Chapter 6

The preparation time was not long. Originally, the crystal ball on the registration desk could have been used for a rough test, but that was clearly intended for students with average or slightly better aptitudes. Since Locklip had boasted, Casey didn't mind spending a little more time on the cute little girl beside him.

In an empty room, a transparent crystal ball placed on a sandalwood base engraved with a mana array was set in front of Elise.

"Come, place your hands on the crystal ball," Casey said.

Elise couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

"Don't be nervous, child," Casey saw Elise's somewhat stiff body and smiled to reassure her, "This is just a test crystal ball. It won't explode or bite you."

【Teacher, why do I feel these things are actually happening after hearing your explanation?】

After secretly complaining, Elise found herself no longer nervous and smiled at Casey, placing her hands on the crystal ball.

"Then, let's test your mental power," Casey activated the magic array, "I'm sure you know the importance of mental power to a mage. The stronger your mental power, the more magic power you can control, and the stronger your control. Let's see how much your innate mental power is... Oh my God!"

The crystal ball emitted a dazzling multicolored light, making everyone close their eyes. The assistants around her were in a state of shock, and Casey quickly shut down the magic array: "This is too much! Now I understand what Mr. Harris meant earlier. Dear child, I can guarantee you will be admitted, because your current mental power is already on par with mine!"

In this world, the ranks are divided into six levels. For the two main professions, mages are divided into: Apprentice, Mage, High Mage, Archmage, Grand Archmage, and Great Sage; warriors are divided into: Apprentice, Warrior, Swordsman, Swordmaster, Grand Swordmaster, and Sword Saint. This old-fashioned setting has not been changed for many years because no one has ever broken the upper limit of the sixth level.

And now, the untrained mental power of our heroine is on par with a seasoned Archmage, which naturally shocked Casey. What does a fourth-level mage mean? They are the main force of human mages, a special unit in the imperial army, and a pillar of the human magic world.

"Could it be that the Garden of Hope is about to produce another Great Sage?" Casey was so excited that her hands were trembling, "That, whoever you are, go and get Dean Howard quickly!"

"That... " Elise asked weakly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to have scared you, child," Casey tried to calm down but was not very successful, "Your mental power is very high, you are a natural mage. Now let's see what your elemental affinity is, this test can help you choose your future main spell type."

Casey activated another magic array and sequentially input the six basic elements: fire, wind, water, earth, light, and darkness. Due to the previous situation, although this time the reaction was enough to make everyone's eyes widen, they were already numb...

All six basic elements had a high affinity with Elise, especially the wind element. The reason for this was probably due to the thunder strike from Locklip. (High-level wind spells are lightning spells)

Casey was almost fainting, she had never seen a student with such high talent in her life. She had already decided that if Locklip later changed his mind and did not plan to send the girl named Elise to the Garden of Hope, she would take her by force!

A noisy sound came, and from a distance, Casey recognized the old man leading a group of people as the current dean of the Garden of Hope, the 136-year-old Grand Archmage Howard Garcia.

Casey hurriedly went forward and reported the test results to Howard.

After hearing the report, Howard was also stunned for a few seconds, then he carefully examined Elise and Locklip, smiled, and came forward to give them a mage's bow: "I am Dean Howard Garcia of the Garden of Hope. It's nice to meet you both. I have already known the test results of Miss Elise Harris, and to be honest, her talent even makes me a bit envious."

"You flatter me," Elise bowed.

And Locklip smiled indifferently, "So, are you willing to admit my sister?"

"Of course. And I am honored to have the opportunity to educate the daughter of the ancient Harris family. Isn't that right, Head of the Harris family—Mr. Locklip Harris?" Howard stroked his long white beard and smiled.

Locklip smiled bitterly, "Why do you have to point it out? Can't I come and go quietly? The Garden of Hope's reputation doesn't need to be promoted by the admission of a member of our family, does it?"

"I won't promote it," Howard shook his head, "In the Garden of Hope, there is no distinction of high or low among students. I just wanted to confirm my guess and am very interested that your ancient family has agreed to let Miss Harris come to study."

"I just want my sister to live a normal life," Locklip said with a feigned sigh.

【If you really want me to live a normal life, then turn me back into a man quickly!】

Howard did not comment, "I understand. Teacher Casey, help Miss Harris complete the admission procedures and familiarize her with the school. Take care of Miss Harris's daily life in the future..."

"That's not necessary, Dean," Elise interrupted, "I can take care of myself."

Come on, a person who spends 300 days out of the year outside would be a big joke if they didn't know how to take care of themselves.

Howard looked at Locklip, who nodded.

"Alright, I believe you will be satisfied with the dormitory," Howard said, then let Casey lead Elise to the back, while he turned to Locklip, "Would you like to stay for lunch?"

"No need, I don't want to be treated specially. Please take good care of my sister."

"Of course."

"Goodbye."

Locklip bowed slightly and walked away gracefully under the bright eyes of countless girls.

============================= I am the dividing line =============================

Locklip indeed did not leave Elise a single copper coin; he only paid her tuition.

This meant that Elise could only eat the free food in the cafeteria and use the standard school-issued textbooks and equipment for the rest of the semester. The textbooks were fine, but the magic equipment was a big problem. The school-issued equipment included a female magic robe with a negligible enhancement effect (which was already modified by a tailor, otherwise it would be 100% too big), a wand that could only be used to shoo birds, a roll of rough parchment that could barely be used to make scrolls, a bottle of low-quality ink made from ground magic herbs, and a plain quill pen.

Of course, these were worlds apart from the luxurious items used by the truly extravagant nobles.

The only consolation was that she didn't have to carry all this stuff around the campus. Casey, who had initially complained about Locklip's lack of financial support, didn't say anything when she saw Elise put all the items into a spatial bracelet, as the bracelet was a priceless treasure.

After familiarizing Elise with her future classroom and the school cafeteria and having dinner there, it was already dusk. Casey decided to take the little girl to the dormitory, help her tidy up her room, and introduce her to her roommates—if any were assigned today.

After passing a lake, they stopped.

"Look, Elise. This is the girls' dormitory," Casey pointed to a large, brightly lit building, "Since it's a combined magic and martial school, your roommate might be a warrior. Of course, this is just a possibility, as few girls practice martial arts. Also, the dormitory curfew is at 9 PM, and lights out is at 11 PM, don't forget."

"Okay, I will remember."

【I never thought I would have a day when I could walk into the girls' dormitory with dignity. But compared to using this tragic body, I'd rather climb the drainpipe.】

"This is the dormitory manager, Teacher Marlene Jose," upon entering the dormitory, Casey led Elise to a table piled with various books and introduced her to a blue-haired woman in her twenties with a cold gaze, "Marlene, don't use that look, you might scare her. This is Elise Harris, she is a key student of the Dean."

Marlene nodded as a greeting and continued reading her book.

"Don't mind her, Marlene is just like that. She's actually a good person—well, at least that's what the girls say."

"I understand, Teacher Casey. Marlene probably throws all the boys who try to sneak into the girls' dormitory into the lake for a bath. The girls are afraid of Marlene's expression, but they trust her as a manager, so they say she's a good person. Of course, the boys on the opposite side wouldn't think so."

Casey was at a loss, "I must admit your analysis is correct. But dear, are you really only twelve years old?"

"Um, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, I'm just curious about your family's education methods."

The dormitory had eight floors. The first-year dormitory was on the second floor, followed by the second year on the third floor, the third year on the fourth floor, and so on. After the fifth year, the upper floors were for teachers and postgraduate students. Postgraduate students were not those who couldn't graduate but those who planned to continue their research in magic or martial arts after graduation and stayed in the school for further study, paying much higher fees for the school's facilities. So most postgraduate students were teachers.

The first floor was for public baths and some shops. The baths were open from 6 AM to 12 PM for hot showers. However, if you wanted to soak in the bath, you had to wait until 8 PM when the bathhouse opened. For the current Elise, a shower was fine, as it was in a private room. But a communal bath would probably make her nosebleed...

The second to sixth floors were divided into six areas, corresponding to classes A to F. Class A was the advanced class, with students of excellent talent; classes C to F were the regular classes, mostly students of higher talent from common families; class B was the noble class, with all noble students, whose talents varied.

Arriving at the assigned 2A09 room, Elise took out the key, opened the door, and lit the magic lamp.

It was a standard four-person room, spacious, with no bunk beds. Each person had a bed, a study desk and chair, a small wardrobe, and a storage cabinet. The back was a shared bathroom and a ventilated balcony.

One of the beds had already been occupied by someone who had arrived earlier.

After a brief observation, Elise determined that she had a rather careless roommate. At least she herself wouldn't scatter her luggage everywhere, leave the door unlocked, or leave her wallet on the bed while going out.

"Girls these days," Casey shook her head, "Elise, take out your luggage, I'll help you organize it."

"No need, Teacher Casey, I can do it myself. And I've troubled you all day, so I can handle this small task. Please sit and wait a moment." Elise took out the luggage Locklip had prepared for her from the bracelet and began to organize it systematically, which made Casey nod in approval. In the end, Elise even made two cups of tea and handed one to Casey.

Casey, who was already confident in Elise's self-care ability, chatted with her for a while and, before leaving, reminded her to go to bed early.

"The Garden of Hope starts on February 1st, and today is January 30th. Tomorrow is the last day of January. I imagine there will be more people registering tomorrow?" Thinking of the long line of people at the school's entrance this morning, which was large enough for a Boeing 747, Elise was sweating, "I hope there won't be a stampede. But let's not think about that. Let's see how magic works in this world."

Elise picked up the beginner's magic textbook and began to study seriously. It was clear that here, mages used their mental power to drive the magic power within their bodies to resonate with the elements in nature to cast spells. Understanding this, Elise finally realized how shocking her extremely high mental power was to Casey and others.

High mental power means more magic power can be driven; more magic power means more elements can resonate; stronger element resonance means greater spell power.

Elemental affinity is related to the magic power stored in the body. The higher the affinity with a certain element, the easier it is for the mage to absorb that element and convert it into magic power, and the higher the total amount that can be stored.

Elise's values for both of these were almost off the charts. No wonder Casey said she was a natural mage.

"But my character setting is a warrior..." Elise said with a bitter smile.

"Click," the door opened. It seemed her careless roommate had finally returned, at least she hadn't forgotten the curfew time, or she would have faced Marlene's freezing gaze.

A tall girl entered, wearing a grass-green T-shirt and tight seven-eighths pants. Her bright red hair was tied in a ponytail, swaying as she walked. She had regular features, not particularly beautiful but clean and fair—well, at least after she washed off the red bean paste from her face.

"Um, hello, my name is Elise..." Elise stood up to introduce herself, but the girl threw the red bean paste bun in her hand and pounced, hugging Elise and rubbing her face against her, "Wow! Such a cute little girl!"

...

"Can you let go first?"

"No! I haven't rubbed enough."

Elise's face was buried in the girl's ample bosom, and she could only maintain a stunned expression, enjoying the moment without speaking.

After a while, the girl finally let go of Elise, "Great, I'm rooming with such a cute little girl! What luck!"

"Before you get too excited, we should introduce ourselves first, right?"

"Ah, you're right. I'm Li Huayin, seventeen years old. As my name suggests, my ancestors are from the Eastern Continent. You can just call me Huayin. You look so delicate, you must be applying for the magic department, right? If anyone bullies you, just tell me. I, the invincible and beautiful Li Huayin, am a brave warrior! I'll beat them up until they look like pigs!" Huayin stood up and patted her chest, which could be described as magnificent, with a "leave it to me" expression.

【I guessed you were a warrior, only a warrior suits your personality.】

"My name is Elise Harris, I'm twelve years old. You can call me Elise if you like," Elise bowed slightly, "I'm a first-year student in the magic department."

"Oh, I was too excited to forget to say, I'm in the martial arts department, first-year class A," Huayin scratched her head, "Um, Elise, can I ask a small favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"I refuse."

"Boo~~~"

"Please don't make that face like a rejected puppy! You're older than me!"

But this time,