Leilin's gaze was deep and distant, a glint of wisdom shining from within his eyes.
"For those upper-level Wizards, once advancement has become hopeless, the only thing they care about is how to ensure their families and organizations remain prosperous and powerful!"
"To that end, they've monopolized the advanced knowledge required for Wizard advancement, completely cutting off the path for wandering Wizards outside the system to rank up. Even within the Academy, the promotion of Third-rank Apprentices is strictly controlled..."
This kind of knowledge blockade was something Leilin, with his otherworldly perspective, had long since seen through.
But to those in power, Leilin was nothing more than an ant right now. Even if he could see through their schemes, there was absolutely nothing he could do to resist.
After all, Leilin was merely a Third-rank Apprentice — not even a formal Wizard!
"The Black Bone Forest Academy definitely holds methods and experience for advancing to First-level Wizard, but I'm afraid it won't be easy for me to get my hands on them. Unfortunately, this is the most promising plan I can think of..."
Leilin gazed out at the curtain of rain, gradually sinking into thought.
After the crisis of his last promotion to Third-rank Apprentice, Leilin had grown somewhat fearful. Without thorough preparation and sufficient information, he absolutely would not dare attempt the breakthrough to formal Wizard.
For Wizards, the promotion from Apprentice to a formal First-level Wizard was the single most critical step, one that allowed absolutely no margin for error.
But Leilin couldn't find any relevant materials on the open market. Beyond that, the only way to obtain such information was to get it from a formal Wizard themselves.
Yet the strength of formal Wizards far surpassed that of Third-rank Apprentices. Setting everything else aside, the defensive Field that the Chip had observed permanently surrounding a formal Wizard — Leilin still had no way of breaking through it. Acquiring advancement information and intelligence from a formal Wizard's hands was a task that completely exceeded Leilin's capabilities. He'd have to be insane to attempt it.
Based on everything Leilin knew, the most reliable approach was to obtain the knowledge and resources for advancing to formal Wizard through the Academy.
"According to the information Mentor Guofate just revealed, this time may be somewhat dangerous, but it's also the best opportunity to acquire that knowledge and resources!"
Leilin looked out at the raging wind and torrential rain, and suddenly made his decision.
Although he was someone who treasured his own life, when the road ahead offered no hope, he could still summon the courage to take a desperate gamble!
He was currently at the ideal age for advancing to formal Wizard. If he missed this opportunity, even if he could later obtain the knowledge and resources for advancement, his aging body might no longer be able to support a breakthrough to First-level Wizard.
Moreover, he wasn't entirely without confidence. At the very least, based on his own reasoning and the Chip's calculations, there was over a ninety percent probability that the Black Bone Forest Academy wanted him to complete some dangerous mission — not send him to his death! That was enough for him to take the bet!
"I'll stake everything on this one chance! If I cannot ascend to the summit and witness the brilliance of dawn, then let me rot away completely in the mud!"
Leilin stared into the storm, his eyes blazing with fierce, piercing light.
...
Three days later. The outskirts of the Dark Night Forest.
The forests surrounding the Black Bone Forest Academy had been largely devastated. The ground was riddled with craters and pockmarks, and nearby lay several patches of scorched earth covered in charred remains from fires. Just looking at this, one could imagine what sort of brutal battle the Black Bone Forest Academy had endured!
"It actually ended up like this..." Leilin rode swiftly past on horseback, feeling a surge of gratitude for his decision to leave without hesitation.
After a single great battle, even the terrain around the Black Bone Forest had been half destroyed. If Leilin had stayed here, he would have had absolutely no confidence in surviving.
After following the road for another ten-odd minutes, a vast graveyard appeared before Leilin's eyes.
This was the Black Bone Forest Academy's surface entrance — a massive stone necropolis. But at this point, more than half the gravestones within had toppled, many burial pits had been dug open to reveal dark passages beneath, and the surrounding stone walls and earth were scarred with the marks of magical devastation. Before Leilin's eyes, the Chip's warning signals came in ceaselessly, indicating dangerously high concentrations of radiation around these traces.
"Every single small grave here is actually a private entrance to a Black Bone Forest Academy mentor's chambers... and it's been reduced to this..."
Though he had already known the Black Bone Forest Academy would be severely weakened this time, the sheer wretchedness of the scene still made Leilin suck in a sharp breath.
Clang!
Leilin casually kicked aside a boulder blocking the path and arrived before the central, enormous castle-shaped mega-tomb.
This was the Black Bone Forest Academy's main gate — the public passage for all Apprentices.
The castle's surface was covered in cracks, and the very top had partially collapsed, while the rest looked ready to crumble at any moment. Leilin watched with concern, feeling that if he merely extended a finger, this castle-like tomb would come crashing down entirely.
"Halt! Outsider, if you cannot produce a token of identification, I will show you the price of blood!"
The two stone sculptures flanking the gate had been completely destroyed — the previous winged lizard and two-headed dog statues were nowhere to be found. Just as Leilin was about to enter, a sound like metal grinding against metal rang out.
With the sound, a massive dark shadow scrambled down from the top of the grey stone castle at alarming speed. The shadow was clearly a full two heads taller than a normal person, with arms so long they nearly reached its feet, and it moved across the surface of the great grey stone castle with extraordinary swiftness.