Chapter Content
Chapter 1. Perfect Score
In the apprentice city of Lodris, inside Cuilan Academy, there was a classroom with a sign hanging outside that read: “Current Course: Identification of Materials for Potion Making.”
Many apprentices sat in their chairs, waiting for the results of this course to be announced.
“I will now announce the results of this course.”
At the lectern stood a female teacher with brown hair, dressed in a long robe that exposed only her arms and face. She was holding a sheet of paper.
“Those who passed this course are York, Asta…”
Each time a name was called, an apprentice would sigh in relief, their tightly clenched hands gradually relaxing.
“That concludes the list of those who passed this course.”
As soon as those words were spoken, quite a few apprentices showed expressions of pain and regret, cursing themselves for not studying properly and failing even such a course.
“Wasn't Teacher Lita’s course supposed to be easy to pass? How did I fail!?”
“Relax. It is not a required course anyway. It will not affect your graduation.”
Two apprentices whispered to each other.
“There is also one student who performed excellently in this course. I regret to say there is only one… Student Fulan, please come forward.”
The other apprentices did not react much. They had rarely heard that name before, so they simply whispered to their companions to ask who this person was.
A girl with long black hair stood up and walked down to the front, stopping before Teacher Lita.
“Fulan… perfect score in theory, perfect score in practical work… In the more than ten years I have been teaching this course, you are the first student to achieve full marks in both categories. Can you tell me how you did it?”
Fulan lowered her head slightly, appearing very modest.
“It was only because the test happened to cover the parts I knew. If it had been slightly different, I probably would not have known how to answer…”
However, Fulan knew very well in her heart that this score was the result of grinding proficiency through sheer effort. It had taken her an entire week, working on it every day.
“Being able to take first place through your own ability is your own merit.” Lita smiled and continued.
“As a reward, I have decided to give you four points, and… the Harmonization Method.”
As she spoke, Lita handed a sheet of silver paper to Fulan.
Fulan was somewhat surprised. Each course would award points to apprentices who performed excellently. Usually, if there were many people, each person would only receive one point.
Only when a teacher was extremely satisfied would they award three points or more. Giving four points like this was something teachers rarely did.
These points could be used to exchange for certain valuable knowledge. They were extremely scarce, and people often tried to buy them.
As for the Harmonization Method, it was exactly the goal she had worked so hard for. Apprentices who performed excellently in this course would all receive it.
Noticing her surprise, Lita continued with a smile.
“Once you learn the Harmonization Method, come find me. I will recommend you to join the Alchemists’ Association.”
“Thank you, Teacher Lita…”
“Return to your seat. I still have something to announce.”
When Fulan returned to her chair, Lita knocked on the desk, signaling the apprentices who were still talking to quiet down.
“I will repeat the Headmaster’s announcement… Starting this year, all apprentices who cannot cast a spell by the end of the year must participate in mandatory military service. Remember, all of you… Very well, class dismissed.”
The apprentices left their seats, discussing the matter as they walked.
“Military service? Is there a war somewhere?”
“Yes. I heard there is a civil war in Antir. The Headmaster probably sold us apprentices for a good price.”
“My God, why does something like this happen in our year? I still have not learned any spells!”
“In previous years, about three out of ten first-year apprentices could not cast spells. With this policy pushing everyone, there should be far fewer this year…”
…
Fulan followed the crowd of apprentices out of the classroom. She turned down every invitation to join this or that club, because she still had a life-or-death problem to deal with.
She was also one of the apprentices who could not cast spells.
If Lita knew that, she might even deduct some of the points she had just awarded.
After all, someone going to the battlefield had an uncertain fate. No one would want to invest in her.
She had transmigrated into this world eight days ago.
She had not inherited the original owner’s spell proficiency. That meant she had to catch up to an entire year’s worth of training in only the remaining three months.
Fulan silently called up the panel in her mind.
【Name: Fulan
Profession: None
Attributes: Constitution 0.8, Spirit 1.4
Skills:
Herb Identification (Proficient) (Proficiency: 1/10000): You can clearly identify the herbs listed in “Basic Compendium of Herbs.”
Herb Processing (Proficient) (Proficiency: 13/10000): Your techniques for processing herbs are so precise that it is as if the “Basic Compendium of Herbs” recorded them from your own hands.
Magic Missile (Not Initiated) (Proficiency: 0/10): You simply do not know how to use it.】
This was the golden finger that had come with her transmigration.
For now, its function was to display her status.
And once she filled a proficiency bar, it would unreasonably raise her level in that field directly—and it could be improved without limit.
To be honest, a panel where effort always produced visible progress, with a constantly visible proficiency bar, was truly reassuring.
Even though she currently had neither money nor professional skills, she was still confident she could pass the exam and avoid going to that damned battlefield.
When apprentices first enrolled, Cuilan Academy required each of them to choose one basic spell.
The original owner had chosen Magic Missile.
According to the memories she had inherited, as long as the original owner put in some effort, she should have been able to learn this spell before the end of the year.
But when Fulan arrived, she discovered that the spell-learning system of this world had completely trapped her.
She had originally thought that with this panel, learning a spell would be effortless.
However, learning Magic Missile required external assistance. She could not learn it on her own.
It was not the type of magic where one simply manipulated mental power and gathered elemental energy.
Magic Missile required an item called a 【Magic Stone】 to assist with learning.
According to the explanation written on the instruction sheet she received, apprentices themselves did not possess Mana. They needed external Mana in order to learn the spell.
Of course, once you successfully learned the spell, Mana would naturally exist within your body, and you would no longer need the assistance of a 【Magic Stone】.
The 【Magic Stone】 that the original owner had purchased with the apprentice’s monthly subsidy was not enough for Fulan to master the spell.
That was why she had spent more than a week focusing on nothing but studying herbal materials, eventually achieving perfect scores in the course.
This had been the closest exam available to her. The next test the original owner had registered for would not take place for another two months.
Fortunately, the panel’s proficiency system was extremely powerful. It allowed her to obtain the Harmonization Method—the key to breaking her predicament—and also an unexpected bonus: four points.
“That damned Headmaster… Of all times to introduce this policy, it had to be when I arrived, forcing me to work this hard.”
If not for this situation, she could have simply waited for the monthly subsidy of 【Magic Stone】. There would have been no need to go through all this trouble.