Chapter 28: Archive Compilation, Part I

After reporting to his mentor, Xazo returned to the main hall on the first floor of the castle.

A reddish-brown copper pendant hung around his neck. This was a pass for students with acquired affinity to move about the castle, crafted by a professor from the Department of Ingenious Objects.

The castle hall appeared to contain nothing but stone pillars and shafts of light. In reality, this was simply because his spiritual attribute was too low; he could not perceive the glow of the elements, and thus, there were no radiant guideposts to show him the way.

The three freshmen of the Toxicology department were granted special consideration: temporary wooden placards indicating locations were hung on the walls of the hall. They found the wall leading to the dormitories and pressed their hands against it. As the copper pendant vibrated slightly, the wall parted to both sides, revealing a staircase leading upward.

The castle had numerous rooms, and every freshman was provided with a private dormitory, complete with an independent washroom. Xazo’s room was numbered esp03003: East District, South Side, Toxicology Department, 3rd Floor, Room 003.

The room was decorated simply, dominated by white and natural wood tones. It contained a bed with curtains and a wardrobe and bookshelf that were currently somewhat empty. The desk and shutters faced the doorway directly. On the nightstand, three sets of school uniforms were stacked alongside a copy of the "Castle Code."

Xazo showered in the washroom, changed into the standard Starry Night robe, and sat on the edge of his bed to flip through the "Castle Code" written by the castle administrator, Dim. Aside from common regulations—such as prohibitions against loud noise, fighting, and carrying weapons into the castle—Dim emphasized that his elemental servants were scattered throughout every area of the castle.

Except for the dormitories.

This was the only place without "surveillance," a private space left by the academy for the students.

"I suppose I'll take Dim at his word," Xazo thought.

He lay back on the soft mattress, admiring the sunlight and swaying branches outside the shutters for a moment before sinking his consciousness into his mind. After reporting to his mentor, Kurov, his "golden finger" had sent a long message, and now was the perfect time to review it.

"Host's [Identity] has changed. Character template updated."

[Personal Template]
[Name] Xazo
[Gender] Male
[Age] 15 years, 11 months
[Identity 1] Fire Performer → Mage
[Identity Level] Mage Servant
1. Identity actions as a Fire Performer will no longer grant additional experience bonuses.
2. Experience gained from commoner actions is reduced by 95%.
3. Unlocked new identity bonus effect: [Codex Set].

[Promotion Conditions]
1. Increase all four elemental resistances to 5%, or complete the four alchemy branch examinations of the academy.
2. Obtain an introductory meditation technique from a mentor and successfully perform one meditation session.
3. Use the meditation technique to absorb an element.
Upon meeting all these conditions, you will be promoted to Mage Apprentice.

[Identity Bonus]
[Codex Set]
After studying a codex, its related [Codex Set] will be unlocked. Memorizing all codices within the same set will grant an additional experience bonus.

[Identity 2] Toxicology Alchemist
[Identity Level] Apprentice
Successfully consuming a self-made toxin grants an additional 10% to 50% experience bonus.
[Promotion Conditions]
Pass Mentor Kurov’s poison-making trial to become an Introductory Toxicology Alchemist.
[Identity Bonus]
Successfully consuming a self-made toxin increases the corresponding elemental resistance based on the toxin type and grants a slight increase to the Willpower attribute.

[Origin] Rosak
[Level] Lv. 9
[Experience] 230/1000
[Health] 45/45 (Healthy)
[Base Health Recovery] 0.1 points/minute (6 points/hour)
[Resistances] [Fire Resistance] 2%
[Strength] 3
[Agility] 2
[Stamina] 3
[Vitality] 14
[Perception] 4
[Willpower] 3
[Spirit] 2.8
[Charisma] 4
[Free Attribute Points] 0

[Character Traits]: [Immortal Body], [Emergency Moment], [Fire Resistance - Level 4], [Fire Performance - Expert]
[Character Skills]: [Perception Technique], [Greeting Etiquette - Starry Night Kingdom]
[Knowledge Reserve]: Various books, alchemical knowledge, and information recorded via Perception Technique.

Xazo was quite intrigued by the [Codex Set]. Any bonus effect that could increase experience acquisition efficiency had to be treated as a top priority. He used his consciousness to open his [Knowledge Reserve] and found "Alchemical Linguistics." Of all the books he had encountered, this one provided the most experience.

[Codex Name] Alchemical Linguistics
[Codex Rank] Hall-of-Fame Masterpiece
[Memory Reward] 30 experience points, 0.5 Spirit attribute points
[Codex Set 1] Pan-Continent Linguistics, 2/?? (Already memorized "Alchemical Linguistics" and "Common Language"). Reward for completing this set is unknown.
[Codex Set 2] Alchemical Language - Starry Night School, 1/5. Reward for completing this set is 15 experience points.
[Codex Set 3] Alchemical Language - Demon Hunter School, 1/??. Reward unknown.
[Codex Set 4] Essential Texts for Mage Servants, 2/3 (Already memorized "Alchemical Linguistics" and "Introduction to Meditation"). Reward 6 experience points.
[Codex Set 5] Basic Toxicology Textbook, 2/7 (Already memorized "Alchemical Linguistics" and "Toxin Separation"). Reward 22 experience points.
[Codex Set 6] Basic Pharmacology Textbook, 1/5. Reward 15 experience points.
[Codex Set 7] General Alchemy Textbook, 2/25 (Already memorized "Alchemical Linguistics" and "Toxin Separation"). Reward 80 experience points.
(Subsequent entries omitted)

Xazo stared blankly at the ceiling, mentally categorizing all the known [Codex Sets]. After roughly understanding how a Mage Servant earned experience, he turned his attention to his Spirit attribute. His current 2.8 points were still 6.2 points shy of the 9-point threshold required to see elemental light. From the moment he detected his elemental affinity to his arrival at the castle, he had been reading constantly, totaling over 450 hours and gaining 1.3 points in Spirit. A gap of 6.2 points would require at least another 2,000 hours of reading.

When Kurov handed the copper pendant to the freshmen, he also provided the schedule for the coming year. From 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM daily was Dean Beatrice’s Alchemical Linguistics course. From 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM was the general alchemy course, such as Madam Morton’s anatomy class. 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM was the lunch break. The time after 1:00 PM was arranged by individual mentors; Xazo was required to remain in the Toxicology area until 8:00 PM. Saturday mornings were for general alchemy courses, while the rest of the weekend was reserved for student rest.

If attending classes only provided experience and not Spirit attribute points, then once school started, his average daily reading time would be compressed to less than 4 hours, meaning it would take 500 days to reach 9 points in Spirit. To raise his Spirit quickly, he had to level up as fast as possible and allocate his free attribute points to Spirit.

And that brought him right back to the efficiency of experience acquisition.

With free attribute points in hand, one can face any situation without panic!