Colin lifted the black curtain of the carriage window and peered out behind them.
To their left rear, unbeknownst to them, a steam locomotive with an elegant platinum and white design had appeared, the brilliance of witchcraft flowing over it.
Luxurious, noble, elegant...
One could tell at a glance that the person inside the carriage was no ordinary individual.
Click, click, click—
Just then, their carriage suddenly started moving, and at the same time, the coachman's voice came from ahead,
"Lord Hume, there's a Yista School emblem on the carriage..."
"Uh-huh," Hume responded softly through his nostrils.
He understood what the coachman meant—they needed to pull over temporarily.
Not long after.
Controlled by the coachman, their carriage moved to the very edge of the road, and other carriages waiting beside them did the same.
With their actions, the center of the road cleared up enough space for at least three steam locomotives to pass side by side.
However, in reality, they had not been occupying the entire road, and with the size of the steam locomotive, it could have passed without any hindrance...
The platinum steam locomotive did not stop but maintained its speed as it drove past them on the left, stopping in front of the white light warning line.
'Do they, too, have to wait for the warning line?'
Just as Colin was about to marvel at the fairness of the Law Enforcement Team.
Whoosh.
In his field of view, the white light warning band suddenly dissolved.
Immediately afterward, a tall silver-grey wizard in a wizard robe, obsequiously bent over and approached the carriage window, his lips quivering.
Unfortunately, he couldn't hear the content of the conversation, either due to the distance or some witchcraft used.
A moment later, after the conversation ended, the silver-grey-robed wizard stepped back respectfully, standing aside and watched the platinum steam locomotive continue its journey, crossing through the warning zone as if it were nothing.
'Keep a low profile, focus on developing and improving!'
Colin reminded himself as he let down the black curtain.
These days, the orderly environment of Neustadt City nearly made him forget this was a world devoid of fairness... The so-called rules were nothing more than what the ruling class needed.
Those who adhered to the order were always ordinary wizards like them, not factions like the Yista School.
Just like that.
They waited in the same place for another two hours or so,
Until the sun was high in the sky, and the white light warning line was finally removed.
During that time, several other carriages passed through the warning zone as if it were inexistent, while only their ordinary carriages continued to wait there.
However... fortunately, everything went smoothly afterward.
At the Tinghai Commerce Association, he quickly reached a consensus with the seller and signed the resale contract.
After handing over the highest control authority of the Sea Swallow to the seller, the Tinghai Commerce Association promptly paid him the remaining balance.
After deducting the fees and adding the Magic Stones he already had, his assets instantly reached about 13,500 Magic Stones.
With such wealth, Colin walked out of the Tinghai Commerce Association with a straighter back and much more confidence in his heart.
He intended to hail a public carriage to return to the inn.
But upon seeing a bookstore not far away, something occurred to him, and he walked towards it.
As he approached the doorway, he looked up and saw the huge mechanical box placed on the wooden table to the right of the store entrance.
Beside the mechanical box, a sign read "Take with pass."
'This must be where you collect notifications for free.'
Colin took out his pass and placed it in the corresponding slot, gently turning it.
A thin sheet of paper spit out from below.
He picked it up; this was indeed the latest notification from the Wizard Alliance he had wanted.
Printed in black ink on white paper, its title was very casual — "Supreme Council Announcement Number 706."
He glanced again at the grey-white box. He hadn't noticed any traces of a scan when he had placed his pass... it seemed more like a simple mechanical device aided by witchcraft.
He had originally thought it was an official device made by the Wizard Alliance, but now it seemed more likely that it was made by the bookstore owner himself.
He wasn't in a hurry to read the notification in his hand. With a hint of curiosity, he looked up at the sign overhead.
A brown oak base with black painted letters — "Chapman's Bookstore" came into view.
Turning his gaze away, Colin stepped into the bookstore.
Inside, it was like a jewelry store of ancient times, with a transparent countertop engraved with defensive witchcraft arrays.
Only a young female apprentice manned the shop... Colin felt somewhat disappointed.
Inside the bookstore... was not as interesting as outside.
"Can I help you find a book on any particular subject?" asked a freckled-faced average female clerk with a welcoming smile.
"Do you have any Zeroth Rank witchcraft recommendations for spirit protection or healing?"
Having come all this way, Colin asked.
"Yes," the clerk nodded and was about to turn around to fetch the catalog for Colin.
"Wait," Colin suddenly halted her, "No need for spirit protection or healing for now. Change it to Zeroth Rank witchcraft related to concealment."
Whether here or elsewhere, truly valuable witchcraft was always firmly held by the Schools and rarely shared. Even bookstores with a School background typically sold lesser quality witchcraft.
He was joining a School in four days. If he needed witchcraft for spirit protection or healing, he would rather search within the School at that time.
After all, even though he had Golden Paper, improving witchcraft still took time... He would aim for higher starting point witchcraft whenever possible.
This way, he could ensure that he had substantive power in the early stages and greater potential for future development.
After all, if poorer witchcraft could break limits for better ones, then better witchcraft breaking limits would naturally be superior.
Colin watched as the clerk went to fetch the list of witchcraft names, his thoughts racing.
As for why he wanted to buy some concealing witchcraft... it was mainly just to be cautious.
Although the Golden Paper could continually break limits, in the early stages, if one studied carefully, the original shadow of the witchcraft could still be discerned.
The main use of Concealing Witchcraft, naturally, was to conceal.
However, within a School, choosing such witchcraft would inevitably be recorded... and in itself, that was a kind of non-concealment.
The clerk was momentarily taken aback by his sudden change of mind but quickly reacted.
Soon, she brought the list of Concealing Witchcraft.
After comparing several options, Colin chose two witchcraft techniques, one called Silent and the other Trace Erasure.
Silent was a Middle Zeroth Rank witchcraft, of inferior quality, delivering exactly what its name suggested by silencing sounds made by the user.
Trace Erasure, on the other hand, was an Upper Zeroth Rank witchcraft of average quality that erased traces primarily of magical disturbances, and secondarily of scents.
For comparison, Arrow Shooting Skill and Fireball Technique were both Lower Zeroth Rank witchcrafts, one inferior and the other excellent in quality.
Colin paid with Magic Stones and immediately headed back to the inn.
Silent and Trace Erasure had cost him a total of 120 Magic Stones, which was quite cheap compared to other things in the city.
Thus, the day of the exam approached quickly.