The dawn light was faint, with the unique white mist of the early morning enveloping the gray streets.
It was still early, the sun had not even risen.
Only a sparse few pedestrians were walking briskly and silently on the smooth stone pavement, occasionally a horse-drawn carriage or a steam carriage puffing black smoke would rush past.
Inside the cabin of the public carriage.
Colin pulled down the deep brown curtain, picked up the white paper with the information of the mentors, and checked it again carefully.
Two days had passed since the examination at the Tin Saint School.
Today was the day to report to the true location of the Tin Saint School... the Tin Saint residence that was located in the city center during the examination was actually more like an external agency of the Tin Saint School.
The true headquarters of the School was in the distant Hua Pei district.
If it were compared to the divisions of past life cities, it would be roughly at the position to the south of the second ring of Neustadt City.
Clip-clop, clip-clop—
As the carriage moved forward, the scenery of the surrounding streets visibly changed. Glancing around, there were no longer shops with signboards; instead, tall door walls... large mansions started to become more common.
Before long, the coachman pulled the reins, the horse neighed, and the carriage gradually came to a stop.
Hua Pei district, Tin Saint Street, had arrived.
With Renee and her sister, Colin stepped down from the carriage, and what met his eyes was a large, dumb white arch. On the thick doors above, two pieces of iconic intertwined gold and silver feathers were clearly engraved.
On either side of the door were tall grey brick walls that extended far into the distance... The land was clearly extensive.
Standing at the entrance, staring at the tall door walls, he felt, in a trance, that this place somewhat resembled the university from his previous life.
There was no one guarding the door.
As instructed by the paper, Colin walked to the door and took out the feather badge that Allyn had given him.
The solid door on the left rippled like the surface of water, with the original feather pattern twisting and transforming.
The next second, a strange face slowly emerged.
A standard triangle made up its whole, an inverted triangular eye, an inverted triangular mouth, and an inverted triangular face, giving a sense of order and regularity.
"Oh, a new wizard?" the face yawned vividly and looked up at Colin, "You are the earliest one here today."
"Cut the act, you don't need sleep, why the yawn?!"
Just as Colin was about to respond, another face suddenly emerged on the other side of the door. If the face on one side was made of inverted triangles, then the face on this side was made of upright triangles.
"Right Ao, you!"
"What do you mean you, Left Ao, don't forget our duty. We are only created to be door..."
"Gatekeepers!" Left Ao interrupted loudly.
"Door... Golems!" Right Ao paused, continuing his words.
Seizing the moment before Left Ao had a chance to retort, Right Ao hurriedly continued:
"New apprentice, the first time you enter, you need to place your badge in the middle of us, and you and your servants need to place your palms on the door."
It seemed the work was starting, as Left Ao also calmed down and added:
"The attendant badges for the maids also need to be placed in the middle indentation."
"Understood," Colin said, his expression unchanging, but inside he was somewhat amazed; such sentient golems were a rare sight.
He and the Renee sisters together placed their badges in the middle indentation of the door and then pressed their palms against it.
A wave fluctuated across them.
"All done," Right Ao spoke.
"Thank you," Colin took back the badges and expressed his gratitude respectfully.
Although the two golems looked out of tune, as the guardians of Tin Saint School, they were certainly not simple characters.
"No need to thank us," Zuo Ao said first.
Right Ao cast a lively glance at Zuo Ao but remained silent, merely controlling the door to the right to slowly open.
Colin nodded to them, then quickly walked inside with Renee and her sister.
Before them lay a wide avenue, flanked by peculiar trees and plants arranged in order, all faintly pulsating with Magic Power's vibrations. They were obviously not ordinary flora.
Colin did not linger, and according to the map, he hurried toward the residence of the mentor he had been assigned to.
Now, while it was still early and there were few people on the road, it was best to meet the mentor as soon as possible to settle everything... As for the School, there would be plenty of opportunities to visit in the future.
About half an hour later, he arrived at the entrance to a path shaded by green trees.
Looking down the path, it seemed to lead to a manor.
Stone brick paths, clear pond water; this place's style was completely different from elsewhere in Neustadt City.
If not for the rougher stone bricks, more angular ponds, and the large swathes of flowers among the green trees... this place would remind him of the residence of a reclusive master hidden deep in the mountains in his previous life.
Unfortunately, the European style made it more akin to an ancient manor.
Seeing this, Colin couldn't help nodding... Other things aside, he was quite satisfied just with the environment.
Without further delay, he was ready to move forward.
Hum.
But the next second, a translucent blue light appeared, and a gentle repulsive force pushed him out of the pathway.
Colin was slightly startled.
"Master?" Renee asked with confusion.
Colin shook his head, paused for a moment, took out the School's feather badge, and tried to enter again.
Hum—
It was the familiar translucent blue light again, and the gentle repulsive force came once more.
The force was not strong, but Colin did not continue to force his way forward.
"Let's wait here," he turned and instructed Renee and her sister.
Although on the day of the exam, he had learned a bit about the School through Allyn, like the map of the School.
The information he knew was still scant. Rather than wandering around to find a solution, it was a better choice to wait where he was.
As he was thinking this, a deep voice suddenly came from behind.
"You are...?"
Colin turned back and saw a muscular strong man with golden buzz cut hair, which looked extremely stiff, standing straight up.
Under such a tough buzz cut, however, was a simple and kind face.
"Hello, I'm the new apprentice reporting for duty." Colin raised his hand, showing the School's badge held between his index finger and thumb to the strong man.
"A new apprentice... Who is your mentor?" the short-haired strong man scratched his head, puzzled.
As he lifted his arm, his Tin Saint School's standard Wizard Robe stretched tight, revealing the solid pectorals underneath.
"Archibald Rudolph," Colin put away the badge and answered.
"Mentor Rudolph?" The strong apprentice exclaimed in surprise.
"The mentor has been assigned a new apprentice..."
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Marjorie Alist," the strong apprentice's expression suddenly became enthusiastic, and he took the initiative to say, "I'm the second apprentice of Mentor Rudolph, and also your senior apprentice."
"Marjorie the senior apprentice," Colin nodded, returned the smile, greeted him, and then pointed to himself, "Colin Leonard."
"Hmm." Marjorie nodded and said, "Come on, I'll take you inside."