Frank got dressed, turned, and walked off toward James. Having caught sight of hope, he was full of drive; at a time like this he would not even consider resting, and he did not care in the least about sharing space with James, whom he detested.
Another five days passed that way, the research creeping along. Frank could only endure a limited amount of time each day, and the two of them built the meditation method at an even slower pace—Frank had managed to trace only four runes, and James needed an amplifier's help just to construct them.
Over those five days the stir Adam had caused in the outside world gradually subsided, and everyone drifted back into their old routines. But one piece of news spread quietly from mouth to mouth: the assessment nine months from now would not be a written test alone.
And that, too, had to do with Adam.
Many of the apprentices of Adam's batch were in fact unqualified. But after losing the war, Mordo had had almost all of its native recruiting grounds on the Mage Continent taken by Monte Carlo, leaving Mordo Academy no choice but to pinch its nose and drag every apprentice who met the bare standard back with it—plainly at odds with the academy's elite standard.
This time, because the Psychokinesis Meditation Method was of such high value, the Fifth Elemental Tower decided to reward the Mordo Elemental Tower. The specifics of the reward were not known, but one item was an expansion of the recruiting range—meaning that in the coming year the academy would take in a great many high-quality apprentices. So the academy decided to separate the wheat from the chaff and screen out the unqualified by way of a trial.
The decision set off a storm among the apprentices. The trial would inevitably come with deaths. Apprentices who had lived peacefully for months had nearly convinced themselves the academy was a paradise where they could become Mages step by step; never had they imagined that even after entering the academy they would have to fight for the right to keep living.
Some apprentices got cold feet and wanted to leave, but they had plainly overestimated the Mages' moral standards. The full-fledged Mages rejected the requests without a moment's hesitation and casually snuffed out a few apprentices whose nerves had broken and who had been rude to them. After that, everyone accepted the bad news.
The atmosphere turned heavy and awkward at once. The "classmates" they had rubbed shoulders with for three months might become mortal enemies in nine months' time, and that left them trusting no one.
Adam was probably the last person to learn the news—straight from the mouth of the headmaster of Mordo Mage Academy.
"Adam! Adam!" That afternoon Elliot came bustling into Adam's laboratory, hammering on the door and shouting at the top of his lungs. "Open up! Good news!"
Adam was in the middle of his daily experiments. Hearing the shouting, he signaled the other two to carry on with their own work, then went to open the door, where he found Elliot.
Elliot's thieving eyes darted all over the place, and he clicked his tongue in admiration. "As expected of the genius apprentice—your first lab is this big. Whoa, an energy fluctuation recorder! I don't even have one of those in my lab!"
Adam blocked his way and said coldly, "What do you want?"
Elliot was long since used to Adam's manner. Unbothered, he said, "Good news—Headmaster Victor has summoned you in person. You're about to strike it rich, Adam!"
Adam guessed this would be the follow-up reward for the Psychokinesis Meditation Method being paid out. To an Adam who was short on money just now, that was indeed good news, and he could not help smiling. "It really is good news."
The two left the lab and flew toward the tower, Elliot chattering the whole way. "Hard to believe psychokinesis is actually your invention—do you even know how impressive you are? I'll never have to fret about not getting exact measurements for my potions again!"
Adam asked, puzzled, "You've already succeeded in constructing it?"
Elliot looked sheepish. "Uh... not yet, but soon! Right now every senior apprentice is studying your meditation method, but they're only borrowing from it—no one's going to switch over completely. After all, the most popular and authoritative thing is still Mage Armor."
Adam was not surprised. As he himself had said, the Psychokinesis Meditation Method had after all been refined around his own circumstances; the generation of psychokinesis was in essence the fruit of quantity turning into quality. Not to boast, but its demands on innate aptitude were far too high—it was very hard to apply to everyone. Adam knew about this problem, but he had no intention of reworking it for general use. It was too much trouble, and he had no wish to found a school of his own.
Elliot said with a touch of envy, "I've been at Mordo for over forty years and I've never once been called in by the headmaster alone."
Adam was curious. "What level of Mage is Headmaster Victor?"
"Fourth level," Elliot said reverently. "Just one step from becoming a Transdimensional Mage!"
Adam was filled with solemn respect. Going from apprentice to full-fledged Mage was one sublimation of the essence of life, and from Mage to Transdimensional was another; Headmaster Victor was a powerhouse standing on the threshold of that second sublimation, and Adam could not imagine how strong he must be.
Thinking Adam was nervous, Elliot reassured him, "Don't worry. As long as you keep to basic courtesy and don't deliberately offend or provoke a Mage, they won't stoop to quibble with us even if you say something wrong. And I hear Headmaster Victor has a decent temper."
Adam could more or less understand the reasoning. When a person walks down a road, barring the mentally disturbed, no one goes out of his way to plug up an ant hole he passes—unless the ants have the death wish to crawl onto the person's body.
The two landed below the tower and walked inside. This was Adam's first time ascending to the tower's other floors; neither of them dared look around along the way, and the dense mana around them pressed on them with enormous weight. Unlike the attribute-less mana the apprentices drew on, every wisp of energy here carried a powerful individual will.
Nearing the top, Elliot stopped and said, panting, "The floor just below the top is Headmaster Victor's room. From here only you can go up. Good luck."
Adam nodded to him. Here the concentration of mana actually thinned, replaced by a field he could only dimly sense with his spiritual power. He climbed the stairs one by one toward the summit, and when he stepped onto the last one, Adam found that he was no longer inside the tower at all—he had come to some unknown space. As he was puzzling over it, a voice rang out: "Apprentice Adam?"
Adam gave a start. A moment ago he had been utterly unable to sense the speaker's existence—though clearly only one person could be speaking here. "Yes, honored Mage Victor."
The next second Adam was sitting in a chair that had appeared out of thin air. He summoned his courage and raised his head, and found that the Mage Victor before him was unbelievably tall and imposing; the sheer contrast made him jarringly out of place against his surroundings, nothing at all like the impression from three months before. Just facing him like this, Adam could feel everything about himself transforming uncontrollably in some direction.
Sensing Adam's confusion, Mage Victor explained kindly, "This is my true body. What you saw before was only an avatar. My true body's energy field is too strong for you—but don't be nervous. You won't come to harm, not for a short while."
Adam was horrified. Is this the strength of a senior Mage? A wisp of leaking aura alone is enough to assimilate lower life forms—that's terrifying!
"I'll keep it short. Transdimensional Mage Moldo and the Fifth Elemental Tower speak highly of the meditation method you reworked. On behalf of the tower, I have decided to reward you." As he spoke, Mage Victor set a token, a materialized rune, and a contract before Adam. "With this token, you may read every book in the library except those on the top three floors. Free of charge."
The first reward was knowledge.
"Merge the rune into your body and you will gain a personal storage space of one cubic meter."
The second reward was something tangible.
"This contract—hmm, little one, I have to say you're quite something. Your intelligence has won you boundless possibilities. Sign it, and from now on your meditation method will be published throughout the entire Mage Plane; every time anyone reads it, you will receive a share of ten units of energy stones."
The last reward was resources.
Adam signed the contract without hesitation, inwardly marveling once more at how the Mage World protected knowledge and the spirit of contract. He knew that at least until he became a full-fledged Mage he would never have to worry about energy stones; whatever research he took up, whatever path he walked, this steady stream of income would be enough to support it.
"Thank you, honored Mage Victor."
Mage Victor said, "All of this you have earned. I never expected this year's luck to be so good—that there should be a genius like you among the apprentices. You solved a great trouble for me. Thanks to you, I have escaped an awkward predicament, and I need to reward you. Hmm..."
Adam said nothing. He had no idea what the great trouble Mage Victor spoke of was, but it did not matter; a fourth-level Mage's reward would obviously not be shabby.
"Then this will do. If you are lucky enough, it may help you nine months from now." Mage Victor made his decision.
A small blackish-red egg appeared before Adam, and from time to time an evil aura leaked from it. Adam picked it up and found that it was actually squirming faintly in his palm, as though trying to invade his body.
"What is this?" Adam asked, puzzled.
"An egg of some unknown creature I obtained from an Abyss Plane during the plane war. Once it matures, it should be about second level in strength," Mage Victor explained.
Adam clutched it like a priceless treasure. He had never expected such a windfall—second level! That meant that while still an apprentice he had gained a companion that could grow to the level of Mage Blake.
After handing everything to Adam, Mage Victor waved him off. "Little one, you must go now. Good luck in the trial nine months from now."
Another shift of space and time, and Adam was swept away against his will. When his awareness returned, he found himself outside the tower, with all four rewards floating intact around him. He shook his head to drive off the discomfort, and just then Elliot's voice rang out: "Looks like you made quite a haul, my friend—let me see what you got!"