Words formed from dirt appeared on the ground.
[Basic Meditation Method (Small Success)] 1245/2000
[Small Fireball Technique (Tier Zero Mastery)] 83/2000
[Invisible Armor Skill (Tier Zero Entry Level)] 612/1000
For half a month, Li Wei had focused entirely on grinding his Invisible Armor Skill, so his Small Fireball Technique hadn't improved much.
Besides a significant increase in his Defense Power, the duration of his Invisible Armor had also been greatly extended.
The Invisible Armor spell he had cast ten days ago had yet to collapse.
He calculated this based on the rate at which the Magic Model's stability weakened each day.
The Invisible Armor spells he cast now could last for at least a month without collapsing.
At all times, the Invisible Armor provided Li Wei with all-around protection.
The only downside was that the Invisible Armor wasn't very smart.
Every time he ate, he had to dispel the Magic to eat normally; otherwise, the food would be blocked.
Li Wei naturally hoped the Invisible Armor could be a bit more intelligent.
He wanted it to only activate automatically when he was attacked and remain inert during normal times.
After leaving the Magic Training Ground, he returned to his dormitory.
Li Wei ran into Teacher Gu Ze in the hallway.
He took the initiative to greet him. "Good evening, Teacher Gu Ze."
Hearing this, Gu Ze looked up at him, and a thought suddenly struck him.
He looked at Li Wei and asked, "Li Wei, do you want to earn some Contribution?"
Li Wei was slightly taken aback. "Teacher Gu Ze, what do you mean?"
Gu Ze explained, "Recently, food has become scarce in Maple City, causing prices to soar. The City Lord ordered a shipment of grain from the farmstead warehouses to be brought to Maple City, but it was hijacked en route. The escort team has also gone missing, so the City Lord is offering a hefty reward to recover the grain and hunt down the robbers."
"Yesterday, the Professionals sent to investigate the grain and the robbers ran into Beastmen and suffered heavy casualties."
"Just this morning, the Warrior Guild and the Professional Association jointly sent a request for aid to the Mage Tower, hoping we can dispatch Mages to help them deal with the invading Beastmen."
"This afternoon, the Mages reached a decision. They plan to send one Tier Two Mage, three Tier One Mages, and six Apprentice Mages to assist the various guilds' teams in battle."
"As long as you participate in the operation, you'll earn 1 Contribution from the Mage Tower each day. If you contribute during combat, you can also receive additional rewards from the other guilds."
One Contribution per day. Li Wei was stunned.
One Contribution was worth 1 Gold Coin.
Just for participating in the operation, the base pay was 1 Gold Coin a day.
Although the reward was tempting, Li Wei wasn't easily swayed.
He asked, "Is fighting Beastmen dangerous?"
Gu Ze replied, "Any battle has its dangers, but if a Mage never experiences combat, it's difficult to achieve anything great through isolated Cultivation alone."
"Of course, this matter isn't as dangerous as you might think."
"We are only assisting the Warrior Guild and the Professional Association in encircling the Beastmen. They will be on the front lines, blocking any danger. The Mages just need to provide support by Casting from a safe distance."
Li Wei thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Teacher Gu Ze, there's still a significant gap between me and a real Apprentice Mage. I'd rather not take the risk."
Hearing this, Gu Ze nodded in understanding. "Mm, alright then."
"Goodbye, Teacher Gu Ze."
After bidding farewell to Gu Ze, Li Wei returned to his room.
The Mage Tower's reward was tempting, but he knew his own limits very well.
There was still a huge gap between him and a true Apprentice Mage.
For one thing, the number of Tier Zero Magic spells he had mastered was far inferior.
Even someone as young as Gu Ze had already mastered at least four types of Tier Zero Magic, and even had a Tier One Magic spell as a trump card.
A Senior Apprentice Mage's foundation was even deeper.
Compared to the Mage Tower's generous reward, Li Wei was much clearer about what he wanted right now.
He just wanted to grind Mana and Magic peacefully and safely.
He wasn't short on money for the time being.
Two days later, Li Wei saw Gu Ze and the others leaving the Mage Tower.
In addition to the personnel selected for the official roster, there were also many Apprentice Mages and Mage Apprentices who had volunteered.
Not everyone could endure the loneliness of dedicated Cultivation.
After achieving some small success in their Cultivation, most people wanted a chance to show off.
After Gu Ze and the others left, there weren't even enough Apprentice Mages to give lectures, so Li Wei and the other students spent most of their time in the classroom on self-study.
So, he simply stopped going to the classroom and holed up in his room to focus on his Cultivation.
When he wasn't cultivating, he read.
He read novels, travelogues, and Magic Teaching Manuals.
「In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.」
「December 25th.」
While eating in the cafeteria, Li Wei overheard a few Apprentice Mages chatting about how Gu Ze and the others would be returning triumphantly tomorrow.
The next day, after his morning Cultivation session ended, he went to the classroom early and stood by the window, looking outside.
The window directly faced the main gate in the Mage Tower's outer wall.
It was the perfect spot to see Gu Ze's group return in triumph.
But the group was late to appear.
It wasn't until noon, when the sun was high in the sky, that a few figures finally appeared at the gate.
When Li Wei saw the people below, he froze for a moment.
'There were over twenty people when they left, so why are only seven or eight returning?'
'Was the battle that fierce? Were the casualties that heavy?'
But thankfully, Teacher Gu Ze had returned safely. Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief.
That afternoon, he knocked on Teacher Gu Ze's door.
"Teacher Gu Ze, it's Li Wei."
"Come in."
Li Wei looked at Gu Ze. He wasn't injured, but his eyes looked somewhat haggard.
"I saw that only a third of the people came back," Li Wei said.
Gu Ze was startled for a moment before snapping out of it. He chuckled, "You don't actually think the rest of them died, do you?"
Li Wei was surprised. "Where are the others?"
Gu Ze explained, "Most of them are fine, you don't need to worry. We just came back first. The others are still hunting down the routed Beastmen."
Understanding dawned on Li Wei.
Gu Ze added, "Some strange things happened during this mission."
Li Wei's curiosity was piqued, and he perked up his ears.
Gu Ze continued, "After we defeated the main force of the Beastmen and recovered the grain they had stolen, we couldn't find any of the missing escort team members."
"Afterward, the people who were supposed to escort the grain back to Maple City vanished midway. When we arrived, we only saw the carts and grain left in the snow. There was no sign of anyone, and no footprints in the surrounding snow."
"We brought the grain back to Maple City, and only after the Lord City Lord's personal guards received it and confirmed everything was in order did we return to the Mage Tower."
"As for how those people vanished into thin air, no one has been able to explain it. It's unknown whether the missing are dead or alive."
Li Wei was also very curious after hearing the story. 'How could people just vanish into thin air?'
But now he understood why Gu Ze had returned early.
He asked, puzzled, "If there were no footprints in the snow, could it be that they all flew away?"
Gu Ze shook his head. "Impossible. To make more than ten people fly away without a sound... you'd need a Tier Four Great Mage at the very least to do something like that."