When the vehicle arrived at its destination, everyone felt like they had just experienced one of the most thrilling experiences in their lives. Those who had stuck their heads out of the windows found their hair completely blown out of shape by the wind. The apprentices stepped out of the carriages with their luggages. Sargon and a few other workers ushered the group of apprentices up the staircase and towards the castle up ahead.
The mechanical wall that acted as the gates opened and everyone walked into the hall of the castle. The castle was brightly lit and elegantly furnished. Luxurious stained glass windows lined the walls and a large dropped ceiling embedded with hundreds of crystals hung above everyone. The large taxidermied head of a ferocious animal was hanging over a great hearth and dozens of artistic oil paintings were on display on the wall.
"Wow!"
"That's a painting by Frant! It's about the Golden King Ahenaten killing the twelfth Orc King, the Wolf King Costa!"
"That's a sculpture by Laco!"
"And the works of master Palinb, too!"
Some of the apprentices who were born into wealthier families were more knowledgeable in the history of art. Immediately upon seeing the things around them, they let out a few shocked breaths. The hall was filled with many priceless artifacts. Even though some apprentices were nobles, they were not the most important or the wealthiest of nobles. Moreover, most apprentices were from families in the middle or lower social classes. No one had ever seen so many expensive and luxurious items on display in the same room.
In the middle of the room were three long tables full of food. Silverware was already set out, waiting for the guests. Since the apprentices had not eaten anything since noon, their stomachs began to growl.
The entire castle was filled with flickering flames and glittering shadows. All the apprentices who had entered the castle looked around them continuously, feeling somewhat dazed. Suddenly, Lu Zhiyu walked out through a ring. He had passed the dimensional door and appeared in front of them.
"Is everyone here? Why are there only so few people?"
Realizing that only over forty apprentices were present, Lu Zhiyu frowned. This figure was way below his expectation. He had sent out more than two hundred letters, but less than a quarter of the recipients chose to respond. It seemed like more people had decided to give up.
All the apprentice wizards stared at Lu Zhiyu who was standing in front of them. He looked almost like an elf, and his black hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head. He was wearing a long white coat with silver linings. Under the coat, he had a simple white shirt and black pants. On his feet was a pair of white boots.
"Let me introduce myself," Lu Zhiyu said. "I am Anthony, the owner of the wizard tower and, from tomorrow on, your mentor. I am sure you have a lot of questions, but I am also certain that this place will provide you with sufficient information soon enough. Class starts tomorrow, and you will be living here in the castle, spending the next five years of your lives studying with me."
He clapped his hands. "Well, my dears. Since we're all here already, let's eat. I've prepared this feast specially for you. Please enjoy yourselves all you can. Then, you should have a good sleep. After today, your lives will never be the same again!"
Lu Zhiyu was speaking in Phinks, but he used his mind power to project his voice and the meaning of his words to all the apprentices. Even though the orcs and the elves did not understand Phinks, they were able to understand the meaning behind Lu Zhiyu's words. Therefore, they all looked flabbergasted.
Lu Zhiyu sat down by the table. Then, all the apprentices sat down along the long table in order. Although three tables had been prepared, one was enough to accommodate everyone. Seeing no need for the other two tables, Lu Zhiyu waved his hand and the other two tables disappeared along with all the food on them. It was just like when he suddenly appeared in the room. This action prompted a series of oohs and aahs of shock from the apprentices. To them, power like this was something out of a legend.
All the food was carefully prepared by the ant-people. The apprentices had never even heard of the ingredients used and the cooking methods. After all, on Alen, salt was already considered as an expensive item, while spices could only be afforded by the richest families. Only wealthy people could eat meat for every single meal.
The apprentices had never seen a meal like this. They wolfed down the food laid out for them, almost swallowing down their own tongues. Everyone felt that this meal was something only available in the kingdom of gods. It must have been, since only gods could afford to eat as lavishly as this.
After the dinner, Lu Zhiyu clapped his hands to gain their attention. "Have you all finished? That's great. This will be your first class. For wizards, the most important rule is quid pro quo. You reap what you sow, so without paying anything, you'll get nothing. That dinner you just had is worth one gold coin, hmm, in the standard of the Luhmann Kingdom currency, Malon." The apprentices all gasped. A single gold Malon was enough to support a normal family of five for an entire month. Nobody could accept the fact that they had just eaten a meal equivalent to that price.
"The boat fare is ten Malons," Lu Zhiyu continued. "The tuition fee each year is two hundred. This includes the library materials, your accommodation, food, charges for using the laboratory, and standard experiment facilities. Apart from that, you'll have to pay for everything else! "
The apprentices all widened their mouths in astonishment. All these fees would add up to over a thousand Malons. Even a noble family might not have that much money in total, let alone the apprentices present.
"But, Mr. Anthony, we can't afford that," Bohr said, standing up.
"You do not have to pay me right now," Lu Zhiyu said, squinting. "You can pay me after you graduate."
"This is a scam!" Leves said, standing up. "It's a usury! How could the things here be so expensive? Even after we graduate, we'll never be able to pay such a debt in our entire lives!"
"You're Leves Bicto, right?" Lu Zhiyu said, somewhat stunned.
Leves immediate straightened his body. "That's right. I'm from the Bicto Family, a noble family!"
Lu Zhiyu nodded, "Once you graduate, you will discover that the so-called nobleness, throne, power, and money are all completely unattractive to you, just like the soil on the ground. That's because these are things that you can get by simply moving your fingers. You can't pay the fees? That's fine, too. I will chase this kind of idiot out of the tower. In the future, he will never be allowed to mention the tower or call himself a wizard, because he will only humiliated the word 'wizard'!"
"I'll only using this method to tell you that if you don't pay a price, you'll never get anything. Quid pro quo. Such is the rule of the world, and as a wizard, it'll also be a rule that you shall abide to!"
Leves flushed, but he could not refute. The magical things he had seen along his journey—the strange wind raven which could speak and easily kill a group of Bloodline Knights, the life alchemy ship which could cross the vast ocean and kill the Children of the Sea, the mysterious wizard servants, the train which could travel underground, the extremely luxurious wizard tower, and Lu Zhiyu's supernatural abilities—caused him to be both bewildered and speechless!
To a person like Lu Zhiyu, the apprentices were like a group of frogs in the well. For the first time in their lives, they discovered that the world was so vast, the sea looked like this, there was another continent and an entire race outside Alen, and there were wizards which could control all kinds of magical powers!
After dinner, everyone started chatting among themselves. Under the allocation of the few administrators appointed by Lu Zhiyu, the apprentices found their rooms, their new homes in the castle. Everyone had a single room so that they would not be disturbed during meditation. It would also be more convenient for them to learn and read.
Nevertheless, everyone was too excited to fall asleep. The magical and magnificent journey these few days had filled them with enthusiasm. In particular, the dinner they had had just now and the words of Lu Zhiyu kept echoing in their minds. They tossed and turned in their beds, unable to sleep!