The next morning,
Colin had just gotten out of bed not long ago.
Renee brought him a steaming hot breakfast.
Looking out the window at the still dim sky, Colin showed a satisfied smile.
He then spent the entire day studying.
With Renee cooking and handling miscellaneous affairs, his time was once again freed up!
... He never expected that one day, he would also lead a decadent life of having everything handed to him on a silver platter.
At noon, Colin briefly introduced Lap School and some of the city's forces to Arthur and Renee, letting them understand their position and know which people they could provoke and which they couldn't.
Of course, since he was not very familiar with the distribution of power in the city, he only gave a rough explanation and mentioned Lap School again.
During this, Arthur and Renee were in awe; they had never imagined that the real overlord of the island was the distant and unheard-of Lap School at the mountain peak.
Colin was not surprised by this, as ordinary civilians and wizards were completely different classes.
Even though the wizards in Blackstone City didn't conceal their existence, the ordinary civilians' understanding of wizards was always limited.
After hearing this, Arthur's attitude towards Colin became even more respectful and even reached the point of fear.
Renee, however, was somewhat dejected.
Time quickly reached evening, and after having dinner, Colin rode by carriage to the west gate of Blackstone City.
After getting off the carriage, he instructed Arthur to come pick him up at dawn the next day, then let Arthur leave.
Then, he stood alone at the city gate waiting.
After a while, as the sun set and only the last trace of sunset remained in the sky, Holt finally arrived.
"Let's go, I'll take you there."
Holt said as he strode towards the outside of the city.
Other wizards also arrived gradually.
This was not unusual, as apart from Lap School, people from the Four Great Gangs and the three families were also on duty.
Holt led him to the rightmost side of the city.
"The duty cabin is not fixed; it rotates each time. Just remember to move right each time. This time we are in the five cabins on the far right, next time it should be the cabins on the far left."
"Once you are familiar with it, you can come here directly by yourself. There aren't many rules, just don't forget to be on duty."
"Okay," Colin replied.
Holt dragged him to the middle cabin.
The Guard Team, a squad plus the captain, five people in total, usually stationed the middle cabin by the captain for easy assistance and support.
"On the first day of each month, all members will meet in the middle cabin, mainly to collect their monthly salary from me."
"They should be almost here by now, and you can also get to know each other."
Holt said as he pushed open the door.
Colin nodded; he had been in the West City Guard Team for so long, yet he had only met Captain Holt and the minister, Barton.
"Boss, you finally came!"
As soon as the door was opened, an excited, thick male voice entered his ears.
Colin looked in the direction of the voice. A fat man sitting at the innermost part of the middle wooden table was speaking, standing up as he did so.
Beside him sat a man and a woman.
"Captain."
The man had a cold expression and called softly after seeing Holt come in.
The woman was wearing a veil, making her face indiscernible, but her eyes seemed quite gentle.
However, Colin soon retracted this assessment.
"Orlando, one day you're going to die because of that Half-Elf woman!" the woman loudly teased the fat man who had stood up before.
Her voice was rough, and her tone was quite harsh.
Orlando ignored her and earnestly approached Holt, reaching out his hand.
"Catherine is right, you need to control yourself, Orlando."
Holt sighed, feeling somewhat helpless, yet he still pulled out ten Magic Stones and handed them to him.
Orlando took the Magic Stones and chuckled while scratching his head.
"I know, boss..."
Holt sighed again but didn't say anything more.
"Captain, aren't you going to introduce the new member?" the stern Willard suddenly asked.
The masked Catherine also looked over with interest.
"This is Colin, who just advanced to an Intermediate Apprentice last month," Holt introduced.
"So, he's the newbie." Catherine looked at Colin and asked, "Can you instantly cast the Fireball Technique and the Hope Defense Field yet?"
"Not yet," Colin responded, "but I..."
Catherine frowned slightly then casually added:
"With that level, you cannot handle Fierce Beasts... Stick close to me later, call me 'sister,' and I'll protect you."
Her tone was spiteful, more teasing than caring.
"Catherine, didn't expect you to be into that. 'Sister,' really? You're over thirty, old enough to be someone's mom, don't you feel embarrassed?" Orlando's mocking voice suddenly interrupted.
The room went silent.
Boom!
Immediately after, a huge fireball shot explosively toward Orlando!
Orlando's expression changed drastically as he hurriedly put up a translucent blue Protective Shield.
Still, he couldn't withstand the fireball; the shield quickly shattered, and he was knocked to the ground.
Seeing this, Colin's eyelid twitched.
Judging by the power of the fireball, another two shots could breach his Steel Armor.
"Old woman! Was that really necessary?!" Orlando scrambled to his feet, furious.
On closer inspection, aside from some slight scorch marks on his clothes, he seemed to have sustained no other injuries.
"That's enough!"
Holt quickly intervened, raising his hand to extinguish the spreading flames.
Then he cast a stream of green light, and the charred and damaged spots on the wooden cabin walls began sprouting and growing, slowly mending the holes.
Yet Catherine couldn't help but remain furious, her magic power brewing stormily.
"I said that's enough."
Seeing this, Holt spoke out again, his voice coldly issuing a few words.
As his words fell, a chilling aura suddenly descended inside the cabin.
For a moment, Colin thought he saw a massive, tangled black ancient tree swaying in the shadows behind Holt.
"Sorry, boss." Orlando hastily apologized.
"...Sorry, Captain." Catherine also paled, her voice softening in submission.
Though Holt was usually mild-mannered and didn't mind their way of speaking, when he got angry, they still felt terrified.
The chilling aura suddenly dissipated, and Colin exhaled in relief.
He looked up just in time to see Willard across from him also exhaling lightly.
The two exchanged glances, feeling an unintended camaraderie as collateral victims.
Holt had returned to his gentle demeanor and handed out Magic Stones to Catherine and Willard.
Then he urged them to quickly head to their cabins for their shift.
Before they left, he specifically instructed Colin to stay in the cabin on his left, for easier coordination.
Although he had a certain understanding of Colin's strength and knew he was much stronger than a newly advanced Intermediate Apprentice,
in his eyes, Colin was still just a month into his advancement; even if strong, his strength was limited... and in terms of versatility, he probably couldn't compare to a seasoned Intermediate Apprentice.