At that moment, Hogan glanced at Bernie beside him and hesitated before suddenly asking Colin,
"...What exactly do you mean by 'exchange knowledge'?"
His recent interaction with Colin had familiarized him somewhat with the man, and he was now willing to be the first to take the plunge.
After all, for him, whose talent was only average, a six-hour lesson on the complex subject of the soul and the Spirit Sea allowed him only to grasp a rough outline; there were many areas he did not understand.
Colin smiled inwardly, pleased that his efforts in explaining were not in vain.
"Exchange knowledge is quite literal, you pose a question, I provide an answer, and then you provide me with knowledge in return."
Colin took out a piece of paper he had prepared beforehand and handed it over, "The knowledge listed here can be exchanged, and their respective values are marked."
Hogan took the paper, pondered for a moment, and then posed a question to Colin.
"I didn't quite understand the answer the old wizard gave earlier to my question about 'how different positions of the Spirit Sea affect the mental consumption of Elemental Magic'. Can you explain it in detail? How much knowledge do I need to offer?"
"Certainly," Colin nodded slightly and asked, "Which knowledge can you offer?"
Hogan picked up the paper and pointed, "This one... and this one..."
The two quickly agreed on the knowledge to be exchanged.
Colin began to explain through mental transmission.
Some wizards in the corridor had already left, but overall, more stayed than Colin had anticipated; at least half of the wizards remained.
No wonder, as most wizards had talent similar to Hogan's, and it was likely that after a six-hour class, they wouldn't have fully understood such challenging concepts, inevitably leaving them with doubts and confusion.
In the past, they would either seek advice from a mentor or spend contribution points to attend the lesson again.
Of course, neither option was free.
But this time, a wizard stepped forward claiming he could answer most questions, and despite a cost, some were willing to try.
Moreover, the Golden Feather Token played a role in their willingness to stay; otherwise, the corridor would have been deserted by now.
After a while, Colin finished explaining.
With the attention of the other wizards, Hogan, showing an expression of sudden enlightenment, thanked Colin:
"Thank you, Mr. Colin, for your thorough explanation; I understood it immediately!"
Colin's smile broadened slightly, and if he did not know the wizard before him, he might have thought Hogan was a plant!
After expressing his thanks, and seemingly not satisfied with just that, Hogan exclaimed, "No wonder you're a Golden Feather, we truly cannot compare when it comes to learning knowledge."
The wizards nearby felt a bit resentful upon hearing this, but the brilliant Golden Feather Token at Colin's waist left them holding their tongues.
Hogan, on the other hand, seemed unaffected.
After all, the gap between individuals was too great, leaving no room for envy to arise.
"Anyone else interested in knowledge exchange?" Colin continued to inquire.
"Me," a gaunt wizard stepped forward, his expression composed, eager to see what this Golden Feather was all about!
About five minutes later.
The skepticism in the gaunt wizard's eyes turned into sincere admiration, "Indeed, a Golden Feather, thank you for your detailed explanation."
After providing his knowledge, the gaunt wizard left, remarking how truly different the Golden Feathers were.
Colin chuckled and asked again:
"Anyone else?"
"Me!"
Once the first came forward, there was a second, and a third...
One after another, the wizards stepped up to exchange knowledge, and Colin's smile grew ever more radiant.
Strictly speaking, the Tin Saint School had not witnessed such behavior before.
Indeed, those with great talent only needed to join a faction, where they would naturally be guided by High Rank Wizards, often without the need to take classes at the Teaching Castle.
Even for those few who slipped through the net, they likely wouldn't have considered an approach like Colin's.
Only a wizard like Colin, embarrassed by his lack of funds and unwilling to spend too much time on school tasks, would think of such an unorthodox method.
After the knowledge exchange in the hallway had ended, a whole hour had passed.
Outside, the sky was completely dark, like a supple curtain, dotted with tiny scattered stars.
Watching Colin's departing figure, Hogan couldn't help but lament,
"He really is a Golden Feather, everyone listens to the same lesson, so why does he understand so much? He not only understood everything but can also infer other principles from it! Could this be why he's a Golden Feather, and I'm just an ordinary wizard?"
Beside him, Bernie glanced at him, his mouth slightly ajar, but he eventually closed it again.
"Hogan, do you know this Golden Feather? Which faction does he belong to?" a fellow wizard asked.
"I don't know, he didn't say," Hogan shook his head.
"His name is Colin Leonard, has anyone heard of him?" Bernie asked, his heart stirring slightly.
"Sounds unfamiliar..."
"Not very familiar..."
Bernie was somewhat disappointed, but not overly surprised.
The wizards present were all First Rank Wizards, with mostly average talent, all of them fringe figures, not very well-informed.
"Colin Leonard... Colin..." A wizard suddenly brightened up and said, "I think I've heard it once, he is that newly risen Golden Feather!"
"Which school is he from?" someone asked eagerly.
"It seems he hasn't joined any school…" the wizard replied, with a strange look on his face, "I overheard this a couple of days ago from some wizards from Pureblood Families; they mentioned Colin has declined several invitations from Pureblood Families and seeming like they're planning to pressure him further."
"..." The hallway fell silent for a moment, with a wizard murmuring,
"Why would he not plan to join any faction?"
"Who knows, maybe he'll join soon, let's not talk about this; it's all too far removed from us!"
"Yes, yes, let's rather share about that Golden Feather's explanation just now, the question I asked was..."
Bernie glanced at the pitch-dark night outside the hallway, shook his head, and joined in on the sharing.
...…
Elsewhere on the school's road.
As Colin walked toward the Tin Saint Library, he checked off the knowledge he had acquired on a sheet of paper.
He had initially thought that such knowledge-for-knowledge exchanges would be of little benefit, merely a way to save some contribution points.
But having actually gone through with it tonight, he found the gains were far greater than he had imagined!
There were still about seventeen or eighteen wizards left in the hallway, with each wizard posing two questions on average, totaling over thirty questions.
And each question required an exchange of equivalent knowledge...
Colin calculated carefully and was surprised to find that if he were to learn the same amount of knowledge using contribution points himself, he would need at least 40 School Contribution Points!
'Maybe I don't need to take on more tasks; I could essentially fill the gaps in my knowledge?' Colin couldn't help but think.
But he quickly shook his head, realizing this was probably due to the high difficulty of today's lesson. It might not be the same with other lessons.
Besides, he shouldn't appear too extraordinary... Indeed, he might still need to undertake a few missions in the end to earn the needed contribution points.
Colin sighed and entered the Tin Saint Library, ready to borrow the day's knowledge and return to the True Knowledge Society's laboratory to continue his research on the problems he encountered during this morning's Element Transformation.
While flipping through the knowledge in the library's crystal, he thought to himself again.
'However, it might not be bad to venture out occasionally, at least it spares me the worry of having to constantly watch out for the Pureblood Families making another move.'
For some reason, Colin found himself thinking of the misty banks of the Leibo River, which, although not as rich in Magic Power as Neustadt City, was especially tranquil.
Recalling the time spent in seclusion there, it still felt very fulfilling to think about it.
Speaking of which, it was also on the banks of Leibo River where he had broken through to become a First Rank Knight; it caused quite a stir, but there was no need to worry about being discovered there.
After all, it was just a regular area within the boundaries of a Kingdom of mortals, with few Wizard Apprentices, and even if noticed, it would not cause much trouble...
Thinking this over, Colin exchanged for the knowledge and quickly walked towards the True Knowledge Society.
Regardless, the most pressing thing now was to understand why the altered Ice Element would collapse.