Witch, don't be so lazy

The sea slug shook its head, and a current of water emerged in front of it, circling around Mina.

"You should get used to the common language more and stop using the oceanic way of communicating all the time."

Mina first reminded him, then explained, "Guling asked if Hightower Academy was also in the Warp, and the answer is of course yes."

"Although the High Tower Academy occupies a large area in Pendgar, that is only the tip of the iceberg. The truly terrifying thing is the academy's subspace. After countless years of development, it may be larger than you can imagine."

"After all, the academy is directly connected to the tower. In other words, a part of the tower's subspace was cut out and given to the academy."

Mina smiled. "In a sense, this can be considered as entering the inner reaches of the Tower of Babel. An ordinary third-level mage might try his best his entire life but still be unable to set foot in the tower. You, at the second or even first level, have already entered. Don't you feel very honored?"

As he finished speaking, Xilan became visibly excited.

The same is true for Guling.

Only An Ke stood there in a daze, with a storm in her heart, wondering if she had heard it wrong.

Tower of Babel?

real or fake?

Tongbao seems to have mentioned this name too!

Chapter 20 Arrival

The VIP lounge lobby of the Skytrain.

"Master Mena, why is there no detailed introduction to the tower in the pamphlet? The content is similar to what we learned in school."

An Ke raised her hand, like a good student actively asking questions.

She just flipped through it quickly and found nothing that interested her.

"It's enough to know the Tower's glorious history, sacred status, and noble purpose. How could anything else be written? It's definitely a secret that can't be shared casually with others."

Mina shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm just an ordinary third-level mage. My knowledge of the tower is very limited, and it's all confidential."

"But... at least you can talk about the name. This is the first time I know the tower's real name is Babel. Why haven't I heard of it before? Does this name have any special meaning?"

An Ke never gave up and kept asking questions.

Tower of Babel, Tongbao once mentioned these three words when Xiao Anri was causing trouble, saying that one should read the Tower of Babel manual carefully and not perform any risky operations casually.

She kept this thing firmly in mind, but because she was busy dealing with the affairs of Asda City at that time, and then there was the Fairy Tale Island and the Demonic Test, she never deliberately took out the time and energy to inquire about the relevant information. She just thought that when she became stronger, her horizons and exposure to more information would be greater, and she would be able to slowly find out the relevant content.

However, she never expected that this thing would suddenly appear when she was heading to the Tower Academy, and it seemed to be something she was very familiar with and extremely well-known.

This is somewhat unexpected.

After all, she originally thought that the full name of the system was "Tower of Babel", so how come there is a real tower in the world with this name?

Following Anke's question, Xilan and Guling beside them seemed to be curious as well, and looked at Mina eagerly.

"Well--"

Mina pondered for a moment, the shark marks on her cheeks opening and closing. "I can certainly talk about that, but I have to state upfront that this is hearsay, and I can't tell whether it's true or not."

After the disclaimer came out, she continued,

“It is said that in the culture of the old empire, the word Babel means ‘ascending to heaven to see God’, that is, all spirits

Climbing the tower to the heavens and reaching the realm of the gods is one of the reasons why Pandgar is nicknamed "the place where we ascend to the heavens."

"However, these three words are usually not mentioned in official propaganda. The reason is very simple. The 'Sage of the Tower' died while helping Lady Starry Sky reach the epic, and the Tower of Babel was almost completely destroyed. Now it is the result of reconstruction. Perhaps it is for the sake of distinction, or perhaps it is because the connotation is considered bad and taboo, or to distinguish the current chief from the previous one. Basically, everyone uses the name 'High Tower'."

Mina paused, then smiled and said, "Of course, I can't guarantee it. Aside from Ms. Starry Sky and the Chief of the 'Tower Spirits,' I'm afraid no one dares to claim to fully understand everything about the Tower."

“…I see.”

Anko blinked.

Although she still didn't know whether Gaota was related to Tongbao, she couldn't say she was disappointed. After all, she was studying at Gaota Academy and had plenty of time and opportunities to explore.

But what concerned her was that the Tower of Babel was something from the culture of the old empire, which easily triggered a series of associations about the north, the tower, the system, the abyss and the spirit world...

While Anke was brainstorming, Xilan focused on more practical issues.

"Lady Mina, we're going to Pandgar. Will the academy help us with the necessary documents? At least a temporary residence permit is required, right?"

"Of course, the temporary residence permit, spellcasting certificate, intermediate pass, and various skill-related certificates... As long as you complete registration at the academy and complete the information intake, you can get them directly."

Mina smiled and said, "As for the pilot's license, as a student of the Tower Academy, as long as you pass the corresponding exam, you can get it directly without waiting in line."

"Even the permanent residency permit that outsiders need to contribute a lot and have a lot of resources to obtain, you don't need to wait until graduation. As long as you successfully complete the cornerstone year and don't drop out midway, you will automatically obtain it."

Mina seemed to have thought of something and added proudly,

"This is a privilege exclusive to High Tower Academy. Other academies, even Her Majesty Saoirse's Royal Academy, only allow the top five students of each class to receive permanent residence permits. I heard that the competition is always fierce."

After listening.

The three freshmen who had not yet registered were all excited.

There's no other way. They'll help you get a bunch of documents when you register. As long as you don't drop out of school, you can get a residence permit in Pandgar without even having to make any contribution. This is the strength of the top academy in the North. The benefits are really good.

Especially Encore, she felt like her eyes were shining with stars.

After all, it is not difficult for her to get through the foundation year. She is already at the second level. She just needs to get the teacher's approval and then pass the assessment. It will always be achievable if she takes it slowly.

To round it off, Miss Anke is the wizard of Pendergar!

Xilan's reaction was similar. He changed from a curled up position to sitting upright, not even bothering to cover his left eye with his bangs, with a high-spirited attitude.

Although the difficulty and risk of promotion for her are higher than those of ordinary mages, since she is a child of destiny who can enter the Tower Academy, she must have her own unique pride and confidence.

Unfortunately, her fighting spirit didn't last long. She noticed that the girl next to her was about to turn her head away, so she immediately turned her face away and started to fix her hair.

······They are obviously ordinary eyes, not magic eyes. I don’t know what they are covering. It’s really weird.

Miss Anke muttered to herself, but that didn't stop her from secretly noting it down. This might be another weakness that could be used.

After all, you can't just eliminate or coerce your classmates at will, so you can only pay more attention and be good at noticing the details to help yourself live a good life in Tower Academy.

Compared to the two of them, Guling seemed less excited.

After all, it is a monster born from the ocean, and was not educated in the North. No matter how good the inland is, it is not a familiar environment for it. Although it has a longing for Pendegar, to be honest, the Azure City is obviously more attractive.

Glancing around, excited, An Ke seemed to remember something and asked:

"Do we need to pay tuition? Is accommodation expensive? Are the expenses of the academy high?"

A series of questions were thrown out directly.

It was mainly about money, so Miss Anke had to pay full attention.

Because in her opinion, if one wants to make money in Pandgar, the pressure may be much greater than in Asda City. After all, this place is really home to most powerful spellcasters and masters of skills, and the degree of internal competition may be much higher than imagined.

"Haha, how could High Tower Academy require you to pay tuition and accommodation fees? If you really have to pay, just based on the geographical location and teaching resources, 99% of the mages in the North can't afford it."

Mina smiled and shook her head. "Those are all free, including the magical resources, rewards, and most of the daily facilities provided by the academy. You can either claim them, apply for them, or redeem them with credits. You hardly need to pay for them yourself."

Before Anke could start to happily praise the wisdom and generosity of the Tower Council, the words that rang in her ears made her face turn serious again.

"But speaking of expenses, there are indeed some, because credits are not allowed to be exchanged privately. However, transactions may occur between students or between students and faculty. Barter usually cannot achieve equal value, so gold coins are used to make up the difference."

"Most of the time, credits are spent on knowledge crystals, course selection, and daily cultivation. A portion is spent on exchanging for various extraordinary resources and props. But you know, these things are bottomless pits. You will always want better ones, and you can never have too many. However, credits are not so easy to obtain, and they are limited. If you feel that the resources are not enough, you have to find a way yourself."

Mina paused and said meaningfully,

"The academy is a place to cultivate powerful mages, but it never blindly supports them. It has provided the best platform in the North, but how much resources you can leverage through this platform depends on your own abilities."

"Don't ever think it's a paradise isolated from the outside world. No matter where you are, the closer you get to the center of power and influence, the more terrifying the vortex will be. There's no escape. And you all know that, besides its geographical location, the Tower is the absolute center of the North."

Mina thought for a moment, mainly looking at the cute sea slug, and decided to speak more bluntly.

"My most direct advice is that you should consider your interests and talents and see if there are any clubs within the academy that interest you. If you have decided on your own magical path, you can contact the corresponding classroom early and try to apply to join a small class, or even become a disciple."

"I've strayed off topic. Ahem, by the way, some courses and magic spells require money, such as gold magic, gem magic, etc. The losses during casting are all at your own expense, so choose carefully."

Except for Guling who was a little confused, Anke and Xilan were both thoughtful.

······

time flies.

Encore's life on the train is more regular than imagined.

I come here every morning to listen to the admissions officer speak. Besides Mina, Momo and Lei have also come.

Apart from the different attitudes, patience, disconnection and indifference, the content is actually similar, revolving around Pandgar and Tower Academy, introducing some rules and precautions.

The rest of the time is free time.

Of course, although they say they are free, for the three little ones of Encore, their time is actually spent on practicing.

Meditate, practice magic, and delve into your craft.

Everyone is pretty much the same.

At most, Xilan would occasionally go to the alchemy room, and it seemed that he had received guidance from Xiao Hui and was studying some things about golems.

Guling never entered the meditation room. He just stayed in the water, absorbing magic power in a way unique to sea slugs, manipulating the water flow to practice magic, and communicating with Mage Mina from time to time.

As for Ms. Anke, she spends her daily time in the meditation room.

She actually wanted to communicate with other great mages, but unfortunately, Mage Mina said that she was not good at frost, not to mention thunder. She usually had a cold and dead face, especially when she saw Anke, it was obvious that they had nothing to say to each other except for routine matters.

forget about it.

Although Miss Anke actually had a lot to learn from the other party regarding necromancy and runes, since the other party was already like this, there was no need to be so cold and push her too hard, which would have seemed cheap.

Anyway, she can improve her skills by herself and avoid leaking too much information, although Miss Anke is never afraid of leaking information.

The current training plan is no different from the previous one. I will first develop the intermediate spell and deal with other things later.

Oh, you asked where Momo went?

The answer is that he is idle and wanders around on the skytrain all day, occasionally harassing Anko-sama during meal times.

When asked why she didn't practice, Momo's answer was very justified:

"We're high up in the sky, so far from the ground that we can't resonate with the earth veins, and our training won't be very efficient. We might as well just have some fun. When we get back to the tower, Momo will be very busy. There are already three places that need to be sorted out, and all of them require your help."

Fine.

In such a daily rhythm, the skytrain finally arrived at its destination.

Pandgar.

······

A huge white city, towering towers, an orderly and prosperous capital, and the amazing sight of a sky full of stars even in broad daylight.

This is the first impression that Pandgar gives people.

Although there are interwoven elevated lines and tracks, and a large number of floating platforms, the number is ultimately much less than that of Black Rock City.

Instead, there are a large number of colorful light and shadow areas and magic nodes.

The so-called "colorful light and shadow area" is the location of the subspace. From a distance, it looks like a mirage, or a piece of glass reflecting countless lights and shadows.

The same was true for the tower at the center. Its surface seemed to be covered with a layer of colored ink, but compared to the others, no fluctuations of magic could be detected.

It is such a huge creature, but except for the naked eye, no other senses can detect its existence, not even the Eye of Judgment. It may be that there are a large number of barriers and counter-magic set up on it.

I can't even tell how high it is, I don't know if it's some kind of illusion.

There was nothing much to say about the skyrail landing. Following the instructions, Anke and others, as VIPs, took the VIP channel and were the first to leave.

Before she could even take in the scenery and features of the Northern Capital, Momo unceremoniously picked up Anke.

"Let's go. Let's go to the academy first and register you. Otherwise, you won't have any certificates and you won't be able to walk two steps in Pandgar without getting a bunch of tickets. Then you'll have to go pick you up, which is troublesome."

then.

Before Anko even had time to struggle, the land navigation started.

In an instant, a colorful wonder flashed before her. There were rich structures underground in Pandgar. Unfortunately, she did not have the time and ability to take a closer look, and could only be carried there in a daze.

Just like that, we arrived at the gate of Tower Academy.

Large lawn.

There is a large, simple and elegant white gate, behind which is a huge fountain square, and a tall statue standing on the clear gray stone bricks.

But these are not important, they are just appearances.