In the spacious gray-black room, a brown carpet with triangle patterns sprawled across the floor.
Sunlight filtered through the square stained glass windows high on the left and right walls, casting mottled traces on the group of Wizard Apprentices gathered below.
Murmurs and whispers reverberated through the room.
Colin stood in a corner of the crowd, his expression impassive.
After Berkeley had brought him back to the Wizard Territory, he had promptly turned and left in a hurry.
A gray-haired female Wizard Apprentice—Fina—had summoned them here.
She, like Berkeley, was one of the three Peak Apprentices.
At the moment, she stood silently beside the platform at the front of the crowd, her face expressionless, indifferent to the whispered conversations of the Apprentices.
Tap tap tap—
The sound of numerous footsteps gradually approached from outside the room.
The noisy chatter of the Apprentices inside abruptly weakened, until it vanished entirely.
The thick wooden door creaked open.
Wizard Lap walked in slowly, followed by several other Wizards.
'Berkeley, Nidham, Price, and… the leaders of the Luo Wen Gang and the Snake Head Crow Gang.'
Colin glanced up briefly, a hint of confusion on his face.
The number of Wizards on Blackstone Island was not great to begin with, and the number of Peak Apprentices was even fewer.
To his knowledge, the publicly known Peak Apprentices were the three from the School including Berkeley, the leaders of the Four Great Gangs, and the City Lord Price.
That was eight people in total.
And last night, the Chiwen Gang and poke gang had almost been wiped out; their leaders had naturally died as well.
Of the eight Peak Wizard Apprentices, two were gone, leaving only six...
And now, all were gathered here.
Berkeley and Nidham moved to stand beside Fina on the right side of the platform.
As for the bewildered Price and the others, they stood on the opposite side of the platform.
Wizard Lap stepped onto the platform at the front of the crowd without a word, his gaze sweeping around the room.
Below, everyone bowed their heads in silence, as still as if in the depths of winter.
Even the normally defiant Nidham dared not make a single other move, as silent and respectful as anyone else.
After a long while.
Boom!!
"Ah!!"
Several piercing screams suddenly erupted from the left side of the platform!
The Apprentices instinctively looked up.
When they saw what had happened, they cried out in unison!
Colin's pupils shrank slightly in disbelief at the scene before him—
The three Peak Wizard Apprentices who had been standing on the left side of the platform were now enveloped in roaring flames, quickly turning into three charred corpses that fell to the ground, motionless.
A slight commotion among the Apprentices swelled into a surge of clamor within the room.
"Cough—cough—"
Atop the platform, Wizard Lap coughed twice, covering his mouth with a weary expression.
The chatter of the Apprentices ceased abruptly.
"Do not be afraid, my students,"
he said, lifting his head to gaze calmly at the Apprentices in front of him, their faces showing various emotions.
"I am eradicating a potential crisis that could arise in your future."
He paused for a moment, his voice tired and carrying an almost imperceptible note of dread,
"I am dying, my students."
A stir arose again in the room, more intense than before.
"What?!"
"How could it be?"
"Wizard Lap..."
Even Berkeley's usually composed face now showed disbelief.
When the Apprentices in attendance realized that Wizard Lap was not joking,
most of them wore expressions of sorrow.
All of those present, whether for a brief five years or as long as sixty, had lived under the protection of Wizard Lap.
One could say they had all grown up listening to stories about Wizard Lap.
Though they were more familiar with their instructors before becoming Advanced Apprentices,
Wizard Lap, the founder of the Lap School!
There wasn't a single Apprentice who did not understand from where the honors and benefits they enjoyed daily had come—
They basked in the glory and responsibilities that came with being part of the School,
and they revered the creator of this glory—Wizard Lap.
Furthermore, Wizard Lap had a gentle nature; the School's system was strict, but it could not be called brutal.
Just as the subjects of a benevolent king in the mundane world would naturally feel sorrow at his impending demise, they too felt a certain sadness.
And—
The sense of being lost, when the house that sheltered them was about to collapse.
"After I die, only the emergence of an Official Wizard among you will allow the School to continue being passed down."
Wizard Lap added gravely, his demeanor calm.
"I have planned a way out for you."
"I will choose one Apprentice from all of you present, assist them in becoming an Official Wizard, and let them inherit my legacy."
Inherit a legacy? Advance to Official Wizard?
The Apprentices silently exchanged glances.
On the edge of the platform, Nidham's gaze flickered, subtly glancing at Fina and Berkeley beside him.
If there were anyone among the Apprentices present who had the chance to advance to Official Wizard, it was undoubtedly the three of them, the Peak Wizard Apprentices.
Berkeley looked worried; more than advancing to Official Wizard, he was saddened by the impending death of Wizard Lap.
He had come here sixty years ago as one of the first batch of Apprentices of the Lap School.
Wizard Lap had watched him grow from a six- or seven-year-old child to what he was now...
To him, Wizard Lap was both a teacher and a father figure.
Beside Berkeley,
the gray-haired Fina still wore an expressionless face.
In the crowd, Colin, like the other Apprentices, bowed his head silently, yet inside he felt puzzled.
'Inherit a legacy, advance to Official Wizard?'
'Could such benefits really fall to Apprentices below the Advanced level?'
'If a successor truly needed to be chosen, wouldn't it make sense to select directly from Peak Apprentices like Berkeley or Advanced Apprentices like Holt?'
'Now, the room wasn't only filled with Peak Apprentices like Berkeley.
Practically all members of the School had gathered here, even the Basic Level Wizard Apprentices who had survived the previous night...'
Wizard Lap continued to announce:
"All of you present have the opportunity to advance to Official Wizard and obtain my legacy."
"The selection will not be based on realm or Talent,
he paused before continuing in a deep voice, "but on a trial."
"Follow me."
Lap Wizard slowly descended from the platform, leading the apprentices towards the exit.
Colin had no time to think before he was swept along with the other apprentices, following behind Wizard Lap.
Like a stream pouring forth, the wizards formed a long procession, gradually leaving the room.
Soon, the room, which had been filled with wizards, was left with only about a dozen lagging behind.
Then the sunlight streamed through the square stained glass windows, unobstructed, falling on the brown carpet with its triangular patterns, slicing it into light and dark halves.
In that darker part,
Squeak.
A rat-like creature, fused with the shadows, flashed by.
A fair-faced witch at the end of the procession of wizards calmly turned her head back and quickly caught up with the group.
If Colin had been there, he would have been surprised to find—
That among the last of their batch of Basic Level apprentices,
There was still one female apprentice who, like him, had successfully advanced to Intermediate Wizard Apprentice at the end of the ten-year term, staying in the Wizard Territory.
And if Colin had not forgotten the female apprentice's name, he might have even called out a greeting:
"Mia."
*
*
*
Tap tap tap—
Footsteps gradually came to a stop.
Wizard Lap stopped in front of a thick stone door at the very depths of Central Castle.
"Children," he said, his voice even more weary than before.
"This is the trial I have prepared for you."
Colin lifted his head to study the unattractive gray stone door behind him.
The stone door was smooth, with a ring of patterns around its edge like rough, stone-drawn sketches...
This style of decorative pattern could be seen all over Blackstone Castle. There was nothing special about it.
Other than that, there were no other distinctive marks on the stone door.
"Cough—, the trial is very simple... you will know the specifics once you go inside," Wizard Lap said with a cough, adding no further explanation.
He waved his magic wand, and an imperceptible wave of magic power flashed by.
Clack.
The stone door behind him immediately rose upward, revealing a dark and deep passageway.
Perhaps it was because the stone door opened.
The Bright Crystals embedded in the ceiling of the passageway lit up from near to far, their light extending all the way back as far as the eye could see.
In the soft White Light, Colin could see the entire layout of the passageway.
To the left and right were the rough, uneven gray stone walls, detailed with patterns and ornaments in the same style as the stone door outside.
Perhaps due to the dampness, in some twisting crevices, tenacious greenery crawled out, clinging to the stone walls.
"Go in," Wizard Lap stepped aside to make way, gesturing to the apprentices.
Nidham was the first to walk towards the passageway, his steps unwavering.
He was not worried about any schemes from Wizard Lap.
If Wizard Lap really meant them harm, why bother with such complexity?
Even if, by a thousand-to-one chance, Wizard Lap truly intended them harm, they had no chance of resistance.
Even though Wizard Lap had been seriously injured, it would still be easy for him to deal with these apprentices.
The three Peak Wizard Apprentices who had died so suddenly, weren't they the best example?
Of course, having lived on the island for over thirty years, he was more inclined to believe what Wizard Lap said was true.
If Wizard Lap truly had sustained an injury that would lead to his demise... then these apprentices, even if they were drained to their last drop of blood, would be of no use to Wizard Lap.
There was no need for him to go to such lengths for them.
Following his lead, the other apprentices also hesitantly made their way inside.
Clearly, none of them were fools; what Nidham could deduce, most were also aware of.
Ting.
Colin, calm and unhurried, walked in the middle of the crowd, quietly slipping the suspended Cone Bullet back into his palm.
This was a small technique derived from the Arrow Shooting Skill.
It could determine the direction of north, south, east, and west based on the magnetic field.
Apprentices entered the passageway one after another through the stone door.
Clack—
The moment all the apprentices stepped into the passageway, the stone door slowly closed.
Colin instinctively looked back, and many apprentices did likewise.
After seeing the scene behind them, the apprentices breathed a sigh of relief...
At the rear of the procession, Wizard Lap was there, slowly following them.
Tap tap tap—
The apprentices walked in silence, no one speaking.
Only their shadows flickered under the White Light...
Each of them wore a different expression.
Some were looking forward to the upcoming trials, fantasizing that maybe they would be the one chosen by Wizard Lap to stand out.
Some bore expressions of worry.
They had not expected that in just a single night, Blackstone Island would be turned upside down.
But then again... perhaps this world has always been like this.
Peace, stability.
For anyone, these words are but luxuries.
...The passageway was longer than Colin had anticipated.
Click.
He pulled out his Pocket Watch and looked at it.
Nearly an hour had already passed.
He looked ahead.
Wizard Lap had, unbeknownst to them, moved to their front.
Perhaps to accommodate the Basic Level apprentices, his pace was not quick.
For this reason, the apprentices did not scatter and remained gathered in a long line.
Nidham and the other Peak Apprentices could do little but suppress their own speed and honestly follow behind Wizard Lap.
After a while,
Colin felt the pace of the group slow and then come to a gradual stop.
He looked up ahead.
Past the obstructing heads in the crowd, at the very front of the procession,
Wizard Lap stopped in front of a gray-white stone wall.
The wall was about three meters high and five meters wide. Its edges were covered in vine-like relief patterns.
Colin frowned slightly.
This wall clearly differed from the gray-black style of the passageway they were in.