I Arrived At Wizard World While Cultivating Immortality Chapter 5: Orthodoxy and Testing

Jack’s statement hit Jie Ming like a thunderbolt, exposing the savage reality lurking beneath the academy’s flashy hype.

From more than five thousand students, only 153 remained after just five years.

These were no mere disposable troops; they were wizards who had undergone a full decade of rigorous training!

The celebrated survivors represented the tiny fraction who endured and progressed through endless losses.

The academy paraded them to entice unsuspecting youngsters into serving as the next wave of expendables.

A profound chill seeped into his bones!

This wizard world proved far more ruthless and practical than he had ever pictured.

Rather than a serene scholarly refuge, the academy functioned as a forge and assembly line for an enormous war apparatus.

They craved “fuel,” and fresh apprentices proved the simplest to burn.

The thirty-year contract served not only as a chain; given the extreme mortality, it hinted at the academy’s quiet assurance regarding Logistics wizards’ chances of survival.

Yet still, almost half of the Logistics wizards met their end…

As for the Combat Division… the contract’s shortness revealed the slaughter. Wizards weren’t charity workers, yet even they figured five years on the front lines balanced the scales.

What a horrifying casualty rate, what savage battles…

“Aren’t you afraid?” Jie Ming blurted out on reflex.

He had exhausted his questions, yet the wizards didn’t brush him off.

His query prompted exchanged looks, a brief silence, then roaring laughter.

“Hahahaha! Not afraid? Folks fearless of death exist, but they’re scarce!” The potioncraft wizard laughed, tousling Jie Ming’s hair.

Puzzlement deepened in Jie Ming, and Jack, catching his expression, grinned. “Don’t get it?”

“Yes.”

“We fear death, sure, but something greater beckons us onward!”

“What?”

“The multiverse stretches endlessly—wide enough that a plane’s demise is merely a spark in the stars. Yet that promises boundless opportunities.”

Jack gestured toward the Combat Division platform, where third-rank wizard Mars inked a deal with an apprentice.

“Spot him? Mars possessed mere third-rank aptitude, supposedly doomed never to rank as a true wizard. But behold him today…”

“Knowledge, power, long life, prestige, fame, riches… every ambition finds satisfaction across infinite planes. You just have to ‘simply’ outlast the warzone.”

“Pursuing your dreams and goals turns even steep death rates into a ‘required expense’!”

Those words plunged Jie Ming’s heart into turmoil.

A necessary cost?

That casual term veiled horrors beyond imagination.

The square’s uproar and cheers now grated harshly, sounding ominous. The youthful faces hungry for triumph and strength appeared to him already fated to perish on distant fields of battle.

“What a… ruthless world,” he whispered.

“Yet one brimming with promise too, right?”

Noticing Jie Ming’s gloom, Jack offered a knowing smile. “Naturally, the Logistics Division’s fatality rate stays lower. Logistics remains Noren’s core tradition, after all…”

“What do you mean?” Jie Ming blinked.

“No point concealing it. You’ll learn upon signing.” Jack scanned the area.

“Noren 13 is merely a recruitment hub for a specific wizard group. Your contract goes not to Noren Academy, but to its backing organization.”

“And that group’s title…” Jack prolonged, “is Noren Workshop.”

Jie Ming’s eyes flickered. That packed a punch.

An organization drawing talent from numerous planes was already mind-blowing, but the moniker surprised.

A “Workshop” implied fame from “invention” in its origins.

Thus, Jack’s assertion about Logistics as orthodoxy clicked.

However…

“If Logistics is the orthodoxy, why run it like this?” Jie Ming glanced about, baffled.

Unlike the Combat Division’s throngs, the Logistics zone lay barren.

“Doesn’t this overlook loads of gifted folks?”

Forget the obvious perks gap. Even those piercing the perils, hot-blooded prodigies viewing themselves as story heroes, seldom picked Logistics.

“Because… it tests ‘wisdom.’”

Jack and the other wizards beamed with pride at that. “Superior aptitude speeds progress, but for wizards, ‘wisdom’ matters most.”

“Aptitude gets tweaked, but wisdom is inborn. Amid other planes’ myriad chances, aptitude fades in importance. Lacking visible markers unlike aptitude, the academy crafted this setup.”

“Plenty of hints litter the academy. Piercing the hype’s veil demands original thought, sharp perception, and solid self-knowledge—wizard essentials.”

Another wizard added playfully, “In the era before wizards quit the Origin Plane, they gauged wisdom by dispatching apprentices via ships to the academy, battling foes en route.”

“But that drained resources and proved unpredictable. With the Great Expansion demanding troops, they adopted this milder tactic.”

Tuning out the surrounding murmurs, Jack dismantled the illusion barrier and beckoned to Jie Ming. “That’s it for Q&A. The choice is yours now.”