NOVEL NEXT Chapter 160: Earning Money
The Spark Spell, which Julia had practiced with Van and the others for a long time, was suddenly projected as a failure!
The slate then showed why she had made a mistake… Apparently, the slate was projecting the image of her Spark Spell just now. It was such an incredible piece of magic technology that Julia had never thought to exist.
However, even after the slate was projecting the image of her spell, she couldn't understand what was wrong.
It was at this time that Instructor Ofelia stepped in to explain the situation.
"Your wrist twists at release," she said. "This is normally due to a habit drilled into you by someone who valued speed over precision. You're bleeding mana with every cast."
Julia understood it. She certainly focused on casting spells faster.
"But it still works—" She muttered.
"A leaking bucket still holds water," Ofelia interrupted. "That doesn't make it good."
***
The other students also continued trying to cast a perfect Spark Spell.
Gian also failed a few times... To be exact, it was successful, but there are still things he needs to make it perfect.
"Ugh…"
He was slowly getting frustrated, and soon, he cast another Spark Spell, and this time, he used a lot of Mana.
Soon, his slate continued to pulse with red light… The projection showed that his mana was splattering in all directions like a dropped paint pot. It had gone from terrible instead of getting better.
While the raven cawed in disgust, Ofelia offered a piece of advice.
"Giant. You are wasting enough energy to light a lighthouse. You need to be patient... We have to fix your small bad habits now, since you'll regret it in the future when you're casting stronger and complicated spells." She said.
"It may seem useless casting these Zero-Circle Spells, but once you cast a Second or a Third-Circle Spell when you have limited mana, you will appreciate these lessons."
Gian frowned after hearing this.
"Do you have a problem with that, Gian?" Ofelia asked after seeing his expression.
"I think as long as we learn how to cast spells, that's more than enough… We have mana crystals anyway. Any leakage, as long as it's not that huge, shouldn't be a concerning problem."
The Mana Crystal was an important currency between mages, but also a resource for practicing Magic.
"You think this is about Spellcasting? Foolish. This is about habit. The Royal Mage Tower has stood for a thousand years because it refuses inefficiency. This Rukh Tower, which has only started for a few years, must follow in their footsteps… We wanted to last for a thousand years like that Royal Mage Tower… So a flawed spellform can not be tolerated..."
She then gestured, and the slates replayed every mistake in slow motion… The class began once again.
"This time—do it properly."
***
By the time class finished, everyone was extremely tired. They didn't expect that this class, which they thought they would just have to read various books about, would actually be related to perfecting spellforms.
Of course, Instructor Ofelia mentioned that they wouldn't do it in every class. Nonetheless, it still made them hate the class. They'd rather have more Mana Barrier training.
Exhausted, Julia slumped in her quarters almost immediately…
"How was it?" Sarah asked, handing her a cup of tea.
Julia groaned. "It's so exhausting… I want to go home."
Van's Ocularis Lens then turned to Julia…
[ Stress Levels: Elevated.
Recommendation: 8 hours sleep.
Probability of Compliance: 82%. ]
Xiel, leaning against the wall, finally spoke. "Tomorrow could be worse."
Julia threw a pillow at him.
***
After some rest, Julia woke up hungry…
Thankfully, she noticed that her servants had already prepared some meals for her.
Then, after filling herself, she noticed the three servants were gathered in the courtyard's garden… Well, it was wide enough to become a training ground…
Since they were Aura Users, it was certainly not surprising to see them having the urge to use their muscles.
Julia watched as Sarah joined in with their practice, using her twin daggers as she practiced the Swiftwind Blade forms.
Xiel, on the other hand, seemed to be meditating at the edge of the garden… Julia could tell that the man's nullification field was passively eroding the residual mana in the air around him.
And Van?
He was only doing some push-ups. He was training his body, and Julia could tell that it was working really well.
She could see that Van's physique was already getting a lot better.
Julia immediately shook her head at this thought as she decided to just study and review their assignments.
***
About a month had quickly passed within the Rukh Tower.
During this time, Van had already gotten used to his current life.
His study about his collar was still and there, and as a matter of fact, he already started reading some magic books thanks to Julia, who also started borrowing them from the library as a student.
Thankfully, the Tower doesn't really mind as long as the servants only read about minor Magic Books.
In the morning, while Julia was still sleeping, Van had already started preparing Julia's study materials…
He also arranged the books Julia would need that day—Mana Circulation Theory for her morning lecture. This also includes the Elemental Affinity Charts for her afternoon drills.
On the other hand, by the time Julia stumbled out of bed, yawning, Sarah had already laid out her robes wrinkle-free, brewed her tea, and arranged her breakfast. It was prepared by the dining hall. It was a balance of sweet buns and protein. They could also purchase more, but Julia decided not to buy more food unless necessary.
Soon, Julia left to attend her class.
But while Julia attended lectures, Van navigated through the Tower's servant network.
The Mage Tower might have been a place of learning for nobles, but for slaves and servants, it was different… They all had to get stronger in order to meet the needs of their masters. Van even heard that if some servants didn't perform well, they could become subjects of experiments instead.
Xiel knew that really well.
In any case, every Tuesday, the Aura Training Grounds were opened for servant use.
It was a sandpit arena where the Tower's servants or warriors honed their skills. Officially, it was for "maintaining combat readiness." Unofficially?
It was where grudges got settled.
***
Van had barely stepped onto the sands when someone decided to block him…
"Ohh… Why is our Farrell's pet alone this time?"
Van turned to look at the man and felt confused. After all, he had already visited here before, and he had no issues at all.
However, he immediately recalled that during all those times, he was always accompanied by Xiel.
'Ahh…' Van immediately understood.
Xiel looked really scary with his build and the menacing air around him.
It seemed that they were only brave enough to come forward as soon as he realized he was alone.
In any case, the man before him was Korv. He was a servant of another Apprentice Student who had been stuck in the Academy for five years, since he couldn't advance to a First Circle Mage.
Because of that, they were having some money issues.
With Van's analysis, this man was extorting money from other servants in the pretense of challenging them.
It seemed that he planned to target him this time and lure him into betting money.
Around them, other servants paused their training. They couldn't help but glance at the confrontation.
Then, seeing that it was Korv, they immediately smiled as if they already knew what was about to happen.
This time, Van's Ocularis Lens activated instantly.
[ Subject: Korv
Aura Level: Mid-Trainee Stage
Preferred Style: Grappling/Bone Breaker
Weakness: Overcommits on lunges (right knee buckles at 45-degree angles) ]
This analysis didn't come out of nowhere.
He had been here several times, and he had seen Korv's training and duels as well. Of course, he had completely ignored this man before, but his Ocularis Lens could remember everything for him.
Korv cracked his neck. "I heard you're strong. Let's see if you can handle a real fighter."
A circle formed around them so suddenly, ensuring that Van wouldn't be able to escape.
"Alright… Don't feel nervous. I will not run away… But aren't we going to make a bet?"
Korv was shocked for a moment before turning it into a smile. He liked how Van understood it immediately.
It seemed that Van was also aware of what he was trying to do, to earn money.
Just like that, money was placed.
300 gold coins!
Van didn't bring that much money, but he brought the Farrell's emblem with him as collateral. It was made of magic materials and could cost more than a thousand gold.
"Fine… I can hold on with that for a while until you give me my money." Korv said as felt confident about winning. He was probably older than ten years as well!
Aside from that, he had been observing Van's training as well and knew that he could win against this kid.