Chapter 14 I Have Decided to Apply to Your College

Under the watchful eyes of the onlookers, it was as if the arcade game screen suddenly burst into brilliant light, and then the Transmutation Mage, like a pixelated sphere, grew from small to large, and was kicked out of the screen.

He rolled on the ground, crushing a chair in the process, and the surrounding crowd burst into laughter.

"Extreme Difficulty Mode, I saw it, that's incredible, I never thought the games we played were only in normal mode."

"As expected of a Grand Magician, he just took the game's level up by two notches!"

A handsome young man wearing a black top hat and coat was also amidst the crowd, applauding and laughing with great joy.

Not everyone was laughing at him, in fact, many people felt that it was really good to learn magic and that it was possible to run into the game world to develop more gameplay.

"So, where can we learn the magic of the Transformation Category?"

"I used to think that being able to cast fireballs made one a mage, but now it seems that only the Transformation Category is real magic."

Around them was a buzz of discussion, and the old mage wasn't the least bit embarrassed; although he had rolled on the ground a few times, when he stood up, the look of The Scream he had on in the game world had completely vanished.

Even with mud on his beard, his expression remained nonchalant and composed, oozing with elegance. Even the Magic Apprentices around him were dumbfounded for a moment.

"Ahem, very well! If you want to learn the spells of the Transformation Category, please look for Reya Academy in the Meteor World, it's the most famous academy there... Here, this is the address of our academy. I am a senior professor at the academy."

"You all saw how interesting our academy's spells are, if you learn our magic, you'll be able to do the same things I just did... Embarrassing? I was defeated under Extreme Difficulty Mode, that's not embarrassing!"

"We are always enrolling students, as long as you have confidence in your talent you can sign up..."

The old mage naturally blended into the surrounding discussions and flatly denied being bad at playing games.

He pulled out a stack of promotional flyers from who-knows-where and distributed them indiscriminately to the onlookers of every race.

"Those mages who can only cast big fireballs, their employment scope is too narrow, but we Transmutation Mages are different. We can make all aspects of life more convenient, and even if you want to compete with those fireball mages for a job, we have efficient spells like 'Body of Steel,' 'Extreme Swing,' 'Heavy Strike,' and 'Meteor Return.' Those skinny weaklings don't stand a chance against us..."

A Dog-headed Person in the crowd: "Wait a moment, Master, at first I thought you were talking about stealing job opportunities, but it seems that you mean after using a charge attack to beat a fireball mage to death, no one will compete with you for a job... Is that what you mean?"

The old mage spoke with righteous indignation: "Magic is such a thing where how much spell one can learn relies on personal talent limits, but how one understands and defines the use of magic depends on a clever mind. Compared to those mages who only chew on incantations, we Transmutation Mages place more emphasis on our students' ability to think and their practical operations."

The Dog-headed Person excitedly grasped the old mage's hand: "I've always believed that the essence of magic lies in practice, not in chanting... I've decided to apply to your academy!"

The old mage's face immediately beamed with joy: "Then I recommend you a set of spells specifically tailored for Dog-headed People. After you finish learning it and team up with others to take on missions, you can fully transform into a dog with a human head... The first thing you'll need to learn is the Grand Illumination Skill, and learning this spell can effectively blind both friends and foes, allowing you to snatch the kill. You don't need to be too intelligent... As for the casting tool, I recommend a long-handled great axe to increase your attack range, and for enchantments, I recommend 'Great Bleeding'..."

"Hey! Professor Halley, don't hand out flyers here; this is right in front of the church!"

Miss Malt appeared, the stunning Miss Vampire glared at the old mage with her ruby-like eyes.

"Miss Malt, long time no see!" Professor Halley greeted Miss Malt happily upon her arrival, immediately asking, "By the way, what exactly are you doing here? Did you develop this arcade game? How did your tavern turn into a church?"

"Fictional Church... So, you worship a deity called 'God of Fiction'?"

The old mage said, finding it quite strange. After all, when had a tavern become a temporary stronghold for a church? The vibe of this place was completely unrelated to sanctity, and even those deities that preferred darker decor wouldn't cast a glance towards a tavern.

Miss Malt, of course, was aware of the oddity.

But the borrowed money hadn't come through yet. She planned a major renovation when it did, so there was no need to change the sign just yet.

"The deity is the God of Fiction, who truly exists. 'Fiction' is the name of the god, not meaning a false deity, so the church is also 'fictional.' Since there's no chapel, the church is right here in the tavern. Just pretend the tavern is a chapel and imagine it in your mind. Picture the decor here as that of a chapel, just fictionalize it a little..."

Old Mage: "...."

So your church literally lives on imagination.

"Ah, speaking of churches, I did indeed receive an invitation from one..."

"But it seems this isn't your church."

The old mage changed the subject, but he still wanted to know more about the arcade machine; in all his long life, he'd never encountered such a "magical" contraption!

Miss Malt, however, sighed, "You're from Today Printing Company, aren't you? Here to advertise for Sacrifice Church."

The old mage chuckled, "After all, Today Printing Company has given me plenty of employment gold! Does your church also want to advertise? I'll give you a discount."

Miss Malt smiled mysteriously, "You're right, our church is indeed planning a promotion event in the next few days, but it coincides with the date set by Sacrifice Church."

"Sacrifice Church is the sponsor of this promotional event, and your church's advertising time clashes with theirs on the same day... What were you thinking? This is clearly not a wise choice."

Hearing Miss Malt's words, the old mage expressed his incomprehension and confusion about her approach.

Normally, one would think that a small-scale promotion should avoid competing directly with a major sponsor's event.

"Don't worry, we've already spoken with Today Printing Company about the promotion. In their offline promotional campaign, there's plenty of unused space in the margins. Mr. Boer has already agreed to feature our event in those peripheral areas."

"And our promotion is set for Saturday night. If you make a reservation now, you can secure a good seat to witness something magical!"

"By the way, can you, as a Transmutation Grand Master, conduct an interview and provide commentary for this promotional event? I'll arrange for the interview to be on the front page of the newspaper. The pay will match your Grand Magician's status, and I won't shortchange you."

The old mage, stroking his beard, asked with interest, "An interview? And here I thought you wanted to hire me."

"And for promotion... Could there be a better way than transformation magic?"

Miss Malt revealed that sunny, beautiful smile once again:

"Of course there is, because this is 'online publicity'!"