Upon leaving the laboratory, a fiery and beautiful figure immediately approached.
"Have you decided?" the figure asked crisply.
Richard nodded slightly, "Yes. I'm going to the Galon Wizard Academy next. Would you like to come with me, Ellie?"
The fiery figure was none other than Ellie, who had already become a Second Circle Wizard.
Two hundred and seventy years ago, Ellie successfully broke through and was promoted to a Second Circle Wizard.
"Me?" Ellie pointed at herself somewhat comically, "Do you want me to be expelled by my teacher?"
Richard leaving the academy would at most cause some gossip, as every wizard has their own pursuits.
But Ellie was the grand-disciple of the Great Wizard of the Black Tower.
The grand-disciple of the dean becoming a lecturer at another academy would be scandalous.
"Hey, I'm not asking you to be a lecturer. I'm just inviting you to stay with me."
Richard pulled Ellie into his arms, a mischievous smile on his face.
"When you get tired of it, you can come back. It's not like you're taking a teaching position at the academy."
"That still wouldn't be good," Ellie hesitated, "Staying long-term at another academy doesn't leave a good impression."
"It's fine," Richard said confidently, "I plan to build a Wizard Tower outside the Galon Wizard Academy. You can stay in the Wizard Tower."
"Ah? Then why don't you just stay at the Tower of Truth?" Ellie asked, puzzled.
"Well…" Richard stroked his chin, a mysterious smile on his lips, "There's some research I need to do outside."
Ellie thought for a moment, then nodded slightly, "Alright. I'll come over once your Wizard Tower is built."
Richard smirked, "Deal. No backing out."
Ellie's face turned red, and she muttered softly, "When I become a Third Circle Wizard, I'll make you pay."
…
After leaving the Black Tower Wizard Academy, Richard immediately headed to the Tower of Truth.
The Galon Wizard Academy was located in a very remote area, in the far north of the Wizard Continent. Without guidance, it was difficult for ordinary wizards to find the exact location of the academy.
11th Floor of the Residential Area
The arena was still bustling with excitement. A large number of wizards in the audience watched eagerly as two massive figures engaged in a brutal, flesh-and-blood battle.
Although wizards often associated hand-to-hand combat with indigenous people, the instinct from their bloodline still made them thrilled when they saw such a fight.
In the audience, Richard sat next to Jimmy, quietly watching the battle between the two Second Circle Wizards.
Scattered elements, abundant Magic Power, and occasional splashes of blood…
The battle was incredibly intense.
In the past, Richard would have praised this battle without hesitation.
But after becoming a Third Circle Wizard, he noticed many issues in this fight.
This wasn't due to experience, but simply a gap in strength.
Once you learn something, you can't imagine what it's like not to know it.
The strength of the wizards in the arena was vastly inferior to Richard's. Such a leap in strength deeply affects a wizard's combat habits, especially for those who specialize in physical combat.
Soon, the battle ended.
Jimmy flew onto the stage, raising the victor's right hand. The audience shouted the victor's name in unison.
This was the glory that belonged solely to the victor.
Soon, the audience dispersed, and the gladiators shook hands and made peace.
Their glory lasted only for that brief moment after victory. After that, they were still good brothers in the club.
Jimmy gave the two gladiators a few pointers, then returned to the audience.
"How was the battle?" Jimmy sat next to Richard and smiled.
"Terrible," Richard answered honestly, "Although I can clearly tell that these two wizards aren't doing poorly intentionally, but because their strength doesn't allow it.
Still, those seemingly unnecessary moves made me quite annoyed."
Jimmy burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"Hahaha, I knew you'd feel this way.
You spent too little time in the First and Second Circles, and you weren't particularly focused on physical combat.
Suddenly advancing to the Third Circle without enough experience, you can't appreciate the intricacies of the battle."
Jimmy's words weren't very pleasant, but Richard wasn't the least bit angry.
Jimmy was speaking the truth, and there's no reason to be upset about the truth.
"That's why I came to you," Richard said calmly, "I plan to join the Wizard Academy of the Great Wizard Galon to specialize in the path of physical evolution."
Upon hearing this, Jimmy's smile faded slightly. He looked at Richard with a serious expression, "Are you really going down the path of physical evolution? I've heard about your achievements over the years. Your accomplishments in Alchemy Machines far outshine those in the field of flesh and blood.
I'm a bit worried that your talent might be wasted at the Galon Wizard Academy studying physical evolution."
Richard nodded firmly.
"I'm very clear about my own talents. The Magic Support Vehicle was just a fluke. Inventing it didn't actually take much of my effort.
In fact, my research over the years can only be described as scattered.
I've dabbled in many fields.
Among these fields, I don't have any particularly outstanding talent in any one of them. After careful consideration, I believe that studying physical evolution is more in line with my current situation."
"Oh?" Jimmy was slightly surprised, "What exactly led you to this conclusion?"
Richard didn't say much, but simply extended his hand from under his Wizard Robe.
At first glance, the hand appeared very fair, but soon it began to change.
The hand started to deform, growing bone spurs, bone scales, hair, outgrowths, tumors… all sorts of strange things sprouted from it.
In no time, a perfectly good hand had turned into a twisted, indescribable mass.
Jimmy frowned slightly, "Is this… a rule?"
Richard nodded, "Indeed, it's a rule."
With that, the indescribable mass suddenly broke off. A new right hand slowly grew from the severed end.
"This is a special rule I've named the Mutation Rule. It can stimulate cells, causing the life core of the cells to express unpredictably, leading to uncontrollable mutations in the cells."
Upon hearing Richard's explanation, Jimmy's eyes widened in astonishment.
This rule's ability was perfectly suited for physical evolution.
Richard didn't fully understand the essence of physical evolution, but Jimmy, as the vice-dean of the Galon Wizard Academy, had a clear understanding of it.
The essence of physical evolution was the alteration of the life core.
And the cell mutations caused by the Mutation Rule, although uncontrollable, given enough time, wizards could always find suitable cells from them.
And wizards certainly didn't lack time.
"I must say, your luck is indeed very good," Jimmy remarked.
With that, he stood up and extended his right hand to Richard.
"Welcome, Master, to the Galon Wizard Academy. I'm the vice-dean, Jimmy."
…
The Galon Wizard Academy was located in the far north of the Wizard Continent.
During the Enlightenment Era, this area was the territory of a branch of the Evocation School known as Absolute Zero.
It was also one of the few regions not affected by the Wizard Wars.
During the Enlightenment Era, the biting winds of the far north were equivalent to a 300-level ice spell, and when mixed with frost, the wind could also inflict cutting damage.
Truly a dual cultivation of matter and magic.
However, after the Wizard Wars ended, the energy concentration in the Wizard World gradually declined, and the far north became less dangerous.
Following Jimmy, Richard flew from the Tower of Truth to the far north.
Along the way, Richard could clearly feel the temperature dropping.
"Mortals are truly resilient," Richard couldn't help but praise as he watched a human tribe hunting on the snowy plains.
All these mortals had the strength of knights, and their prey was an unusually large mammoth.
"That's life. Resilient life always finds a way," Jimmy turned to Richard and said, "Can you believe it? The ancestors of these mortals survived on this land during the Enlightenment Era.
Back then, even many wizards died here.
Yet they, with the experience passed down by their ancestors and their indomitable will to survive, lived on this land for generations with the strength of apprentices."
"Oh?" Richard's face showed a look of disbelief, "How is that possible? The winds of the far north during the Enlightenment Era could even tear apart wizards.
How could mortals survive in such harsh conditions?"
Jimmy shook his head with a smile, "But it's true. Because the Great Wizard Galon emerged from this land."
A flash of awe passed through Richard's heart.
He suddenly understood why the Great Wizard Galon, who became a Great Wizard in the early days of the Expansion Era, chose to study physical evolution.
It's hard not to be impressed by the tenacity of life when you see humans surviving on this snowy plain.
Soon, the two arrived at the Galon Wizard Academy.
The Galon Wizard Academy was an extremely large academy, as its main structure was an entire towering mountain.
Various buildings were arranged on the mountain, with the residential area at the bottom, followed by the teaching area, then the cafeteria and library.
At the summit stood a not-so-tall Wizard Tower.
Although the Wizard Tower wasn't tall, standing on the summit, it was comparable in height to the Tower of Truth.
"What's that?"
Richard suddenly noticed a group of small dots climbing up the mountain wall below the residential area.
Jimmy glanced in the direction Richard was looking and casually replied,
"Those are new students. The Galon Wizard Academy doesn't have a freshman year. Any child aged ten to fifteen who can climb to the academy's gate on their own automatically becomes a student of the Galon Academy."
Richard's eyes lit up with approval, "That's indeed a good method. It's much fairer than the exams I took when I was in school."
Richard's hometown was remote, not near any shipping routes, so its social system remained a backward feudal lordship, untouched by the benefits of magic.
This also meant that most of the potential apprentices from his area didn't survive.
If it weren't for the Miracle Furnace he had, Richard would have certainly died during the entrance exam.
Later, Richard asked Alexis if this was somewhat unfair, and the answer he received was quite harsh.
"There's no absolute fairness in this world. The academy has already prepared textbooks and dictionaries for them. If they can't learn, it's their own problem."
"Illiterates are ultimately a minority. The academy has done its best to popularize education in the source areas."
"Our academy isn't short of apprentices, nor is it short of geniuses. Someone like you, the academy might not even find one in an entire epoch."
In the end, the Wizard World was just too vast.
It was neither short of apprentices nor geniuses.
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