Chapter 139 - 014: Jump

Chapter 139: 014: Jump

In the Shadow Land, apprentices are categorized into Inner Ring Apprentices and Outer Ring Apprentices.

But in the eyes of the true elites, apprentices in the Shadow Land are simply divided into Tower Inner Apprentices and Tower Outside Apprentices.

Apprentices living outside the Tower, no matter how talented or outstanding they may be, have essentially the same fate. After turning 30, they are assigned to various regions in the Dark Forest to perform different tasks—cultivating Magic Plants, raising Demons, brewing Magic Potions, and so on—laboring tirelessly in exchange for cultivation resources.

Inner Ring or Outer Ring, in the end, it’s all the same. Using the class divisions of the Human World as an analogy, they all belong to the civilian class.

If the outside of the Tower represents the civilian world, then the inner Tower undoubtedly stands as the realm of Nobles!

Once someone becomes a Tower Inner Apprentice, almost all the knowledge of the Shadow Tower will be made accessible to them. In addition, the Tower will assign a Wizard to personally mentor the apprentice.

Other resources—Magic Stones, materials, and nearly everything needed for cultivation—will no longer trouble the apprentice. All they have to do is focus wholeheartedly on cultivating.

If an apprentice is fortunate enough to pass the final test and successfully advance to become a Wizard, they will be welcomed into a Wizard Family through marriage, fully severing their Muggle identity and achieving the status of a noble Pureblood!

They will truly ascend to the privileged class that controls and governs this world!

The disparity between Netta Apprentices and Tower Outside Apprentices is an unfathomable divide, like the difference between heaven and earth.

However, becoming a Netta Apprentice is anything but simple—it is purely a matter of destiny.

Theoretically speaking, ordinary Muggle apprentices have only one chance to enter the Shadow Tower and become a Tower Inner Apprentice.

That chance occurs when they first arrive in the Shadow Land, as the Wizards conduct a selection process for all apprentices. Those chosen can enter the Netta.

But the selection mechanism, well…

It either requires apprentices to have a Fourth-class Talent or higher, or for certain traits to catch the attention of a Wizard—like Alfred—and be directly taken in.

For the former, among a batch of several hundred apprentices, only two or three might meet the criteria. As for the latter… it’s virtually legendary.

In other words, for ordinary apprentices arriving in the Shadow Land, their ultimate destination through personal effort is merely becoming an Inner Ring Apprentice. By 30, they will be sent away from the Shadow Land to various Witch Domains in the Dark Forest to take on different jobs.

This is why, when someone witnesses an apprentice actually obtaining the permit to enter the Shadow Tower and become a Netta Apprentice, it’s nothing short of sensational.

…

The next morning, at dawn.

As dim light filtered through the cross-shaped window, Lynch slowly opened his eyes.

He stared at the ceiling above and his first thought was—

What a headache!

After the celebration ended yesterday, Graham had specifically come to find Lynch, clamoring for him to treat him to a meal. This guy always seemed to show up at precisely the right time to mooch.

Fine, a treat it is!

Experiencing such a significant identity shift by entering the Netta was indeed worth celebrating, so Lynch called on his familiar friends and headed to the Fairy Tavern for a feast.

Flush with cash, Lynch spared no expense. He ordered all kinds of delicacies and even got unlimited drinks of their signature “Fairy’s Kiss.”

Glass after glass.

Lynch couldn’t even remember how much he drank. By the time he came to, he was lying in bed. After barely managing to complete his daily training, he couldn’t take it anymore and collapsed into the covers with a spinning head.

“Damn it, I shouldn’t have drunk so much… ugh…”

His head was in agony, the ceiling seemed to spin in his vision, and his stomach churned violently as though it was ready to erupt at any moment.

In desperation, Lynch quickly used his mental link to summon Frankenstein, who helped him to the lab. There, he grabbed a random assortment of materials from the shelves and swiftly brewed himself a bottle of Purification Water.

A recovery-type Magic Potion, excellent for removing abnormal states, though it was slightly wasteful to use it just for sobering up. But Lynch couldn’t be bothered with that right now—he just felt awful.

After drinking the potion and absorbing its effects, relief quickly set in. The drunken haze in his mind dissipated, his headache subsided, and though his stomach still felt slightly fiery, it was no longer twisting uncomfortably like before.

“Back to life.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lynch steadied himself and glanced at the wall clock, only then noticing that it was already past nine.

“No way, it’s this late?”

There was still a public lecture scheduled for this morning at ten.

“I have to hurry.”

Lynch rushed to the washroom, gave his face a quick rinse, and casually tidied up his hair. He grabbed his glasses, threw on his cloak, held his books close, and dashed toward the classroom.

When he arrived at the classroom, he could hear the noisy chatter inside from the hallway as apprentices clamored and chattered. But the moment he stepped in, the room fell abruptly quiet.

Everyone turned their heads, their gazes collectively fixed on him.

Although Lynch had been somewhat of a public figure for a while now, his role as the wielder of the Shadow Sword mostly served to surprise other apprentices; it was a topic of casual conversation rather than something that significantly changed their attitudes toward him.

But at this moment, the apprentices’ gazes carried more than astonishment—they were filled with visible admiration and envy.

And a rapidly spreading sense of flattery.

Lynch paid no attention and, as usual, returned to his familiar secluded corner seat.

In the past, this corner of the classroom was the quietest and least frequented. Hardly any apprentices would even glance in its direction.

Now, though, it had become the center of attention.

“Apprentice Lynch!” a coquettish voice called out.

Right then, a beautiful girl approached Lynch. He vaguely remembered her name was Tracy. Her ample figure was striking, and her dazzling looks made her something of a class belle.

No matter where she was, Tracy was always surrounded by a throng of admirers, making her a widely celebrated figure in the class.

Someone like her would never have interacted with Lynch, the invisible presence of the classroom. Over the years she had been in the Inner Ring and attended so many public lectures, they had not exchanged even a single word. Tracy had likely never even looked him in the eye.

Yet now, Tracy voluntarily walked over, sat right next to him, and began talking to him enthusiastically, “Congratulations on entering the Tower!”

Lynch replied, “Thank you.”

Tracy exclaimed in wonder, “You’ve truly amazed all of us. Is this what they call a meteoric rise? Can you tell us—what’s your secret to success?”

Lynch answered, “Just luck, really. If I had to name a secret…”

He said earnestly, “It would be hard work.”

“Haha.” Tracy giggled, covering her mouth delicately. “Apprentice Lynch, you’re such an interesting person. Have you always been this witty?”

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