On the way to the tower, Zack glanced at his status window. It’s been a while since his Hidden Boss progress bar budged.

First time it moved was when he started teaching Fannie magic. Back then, it went up by 10%. Second time was when Fannie advanced to level 1 wizard, which bumped it up by 20%.

Honestly, he didn’t actively try to beef it up since he's pretty content with his current abilities from the [Hidden Boss]. But hey, if it wants to boost itself, he's not complaining.

Strolling through the familiar forest, he finally arrived at the teleportation magic circle of the lightning magic tower.

It’s his first time stepping foot inside the tower since getting kicked out. To be fair, he could've used his contribution points to enter the tower market or hop on the tower's teleportation network. But nah, he blew all those points on books for the library.

He could access the library collection from the monolith in the formation workshop anyway, so no need to come to the tower.

As he neared the circle, his badge vibrated more intensely. Standing in its center, the vibrations ceased and the badge started glowing softly in blue. Sending his mana to the badge, he initiated the teleportation process and was engulfed by a bright white light.

Blinking back into awareness, he found himself back inside the tower. Yo tower, long time no see, buddy.

After informing the mission hall of his return, just like when he signed the contract to be the tower’s member, they ushered him into a small room at the back.

This time, they brought out a fancier contract scroll than before. Seriously, when the staff placed it on the table, the darn thing started floating on its own. They opened it up and slid it over to Zack.

"Please read the contract carefully, once you sign it, there's no turning back," the staff warned.

Zack scrutinized the contract like a hawk. Sure enough, it mentioned that the contract would bind to his soul. It even mentioned that it could punish him if he so much as thought about betraying the tower. Ouch, talk about harsh.

The only bright side? This contract would automatically cancel any existing tower membership he might have. Plus, it was only for 20 years.

One major point hammered into the contract is that if the contractee doesn't level up to become a wizard, the contract gets nixed automatically. Oh, now he recalls that at this juncture, the apprentice who inked this deal hasn't actually hit level 1 wizard status yet.

Yeah, he also remembers stumbling across something before about how just having the green light to level up doesn't guarantee the actual advancement.

Hmm... it also said he's not tied down to staying within the tower and can roam outside freely. But, there's a quota of missions he's gotta hit each year. However, he could opt for a long-term mission, and that'd cover him for the mission quota for every year he's on that long-term gig..

Also, he can come and go in the tower as they please, meaning they get free access to the tower's market and teleportation network. But, when it comes to snagging books from the library, they still gotta cough up some contribution points to make the exchange.

After reading through the entire contract and finding no red flags, he double-checked that his mana signature was his original, then sent his mana into the contract.

The contract briefly glowed and shot out a ball of light at his abdomen. It dove into his mana heart, where it encountered the light ball from his previous contract. It devoured the old light ball and exited his mana heart.

Then, he watched as the ball of light journeyed to his head, specifically his glabella. Once it entered, he couldn't see what was happening inside. He could make out the flesh and bones of his glabella, but the ball of light remained hidden from view.

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Seems like his soul was tucked away in some other dimension or layer of his body that he couldn’t quite reach yet. Either way, his head felt like it had something wedged in it, and he sensed a shackle on his entire being. It was seriously uncomfortable.

Noticing his discomfort, the staff patiently explained that this weird feeling was pretty common whenever someone signed a new contract. Bodies just weren't used to suddenly having restrictions slapped on them. Eventually, he'd forget the shackle was even there once he got used to it.

Zack nodded, trying to wrap his head around it. Then, the staff got up and gestured for Zack to follow. They headed to the library, and the staff opened a door to reveal a part of the library Zack had never seen before.

"Within this room are level 1 spells from which you may select your innate spell. Please refer to the accompanying handbook I provided earlier for comprehensive information on innate spells. You have a twenty-four-hour window to make your decision. After selecting, kindly return to the mission hall for further instructions." the guide explained before leaving Zack alone in the room.

The room was massive, about the size of a football field. He only called it a "room" because compared to the main library hall, it was smaller. That place was gigantic, easily four to five times the size of a football field.

Thankfully, during his time as a library member, he only had to clean the level 0 areas. Plus, he had a magic broom that could dust everything with one swipe. Otherwise, he and the other library members would've been worked to death.

Pushing those random thoughts aside, he delved into browsing the innate spell collection. Turns out, the innate magic spell was basically the magic circle you engrave inside your mana heart.

The tower only gave him a day to choose because they wanted him to hunt down the innate spell that matches the one he's learned. See, to level up to a level 1 wizard as an apprentice, you gotta nail down one level 1 magic spell first. That's the deal.

If he managed to master the spell, understanding the innate spell magic circle would be a breeze. Spotting the innate spell for [Lightning Flesh], he dove into reading it.

Sure enough, the spell's general structure matched what he'd designed. There were a few differences, but nothing major. He'd tweaked the original design to better fit his mana heart condition.

Grabbing another book at random, he noticed the structure was pretty much the same. Still, being able to derive a magic circle for a specific spell from a different innate spell circle marked him as a bit of a genius. Most apprentices couldn't pull off what he did. Then again, the whole idea of snatching a level 1 wizard as an apprentice in the first place was pretty nuts..

He kept browsing spells just to broaden his knowledge. When the day ended, he headed back to the room provided by the tower. The room he'd used as an apprentice was no longer his after getting kicked out; it was given to someone else. This new room was part of the advancement process.

He sat on his bed, crossed his legs, and settled into meditation.

The next day, he informed the mission hall that he'd chosen his innate spell. The staff led him to the practice hall. Deeper inside, they reached a door blocking the corridor. The staff scanned his badge, and the door slid open automatically.

Sometimes Zack wondered if he'd stumbled into a sci-fi flick, especially when faced with scenes like this. But hey, he wasn't complaining. Beyond the door were 10 practice rooms, five on each side, with another room at the end of the corridor.

The staff pointed to one of the practice rooms. "This meditation room is designed for level 1 official wizard advancement, featuring mana concentrations ten times higher than standard levels, with spikes during rapid mana growth to prevent mana depletion.

"You're free to choose any available room, and scanning your badge grants access, including the entrance door. You have a two-month timeframe for advancement, with no re-entry permitted afterward." the staff explained patiently.

“Got it, thanks,” Zack replied.

"Not a problem at all. It's my pleasure to assist a candidate aspiring to become an official wizard." the staff said smilingly before leaving Zack alone.

He strolled into one of the rooms and swiped his badge to crack open the door. Instantly, he could feel the drastic surge in mana concentration. Ahh, feels like paradise. This tower seriously has the best setup for wizards.

No way he's bouncing before the two months are up. Unfortunately, he could only keep up the meditation gig for 8 hours a day, which is pretty standard for most wizards. Push it beyond that, and you're risking some serious mental burnout.

You see, when a wizard meditates to amp up their mana capacity, they're basically cramming more mana into an already packed core. It takes some serious brainpower to pull that off, which tires out the mind real quick. Going beyond 8 hours is like overclocking your mind, and trust me, that's a one-way ticket to a fried brain.

But if a wizard meditates to recharge their mana, it's a different story. The core isn't maxed out, so it naturally siphons mana from the surroundings. The wizard just helps it along, which isn't as mentally taxing.

So, unless you're in a special situation like during an advancement, you're capped at 8 hours of meditation a day. Even during an advancement, you're basically just chilling. The core slurps up mana on its own, and to make sure nothing disrupts the process, your body goes into lockdown mode, making it look like you're deep in meditation. But you're not. Otherwise, how could anyone meditate for a whole month?