15: Second exam promotion reward

Oakes looked at the announcement, then at Green.

He suddenly slapped Green on the shoulder:

"Not bad, Green..."

"You came in first for the interview..."

"You even beat that little brat Lilith. This morning, she was still worried I'd snatch her spot."

"Did I even need to make a move? My brother Green just suppressed her directly."

"Haha..."

Green pushed Oakes' arm away,

grinning as he said, "Oakes, your grip is too strong. Can't you pat me a little lighter?"

"My bad... My bad..."

"I was just happy for you..." Oakes apologized repeatedly.

"It's fine, I'm okay. I'm going to the Magical Plant Cultivator's Home you mentioned to collect my reward in a bit. Do you want to come and see?" Green invited.

"No, I still have to go back to the Battle Axe Bar to complete my tasks."

"You go by yourself. Follow this road straight to the end, turn right, and you'll see a huge clover sign. That's the Magical Plant Cultivator's Home." Oakes shook his head...

Green followed Oakes' directions and arrived at the Magical Plant Cultivator's Home.

He found that it was much smaller than the Battle Axe Bar, and there were fewer people coming and going.

Walking inside, he found it was also quite deserted, with only a third of the seats occupied.

Everyone was speaking in low voices in twos and threes, far from the lively atmosphere of the Battle Axe Bar.

Green followed the signs.

He found that the left side was the task area, and the right side was the service area.

Green went to the service area on the right... Facing a counter similar to a bank counter on Aqua Blue Star, he bowed in a Wizard's salute to the middle-aged female Wizard behind it,

"Hello, Mentor. I'm here to collect the reward for being promoted to Junior Magical Plant Cultivator. This is my identity badge."

The middle-aged female Wizard took Green's badge.

After a quick check, she said:

"Green Anglet..."

"You passed the second Five-Year Grand Exam in four years and seven months, five months ahead of schedule."

"Magic Stone reward issued: twenty Magic Stones for promotion plus ten Magic Stones for early completion."

"A total of thirty Magic Stones."

"For the third Five-Year Grand Exam, chosen subjects: Magical Plant Cultivator and Apothecary. Access granted to borrow textbooks and supplementary materials related to Magical Plant Cultivator and Pharmacology."

"You may receive four low-level Wizardry Crystals for free..."

"They are Magical Soil Art, Corruption Art, Plant Growth Art, and Hand of Wizardry."

"Do you have any objections?"

Green quickly shook his head: "No objections."

...The middle-aged female Wizard then asked, "Do you wish to claim them all?"

Green nodded: "Yes, claim them all."

After a while, Green received a small cloth bag containing Magic Stones and Wizardry Crystals.

Green counted the Magic Stones one by one, exactly thirty.

He then checked the Wizardry Crystals, confirming they were indeed these four low-level Wizardry spells.

This was a Wizard Tower benefit that only came once every five years, so Green had to check carefully.

Once he left this door, they wouldn't acknowledge it. After confirming everything, Green signed his name on the promotion benefit confirmation form handed to him by the middle-aged female Wizard...

Speaking of which, Plant Heart Wizard Academy truly invested heavily in cultivating Wizard Apprentices.

Not only did it provide food and lodging, but also basic living allowances.

(During his second five-year period, Green only needed to complete forty hours of volunteer work per month to earn one Magic Stone. During the third five-year period, the Wizard Tower would subsidize apprentices interning at the Botanical Garden with two Magic Stones per month.)

Apprentices who passed the Five-Year Grand Exam also received rewards. The entire benefit period lasted for the first twenty years an apprentice was in the Wizard Tower.

At Plant Heart Wizard Academy, the learning process was indeed very tiring and tormenting, and if one failed the assessment, they would be forced to go out and fight for their lives.

But for Wizard Apprentices who could endure such immense pressure, persevere in their studies, and successfully pass the assessment, the Wizard Tower would provide generous rewards...

Having received his rewards, Green now felt: "This is truly good stuff. The Academy is great."

Green strongly agreed with the saying: "Happiness is all relative."

Compared to the Wizard Apprentices at the Battle Axe Bar who had to risk their lives in dangerous external environments to earn a few Magic Stones,

Green could enjoy numerous benefits just by studying safely and steadily within the Wizard Tower.

And he could grow stronger through learning in a safe and peaceful environment. Wasn't this happiness?

Green recalled his time on Aqua Blue Star.

The ivory tower was also so beautiful back then.

Unfortunately, Green didn't cherish it properly, and only regretted it when he entered society and had to compete with others, risking his life in open-book tests...

After collecting his rewards, Green went to the library on the fourth floor to borrow textbooks.

Yesterday, Bigg had specifically reminded him to go early and borrow all the textbooks.

Because resources were limited, apprentices who went late might not be able to borrow a complete set of textbooks.

Green arrived at the library on the fourth floor, first showing his identity badge to the library staff to request a list of textbooks, and then, following the map, he searched for them one by one.

This was a huge project.

Although the library was always managed, with books regularly placed on shelves according to the catalog,

there were always people who would put them back haphazardly.

Or hide certain scarce books in a small corner to enjoy them exclusively.

Green spent over six hours finding all two hundred-plus books listed on the inventory...

Why were there so many?

On one hand, some course materials were entirely written in Wizard language.

And the parchment that could bear Wizard language had to be specially treated, making one sheet of special parchment three times thicker than a normal book page.

So, one book couldn't contain too much information.

Green found one course called "Basic Research on Positive Energy Particles," which had a very humble title, but the textbooks were truly numerous.

From the first to the tenth volume, this single course had ten textbooks as thick as bricks.

Green was stunned when he got the books...

On the other hand, Green chose to develop two professions simultaneously.

Double the courses meant double the textbooks.

Moreover, the teaching plan for the third five-year period added courses on energy particles, intermediate Wizardry runes, and intermediate Spiritual Power runes for Meditation Techniques...

For a moment,

Green even wondered if he should give up one, but he had concerns about giving up either.

Give up Magical Plant Cultivation?

Green worried that the paid courses for Pharmacology would be too expensive, and his wallet wouldn't be able to support the cost required for him to pass the Grand Exam.

Pharmacology was a money-burning discipline, especially in the initial stages.

Green also didn't want to borrow Magic Stones. Among his friends who could lend Magic Stones, only Oakes might have some money.

But he was also pursuing the path of an Apothecary, and Green didn't want to affect Oakes' path by borrowing money.

What if, after giving up Magical Plant Cultivation, Green also failed the Apothecary assessment? Then he would truly have to go out and fight for his life, which was unacceptable.

Green cherished his own life very much...

Give up Pharmacology?

Green was unwilling to be a Magical Plant Cultivator for life; the upper limit was too low.

Green still wanted to find a way back to Aqua Blue Star.

With the strength of a Magical Plant Cultivator, at best an Advanced Wizard Apprentice, how could there be any hope of finding his way home?

So Green had no choice but to push himself, choosing both subjects and making progress in both.

Now Green's only confidence was his Golden Finger. The daily Hundredfold Harvest only had a significant effect on certain specific, skill-like things.

Such as Meditation Techniques, Wizardry, etc.

It was useless for things like knowledge reading and comprehension; the cost-effectiveness was too low.

What's the difference between solving a math problem and solving a math problem a hundred times?

"I hope the annual brain overclocking can help in these areas."

Green silently prayed to The Crown of the Scales of Truth in his heart...