Above the mage

Chapter 117 Cultivation and Mining

"Very good, everyone is here, no one is late." Seeing that all six freshmen had arrived, the burly man finally spoke again.

"Let me introduce myself. I am your orientation instructor, Shahu."

"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be spending quite a bit of time with you all," Shahu said with a chuckle. "Let me call out names first, so I can get to know everyone."

"Luke Kaplan Roas Candice Godjelica."

Instructor Shahu called out names one by one.

Luke and Kaplan are Gerika's nominal "brothers".

When Gao De boarded the airship, he glanced at the two men from afar and remembered their appearances, but he didn't know their names.

Now I finally know.

As for the origins of Rojas and Candice, Gao De had no idea.

When she mentioned the name "Gaode", Gerica turned her head and gave Gaode a deep look.

Gaode seems a little guilty.

"Who doesn't wear a vest when they're out and about?" he convinced himself.

After taking attendance and recognizing everyone, Instructor Shahu continued speaking on his own:

"As you all probably know, the first thing all new students have to do upon arriving at the Seres Magic Academy is to complete the entrance mission before they can officially become students of the academy."

"This is a mandatory task; you cannot refuse, and you have no other choice."

"And all new students have the same enrollment requirements."

"Using the tools provided by the academy, go down into the mine at the bottom of Coolie Cliff, dig up 3000 kilograms of water gold ore, and hand it over to the Alchemy Department. That will complete the mission."

"Water gold ore is a raw material used by the alchemy system to create experimental golems."

"The test puppets are used by the academy's mages to test the effects of spells, and the consumption of them has always been very large, requiring hundreds of tons of water gold ore every year."

"Mining water gold ore is hard work, but the experimental golems are necessary consumables."

"Therefore, the academy made mining water gold ore a new student's enrollment task, which could both train the new students and solve the academy's need for water gold ore."

"I know that none of you were able to join the academy at this time through normal examination and admission channels. You all came through back channels, and your backgrounds are all extraordinary."

Shahu's words were so direct that several people present felt uneasy. This was too blunt, instructor!

"But at the Cyrus Academy of Magic, at least in this entrance mission, your background and identity are useless," Instructor Shahu said with a grin.

One of his pleasures was seeing this group of pampered young masters and ladies complain endlessly.

"The Cyrus Academy of Magic is the sacred training ground pursued by all young mages in the entire Duchy of Sean."

The phrase "sacred place for spiritual practice" contains both the word "sacred place" and the word "spiritual practice".

"How can you call it spiritual practice if you don't endure hardship?"

"The enrollment task is both a task and your first lesson upon entering university; it's teaching you this very principle!"

"Many of you are used to being pampered at home, having everything you want, and you always think that everything is a given."

"Only after you've experienced sweating and bleeding for something will you know that nothing in this world is a given."

Shahu's voice grew louder and louder, spitting as he spoke: "Even everything you possess now was earned through the sweat and blood of your ancestors. What you should do is preserve it, make it flourish, not lie on it and suck its blood!"

Gao De listened with interest, and also felt that there was something to it that made the Cyrus Magic Academy what it is today.

In Gao De's view, none of these words were directed at him, so he was naturally able to evaluate them from an outsider's perspective.

Because everything he has now is the result of his own hard work!

Instructor Shahu continued.

"The mine is at the bottom of Coolie Cliff. What you need to do is go into the mine at the bottom of the cliff, dig out the water gold ore, and then transport it to the top of the cliff."

"Every day at 6 PM, alchemy personnel will come to weigh and collect the water gold ore you have mined that day."

"The task is simple, but you must follow the rules."

"First of all, you must not rely on others. Whether it is mining or transporting ore, you must do it yourself."

"If it is discovered that someone else was hired to help during this process, all the ore mined that day will be invalidated."

"Secondly, you cannot rely on external forces. You cannot use spell scrolls or alchemical artifacts. The only thing you can use is your own hands, or of course, the spells you have mastered."

"It is forbidden to steal the fruits of others' labor. If discovered, not only will all the gold ore obtained that day be invalidated, but 500 kilograms of gold ore will also be deducted as punishment."

"Finally," Shahu's gaze swept over the two girls among the six, who were slender but also somewhat "thin," and he revealed a gloating smile, "men and women are equal, and the amount of water-gold ore required to complete the mission is 3000 kilograms each."

"Why wasn't there any preferential treatment?"

Instructor Shahu chuckled, his stubble-covered, scarred face contorting slightly. "Because the enemy won't treat you any differently just because you're a lady!"

"In addition, there is no time limit for the enrollment task. You will complete the task and officially enroll whenever you collect 3000 kilograms of water gold ore."

"Just a reminder, although you freshmen have mage level points to accumulate in your first year, you still won't be able to collect 10 credits."

"So if you spend too much time on the enrollment tasks, it will affect your subsequent coursework."

"It's impossible to earn college course credits without spending a certain amount of time and effort."

Hearing these harsh conditions, witnessing firsthand the rugged cliffside road, and the daunting "mining" journey that hadn't even begun yet, just hearing the name was enough to give one a headache.

The five freshmen on the field, excluding Gao De, including Jelica, couldn't help but frown, somewhat unable to accept it.

Gaode Maps has a fairly good acceptance rate.

Isn't this just like the "military training upon entering university" in my previous life?

Although it will definitely be much harder than "military training".

But in essence, it's all about tempering their character and cultivating their perseverance and hard-working spirit.

The world may be different, but the patterns are the same.

"Instructor Shahu!" Just then, Candice, another girl among the six freshmen besides Gerica, suddenly raised her hand.

"What is it?"

"Is it absolutely necessary to mine 3000 kilograms of water gold ore? Is there no other room for maneuver?"

Candice frowned; she was the least accepting of this enrollment task among the six.

"It's not that there aren't any," Instructor Shahu said calmly.

"What is it?!" Candice was overjoyed.

It's possible that she wasn't aware that this room for maneuver was certainly not simple; more likely, for someone who had been pampered since childhood, everything else was easier than mining.

"Did you see the other tool in your basket besides the pickaxe?" Instructor Shahu asked.

(End of this chapter)