11: Chapter 11 Signing Agreement

The third-floor hall was extremely spacious. Several people had already arrived before Byron and were standing in front of a large door, waiting quietly.

Seeing Byron walk over, those few people glanced at him with vigilance at first, but then, as if they recognized him, they smiled and greeted him.

After all, they knew in their hearts that although they were of the same Third-Rank Aptitude as Byron, the difference between them was still quite significant.

Furthermore, one of Byron's friends possessed Fourth-Rank Aptitude, so as long as they weren't stupid, they wouldn't offend him.

Seeing this, Byron also politely smiled and returned the greeting.

Afterward, he stood at the end of the line and waited quietly.

During this time, those people wanted to give up their spots, but Byron refused.

After all, this wasn't a big deal—it was just school registration, not something related to his future—so there was no need to owe favors here.

Time passed slowly; people arrived, and people left.

After waiting for who knows how long, it was finally Byron's turn.

Byron straightened his clothes before lightly knocking on the door and walking inside.

The room was surprisingly large, and the air was filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance.

On both sides against the walls stood huge bookshelves reaching the ceiling, piled high with books and parchment.

Directly facing the door was an extremely wide desk, behind which sat an Old Wizard with white hair and beard.

The old man was slightly plump and wore a pair of gold-rimmed monocles on the bridge of his nose.

"Byron Augustus."

The old man didn't look up, his quill scratching continuously on the parchment.

Byron nodded.

The Old Wizard stopped writing, looked up, scrutinized Byron from head to toe, and then took a parchment filled with writing out of a drawer.

"Byron Augustus, Mental Energy 3.7, Space Element Affinity, Soul strength and Comprehension Ability are both in the upper-middle range. Your evaluation is… top-tier Third-Rank."

The Old Wizard nodded slightly: "This final evaluation is indeed fair, but after the academy's review, it was unanimously agreed that your potential was somewhat underestimated."

As he spoke, the Old Wizard pushed the parchment toward Byron.

"Therefore, it has been decided to raise your Rank by one level, giving you the same treatment as a Fourth-Rank Aptitude. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Byron said respectfully: "I follow the will of the academy. Thank you for the academy's generosity."

The Old Wizard glanced at him and nodded slightly: "Not bad. You didn't lose your head in the face of benefits far exceeding expectations."

"Now, you can take a look at this financial aid agreement. After you finish reading it, we will…"

At this point, the Old Wizard patted his own head: "I almost forgot, you haven't learned the Wizard Common Language yet, so you can't read the text."

"In that case, let me explain it to you simply."

Byron: "Thank you for your consideration."

Old Wizard: "Our Dark Eclipse Wizard Academy can cover your tuition fees and basic living expenses for your basic studies and advanced training."

"Furthermore, you can choose a mentor within the academy in any subject, and you will have a quota of two hundred Magic Stones annually to purchase various knowledge, Materials, and courses within the academy…"

"This agreement will remain in effect for twenty years, or until you become a Limit Apprentice Wizard. At that time, we will terminate the agreement or sign a higher-level one based on your situation."

"In exchange, upon the expiration of the agreement, you must serve the Dark Eclipse Wizard Academy for at least fifty years, or pay it off with an outstanding research achievement."

"Now, give me your choice."

For Byron, this financial aid agreement was undoubtedly generous.

After glancing at the agreement, Byron nodded slightly: "Very generous terms, perhaps even excessively so. It seems I have no reason not to sign this agreement."

"However, honorable Wizard, I have one question. I cannot read the text above…"

The Old Wizard looked at Byron in surprise; he hadn't expected Byron to say this.

But after staring for a moment, the Old Wizard revealed a faint smile.

"Very good. To remain cautious while maintaining humility—little one, you are becoming more and more like a wizard. I have high hopes for you."

As he spoke, the Old Wizard took a crystal ball out of the drawer and handed it to Byron: "This contains knowledge about the Wizard Common Language. Once you receive it, you will be able to understand the content of the agreement."

Byron looked surprised; he hadn't expected this Old Wizard to be so generous. It was truly unfathomable.

But the next moment, a sentence from the Old Wizard pulled Byron, who was daydreaming, back to reality.

"Such a crystal ball sells for twenty Magic Stones in the academy. I'll give you a discount and only charge you nineteen Magic Stones. Consider it an investment in you. How about it?"

Hearing this, and recalling the Old Wizard's practiced movements just now, a bad premonition arose in Byron's heart.

This old man wouldn't be taking advantage of our agreement signing to sell crystal balls, would he?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

But unfortunately, the choice was not in his hands; he had to agree.

Byron nodded to confirm the purchase of the crystal ball.

"Good, a very wise choice. The crystal ball has no password set. You only need physical contact, and by extending your Mental Energy into it, you can transfer the data."

Byron respectfully took the crystal ball from the wizard's hand, holding it with both hands. While it looked like he was reading the knowledge, he was actually issuing an order to the Eye of Omniscience in his mind.

'Omniscience, inspect the crystal ball. If there are no issues, transfer the data inside to me.'

[Inspecting… Inspection complete. No abnormalities found.]

[Do you wish to begin the transfer?]

'Transfer.'

Byron spat out the word in his mind.

In an instant, he felt his head begin to throb violently, as if a large mass had been stuffed inside, leaving it feeling bloated.

The Old Wizard sitting opposite Byron seemed to have anticipated Byron's condition and didn't pay it any mind, continuing to work on his own business.

After a while, Byron felt better and picked up the financial aid agreement to check it.

After double-checking with the Eye of Omniscience and finding no loopholes or traps in the text, he finally felt relieved: "Honorable Wizard, I have no more questions."

The Old Wizard looked up again and handed the quill and ink to Byron.

"Since there are no issues, sign your name."

This time, Byron didn't hesitate and signed his name cleanly.

As the last stroke fell, the agreement immediately shattered, turning into two beams of light.

One beam floated toward Byron, merged into his body, and finally appeared in his Mental Sea, where it floated quietly as a speck of light.

The other beam flew into a book with a bronze cover.

"Alright, the contract is complete. Congratulations, you are now officially a student of the Dark Eclipse Wizard Academy."

"This is your academy uniform, your identity proof, and most importantly, your Magic Stone payment card. From now on, you can use it to pay for anything you buy within the academy."

"By the way, I have already deducted the nineteen Magic Stones for the Common Language you purchased, so the transaction is complete."

As he spoke, the Old Wizard took a black robe, a black-and-white badge that could be worn on the chest, and a black card out of the drawer.

Byron looked at the Magic Stone payment card in his hand, a strange look flashing in his eyes. Isn't this just a bank card?

The Old Wizard saw Byron staring at the Magic Stone payment card and thought he was amazed: "Alright, stop staring at it. You'll get used to using it soon enough. Now that things are finished, get out."

Byron took his belongings and left respectfully.

"Oh, there's one more thing. Tomorrow morning, go to Teaching Building 3, Room 602. The Vice Dean will be giving you your first lesson of the semester."

Just then, the Old Wizard seemed to remember something else and spoke again.

"Also, your dormitory is in the living area, 7-540. Your identity proof is the key. Everything is said now, go."

Byron, who had been frozen at the door, saw that the Old Wizard really had nothing left to say, so he prepared to leave with peace of mind.

But who would have thought, the Old Wizard spoke up again at this moment: "Wait, I forgot, there is one more thing."