As he spoke, he deliberately turned around so the burly man could see the harp from the corner of the cloth wrap.
Upon seeing the harp, the burly man's expression softened slightly. He looked at Durin with some surprise but said rather coldly, "Tricks? Then perform one and let me see."
Durin raised his hand and chanted a strange word: "Ua..."
In the next moment, a soft white light shot out from his fingertip, and a ball of light levitated above Durin's head. Its purpose was to serve as a substitute for a candle.
Seeing the soft white ball of light released by Durin, the burly man's face softened further, and he said in a gentler tone, "It seems your mentor didn't tell you that Zaun's academies only provide teaching and do not offer qualification certification. If you want to certify as a Mage Apprentice, you need to go to Piltover University."
Huh? Does Zaun not even have the authority to certify a Mage Apprentice?
Durin complained inwardly; he hadn't expected that he would need to go to Piltover to certify his Mage Apprentice qualification.
Immediately after, he dispelled the ball of light floating above his head and continued to ask, "Then may I ask, can I directly purchase magic books from the college? The kind that can guide me through the basics?"
"Hmm? It seems you don't have a mentor. How could you not know even this most basic knowledge? No academy allows magic books to be leaked to the outside, let alone sold privately. Once discovered, one would be thrown into prison to serve a sentence of ten years or more. Only by joining an academy are you permitted to study magic," the burly man chuckled.
Durin's heart instantly sank. He had originally planned to buy a few magic books and then follow them step by step to master the magic within his body until he became a formal mage.
But looking at it now, that method was completely unfeasible; his only choice was to join an academy.
Durin: "...Then how should I join the academy?"
"First, you must have magical aptitude or already be a Mage Apprentice. Second, you must have enough money to support the tuition of 35 silver lun coins per semester at the College of Techmaturgy, which includes room and board and miscellaneous fees. Finally, you cannot be older than 25," the burly man answered seriously.
35 silver lun coins per semester?!
Durin's heart skipped a beat. The tuition at a Zaun academy was actually so expensive; one semester was equivalent to 1.45 gold cogwheels, and a year would be almost 3 gold cogwheels.
Durin, who was determined to become a mage, immediately understood that his next goal was to save up enough for tuition—at the very least, the 35 silver lun coins for the first semester!
"Thank you."
After learning all the information, Durin immediately decided not to waste any time and walked toward the nearby public lift, preparing to head to Piltover as quickly as possible.
There were few passengers taking the public lift today. Usually, the platform under the Central Tower would be packed to the brim.
What was going on?
Had something happened up there?
Or was it that the rumors he heard at the tavern yesterday about the Black Alley changing leaders had made everyone afraid to leave their homes?
Durin speculated as he waited in a spacious spot within the lift car.
The words he heard most from the surrounding passengers were "the Sheriff of the Piltover Guard Headquarters died in Zaun," "Black Alley," "Vander and Silco," and the like.
Durin knew that the plot of the animated series Arcane was in full swing, but what did that have to do with him?
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