Throne of Magical Arcana - The Task

Lucien said with a pretended cunning smile, “Someday, when I do something big that can shock the whole magic world, I should leave a bloody X on the scene.”
    

“That sounds cool!” Lazar waved his fist a bit, “That reminds me of the mysterious Professor who left the bloody letters when he killed the traitor.”
    

Lucien’s face hardened a bit nervously and he quickly started talking about the famous shops in Allyn.
    

This time, in the Sorcerer Administrative Department, Lucien successfully activated his arcana badge. There were seven silver dots shining on the black badge, looking rather mysterious.
    

Right now this badge did not have any magic effects, but Lucien was told that, when he became a middle-rank arcanist, his arcana badge would be enchanted with a spell, and one more when he upgraded to senior-rank, and the same would be done to his magic badge.
    

“So an ‘X’ after your name?” asked Eric, watching Lucien putting his arcana badge in front of his left chest.
    

Lucien nodded seriously, “Yes. Anything else, Mr. Eric?”
    

“Nothing but to remind you to settle down in Allyn as soon as possible and then leave me your contact information. By the way, when you respond to Common Arcana, you’d better leave your address and contact information as well for further touch,” said Eric casually. Then, he turned around and said to someone who was knocking at the office door, “Come in.”
    

Seeing Eric was rather busy, Lucien and Lazar hurriedly bowed to him and left his office.
    

“Mr. Eric’s got so many things to do…” Lucien looked back at Eric’s office and said.
    

As if Lazar just heard a joke, he laughed, “Of course he’s got so many things to do, after all, he only works two days a week for fourteen hours.”
    

“Only two days? Then what about the rest of his time?” asked Lucien, surprised.
    

“He can study magic, do experiments, or anything he wants to do,” Lazar shrugged, “and the job, as the director of the department, can still bring him thirty Thales or arcana points a month. That’s why we have ten directors in Sorcerer Administrative Department, but only middle-rank sorcerers can have the opportunity to get the job.”
    

Lucien of course longed for this job, “It’s for sure a perfect job that pays well with very small amount of work.”
    

“If the job wasn’t like this, no middle-ranked sorcerer would be willing to do the tedious and troublesome work. After all, the main target for every sorcerer is to learn magic and arcana to enhance their strength, instead of dealing with those office documents. Only those who don’t want make any progresses would indulge themselves in wealth.” At a young age, Lazar was rather ambitious, and thus he looked down upon the sorcerers who contented with things such as those.
    

Then Lazar looked more serious. “What’s your recent plan, Lucien? Studying arcana or accepting tasks to make more money?”
    

“I’d like to spend some time on studying arcana and doing experiments.” In the past year, Lucien was fed up with his precarious living.
    

“Then I suggest you choose to work for the magic schools.” Lazar nodded.
    

“Why?” asked Lucien, as he was planning not to do any work but focus on his study before he upgraded to a second circle sorcerer.
    

“Well… Since your teaching task is actually only half done,” Lazar grinned, leaning his back against the wall casually, “later you need to choose one task out of two: One is that you can teach two apprentices to help them become senior apprentices, and the other is that you can work for a magic school. The difference is that the former won’t bring you any money, but the latter can bring you salary. Besides, as long as there are six of the students in the class who become senior apprentices, your job’s done.”
    

“I see…” Lucien nodded thoughtfully, “It seems that I don’t really have a choice.”
    

“No, you don’t.” Lazar crossed his arms casually, “And am I right that you only have sixty Thales and nine arcana points right now?”
    

“Yup, that’s right,” answered Lucien honestly.
    

“Although that’s a huge amount of money for a common person, for us sorcerers,” Lazar shook his index finger to Lucien, “it’s nothing. Being a sorcerer basically means burning money.”
    

“I know many materials are very expensive.” Lucien agreed.
    

“Yes, and it’s also way more than that. You know what? In Allyn, you need money to borrow books in the libraries, to rent meditation rooms, to do experiments, to analyze spells. Everything costs your money, and when you upgrade to a higher level, you gotta spend much more, say, maybe one summoning could cost you sixty Thales.”
    

“Once I heard a saying – ‘Without enough money, one cannot become a great sorcerer’.” Lucien touched his forehead a bit and said, “Fortunately, we can still make money.”
    

“That’s right. So, in addition to accepting tasks, adventuring or making magic items to make money, the congress also provides us with two ways. One is earning arcana points, which you already know. The higher your level is, the cheaper you can buy or rent many things.” Lazar then put on an admiring look, “The second is that several arcanists or sorcerers can together put forward a research proposal to the congress. If the idea passes the review of Magic Research Board, they could get lots of arcana points. However, those research projects are often led by senior-rank arcanists.”
    

The corner of Lucien’s lips twitched a bit and he thought to himself, “We also have research fundings here?”
    

Lazar continued, “So, for us junior-rank sorcerers, if you don’t want to take too much of a risk, you want to either find a good mentor or find a good job. Among the jobs, working for a magic school is the best option.”
    

“How’s the salary then?” Lucien wondered why Lazar spoke so highly of this job.
    

“You can work only twenty hours a week in a magic school as a teacher, and that’s ten classes. Although the salary is only ten points a month, you can feel free to arrange the rest of your time. Moreover, you can use the labs and the libraries of the school for free, and you can also get some free experiment materials.”
    

“Wow…” Lucien was actually a bit of a money-grubber. Hearing Lazar’s words, Lucien was a bit excited, and what made him excited the most was definitely the free use of the labs and the libraries.
    

“But get real… Why anyone would save such a good job for me…” said Lucien a bit hopeless.
    

“Come on, my friend.” Lazar patted Lucien on his shoulder, “You’re not a nobody. You just earned seven arcana credits the first day you came here, and you have the word ‘groundbreaking’ on your paper! Although every year some arcanists and sorcerers would go to some remote areas to teach the apprentices there, I don’t think you want to leave Allyn this soon, do you?”
    

“Definitely not.” Lucien shook his head, “You’re right, Lazar. I gotta try my best to get myself in one of the five magic schools in Allyn. By the way, Lazar, is there any mandatory task for us from the congress?”
    

Lucien was thinking of what he had heard from the Hand of Paleness.
    

“Yes, there’s one every year,” answered Lazar, “but for us junior-rank sorcerers, there are only mandatory teaching tasks for us, after all, the congress wants us to grow powerful first. Even when we become middle-rank sorcerers, we can still replace the tasks that are too risky for us with some new ones as long as we’re willing to pay.”
    

Lucien felt more relieved now, “That’s not bad.”
    

…
    

Zone five, Task Zone.
    

The zone consisted of rows of silver-gray metal counters, and behind each counter there was a dark green screen, showing all kinds of tasks from the congress, sorcerers, nobles or merchants.
    

Looking around, there was only one counter available right now. Behind the counter sat an ordinary-looking, middle-aged lady.
    

Seeing Lucien and Lazar walking towards the counter, the lady asked emotionlessly, “New task or get your pay?”
    

“I’ve finished my task.” Lucien handed the certificate and the magic badge to the lady.
    

After quickly checking the certificate, the lady wrote several words on the paper and then she put Lucien’s badge on the magic circle on the right side.
    

After the flashing light disappeared, there was a piece of parchment on the magic circle – the parchment used in the congress had been specially processed for magic transmission.
    

Taking a quick look, the lady said coldly to him, “Lucien Evans, your task is only half done. For the second part, do you want to teach the apprentices chosen by the congress, or teach in the remote areas?”
    

As she was saying, she took out a pile of basic magic and arcana books and started reading.
    

“I want to work for one of the five magic schools in Allyn, Madam.” Lucien remained polite.
    

The middle-aged lady rolled her eyes and said directly, “Don’t waste my time. Please make a choice.”
    

“Am I forbidden from applying for the job?” Although her attitude wasn’t nice at all, Lucien still insisted.
    

“No,” the lady gave Lucien a glance, “but you’re a sorcerer following the ancient magic system, and you just arrived here yesterday, there’s no chance for you to get this job. Please make a choice, or I’ll call the security.”
    

“Ms. Lawette, you’d better help Lucien with the application process, or I’ll complain to Affairs Committee about your misconduct!” Even Lazar felt quite pissed off.
    

Hearing Lazar’s words, Lawette twitched her mouth impatiently and said, “All right, if you want to waste your time, go ahead.”
    

Then she took out a form and a quill and handed them to Lucien.
    

After Lucien wrote down all of his basic information, with a second thought, he put the specific comment of his paper on the form as well.
    

If he was trying, he must try his best.
    

When Lucien was writing, Lawette urged him quite a few times. When she got Lucien’s application form, her face looked quite surprised in an unhappy way, “You’d better be honest with what you write, or you’d be severely punished.”
    

“Feel free to check my arcana badge,” answered Lucien poker-faced, and he handed his arcana badge to Lawette.
    

Lawette saw the seven silver dots on the badge, and she felt shocked.
    

Ten minutes later after she sent Lucien’s application information to the office, the result was back.
    

After a quick glance at the document, Lawette’s face turned purple with disappointment and embarrassment.
    

Taking over the document from Lawette, Lucien saw the result, “Based on the schools you specialize in, Mr. Evans, we are honored to have you in Douglas.”