Advent of the Archmage

Take this New Moon wand in his hand, for example. This single wand alone would’ve cost him 1000 gold coins. And if it’s the Crystal Fire Staff we’re talking about, then the price could easily go over 3000 gold coins!

He had encountered a similar situation like this in the game back on Earth. You had to spend money immediately after choosing to become a Magician! The price to pay for magic skills training alone was already more expensive than the other professions, let alone the various other gears needed to practice magic.

From Vincent’s perspective, 2000 gold coins wasn’t just a random number he coughed up. It was roughly the calculated cost needed to study magic, but of course, he knew that this explanation alone could not conceal the academy’s unfair treatment towards commoners.

But Eliard was unfamiliar with the world of Magicians, and this caused him to erupt in anger.

Vincent’s countenance was relaxed and unmoved. He spread out his hands, leaned back into his seat and glibly said, ”There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not the one setting the price, after all. These are orders from the academy dean. I am simply the messenger.”

However, Eliard still had another trick up his sleeve. He pulled out a letter. ”I’ve got a recommendation letter from Duchess Alice.”

Vincent glanced up and saw a wax seal on the letter and immediately recognized the blooming rose insignia—it really was the seal of the Norton Kingdom’s one and only Duchess.

He looked at Eliard’s strikingly handsome face, then laughed. ”Oh, what a blessing to be born good-looking!” he mocked. ”You could even get a noble to write you a recommendation letter! Well, according to the academy dean’s orders, with a letter of recommendation from a noble, fees are cut down by 500 gold coins, making it 1500 gold coins!”

Seeing this letter, Link suddenly saw how clever this young man really was. No commoner could earn 200 gold coins even if they worked their back off their whole life. Yet, this young man had somehow managed to earn that much by the age of 17. He had even obtained a letter of recommendation from a duchess to boot! Link knew that such things could have only been achieved through great sacrifice.

But 1500 gold coins was still an unacceptable amount of money for Eliard. He couldn’t contain his anger any longer and finally lost his cool. ”This is blatant robbery!” he shouted through clenched teeth, his face red.

Vincent shook his head, unmoved. ”I’m warning you boy, you’re lucky I’m in a good mood today, so I will let your impudence pass,” he said with a sinister calm. ”But if you ever utter such drivel to a Magician who’s not as forgiving as I am, I assure you you’ll pay for it in blood!”

Sensing that Eliard was going to continue arguing with the gatekeeper, Link quickly pulled him back by his arm.

Right now they were nobodies, while on the other hand, the East Cove Higher Magic Academy was the most prestigious magic academy in the Kingdom of Norton. The academy’s dean was also a Level-7 Master Magician. If they lost their temper here, it would achieve nothing, and only leave a bad impression of themselves on the academy and the dean.

Eliard was a commoner and he didn’t have enough money for the tuition fees. Although there might have been some unfair treatment towards commoners on the academy’s part, these were just the facts of life. No amount of shouting and arguing could change anything.

Link became the first ever Archmage in the gaming server back on Earth all because he had full control of his emotions. He never complained nor held grudges against anyone, and he would never get riled up without good reason either. Whenever he was faced with a problem, he would stay calm and collected, and try to solve the issue with reason and logic.

It was indeed this strong character of his that enabled Link to become the first ever Archmage. And for this same reason, when the God of Light dumped him into this strange unfamiliar world, not only was Link able to escape from Gladstone city alive, he was even able to save the city from ruin. And as he was then, his character remained just as strong now.

Link understood that in order to abolish this unfair rule from the East Cove Higher Magic Academy, a few dissenting voices wouldn’t amount to anything. Real change would only come when everyone was forced to notice the absurdity of the rule.