The nearest big river was also far outside the city, located in the domain of the Kingdom of Neustadt.
Colin had naturally thought of this and, without any pretense, followed onto the chamber of commerce's steam locomotive to arrive at a huge warehouse.
He retrieved the Sea Swallow. The nearby Appraiser circled around it, casting several witchcraft spells, and then approached with unknown Witch Tools to perform a check.
A set of procedures took about half an hour.
The Appraiser stepped down from the ship and came over to them.
"How does it look, Kellogg?" the long-haired Apprentice asked.
"The functionality is intact, and it's in pretty new condition," Kellogg put away his appraisal tools, paused, then continued, "In the past, this ship's expected selling price would fluctuate between eleven and twelve thousand Magic Stones."
"However, now due to frequent appearances of divine beings in the far southern seas, the number of Wizards seeking adventures has increased, and the market's demand for both new and used ships has outstripped supply."
"So, personally, I estimate this ship could be marked up at least by ten percent over its original price, and finding the right buyer to push it up to fourteen thousand is quite plausible."
Colin nodded imperceptibly, his mind surging with thoughts.
The far southern seas... weren't those from the direction where he had come from on the Siya Continent?
The descent of divine beings was not unfamiliar to him, having experienced it before.
But the adventuring Wizards... Those few words carried no small amount of information.
"Mister, based on the ship you've consigned, our Tinghai Chamber of Commerce will guarantee a final selling price not lower than twelve thousand Magic Stones, and our commission fee is 2.9%, what do you think?"
"If that's acceptable, you will need to temporarily store the ship at our chamber to facilitate sale, and at the same time, Tinghai Chamber of Commerce will advance you fifty percent of the estimated minimum selling price in Magic Stones."
"That's acceptable..." Colin gathered his thoughts and nodded at the long-haired Apprentice, then quickly shifted the topic, "However, this commission fee, I think we could discuss it further."
After some bargaining with the long-haired Wizard, they finally reduced the commission fee to 2.7%.
After all these arrangements were made and the contract signed, receiving the advance of six thousand Magic Stones, Colin immediately set off towards the next planned location.
About an hour later.
Zion Street.
European-style white relief pillars, a smooth gray-white marble floor... Colin stood in front of a splendid building, slightly looking up.
At the top of the foyer, written in a common language were the flamboyant words "Tin Saint" intertwined in gold and silver, just like the feather badge he was holding in his hand.
The Tin Saint School... or any school's examination was not just attending on the day of the exam with an emblem; one needed to register in advance.
Especially for an Advanced Apprentice, since assessing their three primary Advanced knowledge areas was necessary, it was imperative to register early to facilitate the school in setting the appropriate exams.
According to Sofia, almost every school's examination comprised two parts—a written test and practical application.
The written test was easy to understand, similar to exams from his previous life, assessing theoretical knowledge.
The practical application wasn't restricted to a single type; it could be casting witchcraft or crafting by Wizards... in essence, anything demonstrating one's mastery of knowledge.
Softly exhaling, Colin stepped inside.
After showing his feather badge, he was directed to the registration office.
Knock, knock, knock.
He gently knocked on the door.
"Come in," a deep voice came from inside.
Colin pushed the door and entered.
What he saw was a plain office, with a grey-white wool carpet in the middle, a reddish-brown wooden desk by the window, and behind it a khaki upholstered armchair.
Sitting on the armchair, a scholarly male with a short brown ponytail looked up from the book in his hands and slowly asked,
"Are you here to register for the entrance examination?"
"Yes."
Colin respectfully replied without delay, stepping forward to the desk.
The refined ponytailed Male Wizard, seemingly harmless, yet the oppressive feeling from his soul made him cautious.
This was... likely at least a First Rank Intermediate Wizard or above.
"Give me the token." Matthew leaned back in the lounge chair, tapping his fingers on the table as he spoke indifferently.
"Very well, sir." Colin handed the feather badge over to Matthew with both hands.
"Hm." Matthew casually took it from him, briefly examined it with his Magic Power, then pulled out a dark silver round coin engraved with a feather pattern from a drawer and handed it to Colin.
"Bind it with Magic Power."
He glanced at Colin and added, "…as an Advanced Apprentice, you'll need to register three Advanced skills you are proficient in."
While he spoke, he pulled out a form crowded with various skills from beside him.
"Mechanical Transformation category: bionic machinery, large-sized puppets…; Element category: thermal radiation, Elemental Life…; Life Transformation: hybrid energy, Demon Beast bloodline integration…"
Matthew handed the form to Colin and then started reading a book by himself.
Colin took the form but didn't hurry to fill it out; instead, he stealthily pulled out three intermediate Magic Stones from his Storage Ring.
The 6000 Magic Stones lent to him in advance by the Tin Sea Trade Guild consisted of five intermediate Magic Stones, five lower Magic Stones, and five hundred common Magic Stones.
"Wizard sir, the student has some queries and would like to pay for a consultation," he said, holding the form in one hand and extending the three glowing intermediate Magic Stones towards Matthew with the other.
Matthew raised an eyebrow but did not rush to take the stones; instead, he spoke dismissively,
"You are a clever one, having done your homework in advance."
"Unfortunately…" he shook his head.
Colin's heart tightened, and he carefully looked up at Matthew, instantly understanding.
Clenching his teeth inwardly, he pulled out two more intermediate Magic Stones from his Storage Ring.
"It's the student's dulness…" he quietly handed all five Magic Stones to Matthew.
"Not bad!" Matthew said with a smile, patting Colin on the shoulder, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
Then, without any hesitation, he took the Magic Stones Colin offered, his movements fluid and precise.
What amazed Colin was that despite the greedy smile on Matthew's face and his action of taking the Magic Stones, it did not affect his scholarly and upright demeanor; rather, it added a vividness to his calm and gentle nature.
With this, Colin slightly relaxed inside.
This act was not a spur-of-the-moment idea but bought with twenty Magic Stones from Sofia, who revealed this unwritten rule.
As for its effectiveness... Matthew cleared his throat and asked Colin, "What witchcraft do you specialize in? Just the top three, and preferably of different types."
After taking the Magic Stones, his tone was far warmer than before, though it could not quite be called enthusiastic, but at least there was some expression.
Colin pondered for a moment, then said, "Arrow Shooting Skill, Fireball Technique, Steel Armor."
"Hm." Matthew nodded, taking the registration form from Colin's hands.
He pulled a black fountain pen from the wooden pen holder to his right and murmured as he wrote on the form.
"How to use magnetic fields to accelerate metal arrows, attempts at Spirit-guided Magic Power conversion into fire, simulating Steel with Force Fields…"
Seeing what he wrote, Colin's heart skipped a beat.
This was merely rewording those witchcraft skills differently… They were nowhere near the same level of difficulty as the bionic machinery or hybrid energy studies he had seen on the form before!
Matthew looked up and handed the registration form back to Colin.
"Alright, I'll communicate with them, and those will be your subjects for the written part of your Advanced skill test; as for practical applications, just demonstrate those three witchcraft."
"Now, fill out the rest of the form, and you can leave."
"Thank you," Colin respectfully took the registration form, a flicker of joy in his eyes.
Having Matthew's confirmation, he could barely contain his excitement; the ache of spending those Magic Stones dissipated in an instant like bubbles!
Upon leaving the Tin Saint School, and standing in front of its grand, luxurious gates, Colin surveyed his surroundings, holding the round certificate in his hand, feeling slightly dazed.
'The commission for "Sea Swallow" has already been consigned… just waiting for the Tin Sea Trade Guild to find a suitable buyer.'
'Tin Saint School… if that registering wizard hasn't fooled himself, it should also be nearly handled,'
He exhaled softly, murmuring quietly,
"All is ready, now just waiting for the examination."