My inventory is full of monster materials.

"Hello! I would like to register as a Dharma Master apprentice."

Mark approached the service counter, glanced at the girl working behind the counter with her head down, and calmly stated his purpose.

Lina, the receptionist who was engrossed in writing, didn't even look up when she heard the voice. She pulled an application form from the pile of documents next to her and handed it to the counter.

"Fill out the application form and then pay a 1 gold coin processing fee."

"One gold coin?!"

Mark's voice unconsciously rose a little.

This hasn't even started yet, and it costs 1 gold coin just to fill out a form.

This amount, if converted to the standard of living for an ordinary family in Songmu Town, would be at least three or four months' worth of living expenses.

Lina, behind the counter, was used to Mark's reactions. She continued with her own tasks while preparing her own explanation.

However, the expected commotion did not occur. The other party simply handed over the form along with a gold coin and asked in a calm manner.

"I've filled out the forms, what's next?"

"Um?"

Lina looked up in surprise, her gaze meeting Mark's clear blue eyes.

Although the young man in front of me was dressed in simple leather armor, his outstanding temperament and charm were undeniable in every gesture.

The receptionist blushed instantly, her voice becoming barely audible, and she shyly blurted out everything in one breath.

"First, go to the assessment room for an intelligence test, then go to the training ground for a spell test. After passing both, come back to me to officially register as a mage apprentice."

"I understand. Uh... am I just going to go like this?"

Mark spread his empty hands, feeling like something was missing.

"Please wait a moment."

Lina then realized what was happening and frantically fiddled with the table. Afterward, she stood up and presented a card with both hands.

"Here is your assessment card, please keep it safe!"

Mark took the card and flipped it over. The front was stamped with "Eye of Wisdom" and the back had a unique number written on it.

Thank you.

Just as he was about to leave, Mark stopped and pointed to the dazzling ball of light overhead, asking a question.

"By the way, I wanted to ask, what is this? It's quite pretty."

Lina looked up and immediately understood what Mark meant, explaining kindly and patiently.

"This is a symbol of the Lady of Wisdom, a three-dimensional projection constructed by the association with magic, representing the mages' pursuit of Her wisdom."

After hearing the explanation, Mark thought to himself.

Is it really just a projection?

In a field of vision unseen by anyone else, a barrage of light-based notifications kept popping up in front of Mark's eyes.

[An "inspiration of wisdom" was detected...]

[An "inspiration of wisdom" was detected...]

[An "inspiration of wisdom" was detected...]

...

But these prompts were like a lag, and the next option never appeared.

Mark looked away, shook his head, and turned to walk into the hallway.

After navigating several winding roads, Mark finally found the testing room, only to find that there were already evaluators at the door.

"Intelligence level 9, not up to standard!"

A languid male voice came from inside the half-open door, followed by a dark brown short-haired girl walking out with her head down and her eyes dim.

Two of the girls' best friends stood by the door, and one of them, a blonde girl with long, wavy hair, stepped forward to support and comfort them.

"Anna, don't be sad. Actually, you're already very close to 10 o'clock. It's just that the tools here can't detect it."

Anna wiped her reddened eyes and said in a hoarse voice.

"Sister Helena, I'm fine. It's just that my father is coming today, and I wanted to surprise him, but..."

Anna's voice trailed off as she spoke.

Another girl with a chestnut brown ponytail spoke up rather casually.

"Anna, I'm not trying to be mean, but spending all your time buried in books and studying won't get you anywhere..."

"Dorothy!"

Helena's stern gaze silenced the girl with the ponytail, and she then bluntly exposed her.

"Stop making sarcastic remarks. If Uncle Joel hadn't given you the attribute potion, you wouldn't have been able to pass either."

"snort."

Dorothy, having her truth exposed, turned her head away with a disgruntled snort.

Anna sighed and said.

"Sister Helena, I'm not going to the spell test. I didn't pass the assessment anyway."

"Silly boy."

Helena gently touched the bridge of her nose and continued to persuade her.

"Since you've already spent the money, why not give it a try? If you're afraid of your father, Dorothy and I will go with you to meet him."

When Anna mentioned her father, she felt not fear, but deep guilt. Every penny of support in the city was earned by her father, an adventurer, through his own hard work and sacrifice. Now, she felt ashamed that she had failed to achieve anything.

However, after Helena's encouragement, Anna regained her morale and was determined to at least complete the process and understand where she had failed.

Helena was delighted to see this, and then took Anna's hand in one of her left hands and Dorothy's hand in the other, and said with a smile.

"Alright, let's go to the training ground together. My cousin is in charge of this spell test, so maybe he can be a little more lenient with the conditions."

"Really?!"

Dorothy's eyes lit up, and she almost cried out in surprise.

Helena is Baron Glover's cousin, so her cousin... could he be...?

Thinking of this, Dorothy quickly pushed the other two girls aside, her tone urgent.

"Let's hurry over there!"

The three girls resumed their usual harmony, chatting and laughing as they walked away.

Mark brushed past the girls, and when his gaze swept over the short-haired girl named Anna, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Anna?!

Its appearance is exactly the same as the stone sculpture in Henry's hands.

Combined with Henry's mention of "the daughter's test" when they parted, the answer is almost obvious.

However, Mark did not chase after her to acknowledge her.

He was Henry's companion, but he and Anna were complete strangers.

If one day a stranger suddenly comes up to you and says, "I know your dad," what would people think?

Therefore, it's better to let things take their course and meet formally at the bar gathering in the evening.

"Next!"

A lazy sound came from inside the room, interrupting Mark's thoughts.

Mark gathered his thoughts and followed the sound into the testing room.

The room was small but clean and tidy, with black cone-shaped cotton stones covering the walls, making it look somewhat like an electromagnetic laboratory.

In the center of the room sat a cylindrical stone table, opposite which sat an overweight man wearing a loose gray robe with the collar casually open, looking drowsy.

Mark handed over the card, which the man took, rubbed casually between his fingers, and after confirming it was correct, he barely raised his eyelids before giving a perfunctory reply.

"Place your palms into the grooves of the stone table and hold for ten seconds without moving."

Mark looked at the table and saw a palm-shaped groove with five distinct fingers, surrounded by colorful gemstones and a ring of clock-like numerical markings.

Without asking any further questions, Mark placed his palm on the groove.

The next second, the digital scale started to light up from 0 o'clock and rotated rapidly in a clockwise direction, almost completing a full circle, before finally stopping steadily at the 20 o'clock position.

At the same time, a pale white gemstone next to the groove suddenly lit up.

Appraiser Bruno glanced at the table, preparing to announce the results and send the person away, but after seeing the scale and the brilliance of the gemstone, he froze instantly.

He rubbed his eyes hard, then looked closer to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He then sat up abruptly and shouted in a trembling voice.

"Intelligence 20! Moderate Ice Element Affinity!"

Ringing——

Suddenly, a sharp ringtone sounded in the testing room.