The Duke had also been an apprentice from Moldo Mage Academy, but he had failed to become an official mage, so he gave up and came to this island to become a nobleman. He hoped that at least his children would be able to become real mages and realise his dream.
Because of his prior experience, he understands the importance of qualifications during the apprenticeship stage. He knows that although the official mages think that inherent talent is useless, and that knowledge is the most useful tool to mages, he knows that they are only saying that simply because they are stronger, so they look at things in a different way.
After dinner, the Duke told his son the other apprentices that the mages at the table had pointed out, and reminded that he should try to get close to them to aid in his apprenticeship.
Meanwhile, the Northerners gathered together restlessly. They wanted to study the magic ring that William had given to Sam Aiden.
"We haven't even mastered conjuring runes yet, can we cast spells?" Crystal said, excited but hesitating.
Adam was incredibly interested in this ring, and said, "It must be possible. This ring is like a crossbow with arrows installed. We don't need to know the working principle of a crossbow, since all we need to do is pull the trigger. I guess the trigger in this case is our mental strength."
Sam Aiden blushed with excitement that he had obtained such a treasure the moment he entered this land, but offered, "Miss Ophelia, please try the ring out."
Ophelia shook her head, and motioned for Sam to try the ring out, but Adam interjected, "Let me test it."
Sam felt solidarity with Adam after today, since both of them are Northerners. He generously handed the ring and said, "Of course, try it."
The ring was gold, inlaid with a ruby gemstone, emitting a weak light under the night.
If William was right, there should be a set of runes arranged in the ring. Adam studied the ring closely, and pondered, "Is a spell activated by mental strength, or another type of energy?"
[Detected the existence of Special Energy No.2.]
Adam smiled. Sure enough, his mental strength only exists as a transmission channel, and this special energy that he had labelled is the one that activates the spell, which is a higher-level energy generated by the interaction between his own mental strength and an unknown source of energy.
"The rune that we learnt is equivalent to meditation. It strengthens our mental power until it is strong enough to connect to a medium and carry a higher energy that comes with it."
Adam mumbled. He got the word 'meditation' from the information obtained from his previous world. Most of this data was classified as junk data.
Ophelia and the others were surprised that Adam had come to a conclusion in such a short time. They thought he was simply trying to find a way to activate the ring.
To demonstrate, Adam tried to input his mental power into the ring while studying the rune arrangement to cast a fireball.
When his power infused into the gem, their surroundings became incredibly hot, and everyone was terrified.
Adam hurriedly aimed his hand towards the sky, and a second later, a basketball-sized fireball shot out into the sky, then exploded.
[Temperature: 1000 Degrees Celsius, equivalent to magma.]
The ring dimmed after the fireball was shot out, and everyone looked at the ring in disbelief. It was hard to imagine that such a powerful fireball was shot out from this tiny ring, and what was terrifying was that this was the lowest level magic that they could possibly cast.
"Is this the power of magic? It's amazing!" This was the first time that they have truly seen magic.
"No wonder mages don't pay any attention to knights -- I'm afraid even knights won't be able to withstand a fireball like this!"
Ophelia nodded, "If you get hit, you die."
Sam Aiden looked at the ring, worried. He was worried that the ring was simply a one-time use ring.
"The runes for the fireball spell are encrypted within the ring, so it cannot be copied effectively," Adam explained. "However, it isn't a one-time use ring, but there is definitely a cooldown to it. I suspect that mental power can speed up the cooldown to a certain extent."
Everyone became envious of Sam Aiden for possessing such a powerful magic item, but Adam turned back to his room to study what he has learnt today.
"The power of the fireball lies in its extremely high temperature, so the role of the runes in the ring should be to increase the fireball's temperature. However, the oxygen levels in the air did not change drastically, so what fueled the fireball?"
Adam pondered alone, and after analysing the data, concluded that this mysterious Special Energy No. 2 was the cause of it -- mastery of this mysterious energy may be the reason why mages are able to cast all sorts of spells.
"The sample size is too small. I won't be able to figure it out."
Adam saved the hypothesis to his database though. Without enough data to support it, it is only speculation. The only thing he can do now Is optimise his initial rune and maximise it to strengthen his own mental power.
With his incredibly advanced computing system, Adam experimented with new structures of runes every second. Although most of them were not stable, he believes he will find a suitable one in due time -- a stable rune that matches the output power of mental power.
None of the apprentices in the Northland slept a wink. After seeing magic first-hand, they were incredibly excited, and used all of their spare time to practice. Fortunately, practising replaces sleep, and they would still feel energised.
At breakfast, the Northerners received a completely different reception from last night. Most of them started being friendly with them, and even William came to chat with enthusiasm. Crystal was incredibly flattered, but Adam and Ophelia remained indifferent.
"We are leaving the Southern Seaport today to go to the Mage Continent. Unless you become a true Mage, it will be difficult for all of us to return to our hometown," William didn't care about their indifference and announced. He politely said goodbye and left.
"He seems graceful," Crystal said.
Everyone soon gathered at the Southern Seaport, and they could see that the ships from the Mage Continent had a separate dock. Everyone by the port looked at the apprentices respectfully, which stroked their ego.
Adam could tell that these ships were not sailing on the wind-- the shape of these ships was akin to those that he had heard of in science fiction. The alloys that made the hulls of this ship were unknown to him. Obviously magical technology could surpass the technology back on Earth.
A mage guided them to the ship. The Black Mage and the others did not want to linger, and went straight into their private cabins.
After escorting the mages, the captain announced, "We will arrive at the Mage Continent in about three months. During this period, you can move freely on the ship, but do not loiter around the innermost area of the first floor. It is the Mages' residence, and I advise all of you to leave them alone, or face their wrath."
"Also, do not fall into the sea. The monsters will devour you cleanly, and nobody will stop to save you."
"You can pick your own rooms, too. The journey will be boring, so feel free to use the entertainment facilities on board. Your other needs can be requested with the other sailors, but I cannot guarantee that they will be met."
After the announcement, a few sailors stepped forward to take over. Everyone could see that the sailors harboured great envy for the apprentices. Adam could see that the captain was incredibly strong, like a Great Knight, and he was even stronger than the Earl. All of the other sailors were knights, too.
Sure enough, knighthood seems to be a regular profession here, and he predicts that all ordinary people on the Mage Continent are all knights.
Everyone excitedly rushed towards the cabin area to choose their own room. The Southerners felt at home on the ship, but the apprentices from other areas of the world walked with caution, for fear of touching and breaking something. For most of them, this was their first contact with magical technology.
And with a low whistle, the Moldo Academy Ship set sail.
