Chapter 33: Announcement

[136th day]

For the past two days, the magicians who received the books from Aldo gained insigth and found more secrets that they never knew.

While they understood the simplified explanation in the book, applying it in real life is harder.

The new way of creating magic formulas will allow them to efficiently use spells while not spending unnecessary mana at all.

It was then time for their test, their entrance exam, to see whether they are worthy of being a part of the magic tower.

"I'm kinda nervous"

"Rigth... We can't let such an opportunity pass!"

"Let's do our best!!!"

After Olad informed the magicians, they then gathered outside of the magic tower where seats were prepared in advance.

"I am Roman Achterberg and I will be the instructor for the first part of the exam, which is a written one"

Aldo junior gave each of them their own test paper.

"You all have an hour to answer all the question here. The golems beside you will make sure that you will not use any sort of trickery.

If you, however, have the guts to cheat make sure you do not get caugth"

"Yes, Sir!"

"... You may now begin"

As he flipped the hourglass, the magicians turned the paper and looked at the content.

Meanwhile,

"What are you making them to do?"

Aldo asked Marco as there were quite a few people knelt down and prayed infront of him.

"I am trying to make my own order!"

He happily said.

"LIke a Holy Order?"

"That's right! Since I am making a company, I will need guards. If I have holy knights who would guard my underlings in the future, I would be able to ensure their safety while controlling the public for free!

Three birds with one bullet!"

"Isn't it suppose to be 'one stone'?"

"I prefer saying 'bullet' instead of 'stone' since unlike one bullet, you can throw a stone multiple times"

Marco smugly said to prove Aldo wrong while waving his index finger.

"Then you should just say 'one shot' if that's your reason"

"..."

He looked away as he could not admit his defeat, which Aldo did not care about.

An hour passed and Roman collected the test papers, that was base on the three books that Aldo gave to them, for him to check.

"Congratualations! You all passed!"

"YEAH!!!"

The magicians celebrated as they passed the first test, the written test, while onlookers cheered for them.

"The next test will be a practical one. The test is about you firing any magic spell you want towards that dummy over there" (A)

Aldo and Marco arrived at the site.

"Greetings, tower master"

The magicians bowed.

"Father, I-"

"It's okay, I will take things from here. Remember to get enough rest in between as you are still not use to your current body"

"Yes. I understand"

As Roman backed away, everyone followed Aldo.

"Your goal is to use any magic you are confident in. It doesn't matter if you manage to hit the golem or not. Just know that you all will have to do your very best"

"Yes, tower master!"

One by one, each of them took their turn and used the spell they were most confident with and applied what they have learned the past two days.

Julianne, Dana, and Haxon used water spells by pulling in the moisture from their surroundings to increase the amount and attacked the dummy with a whip like attack.

Mavin and Frederick used fire by condensing fire into a small point and blasted it into one direction, increasing its power.

Amelia and Iris used earth by sending out continous waves that created spikes that impaled the dummy.

Helbert used wind to attack the dummy using the same method as Mavin and Frederick's.

"...."

The magicians all looked at Aldo with nervous eyes as they waited for him to say what he thought for what they did.

"It is amazing that you all managed to apply a few things from the books I handed out, in just two days at that"

"...!"

They cheered as they earned a compliment from the tower master.

"As long as you lot go forward the path of magic with this kind of eagerness to learn more, then you are welcome to be a part of my tower"

"WWWHHHHOOOOOAAAH!!!"

The magicians celebrated as the spectators cheered for their success.

"However, you lot will have to sign a soul binding contract"

"..."

Hearing his words, the people celebrating and cheering all stopped.

"A soul contract? Where could he get that kind thing?"

"From the <Market> perhaps?"

The two whispered to each other.

"That is alright with us, tower master!"

"That much is to be expected if we want to be a part of it"

Unlike what he thought, the magicians were happy to be bounded to the magic tower to ensure their loyalty.

This way, any sort of trouble that may arise in the future can be easily dealt with as the soul contract can ensure their continous faith.

"If so... then sign the contract"

Aldo junior gave one to each of them.

"Use your own blood to sign it after saying your vows"

After they read the contract thoroughly they signed the contract with their blood as they took their oaths as instructed.

The paper was set ablaze and merged with them.

"With this, you all are now officially a part of the Star tower"

"Star... tower?"

"Yes. That is the name of the magic tower"

"..."

Ignoring the name of the magic tower, the people celebrated for the joyous occassion.

"Why did you name it as 'Star Tower'?"

Marco asked as he drank his beer.

"Well... since I am planning on taking the dessert, I thought of 'Sun' but thought it would be too plain so I used 'Star' instead since they are pretty much the same thing while it gives a better sound to it" (A)

"That's good. I thought you have the same naming sense as Leon" (M)

"Do you hate martial arts novels?" (T)

"No. If anything, I do like them... it's just that using the naming style feels icky, if not cringe. You get what I'm saying?" (M)

He shook his head.

"Not really" (A)

"As expected" (T)

PING!

[Announcement to all <Players>]

"Hmm?"

[The <Crinnad Empire> under <The Pacifist> has declared that it will not touch the <Heaven Blaze city> ]

[The <Lunar Palace> under the <Lunar Moon> has declared that it will not touch the <Heaven Blaze city> ]

[The <Hasterien> under the <Witch of the West> has declared that it will not touch the <Heaven Blaze city> ]

[The <Land of Tiafel> under <Frozen Heart> has declared that it will not touch the <Heaven Blaze city> ]

[The <Kingdom of Eladan> under <Cardinal of the Land> has declared that it will not touch the <Heaven Blaze city> ]

[A mission has been generated]

[Mission grade: S]

[Mission difficulty: Unknown]

[Acknowledgement (1)]

Mission description: By the word of a certain someone, the territories and those who are under the 'Nine Heavens' promised not to touch the <Heaven Blace city> for the next ten years as long as you all do not provoke them.

Objective: Earn the acknowledgement of the 'Nine Heavens' to ensure a steady and smooth road towards the creation of the Immortal Star empire!

Time limit: None

Reward upon completion: Points. Any one thing of your choosing in the Market that does not exceed <500> points.

The reward can be gained repeatedly for each acknowledgment.

Failure to complete the objective (Conditional): If the <Players> earn the hatred of the 'Nine Heavens', your chances of creating your own country will decrease significantly.

+

"Wow"

"This is a bit hard to take in"

They all took their time processing the information that flooded them in an instant as another shocking news appeared before them.

[All <Players> has earned the acknowledgement of <The Seer>]

[The mission <Acknowledgement (1) has been partially completed]

[All <Players> will now receive the right to take any one thing from the <Market> as long as it does not exceed <500> worth of points]

[Each <Player> has receive <1,000> points]

"What... what just happened?"

They were all beyond dumbfounded, unable to process what they just red.

"Are we... in big trouble?"

Tony asked as he grabbed their shoulders.

"I... I don't think so.

However, I am certain that something big is happening all over the world"

...

In the coast of what used to be the Kingdom of Ghalvhir, the two <Players> were under the same exact situation.

"Master... is there something wrong?"

Anise asked after seeing their conflicted expression.

"It's nothing... we just have a lot of things to do. By the way, Anise how is it here?"

"It feels liberating and cool!" Anise said with a bright smile.

"That's good. Take your time then"

Approximately two kilometers east from Anise and Charlie's location.

Pang! Pang! Pang!

The sound of clanging metal echoed.

"Master, as you have predicted, the criminals who were chasing after the survivors has come"

"Seeing their attire and the way they move they are most likely amateurs. Take them out and have fun"

"Understood"

With a devilish smile and ecstatic eyes Persephone walked forward the group of criminals.

"Hey~ Miss. It's smart of you to come here yourself"

"We promise you a good time as long as you do what we say"

They looked at her with lustful eyes as they salivated.

"S-sir! Your companion! How could you let her take them!?"

One of the wounded individuals who escaped from being chased by crimminals, who took the oppportunity to commit all kinds of deeds in this fallen kingdom, asked Leon with rage in his eyes.

"Don't worry, she's more than capable of killing everyone here by herself"

In one swift movement, Persephone beheaded three of the seven crimminals.

"You guys are weak. You're not even worth eating"

Persephone said in disgust.

"M-monster!"

The remaining four tried to run away but were caugth immediately.

"Don't worry, for I will make sure you pieces of trash can at least contribute in this world"

After breaking their limbs, she turned back and yelled, "Master, I will be taking a short stroll"

Leon answered with a smile, "Sure! While you're at it, can you look for some wild animals these guys can eat?"

"Understood"

Helpless, the four cried in pain as they got dragged to their deaths.

They then suffered a slow death after Persephone threw them in front of a wounded beast.

"N... No!"

The wounded beast, starving for a few days as it was unable to hunt due to its injury, ate the four one by one.