Chapter 124 - 123: New Record: 19 Days!

Chapter 124: Chapter 123: New Record: 19 Days!

In the time that followed, Gaode’s life at the academy went on without any further minor hiccups.

The threat from Gerry Harrell seemed to have fizzled out, likely because Gaode had chosen the Clam Collection Stream over the Mining Stream. After all, the Alchemy Department couldn’t extend its reach into the Magic Potion Department.

The various departments within the Magic Skills Department were already at odds with one another. Resources were limited; if one side took more, the other would have to settle for less. As the major branches of the Magic Skills Department, the Alchemy Department and the Magic Potion Department had always been in a state of rivalry, and their instructors and students had never gotten along particularly well.

Gerry Harrell’s status as the chief student of the Alchemy Department truly held little weight here in the Magic Potion Department. Since Gerry Harrell wasn’t coming to bother him, Gaode was naturally happy to see things play out this way. He didn’t dwell on whether some bigger scheme was waiting for him down the line, focusing solely on his own business.

Between Building 30 in the First District, the bottom of Kuli Cliff, and the dining hall, Gaode mechanically repeated his strict three-point routine: Dive into the water to collect clams—return to shore to recover Mana and body temperature—dive again—eat—cultivate—sleep—dive again...

Every day, he managed to collect a minimum of two Maiden Clams and a maximum of five.

Although he had the assistance of [Detect Magic+], Gaode’s physical limitations restricted his area of activity. He couldn’t—and didn’t dare to—venture into the center of the river to harvest clams. The river’s center was exactly where the Maiden Clams were most densely concentrated. The edge of the Deep Water District where he operated did have Maiden Clams, but the numbers were sparse. If not for his "built-in radar," anyone else relying purely on blind groping might not even find a single clam in a whole day.

It was no wonder that the average time for new students taking the Clam Collection Stream to complete their enrollment task exceeded three months. After all, aside from Gaode, anyone who chose the Clam Collection Stream was already an exceptional swimmer. Even with that prerequisite, the fact that it still took so long was a clear testament to the sheer difficulty of the task.

Gaode’s consistently stable harvest was something no one else could possibly achieve. Unwaveringly focused, he was completely unaware of the waves his results were beginning to make throughout the academy as time passed.

He was much more concerned with the fact that his savings were rapidly dwindling.

The academy dining hall’s specialty dishes surprisingly changed every single day without ever repeating. With an average price of nearly ten Silver Coins per portion, they were extremely expensive. However, the specialty dishes provided by the dining hall had incredibly obvious effects when it came to replenishing one’s vitality and blood. Therefore, Gaode, who had been constantly diving for clams lately, didn’t shortchange himself; he ordered the specialty dish for dinner every night.

Under these circumstances, a single Sean Gold Coin was only enough to cover two days’ worth of his food expenses. This was the exact reason his savings were depleting so fast—food.

Days went by.

Dark Night Moon, the 12th.

The number of Maiden Clams Gaode had handed in reached twenty-nine, marking the halfway point of his enrollment task. It was also on this night that his Guiding Technique achieved another minor breakthrough, increasing his Mana enough to cast nine Tricks in a single breath. His bank balance, meanwhile, dropped to 217 Gold Coins and 16 Silver Coins.

Dark Night Moon, the 15th.

Total Maiden Clams submitted: 38. A double blessing arrived. Gaode’s apprentice-level Meditation Technique, which had been stagnating for a while, finally saw a breakthrough on this day, successfully manifesting the ninth lotus petal.

Over these past few days, news about Gaode had gradually spread, sending the entire Cyrus Magic Academy into an uproar. People couldn’t believe someone had actually managed to enroll with the highest level of treatment by relying on nothing but a "recommendation letter."

The last person to enter the Cyrus Magic Academy with such elite treatment was now a Fourth-Ring Mage, widely regarded as the next Chief Mage of the Royal Mage Corps. Thus, whether it was the commoner Mages who had earned their spots through rigorous entrance exams or the "Second Generation of Magic" who had also used back channels, everyone felt intensely indignant about Gaode’s enrollment perks. The former, as commoners from the bottom rungs of society, inherently despised anything reeking of "privilege," while the latter, being part of the "privileged" class themselves, hated the existence of someone even more "privileged" than they were.

Perhaps this had been Gerry Harrell’s true intention all along.

Making things difficult for Gaode during the enrollment task was only his backup plan. His real overt scheme was to expose Gaode’s method of enrollment, thereby inciting the dissatisfaction and ostracization of the vast majority of the academy’s students.

If you were a true genius or came from an extraordinary background, others would simply swallow their displeasure at your privileges. But as a Wild Mage from the countryside—someone with neither talent nor background—enjoying the highest level of treatment meant you were ’undeserving of the status.’ Naturally, you would face intentional or unintentional targeting from others.

However, before this widespread resentment could fully brew, new information about Gaode surfaced. Gaode, who had chosen the Clam Collection Stream for his enrollment task, was advancing his progress at a terrifying pace. If he could maintain this momentum, it seemed imminent that the 25-day record set by the former Dean, Gavin Hogg, would be broken.

Before this, the entirety of Cyrus Academy assumed Gaode was just a country bumpkin who had stumbled into a stroke of dumb luck. But with his astonishing performance in the enrollment task, public opinion regarding him began to shift slightly. Although the enrollment task didn’t necessarily prove anything and couldn’t provide any reference for a Mage’s future achievements, the possibility of the former Dean’s record being broken was exceptionally eye-catching.

Some senior students had already started taking bets on whether Gaode could shatter the old Dean’s record. Later on, the bets even evolved into how many days it would take for him to set the new record. The Magic Potion Department was exceptionally cooperative, providing real-time daily updates on Gaode’s progress.

As for the bustling excitement within the academy and the discussions centered around him, Gaode hadn’t heard a word of it. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared. Right now, his sole focus was on completing the enrollment task as quickly as possible.

Dark Night Moon, the 16th—the 13th day of his enrollment task.

The number of Maiden Clams Gaode submitted broke past forty.

The 17th. His luck was off the charts; he harvested six Maiden Clams in a single day.

The 18th. The law of conservation of luck struck; he only managed to collect two Maiden Clams today.

The 19th...

The 21st—the 18th day of his enrollment task.

The total number of Maiden Clams Gaode had handed in reached 57. He was only 150 kilograms of Water Gold Ore short of finishing the task, which meant just three more Maiden Clams.

Dark Night Moon, the 22nd.

Just like always, after the Sun had risen high in the sky, Gaode braved the chill and dove into the river. Nearly half a month of clam collecting had drastically improved his aquatic skills. Compared to when he first started, he was in a completely different league.

However, his clam collection progress hadn’t seen much of an increase as a result. This was because the number of Maiden Clams at the edge of the Deep Water District was limited; every clam harvested meant one less to find. The further along he got, the harder it became to locate even a single Maiden Clam. It was only thanks to [Detect Magic+], which allowed him to conduct carpet searches, that Gaode was able to maintain steady progress in his clam collection.

Gaode plunged headfirst into the water once more, roaming through this familiar section of the riverbed. The faint glow representing Detect Magic flickered in his eyes.

A moment later, a Magic Spirit Light flared up in a corner of the riverbed, reflecting into his eyes. His heart skipped a beat as he kicked his legs, swiftly approaching the corner. He reached out and gently brushed away the settled silt. Sure enough, his hand brushed against a clam shell.

Steadying his racing heart, Gaode swept away the rest of the mud surrounding the shell. Then, cradling the Maiden Clam in both hands, he gave a powerful kick and began his ascent toward the river’s surface.

On the riverbank, Instructor Sahu had been waiting for Gaode to emerge. He was equally aware of and invested in the progress of the enrollment task.

"Why did you surface so quickly this time? Did you find something?" Seeing Gaode’s head break the surface of the river, Instructor Sahu asked in disbelief. Having monitored this batch of new students for over half a month, he knew that Gaode usually stayed submerged for at least three minutes per dive before resurfacing. Yet this time, barely a minute or two had passed since he went under.

Gaode had no way of knowing what Instructor Sahu was thinking. He simply placed his freshly harvested Maiden Clam into the woven basket tied to the safety pillar, untied the rope, slung the basket onto his back, and swam toward the shore.

Seeing Gaode’s actions, Instructor Sahu knew exactly what this meant—he had actually finished it.

Gaode soon reached the shore. He set the basket aside and began getting dressed.

"It’s been many years since Dean Gavin set this record. Everyone thought no new student would ever break it." Instructor Sahu glanced at the three Maiden Clams resting quietly in Gaode’s basket, let out a long breath, and sighed in admiration. "Nineteen days. You only took nineteen days to complete the enrollment task. That’s a mere third of the average time it takes other new students."

Gaode nodded in deep agreement. "If I had taken the mining route, I don’t think any new student would be able to break this record for another hundred years."

Three thousand kilograms of Water Gold Ore, completed in 25 days—that was an average of 120 kilograms per day. Unless a new student somehow managed to reach the 1st Ring Mage Level upon enrollment, breaking this record without the enhancement of Magic would be truly difficult.

As for himself...

The Clam Collection Stream and the Mining Stream were never in the same lane to begin with. Therefore, Gaode felt no sense of complacency about breaking Dean Gavin Hogg’s Mining Stream record using the Clam Collection Stream. In fact, he considered himself to have taken an unfair advantage.

But regardless, the academy recognized this record.

And that was enough!