Chapter 100 - 0100 Inner Circle
‘Arcane?
Upon hearing this, Su Lu jolted slightly, sensing the arrival of the contract’s power.
‘Lie Detection Skill? Word Spirit Contract?’
He thought for a moment, his expression not changing in the slightest: “I am willing to join the Inner Circle of the Green Tree Castle, abide by the principle of equivalent exchange, and safeguard our mutual interests.”
“Very well, I will nominate you!”
In fact, ordinary newcomers require the recommendation of two Inner Circle members. But if the recommendation comes from a member of the Green Tree Council holding a seat, a single recommendation letter is enough.
Sleydon Watt had a good impression of Su Lu.
At this moment, he felt a slight sense of regret.
The [Arcane] profession has its own uniqueness, and taking a part-time job could result in some serious conflicts with the laws. Otherwise, he wouldn’t mind taking on another apprentice.
“Thank you, my lord!”
However, Su Lu was oblivious to the fact that he had narrowly missed becoming an apprentice of this man. He bowed with joy, accepting a signed slip of paper.
“Welcome to the Inner Circle, inventor of the telegram. As long as you work diligently, the past doesn’t matter.” As Su Lu was about to leave, Sleydon Watt suddenly added, “Enjoy your graduation trip! ”
Su Lu froze for a moment, a cold sweat on his back. He quickly regained his usual emotionless expression and walked out of the building.
‘Have they already found out about my background so quickly?’
The final sentence from the Ninth Seat was definitely loaded with meaning.
Of course, it’s not hard to connect his graduation trip and his being a [Spirit Medium] Transcendent to some incidents that happened at Posey Port.
‘It might just be a conjecture, but to the Green Tree Castle, such things aren’t of much concern.’
After giving it some thought, Su Lu concluded that when he concealed his identity back then, he was merely a rogue Transcendent who had no direct conflicts with the Federation. He wasn’t any big fish.
The ‘value’ he displayed at the moment was enough to secure him a place in Green Tree Castle’s laboratory.
‘This is reality. Even if one is but a pawn, one should strive to be the most valuable one!’
‘Because tne more valuable you are, tne less likely you are to De discarded.’
Su Lu took a deep breath, looking out at the scenery.
From now on, his status was different.
Green Tree Castle Laboratory was massive, with research facilities spread all over Green Tree City.
But its real core was located in the suburbs.
A few days later.
William personally called for an internal carriage to take Su Lu to the southern suburbs, driving down a secluded and special road.
All around, trees shaded the road. Even though it wasn’t early morning, a slight white mist lingered.
“This road isn’t marked on the map, it’s the only path to the Inner Circle.”
Seeing Su Lu looking out of the window, William explained: “Checkpoints are set up along the route. The area is sealed off to the standard of a military facility, sufficient to ward off prying eyes.”
“What about…Transcendents?”
Su Lu picked up on a hint from Professor William that Su Lu was intended to keep asking, so he followed up.
“Transcendents rely on the ‘Enigma Lock’.”
Willam pointed to the increasingly dense fog around them: ‘”Enigma Lock’ is a large-scale array set up by the Inner Circle [Arcane]. It has comprehensive effects such as protection and detection, physical manifestation of spiritual bodies, invalidating spells, super magic attacks and so on. Oh, [Arcane] is an advanced form of [Apprentice], one of the Transcendent legacies within the Inner Circle. With your points, you can get related knowledge in the White Tower. ”
Su Lu didn’t speak, merely watching as the carriage disappeared into the white fog.
A slightly electrifying sensation swept over his whole body, telling him that he had entered the range of some array.
A few minutes later, the view in front of him suddenly cleared, bringing into view an ancient academy.
The academy was surrounded by high walls, on which green vines had grown. In the center stood a tall white tower.
On the stone buildings, traces of years gone by remained, giving off a profound sense of history.
“Let’s get off the carriage!”
William, along with Su Lu, passed through the main gate fixed with two rows of stone ghost statues, stepping into the Inner Circle.
“Upon the recommendation of Lord Sleydon Watt, you have officially become a member of the Inner Circle of the Green Tree Castle, your current level being
‘Two Leaves’.”
In the ceremony hall, an old man, dressed in a white robe, his hair almost gone and deep wrinkles on his face, handed Su Lu a robe.
On the robe was attached a badge in the form of two green leaves.
Both of these were considered marvelous items. Su Lu sensed them slightly and found that the robe was ordinary, with only a constant cleaning effect that can last for several years.
The Green Leaf Badge had a marking function and contained a visible amount of information, indicating the number 500.
‘The Outer Circle needs point tokens, but within the Inner Circle, points are directly digitized… The level of intelligence is quite high… No, it’s not technology, it’s utilizing the mysterious power of the laws!’
Su Lu understood right away.
Of course, tokens and data could be converted. For example, the fifteen tokens he had in his hand could be transformed into digital numbers in the badge,
He wore the robe and the Green Leaf Badge, feeling as if he were part of some ancient magician’s initiation ceremony.
“May arcane be with you!”
At the end, the old man in the white robe sprinkled water on him with a tree branch to express blessings.
Stepping out of the door, Su Lu saw William smiling and waiting: “How was it? Quite classic, right?”
“Yes.”
“In fact, this ceremony has been significantly simplified. Next, I’ll take you to familiarize yourself with the various areas of the Inner Circle and to finalize the induction process.”
Professor William explained, “The Inner Circle is strictly managed according to ranks. Your current rank is ‘Two Leaves,’ meaning you can only access the public areas and a few limited places…”
According to William, the ranks of the Green Tree Castle members are determined by the number of leaves on their Green Leaf Badge.
In terms, it starts with the lowest rank of One Leaf and goes up to the highestSeven Leaf Chairman. This ranking system is largely dependent on the accumulation of points.
For instance, an accumulation of a total hundred points is the minimum requirement to reach One Leaf, while three hundred points will elevate the rank to Two Leaves.
Next, to reach Three Leaves, nine hundred points are required. To be Four Leaves, one needs two thousand seven hundred points. These numbers increase in multiples of three, reportedly due to the belief of an original chairman that three is a universal law – ‘Everything Comes in Threes’!
Gathering so many points wasn’t possible through research alone but depended on one’s ‘contribution’ to the Inner Circle of the Green Tree Castle!
For example, if Su Lu were to transfer the patent for the telegram to the Inner Circle, the points he would obtain would definitely multiply several or even dozens of times.
“The entire Inner Circle is covered under the Enigma Lock, ensuring high security… And the White Tower is at the core of the Inner Circle.”
William brought Su Lu to the foot of the towering White Tower.
This towering building was entirely white. Getting closer, Su Lu could even sense the extremely strong mysterious aura emanating from it.
“The ground floor here serves as a public library. To go up, you need to verify your identity. With your Two Leaves rank, you can access up to the third floor… The White Tower contains many Transcendent profession legacies, such as that of the [Arcane]!”
William seemed a little regretful, “But… there are too few who have been self-taught.. I believe you need a mentor!”