Wizard: I can refine all things.

Chapter 73 Apprentice Exchange Competition

Since Richard was still a wizarding apprentice, the affairs of the Wizarding Merchant Guild had to be handled by Jorrod alone.

Fortunately, he also ran a metalworking workshop, so establishing a chamber of commerce was not a difficult task for him.

The academy's review was swift, and after confirming that Jord had not directly helped Richard, the matter was dropped under Alex's influence.

Due to the increased shipments, Richard's magic stone accumulation quickly recovered.

With an ample supply of magic stones, Richard's wizard grenade project is progressing very smoothly.

The materials for the grenade have been determined, and the spell model has been disassembled thanks to Richard's efforts. All that remains for the wizard grenade is to continuously iterate on the design and then experiment to finally arrive at the most suitable design.

It was a long process, but Richard happened to have plenty of time.

……

Experimental zone.

"The fifty-sixth test begins."

Looking at the target in the distance, he casually tossed the black cylinder in his hand over.

This is Richard's fifty-sixth Wizard Grenade design. Its stability in isolating elements and its flexibility in activation have been greatly improved. If nothing unexpected happens, this design will be the final design of the Wizard Grenade.

"Three, two, one!"

boom!

As the countdown ended, the grenade exploded.

Richard squinted, watching the burst of intense light in the distance.

The annihilation reaction between water and fire produces intense light, which also possesses a certain level of energy. Ordinary people exposed to this light may suffer severe burns, but for wizard apprentices, this light is merely a bit dazzling.

As the bright light faded, Richard walked to the crater created by the grenade. The originally solid, hardened ground of the test area had a crater about the height of a person after the explosion.

"The energy dissipates too quickly; it can only be considered a single-soldier weapon."

Richard shrugged and jotted the data down in his notebook.

It's fine as a single-unit grenade; after all, it's not that expensive to make, with the material cost being only around one hundred magic stones. This is just Richard's initial research. If he has enough time, Richard can further reduce the cost of this grenade by using rune arrays.

But that's research that Richard would only do at the wizarding stage. He's still a wizarding apprentice, so there's absolutely no need for him to waste his time on it.

"Richard!"

Just as Richard was recording the data, a voice came from behind him.

"What is it, Ellie?" Richard said without turning his head.

"The news is confirmed." Ellie ran to Richard's side, her expression excited. "The matter of exchanging ideas with the White Wizard Academy that the Dean mentioned last time has been finalized."

"Hmm?" Richard was slightly taken aback. It took him a long time to recall what the dean had said on the day he entered the secret realm to explore.

Richard put the notebook into his pocket. "Didn't the vice-dean say it might take another decade?"

"God knows! Our teacher said the White Wizard Academy is incredibly efficient this time; they've even started building the training grounds in just a few years!" Ellie hugged Richard excitedly. "And do you know what the reward is this time?"

"What?" Richard asked curiously.

"The Dean's reward is a guaranteed admission to the wizarding world!"

"What?!"

Richard's eyes widened instantly. A guaranteed path to becoming a wizard? That reward was far too tempting.

Ellie continued, "I heard that since this is the first time this exchange competition has been held, many things are being tried out, so the dean and vice dean discussed it and decided to increase the rewards a bit."

"Oh, so we're experimental subjects," Richard exclaimed, suddenly realizing.

However, being an experimental subject was one thing, but the reward of being guaranteed a place in the wizarding world was truly tempting for Richard.

How much time do we have left?

"Four years, I guess," Ellie calculated the time. "I heard the Bloody Exam was replaced by the Exchange Tournament."

Richard calculated the timeline and found that Richard's current mental strength was not far from that of an advanced apprentice. He would probably be able to advance to the advanced apprentice level in about another year.

"Okay, there's still plenty of time. By the way, what's the specific format of this competition?"

"Well... the teacher didn't say. Go ask Master George and see how much he knows."

Richard nodded. "Okay, I'll go ask the teacher."

Upon arriving at the laboratory on the ninety-ninth floor of the Black Tower, Richard ran into Chuck, who was on his way to see him.

"Hey, junior, you're lucky to be in this year's cohort!"

Chuck patted Richard hard, clearly already aware of the exchange match.

"Haha, it seems you've heard about it too, senior brother."

"Absolutely, the news's been spreading like wildfire." Chuck pointed upstairs. "Oh, by the way, my professor just called me to see you. You should head to the lab right away. He probably wants to tell you some inside information."

Upon arriving at the laboratory, Jorde immediately beckoned Richard to come to his side.

You must have heard about the exchange competition, right?

Richard sat down next to George.

"I heard... I heard the final reward is reporting to a wizard?"

"Yes, that's right." Jorod nodded, then said with dissatisfaction, "Alex is such a miser, he's so stingy with the rewards for the exchange competition."

"Stingy?" Richard was a little confused.

"Of course they're stingy," Jorod complained. "The winner of this competition will get a guaranteed admission to wizardry, which sounds impressive. But think about it, would someone who wins this competition fail the wizarding exam?"

"Uh...that's true." Richard realized that someone who could excel in the exams would certainly do well in the wizarding exams.

This submission is equivalent to granting the candidate the qualification to become a wizard in advance.

"Sigh, let's not talk about that. The reason I called you here is to tell you that the matter of the Wizard Merchant Guild has been initially settled."

With that, Jord handed Richard a leather scroll.

"This is a Chamber of Commerce scroll issued by the Truth Council. With this, we can legally do business with the Academy."

"That's great!" Richard's eyes lit up. "So, when do we start?"

"Start? This is the first step in establishing the Wizarding Merchant Guild!" Jorod glared at him. "Having the scrolls only means the council allows you to exist, but if you want to do business, you need stable material channels, stable sales channels, and well-received products."

Although I used to run an alchemy workshop, potions were not within my business scope. To establish these channels, I have to start from scratch.

Furthermore, Focus Potions are still useful during the apprenticeship stage, but become largely useless once you reach the wizarding stage. If we want to do big business, we must create new potions, preferably ones that wizards can use.

These are all problems; don't even think about making a profit in less than a hundred or two centuries.

Richard scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

He was oversimplifying things. The Wizarding Merchant Guild was not some small-time operation like his selling potions in the academy's commercial district.

"Alright, just know this news. Also, Alex is keeping the details of this competition very secret. I only got a vague piece of information, it seems to be something like a simulated battlefield."

"Don't you have a girlfriend who's Susanna's student? Susanna should know more than I do."

"Uh... Master Susanna doesn't know either," Richard said somewhat awkwardly.

"She doesn't know either?" Jorod was somewhat surprised, but quickly regained his composure.

"If you don't know, you don't know. No matter what the competition is, improving your skills and accumulating knowledge is the best choice."

(End of this chapter)