I, a cultivator, have ended up in the wizarding world.

Chapter 4 The cruel truth

Jemin was startled by the conclusion he had come to.

"No, that's unlikely..."

Jemin instinctively wanted to deny the conclusion he had just drawn, after all, Norren Academy recruits students across the entire plane every five years, and even with its strict requirements, several thousand students enroll each year.

If only a hundred or so students from a graduating class survive, how high would the mortality rate be on the front lines?!
But this thought lingered in my mind like a dark cloud, impossible to dispel.

A quick glance at the promotional material for the combat section revealed that it had already entered the Q&A phase. A group of spirited returning wizards were answering questions from the apprentices or imparting battlefield experience, creating a lively atmosphere.

"...It's just like an idol meet-and-greet."

Muttering to himself, Jemin decisively turned and walked to the other side, where several weary-looking wizards, bearing a hint of vicissitude, were gathered together.

They wore standard logistical robes with cauldrons representing alchemy, flasks representing potion-making, or runes representing array formations embroidered on their chests.

These people looked unusually simple, and some of their robes even looked a bit old.

Their ranks were not high; most were only first-level formal wizards, and two were even only third-level wizard apprentices.

His eyes weren't as sharp and confident as those of battle wizards; instead, they held a calmness born of experience.

In contrast, the battle wizards of their generation were not only completely different in their aura, but each of them also achieved remarkable success.

From this perspective, the school likely sent this group of wizards back for comparative propaganda purposes.

Almost as soon as Jemin turned around, several wizards all turned their attention to him.

Jemin calmly stepped forward and politely asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, senior, I am a new apprentice this year and am considering my major. May I ask you some questions?"

Upon hearing Jemin's question, the wizards exchanged glances, their eyes revealing amusement.

An alchemist was the first to speak: "New here? You want to ask about the logistics department... What, not planning to try your luck in the combat department? The benefits there are genuinely better than those in logistics."

Being watched by a group of wizards far stronger than himself, even without them deliberately releasing their aura, made him feel immense pressure. Fortunately, years of training had greatly strengthened Jemin's will.

He shook his head sincerely: "I'm not very interested in fighting and killing, and... to be honest, I'm a little afraid of those battlefields."

“It’s normal to be afraid of the battlefield, after all, you’re a newbie,” a potion master said. “But logistics… well, promotion isn’t as fast as in combat, and you have to fight for resources yourself.”

“I’d like to know why you think we’ll answer your question?” another wizard interrupted him, looking at Jemin with curiosity.

"Wizards believe in the equal exchange of knowledge, but you don't seem to have any price to pay for our answers, do you?"

"because……"

Jemin didn't say anything, but instead turned his gaze to the combat wizards on the other side of the stage who were still interacting with the new apprentices.

The logistics wizards also looked in that direction in unison, and then they all laughed.

“You guessed right, we’ve all been assigned to cooperate with the academy’s publicity campaign.” The alchemist looked at Jemin with admiration in his eyes. “The mission does include answering questions from new students. However, due to the contract, each new student only has one chance to ask a question, and I can only answer questions about facts that you already know or will soon know and are not restricted by the contract. If your question exceeds this limit, then I have the right not to answer it.”

"Now... what would you like to ask?"

Without hesitation, Jemin asked, "I'd like to ask why there are only ninety-seven returning wizards from the combat department who are cooperating with the publicity?"

Upon hearing Jemin's question, the logistics wizards present fell silent for a moment.

They stared at Jemin with varying expressions until he began to feel a little uncomfortable. Finally, one of the construct wizards couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Hahahaha... This kid is much smarter than I was back then!"

One wizard even directly recruited Jemin: "Kid, come study runes! With your brains, you could definitely become a big shot!"

"Go away, go away! Aren't you afraid of violating the contract by directly recruiting? And you guys are making such a loud noise, be careful the other students don't hear you!" The alchemy wizard waved his hand at the other wizards.

The wizards paid no heed to the alchemist's words; one construct wizard even pointed smugly upwards:

"Don't worry, Jack. The fact that this kid asked that question means he's already seen through the trap in this propaganda. As for those apprentices outside... I've already set up an illusion barrier. Those little guys outside won't notice us here."

Jemin looked up and was startled.

Because a frosted glass-like light curtain had appeared around him and the group of wizards, enveloping them all.

This must be the illusion barrier the wizard mentioned, but he has been in a state of high tension since just now, and still hasn't found out when the wizard set up the barrier.

If the other person hadn't pointed it out, he wouldn't have even noticed the changes around him.

"Don't be too surprised. Once you're on the battlefield, you'll gradually learn these things in order to survive."

Jack noticed Jemin's surprise, but he didn't think much of it.

After all, judging from Jemin's appearance, he was just an ordinary person before, so it's perfectly normal for him to be surprised by something like this.

Jack ignored the teasing from his friends behind him and turned to look at Jemin, seemingly quite satisfied with him:
"We didn't expect you to spot the problem from this angle; it's quite unexpected. That's right! It's exactly what you thought, or rather, the front lines are even more dangerous than you imagined!"

At this point, Wizard Jack's smile faded, and his expression turned serious: "I can tell you definitively that, whether it's the combat department or the logistics department, what you see now are the only remaining students from our graduating class."

“What…” Jemin couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

He subconsciously began searching the arena; the returning combat wizards were easy to find, all of them were on the stage.

While the returning wizards from the logistics department weren't gathered together, they were scattered in twos and threes in the vicinity. With Jemin's abilities, he obtained the specific data almost instantly.

"One hundred and fifty-three..."

“There were more than 5,000 students in our class, with a ratio of 50 to 1 between combat and logistics students. Now, the remaining 153 students are all here.”

Seeking follow-up reading
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(End of this chapter)