The Enchanters Guild’s second floor, Elder Mendenez was already pacing early on the corridor between the two high towers. Upon seeing Ivan, he hurriedly took a few steps forward with his eyes brimming with anticipation.
“Elder Mendenez, I hope I haven’t disturbed you,” Ivan said, full of confidence in his own achievements, having specially invited this warm-hearted old enchanter.
“To witness a grand undertaking is my honor,” Mendenez said sincerely.
“You’ll see it in a moment,” Ivan said.
The two continued along the corridor, their arrival going unnoticed.
For the guild, it was just another ordinary day, with enchanters on duty doing their duty and researchers conducting their research, no different from any other day.
They then arrived at the enchantment workshop where the finished product was to be verified.
The workshop’s area occupied about one-fourth of the floor of the high tower. Considering that the guild’s tower floor was four or five times the size of the Rapid Wood Tower, aside from some materials, only the runes lines on the walls made it seem especially desolate.
“Wizard Rogins, have you been waiting long?”
“Elder Mendenez, Lord Ivan, we have only just arrived, and the Vice President will be here shortly,” came the reply.
At the door, a few people were already present. Wizard Rogins of the School of Space was there, preparing for the assessment by arranging to bring three apprentices.
Sorcerers always kept their promises and were punctual.
It wasn’t two minutes before Vice President Angus appeared at a measured pace, accompanied by two enchantment masters. The trio walked towards the enchantment workshop without exchanging idle chatter.
Seeing these three, Ivan’s mood became a bit more solemn.
If he was not mistaken, the person on Angus’s left was Vice President Graski from the School of Life, and the one on the right was Vice President Jormo from the School of Energy Shaping.
All three were influential figures, which indicated the importance the Enchanters Guild placed on this project’s verification.
As the three approached, the group promptly stepped forward to greet them.
“Ivan, whether or not this sorcerer can save face in front of the two vice presidents today depends on you,” Angus said with a light smile.
“Rest assured, I have prepared everything,” Ivan replied with all the solemnity of an oath.
“Very good, we shall await the outcome,” Angus said with a slight nod. He waved his hand behind him, and the doors of the enchantment workshop slowly closed.
He glanced at the other two vice presidents, and both Graski and Jormo nodded back.
“Ivan, please begin.”
“Gentlemen, please wait a moment.”
Ivan gestured to everyone, then confidently headed to the center of the workshop to start his operation.
The guild’s motto was ‘seek truth from facts’, and the enchanters trusted more in what they witnessed with their own eyes. Unless it was inconvenient, Ivan needed to craft the Black Magic Wind Fire Array once again in front of the others.
All the necessary raw materials were already laid out around the room.
At this moment, Ivan was like a top-tier artist with the power to turn the rotten into the miraculous; he treated and shaped the raw materials in different ways.
Those present, either enchantment masters or senior enchanters, all had extraordinary levels of enchanting ability and thus found Ivan’s techniques unsurprising.
After all, as an elder of the guild, one should possess such caliber.
Only the chosen apprentices, dazzled by the display, were becoming increasingly excited about the portion they were about to participate in.
Time ticked away second by second.
Soon, a Black Magic Wind Fire Array took shape, with its black base and copper patterns, resembling an artwork.
After Ivan’s reductions and improvements, this array used some magic copper and incorporated some healing effects. Ultimately containing 14 runes bundles, it was his culmination of hard work, surpassing the quality of the one used by Justine.
“This is the ‘Black Magic Wind Fire Array’. It can help the vast majority of apprentices overcome that critical threshold, even those with just a 1st Class talent,” Ivan said, standing beside the array as he gave a brief introduction.
“What are the downsides?” asked Graski from the School of Life.
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“As explained in my application, if an apprentice relies solely on the Black Magic Wind Fire Array for sorcerer advancement, allowing this external force to dominate the crucial stage, cultivation after becoming a Level 1 Sorcerer will be fraught with difficulties, and it is estimated that advancing to a Level 2 Sorcerer would be very difficult,” Ivan stated truthfully.
After further research on the Black Magic Wind Fire Array and sorcerer advancement, he found that the difficulty in cultivation for those who advanced in this way was not solely due to impure spiritual power, but also involved other factors.
Overall, it’s a complex issue.
“Life is accompanied by miracles; just because cultivation is difficult doesn’t mean there isn’t a solution,” Graski said.
“For many apprentices, becoming an official sorcerer is already a great fortune,” Jormo from the School of Energy Shaping commented with some emotion.
Hearing this, the three apprentices standing in the back nodded incessantly, totally agreeing with the sentiment.
On this continent, people were always divided into ranks from low to high in this order: commoners, nobility, apprentices, sorcerers. The distinction between ranks was clear-cut, easily deciding the fates of those from lower ranks.
The statistics of advancements were in plain sight, with some apprentices failing to become sorcerers due to various reasons.
For any apprentice, being unable to become an official sorcerer would undoubtedly be an extremely painful ordeal.
“Better to die than fail to become a sorcerer!”
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The three apprentices understood this deeply.
“Bowen, you go first,” Rogins timely pointed to one of the apprentices.
“Lord Ivan, thank you for giving me this opportunity,” Bowen bowed to the few people present and expressed his gratitude solemnly when he arrived beside Ivan.
At Ivan’s signal, Bowen sat cross-legged directly at the center of the Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
“The three vice presidents, Bowen is an apprentice with 3rd Class talent, who has experienced two failed promotions and has some hidden problems left in his body. Based on past experiences, the probability of him succeeding on his third attempt is nearly negligible,” Rogins added softly.
The person was his choice, without exception, all were apprentices who had lost their potential for promotion.
Compared to the other three apprentices, Bowen’s chances of promotion were slightly higher.
“Bowen, are you ready?”
On the side, Bowen heard Ivan’s question, glanced at him gratefully, and quickly gathered his thoughts, setting aside other distractions.
For the elders and vice presidents, this was merely a subject of validation, but for Bowen, it was a matter of life and death, to not succeed was to die with honor.
“Lord Ivan, I’m ready.”
After pausing for a minute or two, Bowen couldn’t help but take a deep breath and, determined to make a last stand, he drank two potions similar to ‘Aqua Alva’ and with great resolve entered the state of promotion.
The next second, he was as if placed in a steaming cage, his body turning red and copious sweat vaporizing.
Ivan activated the Black Magic Wind Fire Array and the intermediate and high-grade magic stones laid on it quickly melted, refined repeatedly, and turned into a kind of pure spiritual energy, which seeped into Bowen’s body bit by bit.
It was foreseeable that Bowen was about to face the most crucial few hours of his life.
This scene was clearly witnessed by everyone present, causing their hearts to race, including the three vice presidents.
If the hypothesis turned to reality, there was no doubt that the event would create a sensation both internally and externally, and it could even help advance the sorcerer’s developmental process, earning the East Capital Enchantment Guild a more prominent reputation.
“Faster than the normal promotion speed.”
“After all, it’s a shortcut method.”
In just two and a half hours, the Elemental Phenomenon began to emerge, significantly increasing the particle concentration within the enchantment workshop without affecting the outside in the slightest.
Seeing this, the three vice presidents commented with satisfaction.
With his experience, it was not difficult to see that this promotion was very likely to succeed.
Sure enough, in less than half an hour, when Bowen’s body was at its weakest point, his aura suddenly surged, obviously becoming an official sorcerer.
“Lord Ivan, Bowen thanks you for granting me a new life, such a great kindness and affection will surely be engraved in my heart,” after becoming a Level 1 Sorcerer, the first thing Bowen did was to kneel and perform a grand gesture of thanks to Ivan.
He knew he was far less powerful than Lord Ivan and didn’t even deserve to be employed by him, so he could only express his gratitude in this way.
“Even as a sorcerer, do not become complacent. As Graski rightly said, life and knowledge contain infinite possibilities, and you may still have a chance to advance further.” Ivan comforted him casually.
“I will definitely keep your teachings in mind,” Bowen said still unable to hide his excitement.
At this moment, Angus and the others clapped their hands around them to show their appreciation.
The sound echoed in the enchantment workshop.
Before long, after the state of the element particles in the workshop had stabilized, the second apprentice was called up to sit at the center of the Black Magic Wind Fire Array, just like Bowen had.
“Billy is an apprentice with 2nd Class talent who has also failed two promotion attempts and, based on past experiences, can be judged as having ruined his prospects for advancement,” Rogins introduced as he spread several sets of magic stones on the Black Magic Wind Fire Array in an orderly fashion, and the array started up.
Hours passed, and like the previous time, under Ivan’s meticulous handling, another apprentice crossed the threshold of becoming an official sorcerer, becoming a Level 1 Sorcerer.
“Thank you, thank you—-“
Having been given a new life from despair, Billy cried tears of joy, incessantly thanking the people around him.
It took a while before he recovered from his overwhelmed state.
The third person to participate in the validation was a female apprentice named ‘Angie,’ with notably striking looks, 4th Class talent, who had gone through three failed attempts and had undergone a degree of Bloodline Alteration, with a whole host of issues.
She was an unconventional test subject.
After examining Angie’s physical condition, Ivan couldn’t help but frown slightly; he suspected that Rogins was deliberately making things difficult for him.
“Sorcerer Ivan, Angie is a junior of my family. She was too frivolous and arrogant in her early years, making mistakes step by step, which led to the dire consequences today. I brought her here just hoping for a chance through your help, please bear with us,” Rogins quickly explained when he saw Ivan’s displeased expression.
He naturally had his self-interests. Given that the stakes were related to the assessment, Sorcerer Ivan would surely do his utmost, increasing Angie’s chances of success by an extra ten percent.
Secondly, once the product passes validation and is promoted by the guild, Ivan, the creator, wouldn’t likely oversee every apprentice’s promotion. Other enchanters’ success rates would definitely not be as high as his, which is another part of the validation that needed to be considered.
By slightly increasing the difficulty, he could better demonstrate the feasibility of the final product, and that wasn’t against the rules.
Look, none of the three vice presidents raised any objections to this situation, only Menda Nei glared at him furiously.
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