Chapter 127 - 126: Cultivation Room

Chapter 127: Chapter 126: Cultivation Room

Gaode also chose *Rune Science*. Regardless of whether this course was easy to learn or if he was even interested in it, since his assigned mentor was the head of the Rune Department, would it be appropriate for him not to choose *Rune Science*? First and foremost, he needed to show the proper attitude. Gaode still understood this bit of worldly wisdom.

He could currently only choose the First Stage course of *Rune Science*. Upon completion, he could earn 1 credit, and the course fee was 10 Gold Coins. Meanwhile, the *Rune Science* course had a total of seven stages. Completing all of them would earn him 28 credits. For comparison, the other two courses among the Three Royal Families, *Magic Potion* and *Alchemy*, only had five stages. Completing them entirely would yield a mere 15 credits. From this difference alone, it was evident that the entry threshold for *Rune Science* was indeed extremely high.

Finally, Gaode chose two branch courses under *Magic Potion*: *Medicinal Materials General Knowledge* and *Magic Plant Cultivation*. This was where his true interests lay. The former would ensure he didn’t miss valuable Magic Plants or Magic Potion Materials found on Earth Vein Creatures when hunting in the wild, while the latter was simply in his blood. After all, who from his homeland wouldn’t have an inherent love for farming? Moreover, as long as he had the idea of making money by concocting Magic Potions, a Herb Garden was absolutely necessary. Correspondingly, to operate a Herb Garden, *Magic Plant Cultivation* was a mandatory course.

Both courses offered 2 credits, and their fees were 20 Gold Coins each.

"Are you sure you want to take so many courses?" the old man asked, looking shocked after hearing Gaode’s selections.

Gaode had chosen a total of eight courses, including *Rune Science*, which was widely recognized as the most obscure and difficult to learn. If he could complete them all and pass the assessments, he would earn a full 13 credits in his first academic year. Even looking at all the past students of Cyrus Academy, those who took so many courses in their first year were few and far between. He could easily be called a King of Competition.

Gaode nodded slightly. "I’m sure."

In fact, he wanted to choose even more courses to study. However, he hadn’t yet figured out the learning difficulty of these courses, so he chose conservatively for now. If the subsequent courses went smoothly, Gaode would add extra courses later.

The old man didn’t waste words trying to persuade him; he only needed to do his job well. As for students aiming too high, picking a bunch of courses only to bite off more than they could chew, spending a lot of time and money but failing to pass the assessments—that was none of his business. Everyone had to be responsible for their own choices.

"The *General Magic Recognition* course is full for this term. You’ll need to wait for the next term to take it..." The old man looked down at the course schedule and spoke methodically.

"Wait a minute?!" But the next moment, as if discovering something, he abruptly looked up at Gaode and couldn’t help asking, "You have the highest authority?!"

Gaode thought for a moment, and after confirming that the so-called highest treatment should be equivalent to the highest authority, he nodded.

The old man opened his mouth, eventually saying, "You have the highest authority. According to the academy’s regulations, you enjoy priority in course selection...

"So, you don’t have to wait for the next term for *General Magic Recognition*. You can directly enter this term’s class.

"The First Stage course of *Mage Basics*, the First Stage course of *Magic Application and Combat*, *Basic Cultural Course*, the First Stage course of *Rune Science*... A total of eight courses," the old man said, making his final confirmation. "You need to pay a total course fee of 120 Gold Coins."

Gaode had already calculated the fees he needed to pay before coming here, but when the time actually came, he found his heart still aching at the cost. He took out his coin pouch, reluctantly counted out 120 Sean Gold Coins, and pushed them toward the old man.

The old man smilingly collected Gaode’s "tuition fees." After operating the Alchemy Machine for a moment, he returned Gaode’s identity nameplate. "You’re all registered."

"Thank you," Gaode replied politely, though he inwardly agonized over the expense—his savings had just dropped below the 100 Gold Coins mark. More accurately, it had plummeted to 92 gold and 17 silver coins.

After finishing his course selection and leaving the committee building, Gaode checked the time. It was already past 3:00 PM. This was clearly not a suitable time to report in. Therefore, he decided to wait until tomorrow to report to his mentor. His next destination was the Cultivation Building, a place he had been curious about for a long time.

Coincidentally, Gaode had replenished ten sets of Basic Magic Potions on the 22nd of the Harvest Moon. Today happened to be the 22nd of the Dark Night Moon, and the ten sets of Basic Magic Potions had just been used up. If the Cultivation Room in the Cultivation Building had a decent effect, as long as it wasn’t much worse than a Basic Magic Potion, Gaode planned to switch his cultivation there. After all, a Magic Potion expense of 2 Gold Coins a day was truly becoming unaffordable for him, especially since he now had to pay for course selections.

The Cultivation Building was also an independent structure. Because it was a place for cultivation, the surrounding area was extremely quiet. It wasn’t far from the committee building and was located right on the mandatory path between District One and the committee, so Gaode arrived there quickly.

The building’s exterior was extremely classical and unadorned. What made this structure truly valuable was the Magic Node Array established beneath its foundation.

In front of the Cultivation Building stood a statue. It was the statue of the first dean of Cyrus Academy, Ronan Hogg. He was a Fifth-Ring Great Mage. It was said that he had been infinitely close to becoming a Sixth-Ring Mage, but unfortunately, his advancement had failed.

Past 3:00 PM was class time for many students. Even so, there were quite a few students entering and exiting the Cultivation Building. After all, apart from the dormitories, the Cultivation Building was probably the most frequently visited place by students in the academy. None of the students coming and going paid much attention to Gaode. Everyone was busy with their own affairs.

Gaode walked toward the Cultivation Building. The entrance was enveloped by a Magic Array. The students’ identity nameplates served as the access keys. After swiping his identity nameplate, Gaode entered one of the most important buildings in Cyrus Academy.

The first floor of the Cultivation Building was also a lobby. It appeared slightly deserted and featured a reception counter. Gaode walked up to the counter and looked at the young woman in charge of reception.

"Hello, would you like to use a Basic Cultivation Room or rent a High Tier Cultivation Room?" The woman, whose hair was coiled up, glanced at Gaode. After confirming he was a new face, she smiled and said, "You can check the specific prices and requirements here." She pointed to the sign hanging in front of the counter.

Gaode’s gaze swept over it.

"Basic Cultivation Room. Magic Concentration: 10. Free for all official students."

"One Tier Cultivation Room. Magic Concentration: 46. Rental Fee: 10 silver coins / 2 hours. Requirement: 10 credits or more."

"Two Tier Cultivation Room. Magic Concentration: 215. Rental Fee: 2 Gold Coins / 2 hours. Requirement: 50 credits or more."

"Three Tier Cultivation Room. Magic Concentration: 1000. Rental Fee: 10 Gold Coins / 2 hours. Not open to students."

The level of the Cultivation Room was determined by the numerical value of the Magic Concentration, and its classification standards strictly followed the classification of Spirit Lands.

An area with a Magic Concentration greater than 10 could be called a Basic Spiritual Land, which was sufficient to supply a Mage Apprentice with rapid progress when cultivating their Guiding Technique. A Magic Concentration of 46 or higher was a One Tier Spiritual Land, sufficient for a 1st Ring Mage to cultivate. A Magic Concentration of 215 or higher was a Tier Two Spiritual Land. A Magic Concentration of 1000 or higher was a Tier Three Spiritual Land. The rest followed this pattern, corresponding one to one.

The Magic Concentration of the academy’s Cultivation Rooms rested precisely on the threshold of each tier of Spiritual Land.

"Get me a Basic Cultivation Room," Gaode said.

The female receptionist with coiled hair flipped through the booklet in her hands and said, "Room 37 on the second floor. Once you enter, just swipe your identity nameplate to activate the Magic Node Array."

"Thank you." Gaode nodded and took the stairs up to the second floor.

The Cultivation Building had a total of six floors. The first, second, and third floors were all Basic Cultivation Rooms. The fourth floor housed the One Tier Cultivation Rooms, the fifth floor had the Two Tier Cultivation Rooms, and the sixth floor had the Three Tier Cultivation Rooms.

The second floor was a long, narrow corridor flanked by tightly shut doors of Basic Cultivation Rooms. There were an estimated sixty to seventy rooms in total. Following the door numbers, Gaode found his assigned Basic Cultivation Room 37. Its door was wide open.

The Cultivation Room was very small, only about three or four square meters in size. However, Mage cultivation wasn’t like Martial Arts cultivation, which required space to practice Martial Arts. They only needed to sit cross-legged and calmly practice their Guiding Technique. This amount of space was absolutely more than enough. For Mages, what mattered in a cultivation environment was the Magic Concentration, not comfort.

Gaode stepped into Cultivation Room 37, closed the door, and just as the female receptionist had instructed, swiped his identity nameplate over the Magic Array by the entrance.

The next moment, the Magic Concentration in the Cultivation Room slowly began to rise. Near the door, there was a crude Alchemy Item resembling a display screen—a Magic Detection Device—which showed the Magic Concentration inside the room. Gaode waited for nearly a minute, watching the Magic Concentration displayed on the Magic Detection Device rise steadily from the initial 2 to 12. Finally, it stopped changing and stabilized.

The Magic Node Array could regulate the Magic Concentration at every node within its area, but some slight fluctuations and errors were inevitable. Therefore, the Magic Concentration of the Cultivation Rooms marked on the sign at the reception counter was not an exact value, but rather an extremely conservative lower limit. What Cyrus Academy guaranteed was that the Magic Concentration of the Cultivation Room would definitely not fall below the labeled value.

Gaode sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Apprentice Guidance Technique, starting his cultivation for the day.

As soon as he entered a Meditation State, he "saw" extremely abundant Star Dust representing Magic Power floating around him. It emitted specks of starlight and was almost gathering into clusters. As his Guiding Technique circulated, the nearly clustered Star Dust acted like long dragons. It was guided into Gaode’s body, slowly refined, and converted to increase his own Mana.

Although the cultivation efficiency couldn’t compare to consuming Basic Magic Potions, it was far better than being a Naked Cultivator. Gaode immediately immersed himself in this sensation, devoting himself to his cultivation and unable to extricate himself.

Time slowly flowed by.