crown of stars

The obsidian door rang three times regularly.

"Come in."

Nigel pushed the door open and stepped onto the floor covered with thick velvet, holding the bag full of gems nervously, his drooping eyelashes casting a shadow on his face.

Different from the dim corridors, the inside of the Mage Tower is extremely bright, and trinkets of aristocratic taste can be seen everywhere in the corners.The fine crystals are suspended in the air, imitating the trajectory movement of the stars in the sky.The fragrant wood burning in the fireplace emits green smoke, and the room is filled with a refreshing fragrance.

The two mages sat opposite each other on chairs.The half-elf was the first to see the gray-robed old man facing him, with a long beard hanging down to his abdomen, and his face was covered with weather-beaten gullies, only his blue eyes were as gentle and bright as before.Nigel inadvertently overlapped him with the image of grandpa in other people's mouths.

The other sat with Nigel behind his back, his well-cut red robe fit snugly, his silver hair was combed back meticulously, and he wore a pair of gloves on his crossed hands.

Nigel cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"May I ask the Corali Mage Tower—"

"Enough." Ansair interrupted him impatiently, waving his hand to let him put the tuition fee on the coffee table, "Don't talk too much useless nonsense. Now, first extend your hand."

The half-elf held out his hand with a heavy heart.His hands were slender and fair, but several scars running across the back of his hands ruined the overall beauty.Ansair frowned indiscriminately, and found a set of crumpled writing instruments from under the coffee table.

"Write 'I love magic' on a piece of paper."

The ink flowed down the barrel of the pen to the crumpled parchment, and the handwriting turned from black red to red, and then glowed bright red like charcoal, drowning in a sea of ​​flames.

"It's okay, barely." Kerwin cast a disapproving look at his old friend, and of course he knew what Ansair was doing.

"Before I become an apprentice, I want to tell you: No matter what your identity was before or what purpose you came here for, whether it's to become stronger or curious, there is only one purpose for coming to my mage tower——for The never-ending love of magic. It will take you to travel the astral world, avoid death, and even peel off the outer skin of the magic fruit to understand the mysteries of the transcendent.”

"However, before that, you have to teach me how to be an apprentice until I allow you to wear white robes, red robes or black robes. I don't need your stupid and dull, let alone a smart, arrogant and arrogant Apprentice, don’t think about taking advantage of me, because one day your corpse will probably hang on a trap next to some precious material.”

The red mage ended his eloquent speech, which the half-elf humbly took to heart.But Ansair also had deep worries. He could see the innate noble temperament from the brows of the new apprentices. Such people were usually accompanied by pride, even self-willedness.

Especially an apprentice who is extremely intelligent and talented.Ansair's head began to ache at the thought of the black-haired new apprentice who was about to stay with his incompetent nephew for at least three years.

Edwin... Edwin...

Ansair had a hunch that in the past few years, the Kolari Mage Tower was much more lively than usual.

Kerwin drank the tea in his cup and got up to say goodbye.

"It's not a bad thing for apprentices to compete with each other. At the very least, it will urge them to improve their strength. In the future, the survival rate on the test bench or on the battlefield will be greatly improved." He comforted in good faith.

The red-robed mage was secretly anxious. The old friend didn't understand why Edwin made him worry. This nephew seemed to have a talent for making everything go in the worst direction.

"Accept your good words. Then, as the latest apprentice, the first task is to help me see off my friends."

"You are too polite."

Nigel walked in the corridor with the spar lamp and the gray-robed mage.

"I don't know your name yet, can you let me know?" the old mage said suddenly.

"Nigel." The half-elf didn't know why this sorcerer, who had only met him once, wanted to get close to him, although he seemed very kind.

"You look a lot like one of my adopted kids, except he's redheaded and you're brunette. He's strong, determined, and understanding. Seeing you reminds me of the good old days." Cole Wen found a fairly airtight excuse for himself.

"It's an honor to make you happy."

"Don't be too cautious. I've wasted so much time. I've seen countless apprentices who are as anxious as you for fear of offending your mentor. In fact, you can rest assured that other mages are not guaranteed except under the black robe. And your mentor , is just a neutral red robe, go learn it with confidence.”

"So, may I ask what color your robe is?"

"Me? I am the white robe."

Another door opened silently, and Earl Gavin's eldest son slipped in through the crack.His short brown hair was raised rebelliously, the buttons of his silk jacket were crookedly buttoned together, and he stared at the red-robed mage with red eyes.

"How long have you been eavesdropping behind the door?" Ansair said sullenly.

"Uncle, you have recruited a new apprentice and asked him to send off that bad old man Kerwin." Edwin's face was more gloomy than his, "Having Arwin is not enough, if you want money, I will call you father Here you go, there's no need for a third apprentice here."

"You should be thankful that Kerwin is a tolerant person. Everyone in the world will hear everything about him verbatim. You probably don't want to experience the power of the prophetic eye. Besides—"

The red-robed mage looked sullenly at this nephew who had never changed his ways. He still didn't understand his situation, or he didn't want to understand it.

"My mage tower will only be given to the successor who suits me best, not those who rely on blood relationship. Edwin, I hope you understand this."

"But you are my uncle!" Edwin yelled uncontrollably, "That woman took over my mother's position and successfully conceived, and when she was born, he will abandon me, and let that woman only spit bubbles The bastard inherits his lands! His treasure! His army!"

The eldest son of the earl looked at his uncle with tears in his eyes, choking with sobs.

"I only have you, uncle..."

The red-robed mage was unmoved, "Edwin, put away your clumsy tricks. At this point, what you should do is to reflect on your mistakes, not just idle around all day long. If I find you trying to summon the succubus Having fun, that's more than just like your father kicking you out of the house!"

The gray-robed mage mounted the piebald horse and waved goodbye to the half-elf.

"Just send it here, that's enough. You are a polite and good boy. I hope I can see your seat in the Mages Association in the future. Well, Ansair is waiting for you on the tower. You gave it your all."

Nigel watched the mage go away, and disappeared into the door that suddenly opened mid-empty, including the man and the horse, and went back upstairs.