The reason the Lap School was built upon the mountain was not to display its status.
Rather, it was because the magic power here was the most concentrated, which benefited wizard training.
This was also why many wizards from Blackstone City chose to live halfway up the mountain, closer to the School.
If one needed to be stationed in the city for an extended period, it would clearly affect their training progress.
"Talents with less potential get assigned to the Guard Team..." Colin realized.
The logic behind this allocation was clear when considered from the School's perspective.
Obviously, it involved prioritizing the training and advancement of apprentices with potential within the Wizard Territory.
Whereas those with less potential were sent to hone their combat abilities in the city's Guard Team, handling trivial matters.
For the School, this was a perfectly rational way to distribute duties.
But for Colin, it was quite the opposite, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"The Guard Team is actually a good gig." The wizard in grey robes discerned Colin's thoughts and consolingly said with profound meaning, "You see... the School is the real ruler of this island."
Colin was puzzled.
"...When you get to the Guard Station in the city, you'll understand why I say this..." The wizard in grey patted Colin's shoulder and said no more.
The Lap Wizard had been here for sixty years, but to this day, the School still had not produced a second Official Wizard.
In his view, apprentices with Colin's qualifications were obviously not destined to become Official Wizards.
Going to the Guard Team to enjoy life was undoubtedly a better choice for them.
The two walked a little further and arrived at a study room.
Though it was called a study room, there was only one bookshelf inside, and upon closer examination, the books on it seemed to be duplicates.
The wizard in grey took two books from the shelf in turn and handed them to Colin.
"These are the magic spells rewarded by the School, if you want to learn others, you'll need to use Magic Stones or contribution points to exchange for them afterward."
"However, because you're going to the Guard Station, you'll get two additional spells for dealing with Polluters, more than what regular apprentices receive."
He found two more Magic Books.
Colin accepted them, stacking them together, and oddly felt like it was reminiscent of receiving textbooks back in school.
He looked down at the books he was holding, which were—
Detect Evil, Purification Evil Power, Hope Defense Field, Fireball Technique,
The first two spells were the extra ones provided for free to the Guard Team.
Polluters...
He couldn't help but remember the eerie man he had encountered in the city earlier.
That must have been what was known as a Polluter.
Aside from wizards, this world was filled with many phenomena that were hard to explain.
Polluters were one such phenomenon.
Their origins were varied and strange, with exposure to knowledge beyond their understanding being one of them.
For apprentices like Colin, the first lesson they learned was—never to chase knowledge too fervently.
In this world, knowledge came at a cost.
After receiving the books, the wizard in grey also gave him a voucher and told him the address of the Guard Hall, letting him leave and report by tomorrow.
The moment Colin returned to his stone house, a storm suddenly erupted outside.
He silently leaned against the window, staring at the churning, boundless ocean outside, momentarily speechless.
The waves surged in layers, their motion incessant; the loud thunder drowned out the noise of the rain and overpowered the sound of the waves; the white seabirds that were usually visible were nowhere to be found now.
The world outside was an expanse of indistinctness, as the torrential rain seemingly connected the sea surface with the sky, blurring the distinction between the rain falling from the heavens or rising from the sea.
The rain kept pouring while the clouds seemed to grow even thicker.
Darkness had fallen inside the stone house.
Colin cast a spell to light the Bright Crystal.
A gentle white light spread uniformly inside the room. He sighed and prepared to tidy up his belongings.
"Oooo—"
Just then, a dull cry suddenly erupted.
Colin froze on the spot, as if his heart had been gripped tight, and it was two seconds before he recovered.
For some reason, the rain outside began to gradually cease.
With a pale face, Colin wasn't frightened; instead, he stepped out the door.
The rain outside the door had already stopped, but a careful observation revealed that a torrential downpour was still raging in the distance.
Only this part of the island remained dry,
...as if an invisible umbrella had been held up over it.
People from other houses were also coming out one after another, and they all, as if by tacit agreement, looked up at the sky.
Colin also lifted his head.
...an indescribable amazement.
A gigantic whale was leisurely roaming through the sky.
Its massive deep blue body blocked all the rain, creating a dry area.
From time to time, lightning struck at it, yet it was like a clay ox entering the sea, stirring no waves.
This was the Thunderstorm Cloud Whale, a creature the previous owner of the memories had also seen a few years ago.
It was gentle by nature, never attacking anything,
which is why the Wizard Territory hadn't activated the Protective Shield... though, of course, it might not have been effective even if they had.
The Thunderstorm Cloud Whale usually lived in the deep sea, only occasionally surfacing in the sky during torrential rain to chase lightning.
This was a rare and peculiar sight.
Too bad, although the Thunderstorm Cloud Whale looked leisurely and slow,
its flying speed was so fast that even an Official Wizard might not be able to keep up.
Therefore, it soon vanished from Colin's sight.
The rain began to fall again.
The rain continued until the afternoon when it gradually stopped.
The clouds dispersed, sunlight shone down upon the earth once more, and a rainbow even appeared in the distance.
Colin had also nearly finished packing his things.
He didn't have much to take with him, besides a change of clothes, mainly just books and bee stingers.
As for the Knight Sword and armor left behind by the original owner, he planned to sell them at the market later.
As his strength increased, the benefits of Knight training manifested more in terms of vitality; for combat, however, it couldn't compare to witchcraft.
Even the bee stinger at his waist had become more of a decorative accessory.
Thus, Colin decided to only practice the Breathing Skill of a Knight, no longer expending energy on Combat Skills.
After selling various things at the market,
the items in the room had significantly diminished, probably enough to fill just one large bag.
Colin got up and went to the bedside table to pack up the last of his belongings.
Unintentionally, he saw a brown letter and a sheet of white paper inside.
Colin's expression briefly faltered as he slowly picked them up.
Stroking the red and blue intertwined flame emblem on the brown envelope, he felt somewhat sentimental.
That golden-haired cute girl, she had probably turned into a handful of yellow soil by now.
He carefully placed the envelope and white paper into a grey backpack.
Then, slinging the backpack over his shoulder, he took a final look around the stone cottage and stepped into the Meditation Room for a moment.
Finally, he went to the window and, as usual, leaned against it, looking at the calm azure sea in the distance.
The vast ocean stretched to infinity, with white birds circling above and their reflections on the glittering waves responding to each other in harmony.
Colin took a deep breath, no longer lingering, and stood up to walk outside the house.
Upon leaving, he turned to look back at Erica's cottage next door.
He hesitated for a moment, seemingly having thought of something, then turned and walked towards Erica's door.
A few minutes later, he set off again, heading down the mountain towards Blackstone City.
He left Erica a sheet of white paper.
It didn't say much,
just a simple recounting of recent events,
about Charlie, the Mutual Assistance Association, and how he had Advanced and been assigned to the Guard Team.
He also let her know he had received the white paper and letter and that if he had the chance to return to Ryan, he would take the letter to her parents...
As evening fell, the sky flushed red.
On the mountain road, Colin's figure, carrying a bag, gradually moved farther away.