Chapter 173: Finding the Magic Association.

In the end, they decided to get their magic badges first. As for lunch, they spent a few silver coins on six pieces of toasted bread from a roadside stall and washed them down with warm water from their flasks.

Shu Li offered to buy Ace some bread, but Ace politely declined. He said the flatbread he had eaten in the carriage still hadn’t digested and he wasn’t hungry, so Shu Li let it go.

On the way to the Magic Association, the Light Squad told their new human member their real names. Shu Li also asked Ace whether he would like to travel with them so they could look after one another.

“I want to earn some money for the journey first.” Ace had thought it over, but his mind was made up. “I don’t have a coin to my name, and it’ll take at least another month to reach the Central Court. I can’t keep relying on your charity.”

Seeing how firm he was, Shu Li discussed it with his companions, then said, “We’ll work and earn money with you!”

This was supposed to be a journey of discovery. They ought to try all kinds of things and immerse themselves in the human world.

They had plenty of gold coins in their storage rings, but they couldn’t spend them freely. Wouldn’t earning money through their own work feel satisfying?

As a young dragon, Amanda had always been doted on by his elders. He had received so many gifts over the years that his cave was piled with gold and silver, and nothing made him happier than sleeping on top of it. Now that he had left Dragon Island to experience human life, everything felt new and exciting. When Shu Li suggested working alongside Ace, Amanda was the first to raise his hand.

Once he returned to Dragon Island, he would show off the first money he had earned to his elders.

The Little Fairies were much the same. They had achieved financial freedom long ago.

At birth, each of them had received a rare gift bestowed by the Light God, giving them something to start with. Later, they had completed tasks, gathered herbs, and mined ore, building up considerable savings. They had brought half their possessions with them when they left the Faerie Forest.

But they were posing as poor mountain villagers. Naturally, they had to behave the part: live frugally, spend sparingly, and never pass up a chance to earn money.

Once everyone agreed, they headed eagerly to a weapon shop and picked out six of its cheapest magic staffs.

Shu Li already had a magic staff made by the Mother Tree. After learning to forge, he had polished some leftover scraps of sunstone and used them to replace the inferior magic stone at its tip.

The upgraded staff had become a seventh-rank weapon, unsuitable for a Mage Apprentice. So before leaving the Faerie Forest, he and his companions had agreed to buy low-rank magic staffs together once they reached a town.

With their staffs in hand, they went next door to a clothing shop and bought ordinary magic robes that fit them.

Dressed in robes and carrying staffs, they finally looked like Mage Apprentices.

The Light Squad and their human classmate set off for the Magic Association in high spirits.

The seven striking young men immediately drew attention as they walked down the street. Passersby kept turning to look at them.

The youths themselves seemed entirely unaware of it. They looked around as though searching for something, stopping several pedestrians to ask politely for directions. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

When people heard they were looking for the town’s Magic Association, they were invariably surprised, and their gazes grew a little more respectful.

Mages stood above ordinary citizens. Those of high rank were treated much like nobles; if a Saint Mage came to town, even the mayor and the city lord would have to wait respectfully at the gates to receive them.

Twenty minutes later, the youths finally found the Magic Association.

Compared with the one in Da’auto City, the town’s branch was tiny. Even so, it was grander than the buildings around it. Perhaps it had ample funding and underwent repairs every year: its walls looked new, without a single crack.

“Wow, so this is the Magic Association?” Dicio and Budno exclaimed, sounding like country boys seeing the world for the first time.

Back when Danlov had taught them, they had heard him talk about how he had established branches of the Magic Association across the continent. They had wanted to see one ever since, and now they finally could.

“Let’s get inside!” Amanda rubbed his hands together, unable to wait.

“Everyone, remember to hold back a little,” Angel reminded them pointedly. He was afraid they would get carried away and reveal their true strength.

Shu Li asked Ace, “Once they have their magic badges, can we ask someone at the association to help us find work?”

Ace nodded. “Of course.”

The group soon stepped through the Magic Association’s doors.

In the hall, the mage receiving visitors greeted the seven remarkable young men with a warm smile.

“Hello. Welcome to the Kesheng Town Magic Association.”

As captain of the Light Squad, Shu Li stepped forward to greet him. “Hello. We’re here to have our magic levels tested.”

The receptionist paused. “All of you?”

What kind of day was this? Seven youths seeking magic level tests had arrived at once in this remote town. Usually, they were lucky to see two in an entire month.

Shu Li turned to the human youth beside him. “Ace, do you want to update the level on your magic badge?”

Ace shook his head. “Not for now.”

Shu Li turned back to the mage. “I need a level test. The other five need both their initial magic badges and level tests.”

Shu Li had received his badge at ten. Eight years had passed; it was time to raise his recorded level.

“Certainly. Please follow me.” Beaming, the mage led them to the registration counter.

Whichever branch performed a mage’s initial registration received a contribution point for it. At the end of the year, branches with enough points could exchange them for various rewards at the Magic Tower in the Central Court.

With five contribution points arriving all at once, how could the mage be anything but delighted?

The clerk’s eyes lit up at the sight of the youths lining up. Grinning from ear to ear, he filled out their forms with impressive speed.

Kumandi went first, clearly stating his name and age.

Like the other Little Fairies, he shaved a few years off and said he was eighteen. A Fairy’s face stopped changing at around twenty anyway. If he had claimed to be twenty-eight, the clerk would have been far more suspicious.

Form in hand, he stepped aside to wait quietly. Angel, Dicio, and Budno followed. When Amanda’s turn came, he copied the others and lowered his age from twenty-two to eighteen. Dragons remained young for just as long as Little Fairies did. No one would believe he was in his early twenties if he insisted on it.

Shu Li only needed to update his magic level. As soon as he placed his badge on the testing device, his information appeared.

The clerk paused at the sight of the badge. Then he noticed that Shu Li’s initial registration had been in Da’auto City and gave him a second, surprised look.

He handed Shu Li a test form and directed them to the testing halls, where an instructor would explain what to do.

The facilities at this remote branch were modest, with only two testing halls, so the Light Squad split into two groups.

Testing Hall One: Shu Li, Dicio, and Angel.

Testing Hall Two: Kumandi, Budno, and Amanda.

Ace watched them go inside, then returned to the main hall. He approached the receptionist, showed him his own magic badge, and asked courteously, “Hello. Might I ask you for some help?”

A dusty gray hooded cloak covered his clothes, but beneath it he wore a fine magic robe. When he lowered his hood, gleaming golden hair framed a handsome face. The sight left the mage momentarily dazed, as though those deep green eyes might draw out his soul.

“Hello. Might I ask you for some help?” Ace repeated.

The receptionist came back to himself, embarrassed. He was much too old to be staring at a boy like that.

Still, the youth’s looks were extraordinary. Perhaps not even the nobles in the royal capital had hair such a pure shade of gold.

The mage gave him a friendly smile. “Of course, if it’s within my power.”

“Thank you very much,” Ace said. “I’m from the Izerafa Empire. I was on my way to enroll at Saint Velia Magic School when bandits attacked me and stole all my possessions. I haven’t a coin left. I’m sorry to tell you so much, but it’s a long way from here to the Central Court, and I need to earn enough for the journey before I can continue. So...”

Under the mage’s sympathetic gaze, the blond youth asked earnestly, “Could the Magic Association help us find work?”

“Us?” The mage blinked.

Ace smiled. “Yes.”

In Testing Hall One, Dicio was the first to touch the crystal ball and test his magical affinity.

The instructor was a beautiful female mage. Smiling warmly at him, she said, “Please place your right hand on the crystal ball and release your magical power.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Dicio replied.

Controlling his power as carefully as he could, he rested his right hand lightly against the crystal. At once, a vivid scarlet light shone inside it.

“Congratulations,” the instructor said. “You have a remarkably pure affinity for fire magic.”

Dicio withdrew his hand and looked at Shu Li. Shu Li nodded, silently praising him for a job well done.

Delighted to have earned his boss’s approval, Dicio went on to test his magic level.

He raised his unremarkable staff and chanted toward the wall ahead in flawless Elven. “Great Fire God Amafa Chips, I am Dicio, your faithful believer. I ask you to command the elements of fire to gather around me and grant me a fireball that will burn everything in its path—”

The fire elements in the air stirred, searching for the youth who had summoned them. But they soon settled again. Only a handful of red “slimes” drifted slowly toward the tip of his inferior staff.

The rest could only stare from a distance.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to come closer. A wall had been raised nearby, blocking their way.

Boom!

The small fireball struck the testing wall and exploded.

The instructor clapped. “Very good. Level four, which makes you an Intermediate Mage Apprentice.”

Dicio lowered his staff, winked at Shu Li, and said happily, “Thank you, ma’am.”

The instructor finished filling out his form and called the next person forward.

Angel handed her his form. Without waiting for instructions, he placed his hand on the crystal ball.

A dazzling white light flared inside it.

“Light magic!” the instructor exclaimed.

Mages with an affinity for light were relatively rare on the continent. Perhaps only one in a hundred Mage Apprentices possessed it. Magic schools placed great value on those with a single affinity and spared no effort in training them, hoping to develop capable fighters against the forces of darkness.

Once this boy named Angel reached the Central Court, he would have a brilliant future ahead of him.

After the affinity test, Angel raised his staff and recited a light magic incantation.

Boom!

A small ball of light shot out like lightning. It struck the testing wall and burst into blinding white radiance.

“Level four. Intermediate Mage Apprentice,” the instructor praised him.

As she wrote down her assessment, she thought how remarkably accurate both boys’ Elven incantations were.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Angel took back his form and joined Dicio to watch their boss’s turn.

Shu Li only needed a level test, so he had no reason to touch the crystal ball.

The instructor took his magic badge. When she saw the seven differently colored symbols on it, she stared in shock.

“You’re a Seven-Element Magic Apprentice?!”