Chapter 60: Academy Rewards

The magic stones flowed steadily, quickly piling into a small mound. 

The flame giant halted, sending a mental wave to Richard.

"Penalty for contract breach is ten thousand magic stones, contract initiation is five thousand magic stones, one hundred magic stones per month, with a minimum contract duration of twenty years. During the contract, all my magic consumption is your responsibility, and I will not execute suicidal orders."

Ten thousand magic stones? 

Richard's face turned stiff; this amount exceeded his budget. But he quickly thought of an alternative.

"I won't pay you a penalty, but I can spend a thousand magic stones to hire you to go easy in the upcoming battle, and then hire you under those conditions."

The flame giant pondered for a few seconds, during which Holder relentlessly issued mental commands for it to attack, causing the giant some irritation.

Its contract with Holder was not a slave contract but a hire contract. 

It was a citizen of Flame Lord Firth, not a wizard's servant.

"Human, I want you to establish a contract."

"Deal!"

Without hesitation, Richard pulled out a contract template from his pouch and swiftly drafted the terms.

Under this contract, Richard would pay the flame giant a thousand magic stones after Holder's death, and hire it for five thousand magic stones for initiation, a hundred magic stones per month, for a twenty-year term.

The contract didn't specify that the flame giant needed to go easy, but both parties knew what was beneficial for them.

"Firth, I command you to attack!"

Holder issued the command again, but this time, the flame giant obeyed—albeit at a snail's pace.

Seeing this, Holder's face turned ashen. He didn't know what Richard had done to Firth, but the flame giant's actions were undoubtedly disadvantageous to him.

Richard gave him a bright smile.

That's the consequence of trying to cut corners.

Typically, wizards sign slave contracts with elemental beings, requiring them to fully obey commands, with refusal leading to their immediate demise at the wizard's whim.

But signing a slave contract requires the wizard to be stronger than the elemental being, capable of killing it if it refuses.

Holder, being merely a mid-level apprentice, couldn't achieve this. Moreover, if Holder used a wizard's power to sign a slave contract, the flame giant couldn't be brought into the exam grounds.

Everything brought into the exam had to be crafted by the wizard apprentice or purchased through legitimate means with magic stones.

Without this rule, Richard could have asked Jolord to give him a wizard-level battle beast to bring into the exam.

But that would defeat the exam's purpose.

Thus, Holder could only sign a hire contract.

As everyone knows, mercenaries are mostly loyal to whoever pays more.

Richard offered a higher price, so the flame giant had no reason to refuse.

Ellie, a bit confused but noticing the flame giant's reluctance, understood.

Without the flame giant blocking, she and Richard could easily kill Holder.

"Richard, the usual way."

Richard understood and immediately engaged Holder, while the flame giant followed 'in hot pursuit.'

Seeing things spiral beyond his control, Holder pulled a scroll from his pouch, deciding to flee.

Better to live another day.

But before he could activate the scroll, a blast startled him, making his arm tremble.

Richard's black sword nearly cleaved his magic shield, black flames spreading quickly, draining his magic rapidly.

Glimpsing at Ellie, he saw her preparing a spell.

As for the flame giant, it was still 'swiftly chasing' Richard.

Gritting his teeth, Holder tore open the scroll in his hand, vanishing in a flash of light.

"So quick to retreat."

Richard sneered, switching his vision to Wuni.

"Five hundred meters east, Ellie, let's go!"

...

Five days later, Holder watched in despair as a terrifying fireball hurtled toward him. Without the flame giant, he was merely a stronger mid-level apprentice, no different from Richard or Ellie.

As Holder was reduced to ashes, his contract with the flame giant ended.

Richard paid the magic stones as per the contract and signed a twenty-year hire agreement with the flame giant.

Thanks to Holder and the blind apprentice's demise, Richard and Ellie's points surged. Richard, having killed the blind apprentice and Koguk, firmly held the top spot, while Ellie's defeat of Holder placed her seventh.

The mosquito monster was picked off by another apprentice during their chase, and if they'd managed to kill it too, Ellie's points might have reached the top three.

However, Ellie had no complaints.

Making it to the top ten already fulfilled her objective.

The five-day chase had left them both exhausted; no apprentice wizard was a pushover, and wizards had myriad tricks. Unable to win head-on, they always had escape routes.

"Let's rest for a couple of days; the exam ends soon," Richard suggested.

Ellie agreed, equally tired:

"Okay."

Nine days later, the exam concluded.

As the magical airship landed in the exam center, the surviving apprentices wept with relief.

It was over, and they were alive.

Back at school, the academy promptly conducted mark tallies.

Over four thousand apprentices participated, but only a thousand survived.

More than half of the apprentice wizards became stepping stones for others on the path of wizardry.

Richard had sixty-two marks, equivalent to six thousand two hundred magic stones. Including magic stones, materials, and gear gained from kills, Richard's exam haul totaled around ten thousand magic stones.

Yet, Richard remained calm.

The reward for the leaderboard was soon announced to the top ten: exploration of the principal's secret realm.

However, due to the principal's sudden commitments, the exploration was delayed by two years, to Richard's disappointment.

...

99th Floor of the Central Black Tower.

"The principal's secret realm is a great place," Jolord handed Richard the academy's magic stone reward, "Though not as grand as those of older academy principals, it's part of our wizard world's fragmented realms, a treasure trove for you."

Nearby, Chucks, also finished with his exam, looked at Richard with envy.

His points fell short of the top ten, barring him from the realm exploration.

"Teacher, what exactly is this secret realm?" Richard asked, puzzled.

He'd scoured many books in the library, but explanations about secret realms were scant and unclear.

Jolord cleared his throat and explained:

"Richard, what we call planes sometimes split into space fragments. Most vanish shortly after, but a small portion persist long-term.

These fragments are what we refer to as secret realms.

The era of these fragments often differs from the current plane era, as does the environment. For instance, while we're in the expansion period, a fragment from the wizard world might be from the enlightenment or even the primitive period."

Jolord's eyes gleamed with passion.

"Can you imagine? In a grand wizard's secret realm, creatures extinct in our world might still exist. They vanished before we were born, yet we can find them in the realm. We can study their habits, structures, and uses.

Such experiences are priceless, beyond any magic stone's worth."

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