Hank Miston was a Mage Apprentice.
He was a very ordinary Mage Apprentice.
A Mage Apprentice that could be found everywhere in the Magic Empire.
Like many people, he had been looking forward to the life of a Mage since he was young. In his opinion, Mages were superior and powerful beings.
Whether it was identity or status, Mages were much better than ordinary people.
Because of this, like most children in the Magic Empire, he relied on his family's savings to enter a magic academy and successfully became an Intermediate Magician's apprentice.
Then … Then Hank woke up from his dream.
To some extent, being a Mage was similar to being a celebrity. When you were just a spectator, all you could see was the glamorous performance of those celebrities on the stage.
But when you stepped into this circle, you would find that it was not as beautiful as you thought. Those idols who were cold and arrogant in front of their fans on the stage would also smile and carefully serve some middle-aged men with big bellies who looked like Mr. Wang next door.
And those young handsome guys who were always crazily admired by little girls might be the sugar daddy of an old woman who was dozens of years older than him in private.
The cheers and applause were short-lived. It was more about the endless practice, doing odd jobs, and even the unspoken rules and begging grandpa and grandma, such as going into the sea to save a school that was on the verge of closing … Everything was forgiven.
After all, it was all for the sake of dreams.
And it was the same in the world of Mages.
The dream of reaching the sky in one step was naturally not realistic. The first thing Hank faced every day was complicated ancient words. They had to learn these words and then translate their meaning.
Most of the time, they buried their heads in these dry and boring books, and had nothing else to do.
Their mentor would not even teach them any advanced spells, only a few level-zero tricks, which were of no use to Hank.
But what could they do?
They were mage apprentices, and they had to serve their teacher. In the past, Hank had thought that those mage apprentices were quite respectable, but now he finally understood that these apprentices were nothing more than slaves to the mages!
Especially after the test confirmed that Hank didn't have enough mana, his treatment became worse and worse. Not only did his teacher order him to do things, but the other apprentices also looked down on him and often made him do this and that. Hank was already quite dissatisfied with this, but what could he do?
He only knew a few level-zero tricks and wasn't even a match for his colleagues. How could he have any influence on his teacher?
After failing several times to resist, Hank was already in despair. He wanted to leave the Magus Tower and no longer work as a slave.
However, Hank was speechless every time he returned home and saw his family proudly proclaiming that their child was now a Mage and not an ordinary farmer … He had enough of being ordered around and treated like a slave.
But when he thought of his parents' expectations, he had no choice but to continue living like this.
Until the Fate Ritual.
After that, the status of mages changed dramatically, but for mage apprentices like Hank, they didn't change at all.
Facing the future, Hank was also very confused. What should he do next?
He didn't know if he should continue like this or do something else.
But what could he do now?
His youth, his everything, had been given to those musty old books, but other than that, he didn't learn anything other than "Illumination" and a few other level-zero tricks.
Even if he became an adventurer, an adventurer like him who didn't even know offensive spells would only be a dead end!
But no one could answer Hank's question. His fellow apprentices were also panicking, and many of them even gave up on becoming a mage.
Because in their opinion, becoming a mage now didn't have the slightest meaning. What was the use of a mage who could only use intermediate spells?
And just when Hank fell into confusion and didn't know what to do, he suddenly heard a piece of news.
Hearing this news, Hank suddenly became excited.
A completely different system from the Magic Empire?
The winner can even change the future of the Magic Empire?
It doesn't matter if you're an apprentice or an official Mage, anyone can participate?
Hearing this news, Hank couldn't help but think that perhaps, his future was there!
Along the way, Hank was also very worried. If this was just a trap, if the other party didn't need an apprentice like him, then what could he do?
But after arriving at the City of Thousand Spells and witnessing the huge metal warship at the top of the clouds, Hank's worries disappeared without a trace and was replaced with incomparable excitement.
He had a feeling that he was about to start a brand new life!
But … Even so, when Hank heard Jenn's strange request, he was also stunned.
As a mage, Hank's body wasn't very good.
But in the end, he braced himself and rushed up the stairs with the others.
In the beginning, Hank didn't have any problems.
After all, a mage apprentice like him often did odd jobs and his stamina was definitely better than a pure mage's.
Not only that, but Hank also discovered that this light seemed to have some special ability that could nullify all magic.
He had seen mages casting spells on themselves that could strengthen their physique more than once, and some even drank magic potions.
However, after doing all this, their faces were sullen, and their expressions did not change at all.
At this moment, everyone understood that it would be useless to use magic to bluff their way through here.
Tenth floor … Twentieth floor …
Most people didn't have such stamina and climbing to the tenth floor was their limit. If they climbed any higher, their stamina wouldn't be able to support it.
From time to time, mages could be seen panting and collapsing to the ground.
Fortunately, these stairs seemed to be wrapped in a force field, so they didn't have to worry about slipping and falling into a meat patty. But even so, this was an extremely difficult challenge for these mages.
"Haa … Haa …"
Hank didn't know how long he had been climbing. He was originally in the middle of the group, but now he was at the front. This wasn't because Hank's speed had increased, but because more and more people were falling behind.
Hank also saw that many people had even chosen to give up. They followed Jenn's instructions and activated the Teleportation Portal on the platform and chose to leave.
But there were still some people who persevered and continued to climb up, but this time, their speed had slowed down.
This was the same logic as a marathon. Sprinting all the way was courting death. Only by conserving more energy could it be possible to go further.
But climbing stairs and running a marathon were still different, after all.
"Haa …"
Hank stopped in his tracks once again and raised his head to look up. In front of him was still the same spiral, densely packed flight of stairs.
It seemed like it would never end. When Hank lowered his head, he saw the ground and the small crowds and houses. This made his legs tremble, and he almost collapsed on the stairs.
Acrophobia wasn't something that could be cured easily.
But soon, Hank raised his head again. He gritted his teeth and reached for a bag of water. He drank a mouthful of it. It wasn't a magical potion, but just ordinary water.
Because when Hank was an apprentice, he had to work day and night, so naturally, no one would prepare food for him. That was why Hank had gotten used to carrying these things. But he didn't expect that it would come in handy here.
I don't know how high it is … But I definitely can't give up here!
Thinking of this, Hank gritted his teeth and continued to walk up step by step.