"Your Harmony Method is already quite good; just don't make this kind of mistake next time."
"Alright, thank you, Teacher. I was just a bit distracted at that moment..."
In the end, Furan accepted it as her mistake, without mentioning that this was her first time refining a strength potion.
"Since you can refine potions yourself now, I will recommend you to the Apothecary Association as promised."
This is exactly what I've been waiting for, the Apothecary Association, Furan thought to herself.
In this other world where powerful clans stood like a forest and recommendations from members were required everywhere, the Apothecary Association was a typical example.
It held a near-monopoly on all potion recipes; only a small portion of slightly useless ones were made public.
For instance, the strength potion was a classic money-trap product whose effect was to increase the user's strength.
But the problem was that the effect it provided was extremely meager. It was fine when one's constitution was low, as it would provide a certain boost, but the higher your base constitution, the lower the improvement.
Furthermore, the recipe for this potion was printed in the widely circulated book, compendium of basic medicinal materials. This led to a massive market supply of strength potions and very little demand, often requiring them to be sold at a loss.
Meanwhile, those profitable potion recipes were only available for exchange to members of the Apothecary Association.
Moreover, the Apothecary Association monopolized the purchase and sale channels for these potions, taking a storage fee for every single one... Fortunately, as long as you truly met the requirements, you didn't have to worry about not getting a recommendation; at most, the cost of materials for practice would be higher.
Rita took out a piece of purple paper, wrote Furan's name in the blank space, and handed it to her.
"Just give this to the Receptionist at the Apothecary Association. Once you register your information there, someone will naturally guide you to learn about the association..."
"Thank you, Teacher Rita... but Teacher Rita, could I ask you a few questions?"
Rita was in a good mood and didn't refuse, saying:
"Go ahead and ask, but there isn't much time. I have to attend a gathering later."
Furan then spoke up:
"Could you tell me about the Magic Schools?"
"Oh?" Rita looked at Furan and said with a realization, "Right, you also need to choose a School..."
Rita cleared her throat before beginning to speak:
"You should know that some apprentices call themselves 'High-level Apprentices', right?"
Furan nodded, and Rita continued:
"The reason these apprentices call themselves that is indeed because they have the capital; after all, they have the potential to break through to become Formal Mages..."
Furan noticed a change in Rita's tone as she spoke, as if there was some story behind it.
"And what determines their potential as Formal Mages is the assessment of the clubs affiliated with each School. If you pass, you can call yourself a High-level Apprentice."
"The key point is that after joining these clubs, you have the chance to compete to become a Formal Mage..."
Compete? Do you have to fight to become a Formal Mage?
Asking when she had a question was one of Furan's good habits.
"Then Teacher, is it absolutely necessary to compete to become a Formal Mage?"
"Yes and no..." Rita sighed and said, "Once you join those High-level Apprentices, you'll understand that your Spells aren't improving, and your research into Spells is making no progress. Once you experience that kind of powerlessness, you'll know the importance of competing."
So that's how it is, Furan blinked. However, she wasn't afraid; she didn't believe her Spells wouldn't improve with her game panel.
"Then I must mention the apprentice training system of Cuilan Academy and the entire Apprentice City. The academy is only responsible for your education as an apprentice, and nothing else."
"What you don't know is that the academy holds assessments at the end of every year. In previous years, apprentices who couldn't cast a Spell in their first year had to drop out and could no longer study at the academy. It's only this year that the Academy Head proposed giving apprentices another chance, allowing those apprentices to continue learning magic in the army."
Wait, so I misunderstood the Academy Head. The Academy Head is actually someone who fights for more opportunities for apprentices and doesn't give up on anyone, Furan's mouth twitched.
It was all the fault of those apprentices who liked to add conspiracy theories when talking about the battlefield—saying they didn't know anything and didn't know what they were doing there, that most likely their heads would be opened and their brains taken out to be used as large-scale mana enhancement devices and so on... "And after the first year, the academy doesn't have year-end assessments, allowing apprentices to choose various courses. Among them, those with good Spell levels can join the clubs affiliated with those Schools."
"Cuilan Academy has a three-year system. If you haven't joined one of those clubs after three years, you have to graduate from the academy and can no longer study magic here."
"Apprentices who have joined those clubs can stay in the academy indefinitely, until they become Formal Mages..."
Speaking to this point, Rita's tone became somewhat melancholy.
"Back to competing to become a Formal Mage; only those apprentices who can join clubs can participate. There is also an assessment at the end of every year, which all apprentices in the city who have joined clubs participate in."
"Those who achieve a rank can obtain precious resources, new Spells, items to increase Spiritual Power, or directly improve your mastery of Spells..."
Rita sighed as she spoke and continued:
"As for which specific School you want to join, that depends on yourself. Everyone has one that suits them; I won't recommend one for you."
Furan nodded again and then asked:
"Then Teacher Rita, I want to ask, if I want to learn new Spells, where should I look for them?"
This was her current pain point. She didn't have a single Spell that could be used for attacking. She said she came to learn magic, but ended up being pure melee. However, she couldn't find a suitable Spell for the time being.
"Oh? That..." Rita thought for a while before speaking:
"You can get other Spells by achieving excellence in courses, just like how you obtained the Harmony Method... Another way is to join a School's club; they have a complete exchange system internally."
However, Rita looked at Furan and felt that what she probably wanted to ask was a way to get Spells immediately; those other options were too far off for her.
"You can go to the Emerald Heart Bar in the Apprentice Market and find a person wearing a hat decorated with feathers named Elan. Just speak to him directly; one Spell costs about several dozen silver coins."
Another several dozen silver coins. Furan had no money in her pockets now, and she didn't have money to buy Combat Skills either. It seemed she had to go to the Apothecary Association to make money as soon as possible.
Furan thanked Rita again and then asked her final question.
"Teacher, have you heard of Richter?"
Although her future self had killed him easily, one must always be on guard. She thought she should first understand what the enemy was like.
Rita was a bit surprised, but she still spoke.
"Richter is a member of the Life Renewal Society under the Modification School. He's been an apprentice at Cuilan Academy for five years and is a strong competitor for the assessment rankings... Why are you asking about this?"
"It's nothing, I'm just asking for a friend..."