"One out of three?"
Dave read through it and skipped the third task without thinking... even if the reward seemed to be very generous.
What a joke. Every year, a few apprentices from the academy would mysteriously disappear. There was a rumor that these unlucky people had become experimental subjects for some of the official mages.
There were even people who said that they saw acolytes walking up the 34th floor and being eaten by the monsters raised by the mages.
As for whether it was true or false, no one knew.
But no matter what, acolytes did not have the right to life or even human rights in front of the official mages.
Even Mrs. Izu, who was known for her good temper... Dave couldn't guarantee what would happen if he dared to open the cabinet.
He was simply courting death!
As for the remaining missions, they had their own benefits.
Mission 1 could further increase the proficiency of the acid splash spell. Other than that, there were also free subject experience points and a lucky draw chance.
It was equivalent to an enhanced version of the mission he had just completed.
However, it would take six months, and Dave could not afford the magic stones needed to rent the range.
Mission 2 was to Refine ten bottles of Apprentice-level potions.
In terms of the difficulty, it was not necessarily easier than mission 1.
As far as Dave knew, there were only a handful of level 3 acolytes who could make acolyte-level potions.
Moreover, the success rate was very low.
Thankfully, he had already reached Level 2 in potionology. Plus, this was in line with his path. This mission was more suitable for him.
In addition, he had the equipment he had just won from the draw.
It was perfect.
Compared to Mission 1, Dave felt that Mission 2 was more suitable for him.
Not only could he refine potions to earn money, but he could also complete missions at the same time. Wasn't that wonderful?
After selecting the mission, Dave closed the experiment set box and hid it under the bed carefully, using other boxes to cover it.
Then, he sat back on his chair, took out his notes, and began to sort out the knowledge of Potionology in his mind.
He had just flipped through one-third of Introduction to Potionology in one go. If he did not sort it out properly, he felt that he might not be able to remember much.
Sorcerer-Apprentices' memories were only slightly stronger than ordinary people's. When encountering complicated Extraordinary knowledge, they still needed time to process it.
Learning the knowledge was only the first step. The following steps, like combing and revision, were the key to learning.
It was not until late at night that Dave finished his notes and put out the animal oil lamp.
He was already mentally exhausted, but he was still in a relatively excited state.
The clock on the wall had already pointed to eleven o'clock. Through the porthole in the room, one could see the glistening red moonlight on the sea outside.
Dave moved the chair to the window and sat down. He looked at the moonlight outside and slowly closed his eyes.
His breathing changed subtly and he began to slow down. There was an inexplicable rhythm in his every breath.
In his sea of consciousness, his spiritual power had already constructed a ring made of countless runes.
Two smaller rings were embedded on the surface of the ring, overlapping each other to form a strange pattern.
The third ring was not completely formed, and there was still a gap in it.
At the same time, Dave could feel countless colorful glowing particles in the air.
According to what he had learned, these particles were all kinds of elements. Only people with the aptitude of a mage could control these particles with their spiritual power.
The colorful elemental particles weren't actually the majority.
Instead, there was also a dim translucent particle in the air.
This kind of particle was called ether by mages and could be understood as an elemental particle without attributes.
Ether could be converted into any element.
They were the true source of power for mages.
They were also Dave's meditation targets.
Dave wrapped a floating ether with his mind power and dragged it into his mind after some time.
After finding the gap in the third ring, Dave controlled the ether to attach to a tiny rune.
The rune had not yet taken shape. After absorbing the ether, its brightness increased slightly.
Upon closer inspection, one would realize that the countless runes that formed the ring were actually condensed from the ether.
Dave was meditating to absorb the ether around him, condensing runes in his mind to build the ring.
This was a common meditation technique known as the Moon Ring Meditation Technique.
Every moon ring that was condensed meant that the strength of the mages had increased once.
When all three rings were solidified, he would be considered to have advanced to a level 2 student.
Dave didn't know how long it would take for him to reach the next level.
However, according to the system panel, he was a level 3 student (89%), so it should not be far.
...
The 28th to 30th floors of the tower had a simple structure. They were all lecture halls of the same shape.
This was the location where the level 3 acolytes attended their lessons.
In Room 4 on the 30th floor, Dave yawned and found his usual seat.
"How are you, Dave? You don't look very well."
"Could it be that yesterday's practice was too tiring?"
As soon as he sat down, the freckled blond apprentice turned around and greeted Dave.
"I'm a little tired. I didn't sleep enough last night and read until too late at night."
Dave rubbed his temples with a bitter smile.
He had spent too much time on meditation last night. He managed to catch up on sleep, but he was still a little sleepy.
"Reading books?"
The apprentice named Andre opened his mouth in admiration.
"You're still the most diligent. I reckon that you'll definitely be able to pass this assessment easily."
"Maybe."
Dave shrugged and avoided the topic.
Although Andre seemed to be very familiar with him, the relationship between the two of them might not even be considered friends. They were just classmates.
"Do your best, don't forget the magic crystal.
"You can look for me if you need!"
Andre winked at Dave, rubbed his hands, and made a gesture of rubbing his fingers.
Dave knew what he was thinking.
Andre was famous for being greedy, and he would be after the magic stones in the pockets of other apprentices every day.
Now, of course, he was after Dave's treasure.
In a few days' time, everyone would need to prepare a piece of magic crystal for Teacher Gru's class.
A single crystal cost at least 10 Magic Stones, and Andre knew that Dave couldn't afford it.
He had extra magic crystals that he could rent to Dave.
However, the price…The rental fee for one lesson was half a magic stone.
This could be said to be an exorbitant demand!
However, there was nothing Dave could do now.
The magic stones in his hands were not enough to buy a magic crystal. If he did not think of another way by then…
He might really have to bear the pain and rent a piece from him…