After receiving the crystal, Mage Santa nodded, "Get in. Don't waste my time."
The mages walked in first, and trailing closely behind them were the apprentices, entering the portal with trepidation. Adam was the last to step inside, he found that the runes emitted a silver light casting a protective barrier on each apprentice. The moment he stepped into the portal he felt his body twisting into itself, forcibly stuffing itself into a tiny hole.
In the blink of an eye, he was transported to another location, excruciating pain stabbing into every apprentice.
All of the apprentices including Adam collapsed on the floor, retching the contents of their stomach violently.
When Adam regained his composure, he realised that his surroundings had changed. Mage Erin waved and cast a mist of water that sprayed everyone, cleansing the filth of the apprentices.
"Your fragile bodies can't withstand the suddenness of teleportation, which is why we had to transport all of you closer to the Mage Continent via a ship," the Black Mage explained. "We'll discuss later. We are at the Moldo Elemental Tower -- join the other apprentices for the orientation ceremony."
"The Moldo Elemental Tower?" William wondered. Aren't they supposed to be at the Moldo Mage Academy?
The Black Mage explained, "Yes, this is the Moldo Elemental Tower -- the Mage Academy was only established by this tower's owner at the request of the Magi Council. We'll explain this later."
He paused, and continued, "For the sake of us getting along with all of you..."
The apprentices shuddered.
"A piece of advice -- think thrice before making a choice. Once a contract is established, you cannot return back to your homes -- and try not to establish a relationship with the local apprentices here before you gain enough knowledge -- conflict is bound to arise."
Everyone followed the Black Mage out of the Portal Room, and found themselves in a very wide hall, surrounded by pedestrians. The apprentices stared at them with admiration.
"Keep your eyes down. This tower is the residence of a mage -- if you accidentally anger them I can't save you."
Everyone's heart froze and quickly looked to the floor. They quickly realised that the academy is not a happy place, and apprentices aren't scarce enough for the mages to care about their lives.
They soon left the hall and when they looked back, they realised they had walked out of a tower that was suspended mid-air. Mysterious energy surrounded the tower, making it able to levitate.
Below the tower were more ordinary buildings, forming a circle around the tower. Adam noticed some apprentices like them walked out of these buildings and gathered towards the designated place under their respective mages.
"Local apprentices..." Adam muttered. It seems like the local apprentices were extremely arrogant, and showed contempt to outsiders.
The local apprentices' clothes were also much more luxurious than the garbs they were wearing, and they all possessed some form of magical item. In addition, they had a greater amount of mental strength within them.
"They are born in a high-magic environment, it is no surprise that they will have a higher capacity of magic within them," Adam concluded.
The crowd finally converged on the city's square, which was made of unknown materials foreign to Adam.
There were more than 100 apprentices in this crowd. Apart from the six of them, it seems like everyone here was a local apprentice.
The mages left them, and walked towards the high platform in front of the square, where three mages were already standing, donning black robes. When the mages stood at the platform, everyone became silent immediately.
The black-robed mage nodded, "I am Victor, the dean of Moldo Mage Academy. First of all, welcome!"
The apprentices remained silent and Victor obviously didn't care, "In the first year, your education is free -- this includes knowledge of runes, knowledge of elements, potions, alchemy and body refining. Other basic courses are provided as well and from then on you need to choose a research direction within the year."
"In the second year, you have two choices. One, sign a contract with the great Moldo trans-dimensional mage. This contract states that after you become a mage, you will follow your superior for expeditions on three different planes and worlds, or serve them for 300 years. This also includes free education under your superior.
Two, study in the academy as a free apprentice. However, you need to finance your own education, and the cost is determined by your appointed instructor. You can cultivate yourselves, you can leave once you become a full-fledged mage.
Of course, as an apprentice, you must obey the mages and complete your obligations."
After Victor's explanation, he left. Next, two other black-robed mages explained some details, including some compulsory fees that need to be paid. This includes accommodation, a library borrowing fee, as well as regulated fees. They also need to pay a fee for the student area, where they are free to do as they please.
This was good news to the six apprentices -- the monsters killed by them on the ship will be converted to energy. After handing it out to the ship's captain to maintain the ship, they will receive a commission to maintain their most basic living expenses.
After the ceremony, the mages vanished, and some senior apprentices took over the programme and led them towards their assigned dormitories.
Along the way Adam carefully analysed his surroundings -- the conditions specified by the mages for the term of their study sounded legitimate, but he didn't know if the mages were withholding any important information from them. However, with how powerful mages were, he thought that there wasn't any need for the mages to deceive them.
The six apprentices were all relieved, since they were worried about the costs of living here. Everyone except for William and Ophelia were dirt poor, so signing a contract to learn for free would be a good thing.
The local apprentices saw their relieved expressions and snickered, maliciousness coating their laughter. This angered Randy, and they could tell that he had a very sensitive self-esteem.
The local apprentices ignored Randy's glares and announced loudly, "A man from the countryside will always be a foreigner here -- do you think that the conditions here aren't attached to anything? Listen, the conditions only apply for those who are able to become official mages. Do you have what it takes to become a mage? Clearly not."
"Bastard! Repeat that, I dare you!" Randy said recklessly.
The local apprentices laughed and dismissed his threat, "It seems that you don't recognise your place, idiot."
William hurriedly pulled Randy back. He could see the senior apprentice's disdain painted on his face, so it was unwise to cause trouble on their first day here, "Randy, calm down. I'll explain the situation to you later."
The local apprentice who taunted Randy smirked, and did a cut-throat gesture to Randy before leaving.
William pulled Randy to the side, grabbing his head so he could whisper, "If you had attacked him, you would have died without a doubt. Attacking without an official duel is considered a sneak attack and they would definitely not let you get away scot-free."
Randy quickly calmed down, but he was still angry, and decided to pour his anger out on Adam, mocking him, "Figures. Most of our conflict comes from within the house anyway."
Adam didn't care -- in fact, he wanted to laugh hearing this. Disputes like these were incredibly ridiculous, and he didn't see a point in both the local apprentices' and Randy's outburst.
The senior apprentice remained silent. His task at hand was to bring them to the dormitory anyways.
The room is a two-person room. Nobody wanted to stay with Adam, including William, who was on the line on whether or not to get close to Adam. Adam didn't care, in fact, he preferred being alone.
The senior apprentice explained, "The costs of the dorm will be divided among two apprentices. If you live alone, you have to pay double the price."
Adam nodded.
The senior apprentice left, and everyone returned to their rooms. The room was clean and cosy, and it seems like the academy treats apprentices relatively well. Adam didn't really care -- Victor's words were ringing in his head.
"A trans-dimensional mage..." Adam repeated to himself. These words concerned him -- were mages really powerful enough to transcend the fabric of reality to transverse other dimensions? A mage like this cannot be considered a mage anymore, but a god that is free from dimensional constraints!
