Chapter 461: Chapter 458: Joint Training
Joint training programs were a concept familiar to any grad student from his past life. They could be a godsend, offering more admission slots at universities, or they could be a total trap where advisors from both institutions either neglected you or exploited you to no end.
For now, the apprentices of the Tower of Secret Techniques only saw the upsides.
"Joint Training Program Sign-ups?" A new notice appeared in the main hall, the unfamiliar term piquing widespread interest. Seeing that a crowd had gathered, Lucas, an older apprentice, began his fervent sales pitch:
"This joint training program is a great opportunity, everyone! Rorschach Mage’s Mage Tower is now recruiting, so any interested students should come learn more. Since it’s a new program, the graduation requirements are incredibly simple. Plus, you can start learning magic suited to your level the moment you arrive, and we guarantee you’ll master it."
"The requirements are lower, but the program allows you to retain your status as an apprentice of the Tower of Secret Techniques. Once you quickly become an Official Mage, your rank will still be recognized by the Tower of Secret Techniques."
’It sounds too good to be true.’ The crowd was initially dismissive. After all, who was this Rorschach? He was some third-rate mage who had crawled out of the woodwork. He wasn’t even a Great Mage, yet he had the audacity to recruit from the Tower of Secret Techniques? Moreover, the glittering titles on his resume—"Student and research collaborator of Master Kano of the Tower of Stars" and "Recipient of the Moon-Clutching Stork Medal"—couldn’t mask the fundamental fact that he was just a "student from the Empire Royal Magic Academy."
Alas, academic credentialism was everywhere.
Fortunately, Lucas’s efforts weren’t in vain. Many apprentices stuck at Tier Two began to show interest. Once the professors at the Tower of Secret Techniques confirmed the news, the apprentices finally broke into fervent discussion.
What truly sealed the deal for the interested apprentices, however, were the clauses added shortly after:
The joint training slots at Rorschach Mage Tower were limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Later openings would be for corporate joint training programs, placing apprentices in the Kempson Steel Factory, the Lansite Food Factory, Basif and Refining Factory, and others. These programs would be longer and require apprentices to undertake some work at the facilities.
The corporate joint training was also recognized by the Tower of Secret Techniques, but the final assessment wouldn’t be held at Rorschach’s private Mage Tower. Instead, apprentices would have to return to the main tower for their Official Mage certification, which was obviously much more difficult.
Still, some apprentices were eager to join the corporate programs for a very simple reason: money. They paid well—at least on par with a job at the Magic Guild. Earning a salary while still in school? It was the first time anyone had heard of such a fantastic deal.
In the past, money would have held little allure for these apprentices. After all, anyone who could afford to study here came from a family with means. ’Money? Who do you think you’re looking down on!’ But the past was the past. With Bayern’s worsening economy, the children of wealthy merchants found their allowances dwindling, and some of their families had even gone bankrupt. It wasn’t just them; the younger sons of the Nobility were learning that their family investments had been wiped out. Starting next month, they would have to be self-sufficient at the Tower of Secret Techniques.
The Tower of Secret Techniques provided food and lodging, so at least they wouldn’t starve. But Alchemy Materials, Scrolls, and books were not cheap. Without family support, their situation was just like Rorschach’s back in his Magic Academy days—no, it was even worse. The Magic Academy had at least considered the financial situation of its commoner students, while at the Tower of Secret Techniques, anything with a price tag was exorbitant.
A work-study program... but the damned tower was in the middle of nowhere. A round trip to the nearest city, Munich, was a huge time sink. On top of that, the professors, oblivious to the apprentices’ predicament, demanded they be on call at all times or perform various menial tasks in their free time.
In other words, if Rorschach hadn’t presented this solution, the Tower of Secret Techniques would have faced a massive wave of dropouts. At the very least, the apprentices from bankrupted families couldn’t have afforded to stay, with no income and no hope of graduation in sight.
Some realized that if they hesitated, they might not even get into the Mage Tower program and rushed to secure the first few slots. Others saw the "corporate joint training" program as the lifeline they desperately needed.
As for the inevitable rivalries between "branch-campus" students and "main-campus" students, or the question of whether the joint program made one second-class... Rorschach couldn’t be bothered. He just taught magic to the apprentices who showed up and offered a bit of praise: "Kid, you’ve got sharp eyes!"—even though some of the apprentices who’d delayed graduation were probably older than him.
Then there was the matter of the Spell Cloud. Could the Tower of Secret Techniques incorporate a new spell system into its curriculum?
...
The Boundary Land welcomed its fourth guest.
Feuerbach’s Spirit Body gazed up at the flourishing Tree of Law. This place truly existed between illusion and reality, close to the Symbolic Realm. The Tree of Law, and the Guardian, left him clicking his tongue in wonder.
Yet, the Great Mage felt an indescribable sense of familiarity, as if he had been here before.
"I never expected you to accomplish something on this scale... Is this the source of the new spell system?"
In truth, Feuerbach hadn’t been in the tower when the banking crisis began. He had been occupied with two matters. First, he and the other members of the Elder Council were searching for a new place to hold their meetings, especially now that the Guild was splintered.
Second, Kano had submitted an outrageous report to the Elder Council in early June. He claimed that, with the combined efforts of those at the Tower of Stars, he had successfully broken through the Transformation Dust Layer Flow, reached the Original Layer, and witnessed the "Tree of Truth" described in ancient scriptures.
Citing the incident with the Super Tier Necromancy, Kano argued that the Magic Guild should establish an organization for the long-term observation of the Tree of Truth’s activity. Low-tier magic was being used constantly and in enormous volumes, but the sheer amount of data only registered on the Tree of Truth as a single mass of light, so there was no need to monitor it. For high-level magic, however, surveillance and early warnings were essential.
Kano concluded: "Establishing an observatory for the Tree of Truth will be the very foundation of the Magic Guild’s survival in this new era."
The other Chief Mages and members of the Elder Council were still fiercely debating the proposal. After all, they were the primary users of high-level magic. For the time being, at least, monitoring the Tree of Truth meant monitoring themselves.
And now, Rorschach had somehow cultivated a second "Tree of Truth"—which he called the Tree of Law. Ascending into the Boundary Land, Feuerbach was momentarily speechless, unsure what to make of this master and his former student.
"I once thought that if your plot proved unacceptable, I would not have let you leave my office," Feuerbach said. In his eyes, Rorschach had the distinct air of a villain; his troublemaking had bankrupted an unknown number of people. It was a good thing Bayern had no skyscrapers, and the Tower of Secret Techniques wasn’t about to let speculators use it to jump to their deaths.
Rorschach, for his part, believed he had merely accelerated an inevitable process. His main goal was to poach talent and resources; extending his reach into Bayern’s other industries was just a side effect. With or without the June banking crisis, those workshops were doomed anyway—the only difference was between a slow death and a sudden one.
Feuerbach continued, "But now I realize I was mistaken. I’m not sure I could have stopped you, Rorschach Mage. On the other hand, if I refuse your proposal now that I’ve seen this ’Tree of Law’... you wouldn’t just let me walk away, would you?"
’Master, you needn’t judge others by your own standards...’ Of course, the only reason Rorschach had dared to let Feuerbach come up here was his complete confidence that the Great Mage’s Spirit Body posed no threat.
He wanted the Spell Cloud integrated into the curriculum of the Tower of Secret Techniques. He wanted more people uploading magic. In doing so, the Tree of Law would experience tremendous growth, and Rorschach, who was deeply bound to it, would reap the rewards. Even now, thanks to the efforts of the Mutual Aid Association’s apprentices and contributions from others like Caroline and Richard, when Rorschach opened his interface, he had to scroll for a long time just to reach the end of his spell list.
While the Spell Cloud was a shared resource, the Tree of Law would only ever open itself completely to Rorschach.
However, he felt he had yet to achieve any fundamental breakthrough. His current so-called "Great Mage" status was meaningless. What truly left a lasting impression on Rorschach was the power once wielded by the Ancient Sages.
The Tree of Law also needed to be upgraded. The number of users was projected to grow explosively, so Rorschach had to implement some restrictions to prevent the Tower Spirit within the Tree of Law from overloading. He also needed to improve its responsiveness and processing to provide a better user experience—and maybe even attempt to resist the Empire’s Forbidden Magic Technology.
If Feuerbach agreed, the Spell Cloud would gain a Great Mage as a collaborator, one who could participate in its iterative development. If he couldn’t accept the proposal, Rorschach would have no choice but to modify the man’s memories while he was in his Spirit Body state before sending him back.
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