The three individuals consisted of a middle-aged wizard accompanied by two young men.
The middle-aged wizard had a pronounced hooked nose and was fully wrapped in a black cloak, exuding an air of mystery from head to toe.
This was the wizard responsible for their assessment this time—Horn Kam.
On the surface, Horn appeared to be only in his forties, but reportedly, his real age had already exceeded two hundred years.
Wizards were like this; their lifespans far exceeded those of ordinary people, so judging their true age based on appearance was often unreliable. Some wizards who looked quite youthful were, in fact, older than one's grandmother.
In the center of the square, a stone table and a matching stone chair had already been set up. Horn approached the table and sat down.
"Let's begin."
He spoke coldly, his gaze fixed ahead, icy and sharp, maintaining an air of detached indifference.
This demeanor made the apprentices somewhat nervous, but they quickly lined up in an orderly manner. The first apprentice to undergo the assessment soon stood before Horn.
He was a golden-haired youth, his cloak meticulously arranged, carrying an air of indescribable elegance in his demeanor.
He gracefully performed a noble's bow to Horn and then introduced himself, "It's a pleasure to meet you, esteemed Wizard Horn. I am Jon of the Manchester family..."
However, before he could finish his sentence, Horn impatiently interrupted, "Don't waste time."
The golden-haired youth's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly stopped talking and retrieved an item from his sleeve.
It was a metallic sphere, about the size of an egg, gleaming with a brass sheen. Its smooth surface was inscribed with a circle of runes.
The youth placed the metal sphere on the table and then removed a short magic wand from his waist. He gave the metallic sphere a light tap with the wand.
"Click, click, click."
The metallic sphere seemed to spring to life, emitting the clicking sounds of gears turning. The runes around its surface suddenly lit up, and the sphere began to transform.
Eight small holes appeared on its sides, from which thin, articulated legs extended. The front portion of the sphere split in two, with the front segment morphing into a miniature orb that formed a torso and head, while the rear portion stretched outward to form a sizable abdomen.
Soon, a palm-sized metallic spider was standing on the wooden table.
"An Alchemy Tool! It's an Alchemy Tool!"
"No way, can he already craft his own alchemy tools?"
"That's incredible..."
The crowd immediately erupted in murmurs of amazement, with Lynch also casting a glance in that direction. However, compared to the others' astonishment, his gaze held more envy.
This was because he recognized that the material used to create this alchemy object was a substance known as Magic Pattern Copper. This material was notably expensive, and crafting even such a small alchemy tool would require at least two to three hundred Magic Stones.
For context, the total cost Lynch had invested in modifying his Fire Dragon Lizard was only eighty Magic Stones, which was virtually all the savings he had accumulated over two years of being here.
"Truly, the luxury of nobles..."
This Jon was one of the rare nobles among their group of apprentices. Like Lynch and the others, he also hailed from the Putan Kingdom, but due to the disparity in their statuses, there was virtually no interaction between them.
In the Wizard World, there was no inherent distinction between nobles and commoners, but the mindset ingrained from birth often took a long time to shift and adapt.
Jon clearly relished the awe of those around him, his face displaying a touch of pride. Waving his magic wand again, the spider on the table began to move swiftly under his command.
"That's enough."
Horn Wizard's voice rang out, still as cold as ever, his expression remaining impassive.
He then took out a notebook and quickly jotted something down with a quill, succinctly announcing the results of the assessment:
"Score: 76, passed the assessment."
Alchemy was a discipline heavily reliant on materials, and the quality of the materials significantly influenced the strength of the alchemy object. Although Jon's alchemy tool seemed intricate, its main advantage lay in the material.
Judging purely based on his demonstrated knowledge, Jon's foundational alchemy skills were likely just barely breaking through Level 1, so the resulting score was unsurprising.
"Tsk... thank you, Wizard..."
Jon was clearly dissatisfied with the score, pouting slightly as he expressed his gratitude before stepping aside.
The assessment continued.
"53 points, failed."
"68 points, passed."
"36 points, failed."
For the apprentices who had just entered the Wizard World, two years was obviously too short a time. Most of their scores hovered between 30 and 50 points, and those who managed to pass generally scored in the low 60s or 70s.
Only one apprentice scored above 80 points.
This was a green-haired male apprentice who, like Lynch, specialized in biological transformation. However, unlike Lynch, who focused on modifying other creatures, this apprentice applied the transformations to himself.
He made an incision on the back of his right hand and had implanted a petrified eyeball there.
Although the petrified eyeball was a parasitic organism, making implantation relatively simple, its level corresponded to the Elementary Apprentice Rank. Successfully implanting it required at least close to Level 2 foundational transformation skills.
"Not bad. To fully integrate the petrified eyeball into your body, your foundational transformation skills must be nearing the Second Tier, right?" Even the stoic Horn Wizard nodded slightly and proactively inquired.
The apprentice confidently replied, "Just a bit more. I should break through by the end of the month."
"Tsk, Second Tier! Breaking through by the end of the month?"
"No way... how did he manage that? Did he experience some kind of miracle? I haven't even reached the First Order yet..."
The crowd erupted into chatter upon hearing Horn Wizard's evaluation.
Two years ago, upon arriving at the Tower, the wizards had taught every apprentice a basic witchcraft discipline. This assessment primarily tested their proficiency in that discipline.
At this stage, most apprentices hadn't even reached the First Order, so someone nearing the Second Tier naturally caused a stir.
"Next."
After a few more apprentices, it was finally Lynch's turn.
Benefiting from the earlier examples, Lynch wasted no words and directly placed a cage on the wooden table, removing the black cloth covering it.
By this time, the assessment was nearing its end, and the prolonged process had made Horn Wizard visibly impatient as he kept glancing at his pocket watch.
When Lynch unveiled the black cloth, Horn Wizard merely cast an uninterested glance at the cage and casually began writing in his notebook.
"Extraordinary Cultivation... hmm?"
However, just two strokes into his notes, Horn Wizard's movements abruptly halted.
As if something had come to mind, he emitted a soft sound of surprise and raised his head, casting a more serious gaze upon the creature inside the cage.
"Open the cage," he commanded.
The previously disengaged apprentices immediately noticed Horn Wizard's shift in demeanor, and they stretched their necks to get a better view.
"What's in that cage?"
"Is it some kind of unusual creature? Why else would even Wizard Horn..."
Curiosity gripped everyone.
Under the crowd's eager gaze, the small creature inside the cage hesitated before slowly crawling out under Lynch's coaxing. The unfamiliar environment clearly frightened it; it tucked its head low and kept close to the ground, its scales pressed tightly against its body.
It scanned its surroundings nervously before its eyes finally settled on Lynch nearby.
"Chirp!"
Like a youngling desperate for its mother's shelter and protection, it let out a loud, clear call. Then, standing upright, it leaped off the table using its strong hind legs and unfurled its broad, fleshy wings as it soared toward Lynch.
In that instant, its full appearance was laid bare before everyone's eyes.
Its large, silken wings shimmered faintly under the sunlight, its crimson scales gleaming like flames. Its long, flexible tail ended in a sharp tip, resembling a finely honed blade.
In the next moment, an ancient word escaped from the apprentices' mouths:
"Dragon!"