Chapter 268 268

The pain brought everyone to their knees as they gritted their teeth. Some of them started to sweat but the sweat would just evaporate in the next second thanks to the electric sparks coursing through their bodies

Only when Wermon was satisfied did he stop and the tribesmen heaved a sigh of relief

They have no ability to resist at all. Even the few mages at the 5th cycle were the same. While the 5th cycle mages are only one rank lower than Wermon, the higher the rank is, the bigger the difference. Not to mention, Wermon is an experienced mage with a deep foundation

While the tribesmen are in the 5th cycle, they are below average due to the lack of a sturdy foundation. In fact, they might have reached their rank forcefully and they didn't prepare enough for their advancement, making their power unstable, especially with the amount of impurities they have

"Let's continue" Wermon said as if he didn't just punish everyone

"There are three key points when advancing in rank. The first one is the body's purity. As we eat and consume resources, impurities would accumulate in our bodies and they are harmful to mages. If the impurities reached a certain point, it would make our mana and magic unstable. When casting a spell or trying to reach the next rank, the risks of having accidents are high. Think of an impure body as a fire in the middle of a windy place. The fire would constantly flicker from almost dying to a bright one. The same would happen to mages with impure bodies"

"The second is the amount of mana we have. In every cycle, we must accumulate mana until we cannot absorb more mana anymore. If a mage lacked mana, the tampering of body or soul would fail as the force would not be enough"

"And lastly, our own magical knowledge. Magic is the study of the world and applying what we know to create a supernatural phenomenon. The more you know, the easier it is to use magic. This thing is quite abstract as mages could have the same level of knowledge but have different interpretations. It is important to interpret magic correctly as it was not rare for mages to realize that what they comprehended was actually wrong causing them to be unable to advance to the next rank"

"These three are the points we mages rely on when advancing but these three are also the ones we rely upon to be powerful. They are not only important when advancing but also to showcase powerful combat abilities"

As they were taught a lesson not too long ago, the tribesmen started listening attentively at least for now. At first, they were just forced but soon, they became really interested

While the tribesmen might already be aware of what Wermon said, what they know is vague and wasn't put into neat words. It's like they know what a pig is but only now did they really see a pig

In the end, many of them started listening attentively and they felt that a brand new world was opened in front of them

If this goes on, all of these tribal people might reach the Junior Rank. In the City of Hope, almost everyone is a Junior Mage even if they don't cultivate much since they have the necessary resources and knowledge. Not to mention, the mana level of the city is higher than most places which were ideal as a cultivation place

Wermon started to cover the basics of magic. He only taught the theories but even when the sun has set, there was still not enough time to cover everything

At the very least, they need to spend a few days teaching the theories before they could start applying what they learned in real life

——-

It was already nighttime when the lesson ended and only then was the tribesmen allowed to return to their dorms and rest

"Aside from the lessons, I also already told you the paths you could take, think about it carefully. In this city, you have to have a job if you don't want to starve to death, and only with enough money could you buy the resources that you'll be needing" Wermon reminded everyone before really dismissing them

While the city would support the tribesmen for three months, after that time, they would be left on their own

It's not like the city cannot support them for a longer time but the City of Hope always advocates independence. They either have to develop skills for their livelihood or they are encouraged to join the military to fight against the magic beasts

If the city were to foster only freeloaders, it would have fallen from the claws of the magic beasts already

While the tribesmen were exiting the training room, there was one of them that was going in an opposite direction

"Brother Wermon, Sister Philome, can I talk to you about something?" Rezen said to the two

"What is it? Make it fast, the magic shuttle might leave you behind. The training center is a bit far from your dorm" Philome said kindly, afraid that Rezen would be left behind

Since Rezen is new to the city, it would be hard for him to return to his dorm without the magic shuttle

"Brother Wermon talked about alchemists earlier..." Rezen started and the stern Wermon replied

"Alchemists are highly regarded mages but to be one, they required enormous support. Rezen, you are new to the city but you will find out that there are many spectacular things here but to have them you also need to have spectacular assets or backing. It would be hard for you to be an alchemist"

Wermon speaks as if he was shooting down Rezen's hope of becoming an alchemist causing Philome to hit him with her elbow

"What Wermon meant is that alchemists is a hard path and without enough monetary support, it would be hard to succeed. We won't stop you if you want to become an alchemist since who knows, you might have the talent but it is a path that requires money"

Philome's explanation was more friendly and not as piercing as Wermon's words. From the two, it was easy to know who gets along with people easier and who doesn't

"About that, I don't know if I'm an alchemist but after hearing about them, I think I might be one. I could create something similar to the nutrition liquid given to us and also another liquid that could store and recover a mage's mana faster than normal upon consumption. Brother Wermon emphasized the need to earn money while inside the city and if possible, I want to start earning money" Rezen explained

Since he is already a half-baked alchemist, might as well use it to his advantage. The most basic nutrition liquids might be the easiest potion to create and Rezen might be able to make it

As for the mana recovery potions, although the success rate is low, he could still make them. And with the aid of his farm, he could manipulate his success rate to at least reach an average level

He still couldn't create mana elixirs but with more training and time, he should succeed

"You do?" Philome muttered in surprise. Not only was the path of alchemists costly but while all alchemists are mages, not all mages could become an alchemist

The talent necessary to become an alchemist is not so common and even in the City of Hope, there is a lack of enough alchemists

"Yes, actually, I was not born in the Waterside Tribe. Something happened and I lose my memories. It was the Waterside Tribe that saved me from dying and I stayed with them ever since. While I haven't recovered my memories yet, I instinctively knew how to create these potions"

Rezen decided to spill his background. The way he speak, acts, and also his aura is different from tribal people. He was closer to city people compared to tribal people

That might arouse suspicion from people in the future and Rezen might as well lead them into thinking that he was actually originally from the City of Hope but something happened and he ended up in the Waterside Tribe

This is not the time for Rezen to hide his ability as an alchemist. He can't wait for three months to start earning money and resources. If he let that happen then his pitiful talent might be discovered by everyone

If he was branded as untalented but suddenly advanced quickly with the aid of his cheat, wouldn't that arouse everyone's suspicions?

Rezen has to quickly find a way to increase his talent in either alchemy or cultivation. With alchemy, he could create elixirs to upgrade his talent and if he has cultivation talent, it'll be easier for him to become stronger

Rezen has to quickly explore his options while in the city and the identity of an alchemist would help him do that