Chapter 32. A Difficult Situation
Emerald Heart Tavern.
Fulan took a seat across from Elan. Elan looked at her and said,
“Well, if it is not the rising star of the Sword Chant School. What brings you here?”
Fulan’s face darkened with exasperation.
“I already told you I rejected the Sword Chant School’s invitation. I am still just an apprentice.”
But Elan looked even more surprised than she was and quickly put away his teasing smile.
“You did not join the Sword Chant School?”
“That is right. Is there a problem?”
Elan pushed his cup aside and cleared his throat before speaking.
“Now I am starting to wonder if you actually intend to become a formal mage.”
“If I do not join a School, does that mean I cannot become a formal mage?”
Elan continued,
“That is not entirely true. But even if you manage to become a formal mage through some other method, you will soon discover that you cannot advance any further.”
“The Schools not only control the methods of promotion, but they have an even tighter grip on the path beyond that.”
Fulan caught the implication hidden within his words and asked,
“Boss, are you very familiar with the Schools?”
“I used to belong to one myself.”
Fulan’s eyes lit up.
“Then could you tell me which School you joined? Give me an introduction. Who knows—I might even join your School.”
Over the past few days, Fulan had been searching for other Schools, trying to learn more about them so she could make a decision.
But everywhere she went, she met nothing but closed doors.
The elitism among the Schools was practically at its peak.
Aside from a few well-known Schools—such as the Construction School, the Alchemy School, and the Elemental School—
most other Schools did not even publicly reveal their names. Fulan searched for a long time and occasionally stumbled upon a School name, yet she could not even confirm whether it truly existed.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible for her to learn what a School was like internally or what spells they taught.
In her final attempt, she had even asked Bella—who had joined the Sword Chant School—to inquire about the other Schools.
The result was disappointing.
According to the replies Bella received, even Senior Apprentices themselves did not know how many Schools existed.
They rarely communicated with one another, and their instructors did not bother explaining what other Schools were like.
The only information they had about other Schools came from encountering them during the Apprentice Assessment. Yet even then, they often could not identify the spells the others were casting.
So when Fulan heard that Elan had once belonged to a School, she quickly seized the chance to ask. Perhaps it would suit her.
Elan chuckled.
“It is called the Law School. As for joining it, forget about it. We will not be recruiting for the next few years.”
A question mark practically appeared above Fulan’s head. She wanted to ask more about the School, but seeing the look in Elan’s eyes that clearly said he would not reveal anything further, she held back her questions.
“Honestly, you should just join the Sword Chant School. I think it suits you best.”
Fulan did not quite agree with that.
In her mind, with the game panel she possessed, there were two paths for learning spells.
The first was broad learning.
She was certain that mastering various spells would, more or less, grant attribute bonuses or even unlock a [Trait].
If she maintained every spell at a certain level and then specialized in several that suited her best, her overall strength would become extremely formidable.
The second path was to choose a powerful School.
Either the School’s spells were inherently powerful, or they might interact with her game panel in some unique way—allowing her to accomplish things others could not.
Unfortunately, both of these ideas were severely restricted by the deeply entrenched elitism that dominated this continent.
Still, Fulan was not in a hurry.
She could learn slowly and gather information first. If she impulsively joined a School in a moment of excitement, that might become something she would regret.
In this world, there was no option to withdraw from a School once you joined it.
So if you later saw someone from another School casting impressive and powerful spells and thought, That looks amazing—I want to learn that too, it would already be too late.
Therefore, Fulan planned to wait and observe, slowly learning about the different Schools before making a decision.
At the very latest, she would join one before next year’s assessment so she could participate and obtain some rewards.
Her current combat strength was already quite exaggerated. By the time next year’s assessment arrived, she did not even know how powerful she might become.
“Oh. I will keep looking. Maybe another School will suit me better.”
Elan spoke earnestly.
“You must join a School as soon as possible. Do not think you can achieve a good ranking in the assessment relying only on your own spells.”
“The unique spells and techniques of each School greatly enhance every apprentice.”
“The earlier you join, the earlier you can learn those powerful spells.”
Fulan understood that point, but she still intended to stick with her own plan.
She would observe the Schools first before making a decision.
“Oh, right.”
Fulan suddenly remembered something she wanted to ask.
“Boss, have you ever heard the term ‘Spirit Realm’?”
To avoid drawing attention, she mentioned only the first two characters from the item’s name, hoping the keyword might reveal something.
Elan raised an eyebrow.
“It seems you are quite serious about becoming a formal mage if you even know about that.”
He took a sip of water and continued.
“You may already know this, but it is also one path to becoming a formal mage.”
“One can achieve advancement through the Spirit Realm. This method is more popular in other regions of the Alliance, but it is not very common here.”
“I do not remember many details anymore. But if you want to learn more, you will soon be choosing courses. Take the class called [Spirit Realm Exploration]. The instructor of that course became a formal mage through that method. You can learn more from them.”
Fulan carefully stored this information in her mind.
All of it was extremely important.
Spirit Realm Exploration. I will remember that course.
Hearing so much useful information made Fulan very happy. She was already preparing to leave.
“Wait. Do not go yet.”
“What is it?”
“You came here just to chat with me?”
“Of course. I wanted to ask about some things. Now that I have my answers, why would I stay?”
Elan sighed helplessly, stood up, and gestured for Fulan to follow him.
Soon they arrived at the same place where they had first discussed their “business.”
“I have to ask—are you not concerned at all about the potion matter? Something this big happened, yet you did not come to find me immediately.”
“I thought you were busy dealing with School matters and could not pay attention to this side of things.”
“But now that you are here, you have not mentioned the potion matter even once. That is ridiculous!”
Elan complained inside the secret room.
Only then did Fulan realize that she really had not been thinking about it at all.
She asked awkwardly,
“Do you mean the news that the Alchemists’ Association collapsed? I already knew about that. Was it not because the assessment was shut down…”
Elan looked stunned again and said helplessly,
“That happened days ago. Now there are far more important developments.”
“Several new Associations have already been established.”