Above the mage

Chapter 148 Credit Ranking

Gaode is busy with his own things in a regular and focused manner every day.

He maintained a good mindset and physical condition.

Eight courses

Anyone who has attended high school, even excluding miscellaneous subjects like physical education and music, will have at least six courses.

Moreover, compared to the numerous homework assignments after class, the courses at Seres Academy are basically homework-free, making them much more relaxed.

I go to bed at one or two o'clock and get up at six.

Isn't this just a typical day for senior high school students?

Not to mention, Gaode also offers a fruit drink called "Flawless Fruit Drink," which can relieve fatigue after drinking.

Time flies.

On the enrollment day, twenty-one new students were admitted, including a first-ring mage. These events attracted the attention of everyone in the academy.

Gao De initially gained some minor fame because he was targeted by Gerry Harrell, the top student of the Alchemy Department, in the restaurant, and because he broke the record left by the former dean during the enrollment mission.

After that, he lived a monotonous life, going between three points every day:

They either cultivate in the training building, attend classes in various "teaching buildings," learn basic runes in the rune workshop, or, most often, cultivate poisonous insects in the breeding room.

Gaode never takes the initiative to get to know others, let alone seek out trouble; it's like an invisible person.

So, as time went by, this "lucky guy" who entered the college with the highest honors thanks to Dean Gavin's recommendation letter and who was once famous for a short time was quickly forgotten and no one paid any attention to him anymore.

After all, most people are still quite rational.

Even though many students were somewhat jealous and dissatisfied with Gaode being able to enroll with the highest level of treatment.

But aside from special cases like Gray Harrell, who would inexplicably target someone they have no connection with and make an enemy out of nothing?

Everyone is busy, and unless there is a deep-seated hatred, no one will have the time to keep an eye on others.

Not to mention, later everyone also learned that Gaode was assigned the senior mentor Hosie O'Kenley of the Rune Department, the long-outdated chief rune mentor.

Suddenly, even their "jealousy" disappeared, replaced by schadenfreude.

Even Gray Harrell seems to have forgotten about Gord.

Aside from stopping Gaode at the restaurant at the beginning, he never appeared in front of Gaode again.

Throughout the entire academy, perhaps only Professor He west and Professor Xiao Er knew Gao De.

Needless to say, the former is another story, but the latter also comes over from time to time to check on the progress of Gaode's insect breeding tasks, so they have frequent contact.

But regardless of what others think, Gaode is at least very satisfied with his current life:

The mage's level is increasing at a considerable rate;

In terms of runeology, the number of level zero basic runes mastered is also steadily increasing at a rate of five per day;

The most lacking knowledge of magic is being rapidly supplemented;

The task of cultivating venomous insects is also progressing steadily, and the essence of the [Phantom Thorn Centipede] has been fully collected.

Everything was thriving except for the savings.

77 gold and 19 silver – that’s Gaode’s total deposits right now.

On the 10th of Frosty Gold Month, the usage time of the Tier 1 training room that Gaode had purchased last time was completely used up.

He gritted his teeth and "splurged" another 10 gold coins to secure 40 hours of use time in the first-tier training room.

After this incident, his savings balance had dropped to 67 gold and 14 silver.

When the time came to the 17th of Frost Gold Month, two things happened on that day.

First, Gerika finally completed her enrollment task.

It took a total of 43 days, 18 days earlier than the average time of 61 days for mining to complete the task.

This is not surprising, as Gerica's physical strength is no match for that of the male students or those from ordinary backgrounds.

However, as a "second-generation legal professional" and a "rich heiress," she can continuously drink stamina recovery potions to quickly restore the stamina she has consumed that day.

This alone was enough for her to easily overcome the slight difference in physical strength and achieve better results.

Of course, Gaode Maps' information isn't that well-informed.

The reason I learned of this news was that after completing her enrollment assignment, Gerica actually took the initiative to come to my door to buy "Leak-Free Water".

The 43 days of mining left the young lady of the city lord's mansion exhausted, and she wanted to use Gaode's magical fruit drink to recover.

After thinking for a moment, Gao De took a small pot of the already scarce special fruit drinks and gave it to Gerica.

But this time, Gerica resolutely refused to "get something for free," leaving Gaode with no choice but to accept 10 gold from her.

If we can consistently produce "leak-free water," then we won't have to worry about money, Gao De couldn't help but think after this experience.

However, he also knew that this could only be a fantasy.

Since the first time there was no leak, Gaode's "Daily First Draw" has never stopped.

However, over the past ten days or so, most of the drinks were just the "basic" honey water, with two servings of malt liquor and one serving of premium honey water.

Water that is completely leak-free simply does not exist.

Another thing is that on this day, Gaode's guidance method made another breakthrough, reaching a new level.

His current total magical power is enough to support him in unleashing ten magic tricks in one go.

Gao De has already completed half of the twenty magic tricks required of a third-class mage apprentice to be performed in one go.

His last breakthrough in guiding the method occurred on the 12th of the Dark Night Moon.

These two breakthroughs were only 35 days apart.

Such breakthrough efficiency is nothing short of genius.

Of course, this is the product of the combination of "leak-free water", a first-level training room, and improved breathing, not because his own aptitude has actually improved.

These external aids and techniques for cultivation provide the greatest boost to a mage like Gao De, whose aptitude is neither too bad nor too good.

This is somewhat similar to how tutoring can improve students' grades. Tutoring is not very helpful for students who are too good, nor is it very helpful for students who are too bad.

Average students, on the other hand, are the ones who can make a more significant improvement through tutoring.

However, since the leak-free water has not been replenished, it will be completely used up in three days at the current rate of consumption.

At that time, the progress of Gaode's guidance method will decrease slightly.

However, Gaode Maps has no solution to this problem.

"If I had better aptitude, I wouldn't have to spend so much money on cultivation," he couldn't help but think.

Just like learning, Gaode has watched his classmates spend a lot of money on various tutoring classes and so-called famous teachers and private tutors since he was a child, but they are still not as good as him who never went to tutoring classes or had private tutors.

He didn't feel superior, but he felt a little sorry for them for spending that money.

Now, Gaode finally understands the helplessness of its students.

Don't they feel bad about spending this money?

It must have been painful for them, but they had no choice.

If someone has only average talent, the only way to improve their grades is to pay money.

Just like him now.

"Is there any way to improve my qualifications?" This question popped into Gaode's mind.

There should be some truth to it.

Demand determines the market. With the mage system having developed for so many years, there must be a great many mages who want to improve their qualifications.

Even if it's just a matter of luck, we should have come up with one or two solutions by now.

But even if such a method existed, it wouldn't be something a mage apprentice like him could access.

I need to become a formal monk first!

Gao De's mind was filled with countless thoughts, but in the end, they all turned into a sigh.

Eat your food one bite at a time.

What's more urgent than becoming a formal monk is making money.

Even with the extra 10 gold coins paid by Gerica, God's savings returned to 77 gold.

But clearly, this amount of money won't last long within the Ceres Academy.

At least Gaode doesn't dare to buy spell recipes right now, for fear of falling into a financial crisis because of this expenditure.

However, it is worth mentioning that just two days ago, Gaode Maps learned that Cyrus Academy has a mechanism similar to a "scholarship".

To be precise, there should be a credit ranking system.

At the end of each academic year, the academy awards prizes to students who rank highly on the credit leaderboard to support outstanding students and allow them more time to dedicate to their spiritual practice.

Of course, there is more than one list; the academy will rank students according to the number of years they have been enrolled.

This makes sense, just like the final stage of the "Spellbook" course, which is worth 7 credits, while the first stage is only worth 1 credit.

If rankings are not based on academic year, the rewards for this credit ranking will only be monopolized by older students who can take high-credit courses.

However, the list is not divided into very detailed categories.

There are only four lists in total.

The first is the freshman credit ranking, which is specifically for new students and only allows students who have just entered the college to participate in the ranking.

The rewards for the freshman credit ranking are the most generous among the four rankings.

The new student who ranked first in academic credits that year received a reward of 100 gold coins, the second-ranked student received 80 gold coins, and the third-ranked student received 60 gold coins.

The second list is for students in grades 1-3, and is less prestigious than the rewards given to freshmen.

The student who ranks first in academic credits receives a reward of 50 gold coins, the second-highest receives 40 gold coins, and the third-highest receives 30 gold coins.

The third option is for students in grades 3-5, with the same rewards as students in grades 1-3.

Finally, there is a list for students with 5 or more years of schooling, with the same rewards as above.

(End of this chapter)