The Ascendant Wizard

Morena couldn’t open the books right away since Verra wouldn’t allow her, so instead, she placed her badge on top of them one by one, allowing the restriction to show the basic details.

[Mental Anchor]

[0-Circle Mental Spell]

[Description: Stabilizes the mind and helps resist minor mental interference.]

She read the short description and moved on to the second book.

[Thought Needle]

[0-Circle Mental Spell]

[Description: Condenses mental force into a sharp pulse that is shot into the mind of a lifeform within range.]

Morena’s eyes lingered on this one for a moment longer.

This was the first spell she had seen that could be used against someone directly. She wasn’t sure how strong it could be, but it definitely wouldn’t kill anyone, yet that didn’t matter. A single interruption could be enough to decide a fight.

But she still wanted to check out the last spell since it seemed the most interesting to her.

[Memory Mark]

[0-Circle Mental Spell]

[Description: Places a temporary mental mark on anything touched. As long as mana is provided, it allows the mark to be tracked, analyzed, and identified.]

Morena stared at the description for a while.

This was the one.

Mental Anchor had its uses, and Thought Needle was definitely one she wanted, but Memory Mark worked best with what made her different from everyone else. The AI could already record and compare information, but if this spell allowed her to mark things with mana and track them, even identify them, then its value would only grow over time.

It could help with people, objects, spell diagrams, locations, and perhaps even the strange things she had been seeing around the Tower.

The decision became easy after that.

"I’ll take Memory Mark."

Verra looked at her for a moment, a bit surprised by her choice.

"Not the offensive one?"

"I also want that one, but I need this one more right now."

"You plan to buy Thought Needle?"

"Yes, I need an offensive spell."

Verra raised a brow.

Morena placed Memory Mark in front of herself, then tapped Thought Needle lightly with one finger.

"You said the others were one hundred points each."

"I did."

"I’ll buy Thought Needle as well."

That finally seemed to amuse Verra.

"You only just got paid, and you’re already throwing points away."

"Points can’t help me much if I end up dying."

"You’re not likely to encounter dangers in the Tower, and you aren’t required to take missions just yet. But if that’s what you want."

She took out her badge and placed it over Memory Mark first. A faint circle rose from the book, and the same sort of contract she had seen before appeared in front of her.

Personal use only, no copying, no selling; all things like that. It was strict, but she expected as much.

"Accept."

The circle sank into the book, and the restriction loosened.

[Access granted.]

Then she placed her badge on Thought Needle. This time, another prompt appeared, showing the cost.

[0-Circle Spell: Thought Needle]

[Cost: 100 points.]

[Current points: 170.]

[Confirm purchase?]

Morena looked at the number and felt a faint bit of pain.

One hundred points was not small. Most apprentices would need to take on multiple tasks to even gather that much, risking their lives in the process.

Still, the spell was worth it.

"Confirm."

[Purchase confirmed.]

[Remaining points: 70.]

The restriction on Thought Needle loosened as well.

Verra watched the process quietly, her fingers resting near the covered box.

"Memory Mark and Thought Needle. A greedy choice."

"Is it a bad one?"

"No. For you, I suppose it’s the best combination of spells you could go for. Though learning them both would be difficult."

Morena took both books and held them carefully. With this, she had Sensory Pulse, Memory Mark, and Thought Needle. One spell for detection, one for information, and one for offense.

While Verra was right that learning them would take a lot of her time, she also had her advantages to overcome that. Plus, unlike other apprentices of her year, she was very ahead when it came to meditation.

She was already approaching the next level; it was just a matter of time.

"Oh. What about the Dark Arts spell you mentioned?"

Verra’s smile faded slightly.

"So you remembered."

"I wouldn’t forget something like that."

"I was hoping you did so I wouldn’t have to give away something so precious."

Verra leaned back in her chair.

"The Dark Arts spell is not something I will give you tonight. You just came back from the lower storage room with low mana, and you now have two new spells to study. Adding a Dark Arts foundation spell on top of that would be foolish. Plus, it’s troublesome to reveal easily."

"What kind of spell is it?"

"A foundation spell."

"You mentioned that before, but what does it do?"

"Curious?"

Morena stared at her, but Verra did not seem moved by it.

After a few seconds, the woman sighed.

"It is not offensive, if that is what you’re thinking. It’s not a Dark Arts spell that is common; in fact, I do believe I am one of the few holders of it. I received it a long time ago from my master, who got it from his; legends say it was found in an old ruin."

The more Morena listened, the more fantastical the spell sounded. Something like that, given to a stranger? That made no sense, unless it had some sort of backlash.

"Why give that to me?"

Verra smiled faintly.

"It is not free. I simply want something else instead."

"What?"

"Become mine."

Morena did not respond immediately.

She was stunned by the sudden proclamation, and even a bit confused. The room went quiet for a moment, and even the covered box seemed less important than the words Verra had just spoken.

Morena simply stared at her, her thoughts struggling to piece together what she could mean by that, until finally she had an idea.

"Are you offering to take me as your apprentice?"

"In a sense."

"In a sense?"

"If I officially take you as a personal apprentice, there will be paperwork, questions, and a few annoying people trying to understand why. For now, you would work under me directly. Help with tasks, research, sorting materials, minor errands, and whatever else I decide is suitable."

"That sounds like being your servant."

"It is."

"And in return?"

"You get access to me."

Verra said it simply, but Morena understood the value behind it.

Access to a Wizard.

To be exact, it meant direct access to someone with knowledge, spells, experience, and connections inside the Tower. For most apprentices, such a chance might never come.

Still, Morena did not accept right away, as tempting as the offer was.

"Why me?"

Verra tilted her head slightly.

"Because you have potential."

"I’m still just a Low-Level Apprentice. Most Wizards only take in higher ones."

"That is true, but I’m not most Wizards."

"I’ve barely been here."

"Also true."

"Then why offer something like this?"

Verra looked at her for a moment, then glanced at the covered box.

"I currently have one proper apprentice under me, and they are away from the Tower. That leaves me with work I do not want to waste my own time doing."

"I see. So I’m meant to fill in their place?"

"I also dislike most apprentices."

’Yeah, I can tell.’

Though she did not voice that aloud, Verra seemed to read her thoughts and smile.

"Don’t worry, I wouldn’t be giving you such an offer if I didn’t see you as useful."

Morena narrowed her eyes slightly as Verra merely continued.

"You formed your Matrix quickly, you have Mental and Dark affinities, and you were cautious enough to survive a room that already killed someone stronger than you. More importantly, you think before acting, even when you are clearly greedy."

Morena did not deny that.

"Greedy apprentices are common. Greedy apprentices with restraint are not."

That was probably the closest thing to praise Verra had given her.

Morena looked down at the two spell books in her hands.

There were risks.

Working under Verra meant being closer to her business, and Verra was clearly involved in things that were not simple. The storage room and the box proved that. If Morena accepted, she would likely be pulled into more troublesome tasks.

But refusing also had risks.

She was still weak. She had enemies, or at least possible ones. The Tower was full of people stronger than her, and even if they didn’t care about her now, that could change.

Being connected to a Wizard gave her protection.

Not absolute protection, but enough to matter.

Even other Wizards would think twice before creating problems with someone working directly under another Wizard. Apprentices would be even more careful.

On top of that, the knowledge was too valuable to ignore.

"What would you expect from me?"

"Obedience is a basic desire, but I won’t demand it. Just your silence when the matter is private, and competence when I give you work."

"That’s not too bad, but what do I get beyond access to your knowledge?"

"Most good deals are one-sided. The question is whether you’re on the side that benefits enough."

Morena looked at her.

"And the Dark Arts foundation spell?"

"If you work under me, I will teach it to you personally, guide you through it. You would be the only person I’ve ever taught it to."

"Reduced-cost Mental spells?"

"Still included."

"Access to other materials?"

"Depending on your performance."

Morena thought for a moment longer.

There was no reason to pretend the decision was difficult in the usual sense. It was dangerous, yes, but the benefit was obvious. She had come to the Tower to gain knowledge and power. A Wizard was offering her a direct path toward both.

If she turned it down out of fear, then she would be wasting the chance.

"I accept."

Verra smiled.

"Good."

"Is there a contract?"

"Eventually. For now, your badge will be marked as someone permitted to assist me. It will not give you full authority, but it will keep certain people from bothering you too much."

Verra reached out her hand.

"Badge."

Morena handed it over.

Verra pressed two fingers against the badge, and a faint mark appeared before sinking into the metal.

[External authorization detected.]

[Status updated: Assistant under Professor Verra.]

[Permission level increased in limited areas.]

Morena took the badge back and looked at it for a moment. It looked the same as before, but there was an extra little marking on it, which was probably Verra’s symbol.

Verra leaned back, looking more relaxed now that the matter was settled.

"Go rest. You look terrible."

Morena placed the badge away and held the two spell books closer.

"You look like you were sleeping."

"Sleeping? I don’t need something so simple."

"I apologize for waking you regardless."

"I wasn’t sleeping. Leave."

"If you say so."

Verra laughed softly at that, then waved her away.

"Leave before I turn you to ice."

Morena turned and made her way to the door.

As she stepped into the corridor, the door shut behind her on its own. With a sigh, she turned down the hall to make her way back to her room.