NOVPUB
Chapter 47: 014: Inner Ring, Low-level Apprentice
The seemingly casual words were like a thunderclap, instantly causing an uproar in the square.
"War...Warrior Feather! It’s the Warrior Feather! Oh my god!!"
"It’s him, the mysticism that defeated Richard was actually Lynch, no way, am I dreaming? Quick, someone wake me up?"
"This...how is this possible!"
The rising and falling noises echoed continuously in the square, everyone was obviously shocked by this news, finding it unbelievable.
The discussions about the apprentice who defeated Richard and saved others never stopped these past days, but everyone had always speculated it was some senior student.
In everyone’s eyes, only those senior students with years of spell experience could be a match for the formidable Black Wizard Apprentice, never did they imagine this hero who defeated the Black Wizard Apprentice would be an apprentice from their own cohort.
Even more unexpected was that this apprentice turned out to be Lynch, after all...he was just a peasant...
"How could it be...how could it be this...peasant..."
"How is this possible..."
Shock, doubt, incomprehension, at this moment the apprentices’ minds were clearly paralyzed, for all this time Lynch was just an honest-to-goodness farmer in their eyes.
He had no exceptional talent, no strong background, and certainly no abundant resources.
Other than silently cultivating by himself, he had nothing, how could such a person achieve such astonishing results?
"No way, no way, this is impossible!"
"There must be some mistake!"
"He’s just a peasant, not some exceptionally talented prodigy, did someone secretly give him cultivation resources?"
"Luck! It must be luck!"
"Yes, just like last time’s trial, this guy’s luck has always been very good!"
In the face of inexplicable events, people habitually seek reasons elsewhere, it all boils down to the inability to accept that someone considered inferior in every way did something they could not achieve.
Envy, jealousy.
Such emotions quickly spread in the hearts of each apprentice.
Leonard did not pay attention to these apprentices, his gaze continued to rest on Lynch, and the admiration in his eyes was clear.
He said, "You are quite good, Apprentice Lynch."
After a pause, his gaze casually scanned the square, then he continued speaking to Lynch, or perhaps to everyone present:
"Don’t mind what other apprentices say, they are mostly just the resentments of failures towards the world, they despise and slander those who can achieve what they cannot, trying to obstruct others’ paths forward, making others become like them to prove their correctness."
"The Wizard’s Road is a difficult path, resources, background, and talent can indeed make someone take an earlier step on this path, but if those are considered the true Wizard’s Road, it is absurd and ridiculous."
"Hard work is the right Wizard’s Road, even with more resources, a stronger background, and better talent, if you deviate from the most basic and essential path, there will still be no result."
"You reap what you sow, this is the eternal law of the Wizard World."
"The unchanging supreme law!"
After awarding the Warrior Feather to Lynch, Leonard left, his work was very busy, if not for the Warrior Feather, he would not have appeared at such an occasion, a gathering concerning apprentices didn’t warrant his presence.
The gathering continued.
After the wizard hosting the gathering arrived, he announced the list of apprentices who passed this trial, as expected Lynch was among them.
With the news brought by Leonard as a prelude, the apprentices had anticipated this result, but when they truly saw Lynch’s name appear on the list, many apprentices still felt a mix of emotions.
Apart from Lynch, there were two more apprentices from the same cohort who also passed this trial smoothly, namely Jessica and an apprentice named Kane.
Jessica was the girl who also ranked in the top three last time, coming from a noble family, she had already received formal magical education before coming to the Wizard World, her qualification did not surprise other apprentices.
Kane, on the other hand, was considered a dark horse who stood out unexpectedly, having not had any striking features prior, his trial ranking was not high last time either, his qualification was quite unexpected for everyone.
Originally, there were four apprentices who passed the trial, but the last one was disqualified by the wizard for participating in spreading rumors.
Yes, the wizard’s punishment finally arrived.
For those apprentices who privately gossiped and violated regulations recently, the law enforcement team of the Tower arrested some typical ones and used magic to seal their mouths, others who fanned the flames received varying degrees of punishment.
Although not every apprentice was dealt with, it served as a good lesson for everyone, understanding that the Tower’s regulations are not just casual words...
...
After the square gathering.
Lynch’s stone house.
Returning to the house, Lynch sorted through the rewards obtained from the gathering, starting with the cloak.
In fact, this was the first time Lynch received a cloak from the Tower since arriving there, Outer Ring apprentices are not issued cloaks, what they used to wear were bought by themselves from the prop hut, thus looking varied with all kinds of styles and colors.
But after becoming an Inner Ring Apprentice, cloaks are uniformly issued, woven from the deep black Night Silk, its texture smooth and soft, very comfortable to wear, in addition, the cloak is reinforced with cleaning, repairing spells and can adjust its size automatically.
On the left chest, embroidered with silver silk is a peculiar leaf emblem, that’s the Wisdom Leaves, of which there are three, representing Low-level, Mid-level, and High-level Apprentices.
"Low-level Apprentice."
Lynch gently stroked the silver pattern on his chest, with a smile on his lips.
Do not underestimate this small leaf, it signifies that from today onward he is a Low-level Apprentice officially recognized by the Tower, entitled to all the benefits corresponding to a Low-level Apprentice.
Every month he can receive a subsidy of 100 Magic Stones, in addition, he can apply for some cultivation resources needed, his residence will also be moved from the rudimentary Stone House District to the refined Inner Ring, and there are also other privileges like library access.
In short, compared with an Outer Ring Apprentice it may not be a leap to the top, but it’s definitely a new level on the Wizard’s Road.
"Now is not the time to be happy, this is just the first step on a long Wizard’s Road."
Shaking his head, Lynch suppressed the excitement in his heart, appropriate celebration is fine, but long-term indulgence in pleasure can lead to self-paralysis, to maintain persistence, proper discipline is necessary in Lynch’s view.
Soon after, Lynch picked up the Gem Box placed on the table.
Even though he just tried to caution against overexcitement, when his gaze fell upon this Gem Box, the joy in his eyes was still uncontrollable, and even his heartbeat couldn’t help but increase by half a beat.
After all, this is the Warrior Feather, a treasure all apprentices in the Tower dream of...
