The next day, before dawn.
Or rather, on this giant ship crossing the sea of clouds, the concept of day and night didn't exist at all.
The cold light panels embedded in the dome simulated the morning glow. The light penetrated into every cabin right on time, waking all the chosen youths from their shallow sleep.
The hall was once again packed with people, but the atmosphere was even more oppressive than yesterday.
The stone statue named Leo still stood in its original place. Like a silent tombstone, it constantly reminded everyone that the rules here were not to be violated.
No one dared to approach it, or even look at it for too long.
Allen stood at the outermost edge of the crowd. With a calm expression, he scanned the panicked and uneasy faces from the corner of his eye.
Directly ahead, space rippled once again like water waves.
This time, the one who appeared was a person wearing a gray robe. He looked to be about middle-aged with an ordinary appearance. His eyes carried a lingering trace of weariness, making him look like a sleep-deprived schoolteacher who had just crawled out from a pile of old papers in a library.
"Good morning, future Wizards," the gray-robed man began, his opening words unexpectedly gentle. "I am your guiding mentor, Master Gray. I will be teaching you some necessary common sense. Relax, I won't turn people into decorations at the drop of a hat like my colleague did."
His words carried a hint of self-deprecation, loosening the tense atmosphere slightly. A few of the bolder youths even managed to squeeze out flattering smiles.
"First of all, congratulations on being successfully harvested from a giant greenhouse named 'Gaia'."
He paced around, surveying the crowd.
"The world you were born in is what we call a 'Nursery'. It is the most stable and common 'bubble' in the Sea of Magical Power."
Gray chuckled and continued, "Your so-called kingdoms, empires, clans, and wealth... in our eyes, they are nothing more than dirt. In themselves, they are completely meaningless.
"The sole value of your entire world's existence is to serve as a garden, producing seeds like you who have the potential to become 'us'."
These words completely shattered the dead silence of the scene. An uncontrollable commotion broke out among the youths. It was the sound of their beliefs collapsing.
A boy couldn't help but retort, "Nonsense! My ancestor was a Duke! My clan ruled over thousands of miles of territory and governed countless mortals. How could that be meaningless?"
Gray stopped in his tracks and looked at him with great interest.
"A Duke? Oh, how impressive.
"So, could your Duke grandfather shatter a continent?
"Could he cross Planes to slaughter a Demon Monarch in the Abyss?
"Could he make the river of time pause for him, even for a single second?"
Three consecutive questions, and with each sentence, the boy's face turned a shade paler. By the time the last question fell, his lips were trembling, and he couldn't utter a single word.
"He couldn't?" Gray's tone remained gentle, but beneath that gentleness was the arrogance and indifference of a god looking down on ants. "Then listen carefully.
"Mortal authority is as fragile as a sheet of thin ice in the face of true power."
He opened his arms, his voice suddenly rising, carrying an enchanting magic.
"Who are we? We are Wizards!
"Our journey is the sea of stars, the endless Planes! We explore truth, plunder knowledge, and colonize worlds. The meaning of our existence is to continuously evolve and research until we become eternal, perfect lifeforms!"
The hall was dead silent. Everyone was awestruck by the grand, trembling picture painted by the gray-robed Wizard. Princes, Dukes, wealthy merchants... in the face of such a mighty power as "colonizing worlds," they were as insignificant as dust.
In Allen's mind, the logical core named "DSeek" was rapidly restructuring.
"Worldview model corrected.
"Original target: Rhine Kingdom Industrial Revolution Plan... Evaluated value: Zero. File discarded.
"Generating new mission: Explore the path of truth."
Allen lowered his eyes, concealing all emotional fluctuations. This was excellent. His old worldview had been ruthlessly smashed to pieces, and a new world was unfolding before his eyes. This was exactly the kind of scenery he wanted to witness.
Gray was very satisfied with the crowd's utterly awestruck reaction. He clapped his hands, pulling everyone's attention back.
"It seems you have come to somewhat understand your situation. Now, onto the main point. On this ship, you will undergo a talent test that will determine your fates.
"We call this system 'Dual-Track Screening and Potential Evaluation'.
"Any candidate under the age of eighteen must pass two basic tests that determine your 'qualifications'.
"First, the Magic Affinity screening. It tests whether your souls can contain the grace of the Sea of Magical Power. This is the threshold. If you fail, you won't even have the qualifications to become a Wizard's servant."
He held up a second finger.
"Second, the Meditation Talent screening. It tests whether you can deeply explore the Sea of Consciousness and condense the lever to pry open immense power. This is the key to becoming a Caster."
He surveyed the faces contorted with tension, his lips curling into an increasingly cold smile.
"The cruel reality is that these two tests alone will eliminate more than half of you.
"And those who pass will merely have earned the qualification of 'being trainable'."
Panic spread silently through the crowd like a plague.
"Don't worry, this is only the beginning." Gray's smile became increasingly profound. "After passing the screening, there is a second round of potential evaluation.
"The concentration test measures the strength and resilience of your Spiritual Power. It determines whether you can simultaneously control ten forms of Magic, or if you will struggle just to light a candle.
"The memory test measures your efficiency in learning knowledge. The path of a Wizard is paved with endless knowledge. An idiot who can't even remember a hundred basic Runes is not worthy of stepping onto this path."
Gray spread his hands like a merchant displaying his goods.
"After the tests, everyone will receive a comprehensive evaluation report. Magic Affinity, Meditation adaptability, concentration, and memory—these four metrics will each be graded from S to C. A minority of individuals with special talents will also receive focused attention."
His words became highly inflammatory.
"Geniuses with an S rating will ascend to the heavens in a single step, directly entering the Core Academy, where you may choose from the top mentors and knowledge!
"Those with an A rating can also become prime candidates for cultivation by major Wizard Organizations, ensuring a bright future.
"As for B or C..." He dragged out his tone, full of mockery. "Mediocrities. You can only fight for apprentice quotas in third-rate Wizard Clans, or become the assistant of some down-and-out Wizard, struggling to survive amidst precarious exploitation."
He added one last sentence, casually delivered but enough to make everyone's hair stand on end.
"Oh, right. If there is a severe flaw in any of your metrics... then you had better pray that some part of your body still holds some use for certain special Alchemy Experiments or rituals.
"Otherwise... a return ticket is very expensive."
These words plunged into everyone's hearts like a poisoned dagger. The crowd was no longer a silent whole. Some people unconsciously began to group together, while others eyed the "competitors" beside them with vigilant gazes.
The girl who had asked Allen for directions yesterday was currently being squeezed into a corner by two tall boys, her face pale and trembling.
Allen turned a blind eye to all this. His brain was working at lightning speed.
"Command: Cross-index 'Sea of Magical Power', 'Planes', 'Meditation', and 'talent test' to construct a preliminary cognitive model."
[DSeek: Command received. Beginning to establish relational database...]
['Sea of Magical Power': High-dimensional energy medium, source of power. Preliminary deduction suggests a certain mapping relationship with 'quantum foam' and 'string theory' in physics.]
['Planes': Structural units of the universe, quantity: infinite. Preliminary deduction suggests the possible existence of different physical constants.]
['Meditation': Spiritual Power exercise technique. The core lies in transforming chaotic mental fluctuations into ordered structures.]
['Talent test': Essentially a quantitative evaluation of the soul and spirit. Concentration and memory... highly overlap with the 'cognitive ability tests' the host underwent in their past life. Beginning to retrieve relevant training models...]
Just as Allen was frantically absorbing information and planning the optimal preparation strategy for himself, Master Gray's voice rang out again.
"Alright, that's enough for the common sense lesson. No matter how much is said, nothing beats experiencing it firsthand."
He clapped his hands, thoroughly tearing away his gentle facade, leaving only impatience and scrutiny.
"Now, let's see exactly what kind of quality this batch of seeds holds."