Two weeks later, at Shadow Plaza.
The apprentice assessment was held at Shadow Plaza—the largest square in the outer ring of the Tower of Shadows. Most major events for prospective apprentices took place here.
By now, the broad, ancient square was already crowded with young people in cloaks, roughly the same age as Carter Bale. These were the prospective apprentices who had joined the Tower around the same time as him, all preparing for the assessment.
"Splash!"
At the center of the Tower stood an old Morning Dew Fountain. Its water, mixed with dew collected by sprites, had a slight effect on helping warlocks restore their mental power.
Carter Bale stood by the fountain and splashed some water on his face. He had stayed up all night reading and doing experiments, and his head felt groggy.
"Foolish boy!"
A voice sounded from behind. Carter turned around and saw two apprentices walking toward him.
One was a tall teenager with dark skin, a burly build, and well-defined, balanced muscles—he looked incredibly strong. This was Karl, who came from a hunter's family on the outskirts of Deer City in northern Pultan Kingdom.
Beside Karl was a fair-skinned, handsome young fat boy, also from Deer City. His name was Subaru, and his family were merchants there.
All three were from Pultan Kingdom, and even shared the same northern region of the kingdom. So, they were relatively close among the prospective apprentices.
Carter turned around and greeted them warmly, "Long time no see, Karl, Subaru."
Subaru smiled and said, "Yeah, it's been almost three months."
Warlock life was busy and intense—there was always no end to things to do: meditating and practicing, conducting experiments, studying, and earning magic stones for living expenses.
Even though they lived in the same area, they rarely had a chance to meet. The last time Carter had seen Subaru and Karl was nearly three months ago.
Karl clicked his tongue and said casually, "It's just two or three months, anyway."
Subaru smiled again, "Right, just a few months."
Warlocks lived far longer than ordinary humans. Even apprentices could live over 200 years, and full-fledged warlocks could survive for more than 500 years.
In that sense of time, a few months really meant nothing.
Karl shot Subaru an annoyed glare, "You sneaky guy—can't you take a stance for once? You're more annoying than a goblin."
The young fat boy didn't get angry. Instead, he chuckled, "Heh, you won't find a goblin as generous as me anywhere in the warlock world."
As he spoke, he pulled out a few beans and held them out.
Karl frowned in confusion, "What's this? Peas?"
Subaru rolled his eyes, "You idiot, you don't know a good thing when you see it."
Carter picked up one bean and examined it closely. It looked like an ordinary pea, but was a circle larger, and its surface was covered with strange patterns—twisted black lines.
He wasn't entirely sure, so he asked, "Is this... a Clear-Mind Magic Bean?"
Subaru looked at Carter in surprise, then teased, "Wow, such knowledge and insight—you don't look like a 'clodhopping peasant' at all."
In this world's social hierarchy, serfs were at the very bottom. They spent their whole lives working for nobles and had almost no chance to acquire knowledge. As a result, most serfs were seen as dull, foolish, and uneducated.
Terms like "clodhopping peasant" or "dull plow hand" were often used to describe them.
"Clear-Mind Magic Beans? These are Clear-Mind Magic Beans?" Karl finally reacted, his eyes widening.
Clear-Mind Magic Beans were low-tier magical plants for apprentices, capable of restoring a small amount of mental power.
Mental power was extremely precious to warlocks—it was consumed in meditation, studying, experiments, and every step of their cultivation. Naturally, substances that could restore mental power were invaluable.
"Crunch!"
Carter took a bean, bit it open, and swallowed it. Immediately, he felt a pure stream of energy spread through his body and rush up to his head. The mental power he'd exhausted the night before was clearly replenished, and his tired mind felt much more alert.
Subaru asked, "How's that? My beans aren't bad, right?"
Carter nodded and answered honestly, "They're great."
Karl looked skeptical, "Did you grow these yourself? You can already cultivate Clear-Mind Magic Beans?"
Magical plant cultivation was Subaru's main area of study.
Subaru raised an eyebrow, "Where else do you think these beans came from?"
He paused, then asked, "So, with these beans, passing the assessment won't be a problem, right?"
Carter nodded, "They're perfect."
Even though Clear-Mind Magic Beans were just low-tier magical plants for apprentices, being able to cultivate them proved Subaru had a solid grasp of basic cultivation techniques—he was at least Level 1. Passing the assessment would be a piece of cake.
"Tch～"
Karl clicked his tongue, looking disdainful, "The assessment is just a trivial thing. It was never hard to begin with."
As he spoke, he unconsciously tilted his chin up. On both sides of his jaw, there was a patch of dark gray fur—not stubble, but more like the hair of a beast.
Subaru's mouth dropped open, "No way—did you actually fuse that vial of Wind Wolf bloodline?"
Bloodline fusion was Karl's main focus.
Karl's lips curled into a proud smile, "What do you think? Don't I look a bit like a werewolf?"
Carter nodded, "It's cool."
Then both of them turned their eyes to Carter.
Karl asked, "Foolish boy, what about you? How are you going to pass the assessment this time? What's your project? Show us."
Even though they seemed friendly, Carter still hesitated for a moment. The Tower's spirit was monitoring every corner of the plaza at all times—there was no harm in revealing his experiment now.
So he held up his hand. In it, he was carrying a small iron cage, covered with a black cloth.
Carter was about to lift the cloth to show them his work, but Subaru suddenly reached out and stopped him.
Subaru glared at him, "Are you really that stupid? He tells you to show it, and you just show it?"
The three had known each other even before Carter traveled to this world. Back then, the original "Carter" had left Karl and Subaru with the impression of a typical peasant—honest, dull, even a little stupid. They'd even given him the nickname "Foolish Boy."
Someone like that could get by in a simple farming village, but in the vast, complicated warlock world? It was impossible.
So after they grew closer, Subaru and Karl had been trying to teach Carter to be smarter, to stop being so naive. Karl's habit of calling him "Foolish Boy" was actually a way to remind him, to help him grow.
After all, in this strange world, it was rare to find people they could get along with. They might meet more people in the future, but "childhood friends" like this would never come again.
No matter what, both of them hoped Carter could be as smart as they were—less naive, so he could go further in the warlock world.
Subaru said earnestly, "This isn't your hometown's village. This is the warlock world—a dangerous place, full of trickery and betrayal. Wise up, stop being so trusting. Did you already forget what happened when you got tricked last time?"
The original "Carter" had been too trusting and unguarded, so someone had swapped his important experimental materials. That mistake had directly led to his death.
Karl added, "Exactly! If you weren't so stupid, you'd already be living in the Tower by now, with a warlock teaching you personally. We might even have gotten some benefits from it too."
Two years ago, when their group of apprentices first joined the Tower, a warlock had planned to select one of them as a legacy apprentice to train in the Tower.
You have to understand—apprentices like them were mostly self-taught, left to fend for themselves. Precious knowledge was scarce, there was almost no resource support, and they even had to find ways to earn their own living expenses.
But if a warlock took you as a legacy apprentice? You'd get careful guidance, the best knowledge, resources, and living conditions.
Not to mention the deterrent power that came with having a warlock as a backer—for apprentices who had just entered the warlock world, being chosen as a legacy apprentice was like a dream come true, a leap to the top.
And originally, Carter had a chance to make that dream real.
Back then, the warlock had sifted through their group and finally set his sights on Carter and one other apprentice, planning to pick between them.
But at that crucial moment, Carter's experiment failed, damaging his mental power. He'd lost the chance entirely.
...And yes, the one who'd swapped Carter's experimental materials—who'd caused his death—was that other apprentice.
The irony? That apprentice had been someone Carter had treated as a true friend. He'd even naively given that person the chance to swap his materials.
Subaru urged, "Learn your lesson. Always keep your guard up. Don't be so stupid again."
Carter felt a warmth in his heart—he knew Subaru and Karl were truly thinking of him.
So he put down the iron cage and nodded honestly, "All right."
They chatted about random things after that—like how an apprentice had gone into the forest to collect materials, gotten bewitched by sprites, and barely escaped with his life; or who had discovered a ruin.
The conversation went on until a commotion broke out in the square.
"They're here! It's the Warlock Lord!"
"The Warlock Lord is here!"
Then came the sound of flapping wings. Three crows flew down from the sky, circling above the center of the square. As they descended, their bodies twisted, stretched, and grew larger. By the time they landed on the ground, they had transformed into three human figures.
At that moment, all the apprentices in the square bowed their heads respectfully and saluted:
"Greetings, Warlock Lord!"