Turning sixteen meant mandatory service!
Join the army, work the mines, become a slave or a guard…
The law sounded utterly insane—pure exploitation and oppression of ordinary humans. Back on Earth, any country that dared pass such a law would have been overthrown long ago!
But unfortunately, this was the Sky Dome Continent—a high-magic world where power was unevenly distributed.
"Sixteen years old… mandatory service…"
Meng Lei's brows furrowed deeply. As someone with a normal brain, he naturally rejected this ridiculous law. There was no way he was going to serve.
"Captain Hades, what if I don't want to serve?"
"Service is the duty of every ordinary citizen!" Hades shook his head. "Unless you're a noble, a noble's descendant, a mage of the third tier or higher, or a warrior of the fourth tier or higher!"
"Those three groups don't have to serve?" Meng Lei's eyes lit up. "So if I can become a third-tier mage or a fourth-tier warrior within a year, I won't have to serve?"
"That's right! But it's incredibly difficult!" Hades shook his head slightly. "I know nothing about magic cultivation, so I can't comment on that. But I do know that becoming a fourth-tier warrior in a single year is basically impossible!"
"Is it that hard?" Meng Lei frowned.
"Hard? It's harder than ascending to heaven!" Hades laughed bitterly. "Cultivating battle qi is the process of tempering the body and accumulating qi. Without any external aids or resources, every single stage takes an enormous amount of time!"
He continued with a wry smile, "Back when I was in the army, it took me six grueling years to reach first-tier warrior. Then another ten years of bitter cultivation before I barely broke through to second-tier. Sixteen years total! Do you really think you can jump four whole tiers in one year?"
Meng Lei was stunned. "You spent sixteen years just to become a second-tier warrior?"
"Yeah, a full sixteen years!" Hades nodded. "Of course, that's also because my talent was pretty poor. Your magic talent might be excellent, so it probably won't take you that long!
"I've heard that some monstrous magic geniuses can become master mages in just a few years. For example, the students at the magic academies in our Fire Dragon Kingdom have to reach a certain level before they can graduate—fourth tier seems to be the minimum requirement!"
"Magic… Do I actually have magic talent?"
Meng Lei wasn't sure. The fact that he could cast Fireball had nothing to do with talent—it was all thanks to the system!
"Captain Hades, where can I learn magic?"
"At the magic academy, of course!" Hades patted Meng Lei's shoulder. "There's one in the royal city. It's early August now, so enrollment is coming up soon. If you want to learn magic, you should give it a try!
"If you really manage to get into the academy, your life will completely change. Even if you don't become a high-and-mighty noble after graduation, you'll still become a respected mage—thousands of times better than you are now!"
Meng Lei nodded silently. Thanks to the system, he was confident he could change his fate. But having the system wasn't enough—he needed to leave the mountains and truly understand this world.
Going to the magic academy seemed like an excellent choice. Not only would he meet people and see things he'd never encountered before, he could also learn useful magic knowledge, broaden his horizons, and study real magic!
But the prerequisite was… magic talent.
"Looks like you've already made your decision. That's good!" Seeing the look on Meng Lei's face, Hades felt relieved. "In one month, I'll take you to the royal city. But the magic test costs ten gold coins—you'll have to prepare that yourself!"
"Ten gold coins? That's robbery!"
…
The beast tide had left a noticeable impact on Demon Beast Village. Food was only one issue. The very next day, merchant caravans arrived after hearing the news!
They bought hides, scales, and pelts.
They traded salt and liquor.
The adults haggled fiercely with the merchants while the children swarmed around the wagons, laughing and playing. The usually quiet Demon Beast Village was suddenly bustling with long-lost liveliness!
Meng Lei sold a few pelts and traded them for some salt. He would have loved to buy a jug of wine, but liquor was far too expensive—those few pelts weren't nearly enough.
The good news was that the crowd brought plenty of excitement, and quite a few physique light orbs dropped. Meng Lei collected and fused them all, raising his physique stat by another 5 points—an unexpected bonus!
The caravan stayed for one day before leaving. After dinner, Meng Lei went to bed early. The next morning, he packed some smoked jerky and set off alone into the Demon Beast Forest.
This was a decision he had thought through carefully.
The strongest pick-up system was an incredible tool for leveling up, but staying home meant no light orbs would come to him. He had to take the initiative!
Besides, the magic test required ten gold coins, and right now Meng Lei was completely broke.
No money?
Then there was no point even thinking about the test!
No matter how you looked at it, he couldn't just sit and wait.
Of course, if he had a choice, Meng Lei wouldn't want to venture into the Demon Beast Forest alone. But he had no choice. After the beast tide, every household had plenty of meat, so the village guard team had no reason to go hunting for now.
He would have to go by himself.
As a villager living on the edge of the Demon Beast Forest, Meng Lei wasn't completely ignorant about it. He knew which areas were safe and which were off-limits.
"The Demon Beast Forest has tons of magical beasts, but the outer regions are mostly just ordinary wild animals!"
"As long as I stay in the outskirts, I shouldn't run into any real danger!"
Once he left the village, a vast forest appeared before him.
Thick layers of fallen leaves covered the ground. Countless ancient, twisted trees surrounded him, giving off a damp, rotting smell.
It was quiet—deathly quiet.
Yet every now and then came the distant roar of a wild beast, like a wail from hell, making his scalp tingle and warning him not to let his guard down.
"If I refuse to stay mediocre, I have to fight with everything I've got!"
"The road to becoming stronger starts right now!"
Meng Lei took a deep breath, his gaze turning resolute. Without looking back, he stepped into the Demon Beast Forest. The dense canopy blocked out most of the sunlight.
Through the few beams that made it through, he could see walnut-sized ants marching in long lines, spiky caterpillars slowly wriggling along branches, and arm-thick earthworms rolling under the dead leaves, revealing their scarlet bodies…
Everything before him felt incredibly novel.
What an unbelievable world!
"Crunch—"
Suddenly, a crisp sound came from under his foot. Meng Lei lifted his foot and saw that he had accidentally stepped on and burst a palm-sized… white maggot!
"Ding! Killed one White Line Maggot. Obtained 2 copper coins!"
"(⊙o⊙)… Even this gives me money?"