CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 40: "OPENING THE DOOR" CEREMONY, DUTIES, AND RIGHTS

Ron put down the booklet, feeling his heart race with excitement.

Advancing from an Elementary Apprentice to an Intermediate Apprentice within three years? It might be a significant challenge for ordinary people, but for someone with a profession panel and multiple profession bonuses like him, reaching this threshold seemed effortless.

He continued reading, wanting to learn more about the details of the promotion mechanism.

"...The promotion ceremony for Official Wizards is called the ’Opening of the Door’, where each candidate must complete trials guided by their master and undergo a highly dangerous Brain Domain Opening Ceremony."

"This ceremony requires a special ’Key’ Magic Potion as a medium, and the recipe for this potion is strictly confidential, known only by a few professors within the school..."

"I see..." he muttered to himself.

This explained why there was fierce competition between the Advanced Apprentices—every candidate eligible for promotion needed to vie for extremely limited resources and opportunities.

The subtle rivalry between Holt and Oliver now became clearer: both were close to advancing to Advanced Apprentices, both eager to secure those scarce promotion spots.

The booklet also detailed the differences in privileges and benefits among the various levels of apprentices, making Ron’s head spin:

Elementary Apprentices could only use the public laboratory, with strict monthly time restrictions;

While Intermediate Apprentices could apply for dedicated research space, Advanced Apprentices could even have access to an independent experimental tower.

The differences in resource allocation were even more staggering, with the basic monthly Magic Stone income for Advanced Apprentices being over ten times that of Elementary Apprentices, and this number would multiply further upon entering the Candidate Wizard sequence.

"So social stratification exists everywhere..." Ron chuckled self-deprecatingly: "But at least there’s now a clear path to climb upward."

When turning to the next Chapter, "Apprentice Obligations and Rights", his expression became even more focused.

According to the regulations, as an Elementary Apprentice, he needed to complete a fixed potion-making task each month and submit it to the school.

The specific quantities and types would be adjusted based on individual skills and specialties.

Additionally, he needed to participate in regular maintenance of public areas or take on some external duty tasks.

In exchange, the school would provide basic living guarantees and learning resources, such as housing, food, and access to public facilities, as well as a small monthly quota of Magic Stone Fragments.

The booklet specifically mentioned that apprentices could exchange Magic Stone Fragments and credits for completing additional tasks or providing rare materials, used to purchase the paid courses within the school.

"Paid courses?" Ron’s eyebrows slightly raised.

He quickly flipped to the relevant page, discovering that the school offered a wide range of paid courses, from basic "Spiritual Control Techniques" to advanced "Principle of Energy Transformation", almost covering all aspects of wizard cultivation.

These courses were categorized by difficulty levels, with prices ranging from a few Magic Stone Fragments to several complete Magic Stones.

But what truly intrigued Ron was the section at the end of the booklet on "Master Guidance":

"Within the school system, apprentices with a master will receive numerous conveniences and privileges. In addition to fixed monthly one-on-one guidance, they also have priority access to their master’s research outcomes and may even participate in Magic improvement experiments."

"However, Official Wizards are very selective in choosing students, usually requiring apprentices to demonstrate extraordinary talent or provide rare research materials. Those aspiring to obtain a master should strive to enhance their own value to attract the attention of potential masters..."

Ron closed the booklet and took a deep breath.

"Advance to Intermediate Apprentice within three years, enter the Candidate Wizard sequence..." he softly repeated this goal.

With the multiple profession bonuses brought by his Golden Finger, this goal should be easily achievable.

But the competition beyond that would be the real challenge. How could he stand out among so many geniuses and seize the precious opportunity to become an Official Wizard?

Ron walked to the window and looked out at the Black Mist Jungle.

It was deep into the night, but the eerie halos swirling above the jungle were still clearly visible, like countless eyes watching.

.........

In a high tower deep within the Black Mist Jungle, Oliver stood by the window, holding a report that had just been delivered.

"Ron Ralph has successfully passed the Elementary Apprentice certification..."

He kept calculating, his pale, slender fingers unconsciously stroking the window frame: "Ahead of my previous expectations by several months."

The room inside the tower was lavishly decorated, yet it exuded an extreme sense of eeriness.

Various human skins, preserved to perfection, hung from the walls, each carefully processed to maintain the final expression of its owner in life—some terrified, some pained, but mostly displaying an unfathomable emptiness and confusion.

On the table in the center of the room lay a stitched-together corpse, riddled with complex tubes and rune needles.

The corpse appeared human, but upon closer inspection, certain parts were evidently from different individuals—the left arm stretched longer than the right, the head and torso were disproportionate, and crude stitching was clearly visible on the neck.

Beside that corpse, a newly delivered experimental body had recently been added, precisely the completely misshaped Darrend.

His massive exposed brain tissue had been carefully excised and was preserved in a specially prepared solution.

Oliver placed the report on a nearby table and walked to Darrend’s corpse, gently caressing the massive brain tissue, eyes glinting with indescribable regret and anger.

"Look at this, Amanda." He whispered to another corpse beside him: "It should have been a perfect mutated brain structure, but it was destroyed in advance by that Ron."

The corpse named Amanda, of course, could not respond, but Oliver seemed indifferent.

"Everything is proceeding as planned." He murmured to himself:

"The dosage of the Spiritual Catalyst is precisely accurate, and I ensured Darrend found the right formula to attempt. Logic dictates he should have sustained rationality for a longer period while maintaining consciousness."

Oliver angrily knocked on the table: "If it weren’t for that damned Ron’s early intervention, Darrend would have completely transformed into a wholly mutated body, a terrifying being that could match Advanced Apprentices, after the brief period of rationality ended."

He moved to the window, a trace of cold calculation flashing in his eyes:

"What a perfect plan—those foolish Candidate Apprentices would surely be crushed by fear, shivering in their rooms; when that fellow Holt came in response to the sound, even he would be caught off guard facing the suddenly appeared entirely mutated body."

Oliver’s fingers gently caressed the window frame: "If Holt was seriously injured by Darrend, or contaminated by the sound wave attack, he would inevitably fall behind me in the Candidate Wizard sequence competition. And now..."

While speaking, he picked up a syringe filled with dark red liquid, carefully injecting it into Amanda’s veins.

"Luckily, though the plan was disrupted, it wasn’t without gains." Oliver comforted himself: "At least now Darrend’s brain tissue is in my hands."

The corpse suddenly convulsed violently, eyes suddenly wide open, mouth gaping without making a sound. Its eyes were full of inhuman fear and pain, as if it were experiencing some unspeakable torment.

"Be patient, Amanda." The voice of the gray-robed young man remained gentle:

"Fusion requires time, you are now receiving a part of Darrend’s mental construction abilities. If successful, you will become my thirteenth masterpiece."

He returned to the window, picking up the report once more, greed shining in his eyes:

"Ron Ralph, from a Sixth-class Star waste, to a qualified, even stable, Elementary Apprentice..."

Oliver reached up to gently stroke his face, where there was an almost imperceptible seam.

He walked to the other side of the room and opened a finely crafted cabinet.

Inside were neatly arranged several glass jars, each containing a complete brain, inscribed with peculiar runes.

"That guy surely isn’t simple, being able to kill a beginning-mutated body with just a wooden sword."

A flicker of fanaticism flashed in Oliver’s eyes: "If he has truly awakened some Special Talent, then... this would be my last piece of the puzzle toward becoming an Official Wizard."

A ghastly smile spread across his face:

"Patience, I need patience. Prey is easiest to capture when it’s most relaxed."