Time always passed unnoticed, and the year quietly arrived.
On this day, most of the enchanters in the guild knew that an exciting event was about to take place, precipitated by a rivalry within the School of Space, which they called a “minor appreciation contest.”
“Where will it be held?”
“It will be overseen by Vice President Angus in the sorcerer tower. You know, Space-type items are always accompanied by danger, just like the previous spatial turbulence, so one must be careful.”
“That’s true, what a pity then.” Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire
Many enchanters regretted that the venue was a stronghold of the School of Space, and without an invitation, people from other schools could not enter to watch the excitement.
Of course, that did not stop them from discussing and analyzing, expressing their own opinions.
The highlights of the minor appreciation contest were only three people: Ivan, the creator of the Black Magic Wind Fire Array; Donnie, who had previously topped the appreciation contest; and Yosef who dared to instigate this dispute.
“What do you all think about Elder Ivan?” someone asked around.
“This time, it might be difficult.” The enchanter next to him shook his head slightly. The School of Space is undoubtedly the most challenging among the four schools. Considering that the elder had not been in the guild for long, he likely couldn’t match the other two.
“Don’t underestimate him, that is a genius who cannot be judged by ordinary standards. Do not look at His Excellency with common eyes.” His words were immediately countered by another person.
The emergence of the Black Magic Wind Fire Array made many admire Ivan’s talent, including many in the Enchanters Guild.
Hearing his words, others merely smiled and did not take it seriously, nor did they argue with him.
…
In the central sorcerer tower of the School of Space, similarly on the fifth floor, a relatively spacious enchantment workshop gathered the School’s elders and stewards.
Six competing elders casually occupied various positions.
Though they hadn’t made any harsh statements, one could see the sharpness between their composed expressions, nobody yielding to anyone.
Soon, Angus appeared.
Accompanying him were the Vice Presidents of the other three schools, as well as two or three elite elders from each school. The presence of the four Vice Presidents together tightened everyone’s hearts.
“Don’t be nervous, we just happened to be free and came to have a look,” said Jormo, the Vice President of the School of Energy Shaping, with a jovial expression.
“Exactly, this is an internal competition of your School of Space, we are just spectators,” the Vice President of the School of Life, Graski, expressed his agreement.
Hearing this, the Vice President of the School of Protection, Dowala, nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
Though this was said, the sorcerers present could not possibly regard them as mere onlookers.
“Does anyone want to back out?”
“Me! I apologize, the preparation was too rushed, I’m not ready yet.”
Angus stepped forward to ask, and someone sheepishly came forward to withdraw, not wanting to embarrass the School of Space in front of the elites from other schools.
Compared to other schools, new initiatives were rare in the School of Space, so a last-minute withdrawal wasn’t significant.
“It’s good to have self-awareness. So, does anyone want to join at the last moment?” Angus asked again.
Everyone remained silent.
After a pause, still no one responded, and none of the other five backed down.
“Let’s briefly discuss the rules. One Star-patterned Turtle Legacy Bead and one lower-level space-type Crystal Stone, whoever’s new initiative is most outstanding will take it all. No objections, right?”
Upon hearing Angus’s next words, the five all expressed no objections.
Ivan inwardly marveled, the guild was indeed generous, having unexpectedly provided a cubic space-type Crystal Stone; such a move was far beyond an elder’s capability.
“May I add,” Jormo smiled, glancing at Ivan, looking forward to his next outstanding achievement, “if there are additional contributions, the guild will not skimp on other rewards.”
This statement was affirmed by the other Vice Presidents, who nodded slightly.
“Who will start?” Angus looked around.
“Gentlemen, I’ll set an example first, so no one hesitates later due to modesty,” Rui stepped forward first, aware that his initiative was not stunning and probably would not surpass the others.
After Angus signaled, he took out a square metal box, its exterior filled with runes lines.
“Everyone must have noticed something, yes, this box is related to Transfer Sealing; it is a magicalized item similar to a Transfer Sealing Scroll, with a capacity of one hundred cubic meters, a preservation period of twenty-five years, rugged in design, and convenient for long-distance, large item transportation, and prolonged storage.”
“Those who are interested, please come forward for a closer look.”
Many people orderly moved forward to verify the authenticity of the ‘Transfer Sealing Box.’
Compared to the Transfer Sealing Scroll, its capacity and duration were multiplied several times, an innovation that drew admiration.
After a while, the enchantment workshop erupted with thunderous applause, and Rui contentedly stepped aside.
It was then others’ turn. Seeing Barney and others hesitating, Ivan thought for a moment and stepped forward when someone suddenly spoke up.
“Sorcerer Ivan, among all the guild elders, your reputation is the most prominent, at least give others a chance to showcase, why don’t you present last?” It was Jormo speaking.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Graski expressed his agreement.
“Sorcerer Ivan, then you will showcase last,” Angus finalized.
With no choice, Ivan stepped back to give space to others.
This kind of preferential treatment, this kind of expectation, made the nearby Yosef very irritated, feeling it was necessary to knock someone’s prestige down a peg.
“I’ll go then, to set a standard for Sorcerer Ivan.” He stated his stance with his actions, causing some displeasure among Angus and others, though they didn’t criticize.
As long as one could bring out tangible quality, a bit of arrogance didn’t matter.
“This bag is named ‘Cloud Sky Bag,’ inspired by the abdominal sac of a star-spotted frog, containing the ‘Cloud-Swallowing Space Array,’ able to ingest three thousand units of space energy each time, converting it into a space-type crystal bead.
With this Cloud Sky Bag, one will never lack space-type crystal stones, and it can also be used to stabilize regions of spatial turmoil.”
Yosef presented a high-level magicalized item, radically different from the previous one, and clearly more valuable than the Transfer Sealing Box.
This time, verification required Angus’s efforts; fortunate within the sorcerer tower, there was no shortage of space energy. Once he confirmed the Cloud Sky Bag was authentic, the enchantment workshop was once again drowned in applause.
Yosef gave Ivan a meaningful look, then retreated with his item.
“Elder Rui and Elder Yosef have been eye-openers, fellow colleagues, please allow me to step forward and present something modest,” said competing elder Kunluo, unable to hold back any longer.
Her innovation related to energy gathering, yet the quality was not up to par with Yosef’s Cloud Sky Bag, the contrast between her and the prior presentation was glaringly obvious.
She similarly received acknowledgement from the audience, though the enchantment workshop’s applause was considerably weaker.
After Kunluo exited, it was Sorcerer Donnie’s turn.
Under a renowned name, no inferior men; as the first-place winner of the appraisal contest, the crowd held high expectations for Donnie, who raised two Identically patterned Tokens.
“These are ‘Replacement Tokens.’ Pre-hide the right Token and with the left, you can replace it, transplanting both person and Token to the location of the right Token,” explained Donnie, making it clear to everyone that this was a derivative of the Flashing Token.
Surely, he had corrected the instability of the Flashing Token.
“Is it stable?” Angus’s eyes lit up, eagerly asking.
“Stable,” Donnie affirmed positively.
“What about the range?” Angus inquired quickly.
“Confined within three hundred meters,” replied Donnie.
For a Level 2 Sorcerer, three hundred meters is a distance that can be covered in an instant, hardly worth mentioning.
However, in certain specific scenarios, such as having a stubborn protective layer in the middle, these three hundred meters could be crucial, potentially saving a life in an emergency.
The premise is that it must be ‘stable.’
Like the unstable Flashing Token, it could backfire, pushing a fleeing person deeper into the abyss of death.
“Good!”
“Great potential, with Sorcerer Donnie’s progress, a teleportation array is within reach,” announced the Vice President amidst the appraisal room, his cheers all but overshadowing Yosef. Undoubtedly, Donnie’s innovation was more beneficial to the current sorcerer world, also carrying more potential for further exploration.
Deservingly ranked first in the appraisal contest.
This left Yosef quite furious, feeling the Vice Presidents were biased.
Now, only Ivan remained among the competitors, causing many to silently sweat on his behalf. With each competitor performing so strongly, could the most reputed elder truly hold the final spot?