Well, it turned out that no time-travel incident had happened to Lily again, nor to Aaron.
According to Aaron, this was the result of “incorrect time magic.”
Lily silently processed all these shocking revelations, revised her impression of Aaron, and mentally added a new label for him: [Hardcore]. Only then did she state her purpose.
“The Magic Discourse Tower?” Aaron paused, then suddenly slapped his forehead. “How could I have forgotten about that place! It’s a great opportunity for you.”
He then looked somewhat puzzled. “Who gave you the spot?”
To be fair, Lily was still too green to qualify for a spot on her own merits—otherwise, he wouldn’t have forgotten about it.
But Lily had gotten the spot anyway! That meant someone had given it to her out of consideration for him.
Aaron sighed wistfully. “I didn’t expect that even after all these years without any major results, my influence still remains. Now you see the benefits of following me, don’t you? This is what connections are! It’s a resource that money and credits can’t easily measure.”
Lily was speechless: Professor, do you even know the real reason I got this spot?
It was because of your “influence.”
But what kind of influence that actually is—I hope you have some self-awareness.
Lily couldn’t be bothered to burst his bubble—you can’t wake up someone who’s pretending to be asleep.
She was more concerned about one thing: “Professor, what do you mean by ‘a great opportunity’? What’s the tower challenge format like? Can you elaborate?”
“All you need to know is that its core is discourse. There’s no point saying anything else. You’ll understand once you experience it. Too many tips from others will only mislead you and unnecessarily increase the difficulty of your run.”
Even Aaron, who knew the tower’s specific mechanics, was being just as vague. This only made Lily more curious.
She asked again, “Professor, if I rush to master one or two ice spells in the short term, would that help me in the tower?”
Everyone made the Magic Tower sound so mysterious that Lily felt a real sense of crisis: if her only ace was an extended version of Light Breeze, it probably wouldn’t be enough.
So she’d decided to make ice magic her next major learning goal—ice spells had decent offensive and defensive capabilities, suitable for dealing with unknown challenges.
Theoretically, Lily’s affinity for water elements was average, which didn’t meet the prerequisites for learning ice magic.
But according to her theory that “ice only involves the three states of water,” as long as she grasped the core element of temperature, she could master ice magic! All she had to do was put theory into practice!
Lily touched the magic wand she carried with her.
The pitch-black wand had no fancy crystal adornments, but its cold texture made her feel clearer-headed.
Faster mental recovery wasn’t very useful for most beginner mages, but it was exactly what Lily needed most! Because she needed to run repeated experiments to verify her ideas—the faster her mental energy recovered, the quicker and smoother she could complete her verifications.
The tower challenge was scheduled for the weekend a week away. If all went according to plan, she wouldn’t just learn one or two ice spells—she’d also get a handle on “steam magic” along the way.
Who could possibly anticipate her moves!
However, when Aaron heard her plan, he shook his head. “No need. What you need isn’t practicing new spells.”
With that, he tossed over a set of The Complete Compendium of General Magic—heavy enough to crush her.
“Your biggest problem right now is your lack of knowledge about conventional magic. Before the tower challenge, you don’t need to master what’s in here, but you must read extensively and familiarize yourself with it.”
The weighty compendium nearly made Lily lose her balance—she stumbled a step.
She steadied herself, hugged the books, and hefted the terrifying “weight of knowledge.” Though she didn’t fully understand why, Lily decided to follow Aaron’s requirements for now. When it came to serious matters, Aaron was still fairly reliable.
“Then, Professor, I’ll head back now.”
“Take your wand back with you. Don’t worry—you didn’t waste your money on it. Even if you’re not practicing spells, it’ll come in handy.” Aaron’s tone carried a hint of amusement.
One week later.
Female Dormitory.
A scream shattered the early morning calm.
“Ghost—!!!”
Lily, crawling out of her room, said bleakly, “I’m Lily from next door.”
The girl next door shrieked, “Oh my god—Lily’s dead! She’s turned into a ghost!”
Lily: …
Your summarizing skills are amazing. I’m genuinely speechless.
Nearby dormitories, roused by the commotion, poked their heads out one after another.
Everyone was first startled by Lily’s latest appearance. Lily suspected some senior was about to chant a light spell to test exorcism effects. Fortunately, after confirming she was still alive, the crowd gradually dispersed.
The girl next door coughed awkwardly in embarrassment. “Sorry about that—I must’ve seen wrong.”
“It’s fine.” Lily was helpless.
What was this? Die in the dorm, no one cares; turn into a ghost, and the whole world knows?
Lily herself was well aware: it was actually understandable that people mistook her—because her current appearance wasn’t just somewhat like a ghost—it was practically identical.
Pale as paper, vacant-eyed, hair like dry straw, unsteady drifting steps, and an overall eerie aura radiating from head to toe…
This was Lily, hollowed out by studying.
In truth, if she’d followed a normal pace, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.
A normal person would study for a while, feel mentally drained, and be unable to keep going—they’d have to take a break. That kind of study schedule is more efficient and more sensible than grinding day and night.
But Lily had her magic wand!
Before she’d even rested much, she’d recover. So wouldn’t she have to keep studying? Time was tight and the task was heavy—she couldn’t afford to waste any!
Round and round like that—she absorbed the knowledge, sure, but Lily was also completely wrecked. Her mental energy could recover, but that feeling of being physically hollowed out still lingered.
Lily finally understood why Aaron had told her to bring her wand with that amused tone—he must’ve predicted she’d end up like this!
Weren’t you silently laughing at me for turning into a haggard old man? Hah, now you get a taste of it too!
Other than not looking aged, Lily was probably just as disheveled as Aaron.
Don’t laugh at your brother when you’re in the same boat. We’re cut from the same cloth—might as well get used to it.
Lily could only accept reality.
After tidying herself up a bit, she headed out. Today was the day of the tower challenge!
At the academy’s main gate, a magic wind carriage was already waiting—arranged by the academy specifically for today’s tower challengers.
As for giving Lily the wrong meetup time to make her miss the ride—no one did that. It was too low-class and would make them a laughingstock to the other academies. No need for that.
The six tower challengers arrived neither early nor late and boarded one after another.
The seats inside were luxurious and spacious, upholstered in some kind of magical beast hide Lily didn’t recognize—comfortable and soft.
When she leaned back, she felt like she was sinking right into it. The seat automatically adjusted to best fit her, no less impressive than the ergonomic chairs and massage sofas she’d sat in back in the modern world.
Just this seat alone probably used a combination of air magic and water magic to change form so naturally and quickly.
And that wasn’t all—there was also a touch of low-tier light magic woven in, to relieve fatigue and soothe the mind.
Lily caught herself analyzing it instinctively.
Well, that was the aftereffect of reading The Complete Compendium of General Magic for over a week—she couldn’t help analyzing everything she saw, trying to identify which spells were at play.
Lily cut off her train of thought. Right now, the better call was to use her brain less and rest more.
Don’t think about anything—just enjoy the ride in this legendary magic wind carriage.
This was Lily’s first time riding in one.
Magic wind carriages weren’t as ubiquitous as modern cars, but they weren’t exactly rare either. People in major cities could enjoy them. In the Magic Holy City especially, there were even versions similar to modern buses and taxis—stopping at fixed stations, or available on demand for hire.
But the price wasn’t cheap.
Back then, Lily was strapped for cash and wouldn’t spend that kind of money just for comfort. On her journey from Ryan to the Magic Holy City, she’d taken horse-drawn carriages and donkey carts the whole way—let’s just say her butt was nearly bruised to a pulp.
After enrolling, she’d barely even left the school gates, let alone had a chance to experience the wider world outside.
Lily took a seat in the last row, undisturbed—or rather, unacknowledged.
The other five glanced at her, unsurprised by her haggard state.
She’d secured the spot and made bold claims—if she wasn’t secretly working hard, that would be truly foolish! Everyone thought Lily was too arrogant, but no one thought she was actually stupid. Still, a little over a week was too short. Would last-minute cramming help? None of them were optimistic.
They quickly looked away and started chatting among themselves. Even if they weren’t from the association, they all knew each other and had things to talk about.
Only Lily stayed silent.
She had no choice—she was the only freshman there. She didn’t know a single person, so where would she even chime in?
Among the five, there were definitely some who resented Lily.
They’d busted their backs to earn their spots, while Lily had been practically “fast-tracked” in. It was normal to feel unbalanced. But no one picked a fight with her right now—focusing on getting better tower results themselves was what mattered most.
“Carter, confident about hitting the twentieth floor?”
“Twentieth is minor—the hard part is beating the other two schools. This year’s challengers from Holy Academy and United Academy won’t be pushovers…”
The rivalry among the three major academies was always ongoing. Especially for something like the Magic Tower challenge—the whole Magic Holy City would be watching. They had to compete!
“Everyone, don’t overthink it. Just give it your all!”
“Can’t help it—our academy’s been last place for two years straight. The president said, three strikes and you’re out…”
Just then, an unfamiliar instructor leading the group also boarded the carriage.
He too ignored Lily in the back row, turned to the other five, and said solemnly:
“The tower challenge is imminent. I don’t want to pressure any of you, but I think you all understand—this isn’t just about the academy’s honor. It’s about your own path as mages! If you want to see farther, you have to stand taller!”
Everyone straightened up, about to respond, when suddenly—another person got on the carriage, bumped the instructor aside with a nudge, and cut in.
“Move over. I’m hitching a ride.”