"Hello, Uncle Schmidt, I am Moriarty Ensberg!" Looking at this slightly bald, serious-faced middle-aged man slowly walking toward him, Moriarty immediately followed the mage's etiquette and greeted the man.
Your Excellency saluted respectfully.
"Nice to meet you, my nephew, Moriarty. Seeing you is like seeing Helen." Schmidt's voice was very loud, and he was very energetic when he spoke. He walked straight to Moriarty.
In front of Arti, he stared at the other person steadily for a long time before nodding.
"I'm sorry for the death of my mother. It was me who failed to take good care of her." Moriarty lowered his head slightly, not looking directly at each other.
"Well, it's a pity." Hearing Moriarty say this, the mid-level mage sighed heavily and walked to a large French window on the side, looking at the Hockenheim campus below the tower and beyond.
The fountain square fell silent.
The world of magic is indeed strange. From the outside, there are no doors or windows in the Sorcerer's Tower, but inside, you can get enough lighting and a view of the outside. It is really magical.
"I still clearly remember Helen's appearance when she left Azurite City. She was such a bright and lovely girl, with a pair of blue eyes, just like the blooming iris flowers. But in the blink of an eye, more than ten years later, my sister...
Gone forever..." Schmidt monologued in a low voice as if recalling Helen's past.
"I'm sorry." At this time, Moriarty didn't know what to say.
"Maybe this is fate." The mid-level mage shook his head, looked away from the window, and turned to look at Moriarty again: "After all, when facing the uncertainty of life, even magic is not omnipotent."
"Yes. However, I think in our hearts, mother is immortal." Moriarty nodded.
"Yes, that's it." A slight smile appeared on Schmidt's face, but it quickly disappeared: "To be honest, I was surprised to see you suddenly appearing in Hockenheim today. A few months ago,
I think you have read the letter I sent you." As he said that, the mid-level mage returned the envelope in his hand to Moriarty.
"Yes, I read it carefully."
"So, what prompted you to make up your mind to bid farewell to the silent and boring aristocratic territory, come to Brakada, and come to Azurite City? After all, there are too many mediocre people in this world who are greedy for a comfortable life and
Decaying enjoyment, and not willing to devote yourself to other more meaningful undertakings." In just a moment, Mr. Schmidt seemed to have suddenly transformed into an examiner, asking Moriarty loudly, with a rigid and sharp tone.
"There may be many superficial reasons, but there are only two core reasons." Moriarty thought for a while and said without being humble or overbearing.
"Tell me."
"The desire for power and the yearning for the magical world." Moriarty said word by word.
"The world of power and magic? Well, it's a rather simple idea, but it makes sense." Schmidt did not shake his head or nod, but simply commented: "However, I want to remind you here: for a real
For a mage, power is just an accessory brought by spells, and magic is everything. I hope you will always keep this sentence in mind and not lose the essence of a mage on the road of magic."
"Thank you for your teaching, I will always remember it." Moriarty bowed his head humbly and said.
"Well, very good." The mid-level mage looked at Moriarty with satisfaction and nodded, but his expression remained calm: "Moriarty, as you said in your letter, you are still a mage apprentice, right? So,
What spells have you mastered?"
"Two first-level spells, Magic Arrow and Breath of Wind." There was no need to hide anything, Moriarty answered honestly.
"Oh? Two?" Obviously, this news surprised Schmidt slightly, because in his original expectation, a young apprentice of Moriarty's age could only learn one first-level spell at most: "Then
, here, perform it." The mid-level mage immediately ordered.
"Yes, what is the target?" Moriarty, of course, did not have stage fright and asked directly.
"The target is that puppet." Schmidt pointed at the bronze mechanical puppet on one side.
"I understand." Moriarty nodded and immediately began to recite the spell.
The first spell cast was Breath of Wind. After an invisible magic whirlwind appeared in the workshop, a layer of white light immediately appeared on the surface of the bronze mechanical puppet.
"Not bad, continue." Looking at Moriarty and the puppet respectively, Schmidt nodded.
After completing Breath of Wind, Moriarty calmed down his breathing for a moment, and then immediately began to cast the magic arrow. After a while, Moriarty, who had already experienced many actual battles, once again perfectly shot a silver arrow.
To the bronze mechanical puppet.
"Pa", the magic arrow hit the target's chest accurately, but the magic energy that exploded immediately fell into the sponge like water droplets. It just flickered and then disappeared immediately. Looking at the bronze mechanical puppet again, it was completely invisible.
No damage at all.
"As expected, the mechanical puppet's magic resistance is very strong, as the legend says." Seeing this scene, Moriarty secretly admired.
"Well, that's good." At this time, Schmidt's words brought Moriarty back from his thoughts.
"Thank you for the compliment." Moriarty smiled shyly.
"Your two spells are very good, you are proficient in holding spells, and your spell casting speed is comparable to that of a formal mage. It can be seen that Helen has laid a good foundation for you. As a mage apprentice, there is no doubt that you are qualified. Moreover, according to
It is stipulated that as long as you learn another first-level spell, you can try the formal mage promotion examination."
"Yes, so I hope to join Hockenheim and continue my magic studies." Moriarty formally applied to Schmidt.
"Yes, your strength has met the requirements for joining the academy." Schmidt nodded: "But before that, I think it is necessary to introduce you to the situation and regulations of Hockenheim in detail."
"Yes, please speak."
"Hockenheim, as the official magic academy of Blue Crystal City, is directly under the jurisdiction of the City Lord's Mansion. The courses in the academy mainly include two systems: apprentices and low-level mages, and the teachers are all middle- and high-level mages. Every month,
Mage apprentices can choose to take 20 hours of magic courses, while low-level mage can take 15 hours of magic courses."
"Twenty and fifteen class hours?" Moriarty couldn't help but be a little surprised that there was only such a small amount of time for formal classroom teaching in a month.
"Yes, but there is no need to be surprised." Seeing Moriarty's doubts, Schmidt continued to explain simply: "Magic is different from the real material world. If a mage wants to continue to advance, he can only rely on hard work.
Self-study, research and a lot of experiments. And those magic classes only give students the opportunity to ask questions and solve the problems they encounter in their studies. Besides, every mage's time is extremely precious. Do you think there will be
Which mid-level or high-level mage would be willing to spend a lot of time teaching?"
"That's it." Moriarty suddenly realized that it seemed that Hockenheim's course arrangement was somewhat similar to doctoral studies in the earth world. The instructor was only responsible for some guidance and guidance, and the real learning still relied on the graduate students' self-study.
"So, what are the tuition fees?" Moriarty asked.
"A mage apprentice must pay tuition of three thousand gold coins every year, and a low-level mage must pay eight thousand gold coins (the Brakada currency unit, which is set in the local area below, and will not be explained again), and these are just
Basic course fee. In addition, every time a student learns a new spell from the academy, he or she must pay a certain amount of additional gold coins. The specific amount varies according to the level and content of the spell. At the same time, if the student wants to stay in Hockenheim Academy
, you need to pay for food and accommodation separately. As for other things such as renting a laboratory, magic equipment, and applying for special services, I will not explain them one by one for the time being. If you need it in the future, you can consult it yourself."
"Magic learning is really expensive." Moriarty couldn't help but be stunned when he heard such various types of expenses. It seemed that the six thousand gold coins that the baron allocated to him every year was not a big number. If he really wanted horsepower,
If you start studying at full speed, you will be in deficit within a year.
"Of course, based on your current strength, I can recommend you to the college as a 'recommended student'. In this case, you can enjoy a 30% reduction in basic course tuition. But the rest must be paid in full.
." At this time, Schmidt added.
It seems that as an intermediate mage in Hockenheim, Schmidt still has some privileges. However, this sentence also indirectly tells Moriarty that his uncle will not pay for his nephew's tuition. Everything
Everything still depends on him.
"So, how can a mage apprentice earn some income?" Moriarty did not feel any dissatisfaction with Schmidt's seemingly ruthless words, but took it for granted.
"In fact, there are very few jobs that mage apprentices can do. Because they are not formal mage yet, they have very few spells, and even their mana capacity and mental strength are not obviously insufficient. Therefore, very few mage are willing to hire apprentices.
.And in the academy, although there are some work-study positions, the salaries are very low, but they are also very popular. It is difficult for newcomers to apply." The mid-level mage looked at Moriarty, with a hint of approval in his eyes.
"Is that so?" As expected, it was not easy. Moriarty frowned slightly.
