Grinding EXP From Fireball Skill-Chapter 31: New Beginnings

Gu Ze hadn’t told Li Wei the specific obligations he had to undertake.

He looked at the three doors at the end of the great hall and said, "The red door on the left is the Treasure Vault, the blue door on the right is the library, and the golden door in the middle leads to the upper floors of the Mage Tower. Only Official Mages can enter."

"Items in the Treasure Vault can be exchanged for Contribution points. Books in the library cannot be taken out; only Apprentice Mages and Official Mages are allowed to read them."

"The library also houses Magic Books, which can only be read after spending Contribution points."

Li Wei’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

He quickly said, "Let’s go check out the library."

Pushing open the large blue door, Li Wei vanished from the hall in a flash of light.

Gu Ze smiled and turned to leave the third floor of the Mage Tower.

Li Wei’s reaction was not surprising. Many Apprentice Mages’ first instinct was also to check out the library.

The white light before him gradually faded, revealing a massive, circular library.

As far as the eye could see, the entire library was surrounded by books, with shelves lining the walls, all full.

Books on the higher shelves required a ladder to reach, or perhaps magic.

In the center stood several towering bookshelves, their tops piled high with mountains of books.

’I don’t know where the Maple City Mage Tower got so many books.’

The entire library held at least several million books.

In the Magic World, such a collection was simply unimaginable.

Li Wei saw many Apprentice Mages, and even Official Mages in Mage Robes, sitting amidst piles of books, immersed in their own worlds.

WHOOSH!

Countless books flew through the air. Periodically, one would float down into a pile, while another would rise up from a different stack and fly back to its shelf.

Only then would Li Wei realize that someone was buried inside one of those piles of books.

He walked into the sea of books and found the shelf where the Magic Books were kept.

He took down a Magic Book.

Tier Zero Magic—Mage’s Hand

Li Wei tried to open it.

A line of text appeared on the surface of the Magic Book.

"Consume 20 Contribution to unlock once."

He glanced around. No one was paying attention to him.

Li Wei returned the Magic Book to its place with a faint smile.

’Finally, a chance to learn new magic.’

When a Mage Apprentice learned magic, they had to go through Rota.

He wanted to save money learning new magic, but he also didn’t want to expose his unique ability.

Now, he finally had a way to solve this.

Here, no one would pay attention to how many times he had to read a Magic Book before learning a spell.

However, 20 Contribution was still a big problem.

There were two ways to earn Contribution: doing tasks and making donations.

Completing tasks for the Mage Tower counted as contributing to the Mage Tower.

Donating money to the Mage Tower also counted as contributing to it.

Most Mage Apprentices and Apprentice Mages from noble families took the second path—donating money.

For common folk, one hundred gold coins was an amount they probably couldn’t earn in a lifetime.

But for most noble families, it wasn’t an unaffordable sum.

If one hundred gold coins could buy a new spell, many nobles were more than willing to pay.

Li Wei could learn a Tier Zero Magic spell in a single try. He didn’t need one hundred gold coins; he only needed twenty gold coins to learn a new spell.

’I need to save up for spells!’ Li Wei thought.

He glanced at the Magic Staff tucked into his belt.

’If I sell this Magic Staff, I could probably get twenty gold coins easily.’

He shook his head. ’Forget it. There’s no rush. The Small Fireball Technique and Invisibility Armor Spell are enough for now.’

Li Wei left the library, preparing to head back and cultivate.

Just as he arrived back at his front door, he saw it was wide open.

’Burglars?’ Li Wei thought in surprise.

Then again, that seemed unlikely. This was the Mage Tower; how could burglars get in?

A few commoners walked out, carrying old furniture.

When they saw Li Wei, they quickly put down what they were carrying and said, "Greetings, Apprentice Mage Li Wei."

Li Wei asked, "What are you doing in my room?"

One of them quickly explained, "The Butler said you’ve become an Apprentice Mage and have moved to the Apprentice Mages’ quarters. He told us to clean this place out so it’ll be ready for the newly recruited Apprentice Mages to live in a few days."

He hurriedly added, "The Butler has packed up all your belongings and taken them to your new residence. What’s left here is just old furniture that we’re clearing out to replace with new."

Li Wei waved a hand and said, "Well then, carry on. I’ll be going."

He ran back to the third floor of the Mage Tower and saw the Magic Butler.

"You changed my residence?" Li Wei asked.

The Magic Butler nodded. "As per Mage Tower regulations, Apprentice Mages reside in private quarters on the second floor. I’ve had a Magic Servant take all your belongings to your new room. You’ll be staying in room 219."

"Within the Mage Tower, you just need to call my name to your Magic Badge to contact me."

Li Wei nodded. "Got it."

He went to the second floor of the Mage Tower and, after a bit of looking, found his room.

He used his Magic Badge to open the door. Inside, Li Wei saw a package sitting on the table.

The room was tidy, without a speck of dust, and a Dust-Cleaning Array was inscribed on the walls.

The room was fully furnished with all necessities: a large bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a private toilet...

Li Wei had been to Gu Ze’s room many times, and this one was quite similar.

Two bedrooms, one living room, and one bathroom.

The study and bedroom were separate, and both had windows overlooking the plaza outside the Mage Tower.

The entrance opened into the living room. The toilet was located in the hallway between the living room and the bedroom, and it contained a large wooden bathtub.

The study was at the very back.

Li Wei stood by the study window, looking out at the plaza with a pleasant feeling.

’The treatment for an Apprentice Mage really is different.’

But he was thinking about something else.

As he had walked down the hall, he’d seen that the rooms from 200 to 218 were all occupied.

Room 219 wasn’t at the end of the hall, but all the rooms after it were empty.

’Does that mean that, to date, there are only twenty Apprentice Mages in all of Maple City?’

And that was including Li Wei.

Maple City had a population of over two hundred thousand, but only twenty Apprentice Mages.

This meant that even becoming an Apprentice Mage was a one-in-ten-thousand achievement.

’So becoming an Apprentice Mage really is that hard!’

In the afternoon, Li Wei went to the Xinghuo Literature Society to see Jimmy and collect his royalties for February.

He also told Jimmy that he had moved and not to look for him at his old place anymore.

Jimmy asked in surprise, "Where have you moved, Mr. Li? Are you leaving the Mage Tower?"

"No," Li Wei said. "I’ve become an Apprentice Mage, so now I live on the second floor of the Mage Tower."

A look of shock appeared on Jimmy’s face.

"Wait, Mr. Li, how old are you?"

"Fifteen, I believe."

"You became an Apprentice Mage at such a young age?"

Jimmy exclaimed with emotion, "Mr. Li, you should be writing a Mage Legend, not a Knight legend!"

Li Wei just smiled.

Jimmy said, "It’s spring now. The ice and snow have melted, and the roads are clear again. The society president is planning to take the *Dragon Knight* novel to other towns to sell. Maybe next month, or the month after, your royalties, Mr. Li, could see explosive growth."

Li Wei was pleasantly surprised. "That’s wonderful! Please pass on my thanks to your president."

Jimmy smiled and said, "You’re too kind, Mr. Li. The president said that if it weren’t for the *Dragon Knight* novel, the Xinghuo Literature Society might have gone out of business last winter."