Chapter 257 - 20: Monstrous Magic Pool Capacity

Chapter 257: Chapter 20: Monstrous Magic Pool Capacity

"It’s no exaggeration to say that the novice residences are practically slums in comparison.

"Unfortunately, First Level Apprentices are restricted to their assigned residential area and miss out on the other beautiful sights. It’s a real shame, to be honest.

"If you’re strong enough, you can apply to join the Arbitration Court. Even the lowest-ranking Arbiter automatically gains access to all Apprentice residential areas."

Standing at the entrance and gazing out at the valley, a tapestry of starlight and fluorescence, Mo Ning finally understood the sentiment of the senior who had written those words.

Just then.

An exceptionally large Floating Jellyfish drifted over. A blue corona encircled its body, pulsing rhythmically as if it were breathing.

It extended one of its ribbon-like tentacles, pointing gently at Mo Ning from afar. The tip of the tentacle flared with a deep blue light.

A message was instantly inscribed in Mo Ning’s mind:

[Young Black Tower New Star, welcome to Dormitory Area 43. I am the area’s administrator, "Tara." Please allow me to guide you to your residence.]

Mo Ning blinked. He instantly realized that Tara was a Spiritual Creature of immense intelligence.

It even knew he was on the "Black Tower New Star" list, which was proof of its considerable authority within the academy.

’In any case, there was more to this jellyfish than meets the eye.’

Mo Ning offered a polite "thank you" and stepped over the threshold between his residence and the valley.

"CLICK—"

The instant his Sheepskin Boots touched down, the residence behind him vanished like an Illusion.

Only then did Mo Ning notice he was standing on a circular stone platform, its surface inscribed with intricate Magic Patterns.

From the top of the platform, the entire valley unfolded before his eyes.

Apprentice residences were built into the cliff face on one side of the valley, their doorways outlined by threads of blue light.

The valley floor held three plazas—one large and two small—each at least five thousand square meters in area. The remaining space was covered in lush, green grass, interspersed with a variety of glowing plants.

The largest plaza teemed with people, resembling a small marketplace, yet not a single sound escaped it. A Witchcraft spell had clearly been cast to block the noise and preserve the dormitory area’s unique tranquility.

In the other two plazas, Apprentices in gray robes strolled about in small groups or gathered in stone gazebos on the lawns to chat.

A few nearby First Level Apprentices noticed the blue-robed figure following Floating Jellyfish Tara down from the Teleportation Platform and glanced over with curiosity.

Mo Ning vaguely overheard their discussion, carried on the night wind.

"Another new Apprentice is here!"

"They’ll be excited for a few days, and then they’ll be tearing their hair out."

"Yeah, Level Zero Witchcraft is more than ten times harder to learn than Sub-zero Level Tricks. The little bit of Knowledge of Divination you learn as a novice is nowhere near enough."

The corner of Mo Ning’s mouth twitched into a slight smile.

’I’ve already mastered Thunderbolt Spear, a Level Zero Witchcraft with four Spirit Seals. I don’t think Level Zero Witchcraft is so difficult.’

The first assessment for newly promoted Apprentices was to master any one Level Zero Witchcraft within six months.

Mastering it within four months would earn the third-tier "Excellent" evaluation, so he wasn’t worried in the slightest.

He wasn’t annoyed at being pitied; on the contrary, he found it rather amusing.

After another dozen steps or so, the path forked into three. Each path was at a different elevation, leading to clusters of residences at varying heights on the cliff face.

Following Tara, he took the path on the right—the highest of the three.

The wooden railings flanking this path were more exquisitely carved, and an elegantly shaped Magic Energy Lamp sat atop each post.

In contrast, the other two paths were far simpler. The middle path had railings but no lamps, while the leftmost path had no railings at all.

It was an unmistakable, silent testament to the hierarchy.

The whispers on the night wind instantly changed their tune, now laced with obvious astonishment.

"The Upper District!"

"That kid is going to the Upper District!"

"He just got promoted and he’s already living in the Upper District? Who the hell is this guy?"

Mo Ning, of course, knew what the "Upper District" implied.

The residences in each Apprentice dormitory area were divided into three classes, designated as District One, District Two, and District Three.

District One residences were larger and better equipped. District Two was a step down, and District Three was below that.

The academy had assigned him residence "1-68," meaning residence number 68 in District One.

The Apprentices, however, had their own names for them: the "Upper District," "Middle District," and "Lower District." The names carried a hint of derision—the Upper District was for the upper crust, and the Lower District for the lower class.

According to the academy’s rules, an Apprentice who received a third-tier "Excellent" evaluation in two consecutive assessments could move into the Upper District. A single "Excellent" evaluation granted access to the Middle District. All others were relegated to the Lower District.

However, this was not set in stone. If an Apprentice from the Upper District received a single "Average" evaluation, they had to move to the Lower District. An Apprentice from the Middle District who received two consecutive "Average" evaluations would also have to pack their bags for the Lower District.

For those other Apprentices, a newly promoted peer moving directly into the Upper District was an extremely rare sight. How could they not be astonished?

Mo Ning was well aware that the academy’s arrangement was designed to instill a particular kind of tension in its Apprentices, a tension called "No Slacking Off."

Could someone who fell from the Middle District to the Lower District still hold their head high? Meanwhile, the Apprentices in the Lower District would inevitably yearn day and night for better living conditions.

It was a rather vicious system, an invisible whip that lashed every Apprentice, forcing them to run without ever stopping.

This was the academy’s signature—competition was omnipresent.

"Should have said hello earlier!"