The Righteous Player(s)

Chapter 286: A Letter From Swamp’s Black Tower

Freezing Water Port city’s main office.

“…Whose letter?” Salvatore looked curiously at the letter that was teleported to his table.

This was a simple and common ritual — three purple pine wood and a piece of amethyst were enough to construct a one-way teleportation portal. Although the portal couldn’t deliver anything and everything, people who mastered this ritual could use a special aluminum foil to send messages to each other.

Almost every wizard tower had a similar tradition mainly used to notify tutors to come back to class. The cost of the ritual itself was minimal, but it required a code similar to a “phone number” — this number only had two digits, and each wizard tower had an independent numbering system. Therefore, one would generally get their number when they have reached the Silver Rank.

Salvatore had also gotten a copy in advance because of his special status.

It was impossible for the tutors at the wizard toward to stay in the tower all year round when they were Transcendeds guaranteed to attain Silver Rank. They also had their own matters to deal with, family and friends to socialize with, as well as materials, curse vessels, and influences to look for.

Although there were plenty of materials in the wizard tower for these tutors, the influence was hard to come by. There wouldn’t even be corpses in the wizard tower after a nightmare, let alone a nightmare.

Take Swamp’s Black Tower as an example. Although the children they recruited were all around the age of fourteen, their teaching model differed from the schools outside.

—Because they didn’t have teaching materials.

On the one hand, the Great Wizards were too lazy to prepare them. On the other hand, the diligent wizards would not necessarily be acknowledged by other wizards.

Every year, Swamp’s Black Tower would recruit new wizard apprentices. There would usually be about sixty or seventy of them, no more than a hundred at most.

The tower was said to be a wizard school, but there was only one tower in total in the continent. Although this tower was enormous, it was simultaneously used for learning, research, and lodging. So, they couldn’t recruit too many people.

In the first two years, a typical wizard apprentice would have to learn and apply the general knowledge of spells, common knowledge in the Transcended circle, mathematics, Elvish language, basic rune, painting and sculpture, and hand-to-hand combat, as well as military weapons. These subjects were elective courses offered every three months. There were no textbooks nor holidays. If there was anything they didn’t understand, they would have to either look it up in the library or inquire about it with a close tutor.

After learning all these and passing the exams, they would be allowed to choose their school specialization and construct a spell. If the apprentice were a little smarter, this would take about two years… If they were a little dumber, some wizard apprentices had yet to pass the exams even after five or six years.

Then, they would be left on their own once they had chosen a school specialization. There would be one to three classes in a month announced one week in advance, where wizard apprentices and wizards of the same school would attend together. After that, it would be up to the tutors to decide what the content would be about. Of course, attendance was not compulsory as long as one could pass the exams of each school and advance to graduate.

For example, Alteration Wizards were tested on glibness.

They would basically be required to look up information on their own in addition to the primary classes. Different wizards had a different level of access, mainly separated into classes of apprentices who had just been recruited, apprentices who had chosen their specializations, apprentices who had advanced into wizards, wizards who were preparing to advance to Great Wizard. The only limit was — if they were to leave before becoming an advanced wizard, they would not be welcomed anymore.

Of course, tutors would advise those who still couldn’t advance into wizards after many years to quit. They could also stay if they indeed didn’t want to quit, so long as they didn’t affect other people.

After all, aside from these wizard apprentices being talented children recommended by the outside wizards, there was also a special admission program called “Patrons”.

Anyone could try if they wanted to. After all, they wouldn’t starve to death even if they failed to learn the magic.

There were no tuition fees at the wizard tower. After all, the wizards weren’t short of money… but manpower instead.

As a price, one would have to serve at the wizard tower for five to fifteen years as a way of giving back if they managed to advance to a wizard or a Great Wizard in the wizard tower.

Of course, they could also become a tutor if they could pass the tower master’s exam. That way, they would get paid.

However, these salaries didn’t mean much to the Silver Rank wizards. It was easy for them to make money, and they didn’t have much to spend on. The main thing that could tempt these Silver Rank wizards to stay was the library at the inner section of the wizard tower.

This was the core component of the wizard tower. The wizard tower would determine and record the value of every book read by every wizard who graduated from the wizard tower and then upload it to the library. After they die, their curse vessels would also be delivered to the wizard tower… Some old and powerful wizards might even volunteer sacrificing themselves to the wizard tower so that they could move freely in the tower in a spirit state, projected state, or constructed state. Their curse would naturally be consumed completely by the wizard tower… That was on the premise of getting recognition from the wizard tower.

The wizard tower itself was a giant, living curse vessel.

There was no such thing as spell scrolls in this world. Also, the experimental products were on demand to be sold. Alteration wizards could make easy money just by selling some things; Prophet wizards could also make a lot of money simply through fortune-telling, whereas Idol wizards were the masters of using curses to kill and the masters of countering curses that all the influential people respected.

If one did not wish to continue advancing after attaining Silver Rank, they could live like an ordinary person.

Spells were just a professional skill… At least in the eyes of most wizards, the spells themselves were not the primary goal of their lives.

The pursuit of great power, authority, money, societal influence… These were the actual choices of many wizards.

To look for materials to display rituals to solidify their aptitude abilities, extend their lives and optimize their bodies, or do whatever they wanted to and only look for jobs when they ran out of money. These were the life trajectories of wizards who graduated from the wizard tower.

Although the path of transcendence was for ascendancy, not everyone had that desire.

In other words… Not everyone could let go of the good life they already had in their hands, risk even greater dangers, and continue to climb upward.

The pathway ascending from the Silver Rank to Gold Rank was called “Dyed”.

The huge risk of breaking through the limits of mortals, the desire to alter one’s own personality, to destroy one’s old soul and remodel it… Every failed attempt may lead to one’s doom in each of these levels.

Salvatore had once only wanted to advance to silver as well.

He only wanted to become a noble Great Wizard and be invited to become a consultant at an earl or a marquis’ home. It was either that or to open up a secret shop anywhere in the royal capital to sell the items he made. Then, he would earn some money to buy a few manors, hire seven or eight servants, and then marry a young and beautiful girl and have two or three children. This was his initial life plan, simple and unpretentious.

Yet somehow…

Such a future had gradually become blurred in Salvatore’s mind.

“Read the letter,” The shadow whispered in his ear, “I guess that the tower master is asking for you to go back. You’ve wasted too much time, Salvatore.”

“My guess as well,” Salvatore said casually, opening the envelope.

Salvatore first seemed a little surprised as he read the letter, and then his expression gradually turned serious.

The letter was sent to him by the tower master, and the content was straightforward. They had already learned that Salvatore had successfully obtained the hammer, urging him to return quickly and prepare for his advancement to the Silver Rank.

This was nothing. Salvatore had already expected it.

But he noticed that the tower owner referred to Annan as “the little duke” in the letter. So he didn’t believe that the tower master had made an error.

So, they already know that it’s Annan and not Don Juan?

This showed that someone had already checked this fact using the spells of the Prophet school.

This was also within Salvatore’s expectations.

After all, Annan couldn’t reflect the incoming Prophet spell or disguise the identity error detected through Prophet magic. He also didn’t bring a substitute. High-level Prophet spells could definitely get this information.

But why did the tower master say that it would be dangerous to be by Annan’s side?

“It’s probably about Annan’s trip to the capital in a few months…” Salvatore thought worriedly.

If the tower master has learned of Annan’s true identity, could there be anyone in the capital who has also known about it?

Are they going to cause trouble for Annan?

What will happen to Annan when he goes to the capital this time?

Will someone try to curse and murder Annan?

“This can’t do. I have to tell Annan before I go…” Salvatore murmured. Crystals condensed at his fingertips, and the letter was engulfed in flames.

He then pulled out a piece of paper and began to write something on it quickly.

I need to complete the advancement ritual as soon as possible.

If all goes well, I should be able to advance within a month.

Swamp’s Black Tower is not too far from the capital.

“If something happens to you, I’ll come help you, Annan…” Salvatore muttered.

On the other hand, the shadow, who had always liked bickering, was silent about this.