Chapter 40 - 40: Overwhelming News_1
A large group of people started reviewing their lessons buzzingly.
Link, on the other hand, was happily studying the new six Level Zero Ring spells he’d bought.
Jasmine also began to concentrate more on magic, rather than being influenced by the crowd to review completed lessons.
With the sizable share of profits given by Link, Jasmine bought not only the preset secondary Misty Rain Technique and the Birth Induction Technique but also a Scroll of the secondary Mudstone Technique, a Zero-Ring Earth System spell.
This spell is interesting; it can turn stone into mud and vice versa.
However, there’s a reason why it has the prefix “secondary”.
It can’t affect the soil and stones created by magic and witchcraft.
Therefore, Link preferred to call it the “Artificial Extraordinary Plowing Technique,” for its plowing performance was pretty good.
Jasmine rolled her eyes at Link for his ill-timed joke.
Even if your comments make sense, please don’t express them like that.
Even her enthusiasm for the secondary Mudstone Technique had gone down quite a bit.
If not for the need to gain Link’s guidance and experience sharing on secondary Misty Rain and Birth Induction Techniques, Jasmine would have liked to ignore Link for a couple of days.
As expected of the dean-level figure, Professor Flitwick, a master of Spell Casting Studies, quickly helped Link and Jasmine master the secondary Misty Rain and Birth Induction Techniques under the effect of “Philius Flitwick’s Talent for Spellcasting”.
The mark of fully mastering a spell is its Instant Cast.
Of course, Instant Cast here refers to casting a spell within one second.
With Link’s help, Jasmine managed to learn two spells in one day.
This is certainly due to Jasmine’s preparations but also Link’s sincere help and selflessness.
As for the secondary Mudstone Technique, because Link doesn’t have an affinity for the Earth Element, Jasmine had to rely on her own efforts.
But this was a good thing for Jasmine.
After all, she has to be independent. It’s better to not rely on someone from the start than to become dependent and then have to break away.
Link, on his own, swiftly learned the Purification Water Spell and the Water Shield Spell, under the triple effects of his own qualifications, the highest realm “Mind Closure Technique,” and “Philius Flitwick’s Talent for Spellcasting”.
The speed, feeling, and transformation were equivalent to a J20 fighter getting a new generation of engines.
His only thought was, “Awesome!”
Thursday.
There was only one day left before the mid-term exam.
Link had learned the other four Zero Ring spells one by one, pushing the mastery of them in an orderly manner.
The atmosphere among the first-year New Blood became heavier, and some people even stayed up all night to study in the school building and the library.
A rumor started to spread from an unknown source.
Every semester, the school holds two exams, one at mid-term and one at the end.
Based on the results of the mid-term and final exams during the fall semester and the mid-term in spring, the school will select the top thirty from each group of Storm Sea New Blood to compete with the local apprentices in the North Campus.
It’s important to note that only the top thirty students from the South Campus are eligible to participate, while all students from the North Campus can take part.
So, only the cream of the crop among the Storm Sea New Blood is eligible to match up with the local apprentices!
This is a blatant contempt, even disdain!
It wasn’t until now that many first-year New Blood students understood their identity – part of the true meaning of being Storm Sea New Blood.
So-called New Blood is just the labor supply, consumable reserve, sharpening stone for local wizard apprentices, and catalyst for competition from the Wizarding World mainland.
They are never the protagonists of the Wizarding World mainland!
Since their births on the various islands of the Stormy Sea, their starting point in life has far lagged those of the mainland locals.
Being detected to possess wizard qualifications is just a turning point in life.
Promoting to an official wizard within four years is the only way for them to change their fate!
The cruel and raw reality brought an abrupt end to the light-hearted learning atmosphere among the first-year New Blood.
New Blood members who had previously been keen on socializing and entertaining, especially the talents with five-tier qualifications who had returned to their old habits, no longer disregarded their studies and wandered around the various entertainment venues in the school.
The library reading room and the school’s classrooms suddenly became crowded, with every seat taken.
Link also paid close attention to the news of the South and North campus competition that suddenly spread.
According to the information he gathered, each of the top thirty New Blood representing the South Campus in the competition was qualified for a free Zero Ring spell exchange.
The top ten get three free exchanges, the top twenty get two, and the top thirty get one.
But what Link cared about wasn’t the free spell exchange qualification.
If he performed excellently in the competition and won one of the top five places in his grade, he would receive a handsome reward.
The reward Link had his eyes on was the first-place prize: the one-year usage right of a large laboratory.
After his research results were nearly intercepted and the rights were ultimately shared in three parts, Link longed for his own specialized laboratory.
A lab that would allow him to focus on experiments, without worrying about data leaks or results being intercepted!
The opportunity was now before him.
What Link had to do was to excel in the three exams, ensuring his place within the top thirty in his grade.
This might clash with Link’s low-key principle, but the benefits were great. There’s no need to hesitate—just do it.
Jasmine had been by his side all the while and had felt the change in Link’s attitude towards the exams.
But she didn’t ask about it. Instead, she shared a piece of news she had just learned: “Erick’s treatment has ended.”
“Who?”
Link was a little slow to react at first, then he quickly remembered who Erick was, and asked, “Was it Mina Havcheck who told you?”
“Yes.”
Jasmine nodded, her expression slightly worried, “Mina Havcheck said that Erick kept talking about taking revenge during his treatment, and it seems like he’s targeting her and us.”
“That woman is no good. What she says might not be false, but her intentions are unclear.”
Link said seriously, “The soldiers will block, the water will cover the earth. We just need to be vigilant and do our best. There’s no need to do anything else.”
What he referred to as “anything else” was preemptive measures to nip potential threats in the bud.
This is too reckless, too blind, and can easily make one an unsuspecting accomplice.
“Mhtn.”
Jasmine nodded, agreeing with him.
She remembered that Link had told her to keep an eye on the matter and notify him of any changes as soon as possible, so she hadn’t blocked Mina Havcheck yet.
Otherwise, she would have severed all contacts with her a long time ago.
People who try to screw you over are better off blocked and eliminated sooner rather than later.
Isn’t it nauseating to keep them around?