Chapter 381: 381

That was very rude, but nobody dared to complain even if they were angry . At best, they could only curse Roland in their hearts . After all, Roland had invited them last night, and they had slighted their manners by not showing up at all .

So, they could only accept the subsequent disrespect .

Since it was impossible to talk to Roland, they went to those related to Roland .

The families of Vivian, Jerry, and all the other magic apprentices in the Magic Tower were pestered in the following days by acquaintances . Some even wanted to send their children to those families .

Other than them, the other guests of the party were harassed similarly .

Were it a different time and place, those guests might have been willing to help them .

But this concerned the teaching of magic apprentices . Besides, Roland had publicly stated that he was petty and vengeful .

What if the man renounced the privileges of their families after he found something?

So, only an idiot would help them .

Or at least, nobody would help them in the first batch . By the time Roland’s anger was gone in the second or third batch, they might have a try .

While the privileged guests were unwilling to help, the refused guests grew angry, because there were only two days to go until the test .

The two parties were in conflict . At first, only some families were yelling at each other, but since many nobles were related, it soon escalated into a huge fight between the two parties .

Reading the report submitted by the Black Sand Gang, Roland smiled and said, “Well, just as I expected, they’re infighting . Not bad at all . ”

“That’s really an evil smile,” remarked Vincent in disdain .

Roland put the report in his drawer and chuckled . “I’m only doing the villain’s laugh . Those nobles always conspire to set up the Magic Tower . I’ve had enough of that . They think that we can’t play tricks? They can enjoy being pawns for a while . ”

“Those who don’t know you will really think that you’re vengeful . ” Vincent shook his head and said, “Divide and conquer does work, but it has to be backed by power . What’s next on your mind?”

Roland thought for a moment and said, “Try to recruit more civilians in your class . ”

“As loyal supporters of the Magic Tower?”

Roland nodded . “Yes . The descendants of the nobles are half-loyal to their families no matter how we raise them, but the civilians are different . If we give them a chance to change their lives, they will be mostly attached to the Magic Tower . ”

Vincent nodded . “Got it . ”

“On the other hand…” Roland pondered a moment and said, “Try to inculcate the ideas such as ‘familial background is nothing’ and ‘you can be anything you want to be’ into their heads . ”

Taking a deep breath, Vincent subconsciously sat straight . “You’re playing with fire!”

“I don’t think so . ” Roland shrugged in amusement .

“Are you not afraid that they will turn the new Magic Tower upside down after they grow up?”

Roland said matter-of-factly, “By the time they grow up, our new Magic Tower will have become a gargantuan organization . If they can still destroy it, so be it… Besides, if they’re capable of doing that, it won’t be hard for them to eliminate other forces, such as the churches . ”

Vincent smiled at him, deep in thought . “You’re up to something big . ”

“Not at all!” Roland tried to deny it . “I’m just one of those guys who want other people to be unlucky when we’re unlucky . ”

“Heh!”

Vincent scoffed, not convinced at all .

Two days passed .

The newly-established temple-styled pavilion hadn’t been dismantled yet, so the tests were held there .

Outside of the pavilion was a huge crowd of mixed civilians and nobles, who had completely surrounded the place .

Seven hundred children of appropriate ages were sent into the pavilion . The descendants of nobles, merchants, and civilians formed three different groups .

The children of merchants and civilians were much humbler than the cocky noble descendants .

The children of the civilians, in particular, were wearing clean but patched clothes, too shy to look at anybody else .

The square was even noisier than the busiest market .

Roland felt that his ears were ringing when he came out . Then, he cast the soundproof barrier that he learned from the drows to cover the whole pavilion .

The place immediately became quiet .

The soundproof shield was almost transparent . The people outside could see what was going on inside, but couldn’t hear anything .

Roland and Vincent, as two practical men, didn’t want to waste their time on any splendid speeches . They simply walked from the Magic Tower to the children .

They examined the children and, now and then, patted their shoulders, asking them to go to another side .

Every time they patted a child, his or her relatives would cheer loudly outside as if it were themselves who were picked .

Soon enough, Roland picked thirty apprentices . Half of them were the children of nobles and merchants, as could be seen from their attire, and the other half were skinny and emaciated civilian children .

Vincent picked forty apprentices and ten more civilian children than Roland did .

After the candidates were chosen, Roland canceled the magic barrier and spoke to the crowd with a broadcast spell, “We’ll have a test every year in the future . Only the descendants of those who are close to the Magic Tower will be qualified . As for the qualifications for civilians, the Black Sand Gang will be responsible for that . ”

Then, the magic apprentices came out to clear the grounds, creating an empty space on the right side of the Magic Tower .

Though confused, nobody wanted to argue with the people from the Magic Tower at this point . Besides, those apprentices had the right to kick them away from the Magic Tower’s territory .

After enough empty space was cleared, Roland walked over and snapped his fingers .

Under everybody’s eyes, the square turned into a swamp at first . The mud in the swamp then rose as pillars and beams as if in a dream .

After that, the walls were established too, enclosing a square, five-story building that had a huge coverage .

At this point, many people had realized what Roland was doing .

He was doing final renovations for this massive building .

Watched by tens of thousands of people, a huge teaching building almost as high as the pavilion was erected .

Though the teaching building was shabby, undecorated and crude, and some windows were even crooked, nobody felt that it was ugly .

Magnificence was the greatest beauty .

It was a simple law that applied in architecture too .

Besides, such an unbelievably huge building had been built after no more than five seconds .

The soon-to-be magic apprentices who were just chosen looked at Roland’s back in awe and admiration .