The old man pressed the stack of papers onto the stone slab, and light swept over every page, every line, and every letter.
A few breaths later, lines of fine text appeared on the slab's surface:
【Exam Number: WLS-097231】
【Candidate Name: Ethan Leo】
【Subject: Wizard Tongue Full Certification】
【Number of Answers: Complete】
【Checking Accuracy...】
【Detection Complete.】
【Result: All Correct.】
【Anomalies: None.】
【Judgment: Pass.】
The middle-aged woman's eyes widened slightly, her indifferent expression vanishing completely, replaced by an unmistakable shock.
The old man, however, remained expressionless and simply nodded.
He withdrew his hand and turned to look at Ethan.
"All correct," his voice was still raspy and low. "A perfect score on the Wizard Tongue certification exam."
Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly, his face remaining calm.
The old man stared at him for a few breaths, then suddenly twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a very faint smile.
"A freshman, thirty-seven days, finished the entire Wizard Tongue course, and got a perfect score on the certification exam. Do you have any idea what this result means?"
Ethan shook his head. "I don't know."
"It means you are qualified to obtain a basic meditation method." The old man paused. "It also means you can have this."
He fished out a thumb-sized crystal from his robe and tossed it to Ethan.
Ethan raised his hand and caught it.
The crystal felt cool to the touch. Faint golden patterns flowed across its surface, and one could vaguely see tiny sparks of light slowly swirling inside.
"Fifty magic stones," the old man said. "The reward for a perfect score on the certification exam. Take this to Logistics, and you can exchange it."
Ethan's pupils constricted slightly.
Fifty magic stones?
He had originally thought he might get ten or so if he was lucky.
This reward was much more than he had anticipated.
"What, think it's too little?" The old man raised an eyebrow.
"No." Ethan tucked the crystal into his robe. "Thank you."
The old man waved his hand. "Forget it, don't thank me. This reward is a rule set by the academy, not a favor from me. You got it because of your own ability."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Ethan once more.
"A freshman, learning the Wizard Tongue in thirty-seven days and getting a perfect score. This result is considered quite good even in the history of Blood Bone Tower. Cultivate well, and don't waste this talent."
With that, he turned and walked toward the door.
...
The Logistics Area was located on the far west side of the academy, a vast cluster of low-rise buildings that covered a wide area.
When Ethan stepped through the gates of the Logistics Area, he was met with a space that was startlingly open.
These low buildings looked unremarkable from the outside, but the interior held hidden depths.
The vaulted ceiling rose dozens of meters high, constructed from some semi-transparent material that softened and evened out the natural light, illuminating the entire hall brightly.
The hall was divided into dozens of functional zones, each separated by low stone walls with prominent signs hanging above them.
"Supply Exchange," "Mission Board," "Material Procurement"...
Long lines had formed in front of every window.
Ethan's gaze swept across the signs, and he walked straight toward the Supply Exchange area.
It was a stone counter about twenty meters long, with five staff members in dark gray uniforms standing behind it.
There were both men and women, all looking relatively young. They wore professional smiles, but their eyes held a hint of casual indifference.
"Is it really necessary to make it look so much like this?"
Ethan joined the end of one line. There were seven or eight people ahead of him, so he waited quietly, his gaze scanning the wall behind the counter.
A massive black stone slab hung on the wall, with white runes scrolling across it to display the exchange prices for various resources.
"Buying magic stones, 1:950 gold coins (Current volume: Unlimited)"
"Buying gold coins, 1242:1 (Current volume: None)"
"Apprentice-level Wizardry Tool buyback: 10-50 magic stones, depending on condition"
"Magical beast material buyback: Price negotiable"
...
The line moved quickly, and in less than five minutes, it was Ethan's turn.
He stepped up to the counter, took out the crystal, and handed it over.
"Exchanging for magic stones."
The staff member behind the counter was a round-faced young woman. She took the crystal and placed it into a groove on the desk.
A pale blue light swept over the crystal's surface, and after a few breaths, the light dissipated.
Once she confirmed there were no issues, the woman adjusted something. With a flash of light, a pile of magic stones appeared by her hand.
"Here are fifty magic stones. Do you need a bag? One gold coin."
"No need, I have a storage tool."
Ethan gathered the magic stones and turned away from the counter.
He headed for the Knowledge Exchange next door.
The space for the Knowledge Exchange was much smaller than the outside hall, about a hundred square meters.
High bookshelves stood against three of the walls, filled with various types of crystals.
Some were the size of a fist, while others were only as big as a fingernail. Their colors varied—transparent, milky white, pale blue, deep purple—all shimmering under the light of the ceiling crystals.
Directly facing the door was a long stone table, behind which sat an old man with thinning white hair. He wore a pair of glasses with polished crystal lenses and was engrossed in a thick ledger.
Hearing footsteps, the old man looked up, his gaze passing over the top of his lenses to scan Ethan.
"Freshman?"
"Yes." Ethan walked to the table. "I'm here to exchange for a meditation method."
The old man set down the ledger, took off his glasses, and looked him up and down.
"Passed the Wizard Tongue certification?"
"Yes."
"Plaque."
Ethan handed over his identity plaque. The old man took it and pressed it into a groove on the table. A pale blue light swept over it, and after a few breaths, the old man nodded.
"Grade Five Aptitude, perfect score on the certification." His tone was calm, and his face showed no reaction, as if he had seen such things many times before. "The basic meditation method costs twenty magic stones. Which one do you want?"
He stood up, walked to a bookshelf behind him, and pressed a hand against it.
The wooden panels on the shelf slid open silently, revealing neatly arranged crystals. Beneath each crystal was a small plaque with a name and a brief description.
"There are over a dozen basic meditation methods in Blood Bone Tower." The old man kept his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the crystals. "They have all been collected and organized by the academy over the years, suitable for the apprentice stage. Their effects and focuses vary. Look for yourself, and tell me when you've chosen."
Ethan stepped forward, his gaze scanning the plaques one by one.
"Blood Bone Meditation Method": Created by the academy, leans toward the Undead path. Can seamlessly transition into the core inheritance of Blood Bone Tower later on. Medium cultivation speed, medium rune quality. Its strength lies in its stability and low risk of error.
"Elemental Tide": Leans toward the Elemental path. Faster at sensing energy particles, offering superior cultivation speed. However, rune quality is average, and it is prone to hitting bottlenecks in later stages.
"Steel Will": Leans toward mental defense. The mental energy cultivated is extremely resilient and difficult to disrupt by external forces. However, the speed of condensing runes is slow and requires great patience.
"Void Perception": Leans toward spatial sensing, offering a wider range for detecting energy particles. However, the difficulty of entry is high and requires additional auxiliary materials.
...
Rate on N.U.
