Morena climbed the stairway with some haste in her pace, her thoughts were lingering on the previous tests; her mind especially was still aching from the last test with the mirror. Her head throbbed faintly, but she tried her best to ignore it.

She needed to find her room and sort through everything she had been given, then she would take a much-needed rest.

The third floor was quiet and empty, at least as far as she could see.

When she stepped into the hallway, she paused for a moment.

A long corridor stretched ahead, lit by floating crystals embedded into the ceiling. Doors lined both sides, identical in shape and color, each marked with a number burned into a small metal plate. There were dozens of them.

Possibly more than she could count with a casual glance.

It was enough to tell her that the Tower housed a large number of apprentices. And from what the older man had said, all of them had arrived before her, all of them had already begun learning what she didn't know.

She was behind, just as the old man said, and she would need to catch up.

She exhaled softly and scanned the plates.

She had already checked and confirmed her number; her badge said 312. She wasn't sure if it was the total number of students that had been recruited or if it was just a random number.

'Hope it isn't how many people I will have to compete with.'

She walked down the hallway, counting the numbers until she reached the door with hers.

It was simple and plain, like all the others.

She pushed it open.

The room inside was small, barely big enough to be considered comfortable. A plain mattress on a wooden frame, a desk pushed against the wall with a single candle, and a narrow wardrobe with one shelf.

There were no decorations, no fancy furniture, nothing that wasn't the bare needs. It was just a space meant for someone to sleep, study, and survive.

It wasn't even big enough to decorate if she wanted to; not that she did.

Morena stepped inside, closing the door behind her, and sat at the edge of the bed. The springs creaked under her weight, as if they hadn't been used in a long time; however, there was not a speck of dust on anything.

She opened the cloth bag the old man had handed her earlier to finally check out what was inside.

Inside was the badge, which she already had clipped to her belt. A thin leather-bound book and a folded parchment.

She opened the parchment first since it seemed like the simplest.

To her surprise, it was a map.

Simple and sketched, with labels marking different floors and halls. Parts of it were smudged or crossed out, with entire sections labeled only as restricted or sealed; it seemed the Tower provided it so people wouldn't get lost or go somewhere they weren't meant to be.

She skimmed through it, but only enough to get the general idea; after all, she wouldn't need to memorize it herself with the aid of the AI.

'Store the map, and match it to my own mapping of the place as I explore.'

[Understood. Map saved as 'Tower Layout'. Will cross-reference it with experience as you go, and update you on its progress or differences.]

'Good.'

She set it aside and picked up the book next; it was pretty thin, the cover was also rather plain, but the titled words on it were what stood out.

'Basic Guidelines for New Apprentices.'

She hummed slightly when she read the title and nodded; that was exactly what she needed right now. She opened the first page and began reading.

It went over a lot of information, all of them were the very basics of the Tower. How the Tower worked, the rules, what the Tower expected from people who joined it, and so on.

The most important information she found was that which explained how things worked.

There were two types of classes mentioned.

The first was Free Classes.

Anyone could attend, regardless of aptitude or background, and they didn't need to pay anything to join it. They taught basic theory, simple practices, and surface-level information, basically things that any normal Wizard would already know.

They were not considered valuable to most apprentices, who often sought more specialized training, but it wasn't something anyone new could miss.

This was especially true for Morena; they were exactly what she needed.

Then there were Paid Classes.

These were taught directly by Wizards within the Tower. Often, they would be about specific topics that Wizard studied, which had advanced techniques and more specialized knowledge. Paid classes were what most apprentices who had covered the basics and were working towards advancing would join.

It was usually attended by second-grade apprentices; first-grade focused on free classes, and third-grade looked for opportunities to advance.

However, they cost something called magic stones.

Morena paused when she read that part.

Magic stones; thankfully, the book also explained what magic stones were since most new people wouldn't know about them, let alone have them.

They were ores found in mana-rich areas and often used as a form of currency amongst Wizards. While they could also be absorbed to replenish lost mana, it wasn't used that way often. Some were typeless with just basic mana within them, while others carried an elemental or aspect-based type.

Typed stones were rare and valuable. The book recommended that new apprentices should sell any typed stones at the trading booth for points; however, it was clearly just an off-handed comment since it was unlikely.

Morena slowly reached into her pocket.

She pulled out a cloth that wrapped around an item in her pocket, slowly unwrapping it to reveal the stone that was inside. It was the stone she had bought from the shop a while back; she had never figured out what it was, but now she knew.

A magic stone.

She smiled faintly.

Finally, she knew what it was. Beyond that, it was also one of the rarer magic stones, one with a type; she was tempted to sell it right away, but she decided to wait and see what uses it may have.

She tucked it back safely and kept reading.

The Tower had many facilities, each serving a purpose.

The Quest Hall, where apprentices could earn points by taking Tower-sanctioned missions; this was how most people went about earning points, but it was often dangerous.

The Trading Booth, where points or barter could be exchanged for items, books, tools, or even services. Morena noted that she would definitely check it out when she had a chance to try and figure out the worth of the stone and pendant she had.

The Library, accessible only through points, contained countless records and knowledge reserved for those who earned the right to see it. This was something Morena couldn't pass up on.

With the AI, the library was a treasure trove she needed to visit as soon as possible. If needed, she would sell the stone just to earn enough points to visit it.

Meditation Rooms, infused with dense mana to help training, each requiring points per hour. It wasn't something most new apprentices needed, so Morena ignored them for now.

And many more areas, all of which would become important later.

But for now, those other areas didn't matter much to her; she needed to focus on the basic stuff until she officially entered the level of an apprentice.

Free Classes were her only focus.

Until she had a foundation, she had no business touching anything advanced.

She flipped to the next section.

Tower Rules.

There were many, but a few immediately stood out.

No leaving the dorms after eleven at night. An odd rule, but one she wouldn't question.

No fighting outside of sanctioned training halls. This was something she was grateful to find, since it lowered the risk of getting into trouble; of course, she wasn't foolish enough to think others wouldn't overlook breaking it.

No leaving the Tower until one reached third-grade apprentice.

Morena sighed as she saw the rule.

That was the one rule she disliked.

If she could not leave the Tower, she could not visit her family until she reached third grade. And with her aptitude being only a two, that would take time.

She rubbed her forehead.

It was a problem, but not one she could change. She would just have to reach third grade as quickly as possible, and her family would have to understand her situation.

The last section was about the Tower tests.

Her eyes narrowed as she read.

New apprentices were tested two years after entering. If they had not broken through to first-grade apprentice, they were expelled.

Five years later, they were tested again. If they had not reached second grade, they were expelled.

Ten years after that, they were tested for third grade. Failure meant expulsion, and once expelled, one could never return.

Morena shut the book as she had finished reading it all.

'A tight ship indeed.'

But she would not fail; she would not allow herself to be kicked out by the one place that had the potential to change her life.

The Tower was a goldmine for her. A way to strengthen herself, and even become an official Wizard, something that wasn't mentioned once in the book, perhaps due to how difficult a task it was.

She set the book on the desk and leaned back on the bed, closing her eyes for a moment.

Tomorrow would be her first day here; she would attend every free class she could, learn everything, and perhaps even meet some people to learn the lay of the land.

She blew out the candle and let the quiet of the Tower swallow her thoughts as sleep finally pulled her under.

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