Time flies—two years have gone by. To the newcomers of the Blacksword Tower Wizard Academy, 700 natural days on the Wizard Continent have been enough for many things to unfold.
Nidhogg silently swept the corners of the library with a broom. This was a job he found through the influence of the Bloodsail Alliance, earning him two magic stones a month. Don’t underestimate this part-time job; initially, many fought tooth and nail for it, but thanks to Nina and the Bloodsail Alliance, Nidhogg secured it.
Earning four magic stones a month, Nidhogg should have been able to comfortably advance from a beginner with decent aptitude and intelligence to a full-fledged wizard apprentice within the academy’s three-year novice protection period. Yet...
“Could I have made a mistake?”
Nidhogg frowned, feeling troubled.
In over two years, Nidhogg had mastered only one spell: the preliminary modification of "Hunter’s Nose." He had completed this spell within six months of arriving at the academy. Typically, a newcomer should spend all his spare time meditating while using magic stones to learn new spells. With his monthly income of four magic stones, Nidhogg should have easily outpaced most of his peers.
However!
Nidhogg didn’t want to just mechanically learn spells as outlined in magic books. Instead, he sought to explore the arcane principles and understand the essence behind the spells, wasting precious time in the process.
For example, through two years of research on "Hunter’s Nose," Nidhogg discerned one ambiguous piece of knowledge: why wasn’t the modification of “Hunter’s Nose” considered bloodline magic?
But what use was this?
Could this so-called knowledge empower Nidhogg to survive the trial in a year?
“Give me endless knowledge, and I will use myself as a fulcrum to move the infinite world.”
Is knowledge really that important?
Did I make a mistake?
Nidhogg’s growing confusion stemmed from the impending end of the three-year protection period for newcomers, which would be followed by the academy’s terrifying trial exams and subsequent mandatory biannual tasks.
From the previous cohort of wizard apprentices, Nidhogg learned that the so-called trial was essentially a deadly selection process to determine which newcomers were qualified to advance.
During the trial, those who hadn’t mastered three spells to become wizard apprentices had survival rates of less than ten percent. Even among apprentices, the survival rate hovered around forty percent.
So brutal was the trial that veteran wizard apprentices called it the Bloody Grindstone.
Once, "Hunter’s Nose Modification and Scent Spectrum" was Nidhogg’s beacon of hope in the wizarding world, his edge over other apprentices. But now…
“No! Ah…”
Suddenly, a piercing scream erupted in the library. Startled, Nidhogg rushed toward the source of the sound.
There, four or five people stood numbly around someone writhing on the floor.
Nidhogg stepped closer and his pupils contracted: "Linz!"
Linz, a female wizard apprentice, was one of the first in their cohort to become an apprentice and was quite famous. Her beauty had attracted many admirers among the male apprentices.
However, Linz had a “flaw”—she refused to cultivate a symbiotic insect.
This was understandable, considering that from an ordinary person’s perspective, having bugs crawling on or inside one’s body was terrifying. Even Nidhogg had been resistant to the idea.
Symbiotic insects represented the initial use of soul power by wizards, distributing their power to insects with special functions, which evolved by feeding on potent biological blood meals.
While symbiotic insects had some defensive utility, their primary role was bolstering a wizard’s resistance to curses and illusions.
Watching Linz scream in agony, Nidhogg sighed. Another wizard apprentice was about to die a painful death.
In two years, Nidhogg had witnessed many curse-related deaths, a murder method notoriously hard for the enforcement team to trace.
He maliciously speculated whether Linz’s death would result from flesh-eating bugs devouring her to the bone or by having her blood solidify, causing suffocation. Or would she simply wither into a mummified corpse, as someone else had?
Her screams escalated, and Nidhogg smelled something burning.
Deep red against her skin, Linz finally collapsed, her body withering visibly, as if her bones had melted away, leaving no support.
Moments later, Linz disintegrated into ashes, leaving her clothes intact on the floor, as if her body had been spirited away by some unknown force—a truly eerie scene.
“A self-igniting curse, quite an advanced one…”
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A wizard apprentice in front of Nidhogg muttered before nonchalantly leaving. Over the years, he had grown accustomed to seeing newcomers succumb to curses.
Typically, the period from a newcomer’s first three years to the trial exams saw the most “accidental” deaths in the academy.
Nidhogg felt a chill down his spine, even after witnessing such curse deaths repeatedly, because he never knew when he might meet the same fate.
Curses required certain conditions—namely, the extraction of physical information from the victim.
This "physical information" could be a drop of blood, a fingernail, or even a strand of hair.
Legend had it that the most powerful curse masters could extract weak physical signatures from objects a person had touched.
Night fell on the Bloodsail Alliance gathering.
The former leadership by five spellcasters had been replaced by a council of twelve elders overseeing the alliance.
Of the original five spellcasters, only three became elders due to the “accidental” deaths of the Fireball and Puppet Casters; the other nine elders were exceptional newcomers with superior talent and intelligence.
Nina, Yorkris, Yorkliana, Binghampton, and Nidhogg still sat together, yet Nidhogg felt an inexplicable sadness.
Yorkris spoke quietly, “Nidhogg, last week Nina led us into the Thorny Forest, and we found some things. Although dangerous, each of us earned about seven magic stones. How about you join us this time?”
Feigning indifference, Nidhogg replied softly, “Forget it. You know I’m not much use right now. I wouldn’t help you but drag you down. Even…”
Nidhogg glanced at Yorkliana, “Even your sister is much stronger than I am now.”
He knew Yorkliana had mastered three spells, becoming a wizard apprentice, and all her spells were supportive, greatly enhancing Yorkris.
Together, they could outmatch some elder-level wizard apprentices in the alliance!
“Nidhogg, stop pushing yourself so hard! You’ll end up in a vicious cycle at this rate. Do you want to stay mediocre forever?” Nina couldn’t hold back her concern, looking earnestly into Nidhogg’s eyes—her anxiety and care unmistakable.
Everyone knew that the brutal trial exam loomed a year away. Nobody in the Bloodsail Alliance harbored any illusions about their chances; they were all diligently strengthening themselves.
“I…”
Nidhogg hesitated, when another voice interrupted.
From Astaladra, a bearded male wizard apprentice, one of the Twelve Elders and a devoted admirer of Nina, known for his high magical talent.
Astaladra interjected, “Stop pushing him. When you think you’re helping a friend, have you considered his pride? Your generosity, though well-intentioned, borders on condescension.”
Turning to Nidhogg with a sincere smile, Astaladra continued, “It’s alright. You’re Nina’s friend, hence a friend of mine and the Bloodsail Alliance. No matter how weak you are, neither I nor the alliance will abandon you.”
“Yes, Nidhogg! If you ever need help, just call, and I’ll do my best to assist,” Yorkliana added shyly.
Nidhogg looked at their sincere faces, maintaining a “grateful” smile, trying to show his happiness and appreciation for their support.
But deep down, Nidhogg felt a sharp pain, as if someone was stabbing at his most vulnerable spot.
Yes, his former friends now regarded him from the heights of success, offering help.
And here stood Astaladra, who once looked up in awe from some forgotten corner of the Bloodsail Alliance, now exuding the generosity and understanding of a success, empathizing with Nidhogg’s plight.
All of this pierced Nidhogg deeply.
On the high platform, one of the twelve elders was loudly announcing internal news from the alliance.
“Currently, our Bloodsail Alliance ranks fifth in comprehensive ability among all apprentice organizations at the Blacksword Tower, with only older lineage-based organizations ahead of us. I congratulate us on such an achievement.”
“Our alliance boasts 217 official members, of which 205 have become wizard apprentices, and seventeen have been acknowledged by great wizards as their personal disciples. We congratulate those recognized by the great wizards and encourage the newcomers to strive, grow, and elevate our organization!”
Astaladra smiled, waving to those congratulating him, as one of the seventeen apprentices acknowledged by a wizard.
Meanwhile, Nidhogg hung his head, silently observing everything around him. Occasionally, familiar faces encouraged him, assuring him he’d become an apprentice, but each word felt like a dagger twisting in his heart, forcing him to smile.
Internally, Nidhogg repeatedly asked himself, Have I truly made a mistake?
After the gathering, as Nidhogg and Binghampton walked away, Binghampton stayed silent for a long time.
“Bah! What’s Astaladra anyway? Claiming Nina’s your friend means he’s your friend too, as if we should suck up to him. And saying he won’t abandon you, nor the alliance… does he think he speaks for us?” Binghampton railed.
“When the five spellcasters founded the Bloodsail Alliance, you were there as one of the original members. He’s at best a second-generation member, yet he dares speak of alliance tradition to you? Bah…”
Finally, Binghampton, who had been silent, erupted.
“The fool thinks Nina and you are just casual friends? He knows nothing of how you saved Nina during the sea monster attack, and the bonds we share, which his few months of flattery can’t rival…”
Nidhogg stared, his eyes moist, at his oft-annoying chatterbox friend.
Yet Nidhogg’s eyes grew wet. “Thank you, Binghampton. I need some alone time.”
Nidhogg turned away, hiding his vulnerability.
Binghampton said no more, patting Nidhogg's shoulder before leaving.
Nidhogg walked alone in silence, contemplating the past two years.
From the day he arrived at Blacksword Tower Wizard Academy, to his belief in uncovering great secrets and deeply engaging in “knowledge,” to his current state of disillusionment.
Unknowingly, Nidhogg arrived at a remote corner of the Blacksword Mountain tunnel, where an eroded, worn boulder stood, steadfast against time’s weathering.
Lifting his gaze, Nidhogg read the inscription that once changed his fate, uncertain of his feelings now.
“Give me endless knowledge, and I will use myself as a fulcrum, to move the infinite world.”
He laughed bitterly, realizing his own naivety and ignorance—how the inspiring words of an ancient wizard had driven him to perilous folly.
Had he, like other apprentices, spent his time mastering spell after spell without fretting over the knowledge and reasoning, surely he’d be an apprentice or even an alliance elder by now?
The ancient wizard who uttered this bold claim likely stood atop the world’s pinnacle, yet what did Nidhogg amount to?
He had foolishly tried to emulate the ancients.
In despair, Nidhogg considered leaving silently. But as he glanced again at the boulder, he felt a sudden realization, trembling.
“Give me endless knowledge, to move the infinite world… but who gives me endless knowledge as leverage? Knowledge is hard-earned…”
In that instant, Nidhogg felt the phrase, once a proud boast, was laced with profound resignation, as if the ancient wizard cursed his inability to acquire more knowledge. The path to knowledge was fraught with countless thorns, obstacles, and despair, tempting one to surrender to futility.
A sense of sorrow washed over Nidhogg, as if empathizing with the ancient wizard’s anguish.
He stood silently, unmoving.
After a long while, Nidhogg suddenly raised his head, striding purposefully back to his small dwelling.
At that moment, Nidhogg felt reborn, with newfound resolve. He vowed to stay true to his chosen path and ideals, lest he become a living corpse drifting wherever life pushed him.
This was a path of unyielding pursuit of knowledge and truth.
Even if it was filled with hopelessness and death, endless solitude and challenges, Nidhogg refused to walk forever in the footsteps of others.