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

Chapter 5 Orthodoxy and Testing

Wizard Jack's words struck Jemin like a bolt of lightning, instantly illuminating the cruel truth hidden beneath the academy's propaganda offensive.

In just five years, only 153 out of more than 5,000 people survived.

These were not ordinary cannon fodder who died, but proper wizards who had undergone ten years of professional training!
Those glamorous returnees are the very few "survivors" who survived and successfully rose through the ranks among millions of cannon fodder.

The academy showcases them to attract more naive young people to follow suit and become new cannon fodder.

A chill that penetrated to the bone instantly swept over me!

This wizarding world was far more cruel and realistic than he had imagined.

Wizarding academies are not purely academic institutions, but rather incubators and conveyor belts for massive war machines.

They desperately needed "fuel," and new apprentices were the easiest fuel to ignite.

The thirty-year contract is not just a shackle; given the high mortality rate, such a long contract also signifies the academy's implicit recognition and expectation of the survival skills of logistics wizards.

Even so, the mortality rate for logistics-related wizards is close to half...

As for combat wizards... the duration of the contract already indicates the severity of the casualties. Wizards are not philanthropists, but even they believe that as long as a combat wizard survives on the front lines for more than 5 years, they can recoup their investment.

Such a horrific death rate, such a brutal battle...

"Aren't you scared?" Jemin asked instinctively.

He had already used up his quota of questions as a freshman, but the wizards did not ignore him.

Upon hearing Jemin's question, they exchanged glances, remained silent for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha!!! How could I not be afraid? There may be people in this world who are not afraid of death, but they are destined to be a minority!" The potion master laughed and patted Jemin's head.

Jemin's gaze grew increasingly puzzled. Wizard Jack, understanding his expression, lowered his head and chuckled, "Don't understand why?"

"Yes."

"We are indeed afraid of death, but there are things more worth pursuing that urge us on!"

"what?"

"Did you know? The multiverse is vast, so vast that even if one plane is destroyed, it's just an insignificant starlight. On the other hand, this means almost infinite possibilities."

As he spoke, Jack pointed to the stage for the combat department's promotional activities, where Mars, a level three wizard standing at the very front of all the wizards, was signing autographs for an apprentice.

"See him? Mars only has a level three talent, and theoretically he'll never become a full-fledged wizard, but look at him now..."

"Knowledge, power, lifespan, status, glory, wealth... any desire can be fulfilled in the endless planes, and all you have to do is 'only' survive on the battlefield."

"On the road to pursuing one's desires and ideals, even if the mortality rate is high, it is just a 'necessary price'!"

Hearing these words, Jemin's heart sank.

Is it a necessary price to pay?

Behind the seemingly casual words lay unimaginable bloodshed. The clamor and clamor in the square instantly became jarring and murderous to Jemin's ears. In his eyes, he could already see those young faces, yearning for glory and power, falling on the battlefield of another dimension.

"What a cruel world..." he muttered to himself.

"But it's also a world full of hope, isn't it?"

Seeing that Jemin was a little down, Jack smiled meaningfully:

"Of course, the mortality rate in the logistics department isn't actually that high. After all, the logistics department is the true backbone of Noren..."

"What do you mean?" Jemin was taken aback.

“There’s no need to hide this from you. You’ll find out the problem when you sign the contract later.” Jack looked up and glanced around.

"The plane we are in now is called the Norren 13 Plane. The so-called Norren Academy is actually just a basic talent training base that provides fresh blood for a certain wizarding organization. So when you sign the contract, you are not signing a contract with Norren Academy, but with the wizarding organization behind it."

“As for the name of that wizarding organization…” Wizard Jack drawled, “it’s called Norren Workshop.”

Jemin's eyelids twitched; there was a lot of information revealed in what the other person had said.

Putting aside the absurd fact that a wizarding organization has multiple planes as a reserve talent base, the name itself is unexpected.

Since it is named "Workshop", it means that this wizarding organization was known for "manufacturing" at least in the beginning.

From this perspective, Jack's statement that the logistics department is the legitimate one isn't entirely wrong.

but……

"If the logistics department is the legitimate one, then why use this method?" Jemin looked around at the scene with a puzzled expression.

Compared to the bustling crowds in the combat department, the logistics department's area is currently quite deserted.

"Doing this...wouldn't we definitely miss out on a lot of talented geniuses?"

Putting aside the real disparity in benefits, even if someone did see the danger, those who are young and exceptionally talented would certainly have extreme confidence that they are the protagonists of the world, and these people would almost never choose the logistics department.

"Because...this was originally a trial for 'wisdom'."

At this point, not only Jack, but also the surrounding wizards all wore smug expressions:
“Those with high talent can indeed cultivate faster, but for wizards, the most important quality is ‘wisdom’.”

“Talent can be changed, but wisdom is innate. Moreover, now that we can travel to other planes, with endless opportunities, talent seems insignificant. However, unlike talent, wisdom does not have a clear external manifestation, so the academy came up with this method.”

"The academy actually left many loopholes. As long as you can see through the problems behind this propaganda, it means you have the ability to think independently without being influenced by your surroundings, have keen enough insight, and... enough self-awareness. These abilities are essential to becoming a wizard."

A wizard standing nearby couldn't help but joke, "I heard that back when wizards hadn't left the Primordial Plane, in order to select wise people, they would specially send their apprentices to the location of the academy by large ships, and arrange various enemies along the way to test them."

"However, such testing methods are too wasteful and the damage intensity is difficult to control. In addition, we are currently in a period of large-scale development and there is a shortage of manpower in various places, so we can only switch to this gentler method."

Ignoring the discussion of the others behind him, Jack reached out and canceled the illusion barrier, waving at Jemin: "Alright, that's the end of the Q&A session. Now it's up to you to decide."

(End of this chapter)