Three days after cultivating Mana, Li Wei went to find Gu Ze.
"Teacher Gu Ze, I want to choose a Magic to learn."
Gu Ze said, "You haven't cultivated Mana yet. You can't learn Magic."
"I have cultivated Mana."
Upon hearing this, Gu Ze looked up at him in surprise, finding it hard to believe.
Half a month ago, he had paid quite a bit of attention to Li Wei and was well aware of his cultivation progress.
His impression of Li Wei had soured since then, so he hadn't been paying as much attention.
Still, it was impossible for such a drastic change to occur in just half a month.
He fell silent for a moment, then looked at Li Wei and said, "Release your Mana. Let me see."
As instructed, Li Wei opened his palm, closed his eyes, and concentrated, controlling the Mana within his body and releasing it.
The Mana manifested in his palm, agitating the surrounding Elements.
But since he wasn't casting any Magic, it only agitated the Elements without producing any other effect.
Although Gu Ze couldn't sense the Fire Element, he could still sense the changes in the Water Element caused by the Mana.
Only then did he believe that Li Wei had truly cultivated Mana.
Gu Ze suddenly recalled what Li Wei had said half a month ago and gave him a complicated look.
'Maybe I don't understand him at all.'
After this moment of reflection, Gu Ze said to Li Wei, "Yes, you've cultivated Mana and become a Mage Apprentice. According to the Mage Tower's rules, you can now choose one Tier Zero Magic to learn."
"Which Element do you have a higher affinity for?" Gu Ze asked.
"Fire Element."
Gu Ze thought for a moment and said, "The Mage Tower currently has two Tier Zero Fire Element Magic Models. One is the Small Fireball Technique, and the other is the Burning Fire Skill. Which one do you want to learn?"
After a moment of thought, Li Wei asked, "Teacher, which one do you recommend?"
Gu Ze said, "The Small Fireball Technique. It will be easier for you to learn the Advanced Fireball Technique later. The Mage Tower currently doesn't have an advanced Magic Model for the Burning Fire Skill."
Li Wei nodded. "Then I'll choose the Small Fireball Technique."
Gu Ze led him to the Mage Tower library and up to the second floor, a place Li Wei had never been before.
The librarian on the second floor was also an Apprentice Mage, one much older than Gu Ze.
Gu Ze said respectfully, "Master Luo, this student of mine has just cultivated Mana and has come to receive the Magic Model for the Tier Zero Small Fireball Technique."
Master Luo smiled kindly at the words, glanced at Li Wei, took a book from the shelf, and handed it to Gu Ze.
Gu Ze said respectfully, "Thank you, Master Luo."
He handed the Magic Book, which contained the Magic Model for the Small Fireball Technique, to Li Wei.
Before they arrived, Gu Ze had already told Li Wei the rules.
After receiving the Magic Book, Li Wei opened it at once and began to read it with his Spiritual Power.
A Magic Model cannot be recorded in any written language.
The Small Fireball Technique's Magic Model in the book was, in essence, a permanent Small Fireball Technique spell embedded within its pages.
It could only be read using Spiritual Power.
After a long while, Li Wei successfully imprinted the Magic Model for the Small Fireball Technique into his mind using his Spiritual Power.
A fiery script, visible only to him, materialized on the Magic Book in his hands.
[Small Fireball Technique (Tier Zero Entry Level)] 0/1000
He closed the Magic Book and handed it back to Master Luo with both hands.
"Thank you, Master Luo," Li Wei said.
Master Luo smiled and said, "Apprentices usually need to read the Magic Book four or five times to fully memorize the Magic Model. If you feel like you're starting to forget it, remember to come back and read it again."
Li Wei nodded. "I will."
He knew he had already completely memorized the Magic Model for the Small Fireball Technique.
There was no way he would ever forget it.
However, to avoid attracting attention, he decided he would still visit the library every few days.
As Li Wei and Gu Ze left the library, Gu Ze explained, "You can come back to read the Magic Model for the Small Fireball Technique as many times as you need until you've learned it, without spending any extra Contribution."
"However, if you want to learn other Magic Models, you'll have to use Contribution to pay for each reading. For a Tier Zero Magic, it costs about 20 Contribution per session, and it typically takes around 100 Contribution in total to memorize one."
Li Wei quickly asked, "Teacher Gu Ze, how can I earn Contribution?"
Gu Ze replied, "Once you can consistently cast your first Tier Zero Magic, you can accept missions within the Mage Tower. Completing them will earn you Contribution."
"But there's no hurry. You've only just cultivated Mana. It will take at least a year before you can cast your first Magic, and at least two years before you can cast a Tier Zero Magic consistently."
"What you need to do now is to work hard cultivating Mana and learning the Magic Model."
Gu Ze paused for a moment before adding, "Oh, right. Since you're a new Apprentice, you can go to the warehouse and collect one stick of Calming Incense. It will be a great help to your cultivation."
Li Wei said gratefully, "Thank you, Teacher Gu Ze."
Returning to his dormitory, Li Wei held the Calming Incense in his hand, a look of anticipation on his face.
He had been craving this for a long time, but he'd never had the money for it.
He carefully lit the Calming Incense, and a faint, pleasant fragrance spread through the room.
He took a single breath of the fragrance and immediately felt his mind grow calm, free of all distracting thoughts.
He started to meditate.
Aided by the Calming Incense, it took him only five minutes to enter a state of Meditation.
Forty-five minutes later, his meditation ended.
The moment he opened his eyes, the first thing he did was hurriedly extinguish the Calming Incense.
Looking at the stick of Calming Incense, now a fifth shorter, Li Wei felt a painful sting.
'Just one cultivation session, and my entire fortune is gone!'
Li Wei shook his head, feeling reluctant to use the rest of the Calming Incense for cultivation.
But when he considered how much time it had saved him, he was tempted once more.
After more than half a month of diligent cultivation, Li Wei's Spiritual Power had grown by thirty percent, and the time it took him to enter Meditation had shortened to about twenty-four or twenty-five minutes.
Five minutes to enter Meditation, followed by forty minutes of cultivation.
A single session saved him nearly twenty minutes.
Twice a day, that would be a savings of forty minutes.
The time saved alone was nearly equal to the time he actually spent cultivating.
The Calming Incense's effects were remarkable!
Looking at the remaining four-fifths of the Calming Incense, Li Wei racked his brain.
'Money… how can I make money?'
His eyes fell upon *Mage Legend 5* on his desk.
'Don't tell me I have to go back to my old trade?'
Before he crossed over, he had been a failed novelist.
A failed one, yes, but it hadn't been difficult for him to make a living; he just never had a hit.
Judging by this world's novels, the story tropes he knew could absolutely blow everything else out of the water.
He enjoyed the *Mage Legend* series, but mostly for its world-building—the culture, geography, and Magic Knowledge. As for the plot, he had plenty of complaints.
For starters, the fact that the Mage protagonist was already in his thirties when the story began was something Li Wei couldn't stop complaining about.
Who the fuck could relate to a protagonist in his thirties?
Oh! The Mage Tower was full of Apprentice Mages in their thirties and forties who still hadn't become Mages.
'Oh, well, never mind then.'
As a piece of literature, *Mage Legend* was certainly high-quality, written in a mostly realistic style.
But as a *fantasy* novel, it didn't really work.
After brainstorming for a moment, Li Wei decided to target the children of wealthy families.
The poor of this world struggled just to eat; they couldn't possibly afford to read.
SCRATCH, SCRATCH, SCRATCH. He wrote furiously. A story quickly took shape on the paper: a young protagonist from a fallen family has a fortuitous encounter, rises up to take revenge, and restores his family's honor.
Three days later, he submitted the thirty-thousand-word manuscript to the Xinghuo Literature Society in Maple City.
And now, he waited for good news.