The Wizard: Starting as a Corpse Collector Apprentice and Paying for a Monthly Subscription

The morning sunlight pierced through the spire of the Wizard Tower, scattering sparsely across the spacious and bright central square of the Kane Wizard Tower.

The murmurs of hundreds of people merged into a cacophony that echoed across the square.

"Damn it, why do we have to have exams and competitions again?"

A thin, sunken-eyed apprentice stared at the notice on the wall and couldn't help but complain:

"Carefully cleaning the alchemy flask every day is already enough to drive me crazy, are they trying to squeeze every last bit of sleep out of us?"

His friend standing beside him, a plump apprentice, sighed helplessly and patted him on the shoulder:

"Be content, buddy. Your job is just cleaning the alchemy tools; at worst, your hands will hurt."

"You have no idea how sad things have been for us at the morgue lately."

Upon hearing the words "morgue," the apprentices around immediately cast sympathetic glances at him.

The fat apprentice, looking constipated, said indignantly:

"Starting about a week ago, the supervisor above me suddenly went crazy and increased the requirements!"

"In the past, those disposable experimental cadavers could simply be sent over intact."

"And now? Not only are cleanliness and tidiness required, but wounds must also be stitched up properly, and the corpses must even be dressed in decent clothes!"

One of the apprentices opposite him was clearly also a victim. Upon hearing this, he became enraged, waving his fist and cursing:

"Don't let me find out who started this evil trend! Those damned bastards!"

……

Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Tyron's lips twitched slightly as he heard these resentful complaints.

He awkwardly touched his nose and silently whistled to himself.

"Cough... You can't blame me for this. It was the teachers' competitive nature that ruined you."

Just a quick rant.

He raised his head, his gaze passing over the throng of people, and landing on the huge parchment notice on the wall.

This commotion is indeed quite significant.

The notice, written in bright red ink, read: "The First Selection Competition for Outstanding Apprentices of the Kane Wizard Tower".

The exams covered all eight subjects majored in the apprenticeship: mental power, meditation, alchemy, ritual studies, runes, minerals, languages, and monsters.

These eight major subjects are further subdivided into sixteen specific competition events, including written theoretical tests and hands-on practical tests.

The rules are clearly stated:

All registered wizarding apprentices are welcome to sign up.

Each person must choose at least one subject and a maximum of four subjects.

After all the exams are over, the top twenty students in each subject will not only receive a valuable magic book as a reward, but more importantly!

Their status will be directly promoted from "apprentice" to "formal apprentice".

What does this mean?

This means that from now on, they will completely say goodbye to menial tasks that are devoid of dignity, such as cleaning flasks, moving corpses, and unclogging sewers.

They only need to be responsible for the professional tasks assigned by their mentors, and they are qualified to audit the public classes of formal wizards, thus truly stepping into the hall of magic.

Of course, rights and obligations are always equal.

The last line of the notice, in bold black font, reads:

Formal apprentices are expected to assume greater responsibilities, including but not limited to assisting their mentors with research projects, participating in alchemy experiments, and carrying out foraging and hunting missions.

Upon seeing this, a glint of wisdom flashed in Tyron's dark eyes.

His brain was working at lightning speed, piecing together the fragments of information he had gathered over the past few days.

"By combining work and study, one can resolve both dilemmas."

Tyronn silently defined this reform in his mind.

"It seems that the information Ars gave me was true."

"The successful promotion of the Sunfire Wizard Tower to the provincial level is not only a blow to its reputation, but also a real squeeze on its interests. This has greatly stimulated the higher-ups of the Kane Wizard Tower."

"They finally realized that those young noblemen who only knew how to gild their trophies couldn't support the future of the Wizard Tower."

"The success rate of those noble children is too low, which has seriously affected the Wizard Tower's rating and competitiveness in the alliance."

Tyron saw things very clearly.

The policy has been very successful.

The desire and ambition that gradually ignited in the eyes of the apprentices around him.

For people like them who have no background, even if they know there is a cliff ahead, as long as there is a magical herb that can change their fate growing on the edge of the cliff, they will jump across without hesitation.

"Assisting the mentor in carrying out tasks..."

Tyron stared at the last line of text, a knowing, cold smile playing on his lips.

"This suggests that the entire Wizard Tower is probably facing a financial crisis, requiring these high-ranking, formal wizards to go out and earn money."

The main sources of income for the wizard towers within the Divine Eagle Empire are nothing more than five:

The funding came from the Imperial Wizarding League's direct grants, the high tuition fees for apprentices, the direct sales of magical products, the commissions earned from hiring people to undertake missions, and the political donations from nobles and wealthy merchants.

Now that the Sun Tower is rising, it will inevitably attract a large number of students and orders, and even the donations from nobles will shift.

If Cairn Tower wants to survive, it must "open source".

"However, this is a good thing for me."

Tyron clenched his fist hidden in his sleeve, sensing the knowledge in his mind.

"Chaos is the ladder."

……

at the same time.

The very top of the Wizarding Tower of Cain, above the clouds.

In stark contrast to the noise and darkness of the lower level, this is a round table conference hall filled with a sense of magic and epic grandeur.

The surrounding walls were made of solid obsidian, with sharp, angular edges that radiated a cold, magical glow.

Dozens of narrow, willow-leaf windows surround the building, each inlaid with intricate stained glass depicting the magnificent scenes of ancient wizards conquering different planes.

Sunlight streamed through these glass panes, casting dappled and sacred light and shadow on the ground.

In the center of the hall, there was a huge round table made from the entire spine of a dragon.

At this moment, thirty-one men and women dressed in various styles sat around the round table.

They looked to be anywhere from thirty to seventy years old, but in each pair of eyes lay the wisdom and experience of time.

These are the core strengths of the Kane Wizard Tower: the formal wizards.

Seated in the main seat was an elderly man wearing a dark purple robe.

His robe was covered with intricate runes embroidered in gold thread, which seemed to move slightly with his breath, as if they were alive.

He had meticulously combed gray hair, a long beard that hung down naturally, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles.

Although he looked only about sixty years old, his deep, star-like eyes revealed a kind of indifference that came from having experienced countless cycles of life and death.

Mok Taus Salk Kane.

He is 312 years old this year.

Level 3 Archmage.

The current master of the Kane Wizard Tower.

For fifty years, before taking over the tower, he was active in the brutal astral battlefield, a true iron-blooded wizard who had fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the conference hall was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

Moke slowly raised his withered hand.

Deep blue, viscous, liquid magic surged and churned before him, then coalesced into a large number of glowing words and charts in the center of the round table.

That was the Wizard Tower's financial statements and total personnel data for the past decade.

A glaring red deficit.

"Take a look."

Mok's voice was deep and hoarse, like two rough rocks rubbing against each other, echoing deep within everyone's soul.

"This is the answer sheet you've given me."

He looked around, and wherever his gaze fell, those usually arrogant formal wizards all lowered their heads.

"The Wizard Tower of Kane has been living too comfortably and too laxly for the past few decades."

"Our place is quickly becoming a gilded tower for those bloated nobles and wealthy merchants to gild their stupid, pig-like children!"

Mok's words were merciless, like slaps to everyone's faces.

"This advancement of the Sunfire Wizard Tower should serve as a wake-up call for you!"

"If we continue to wallow in this decadent, languid, and false prosperity..."

Moke slammed his hand on the table, and the deep blue magic instantly exploded, turning into countless tiny lightning bolts.

"When the next dimensional war conscription order comes down, you will soon become cannon fodder on the astral battlefield."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and a cold sweat broke out on their backs.

They knew that the tower master was not exaggerating.

If the Wizard Tower fails to pass the rating and is disbanded, they will all be subject to this year's conscription order.

The brutality of the astral battlefield far exceeds what ordinary people can imagine.

Moke took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and held up three fingers:

"You have three tasks ahead of you."

"First."

"Go and find talent! Whether they're nobles, commoners, or even beggars! As long as they have talent and brains, find them!"

"I want the Alliance to know that we, the Wizarding Tower of Kane, still have the dignity of wizards, and fresh blood!"

"Starting next month, each of your resource allocations will be directly linked to the number of outstanding apprentices you train!"

"second."

"The frequency of all missions should be increased by at least three times!"

"Stop holed up in the tower all day doing those impractical theoretical studies. Go take on missions, go forge real connections with the big shots in the city!"

"Look at Lion City now. Without realizing it, 60% of the big shots who control the mines and shipping routes have become guests of honor at the Sun Wizard Tower."

"third."

"Increase the frequency of going out to hunt monsters."

"The tower's reserves of magic crystals and materials from the corpses of high-level magical beasts are now in dire need of treatment."

"If you want to maintain the dignity of being formal wizards and continue your experiments, you'd better get out of town and get to work!"

Having stated these three points, Moke leaned back in his chair, his eyes coldly fixed on the crowd:

"Who's in favor? Who's opposed?"

There was a deathly silence around the round table.

A moment later, all the wizards stood up in unison, placed their right hands on their chests, and bowed respectfully.

"I will obey the decree of the tower master."

They all knew in their hearts that the good days were over.

The days when you could make money effortlessly by issuing diplomas to the children of the wealthy are long gone.

After all, you can't expect those rich kids who come here to get a prestigious education to make any contribution to the Wizard Tower.