From Wizard Apprentice to Conqueror of Myriad Worlds

"I’ve read the only research paper Buck wrote at the academy—*Optimization of the Level Zero Witchcraft Thorny Vine Technique: How to Make Thorny Vines Entangle Enemies Elegantly and Efficiently*. From that, I could roughly gauge Buck’s aptitude for Divination."

Although he was a newcomer, ever since he gained the title of Second Level Preparatory Member from the Rose Council, he automatically had access to all Apprentice papers.

Of course, reading each paper came at a price—that was the academy’s rule. Knowledge was never free.

The Rose Council had priced this paper at eight Black Tower Points.

Second Level Preparatory Members received a one-Black-Tower-Point subsidy from the council when viewing papers, so Mo Ning only had to pay seven Black Tower Points.

For a paper on improving a Level Zero Witchcraft, eight Black Tower Points was a somewhat... pathetic price.

The cost to read most papers written by Second Level Apprentices was typically between twelve and fifteen Black Tower Points.

Honestly, when Mo Ning first saw the title, he had to struggle to keep a straight face.

’’Elegantly and efficiently’—what a refreshing choice of words.’

’’Elegant’ was placed before ’efficient,’ which meant the author was more focused on making the Witchcraft ’elegant,’ while the improvement in ’efficiency’ wasn’t very significant.’

’But the problem was, since when had ’elegance’ become a metric for evaluating Witchcraft?’

’After all, on the battlefield, no one would care if your thorny vines spiraled elegantly or thrashed about wretchedly.’

Mo Ning strongly suspected that the only reason the old man’s paper had been approved was that the reviewing Wizard had likely gone easy on him.

He was even more certain of this after reading the paper.

Although he hadn’t mastered the Thorny Vine Technique, he had no trouble whatsoever reading the parts of the paper dealing with Divination-based derivations.

He saw the problem at a glance—Buck’s Divination foundation was at the most basic level for a Second Level Apprentice.

Buck’s paper was merely a microcosm of a larger issue; the vast majority of Apprentices simply couldn’t get very far academically.

Reina blinked again. "Teacher Buck has already given up on the path to becoming a Wizard. He rarely studies Secret Divination and Divination anymore."

Mo Ning ignored her comment, glanced at Reina again, and continued.

"If your teacher wants to advance to a Third Level Apprentice, he needs better guidance in Divination. Unfortunately, he can’t afford the cost of obtaining it through normal channels."

’Given Buck’s situation, he could only seek help from Third Level Apprentices or Wizards, but he clearly lacked the financial means. His only choice was to leave in disappointment.’

Mo Ning took a thick envelope from his pocket and said with a smile:

"I spent half an hour this morning optimizing the key sections of your teacher’s paper. Perhaps you could send it to Buck for him to have a look."

Reina’s gaze swept over the envelope. Her eyes widened in shock, a thoughtful expression mixed within.

’Half an hour? Mr. Mo Ning optimized a whole paper in just half an hour?’

’She remembered Teacher Buck saying that he had spent an entire year on that paper, revising it countless times, before it had barely met the standards for approval.’

The dazed girl shook her head, and the stubborn tuft of hair on top wobbled with the movement. Her voice was hesitant. "What will my teacher need to do?"

’She wasn’t a fool. There was no such thing as a free lunch. Mr. Mo Ning wouldn’t help an old Apprentice he’d never even met for no reason.’

The smile on Mo Ning’s face deepened. "I spent some time in the library of the Holy Spear Kingdom. While there, I met a respectable old man named Sir Rent. He later died under mysterious circumstances, and I want to find out why."

Sir Rent’s unexpected death had been weighing on his heart like a heavy stone, which was why he had turned his attention to Buck.

’He believed that an experienced old Apprentice, one who had spent many years in the mundane world, was the perfect person to investigate this matter.’

Reina understood instantly. "I see! Perhaps Teacher Buck would be interested in investigating, but I can’t make any guarantees."

Mo Ning took another small, exquisite object from his pocket and gently placed it over the left side of his chest.

Two small clasps automatically extended from the object, precisely gripping the fabric of his blue robe and fastening the badge securely to his chest.

Mo Ning casually pointed to the badge. "Your teacher should recognize this."

Reina glanced at it, her brow furrowing slightly as if she was trying hard to recall something.

She had heard her teacher briefly describe the more important academy badges before, but she couldn’t identify this one on the spot.

The dazed girl looked again, this time more carefully, more intently. Her gaze swept from the edge of the badge to its center, and from the center back to the edge.

Then, her pupils practically quaked, and her cowlick shot straight up.

"By the Mystery!"

Reina’s voice was filled with the kind of shock that screamed ’What am I seeing?!’. "That’s the Silver Pen Member Badge from *Shine*, isn’t it?!"

Anya, who had been holding back her smile for a long time, finally let it blossom. "Yes. Mo Ning received that badge a few days ago."

Reina’s eyes suddenly lit up, her pretty face filled with utter disbelief. "Er... I think, perhaps Teacher Buck will have a very high..."

She paused, then changed her tune. "Oh, no, I mean... a *very* strong desire to uncover the cause of a poor old man’s death. Justice and righteousness must be upheld."

’The dazed girl was almost certain. A young genius who had earned a Silver Pen Badge was offering to help Teacher Buck. There was a very high chance her teacher would be tempted.’

Anya, listening in on this conversation, suddenly felt a strong sense of admiration for Mo Ning.

’This young man had only just entered the academy, yet not only had he made astonishing academic achievements, but he was also starting to build his own team.’

’The Noble Lady had once heard Auntie Nasha say that as the times progressed, the study of Witchcraft was becoming increasingly complex. For any brilliant Wizard to advance far on their path, they had to establish an outstanding team.’

’Going it alone wasn’t impossible, just incredibly difficult.’

’And Mo Ning, without a doubt, possessed incredible foresight.’

*****

「Half an hour later.」

「Apartment 610.」

The dazed girl, Reina, had already taken off her blue novice’s robe. Dressed only in a white blouse and trousers, her slender, energetic figure was revealed.

Compared to the tan, rough-skinned girl she was before entering the academy, her skin was now as translucent as jade—so fair and supple it looked dewy to the touch.

Paired with her nearly flawless, delicate features, she had truly become a beautiful young woman.

Cosmetics infused with Spiritual Power had wrought this "ugly duckling into a swan" miracle.

Reina gripped her Ink Tube Pen, hunched over her desk and writing furiously.

Her nib flew across the paper, and lines of text flowed cheerfully from beneath her pen:

"Dearest Teacher, you’ll never believe what happened to me today..."

In meticulous detail, Reina described everything that had happened concerning the young man named Mo Ning.

From their first encounter in the Secluded Forest, to the casual ease with which the young man—as if he were on a picnic—had solved the extremely difficult random assessment.

Then there was the wondrous moment he casually tossed out a Vibrating Stone, increasing the efficiency of clearing the Steel Bamboo rhizomes by at least fivefold.

Finally, she described the unique flair he displayed right in front of her as he eloquently laid out the Divination framework for a paper. The pen in his hand seemed to have been given a life of its own as formulas popped up on the page one after another, impeccably neat and beautiful.

Perhaps it was a case of not seeing the forest for the trees, but the dazed girl was completely unaware of the special affection that bled through between the lines of her own writing.

Exclamations like, "He’s so incredible," "He’s nothing like a newcomer," and "He’s the smartest person I’ve ever met," were littered throughout every paragraph.