The Mages' Council in Fenghua Town seems to be no different from an office building from the inside.
The same spacious hall, the same magnificent decoration, the same bright and shining magic lamp - if it weren't for the huge sign at the door and what Duan Qing and I had learned before, they would have thought they were coming to this place. The administrative center of a town, or a place where business is conducted.
It has nothing to do with the mystery of magic as imagined.
The square hall is divided into four parts by four square counters in the four corners. The door they entered was located in the center of a certain square side. On the white floor tiles under their feet, a red carpet extended forward from the door, and then gradually rose along with the white columns and stairs until they reached the wall on the other side of the hall. It was divided into two directions, left and right, connected to the place that should lead to the second floor. In front of the counter on their left, many people were waiting there together, as if they were dealing with something. Some people lined up consciously, and some people sat on the seats next to the wall, maybe It's waiting for others to finish. The square counter on their right had a completely opposite scene - it was very empty, with no "customers" visiting it at all. Duan Qing could even see the small cards placed on the counter through such a long distance.
It has the words "Reception" written on it.
In the other two corners of the hall, below the left and right sides of the bifurcated stairs, there are also two square counters. Just like the situation here, the two counters were busy at one end and empty at the other, but this time, there were no people on the left and many on the right.
There are still a lot of people in the entire Mage Council, but according to Duan Qing's preliminary observation, the people here seem to be aborigines, and there don't seem to be many players. Under the urging of the little girl on the side, he had no choice but to stop observing and walked to the reception desk on the right.
When asking about something, you should probably talk to someone here...
"This is the Mage Council, Fenghua Town branch. Can you two...do something happen?"
The counter was large and the texture looked good. Through the smooth white wood that almost reached the height of Duan Qing's chest, Duan Qing could still see what was inside. The office desk with a 90-degree angle seems to be divided into work areas by partitions. In each area, there are some papers similar to documents, some stationery for writing, and some... things Duan Qing doesn't recognize. In the square area surrounded by counters, several pots of green potted plants are neatly placed at the back. There seem to be some cleaning utensils in the corners. The entire white floor, as well as the counter in front of you, have been cleaned very clean, providing a perfect environment for those who have just arrived. The people here, especially Duan Qing, who had just been to the Adventurers Association before, had a completely different refreshing feeling.
However, there is only one person sitting in the work area at the moment. The woman wearing glasses did not notice the arrival of Duan Qing and Mengzhu at first. It was not until Duan Qing lightly knocked on the table that the woman put down the book in her hand in a panic and stood. He got up and ran to the two of them, asking with a sheepish smile.
"Well..." Duan Qing looked at the little girl next to him, and as expected, he saw nervous and warning eyes: "We want it, let me think about it..."
"Well, can you introduce..." He pointed around: "Is there anything we can do here, because we are adventurers who have just arrived in Fenghua Town, and to you... .Business, I don’t understand it yet..."
"...Huh?" Perhaps Duan Qing's question was too strange. The girl wearing glasses was stunned for a while, and then said with some awareness: "Oh, oh, okay, you are adventurers, right? .....”
She lowered her head and adjusted her glasses, as if she had gathered her thoughts, and then she covered her mouth with her hand and cleared her throat: "This is the Council of Mages, the most powerful union of mages on the Free Continent. We are usually responsible for magic on the Free Continent. Related services, such as providing spell identification, management of magic artifacts, and identification and registration of mage members, etc. Of course, if you are a magician, we strongly invite you to join our Mage Council... Of course not It doesn’t matter if you join, we will still provide you with magic information and magic skills support, and you are welcome to exchange experiences with us, cooperate and make progress together. If you are determined to become a magician, then this is the place for you. choose......"
"Okay, okay." Duan Qing hurriedly interrupted her after realizing that the other party was very skilled in her business: "So... all those people over there are here to be mages?"
He pointed at the long queue opposite.
"Um..." The girl with glasses tilted her head cutely, looked at the long queue of people, and then replied with a smile: "This is the characteristic of Fenghua Town. As the Council of Mages, we , should lend a helping hand to those in need of help, so..."
"You mean, they...are all looking for help? Are all the mages in your organization so idle?"
"Of course not, so these applications need to be reviewed. If there are problems that need to be handled by other organizations, we will transfer them to them for resolution. As for manpower, there are many newly promoted magicians here recently, President Descartes Said this is also a way to gain experience...ah!"
Seemingly noticing that she said something she shouldn't have said, the woman wearing glasses suddenly stopped talking and said quickly: "Anyway, if you need any help and need to entrust it to us, you can go over there and line up. Our work is The staff will review it..."
What's this? A club that helps others? Aren't all magicians generally set up to be aloof? And if you do this, wouldn’t the mayor of Fenghua Town be embarrassed...
Thousands of thoughts passed through Duan Qing's mind, but he quickly suppressed these complaints and turned to what he wanted: "If I want to become a magician, where should I go?" ......Ouch."
His calf was kicked by Mengzhu.
"Well..." The bespectacled woman looked at Duan Qing with a strange look, and then pointed to the opposite corner of the hall: "Over there, Master Norman is responsible for the identification of mages. If you have... ..Qualifications to become a mage..."
Her speaking speed became slower and slower, as if she was hesitating for something. Duan Qing smiled helplessly, then thanked her and walked in the opposite direction.
Another counter with few people around seemed to have the same structure as the counter just now, but the environment inside was a bit different. The back of that area is a bit cluttered, and there are few files and tools. Only in the corner inside, next to a tall wooden cabinet placed on the ground, was leaning against an old man. The old man's hair was gray and somewhat disheveled. He seemed to be wearing a mage's robe, but it was covered with all kinds of wrinkles, probably because it was too old. At this time, the old man was leaning against the wooden cabinet, sitting on the floor and dozing off, unaware of the arrival of the two adventurers.
Why are the people in the Mage Council we met like this... Duan Qing thought to himself, while knocking on the counter as before.
"Well...is it time to eat..." The old man with his head tilted stood up and said softly at the same time.
"Are you Master Norman?" Duan Qing tried his best to maintain a smile, but black lines began to appear on his head: "We are adventurers from Greenstone Village. We would like to ask for your help to make a... Appraisal by a mage.”
The old man rubbed his sleepy eyes, then yawned, and then he saw the two people in front of him clearly: "Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
"Even adventurers, no one has come to my place for a magician's appraisal for a long time." He stood up and stretched his arms, "You said... you are from Greenstone Village. ? It’s really not easy in such a remote place..."
"Excuse me, are there any preparations or procedures required? Are there any fees or anything..." Duan Qing asked with a smile, ignoring the little girl's tugging at the corner of his clothes.
"No need." The old man motioned for the two people to come in through the wooden door on one side, and then continued slowly: "It stands to reason that there should be some, but I'm very free recently, so forget it. As for money or gold coins... ..."
He glanced at the two of them with his dim old eyes: "Our Mage Council is not so poor yet."
The old man motioned Duan Qing to come to the tall cabinet, and then he reached out and opened the cabinet. The two curious babies looked inside and saw a... strange device placed inside.
It was a ring-shaped device, and the outside was made of a circle of black material. Either spiral or parallel strange lines were engraved on the black outer ring, or even on the side of the outer ring - that ring-shaped device The thickness is very large. Although the width of the circle varies, the narrowest part is enough to compare with an adult's fist. The interior of the ring-shaped device is not completely solid, but consists of several thick or thin short columns that support a disk-shaped device in the center. The white disk is centered on the circular hole in the middle, and four irregularly shaped stones are evenly embedded around it. They are rounded with round holes and arranged in the shape of a cross.
The four stones looked like the same stone. Apart from their irregular translucent appearance, there seemed to be nothing different about them. The only thing that can distinguish these four stones is probably the fine lines carved under the discs they are embedded in - those are four different patterns, probably something like a magic circle.
"What is this..." The little girl whose curiosity temporarily took over asked in a low voice: "Why do I look like car tires from the last century..."
"Have you ever seen such a weird tire..." Duan Qing also covered his mouth with a hand and whispered back: "Originally, I thought it would be a crystal ball, but it turned out to be such a thing... ..”
"The simple mage identification device XM-II is a bit...old, but it is guaranteed to work properly." The old mage named Norman said, and then blew his beard: "Be careful! This is It’s a very precise instrument, you can’t afford to pay for it if it’s damaged!”
The two nodded hurriedly in agreement, like two obedient primary school students.
"Forget it, you won't understand even if I say it." The old man shook his head, and then said to the two of them: "Which one of you will come first?"
"Well, he's the only one to do it. I don't want to..." the girl hesitated, then was pulled back by Duan Qing.
"Why are you panicking? It's just an appraisal. They said they won't charge any money..."
"Well, but..."
In the old man's confused eyes, the two pushed each other for a while, and finally Duan Qing pushed the little girl's back and said, "Let her come first."
The reluctant little girl sat down on the small bench in front of the device, and then, under Norman's instructions, stretched one arm into the round hole in the middle of the tire.
"Don't be afraid, this thing won't harm you..." Seeing Mengzhu's frightened look, Norman couldn't help but added.
He fiddled with the tire for a while, and then started the so-called mage identification device. Amidst the subtle buzzing sound, the device trembled slightly, and the translucent stones on it gradually glowed.
The bottom transparent stone emits a faint green light.
The little girl's originally unhappy face gradually became better, but the next moment she collapsed again, because the old man next to her quickly made a conclusion: "The attribute is wind, with weak elemental affinity and weak elemental control. , the appraisal result... is unqualified, next one.”
In the little girl's somewhat depressed eyes, Duan Qing whispered in a funny voice: "Why are you so discouraged? If you want to be a mage, just turn back and add some intelligence..."
"No! Don't try to trick me. Do you think I'm as stupid as you..."
While joking, Duan Qing sat on the small bench where Mengzhu sat just now. Under the same operation process, those stones once again emitted transparent light. But this time, there were two lights. The stone on the left gave off a faint yellow light, and the other stone above had some faint red light. The red light was so inconspicuous that Duan Qing initially thought that only one stone was emitting light.
"Well..." The old mage Norman sat aside and lowered his eyebrows in deep thought. Until a long time later, the light of the stone was extinguished, and he still sat motionless.
"What's wrong?" It was a bit tiring to keep one arm stretched out, so Duan Qing couldn't help but ask.
"Huh? Oh, it's over. You can take it back."
As if he had just woken up from a dream, Norman looked at Duan Qing with strange eyes, as if he was studying a prehistoric artifact. Duan Qing was a little frightened by the old man's gaze, and even spoke a little tremblingly: "Master... you, if you have anything to say, just say it..."
"Let me ask first." Norman spoke slowly, just like his name: "Have you... received any guidance, gifts or inheritance from any mage in the past?"
"Uh..." Duan Qing was stunned, and then replied: "No..."
"Hmm...So, have you ever come into contact with elemental stones in the past? No, before this...did you know the elemental stones? Or the mage tools and devices that you find strange, you now You can also bring it with you..."
"No, no, definitely not." Seeing the old mage's impatient look, Duan Qing waved his hands repeatedly.
"Weren't you recommended to study at the Mage College when you were a child? Ragfuss College, Frey College, St. Anthony's College, any college... weren't your parents recommended?"
"No, I have not received any mage training." Duan Qing answered very simply this time: "Besides, I am an orphan."
Players in the Free Continent are all people who "fell from the sky", so when they declare themselves to be adventurers, they usually call themselves orphans when introducing their life experiences. Therefore, sometimes, the Adventurers Association is also attacked by some malicious people. It's called "Orphans' Home".
So when Mengzhu heard Duan Qing calling himself an orphan, he didn't think there was anything unusual. He just felt that the uncle in front of him was indeed a master of acting, and he said that his life experience was so straightforward.
"That's weird..." Norman muttered.
"What the hell happened?"
"Your elemental attribute is earth." The old man narrowed his eyes, but did not look at Duan Qing and just said to himself.
"Oh! You are so miserable, uncle..." The little girl said with a hint of schadenfreude.
Although there are very few people playing mages in the free world now, some basic statistics are still there. It is said that among the four types of spells, the most powerful is the fire type, and the most difficult... Naturally, it is earth type. Many players who aspired to be mages gave up on their dreams in despair when they passed the mage appraisal and learned that their attributes were earth. They sadly found a random weapon to play the melee profession.
"It's just that... you have plural elemental affinities." Before Duan Qing could digest the meaning of the previous conclusion, the old mage continued to speak on his own.
"What do you mean? Can I learn spells with two elemental attributes?" Duan Qing was overjoyed.
"What are you so happy about? Look at the brightness reaction of those magic rough stones. This is the weakest elemental reaction I have ever seen!" Norman suddenly raised his voice. The cry passed through the hall and echoed in the first floor of the Mages Council, seeming to have a slight echo.
"Although I am here to eat and die, I am still a responsible appraiser." Norman's expression gradually became serious: "So before there is enough evidence to explain your strange condition, I We still have to draw conservative conclusions.”
"You... are not suitable to be a mage." He said solemnly.
