A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 640 Enrollment

The open-plan dining hall was almost integrated with the main hall, and most apprentices didn't stay here to eat, so the three of them could easily find a place to sit down.

Alek wasn't quite sure if what he was holding was bread. He took a small bite and found that the food was incredibly soft and fragrant. A delicious aroma of roasted wheat instantly filled his mouth. Then, the salty and sweet flavors from the sauce, the ham slices, and the vegetables sang their way up from his tongue to his throat, until they took over his brain and his entire being.

For no reason, he felt like crying. The more he ate, the more his nose stung, and the faster he ate.

When he came to his senses, all that was left of the clean wrapper of "Rorschach Bread" in his hand was the bread. Richard smiled as he watched him finish eating, then pushed his own portion towards him: "Eat up. For me, food is something that is dispensable. In those years when all we could eat were cloud mushroom cakes, I was glad that I didn't have to draw energy from food to survive."

Alek blushed. "Thank you. This is the first time I've ever eaten something so good."

"No need to say anything more, just eat."

As the food seeds of the Prime Plane gradually mutated, the food in the Astral Plane was once limited to crops grown in the Air Elemental Plane. Although these crops could be used to feed livestock, there was still a period of more than ten years in which food was extremely scarce throughout the world. As a result, the Alliance and the Empire (Va) even waged several wars over the Air Elemental Plane.

The situation only improved after the development of the Water Elemental Plane, the widespread adoption of hydroponics, and the release of the pure seeds preserved by the Forest Tower. The bread stuffed with vegetables they had was also a hard-won achievement.

The wheat comes from local floating farms, the vegetables and spices are imported from the Forest Tower's ecoships orbiting the air elemental plane, and the sausages come from the Alliance's "Fanta" food group, with the nearest factory located near the lower levels of the elemental plane—legend has it that they hunt more "Swallows" to obtain the meat for their raw materials.

This is still a plane with a high level of development and a well-developed ecosystem.

The dwarves import large quantities of polysaccharide fiber powder made from "cloud fungus" in the fire elemental plane. They then mix it with the tubers of "sweet potato," a poisonous plant that grows in sulfurous soil, and stuff it into fermentation tanks to produce extremely strong "sulfur wine," also known as "gunpowder wine" or "bomb wine." The solids left over from fermentation are then heated and cooked into a sour, thick porridge.

For example, the supplies received by the Dahlberg border territory were only dry, primitive, and unpalatable "astral rations".

I've seen and tasted a few of the drinks before. Jonas chose purple soda because his father usually doesn't let him drink too much of it, saying it affects his development. Alec, on the other hand, wanted a sweet and sour drink that tasted like yogurt, supposedly made with special, magical probiotics.

After a quick meal, Richard helped them with the formalities. Alec noticed that the Earl, who never had servants, certainly didn't seem like a nobleman; he was treated with the same respect here, but only because of his red robe.

"The opening ceremony is the day after tomorrow, but I have important matters to attend to and can't keep your mother waiting too long," Richard said apologetically. "Besides, it's necessary to separate now, before some people recognize my other identity."

Upperclassmen volunteered to help them find their dorm rooms. The double rooms had only simple linen beds, desks and cabinets taking up most of the space, and a water bucket and clothesline hanging on the bay window. The most eye-catching thing was two brand-new beige apprentice robes.

There was the sound of waves crashing outside the window. Alek walked to the window and was surprised to find that his dormitory actually faced the boundless sea.

Wasn't the magic tower in the air elemental plane? He couldn't understand and wanted to ask his senior, but he had already disappeared. Alex thought the count's son would complain about the accommodations, but Jonas showed no emotion, simply lying down on the nearest bed, seemingly indifferent.

"You really have no talent for magic?"

"Really, really! My dad wouldn't lie to you, would he?" Jonas, who was lying down and starting to read a novel, rolled his eyes. "Can we please stop talking about this?"

"But we're magic apprentices now! Damn apprentices!"

"Don't worry about it, they'll figure it out. It's just teaching 'Muggles' spellcasting, right? If they can't even handle something this simple, they might as well close the school down."

Alec found that the more he communicated, the more he didn't understand: "What's a 'Muggle'?"

"It's you and me, my god. You haven't read 'Harley Potter', have you? It's a classic popular novel from fifty years ago, and it was even adapted into a fantasy film." As he spoke, Jonas pulled out a nearly worn-out tome from his storage bag and threw it at Alec without caring whether it would hit him.

Alec caught it and quickly looked at it. Jonas shook his head and muttered, "Thank God, at least he can read."

The opening ceremony was incredibly tedious and lengthy, much to Alek's dismay. Although the principal, Andrei, was a white-bearded old man, he didn't end his speech with a "Fool, crybaby, scumbag, stubborn!" like in the novels. Instead, he cast a mass hypnosis spell on the numerous teachers and students—using a chant that lasted for an entire air elemental plane, including a review of the glorious history of the Tower of Ten Thousand Arts, the many hardships after the Black Sun catastrophe, and recent achievements.

Incidentally, it was mentioned "casually" that he had once served as the Supreme Commander of the Alliance, a fact that Alek had learned from the whispers of those around him when the principal first appeared.

The only thing that interested him was finally hearing part of the life story of the mysterious figure "Rorschach".

"So, will we meet the chief of the Tower of Ten Thousand Arts? That Archmage Rorschach, it's said that powerful spellcasters have long lifespans, is he still alive?" Alex quietly asked Jonas while listening to the speech.

"What? No, the current chief is Master Caroline. Master Rorschach disappeared after the Black Sun. Dad said he saved the world, and then..."

"And then what?"

Jonas frowned. "I asked my parents the same thing, but they always just shook their heads and didn't know what happened either. That history is a mystery! Nobody can say for sure. The only thing that's certain is that everyone survived, and then we came into being, right?" He clearly forgot that Alek was an orphan adopted by dwarves when he said this.

Principal Caroline was a woman with completely white hair. It was impossible to guess her exact age, but her demeanor and eyes always gave the impression of being old and haggard. Her only speech at the opening ceremony was to remind Principal Andre to pay attention to the time.

"Oh, right, right, sorry," the principal chuckled dryly, wrapping things up: "Now, all freshmen, please place your hands together, palms up, fingers and all fingers joined. Prepare to receive the precious gifts from the Tower of Ten Thousand Arts! Although we have many, each one is priceless!"

There were more than three thousand new students present. Following the principal's instructions, they held out their hands, and then Andrei waved his hand, and countless gold-plated items resembling pocket watches appeared out of thin air and landed precisely in the hands of each new student.

Is this jewelry? Alek examined the "gift" closely. The oval metal surface was engraved with intricate patterns, and a crystal was clustered on the front, with neat little grooves below the crystal.

"See the groove under the gemstone? Please press your thumb on it, and press hard! Hmm. It's best to wipe your hands clean before pressing."

Alek did as instructed, pressing his thumb tip precisely into the groove. With a sudden exertion, a sharp pain shot through his fingertip. It was as if the crystal contained a packet of liquid, into which his crimson blood now seeped and spread, until the colorless crystal transformed into a ruby.

The gem emitted an arcane glow, and Alec's consciousness seemed to be drawn into the tiny alchemical vessel, then rewoven and expelled. His fingers, pressed against the groove, were already spasming, and his senses were twitching along with them, as if for the first time perceiving something omnipresent, surging and pulsating around him.

Someone next to Alec collapsed, but he maintained his consciousness and didn't let go of his thumb. His forehead beaded with sweat, he and Jonas looked at each other, exchanging surprise and joy. Their eyes no longer saw only the invisible, colorless air, but also a corner of another world.

From the seats at the front of the auditorium, Caroline watched the two of them.

(End of this chapter)