After a good night's sleep, Dago was revived.
With a simple wash-up and a simple breakfast, according to his daily routine, he should go for a run and practice by the lake.
However, Dago planned to visit the Wizard Hall in Town this morning.
Firstly, to follow up on the previous report, and secondly, to get certified as a Level 2 Apprentice Wizard at the Wizard Hall.
He currently only had thirteen magic stone fragments left and urgently needed to find ways to earn magic stones in Town.
He put on the Aynak Wizarding Academy robe that his predecessor had been reluctant to wear; it was much better than the linen robes he usually wore, soft and form-fitting, with the Aynak Wizarding Academy's exclusive emblem embroidered on the chest: a five-pointed star enclosing a mountain peak.
This was something his predecessor had bought at great expense from the Academy.
After tidying his robe and attaching his money pouch and water skin to his waist, Dago turned and went out, not forgetting to lock the door of the Shelter as he left.
Along the way, the wind was his companion.
He arrived at Aynak Town again; it had only been four days since his last visit, and he familiar with the way to the Wizard Hall.
Coincidentally, a group of people walked out of the hall, chatting and laughing, heading straight towards the Aynak Wizarding Academy on the mountain.
All of them were wearing brand new, beautiful Wizard robes, and every now and then, as they raised their hands, bright rings with energy particle fluctuations could be seen on their fingers.
The leading Wizard among them looked particularly noble and unapproachable, glancing at Dago, whispering a few words to the person next to him, and then bursting into laughter.
“It seems the Academy also has celestial dragons!” Dago whispered as he stepped to the side of the street.
After the group of Apprentice Wizards left, Dago stood on the street, carefully appreciating the most luxurious building in this Town.
From the outside, the Wizard Hall looked like a giant champagne bottle, and looking in from the entrance, countless golden bubbles shimmered in the cold light of marble slabs.
Even the air carried the scent of evaporating money—a mix of polished metal, aged wood, and rare spices, an aroma exclusive to Wizards and nobles.
Dago adjusted his robe at the entrance of the Wizard Hall, then strode in.
He found the same counter he had visited last time and walked over, noticing that the beautiful girl he had seen before was still sitting behind it, and Dago's eyes lit up.
Since there wasn't much going on in the hall at this time, she was engrossed in a book.
Dago quietly crept up to the counter and loudly knocked on the table a few times.
The girl was startled and panicked, quickly hiding the book in a nearby cabinet; she looked up and saw it was Dago, she still remembered him, and she glared at Dago with a hint of anger, having already cursed him dozens of times in her mind.
“Was the black medicine dealer I reported last time caught?”
Dago smiled and asked casually.
“He was caught; he’s currently locked up in the prison guarded by Wizards,” the girl said grumpily.
“I have another matter today; I can be promoted to a Level 2 Apprentice Wizard.”
She looked at Dago in surprise; a Level 1 Apprentice Wizard being promoted to a Level 2 Apprentice Wizard was not a common occurrence.
She took a coin-sized badge from a cabinet beside her and handed it to Dago.
“This is an Apprentice-level badge specially used by the Wizard Alliance to test Level 2 Apprentice Wizards; activate it with your mental power, and you can be promoted to a Level 2 Apprentice Wizard.”
Dago took it and examined it for a moment; it was a silver badge, with an open book on one side, a fingernail-sized crystal embedded in the middle, and an incomprehensible rune carved on the other side.
After playing with the badge in his hand for a moment, a faint blue light appeared in his azure eyes.
The crystal embedded in the center of the badge immediately emitted a blue glow, apparently capturing Dago's overflowing mental power.
The girl watched Dago's actions throughout, only retracting her gaze when she saw the crystal on the badge light up with a faint blue glow.
She pulled out several papers from a drawer under the counter and handed them to him, looking at Dago with a professional fake smile.
“Mr. Dago, congratulations on becoming a newly promoted Level 2 Apprentice Wizard of Aynak Wizarding Academy; you can now come and register your information.”
Dago stopped outputting mental power, put down the badge in his hand, and picked up the papers on the counter, reading them carefully.
The first one was the Wizard Alliance's official Wizard registration form, which only required him to fill in his own information.
But the Academy's student loan scheme that followed was quite tricky; the general content was that if a student was unable to pay the Academy tuition fees during their enrollment, the Academy could provide a loan.
However, the condition was that the Academy could compulsorily arrange five years of work for the Academy Wizard.
Setting aside the annual tuition fee of ten low-level magic stones, this compulsory clause alone made Dago hesitate.
“This is assistance provided by the Academy to impoverished Level 2 Apprentice Wizards; although the price is a bit high, isn't it very worthwhile to successfully graduate from the Academy and then become a respected Wizard?”
The girl noticed Dago's changing expression and gently explained to him.
Dago waved his hand without reacting, then used the quill on the counter to write his information on the first paper.
Then he handed the badge and papers back to the girl; the girl immediately understood Dago's meaning and did not try to persuade him further.
She only took back the papers, returning the badge to Dago.
“The badge is an identity marker gifted by the Wizard Alliance to every Level 2 Apprentice Wizard; it does not need to be returned, but replacing a lost one or repairing a damaged one will cost five low-level magic stones.”
Upon hearing this, Dago carefully placed the badge into his cloth pouch for safekeeping; this would be his tool for showing off in the future.
After thanking the girl, he got up and walked out of the Wizard Hall.
“Trading the future for the present? Too bad I’m a man with a cheat.”
Dago stood on the street, looking at the people coming and going, and whispered to himself.
He did not regret his choice; although he could not receive formal education from the Academy and could only be an auditor, he had a progression system, so for him, it made no difference.
Currently, two spells were enough; he would learn new spells at the Academy after earning enough magic stones.
So his immediate priority was still to find a way to earn magic stones.
He had thought about things from his past life like soap and lime, but when it came to actual implementation, it wasn't that simple.
Perhaps the basic physical rules of the two worlds were different; this world even had gods and ghosts, which his previous life did not.
Discarding the unnecessary thoughts in his mind, Dago wandered through the bustling streets of Town.
In a secluded antique shop, he bought an old brass pocket watch, which cost him two magic stone fragments, making his heart ache.
However, from now on, he could tell the precise time without having to estimate it by the sun; the time scale was roughly the same as in his previous life, so he could understand it at a glance.
Continuing to wander, he discovered a business opportunity: selling meat.
He observed the business of the butcher shops in Town, and it was very brisk.
There were two main reasons: firstly, the common people in Town did not eat animal offal because it was too gamey; secondly, commoners did physical labor and needed a large supply of meat.
Although there was incredibly precious magical beast meat, that was an exclusive delicacy for nobles and Wizards, and the price was so high that ordinary people could not afford it.
Moreover, ordinary people were no match for magical beasts.
So he made a decision in his heart: upon returning to the Shelter, he would start hunting wild animals in the forest and become a Wizard hunter.
Mainly because Dago already lived in the forest, and he had also discovered traces of many wild animals.
This way, he would have a new source of income, and secondly, it would not affect his spell practice; it could even increase his combat experience, which was a win-win situation, though it would be tough on the wild animals of the Emerald Forest.
After a quick lunch at a restaurant in Town to fill his empty stomach, he set off back to the Shelter in the forest.
........
.....
At the Shelter in the forest, Dago changed into light and agile hunting attire, with a gleaming meat-cutting dagger at his waist.
This was an old item gifted to him by the old hunter Roland before he left; unfortunately, he was too old to hunt in the forest anymore and had chosen to go to another big city to enjoy his retirement.
Before leaving, he also taught him about some dangers in the forest and small tips for hunting wild animals; thinking back now, he was really very kind to him!
Dago summoned the system panel in his mind.
“Wizard Universal Meditation Method” (Initiation 69/1000); “Air Bullet” (Novice 23/100)
As Air Bullet progressed, its power significantly increased.
Dago had tested it; currently, the impact force of Air Bullet was roughly equivalent to a motorcycle collision at forty miles per hour in his previous life.
It was completely sufficient for hunting small wild animals in the forest.
With his current mental power reserves, he could probably cast Air Bullet two or three times before needing to meditate to recover his mental power.
So he had to strive for a one-hit kill; of course, if he missed, he would just run, he organized his supplies, shouldered his cloth bag, and set off into the forest to search for traces of prey.
The Emerald Forest, with its towering ancient trees, resembled a green ocean.
Dago pushed aside a bush, casually pulled out an old brass pocket watch from his in my arms, and checked the time.
By now, nearly an hour had passed since he left the Shelter; several spots on his skin had been accidentally scratched by branches, leaving streaks of blood.
Suddenly, Dago heard the sound of a stream not far ahead, and he gradually slowed his steps.
In the wilderness, a water source was a place of both danger and opportunity; he hid in the shadows and observed for a long time, finding no prey or danger, before deciding to go wash his face.
It was a small stream, and when he reached the pool of accumulated water, Dago cupped the stream water and washed his face, feeling much more refreshed; just as he was comfortably preparing to take off his shoes and wash his feet.
“Rustle!”
Not far away, a rustling sound suddenly came from a bush.
Dago quickly turned his head, alert; he saw a patch of lightly swaying bushes.
He crouched low and quietly hid behind a tree not far from the stream.
He saw a small deer, resembling a sika deer, slowly walking towards the stream's pool; this was a Chi Deer, as Roland had once told him, named for its speed, and countless Chi Deer lived in the forest, making them the most common prey for hunters.
The young Chi Deer wrinkled its nose and sniffed; perhaps it smelled an unfamiliar scent, and it perked up its ears and listened for a while.
Perhaps its long period of peaceful life had made it forget danger, and it still carelessly chose to lower its head and drink the sweet stream water.
At this moment, Dago didn't dare to breathe; seeing that it hadn't noticed him, Dago raised his right hand, and a halo of light appeared in his eyes, and the air currents in the atmosphere suddenly changed.
A basketball-sized solidified ball of air was rapidly gathering in the palm of his right hand.
Only then did the Chi Deer sense that the atmosphere in the air was wrong; animal instinct signaled the arrival of danger, and it looked up and around.
In a single breath, Dago flashed out from behind the tree, aiming the solidified ball of air in his palm at the Chi Deer and throwing it.
The Chi Deer was instantly terrified, leaping high into the air in fright.
“Bang!”
The solidified ball of air accurately hit the lower abdomen of the leaping Chi Deer, exploding with a bang; the violent impact sent it flying several meters away.
Its body kicked up scattered leaves and dirt, and the Chi Deer lay on the ground, whimpering incessantly.
Dago rushed over to check its injuries, to see the power of his spell; he saw that most of the Chi Deer's ribs in its abdomen were broken, and Dago was startled, realizing that his attack had directly incapacitated it.
Seeing the Chi Deer struggling painfully on the ground, Dago chose to quickly end its suffering.
He took out the sharp dagger at his waist, covered the Chi Deer's eyes with one hand, and decisively slit its throat with one swift cut.
He awkwardly removed the bones, internal organs, and fur, then washed the dagger and the blood from his body in the stream.
He packaged the edible venison and its fur together; he lifted it, estimating it to be twenty to thirty pounds, and laboriously carried it on his shoulder towards the Shelter.
Along the way, blood dripped onto the ground, but fortunately, no wild beasts were around.
In the evening, he returned to the Shelter, breathlessly placing the meat wrapped in deerskin on a wooden stump outside the Shelter.
Dago lit a bonfire in the open space of the Shelter, with deer meat skewered on branches stuck around the fire.
The deer fat dripped onto the charcoal, causing small flames to leap up and make sizzling sounds.
Dago gazed at the fragrant roasted venison, his stomach rumbling uncontrollably, and his mouth watering.
Not long after, he directly picked up a somewhat charred skewer of venison, sprinkled a little fine salt on it, and began to devour it ravenously.