Chapter 26: 2 Years and the Assessment

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: 2 Years and the Assessment

After returning to the Starfall Laboratory, Chen Shang’s life fell into an extremely strict routine.

Every morning, he first went to the school to audit the basic classes. Those Apprentices were more than ten years younger than him, but their foundations were much more solid.

However, with the help of his entries, Chen Shang progressed extremely fast. For example, the [Concentration] entry allowed him to learn rapidly, and the talents and specialties of other Apprentices could also be extracted by the entries.

After class, he returned to the small building and started working at the Recording Platform.

He purchased basic Creation Species bodies, recorded the [Ben Bo’Erba] Mechanical Armor, and then attempted to add [Metal Manipulation] and [Dragon Power] to them.

It took him three months to design a new set of Rune Arrays, which he named [Ben Bo’Erba - Modified].

The recording process was much more difficult than he had imagined. Three weeks later, he obtained his first [Ben Bo’Erba - Modified]—a catfish spirit that had mastered Metal Manipulation and Dragon Power.

He realized that the path of mass-producing Mechanical Species was completely feasible!

Aside from working, he would chat with Princess Di Long from time to time. Ithirandir would send him messages through the Celestial Net almost every day.

At first, it was voice messages, but later she learned to send video messages, chattering non-stop. Sometimes Chen Shang was too busy to reply, but Ithirandir didn’t mind; she just wanted someone to talk to.

One day, she sent a video. In the footage, she was holding a fist-sized red crystal and saying to the camera, "Chen, this is a Dragon Blood Crystal. It has a lot, lot of Energy inside. I’ve mailed it to you."

Chen Shang stared blankly at the crystal. These types of crystals were formed by highly condensed Energy. Every single piece contained a massive amount of Energy and could be used to drive large-scale Rune Arrays or power Alchemy Devices...

"This is too precious."

"It’s not precious, my family has a lot of them. Royal Father said your Mechanical Armor is very interesting. He approved it!"

Ithirandir thought for a moment and added, "Besides, that glowing ball, the fighting wooden puppet, and the singing box you gave me last time—I really love them all!"

"Uh, alright then. Thank you so much!"

Now it made sense. The Dragon Emperor likely saw his biological Mechanical Armor and wanted to make an investment.

As for the little trinkets he had given Ithirandir, they weren’t worth much; they were all made from leftover experimental Materials.

After Chen Shang received the Dragon Blood Crystal, he discovered that its internal structure was incredibly stable and its Energy output was perfectly even. He attempted to utilize it inside Number Three’s body.

Two years passed just like that.

Suddenly, one day, Leia returned. "Yo, you seem to be doing pretty well for yourself!"

Chen Shang turned his head and saw Leia standing at the doorway, wearing the badge of a Third Level Apprentice on her chest. She was a bit thinner than she had been two years ago, but her Spirit was excellent.

"Senior Sister! You succeeded?"

"Just a Third Level Apprentice." Leia walked in, sweeping her gaze across the room.

The walls were covered in Rune Diagrams. On the desk lay a few half-finished Creation Species bodies, and various Materials were piled up in the corners.

Finally, her eyes landed on the active [Ben Bo’Erba - Modified] on the Recording Platform.

"Is this the Mechanical Armor you’ve been working on?"

"Yeah. It’s an aquatic creature, augmented with Metal Manipulation and Power Burst."

Leia stood up, walked over to the Recording Platform, and bent down to carefully inspect the Runes on the body of the Mechanical Species. She nodded.

"You haven’t wasted these past two years. I’ll sign you up. Get ready for the First Level Apprentice assessment."

"When?"

"Next month, along with the other pending Apprentices."

Chen Shang took a deep breath. "Senior Sister, can I really do it? The others have been studying for six or seven years."

"The First Level Apprentice assessment is about verifying your abilities," Leia explained slowly, leaning back against her chair. "From your initial concept for the Mechanical Armor to the actual product you have now, this process alone proves what you’re capable of.

"Next month, you’ll first take an online written exam, then everyone will enter the assessment world together for actual combat, and finally, you’ll submit your Mechanical Armor design."

"Alright, I’ll do my best!"

"The assessment uses a standards-based system, not an elimination system. That means as long as you meet the standards recognized by the Wizard World, you’ll pass, regardless of how many others do too.

"Combat strength isn’t the only criterion. Who knows, you might pass just by chatting with people, drinking tea, discussing Runes, practicing Alchemy, or undergoing Body Refinement."

Leia stood up and patted him on the shoulder. "Relax. You’ve learned a lot over the past two years, and you even managed to create your Mechanical Armor. I don’t think you’ll have any problems!"

After his senior sister left, he turned on his Celestial Net Access Device and sent a message to Ithirandir: "I have to participate in the First Level Apprentice assessment next month, so I won’t be able to reply to you often."

A reply arrived shortly after.

Ithirandir was standing on the peak of a mountain. The wind blew through her silvery-white hair, and the sea of clouds behind her burned in the light of the setting sun.

"Chen Shang, are you going to fight people? I can come help you!"

Chen Shang shook his head helplessly. "I appreciate the thought, but we aren’t allowed to call in outside help for the assessment."

If Wizard Apprentices could bring outside help to their assessments, no one would know what kind of reinforcements they might summon. After all, many people in the Pan-Wizard Alliance were eager to build good relationships with Wizard Apprentices.

Of course, bringing Mechanical Species like [Ben Bo’Erba] was perfectly fine since Chen Shang had recorded it himself.

Ultimately, a Wizard Apprentice was assessed on their own capabilities. If you could create something incredibly overpowered that instantly killed everyone else, that was still your own capability. The Wizard World would acknowledge it, and so would the other Wizard Apprentices.

Next, Chen Shang went into secluded Cultivation. He continued his studies while speeding up his recording process.

A month later, sixty units of [Ben Bo’Erba - Modified] stood uniformly in front of him.

Among them, a few were exceptionally robust—especially the initial Number Three, whose Energy Origin in its chest was powered by the Energy from the Dragon Blood Crystal.

...

The first part of the assessment, the written exam, was extremely boring. A continuous week of online testing left Chen Shang’s scalp numb, giving him the feeling of returning to finals week in his previous life.

Fortunately, his past two years of effort hadn’t been in vain. The results came out right after the exam, and he passed successfully.

The second part was the actual combat assessment.

In the Starfall Laboratory’s Teleportation Plaza, over three hundred pending Apprentices gathered in groups of twos and threes, preparing to enter the assessment world.

Chen Shang stood in a corner with sixty Ben Bo’Erba standing behind him.

With grayish-blue skin, scattered dark red scales, and faintly glowing Rune engravings, they stood in three rows, completely motionless, with a very low sense of presence.

Of course, his display wasn’t even considered exaggerated. A few of the other Apprentices had Mechanical creations that were over a dozen stories high; standing there, they looked like Ultraman.

Chen Shang looked down to inspect his equipment: his rune pen, Blank Carriers, spare Crystal Stones, Recovery Potions... and the Dragon Blood Crystal that Ithirandir had given him.

Soon, a First Level Wizard wearing white robes stepped onto the high platform. When his gaze swept across the hall, everyone fell silent.

"Everyone, come up and collect a Protective Talisman. You must wear this Protective Talisman when entering the assessment world. When you are on the verge of death, the Protective Talisman will automatically activate and teleport you out.

"As for the specific details of the assessment, you will find out once you go inside."

PS: Friends, the data for Tuesday is going up for PK, so I am asking for your follow-up reads for the next two Chapters.

Additionally, the Wizard System will also slowly unfold. If you have any brainstorming ideas, or interesting Mythical Characters, welcome to leave a message in the comments section.