Night had fallen.
Colin had long since returned home.
In the Meditation Room, he took out the parting gift he had received from Atbolde that morning—Elf Armor, ready to begin inscribing the Spiritual Imprint.
That very morning, he had skipped breakfast to attend a Faction meeting, and at Lillian's reminder, he hadn't eaten any meat.
Now it was late at night, and with the previous night included, it had been a whole day since he last consumed meat.
He could now begin using the Elf Armor for the first time.
He took out a dark gold seed and slowly explored it with his spirit, receiving guiding information in return.
Colin followed the guidance step by step.
Everything went smoothly.
Just like that.
He didn't know how much time had passed when a streak of golden light flashed across the Meditation Room.
The next instant!
An armor filled with Elf aesthetics appeared on Colin, featuring pale gold patterns on a dark black base.
He briefly used his spiritual power to sense the armor's contour.
On his head was a golden openwork crown, which more aptly described as delicate rather than imposing. The delicate crown gathered his medium-length hair, revealing his tidy hairline and smooth forehead, adding to his handsomeness.
On his body was a streamlined dark black armor, simple in shape yet decorated with many aesthetically pleasing ornaments.
Although richly decorated, it wasn't ostentatious...
"Truly worthy of being an Elf creation, just the appearance alone is eye-catching."
Colin sighed to himself.
Afterward, he quickly went upstairs to examine himself carefully in a floor-length mirror, pondered for a moment, and then donned an inconspicuous gray Wizard Robe.
Thanks to the streamlined design of the Elf Armor, once he put on the Wizard Robe, it was not apparent to the naked eye from the outside, even when he moved.
It only made him appear a bit more robust.
Having done all this, the sky was beginning to brighten.
"Another sleepless night," he exhaled softly, his thoughts stirring.
With a few clicks,
The Elf Armor began retracting from his back towards the front of his chest, eventually disappearing under the skin at the location of his Magic Sea.
He initially meant to head instinctively towards his bedroom for a brief rest.
After all, he hadn't slept for three consecutive days, and even as a First Rank Wizard, he was beginning to feel a bit weary.
But taking a step, he suddenly remembered Lillian's words from yesterday.
There was a meeting with Alus Association Wizards at eight o'clock this morning...
With a soft sigh in his heart, Colin abandoned the thought of catching up on sleep and instead hurried outside.
It was now just past six o'clock in the morning, not too late.
But the residence of the Yista School wasn't close by, and to make sure he arrived by eight, he had to leave now.
...
An hour later.
The carriage stopped outside the grand entrance of the Yista School.
Stepping down, Colin immediately saw a conspicuous sign—"Alus Association."
Following the sign, he walked towards a small courtyard opposite the entrance of the school.
Soon, an Apprentice greeted him.
"Sir, are you an accompanying Wizard from the Tin Saint School for the Alus meeting?" the receiving Apprentice recognized the badge on his chest and asked.
Colin nodded and followed the Apprentice into a conference room.
Upon entering, two First Rank Wizards were already waiting inside, both males, wearing different styles of Wizard Robes and badges from different schools.
It's worth noting that both men's school badges were quite similar, both circular, one silver and one black.
If one observed closely, the silver circle was actually in the style of a ring, while the black circle was simply a plain ring.
These two men were Wizards from the Silver Ring and Magic Ring, just like him, affiliated with the Yista School.
"Hello, Wizard from the Tin Saint School," the Silver Ring's First Rank Wizard greeted first.
His face was young and fair, topped with a head of dazzling silver hair… regretfully, it was not long, but a buzz cut.
In stark contrast to his hair were his two golden eyes.
"An unfamiliar face... Have you just advanced to an Official Wizard?" inquired the Magic Ring's First Rank Wizard.
If the appearance of the Silver Ring's Wizard was eye-catching, then the Magic Ring's Wizard was quite the opposite, merely looking like a common, skinny old man.
Colin did not respond to the word of Magic Ring's First Rank Wizard, instead simply introducing himself:
"Colin, Official Wizard from the Tin Saint School."
"Sovoc, from Silver Ring." Sovoc smiled, responding crisply.
"Mayer," the skinny old man quickly followed, then added, "Don't mind it, your appearance is just unfamiliar to me, just curious..."
His tone was down-to-earth and sincere, with not a trace of discord.
But the more he was like this, the more Colin kept his guard up.
He certainly didn't think that an old Wizard like Mayer, who had lived so many years, couldn't control his tongue.
Asking about strength upon meeting... in this world, that was not considered polite behavior.
After the three introduced themselves, they fell into silence.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long as two more Wizards arrived, one after another.
Both were female Wizards.
One was also from an affiliated school, Sovoc's Witch—Milo.
Plain looking, but with a curvaceous figure.
The other was their nominal leader for this meeting, a Witch from the Yista School—Margaret.
"Everyone has arrived, very good."
Margaret walked into the room and naturally came to the front to start her speech.
Her tone was cold, her hair neatly arranged, and she wore a simple, oversized gray-black Wizard Robe... she looked like a stern nun.
"The purpose of this meeting is simple—"
"One is to distribute subsidies from the Supreme Council in advance... each person receives six thousand Magic Stones, which I will distribute after my speech."
"The second is to get to know each other a bit and assign specific tasks to each person."
"The last is to go and meet the apprentices who are participating in the Alus Association this time and to explain the precautions to them."
"All right, if you understand, let's get started. Come forward and receive your Magic Stones," urged Margaret briskly.
"I didn't expect Margaret to be leading the team... this is going to be tough for us."
Colin hesitated slightly, casting a barely noticeable glance at Mayer.
Mayer's expression did not change, and he did not even look at him, just kept walking forward.
But the mental conversation continued.
"Don't look at me, communicate using spiritual power."
"Unlucky." Suddenly, Sovoc's voice also came through, "Who doesn't know that Margaret hates men... why would they let her lead?!"
Colin remained silent.
This must be a minor application of the transformed spiritual power after advancing to First Rank Wizard... but he had only just advanced and had never tried it before.
With that thought, they had already reached in front of Margaret.
"Thank you, Lady Margaret." Milo received the Magic Stones handed over by Margaret and respectfully thanked her.
"You're welcome," Margaret smiled back.
Then, before Colin and others could approach any nearer, Margaret waved her hand.
Swoosh—
The remaining three Magic Stone portions flew towards Colin and his group.
Thud.
Colin extended his hand to concentrate the force field and caught the six medium Magic Stones flying toward him.
He didn't really care about Margaret's attitude... as long as she didn't dock the Magic Stones he was due.
Next, they discussed the tasks each was responsible for.
Naturally, Margaret took on the easiest task.
The remaining men Wizards had about the same workload, Milo's share was slightly less, but only slightly.
After the tasks were assigned, Colin let out a slight sigh of relief.
Although Margaret had a nasty attitude, she was at least fair.
"Let's go, the apprentices are waiting in the yard outside."
After completing these tasks, Margaret did not rest for a moment and quickly led them outside.
…
"Lord Mulan, if I remember correctly, you too joined the Tin Saint School just this year?"
In the yard, the apprentices participating in the Alus Association were chatting and networking.
"Yes, I haven't been a member for a year yet," Mulan replied, then flatteringly added, "—just like you, Lord Lex, if I remember correctly, you joined the school in the same batch as me."
His demeanor was gracefully calm, his tone conventionally humble.
From childhood, his mother's training for such occasions came in handy, enabling Mulan to conceal his insecurities and sensitivities.
In fact, he only showed his irritable and moody side when faced with people weaker than himself.
At other times, his manners were impeccably polite.
Lex's face visibly brightened with pleasure on hearing this.
"Across the entire venue, among our peers who advanced to Advanced Wizard Apprentice and are participating in the Alus Association... there are only a few."
"Yes, among wizards, those with Talent are ultimately in the minority," Mulan responded, enjoying the mutual "praise" just as Lex did.
"The Alus Association is the real test of a wizard's Talent... if I remember correctly, during the entrance exam when you wandering Wizards joined the school, one apprentice's Fireball Technique was quite stunning."
"But it seems quite long since we've heard from him... perhaps he's been lost in the crowd," Lex added.
"There's no need to worry, he's already faded into obscurity..." A trace of disdain flickered across Mulan's eyes, just as he was about to emphasize his statement, he heard the apprentices whispering beside him:
"The Official Wizards have arrived!"
Eager to make a good impression, he quickly shut his mouth and swiftly turned around.
But as he turned, he froze.
His brown pupils uncontrollably dilated with shock, his face registering disbelief. He blinked his eyes, trying to deny everything.
Suddenly, an amazed murmur came from Lex:
"Lord Mulan, that First Rank Wizard standing on the far left... am I not mistaken? Isn't that the apprentice who took the entry test with you? The one with the powerful Fireball Technique?"
Mulan's slightly opened mouth closed back up.
His lips moved, trying to say something, but for some reason, he couldn't produce a sound.
Lex suddenly turned to look at him earnestly and said:
"Lord Mulan, didn't you always want the pair of twin maids under me? I will gift them to you when I return... just ask for support in the Alus Association or say a few good words to that lord for me."
Listening to Lex's words, Mulan's heart gradually calmed down.
To be honest, there wasn't any deep hatred between him and Colin... at most, there were just some minor frictions.
Everything could be salvaged.
Perhaps… this could even be turned into an opportunity!
The venue for the Alus Association was set so far away, the performance and even the lives of these apprentices were completely controlled by the five wizards standing at the forefront...
Normally, Official Wizards stayed aloof, even those from the same faction were hard for apprentices like them to approach, let alone curry favor with.
But Colin was different; they had already met during their apprentice days, and although there were frictions, thinking positively, the barrier to interaction was actually lower...
With proper handling, it might be possible to turn this misfortune into an advantage!
Mulan's thoughts kept whirling, and his mood gradually stabilized from the initial panic and even began to savor the joy from Lex's earlier words…