Arcane Calendar Year 713, Wind Claw Month, 3rd.
I have to admit, my thoughts last night were a bit rebellious.
I hope "Mistra" doesn’t notice; if she does, please don’t hold it against me.
You know, I’ve always been the most devout follower of the "Magic Goddess" and have never belittled or underestimated the great role the "Magic Net" plays for us spellcasters. The brilliance of magic power shines brighter than the sun.
May the arcane endure forever.
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Wind Claw Month, 6th.
The Green Grass Festival is coming, and Liya specially brought over sweet flower cakes for me and the other apprentices to share.
They were indeed very sweet.
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Wind Claw Month, 18th.
Recent experiments haven’t been going well. Even Burges got reprimanded for an entire afternoon by the mentor for a common, harmless mistake.
He is the mentor’s closest apprentice!
I wasn’t affected by the mentor’s anger, but I didn’t feel fortunate because of that.
After all, only those who truly participate in the experiments have the opportunity to make mistakes.
And all I do is stand by and watch, without even the privilege to err.
Next year is the last entrance exam for Hosone Royal Academy.
At this pace, can I really make it?
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Wind Claw Month, 21st.
At dinner today, I found out that Burges was also one of the candidates eliminated in the last exam.
Hasn’t he already mastered Three Circle Magic?
If even he can’t pass, then I...
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Snow Melting Month, 5th.
After today’s experiment, my landlord, a Kalinshan, came to the Mage Tower.
He said I haven’t paid rent for two months.
Burges helped cover it with Gold Coins.
I plan to take a leave and go back to take a look.
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Snow Melting Month, 7th.
It turns out that a few months ago, Liya was fired from the workshop for wrongly estimating the price of a magic item.
She said she was certain she wasn’t wrong, but the customer, having bribed the old appraiser in the workshop, used an appraisal certificate to inflate the price.
When it was discovered, they made her the scapegoat.
Liya grew up in Neum and, even after following me to Huancai City, never suffered much.
I know she’s afraid I’ll worry, so she didn’t say anything even when she was wronged.
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Snow Melting Month, 12th.
Through Burges’s connections, I got information on the bastard who caused Liya to lose her job.
He’s an apprentice teacher at Hosone Royal Academy.
I wanted to confront him, but Liya stopped me at the door, crying.
She begged me not to go, saying he’s a big shot and it would affect my entrance exam next year.
I agreed with her, pretending to be angry.
But honestly, I know that even if Liya hadn’t stopped me, I wouldn’t have been able to see him.
A wild mage from the countryside, living a slave-like life as an apprentice in the Mage Tower.
I can’t even enter the gates of Hosone Academy, so who would I confront?
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Flower Month, 9th.
It’s been nearly a month since I returned from the rented house.
Liya has visited the Mage Tower a few times, as if nothing happened.
The beautiful dress she used to wear has been replaced by coarse linen clothes.
The jewelry and necklace she never took off are nowhere to be seen.
She laughed and said it’s more comfortable this way.
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Flower Month, 12th.
There’s still over a year until the entrance exam, but I’m feeling increasingly hopeless.
The things I learn in the Mage Tower aren’t enough to get me into the Royal Academy.
To pass the exam, I have to find an alternative route.
I need to look for other ways.
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Flower Month, 20th.
Today is a rest day, and it was my turn to clean the lab. It suddenly reminded me of an experience from two months ago.
Using the talisman array in the lab, without casting materials, I tried again.
And I succeeded again.
If I can figure out the principles behind it, could I pass the exam and become part of the academy?
Arcane Calendar Year 713, Flower Month, 21st.
There is only one rest day each month, and the lab is simply not enough.
Since it’s all Gravity Magic, as the only level one spell I have mastered, "Gravity Compression" might serve as a substitute for the talisman array in my experiments.
After all, it also requires casting materials and constructing the Magic Model, and the steps to connect with the Magic Net are no different.