Chapter 123 - 122: Standing Out

Chapter 123: Chapter 122: Standing Out

Gerry Harrell watched helplessly as Gaode’s figure disappeared from sight.

He truly couldn’t do anything about it.

He would never dare to violate the academy’s rules, even with his background in the Harrell Clan, and even as the Chief of the Alchemy Department who was infinitely close to becoming a 2nd Ring Mage.

After all, in the Sean Duchy, if the Sean Royal Family was the number one Mage Force, the Cyrus Magic Academy was undoubtedly second. Moreover, as long as the Sean Duchy stood, this ranking would likely never change.

Gerry Harrell absolutely did not dare to act recklessly within the academy.

"What exactly is this bumpkin’s background? His sheer audacity doesn’t seem like he’s from the countryside," Gerry Harrell seethed inwardly, gnashing his teeth at the memory of Gaode’s recent attitude.

Over a decade ago, in order for him to enter the Cyrus Magic Academy with the highest privileges, his father had dispatched men all the way to Bremen City. Their goal was to secure a recommendation letter from the former dean, Gavin Hogg.

It ended in failure.

Rumor had it that the last descendant of the Norman Clan was unwilling to hand over the recommendation letter. Taking advantage of the distraction of his father’s men, the descendant fled with the letter and vanished without a trace.

This matter should have passed.

Although he couldn’t enter the Cyrus Academy with the highest privileges through the recommendation letter, it wasn’t difficult to secure an admission quota given the power and status of the Harrell Clan. After entering the Cyrus Academy through this quota, with the support of his clan’s resources, he achieved considerable success, even becoming the Chief of the Alchemy Department for the past two years.

He had long tossed the matter of the letter to the back of his mind.

That was until yesterday, when his father received news that someone had actually entered the Cyrus Academy using former Dean Gavin Hogg’s recommendation letter. According to his father, Gavin Hogg had only ever issued two recommendation letters during his tenure.

One was given to the Harrell Clan, and the other was held by the Norman Clan.

Therefore, without a doubt, the recommendation letter Gaode used was the one that was supposed to "belong" to him.

Upon hearing this news, an inexplicable surge of fury instantly rushed to Gerry Harrell’s head. The memories he had long forgotten came flooding back.

In his mind, that recommendation letter was essentially his property. Now that a Wild Mage from the countryside had used it, it felt as if a petty thief had stolen what was rightfully his. How could he not be infuriated?

Besides, what right did a rural Wild Mage have to enjoy privileges that even he had never experienced?

However, approaching Gaode with absolute certainty of success, only to receive such a dismissive response, left Gerry Harrell both furious and bewildered.

Gaode quickened his pace along the familiar path, and before long, he arrived at the bottom of Kuli Cliff once more.

The incident in the cafeteria hadn’t caused much of a ripple in his heart.

In fact, when anyone experienced a situation where life and death hung by a mere thread during the very beginning of their transmigration—their so-called "starting phase"—it would be very difficult for their mindset to be swayed by such trivial matters later on.

Gaode swam out from the shallow waters of the riverbank toward the safety pillar. After securing the safety rope around himself, he took a deep breath, lowered his head, and plunged beneath the river’s surface.

Although the river water was still freezing in the afternoon, it was clearly not as unbearable as it had been in the morning.

"The afternoon is the golden time to enter the water. I’ll need to bring dry rations tomorrow; I can’t afford to waste time traveling back and forth," Gaode thought to himself.

Compared to his clumsy attempts in the morning, his diving skills had improved significantly by the afternoon. As his diving depth increased, Gaode activated his Magic Model, casting [Detect Magic+]. Spiritual Light flashed in his eyes as he began searching for Maiden Clams hidden in the silt at the bottom of the river.

With the aid of Magic, his clam-harvesting efficiency now solely depended on the density of the Maiden Clams.

Three minutes later, Gaode surfaced on the river, slowly exhaling the stale air from his lungs.

His gaze swept casually across the shore, noticing that Instructor Sahu had appeared on the riverbank at some unknown point. Before all the new students completed their enrollment tasks, he would accompany them the entire time, acting as both a caretaker and a supervisor.

Gaode was gradually getting used to Instructor Sahu’s presence. He took another massive gulp of air and dove back down. He continuously repeated this action, diving into the water and surfacing for air back and forth.

Half an hour after Gaode had entered the water, the other five students gradually arrived at the bottom of Kuli Cliff. They picked up their tools and headed into the mine shafts to begin their afternoon shifts.

Although these youths born into the Nobility, known as the "Second Generation of Magic," had distinct personalities, those who were sent to the Cyrus Academy were generally the most outstanding talents within their respective clans. They all thoroughly understood one principle: if they couldn’t change something, they had to try their best to adapt to it.

Two hours later, with a SPLASH, Gaode surfaced once again near the safety pillar.

On the riverbank, Luke, Candice, Jelica, and the remaining two were no longer working; instead, they were taking a break. They hadn’t planned it, but surprisingly, they were all waiting for Gaode.

Seeing Gaode pop his head out of the water, Kaplan was the first to speak. Unable to hold back, he asked before Gaode could even reach the shore, "Did you manage to harvest any Maiden Clams this afternoon?"

"A modest haul." Gaode chuckled softly and began to untie his basket from the safety pillar.

To save trouble, Gaode had temporarily fastened his basket to the pillar. The harvested Maiden Clams were tossed directly into it, saving him the Physical Strength needed for an extra trip to the shore.

He quickly detached the basket, slung it over his back, and swam vigorously toward the bank. The group on the shore exchanged glances, somewhat incredulous. Kaplan, in particular, stared at Gaode with wide eyes.

Two minutes later, Gaode reached the shore. He set the basket aside, dried his body, and started to get dressed.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Kaplan leaned in and opened the basket to inspect it. The next moment, an expression of utter shock—as if he had seen a ghost—washed over his face.

Seeing Kaplan’s reaction, the others instantly couldn’t hold back either and clustered around for a look. Even Instructor Sahu "inadvertently" cast a glance toward Gaode’s basket.

Inside, three beautiful Maiden Clams were resting quietly.

"Wow, three Maiden Clams! That’s equivalent to 150 kilograms of Water Gold Ore..." Candice was the first to exclaim in awe. She sighed from the bottom of her heart, "Good heavens, comparing yourself to others will only drive you mad!"

That afternoon, she had gradually adapted a bit to the Strength demands of the mine. Her yield was slightly higher than in the morning, netting her around seventeen or eighteen kilograms of Water Gold Ore. But compared to Gaode... there was simply no comparison.

"I’ve always been somewhat lucky," Gaode said with a smile.

Candice calculated seriously, "Harvesting four Maiden Clams in one day is equivalent to 200 kilograms of Water Gold Ore. Gaode, if you keep up this streak of luck, you’ll only need... 15 days to complete the enrollment task?!

"Even Dean Gavin Hogg took 25 days!"

"I just got lucky with this haul on the first day. It’s hard to say what will happen later on, and it will definitely get harder to harvest Maiden Clams as time goes by," Gaode replied calmly.

Hearing him say this, the others nodded in agreement. This was indeed the reality. There were only so many Maiden Clams in total. If a large number were harvested in the first few days, they would naturally become harder to find later.

By then, Gaode had finished dressing.

"I’ll head up first. The Alchemy Department will send someone to collect the Water Gold Ore, but I have to deliver the Maiden Clams to the Magic Potion Department personally." He placed all the Maiden Clams harvested that afternoon into a fresh basket and prepared to scale the cliff.

"Oh, right, Gaode! How did you end up offending the Chief of the Alchemy Department?" Candice suddenly remembered the incident and quickly asked.

The confrontation in the cafeteria at noon had already spread in small circles. Gerry Harrell was, after all, the Chief student of a department, yet he had publicly targeted a new student in the cafeteria—one who hadn’t even completed his enrollment task and was rumored to have entered with a recommendation letter from the former academy dean. This matter was quite sensational, possessing more than one juicy detail, so it made perfect sense that the gossip was spreading.

"What else could it be? It’s because he was able to enroll with the highest privileges thanks to a recommendation letter, and the Chief of the Alchemy Department wasn’t happy about it..." Roya chimed in sourly from the side.

Although he was also "jealous" of Gaode’s privileges, if forced to choose between Gaode and Gerry Harrell, he would definitely side with Gaode—a fellow new student he could barely consider an acquaintance.

"Perhaps," Gaode replied dismissively. Hoisting the basket of Maiden Clams onto his back, he swiftly scaled the cliff.

His effortless ascent once again filled the remaining five with deep envy. They hadn’t even started hauling the Water Gold Ore they dug up this afternoon to the top of the cliff!

On this very day, the first day of the enrollment task, Gaode submitted 4 Maiden Clams to the Magic Potion Department, the equivalent of 200 kilograms of Water Gold Ore.

He had completed one-fifteenth of the enrollment task in a single day. Whether attributed to true skill or sheer luck, something like this had not occurred at the Cyrus Academy for a very long time.

This news was currently brewing alongside the cafeteria gossip from noon.

Gaode, merely a Second-Class Mage Apprentice, was beginning to make his mark within the academy in a highly unique fashion.