Chapter 19

Third Person POV,

While going towards the spell hall, Cain contemplated whether it was advantageous for him to expose his promotion to first-rank wizard apprentice.

Although the rewards were rich, the fact that a four-star talent could become a wizard apprentice before five-star ones might arouse the interest of some dark wizards.

But thinking more, it didn't matter as it could be attributed to him having more comprehension than other apprentices or even that the meditation is more suitable for him to practice.

Moreover, having the chance to become an apprentice of an official wizard could offset this small issue. The academy would probably focus on his future prospects rather than doubts about his small breakthrough.

After walking forward a while, a building with "SPELL HALL" written in Elbaf language came into view. Compared to the Resource Hall, it was less populous because of the high official prices for spells inside.

While it might seem expensive compared to spells available in the black market, the large amount and variety of spells made up for this drawback. But even so, wizard apprentices preferred the black market to the spell hall.

Entering the spell hall, Cain found various shelves with crystal balls as well as what seemed like instructions on them.

Approaching a counter, he saw an old man with long white hair and a white beard, sleeping soundly with his head on the table.

"Ahem," Cain coughed to wake the old man.

Seeing no reaction, he was about to say something when a voice came into his head.

'What do you need, little guy?'

Cain showed a shocked look on his face after hearing a sudden voice inside his head.

But then calming down, he spoke, "Old man, I am here to claim my rewards for being the first to promote to Wizard Apprentice."

'Oh, then you can select three zero-tier spells from all the ones here and then bring them to my table.'

Seeing that no more instructions came, Cain went directly towards the spell section to view all the zero-tier spells.

The spell section was divided into two parts: one for zero-tier spells and the other for first-tier spells. While zero-tier spells were used by wizard apprentices, first-tier spells were for official wizards.

At the first shelf, he found many dark attribute spells with a few of other attributes.

After checking other shelves, Cain finally decided on three spells: Mage Hand, Shadow Spike, and Poisonous Ray.

Mage Hand was a common functional spell that used mana to create multiple (up to 10) invisible hands that could perform common actions.

While it seemed a useless spell, it helped wizards in both experiments and unnecessary chores.

The second spell, Shadow Spike, produced a dark spike-like attack from shadows within 20 meters of the caster. Being a Dark affinity spell attack spell, along with its secrecy during attack, made it the the most optimal choice for him.

The last spell, Poisonous Ray, shot a grey ray that, if in contact, slowed down the target with a continuous poisonous effect. He chose this spell due to its property of weakening others as well as poisoning.

Approaching the old man, Cain saw him still sleeping. Controlling the urge to curse, he placed the three zero-tier spell orbs on the table.

'Are these three your choices?'

"Yes, old man."

'Hmm, then you can put these orbs on your head and receive the spells, but remember to put them back in their places after you have gotten the spells in it.'

Following the instructions, Cain touched his forehead to the first orb.

With a little tingling sensation, a lot of information about how to use Mage Hand entered his mind.

Putting the orb down, he repeated the process with the other two orbs and then returned them to their original positions.

'Well, you can leave now,' came the old man's voice in his head.

As Cain was about to leave, he decided to check whether the status panel could be used on other people as well.

Looking at the old man, Cain murmured 'status' in his mind.

A panel-like screen appeared in front of him.

He decided to check it after leaving the spell hall as it might seem suspicious to stare at the air while standing still.

As much as he wanted to check the status, he didn't want to become an experimental subject for other wizards due to his unnatural behaviour.

Leaving the spell hall, Cain walked down the path for a while. After ensuring no one was around, he asked Zyrk to double-check whether there was anyone around.

Finally confirming that nobody was around, Cain decided to check the screen.

[

NAME: Floyd Meron

FIGHTING POWER: First Order Wizard (96%)

SPELLS:

ZERO TIER -> Mage Hand, Weakness Ray, Dream Bubble, ...

FIRST TIER -> Dream Halo, Song of Nightmare, Sleep of Death, ...

DESCRIPTION: A first-order Official Wizard, just a few points away from becoming a second-order Wizard. Having an affinity towards dream-based spells, he likes to sleep most of the time. While he might look lazy and unmotivated, he can kill you effortlessly(without Zyrk's interference).

]

Looking at the description of the old man, Cain finally understood why he was sleeping while guarding an important place like the spells hall.

He was also shocked by the old man's power, feeling lucky that he hadn't offended him.

Even if Zyrk could kill the old man, the second-order wizards of the academy were not easy to deal with.

Even if he somehow escaped, it would be very difficult for a wild wizard to gain access to knowledge about wizards.

Coming out of his stupor, he headed directly to his house to try to construct the zero-tier spells.

While walking, he asked Zyrk why he hadn't informed him that the old man was an official wizard.

'Because with me, he was of no danger to you, Father.'

Listening to Zyrk's reasoning, Cain was speechless as he had no reason to refute it.

He then instructed Zyrk to inform him regardless of whether Zyrk considered the other person harmless or harmful to him.

Receiving a positive reply, Cain sighed in relief and continued walking towards his house.