From Zero to Sorcerer: Mastering the Forbidden Marks

The dim red light cast over Reg.

He first directed his snake thralls to gather and organize the spoils, then, with a swipe of his fire gloves, burned them into white ash, letting it fall to the ground.

A faint smile appeared on his face as he walked deeper into the Moonlake.

As he advanced, subtle changes began to appear in the surroundings. Among the clusters of red crystals, various bizarre plants emerged, and he stepped onto a wide path paved with brown bricks.

Following the brick road, past eerie human-shaped stone statues, he finally reached the obsidian gate.

On either side of the gate stood stone pillars, each holding a statue.

One was a lizard, its head split into three, glancing at Reg briefly before showing no other reaction.

The other was a dog-headed half-orc, wearing a collar around its neck, its eyes glowing with a ghostly blue hue. Upon seeing Reg, it showed an eerie smile.

"Look, here comes another little wizard. Hmm, smells like fresh blood and flesh on him."

"The two following him... they're snake thralls controlled by the异蛇 (异蛇 could mean "other snakes," possibly a reference to a species). Ha, not tasty!"

These statues were the guardians of the academy, bound by a contract with the Night Academy, forcing them to guard this place.

They called themselves "guardians," but this title only applied to the academy. For apprentice wizards, they were more like "executioners."

As long as they didn't get too upset or provoke the wrong person, the academy generally didn't care.

Reg naturally didn't want to anger the stone creatures, so he lowered his head, avoiding eye contact, and hurriedly left.

The stone guardians, after a brief glance, quickly lost interest and turned their attention to the next wizard apprentice entering the academy.

...

Passing through the obsidian gate, Reg had officially entered the Night Academy.

As he walked, he began to notice scattered figures, easily identifiable as peers or newly enrolled wizard apprentices.

These apprentices were mostly in a hurry, carrying or holding things, with few strolling aimlessly with empty hands.

Of course, it wasn't impossible to find one—Reg spotted one from a distance.

The person was "wandering" down the street, staring blankly at the sky, not looking at anyone.

The skin and flesh on their body resembled melted candle wax that had hardened again. The right side of their body was completely caved in, and part of their face on the lower right seemed to have been "dripped" onto their shoulder, merging with the collapsed flesh.

"Must have been experimented on by the Life Studies Department, and it went horribly wrong..."

Reg silently withdrew his gaze, his emotions remaining calm.

It wasn't indifference; he simply couldn't afford to "sympathize" every time he saw such scenes—it drained emotional resources.

After all, such "scenes" weren't rare, though not common either. Most wizard apprentices had "marks" left by experiments on them, just varying in size and extent.

In this case, the apprentice had at least survived, which was the lucky part.

Not every apprentice could be like Reg, who had entered the academy with a wizard's relic as his tuition.

Most wizard apprentices, upon enrollment, signed a contract devoid of any human rights.

They had to obey the academy's arrangements and regularly participate in academy activities, such as wizard experiments. This was their duty.

In return, the academy was obligated to provide free public courses and three magic stones per month as compensation.

Reg's contract was slightly different:

He paid his tuition and was exempt from participating in activities, but he wouldn't receive the three magic stones per month—he had to earn those himself.

Walking down the winding path, Reg finally reached the apprentice district of the academy.

Passing a withered ancient tree, a cluster of two- to three-story earthen stone houses came into view.

The houses in the apprentice district were planned and built by the academy. At first glance, they seemed orderly, but only those living inside knew how chaotic and filthy things really were.

Reg took a few more steps and soon saw his dormitory, a flicker of distaste flashing in his eyes.

He glanced in the distance, where the silhouette of the wizard tower stood faintly in the red light, and he felt a longing:

"Once I advance to a first-tier wizard, I can build my own wizard tower."

"Then, my living and research environment will improve dramatically!"

Actually, this area wasn't the worst—at least on the surface, there was some order. Apprentices had some free time and resources, enough to make themselves presentable.

In contrast, the laborers' district couldn't even maintain a decent exterior; just looking at it would make you afraid of contaminating your eyes.

However, the apprentice contract only lasted for eight semesters, totaling four years. In the second semester of the fourth year, every apprentice would face a turning point.

If, by the end, an apprentice hadn't become a true wizard, the Night Academy would retract its remaining "kindness."

At that point, the apprentice contract would automatically downgrade to a laborer's contract, and all benefits, including "free public courses" and "three magic stones per month," would disappear.

Apprentices who were demoted to laborers would have to earn magic stones to survive. They could either work or apply for participation in more grueling experiments.

The cruel truth, though perfectly reasonable, was that they would still have to fulfill their duties, unless they "repaid" the academy's "investment" in them.

In the wizarding world, knowledge was never free—it was exceedingly expensive.

Those seemingly insignificant free public courses had already been priced into the apprentices' fates!

Even Reg couldn't escape this—if he didn't become a wizard, his second-tier contract would also automatically downgrade.

First-tier contracts were the exception, but those who signed such contracts were usually prodigies fought over by many academies or descendants of wizards—often especially favored.

This was one of the main reasons Reg decided to venture far away:

Meeting with his homeland and collecting materials from other regions were secondary; finding a breakthrough was the key!

Arriving at his dormitory door, Reg's mindset had shifted. The last time he left, he was filled with anxiety and uncertainty about the future. Now, returning here, his attitude had completely changed.

He pushed open the door, which was only slightly ajar, and just as he did, Rudolf stepped out, brushing past him.

Reg's relationship with Rudolf wasn't as stiff as with Dick, so he turned his head and greeted him.

Rudolf, seeing the two snake thralls behind Reg, was momentarily stunned, nodded back, said no more, grabbed a package and a small booklet, and hurried off.

Reg squinted for a moment, shook his head, and closed the door.

"Rudolf... In the end, he couldn't advance either, and now he can only try his luck by participating in experiments?"

"The wizard 'Reagan Delna,' who rose to fame through a successful experiment, might give people a glimmer of hope, but how difficult is it to grasp that glimmer?"

His soft muttering echoed in the dorm, but there was no response, and soon it returned to silence.