Wizard: Building a Golem Legion From Zero-Chapter 47 - 45: Heading to the Black Tower of the Forge

Chapter 47: Chapter 45: Heading to the Black Tower of the Forge

The academy’s public dining hall was always bustling with noise. The air, a mixture of food aromas and fluctuations of Magic Power, was filled with all sorts of discussions.

Allen carried his tray and had just found a seat by the window when he noticed countless gazes fixed on him.

These gazes were a mixture of surprise, envy, and even some undisguised jealousy.

"That’s him! Allen Wesren!" a voice, hushed but unable to hide its excitement, rang out.

"I heard from an upperclassman that Professor Lecia personally stepped in and used a high-difficulty backup exam, but... he still got a perfect score!"

"Those guys on the forums who bet he’d be expelled are kicking themselves now. I heard someone even lost a whole month’s living expenses!"

The whispers merged into an invisible wave of sound, swirling under the dining hall’s vaulted ceiling.

Allen paid it no mind. He picked up his knife and fork, precisely cutting off a perfect-sized piece of steak and bringing it to his mouth. Even the number of times he chewed seemed to have been meticulously calculated.

"Allen!"

A clear voice cut through the noise.

Vera came over at almost a jog, tray in hand, with Colin following close behind, his face a mixture of restraint and excitement.

"Can we sit here?" Vera asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Allen.

Allen nodded.

The two sat down opposite him. Vera immediately lowered her voice, but she couldn’t hide the excitement in her tone.

The two immediately sat down, and Vera couldn’t wait to lower her voice, though her tone was like an exploding firework. "Allen! Those bastards on the forums! Before the announcement, they were trashing you, saying you were worthless. Now they’re all frantically deleting their posts and apologizing! It’s... it’s just so satisfying!"

Colin nodded vigorously beside her. "A legend! Allen, you’re a legend among us first-years now! Perfect scores on nine exams in one day... I wouldn’t even dare to dream of that!"

After racking his brain, "legend" was the only word he could find to describe how he felt.

For first-years like them, who were still worrying about earning credits in one or two general courses, his achievement was on a level they couldn’t possibly imagine.

In their eyes, Allen was no longer a peer apprentice, but an existence to be looked up to, someone they couldn’t even comprehend.

"Thank you," Allen replied calmly after swallowing a bite of food. "Those comments aren’t important. Only the results matter."

Vera looked at him, her expression a little complicated.

She was genuinely happy for Allen’s success, but at the same time, she felt a huge, insurmountable gap between them.

They had all started as new students together, but now, Allen had become a star.

"Are... are you really graduating?" she asked quietly. This was the question on every first-year’s mind.

"Not graduating. I’m being promoted to Advanced Apprentice," Allen corrected. "The fourteen general courses are just the first step."

"That’s still amazing!"

Vera said emphatically, as if trying to pour all her admiration into her words. "It takes others three years, or even longer! You... you’re definitely going to become a great Wizard someday!"

"If I open my own Alchemy Workshop in the future, would you two be willing to come help?" Allen asked suddenly.

Vera and Colin were both stunned.

The question was too sudden, and it felt too far in the future.

’A first-year, just promoted to Advanced Apprentice, is already thinking about opening his own workshop?’

To them, it sounded like a child who had just learned to walk talking about how to build a castle.

But the one who said it was Allen.

Vera’s eyes lit up instantly, and she blurted out, "Of course! I’ll be there whenever you ask!"

Colin snapped out of it too. He flushed and nodded hard. "I... I’m willing too! Allen, I’ll do any kind of work you need!"

They knew this was more than just a job offer.

For them, still struggling at the bottom and worrying about every last resource, this was like an olive branch extended from the heavens.

The opportunity to be remembered and given a promise by someone like Allen was worth far more than any salary.

"Good."

Allen filed away the verbal agreement. To him, it was a human resources reserve plan that had undergone a preliminary evaluation by DSeek.

’Vera is detail-oriented, and Colin is diligent. Both of their characters have passed a preliminary vetting and meet the requirements for foundational members of his future team.’

"If you run into any problems in your studies or daily life that you can’t solve, you can come to me."

Allen added.

This was partly out of consideration for old acquaintances and partly an early investment.

Vera and Colin excitedly discussed future possibilities, and lunch ended in a rather peculiar atmosphere.

Allen was walking on the path to the Black Tower of the Forge. The surrounding architecture grew progressively rougher and more massive.

A faint smell of smelted metal began to permeate the air.

Finally, a colossal, entirely black tower filled his entire field of vision.

It didn’t soar into the clouds like other towers. Instead, it was stout and majestic, like a section of a mountain range cleaved off by a god, standing defiantly upon the earth.

The body of the tower was built from an unidentifiable black rock, its surface covered with countless vein-like patterns.

Molten-gold light flowed slowly within these patterns, flickering erratically, making the entire tower look like a living, breathing creature—a volcano forcibly molded into the shape of a tower by some immense power.

In the small plaza before the tower, the ground was paved with the same black stone, looking incredibly hard.

An old man in a guard’s uniform was leaning against a stone sculpture by the entrance, his eyes half-closed as if he were dozing.

Allen walked forward.

When he was still ten paces from the entrance, the old man’s eyelids lifted. He opened his cloudy eyes and sized Allen up from head to toe like a pair of precision calipers.

"New face."

The old man spoke, his voice a bit hoarse, as if he’d been breathing in smoke and dust for too long. "Junior apprentices can’t enter the Black Tower unless they’re escorted by an Advanced Apprentice, or... have a letter of introduction from a master."

Allen said nothing, simply taking out the Crystal Letter from his coat—the one still bearing Lecia Ellis’s Wizard’s Mark—and handed it over.

The old man took the letter, glanced at the flowing silver Runes on it, and handed it back to Allen.

"A letter from Professor Lecia. Looks like you’re here to see a master."

He mumbled, then looked Allen over again.

"Allen Wesren. I know that name. The kid from the forums who took nine exams in one day. Didn’t expect you to choose the Black Tower, much less the Field of Macro-Dominion."

Allen was a little surprised that the man knew such specific details. ’Looks like he’s an old man addicted to the internet,’ he thought.

"I’m Edgar, the guard here."

The old man introduced himself, pointing to his head. "My memory’s not bad. I remember pretty much everyone who comes and goes from the Black Tower, and everything that happens."

He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to let Allen pass, instead continuing with great interest, "Choosing Master Mercer... you’ve got guts. The last apprentice who came looking for him with a letter of introduction was three months ago. A very talented student. Stood at the entrance for two hours and was finally sent away by the Master’s Alchemy Servant."

Edgar’s words sounded like idle chatter, but they subtly revealed key information.

"Remember this, kid."

His tone grew a little more serious. "Having a letter of introduction doesn’t make you one of us in the Black Tower. Only when you have Master Mercer’s approval will you be considered a member of the Black Tower of the Forge. Only then will you be qualified to move into the Advanced Apprentice living quarters, go to the supply office, and receive your textbooks, consumables, and daily necessities."

He paused, then pointed toward the deep corridor inside the tower.

"Otherwise, you’re no different from those junior apprentices out in the plaza. Go on in. Public Classroom Seven. Follow the main path to the first fork and turn left. There’s a Teleportation Array to get to the sixth floor. Good luck. And don’t let me see you come running out in a sorry state. That would be ugly."