Chapter 6: The Invitation
“Eh? Three of the stone sculptures in the ordinary exhibition hall actually sold for 1,500 gold coins each?” A manager of the Prux Chamber, ‘Ostoni,’ looked at the records in surprise. Flipping through the information on the creator, Linley, he became even more astonished. “All three of these works are by this Linley? And he’s only fifteen years old?”
The world of stone sculpture was absolutely pyramid-shaped.
At the very top, there were only five or six master sculptors in the entire Holy Alliance, and only about a hundred or so skilled sculptors. This illustrated just how rare skilled sculptors were. Generally, to be called a ‘skilled sculptor,’ one had to have some insight into life and the technical skill to infuse that insight into their works. Only then would the carved pieces possess a special charm.
A fifteen-year-old skilled sculptor?
Rare to the extreme!
“This Linley is also from the Ernst Institute?” Ostoni grew even more surprised. The Ernst Institute was the number one magic academy on the entire Yulan Continent. “And he’s a fifth-year student? A fifteen-year-old fifth-year student?”
Ostoni drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
A genius!
“Even if these three stone sculptures are only worth a little over a thousand gold coins, the creator’s age and status alone are enough to multiply their value several times over,” Ostoni affirmed immediately.
A stone sculpture of this caliber, created by a fifteen-year-old genius, would generally be valued very highly.
If this fifteen-year-old genius was also a fifth-year student at the Ernst Institute, then he was a genius among geniuses. His stone sculptures would naturally rise in value as well.
“I’ll set out for the Ernst Institute this afternoon. It’s been a while since the Prux Chamber added a skilled sculptor.” Ostoni made his decision on the spot. The fact that Linley had sold three works in a row at such high prices had already proven his skill.
It was enough for the Prux Chamber to open a dedicated exhibition space for him in their ‘Skilled Sculptors Hall.’
That very afternoon.
A carriage arrived at the gates of the Ernst Institute. It was Ostoni, accompanied by two guards. At the institute’s entrance, Ostoni simply took out his identification documents representing the Prux Chamber from his bosom. The Ernst Institute even sent a guard to guide him.
The Fifth-Year Faculty Office of the Ernst Institute.
“Mr. Ostoni, this is the gathering place for some of the fifth-year magic instructors.” The guard smiled as he pushed open the office door. Inside, over a dozen mages were chatting and laughing with each other. To teach fifth-year students, one had to be at least a rank 7 mage, or even a rank 8 mage.
As the door opened, these highly respected mages turned to look.
“Honorable mages, this is Mr. Ostoni from the Prux Chamber. He has a matter he needs your help with,” the guard said respectfully.
The mages nodded calmly.
The Prux Chamber had branches in several super cities across the Yulan Continent and possessed formidable martial power. Therefore, even these proud mages maintained a decent attitude towards the Prux Chamber.
“Honorable mages.” Ostoni spoke with a smile. “I am here to look for a fifth-year student named Linley?”
“Linley?”
The mages all laughed. One of them, a middle-aged man in purple robes, chuckled, “Linley is one of the two great geniuses of our Ernst Institute. He is an earth and wind dual-element mage. You should ask the earth and wind magic instructors; they would know.”
“Don’t even mention earth element. This Linley, in the past three months, I’ve only seen him twice in my earth magic classes,” a red-bearded old man grumbled discontentedly. “But Linley attends almost every one of his wind magic classes.”
A silver-haired, white-robed elder beside him smiled and said, “I am Linley’s wind magic instructor. I am fairly familiar with Linley. If you have any questions, you can ask me.”
Ostoni nodded. “A month ago, Linley submitted three stone sculptures to our Prux Chamber. His sculptures already possess the aura of a master. Based on the pricing over this past month, our chamber has determined that Linley qualifies for a dedicated exhibition space in our Skilled Sculptors Hall. Therefore, I have come to deliver a silver magic crystal card to him.”
“A dedicated exhibition space?”
The mages were all shocked.
As noble mages, they had some understanding of the art of stone sculpture. They knew that carving a realistic-looking sculpture was already extremely difficult, let alone imbuing it with a unique charm and aura. To have a dedicated exhibition space in the Prux Chamber was a dream for many skilled sculptors.
“Are you sure it’s Linley? Linley is usually very diligent in his training, and he’s only fifteen years old,” Linley’s wind magic instructor, the silver-haired, white-robed elder, said incredulously.
Ostoni smiled and said, “There’s no doubt about it. Our Prux Chamber recorded the submission using Linley’s student ID. Furthermore, according to the records, Young Master Yale accompanied Linley to our chamber at the time.”
The mages all nodded.
Then, they began to discuss the matter excitedly. One of the two super geniuses of the Ernst Institute had actually become a skilled sculptor, worthy of a dedicated exhibition space at the Prux Chamber. This was a once-in-a-millennium event.
These mages were naturally very astonished.
“Honorable mages, could you tell me where Linley is right now?” Ostoni pressed further.
The silver-haired, white-robed elder smiled and said, “Linley lives in Dormitory 1987.”
“Dormitory 1987?” Ostoni listened and immediately prepared to head there.
The silver-haired, white-robed elder continued, “Please wait a moment. Although Linley lives in Dormitory 1987, he left the institute for a training expedition two or three weeks ago. So, unfortunately, you’ve made a wasted trip.”
“A training expedition?” Ostoni was taken aback.
Ostoni knew very well that advanced mage students in their fifth and sixth years were eligible to go out on training expeditions, and the Ernst Institute strongly encouraged this practice.
Ostoni sighed inwardly.
He hadn’t expected to rush all the way to the Ernst Institute only to get this result.
“Well then, honorable mages, I will take my leave.” Ostoni bowed respectfully. The mages casually nodded to indicate they had heard him and then ignored Ostoni. This group of mages excitedly continued their discussion.
“I never imagined that kid Linley was so impressive…”
These mages were all full of admiration for Linley, who, without any fanfare, had managed to secure a dedicated exhibition space in the highest hall of stone sculpture, the ‘Prux Chamber.’