Chapter 7 - Days of Cultivation

In Ernst College's First-Year ClassroomWenger smiled faintly and nodded in approval. "Truly a prodigy with superlative elemental affinity and spiritual power—his talent is terrifyingly formidable. He mastered meditation in just a short while. No wonder his Holiness the Pope personally instructed me to look after this boy, Baruch."Though only fifty years old, Wenger was a powerful Eighth-Rank Wind Mage. His understanding of magic was profound, ranking among the best in the entire Ernst College. That was why he had been appointed as a first-year mentor, tasked with personally guiding the new students into the world of magic.When it came to cultivation, the starting point was crucial. A solid foundation made future practice far easier—which was why people said, "Foundation determines height."It was like building a house: to erect a towering skyscraper, you had to lay an unshakable foundation first. Otherwise, the edifice would collapse before it was even completed.Ernst College was the cradle where the Bright Holy See nurtured its powerhouses, so the Holy See attached immense importance to it. Even the weakest mentor here was an Eighth-Rank Mage.What was more, the Bright Holy See spared no expense in its investment. It had not only built a library at Ernst College, filled with a vast collection of books on all subjects, but also constructed over a dozen magic towers for mages to conduct their research.No wonder, then, that five thousand years later, Ernst Magic Academy would become the number one magic academy on the Yulan Continent, its status far surpassing that of Yulan Academy.At that moment, Baruch had his eyes closed, and shock was plain to see on his face. No, I must never let anyone find out I'm an Omni-Elemental Mage. Otherwise, I'll attract covetous attention from all sides. Even the Bright Holy See might not tolerate my growth and will snuff me out before I can rise.Baruch knew full well that if word got out that he possessed at least superior affinity for every element, it would send cataclysmic ripples across the continent. Never before in the history of the Yulan Continent had there been an Omni-Elemental Mage. All factions would covet him—or move to eliminate him.All powers loved to recruit prodigies, but if a prodigy's talent was so earth-shattering that it exceeded their control, they would be eliminated without hesitation. No one liked things to spiral out of their grasp, and no one wanted to face a threat from someone who might grow strong enough to challenge their dominance.The Yulan Continent was only so large. Every time a new powerhouse emerged, they claimed a share of the limited resources. To seize more resources, one had to fight for them.Thank goodness Wenger is only an Eighth-Rank Mage, not a Saint Mage. Otherwise, I'd never be able to hide this from him, Baruch thought, feeling a surge of relief.The first meditation was always dangerous. When one first made contact with the elemental plane, one could not control oneself. That was why any Saint Mage could observe the level of elemental activity around a person during their first meditation and thus judge their elemental affinity with precision.As for Eighth-Rank Mages, while powerful, their souls were dozens of times weaker than those of Saint Mages. Naturally, they would never detect such subtle changes.I've mastered meditation now. I should withdraw at once. If a Saint Mage happens to pass by the classroom, I'll be discovered for sure! Though Baruch was eager to explore the elemental plane, he was acutely aware of the danger he was in. Without hesitation, he pulled himself out of his meditative state.When he opened his eyes, he found Wenger standing right in front of him. "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Baruch, you've done fantastically—mastering meditation in less than ten minutes on your first try! Keep studying hard and training diligently, and you will undoubtedly become a powerful mage in the future. Even ascending to the rank of Saint Mage is not beyond your reach.""I understand, Mentor Wenger! I will train hard!" Baruch replied with a simple, honest grin.At this moment, playing dumb was his only option.So, first-time meditation really is difficult and dangerous, Baruch thought, glancing around the classroom. He noticed that only three students looked relaxed; everyone else wore a frown of frustration. Clearly, aside from those three, no one else had managed to master meditation yet.It was hardly surprising, though. Meditation was no easy feat for beginners. Otherwise, Ernst College would not have assigned a mentor to spend an entire week solely teaching new students how to meditate and practice magic.In the next class, Mentor Wenger will only be instructing the students who still haven't mastered meditation. I won't need to stay in the classroom anymore, Baruch mused as he heard the school bell ring. He packed away his magic notebook and left the classroom.At Ernst College, students only had two classes every morning, each lasting an hour. There were no classes in the afternoon, though new students could visit their mentors' dormitories privately if they had questions.After leaving the classroom, Baruch headed for the cafeteria.Since Ernst College had a small number of students and faculty, its cafeteria was not large. Its decor was simple—even plainer than that of some low-end restaurants in Finlay City.Baruch got himself a tray of food and sat down to eat.The college had only recently been built, and with the Bright Holy See backing it, meals in the cafeteria were free of charge for the time being.Dad gave me fifty gold coins as my living expenses for the year. It looks like this sum will be more than enough to last me the whole year, Baruch thought as he ate.On the Yulan Continent, gold coins were extremely valuable. One gold coin equaled one hundred silver coins, and one hundred silver coins equaled one thousand copper coins. A typical family of five could live quite comfortably on just five gold coins a year.Horry had given Baruch the fifty gold coins specifically for buying books and magic supplies at Ernst College. Though Horry was a Seventh-Rank Warrior, he had long since retired from being an adventurer, so his savings were modest. Those fifty gold coins represented half of his entire fortune.After I finish eating, I'll head to the library to read some books, Baruch thought, taking a sip of soup.At Ernst College, there were two main ways to learn magic: through the teachings of mentors in class, and through the magic books in the library.Of course, Baruch knew that the magic spells in the library would not be particularly advanced—the highest-level spells available were probably only Seventh-Rank. Still, that would be more than enough to keep him occupied for several years.The library was located at the northernmost end of the campus. After showing his student ID at the front desk, Baruch walked over to one of the bookshelves."The Complete Compendium of Magical Beasts"? Baruch picked up the book out of curiosity. It contained records of over a hundred magical beasts, ranging from First-Rank Magic Rabbits and Seventh-Rank Velociraptors to Eighth-Rank Wyverns and Ninth-Rank Earth Bears, as well as some famous Saint-Rank Magical Beasts.So the Yulan Continent is home to so many magical beasts! Baruch sighed in amazement after finishing the book two hours later. The Magical Beast Mountain Range stretches ten thousand li from north to south. Seventy percent of the continent's magical beasts can be found there. It truly deserves its reputation as the Yulan Continent's greatest mountain range!Baruch read a few more books—mostly accounts of interesting anecdotes and the geopolitical landscape of the Yulan Continent. From these, he learned that the continent's general stability was maintained by three major geographical features: the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the Sunset Mountain Range, and the Dark Forest. The entire Yulan Continent was divided between two great empires: the Yulan Empire and the O'Brien Empire. The once-mighty Pungan Empire, however, had fragmented over a dozen years ago, splitting into dozens of small kingdoms and duchies.On the Yulan Continent, the Yulan Empire boasted the deepest heritage and the most prosperous economy. It was a cradle of mages, producing countless magic practitioners. The O'Brien Empire, by contrast, had the strongest military might and was known for nurturing powerful warriors. Beyond these two empires lay the Tribal Alliance of the Far Eastern Grasslands, led by Tulilei—a formidable Saint-Rank Warrior whose fame across the Yulan Continent was second only to that of the Pope of the Bright Holy See.Water Magic Spells!? Baruch's eyes lit up suddenly. He walked over to a corner, picked up the book, and started reading. To his disappointment, however, the magic incantations were extremely abstruse and difficult to understand. He could not even make sense of the simplest First-Rank Water Spell—Mist."What a pity," Baruch sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. He stayed in the library for another two hours before returning to his dormitory.That afternoon, Baruch spent his time cultivating the Dragon Blood Codex. In the evening, he turned to practicing magic, refining his magical power through meditation just as Wenger had taught him.The next morning, Baruch went to class again to listen to Wenger's lecture. That day, Wenger talked about the world of magic and the precautions that mages needed to take during their cultivation.By the fourth day, when all the students had finally mastered meditation, Wenger began explaining magic incantations, teaching the students how to recite spells and cast magic.It was also on this day that Baruch successfully cast his first spell—the First-Rank Water Spell, Mist.I wonder what Dad is doing right now. He's probably teaching those boys how to train their bodies, Baruch thought, lying in bed with his eyes closed. He had been at the college for five days now, and he was starting to feel homesick, missing his father.Ernst College had a strict rule: first-year students were not allowed to leave the campus. Only in their second year would they be permitted to go out once a month.This meant that Baruch would not be able to return to Wushan Town for an entire year.Tomorrow will be the last day of Mentor Wenger's basic teachings. He'll probably teach us First-Rank Spells then, Baruch thought, feeling a twinge of reluctance at the thought of Wenger no longer personally guiding them. Wenger was his first guide into the world of magic, and Baruch had grown quite fond of him over the past few days.He knew that after this week, the first-year students would go their separate ways. Some would choose to attend lectures on other elemental magic, while others would not bother.Although Ernst College required first-year students to attend every magic class, in practice, many students found ways to skip them—there were no penalties for doing so, and it saved them a lot of time.Of course, Baruch had no intention of missing any classes. As an Omni-Elemental Mage, he could learn magic of any element. While he could not let anyone see him casting spells of other elements, there was nothing stopping him from learning them.After all, Ernst College actually encouraged students to attend lectures on other elemental magic. It was touted as a way to understand the characteristics of mages from different elemental schools, giving them an edge in combat.