Wizard: My magic facility can be upgraded!

Chapter 23, Lesson 1

"You are also welcome to join the Potions School and embark on a long journey in pursuit of life and mystery."

Without much preamble, after a brief introduction, he went straight to explaining the operating model of the Potions School:

"The school's teaching time is 9:00 a.m. every day. The instructors who are available on that day will teach in the small classrooms on the fourth floor. If there are no instructors teaching on that day, you can arrange your time as you wish."

"Regularly, the school organizes potion-making exams. Those who excel in the exams, or demonstrate outstanding performance in their daily studies or missions, may be selected by a mentor to become their personal apprentice."

He paused, his gaze seemingly sweeping over the badge on Li Ang's chest.

"Furthermore," the sect leader continued, "there is a mission distribution point inside the tower. You can go there to take on missions that are within your capabilities to earn money to support your studies and life inside the tower."

Finally, children, remember this: the journey of potions never ends.

After the initiation ceremony, Ellie's attendants led the group of newly recruited potions apprentices up the spiral stone steps to a classroom on the fourth floor, filled with the faint scent of dried herbs.

The classroom was small, with about twenty dark wooden tables. The blue-robed wizard Karin was already slumped over the podium, idly flipping through a few drooping herb samples on the table.

Her gaze lazily swept over the apprentices who filed in, but stopped abruptly when it fell on the silver badge on Li Ang's chest, a look of undisguised astonishment flashing across her face.

"Eve's badge?" She raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with disbelief and amusement.

"You've really hit the jackpot. That woman is the famous 'Snail Princess' of the tower. For over a hundred years, we've never heard of her ever considering taking on a disciple."

She chuckled, as if sharing some amusing anecdote:

"Two years ago, she got tired of the sect leader nagging her, so she casually threw out a so-called standard for accepting disciples. The conditions were ridiculously strict. Anyone with eyes could see that she had no intention of really accepting disciples. Unexpectedly... someone actually managed to get in."

But these words took on a different meaning in Li Ang's mind. Eve had no other apprentices, so the workshop was essentially for his and his mentor Eve's exclusive use. No, he couldn't laugh; he had to hold it in.

Karin glanced up and down at Li Ang, who looked somewhat dazed from trying to suppress his laughter, shook her head, and said no more. Clearly, she attributed this to some kind of incredible luck.

Then, she tapped on the table to signal the start of class.

The course content was extremely dry, consisting of nothing more than identifying a few basic herbs: calming flower, silver leaf orchid, and stone root grass.

Karin quickly waved each herb in front of everyone and dryly recited its appearance and basic medicinal effects.

"That's all. If you can't remember anything, look it up in your book after class. It's all in the first five pages of 'Basic Potions.'" She spoke quickly, with a perfunctory air, as if she were just completing a task. "One hour is up. get out of class dismissed."

After announcing the end of get out of class, she looked at the mostly bewildered prospective apprentices below, her tone unusually serious, yet also more ruthless:

"You've probably already noticed that the meager monthly stipends from the factions are barely enough to fill your stomachs. Remember, the Wizard's Tower is not a charity; knowledge, resources, and even the right to survive must be earned by yourselves."

She pointed outside the door: "On the east side of the main hall on the first floor, there's a quest board shared by all three factions. All sorts of quests are posted there. Go take a look; it's currently the only place you can earn a living."

A slight commotion arose among the crowd, and unease and pressure quietly permeated the air.

After class, although Li Ang already had a commission channel through Eve's Mentor Workshop, he still followed the crowd to the lobby on the first floor.

A large crowd had already gathered in front of the huge task board, a mix of robes and voices.

Matthew was among them, a badge pinned to his chest. He was surrounded by several elementalists dressed in grey robes, pointing arrogantly at the quest board and behaving rudely towards the stargazing disciples beside him.

Li Ang glanced around but didn't see Helena.

When Matthew saw Leon and the Potions School members approaching, he instinctively wanted to provoke them, and the usual sarcastic smile on his lips had just begun to rise.

However, his gaze suddenly fell on the silver badge on Li Ang's chest, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Almost simultaneously, the scene of Li Ang raising his hand that night, causing a surge of wind pressure and instantly sending Kavi flying, reappeared clearly before my eyes.

He subconsciously touched his still slightly aching chin and missing front tooth. Ever since he learned magic, he had been practicing desperately every day.

But even the much-vaunted "Spark Technique" can at most leave scorch marks on wooden boards, causing minor burns... it could never have such terrifying impact.

A mixture of apprehension, fear, and resentment welled up in his heart, causing his expression to change several times.

In the end, he merely glared at Li Ang, letting out a very soft, cold snort, as if to say to no one in particular, "Our Elementalist School's stipend is twice yours."

After saying that abrupt and incoherent statement, he turned to his henchman and gruffly said, "Let's go." Then, he casually tore off a few mission sheets and led the Elementalists through the crowd to leave.

Li Ang ignored him and turned his gaze to the task board, which was covered with strips of parchment.

Copying the "Level 0 Spellbook" requires neat handwriting, and the reward is 1 copper coin per copy.

To copy the "Elementary Star Chart," one must have a foundation in drawing; the reward for each copy is 2 copper coins.

Assist the supply department in organizing the warehouse. Must be physically fit. 1 copper coin per hour.

Looking at these assignments, a prospective apprentice couldn't help but sigh under his breath, "Good heavens, only one copper coin for copying one book? I can only copy two books a day at most..."

Another person was puzzled: "Why does the Wizard Tower still use such an outdated method? I heard that the royal capital uses magic engraving machines, which can copy hundreds of 'Level 0 Spellbooks' in one go."

A brown-robed apprentice wizard passing by overheard this and couldn't help but chuckle, glancing sideways at the group of novices:

"A magic engraving machine? Of course there are some in the tower, but those things are extremely precious. The magic crystals consumed to activate them once are beyond your imagination."

His gaze swept over the crowd, filled with undisguised contempt.

"With that cost, it's better to use you guys, the readily available and cheapest labor force. Be grateful, boys, these jobs could have been done by those wizard followers, and you wouldn't have had to pay them extra."

After saying that, he shook his head and walked away, leaving a group of potion apprentices looking at each other in bewilderment.

Li Ang silently looked at the task list and selected a task that appealed to him.

Copying the "Level 1 Spellbook" requires neat handwriting, and the reward is 1 copper coin per copy.

Although the reward was meager, the content greatly interested Li Ang. He discovered that through this task list, he could access information about elements and even the Stargazing School.