“The Abyssal Bone Forest Academy has a satirical sense of humour, huh; they actually have their academy under a graveyard!”
Leylin shook his head, but he felt rather comfortable, the pores on his body were all open and absorbed the air of the surroundings here.
“A.I. Chip! What is the situation now?”
“No wonder! There is an increase in the energy particles here, which obviously benefits Shadow and Dark element Magi. It is like the novels from my previous world, where one must occupy an area that is filled with spirit energy when they practice the cultivation techniques of immortals!”
Leylin gained a slight understanding of the academy’s choices.
“Password!”
At this moment, Dorotte had already brought the group to the centermost area in the graveyard, where there was a huge grave. Black marble stones were piled up one by one, making it resemble a huge black castle.
Beside the marbled door, there were two stone statues.
On the left, there was a two-headed dog with spikes growing on its body.
On the right, there was an earthworm with a pair of wings and razor sharp fangs protruding out, exuding a cruel aura.
These two statues were lifelike. They had black jewels for eyes and looked as if they were alive.
When Dorotte walked in front of the statues, the earthworm on the left side spoke in a parched voice. With each opening and closing of the mouth, dust from the stone continuously fell down onto the floor.
“Enough! Jumal, don’t you recognise me?”
Dorotte had a look of annoyance on his face.
Right after Dorotte spoke; the earthworm and huge dog both guffawed. Their voices brought about a huge wind, which flipped the robes of the acolytes behind.
“Dorotte! Although we are pretty familiar with each other, rules are rules!”
Both of the statues seemed to have come alive. The huge dog licked its paws, and let out a female voice.
“Or, would you like to play with us?” The earthworm lifted its claw and made a human-like gesture, beckoning with the claw, “Then come! I feel itchy all over my body!”
“Alright! Alright! Let me think!” Dorotte rolled his eyes.
“Oh! Damnit! I should really take the head of the pig who set up this defensive spell formation and shove it up their ass!”
Dorotte suddenly bellowed.
“Hurry and say it! What is the password?” The huge dog roared and there were sparks coming out from its mouth.
“The secret password is – I hate smelly bones!” Dorotte spoke softly.
Leylin’s mouth twisted, and only by using a strong willpower did he manage to suppress his laughter. Although Dorotte wore a skull, Leylin was extremely certain that he was currently sulking.
“Haha! The password is correct!” The earthworm and huge dog laughed loudly and let them pass.
“I bet the overseer keeping watch with the crystal ball is laughing to death right now!” The huge dog snickered, then returned to his original stone platform and changed into its former statue state.
“Puchi!” An acolyte finally found it hard to bear and let out a noise.
“Hng!” Green flames suddenly ignited within Dorotte’s sockets, “It seems like we must educate the new acolytes on how to respect their professors!”
*Pa!* Dorotte snapped his fingers.
“Ah! What is this, don’t come over here, don’t come over!” The acolyte who laughed out loud earlier retreated several steps and fell onto the floor, wailing loudly.
“Rousey! What is it!” An acolyte beside him walked forward.
“No……Don’t come over!” Rousey screamed, and his face gradually twisted.
Seeing this scene, the nearby acolytes all felt a chill down their spines.
“Magi are equal among themselves, so they can afford to play jokes on each other. However, acolytes must always maintain their humility!”
Suddenly, Leylin understood the code of conduct in the Magi world. Only with equal strength, one will have the status to speak to another.
Jayden and Kaliweir also seemed to be deep in thought.
“Carry him up and let us go in!” Dorotte pointed at Rousey, who was still screaming.
Both of his servants walked over and carried Rousey, one on each side.
“Both of them are at least Grand Knights!” Seeing how the two servants subdued Rousey so easily, Leylin’s eyes flashed.
After opening to door to the grave, they all appeared in front of a stone staircase that spiralled downwards.
The flight of stairs was spiralled and descended all the way into the depths of the darkness until they could not be seen anymore.
Dorotte used his staff and knocked on the floor. *Dong Dong!*
Blue flames started to light up one by one, illuminating the ground within.
“Apart from the colour, it’s similar to an ancient castle from the medieval times!” Leylin exclaimed, and tread down the stairs of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.
Leylin did not know how long exactly he walked for under the illumination of the blue flames, but it was definitely over 20 minutes.
“So huge! The area of this underground building is so much larger than the area of the graveyard on top, and it is not even by several times. It almost resembles an underground kingdom already.”
Leylin calculated in silence.
“Our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy was constructed in the Gregorian Year 324, and it has been almost one thousand years since then…… As for our academy founder, it is Merlin Falek Driwilc……”
Dorotte led at the forefront, and occasionally gave them a few sentences of explanation.
“The door which you all had entered from earlier is the main door! And besides that, there are still many exits inside the academy. As long as you have become a proper Magus, you can apply and chose an uninhabited, empty grave for your own personal passage!”
Dorotte explained.
But Leylin’s lip never stopped twitching, “The purpose for us to advance as a Magus is so we can obtain a grave? How delightful!”
However, ever since the unlucky guy was used as an example earlier, Leylin only dared to rant in his heart and didn’t say it aloud.
Our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy is divided into several large areas: the dormitories, classrooms, laboratories, gardening areas, trading post, mission area and such. As for their exact locations, someone will bring you for an induction later. For now, all of you must follow me to register at the administration area, and then we’ll commence the selection of your professors!”
Dorotte came to the front of a slightly larger room, and pointed at the words on the steel door, “This is the administration area, however, I believe none of you will be willing to come here again in the future!”
Seeing the symbols on the door which seemed like both words and patterns at times, Leylin finally acknowledged that none of the characters were anything like what the brat1 had encountered in the past.
“Oh! I’ve forgotten that you guys don’t know the ancient Byron language!” Dorotte tapped his head, “No worries! This is one of the basics of incantation, you guys will learn it in the future!”
“Dorotte, huh? Enter!” An aged voice sounded from within, and the steel doors moved automatically. A steel hand opened the bolts on the door and even beckoned them in.
Leylin followed Dorotte inside and realised that this room was extremely large. An old man with white beard and red eyebrows was seated at the wide, black office desk. He was scribbling something with a feather pen, and beside him was a stack of parchment.
Behind him, there were countless bookshelves of over ten metres tall, and parchment and even crystal balls were disorderly arranged on them. It looked just like a library.
“You’re late!” The old man put down the quill pen in his hand, and his wrinkled face smiled gently.
“We met with some trouble along the way, a wandering giant storm sprite, so the dirigible was a little damaged, and hence the delay in time!” Dorotte explained.
The old man said, “That’s really unfortunate!”
And then he looked at the acolytes at the back and his bright eyes shone brilliantly. He scanned through the acolytes, before finally landing on Jayden.
“It seems like you are well rewarded this trip!”
“Of course!” Dorotte pointed, “Jayden, come over here!”
Pulling Jayden to his side, “I have made a contract with him already! He is now my personal apprentice! Hurry! Settle the procedures for him!”
Dorotte took a stack of forms from a heavy black pouch and handed it over to the old man.
“Mn! Fifth-grade acolyte, not too bad!” The old man took out an object resembling a pair of glasses with gold threads around its rim and hung it on his nose.
“Definitely! Melda, that scum, he actually pushed such a troublesome thing to me, haha! Now I want to see him angry!” Dorotte gloated loudly.
“So then! Jayden! Are you willing to become the personal apprentice of Dorotte?” The old man asked.
“I accept!” Jayden looked at Dorotte and agreed in a low voice.
“Good!” The old man took a sheet of parchment and wrote something on it, then handed Jayden a black sack too, “This is yours, hold it well!”
“Are the procedures done? I have taught him those meditation techniques, and right now I have to rush back to my experiments! It was difficult enough to find some inspiration along the way, but I did not have any ingredients on hand, do you know how much I was suffering?”
Dorotte let out a shrill voice and pulled Jayden along, leaving the room quickly.
“Alright! Mister Dorotte’s task is completed. What’s next are the things that you guys should be mindful of!” The old man knocked on the desk and drew the attention of the acolytes back to him, and then said in a satisfied manner.
“Since all of you have already handed in the fees and achieved the criteria for the contract, you are all acolytes of our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy now. Right now, all of you will begin with the selection of your professors!”
“There are two methods to choose a professor. The first is to chose by placing your name inside the crystal ball and my treasure will pick a professor for you! This method is absolutely free of charge.”
“Excuse me? What is your treasure?” An acolyte asked cowardly.
“Oh?” The old man laughed, and suddenly a black python appeared on the table, “This is my magical pet! Spotty! It does not recognise any of you, so I think it’s the fairest for it to choose! Any other questions?”
“No……No more!” Seeing the large python, the acolyte quickly retreated backwards.
“There is also another method, which is for the acolytes to choose their own professors. Here with me is a list containing short introductions of various professors and their requirements, all for your choosing. Of course, if you choose this method, you will need a magic crystal as payment!”
“It doesn’t matter which method you chose, but once you have decided on your professor, you can never change again!”
The old man said, “Next up, I will call your names, and you will come forward and tell me your choice!”
After the old man finished speaking, the acolytes were a little flustered.
“What now? How should we choose?” Beirut asked worriedly.
“Paying is definitely better than not paying! This is common sense!”
“You should still have excess magic crystals, don’t you?” Leylin asked puzzledly.
“But…… I only have 1 magic crystal left; my family sacrificed one thousand troops to get merely 2 magic crystals!”
Beirut was a little reluctant. Leylin was startled too, as he could not help but feel his pockets.
“The value of magic crystals is higher than I expected. When I extorted some from Ourin earlier, I really lucked out!”
“That’s not right, the Chernobyl Islands is also known to Magi as the Barren Islands. magic crystals are already scarce, so the value of magic crystals being much higher here may be due to that!”
“A matter like this can only be decided by yourself!” Leylin said to Beirut.
“Alright! First up, Raynor!” The old man said.
“Which are you choosing?”
“I……I don’t have any magic crystals left, can I first buy on credit? I am a fourth-grade acolyte!” Raynor blushed.
“Not a bad aptitude! A pity, however, rules are rules!” The old man shook his head.
As he pointed at a crystal ball on the table, Raynor’s name appeared within, along with many other unfamiliar names, flickering as they appeared.
When the black python Spotty spat out a letter and dabbed on the crystal ball, the words finally stopped flickering, “Raynor! Your mentor is Gafrin!”
“Take this! A set of acolyte robes and an identity badge! A crystal ball which contains an elementary meditation technique! And your room number and keys are there too!”
The old man threw the black sack containing the items to Raynor and then snapped his fingers. *Bang!* A black ball suddenly appeared in the room and floated in midair.
“Follow this shadow slave, it will bring you to where your mentor is!”
The old man made a gesture to send him off, and Raynor helplessly followed the black ball out.
“Next! Rousey!”
The one, who laughed at Dorotte earlier, Rousey, was called. Although his complexion had recovered a little, there was still cold sweat on his face.
“Oh! What do I see? A nightmare hex! What a pitiful fellow! You’re going to suffer for the next month!”
“Could……Could you remove this hex?” Rousey’s voice quivered.
“Definitely! One hundred magic crystals! No credit allowed!” The old man agreed crisply!
Rousey shook his head and took a magic crystal from his robes, “I want to choose my own mentor!”
“En!” The old man accepted the magic crystal, and handed a compendium, which looked like a dictionary, to Rousey, “The mentors who are willing to accept apprentices are all there, take your time and pick!”
“Bang!” An hourglass appeared on the table, the sand falling slowly.
“I forgot to mention earlier, a magic crystal only allows for one turn of the hourglass. If you exceed it, you have to pay another magic crystal!” The old man grinned.
Rousey swallowed his saliva, and looking at the sand grains falling non-stop, he flipped through the pages in a hurry.
“This hourglass seems as though it lasts only 5 minutes worth of time! It is not even enough to skim through!” Leylin’s pupils shrank.
“Time’s up!” In accordance with the voice, the compendium closed automatically and made a loud snapping sound.
“How is it? Have you chosen? Or do you wish to have another look?” The old man asked.
“I have decided! I choose Mentor Vivian!” Rousey sucked in a deep breath.
“Take your belongings and follow the slave!” The old man threw a black sack, identical to the one from before, to Rousey and summoned another shadow slave.
Rousey bowed humbly and followed the floating slave out the large doors.
“Next up, Kaliweir!’
The old man continued calling, and Leylin scrutinised the acolytes who went up. Kaliweir seemed well off, as he paid 3 magic crystals and looked through the compendium before making a choice.
“As for Beirut, he did not pay the 1 magic crystal in the end. His mentor was chosen randomly, and he did not know if the results were good or bad.
“Next! Leylin!” The old man called Leylin’s name.
Leylin inhaled deeply and walked to the front.
“I’ll choose on my own!” Leylin handed a magic crystal to the old man.
“You know the rules!” The old man snapped, the hourglass flipped over, and time started elapsing.
The compendium was rather heavy, and the material seemed to be of high quality.
Leylin hurriedly flipped through the pages, and continuously skimmed through the information on the parchment.
“It is the language of the Chernobyl Islands. It seems like it has been specially prepared for us acolytes of this area.”
“A.I Chip! Record and extract the information!”
“Mentor Lester, Department of Souls, specialises in transformation, neurology, and composition of radiation.”
Able to provide information on 3 topics free of charge.
Requirements: The acolyte must assist in an experiment every month, and cannot be declined for any reason!”
“Mentor Dorotte, Department of Shadow, specialises in anatomy, conversion of energy, and necromancy.”
Requirements: acolytes must pay 1 magic crystal per month, and at the same time, cooperate with experiments!”
“Mentor Kroft, Department of Potioneering, specialises in medicine, herbalism, and neutralisation of energy.”
Able to provide information on 1 topic free of charge.
Requirements: acolytes must always help with the cleaning of the experimental lab, preparation and handling of various herbs, and at the same time, assist the Magus in carrying out herbal concoctions (on the basis that they cause no harm to the acolytes!)”
“Mentor Estelle, Department of Curses, specialises in curses, dissecting of human anatomy, and soul studies.”
Able to provide information on 5 topics free of charge. The category is chosen by the acolytes, and can guide acolytes in their studies at any given time!
Requirements: Cooperate with one experiment! Only one!”
The pages flipped, and let out a rustling noise. By the time the last grain of sand fell, Leylin had managed to flip to the last page.
“Your memory isn’t bad, which is useful for your studies in the future! How is it? Who will you choose?” The old man smiled and asked.
Leylin closed his eyes, “A.I Chip! How is the collation of data?”
Leylin’s complexion turned bitter, “The information in the brackets for Mentor Kroft earlier made me rather mindful. It seems like the experiments of Magi are dangerous, and can actually jeopardise the safety of the acolytes!”
“Kroft is only doing experiments on herbal concoctions, but what of the others, like the shadow and necromancy experiments?”
“No wonder the requirements given are so easy to meet, not needing to give payment for information. It was, in fact, so they could lure students who would cooperate for experimental testing! Although they might not have any adverse effects, it’s all over once they do!”
“A.I Chip! Carry out the filtering process, with the conditions: To match with my current circumstances.”
“Mentor Dorotte, Department of Shadow, specialises in anatomy, conversion of energy, and necromancy.”
Requirements: acolytes must give one 1 magic crystal each month, and at the same time, cooperate with experiments!”
“Mentor Kroft, Department of Potioneering, specialises in medicine, herbalism, and neutralisation of energy.”
Able to provide information on 1 topic free of charge.
Requirements: acolytes must always help with the cleaning of the experimental lab, preparation and handling of various herbs, and at the same time, assist the Magus in carrying out herbal concoctions (on the basis that they cause no harm to the acolytes!)”
“It seems like Dorotte’s temper isn’t too bad amongst the mentors. If not, he wouldn’t have gone to fetch the new batch of acolytes.”
Leylin thought inwardly, “A pity that my magic crystals are not enough, and he has Jayden already. I’m afraid there will not be much attention given to me!”
“Also the Shadow Department mentors all require acolytes to cooperate with their experiments and cannot ensure the safety of acolytes. This is such a fraud!”
Leylin helpless omitted the mentors of the Shadow Department.
“What’s left is only this Alchemy mentor! With the extreme and unique advantages that I have with my A.I Chip, I can definitely make use of alchemy to earn money and buy knowledge related to the Dark element!”
To others, Leylin had merely closed his eyes and made his choice right after opening them.
“I choose Mentor Kroft!”
“Alchemy?” The old man was a little surprised, “You wish to become an alchemist? The effort and resources invested are extremely horrifying! Do you want to change? I think Dorotte suits you well!”
“Thank you, sir!” Leylin earnestly bowed, “I have a hobby for alchemy, and have also acquired some knowledge in this field beforehand.”
“The mortal world’s perception of alchemy is totally different from that of the world of Magi!” The old man shook his head. Then, seeing Leylin’s resolute gaze, he couldn’t help but exclaim,
“Since you have already decided, so be it!” After speaking, the old man took a quill pen and scribbled on the parchment paper.
“Here are your belongings, follow the shadow slave to where Kroft is!”
The old man handed a sack over to Leylin.
Leylin bowed deeply and even nodded to the remaining acolytes, before leaving through the large door.
The black coloured ball floated in front and occasionally spun in a circle. Its speed was not too fast, and with Leylin’s body of a peak Preparatory Knight, he easily followed along.
From time to time, there were acolytes passing, but they did not look at Leylin in astonishment.
Leylin followed the shadow slave and passed through several corridors, two large halls, and a garden. It then stopped in front of an area designed for experiment labs.
The shadow slave turned translucent, and immediately passed through the door, leaving Leylin outside.
Leylin was speechless, yet he did not dare knock on the door. Therefore, he just waited outside patiently.
After a moment, there came a middle-aged man’s voice.
“Leylin, huh? Enter!”
“Yes!” Leylin pushed opened the doors of the experimental lab.
A sweet and spicy aroma filled the laboratory room, mingling with the odour of poisonous fumes and liquids, which made Leylin furrow his brows.
A huge table took up the space of almost half the lab, and placed on it were various test tubes, flasks and beakers, as well as some other apparatus that Leylin could not identify. This made Leylin recall his previous life.
In front of the laboratory table, there stood a white-haired, middle-aged man who wore white robes. His collar was embroidered with golden patterns, and his eyes emitted a golden light, like two golden gems.
“I’m Kroft, and I’ve heard the details from the shadow slave. So then, Leylin, are you willing to become my apprentice?” The middle-aged man put down the test tube in his hands and said solemnly.
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