CHAPTER 994: CHAPTER 993: JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HERE!?

The breakfast portion was just right, and the taste was quite good. However, such things have always been a matter of preference. But since there were many options, no one minded.

Those who didn’t like soy milk could have tofu pudding, and those who didn’t like tofu pudding could have wontons. With the addition of steaming soup dumplings, it was quite an enjoyable feast for the mages.

"What strange food, what strange utensils."

Putting down the chopsticks in her hand, Mary couldn’t help but remark. In the White Tower, their meals were also quite sumptuous, but generally, breakfasts were mostly bread, eggs, and ham, with fresh soup. Of course, many mages didn’t care much about their diet, just as long as they could fill their stomachs.

This is why these young ladies managed to eat all these foods that seemed quite strange to them, after all.... they’ve eaten even stranger things.

Not to mention the taste was quite decent.

What intrigued everyone more were the utensils used here. There were no knives or forks as they were accustomed to; instead, each person was given two slender sticks, elegantly called "chopsticks." Initially, everyone was unfamiliar with this eating tool, which led to some humorous incidents. But a mage is a mage; they quickly adapted to using chopsticks and enjoyed it thoroughly.

"But these utensils are truly fascinating."

As Annie spoke, she deftly picked up a dumpling with a flick of her wrist.

"Look, they’re simple and convenient, yet contain very complex principles... and all of it can be achieved with just two slender round sticks. I’ve decided to use this to eat in the future!"

"But you can’t use those to cut steak."

Delian pointed out the problem directly, but Annie just shrugged.

"That’s okay, I don’t eat steak anyway; eating too much makes you fat... aren’t you worried about that?"

"No worries, I’m the type who won’t gain weight no matter what I eat."

"........."

If it weren’t a public setting, and mages didn’t consider themselves civilized people, they might have flipped the table right then and there.

Overall, the meal was quite enjoyable, and everyone got along well, feeling that they were easy to get along with. This was only natural, after all, Fang Zheng had meticulously selected people through Ratziel’s search, looking for teachers who could get along well with children without leading them astray, rather than those trying to prove themselves or with ulterior motives.

As a result, Mary and the others got along quite well, and the meal was filled with laughter, deepening their friendships. Delian even declared that she would foot the bill to celebrate.

However, to the surprise of the young ladies, they encountered a bit of trouble when it was time to pay.

"I’m sorry, we don’t accept coins."

Looking at the gold coin Delian placed on the counter, the leading young maid paused for a moment, then quickly shook her head. Hearing the young maid’s response, Mary and the others were also taken aback.

"Don’t accept coins? Then how do we pay?"

"You just need to pay in points, a total of twenty-five points..."

"Points???"

Listening to the young maid’s explanation, everyone exchanged glances, entirely clueless about what she was talking about. However, the young maid quickly provided an answer.

"You should all have personal terminals, right? Just open up the interface, activate the ’checkout’ program on it, and scan the number here."

Do personal terminals have such a function?

Upon hearing this, Mary and the others curiously opened their personal terminals. Indeed, they found a number "5000" in the top right corner of the interface. Following the young maid’s instructions, Delian swiped over it, and the number immediately dropped to "4975."

"This is really amazing..."

Watching this unfold, Jessica also remarked in amazement. But at this moment, Delian seemed to have thought of a problem and suddenly her expression changed.

"Wait, are you saying that in the Heavenly Dao Palace, everything is paid for with points?"

"Yes."

"If I want to eat, buy clothes, or get anything else, I have to deduct points?"

"Yes."

"Then... how do we get these points?"

Upon hearing this, not only was Delian dumbfounded, but Mary was also at a loss. If the issue were money, they wouldn’t be worried, but the problem was that the Heavenly Dao Palace didn’t use currency. If they needed points for food and purchases... but there’s only five thousand points!

"Everyone gets a fixed allocation of guaranteed points each month, sufficient to cover living expenses. For other needs, it depends on task completion and, occasionally, Brother Fang Zheng might offer some commissions. If you’re lucky enough to take and complete these, you can earn additional points."

"Tasks... tasks... ah, I found it!"

Soon, following the young maid’s guidance, Mary found the task progress bar on her personal terminal.

"Recruit fifty students to get an additional allowance of fifty points per month. Recruit one hundred students to get an additional allowance of one hundred points. The higher the rate of apprentices passing the exam to become official mages, the higher the reward points will be..."

As she read on, Mary suddenly felt something amiss.

It’s true she’s here to teach, and it’s also true mages receive rewards for taking on apprentices, but for some reason, she instinctively felt something was off, especially after seeing the straightforward tasks. Mary couldn’t quite put her finger on it... but the feeling was undeniable...

"Anyhow, we should head back now; the time is almost up."

Annie suggested, pulling Mary back from her thoughts with a nod. After all, it was their first day of work, and Fang Zheng had mentioned yesterday that many people would come to apply to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Their task was to assess these students, so being late was not an option, especially on the first day.

With that in mind, nobody was in the mood for further conversation. They quickly tidied up and left the restaurant, retracing their steps back.

"How many apprentices do you plan to take on?"

Walking down the road, Mary couldn’t help but ask. Originally the daughter of a merchant, she later became fortunate enough to apprentice under a Transmutation Mage, and through her talent and diligence, reached her current position. In the Magitech Nation, becoming a mage was no easy feat; it required talent and hard work.

Of course, talent outweighed hard work. Just look at Delian, the Young Lady here, whose path is strewn with the souls of countless mage apprentices who burned the midnight oil endlessly...

In the White Tower, an official mage typically takes on no more than fifty apprentices, who function more like "research assistants." In the Magic Academy of the Magitech Nation, a mage might lecture more than a hundred students in one class. How many eventually stand out depends on their own efforts.

"I’ll choose ten."

Annie’s approach was rather conservative.

"I’m not very good at teaching yet, so I’ll start with a few, gradually."

"I’m planning to select a hundred. Once they all become illusionists, we can go and release fireworks together!"

Delian remained as carefree as always, but everyone was used to it by now.

"As for me... about thirty, I guess."

Mary pondered for a moment and then gave her answer. Her approach was similar to Annie’s—although she’d been an official mage for quite some time, Mary hadn’t taken on apprentices, so she decided to start with a few talented and smart ones to teach, which would also serve as an opportunity to gain experience.

Chatting away, they returned to the school. However, as they entered the gate and looked up, they all froze in place.

In front of them, the plaza within the school gates, large enough to accommodate thousands, was now packed densely with people. Numerous little girls, dressed in uniforms, stood in neat lines, talking animatedly.

Seeing this, Mary was utterly dumbfounded.

"How many people are here...?"