in fact, it was the equivalent of a power source in the scientific world.
Mo Fan originally thought the mobile, computers, and household appliances used freaking electricity. After that lesson, he understood that the power plants here weren’t some water conservancy that supplied electricity, nor some windmill network, but instead used Lightning Magic Stones.
There’s nothing he could do about it. The Light element originating from Edison was something Mo Fan had to accept. Apart from this, Watt, the one who invented the steam machines and helped the entire world enter an Industrial Revolution…that’s right, he was a Fire Magician. The theory behind the Steam machine was a Fire Magic Diagram. They used the Fire Magic Stone as the power source.
That is why this world didn’t have oil, hydroelectric power, or electrical energy. They relied on these Magic Stones to survive!
And where did the Magic Stones come from?
Naturally, they came from nature!
The cruel thing is, the Magical Beasts also needed the Magic Stones. The Magic Stones were their most important food, and were a vital source of energy to becoming stronger.
Thus, when the humans were searching for, digging up, and gathering Magic Stones, their biggest obstacle wasn’t the nature, but the Magical Beasts who also relied on Magic Stones to survive.
Magical Beasts were instinctively hostile toward humans.
Think about it. All of the Magical Equipment within the city was simply food to a Magical Beasts. Additionally, humans had always been their prey, which is why human Magicians and the Magical Beasts had never ceased their battles against each other.
Perhaps this was the biggest difference between the original world and the current Magical World.
In the original world, the humans held a governing position. If they wanted to sweep things away, all they needed to do was send a guided missile.
However, in the world of Magic, explosive weapons didn’t exist, there were only Magicians.
Perhaps heavy explosive weapons would be unable to achieve their goal, and the Magical Beasts would occupy even more territory.
The majority of humans could only live in cities. A city needed the protection of Magicians.
This was also the reason why a Magician’s status would always be higher than commoners. Not only do they possess a mighty power, but they also had a divine mission!
……
“Brother Fan, on the Practicals this time, we must properly show ourselves off. I’ve heard the Practical’s grades are directly related to our admission to University; It occupies 20% of the total admission grade!” Zhang Xiaohou said to Mo Fan.
Mo Fan nodded.
Their homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, had already mentioned this matter.
The Practicals were basically a part of the ‘High School Exams’. This is because the grades were set by the military, which is to say the military head of this practical exercise.
The evaluation of the Head Military Instructor would be either C or A. This would directly decide whether the student Magicians would end up in a top-rate Magic University, or just a common Magic University!
The Imperial Institution which Mu Ningxue was in at the moment would require the students to reach an A before they would bother to recruit them.
Mo Fan had not resigned himself to staying in a small place like Bo City. Besides, the higher tiered Magic could only be learned in larger cities and Universities.
On the practicals this time, he also wanted to attain a grade of A or higher. Only this way would he have the right to enter Universities of the same level as an Imperial Institution.
“These Military instructors have been bribed by the school. Even if you were to waste your time here for two months, they’d at least give you B or C. That’s why, there’s no need to worry,” Wang Sanpang came over by chance as he said with a smile.
“That’s right, it was like the previous sessions as well.” Another student who knew of the internal stories also nodded his head.
“That’s about right. The school definitely hopes for the Military instructors to give them a higher grade.”
“Gather in the plaza.”
“Gathering!”
After Luo Yunbo loudly shouted, all the students began to quickly gather within the central plaza of the Snowy Peak Mountain stronghold.
The number of people could be said to be of no small amount, there were a hundred of them in all. They all wore the uniform of Tian Lan Magic High.
After all of the students had properly lined up, they quickly attracted the attention of the Magicians stationed around the stronghold. They slowly gathered to surround the students. Each one of them seemed to be engrossed, their faces showing an exceptional sneer.
“Come and check this out, it’s a new group of interns, hahaha. We can once again see the newbies make a fool out of themselves,” a man with a sharp face like a rat said.
“Exactly. The period of time where the interns are here are the most lively period of time in this stronghold. Guess which one of these interns will be scared to the point where they pee their pants?” a man who looked like the officer of a small Hunter’s squad said as he stuck his head out.
“I guess there’ll be at least 30!”
“Then the rest of the 70 will be scared until they faint?”
The students formed a formation on the plaza, but they could easily hear the voices of the veterans of the stronghold.
Most of them had a look that made them seem as if they took pleasure in seeing other people’s misfortune. They definitely did not try to cover up their disdain toward the students.
The hundred Elite students were divided into five groups, and there were twenty people in each of the five groups. In the front stood two military instructors and one Practical class teacher.
“Head Military Instructor!”
“The Head Military Instructor has come!”
Not long after, a group of Battlemages wearing uniforms neatly walked to the front of the gathered students, and one could feel a certain prestige emitted from their aura.
Leading these people was unexpectedly the mustache uncle who was playing with the flames by the sentry, Zhankong.
Zhankong still had that superior appearance. As the Head Military Instructor, his unorganized appearance actually caused people to think otherwise.
* * *
Translator: Tofu
Editor: RED
*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes
*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap