Nero slowly entered the fenced village. It was filled with various types of farms. Most of them were wheat fields, but there were also domains with livestock.

Nero looked around curiously. There were two kinds of people in this camp. Some were poor and worked in the fields, while others were well-dressed individuals who walked proudly through the streets.

Nero immediately understood that the well-dressed ones were the slave owners and the field workers were the slaves.

At least Nero suspected they were slaves. Why else would they be confined here?

However, he wasn't a hundred percent sure. What made him doubt were their expressions. They didn't have that emptiness that slaves usually had. They even seemed happy about this work.

Nero walked along the muddy, dirty paths, passing numerous fields and farms. The magicians seemed to ignore him and didn't pay much attention to what he was doing. That surprised Nero. No one punished him for doing nothing? That was strange.

A man approached him. He had black hair and a tanned complexion. He was noticeably taller and quite muscular compared to Nero. He grabbed Nero's shoulder, stopping him.

"Who are you?" he asked. His voice was hoarse and seemed old.

Nero hesitated for a moment.

"I can't remember. I only know my name. I'm Nero. But other than that, I can't remember anything. I'm sorry."

Nero decided to pretend that he had lost his memories. That way, he could ask questions without arousing suspicion.

"You've lost your memories, hmm?" the man examined Nero dismissively.

"I've heard that it can happen. Either through trauma or maybe a head injury. Do you really remember nothing at all?"

Nero shook his head and rubbed his nose. "Every time I try to remember, my head starts to hurt."

"Well, anyway," the man said after a brief hesitation, "My name is Lars, and I'm the third overseer of this camp. I make sure that everyone in this area does their work."

"Work?" Nero asked, confused.

The man shook his head. "Look around. This place is called Ascension Camp. Mortals from all over the world gather here to work."

Now Nero was even more confused. The people here were volunteering? And why were they called mortals?

"Why do people gather here to work?" Nero asked the man as they walked past the fields.

"Quite simply, they all want to become magicians. If they work hard enough, they have a chance of being chosen by the great magicians and the opportunity to become one themselves."

At first, Nero was shocked and delighted. The chance to regain his magic sounded too good to be true, but soon Nero calmed down.

He had an idea of what might be happening here. He had witnessed such things many times before. In his former world, the Church used faith and the hope of salvation to make ignorant believers work for them.

Many great lords also used the promise of freedom to make their subjects work for them. But in the end, it was the same in all cases. It was just another form of slavery.

He had seen the expressions on the faces of the three magicians who had captured him; they would never accept a "mortal" as one of them.

Of course, Nero couldn't be certain, but he didn't set his hopes too high that he could regain his magic through mere fieldwork.

Nero glanced at Lars once again,

"To become one of them? How can one become one of them?" Nero asked.

Lars laughed, "No one among us mortals knows the exact way. We are not worthy of learning the secrets of cultivation. But if you have enough credits, you can sign up. Every year, two random mortals are chosen by the great lords and given the opportunity to become magicians themselves."

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"Credits?" Nero inquired.

"Credits are our currency in this Ascension Camp. You earn credits for every task you do. Whether you work in the fields, hunt in the forest, or help in other ways. Once you have accumulated enough, you can use them to apply as one of the chosen ones. But there's no guarantee that you'll be selected. The chances of being one of the two chosen are slim. However, don't worry, you'll get half of your spend credits back. I've been waiting for seven consecutive years hoping to be chosen."

Nero nodded in understanding, "And why all this? What's so special about being a magician?"

The man looked at him in disbelief, "You don't remember what a magician is?"

Nero shrugged and tapped at his forehead.

Lars sighed, shoulders hanging, "That's not good at all," he said dejectedly.

"So?" Nero asked, "What are magicians?"

"Magicians are the mystical masters who have the privilege of cultivating magic," Lars explained.

Now Nero was truly confused, "Cultivating magic? What does that mean?"

"I don't know the exact details," Lars replied with a slight smile, scratching his head, "But I can tell you about magic. Magic is a mystical power bestowed upon us by the gods. When a person is chosen to wield it, they receive a small portion of the gods' power. With this power, they can directly influence the elements in their surroundings. For example, if they possess the power of wind, they can manipulate it directly. Unfortunately, that's already all of my knowledge. We, mortals, are only given very little information about magic."

This disappointed Nero. Despite having used magic himself for almost six years now, he knew very little about it.

There had to be a reason why it existed everywhere. However, on the planets he had visited so far, knowledge of magic was superficial at best.

It was always at the weakest level and only the planet with the three races seemed to have more knowledge about magic.

Magic was divided into different levels by them, such as Ancients or Nobles. Unfortunately, Nero had no way of accessing that knowledge in this world, as he had been attacked by the four unknown individuals before.

"Well, anyway," Lars said after Nero remained silent for a while, "Since you're here, you'll be under my supervision, and I'll make sure you do your work diligently. You'll have to pay taxes every month. To be precise, a measly ten credits. You can earn that in just five hours of work. Besides that, you'll also need to spend credits on food and drinks, rent for a house, and other everyday things like clothing. But you'll understand all that in due time. For now, I'll take you to the task house. There, you can choose your first assignment."

They entered the village, with many people bustling through the streets. It was quite busy. Only a few magicians could be seen walking through the alleys. Nero understood why, of course. For the magicians, this place was like a pigsty. And who would willingly lower themselves to the level of dirty livestock?

They arrived at a large building where many people had gathered. They made way for Lars as they approached the wide-open double doors. But before entering, Lars stopped and patted Nero on the back,

"From here, you're on your own. Just go in here and give your name at the counter. Then you'll be registered and can officially start earning credits. Over there, you'll see tasks posted by other mortals on that board. They'll pay you in credits, of course. You can also post your own tasks, but I don't know why anyone would do that. And there, you'll find the official tasks of the magicians and the community. You can earn far more credits from those. Now go! I have other things to do."

Nero nodded obediently and bid farewell. He watched as Lars disappeared into the crowd, then he turned and entered the hall.

He approached the counter, behind which stood a man dressed in a robe.

He looked tired as he gazed at Nero,

"A newcomer? Name, please," he said in a monotonous voice.

"Nero."

"Nero who?" the man inquired.

"Nero Nihil."

The man nodded, "Extend your hand."

Nero did as instructed. The man tapped Nero's hand with his index finger,

"It will itch a little now, but try not to move."

Nero nodded. The man began drawing a symbol on the palm of his hand with his finger. Nero raised his eyebrows in astonishment. In fact, it itched quite a bit, but Nero already knew the feeling. Briefly, a gray line lit up on his palm, but it disappeared after a short time as if it had never existed. Nero looked at the old Man,

-So he's a Symbolic. But then why couldn't I feel his aura? -

In the past, Nero could sense every mage. They all gave off an aura. Some were only a very weak one, while others gave off an immensely strong one, but they all had it.

Through that Nero always knew how strong his opponent was and if he was a mage.

But now he felt nothing at all. Only now he noticed, that he also could not feel the three mages who captured him.

He could only explain it in such a way that it was because he lost his magic. As if he had been blindfolded in a cloth that you could slightly see through. He could still see, but only superficially and weakly. The exact details were no longer recognizable.

But the more important question now was, what the Symbol that the man drew in his Hand was for.

His question was answered in the very next second.

"This symbol is used to safeguard your credit balance. You can activate it with this stone." He handed Nero a small stone. Nero examined the stone carefully but couldn't discern anything peculiar.

"Don't lose it. It costs two hundred credits to replace it. You activate it by pressing the stone on your palm."

Immediately, Nero tried it out, and sure enough, the icon lit up slightly. A number appeared in Nero's head: Zero.

"You should have sensed a number by now. This number tells you how many credits you have. Oh, and also. The stone doesn't have infinite energy, so use it sparingly. It costs thirty credits to reload once."