Furan arrived at the gate of a manor and cast her gaze inside.
The entire manor wasn't large, but the decorations were extremely refined, with embellishments everywhere indicating that the resident was a mage.
On the nameplate at the entrance, there was a staff emblem, signifying that this was the residence of a mage.
Looking in from the gate, there was a small pool with a statue of a mage in the center, gripping a staff and looking at the floating books before him.
Inside the manor stood a slightly old-looking house; though its outer walls showed signs of maintenance, there were still many cracks.
Many windows were reinforced with wooden slats, and some places that should have been windows were sealed shut with boards.
There was a protruding porch in front of the main door, its supporting pillars appearing recently renovated and painted dark brown.
A maid saw Furan standing at the gate and immediately stepped forward. She performed a slight curtsy with her hands over her abdomen and asked,
"Your Excellency the Mage, have you been invited to attend the dinner party?"
Furan nodded, and the maid led her into the manor and pushed open the house's main door.
She led Furan through a rather dim corridor to a long dining table.
A man with blond hair and blue eyes was already seated at one end of the long table; this was likely the Administrator of Gede Town.
He wore a conservative blue-gray robe with gloves of the same color, and he bore no insignia of any School.
Two mages were already seated on the left and right sides of the long table, and under the maid's guidance, Furan took the second chair on the right.
The chair had a red cushion and the backrest was slightly reclined, making it quite comfortable to sit in.
The man in the head seat suddenly spoke after Furan sat down, saying slowly,
"Praise Magic. Welcome, fellow mages... I am Caleb Walker, the Administrator of Gede Town. I have been stationed in this town for thirteen years."
He pointed to the man on the left side of the table, who had a chiseled face, brown hair, and wore a robe signifying the Necromancy School.
"Zeno Harper, a member of the Necromancy School and a Researcher at the Skeleton Society."
Zeno lifted his head as he was introduced, seemingly very satisfied with this manner of introduction.
A woman sat on the right, her beautiful purple hair spread out over her robes. Her fingers were fair, white as winter snow.
Without waiting for Caleb's introduction, she said of her own accord,
"Daphne Marlow of the Alchemy School, a Researcher at the Brass Academic Society."
She then looked at Furan eagerly, waiting to hear her self-introduction.
Furan glanced at the three of them and said slowly,
"Furan of the Furnace Casting School. I have no surname. I am a Researcher at the Northern Lands Academy."
Daphne, who was closest to her, was taken aback for a moment, then said with a smile,
"I thought you were from the Modification School. Seeing how small you are, I'm surprised you've already become a Formal Mage. May I ask how old you are?"
"Eighteen." Furan hid her true age. While it wasn't unheard of to become a Formal Mage at fifteen, it was quite rare for a commoner to do so, so she concealed her age.
"Then you're growing a bit slowly. It might be best to seek help from the Modification School..."
Daphne teased, then stopped herself and said to Caleb,
"Since everyone is here, let's eat. I'm a bit hungry."
Caleb gestured for the servants to begin serving food to everyone.
No one expressed any doubt or surprise regarding Furan's lack of a surname or her status as a Researcher at the Northern Lands Academy.
It was normal for commoners to become Formal Mages; many of their colleagues had done so and gained their own surnames shortly after. It just took some time to apply for registration with the Alliance.
They had never heard of the Northern Lands Academy, but they didn't care. After all, there were countless societies in the Alliance, and it was normal to hear of one from another School that they didn't recognize.
In contrast, the Skeleton Society that Zeno belonged to was something almost every mage knew about, and he was very proud to be a member.
"The Skeleton Society recruits members from the Alchemy, Modification, and Elemental Schools in addition to the Necromancy School. As long as you have unique insights into skeletal creatures, you can join."
"Despite the name, the research conducted by the mages inside doesn't strictly pertain to skeletons. It's more about the Realm of Death and research into spiritual bodies..."
After the food was served, Zeno didn't even touch the dish in front of him, continuing to talk to the other three about the Skeleton Society.
Furan, looking at the food before her, had little appetite.
There was a steak covered in a thick sauce that smelled sour, some vegetables on the side coated in seasonings, a long loaf of black bread, and some red powdered seasoning next to it.
Since coming to this other world, she felt that food only needed to fill her stomach; flavor didn't matter much.
This meal could be considered a feast since her arrival in this world—the ingredients were luxurious and it at least had seasonings—but Furan just had no appetite and could only eat slowly.
She had originally thought that since someone was treating her to dinner, there might be food with different flavors, but it turned out to be the same old things. Only the steak made Furan take a few extra bites.
After swallowing some vegetables, Caleb, at the head of the table, asked,
"Could you reveal some of the research content you've seen at the Skeleton Society?"
This was a sensitive question, as knowledge was a precious resource among mages, especially knowledge unique to another's society.
However, Zeno didn't mind at all and said,
"No problem. I'll tell you about a free experimental record I saw regarding an experiment to optimize the Create Wraith Spell."
Zeno then explained the specific details of the experiment to the mages present, including what operations to perform after killing a target to increase the Spell's success rate. This led to a new first-tier Spell: Greater Spirit Awakening.
He assumed that these people wouldn't know Create Wraith, a Spell unique to the Necromancy School, so he confidently explained the principles of the entire Spell, stopping just short of the final Spell structure.
[You have heard the experimental details regarding Create Wraith. Proficiency in the Spell 'Create Wraith' +50]
To be honest, Furan hadn't intended to practice this Spell, and she hadn't expected that coming for a meal would allow her to hear the details of a first-tier Spell.
This gave her an epiphany; as long as she went back and experimented, she would likely be able to develop that first-tier Spell, Greater Spirit Awakening.
"Truly wonderful content. As expected of the research results of a great society..." Caleb clapped his hands in admiration.
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