Who was that person?
On an extremely pale face that seemed ravaged by a severe illness, a pair of gray-green eyes shone with startling brightness.
In that instant, countless guesses flashed through Meieruita’s mind.
Meieruita had never paid attention to that wizard apprentice with a head of brilliant golden hair before.
But he was not entirely ignorant of him.
John—a name so ordinary and simple.
He did not seem like a wizard apprentice at all; instead, he resembled a dog that had mistakenly wandered into the Wizard Tower.
Amid many mocking and disdainful remarks, Meieruita learned that John had used the Contribution Points he earned from his first task to exchange for a bottle of Healing Potion, which he sent back home to his seriously ill younger sister.
When other wizard apprentices mentioned this, their gazes and tones were filled with contempt.
After entering the Wizard Tower and coming into contact with the wondrous witchcraft, they no longer considered themselves the same as ordinary humans.
Even the noble wizard apprentices who maintained contact with their families and regularly demanded money from them looked down on their former families from the bottom of their hearts.
Ordinary people were, after all, just ordinary—pitiful ants.
Thus, a wizard apprentice like John, who foolishly sacrificed his own interests to give to these ants, was utterly laughable.
Meieruita had not participated in any discussions, but through rational judgment, he knew that in the cruel environment of the Wizard Tower, John would not survive for long.
Here, the fate of good people was only death.
As the deadline for paying the wizard apprentice identity monthly rent approached, John still had not gathered enough for this month’s fee.
Even though he had helped other wizard apprentices before, no one was willing to step forward and lend him enough Contribution Points to cover the rent.
Despite him only being short a little.
Meieruita had seen the extremely anxious John in the cafeteria when he went to exchange for food.
He was asking his “friends” for a loan.
“I guarantee I’ll pay you back next month,” the foolish dog’s eyes were full of hope.
“It’s really not possible,” his friends refused him one after another.
He was left alone, sitting there in a daze on the wooden bench in the cafeteria.
“Sigh, I suppose so. If I borrowed it and couldn’t pay it back next month, what then?”
Even in this situation, he still did not blame his friends.
With the deadline approaching, it was already too late to take on a task.
Meieruita walked calmly past John without sparing him a single glance.
So foolish, so weak.
Every month, wizard apprentices who could not pay the identity rent became experimental subjects for wizards—Meieruita had nearly been one of them.
John was just another one of those wizard apprentices about to become experimental subjects.
Meieruita had never paid much attention to him before, let alone felt any sympathy.
But now, he urgently wanted to know one thing:
Who exactly was this John?
Why had An Luo chosen to help him of his own accord?
Was he some important character?
Slender fingers covered by gloves handed a small pouch of gold coins to John.
And John, like a dog receiving a bone from its master, seemed eager to wag his tail at An Luo.
The foolish dog gripped An Luo’s wrist tightly; An Luo tugged several times before pulling free.
Although An Luo quickly left in a hurry without saying anything else to John.
This action itself was a gale wind, stirring up massive waves in Meieruita’s heart.
A vortex of doubt swirled, faintly revealing the darkness hidden at its bottom.
Meieruita pondered one question.
Was he really the protagonist?
Had An Luo deceived him?
Having escaped disaster and regained hope for survival, the excited John joined the queue to pay.
Meieruita dragged his “frail” steps, stumbling to stand behind him.
His gray-green eyes coldly sized up the other.
To learn writing, Meieruita had read many plots from Knight Novels.
The righteous knight overcame countless obstacles, defeated innumerable enemies, befriended many powerful allies along the way, and in the end not only reclaimed his status, wealth, and position but also ended up with his beloved.
Living in reality, Meieruita had no interest in such absurd fairy tales.
But… if modeled after a Knight Novel protagonist, wasn’t John more fitting for the role of “protagonist” than him?
His kind foolishness was “righteousness,” his act of exchanging for a Healing Potion and sending it home was “loyalty.”
Not resenting the so-called friends who took advantage of him but refused to help at a life-or-death moment was “nobility.”
Even his appearance was so radiant—a head of dazzling golden hair, like bright sunlight.
John was an outlier in the Wizard Tower, seemingly out of place, but wasn’t the protagonist always the special one?
Am I really the protagonist?
Meieruita asked himself.
Rational analysis told him that not only did he not resemble a protagonist; he seemed more like the heinous villain.
“John.” Meieruita’s voice was calm. “I saw just now. Is he your friend?”
“Ah?” John turned to look at Meieruita. Seeing Meieruita’s precarious state, concern appeared on his face, and he reached out to support him.
Meieruita dodged.
John was a bit puzzled but did not insist.
“No, although he’s very kind, I don’t know him.”
When the green eyes looked over, they showed genuine sympathy.
John seemed to have misunderstood Meieruita’s meaning. He took out the pouch of gold coins An Luo had given him. “My Contribution Points plus ten gold coins are enough for the rent. The rest I can lend to you.”
Meieruita looked at him.
What a noble knight.
John’s eyes were green— that vibrant, beautiful forest green.
Meieruita’s eyes, however, were gray-green, dull and murky.
The hand under the Wizard Robe clenched into a fist.
Seeing Meieruita not reaching out, John proactively extended it further. “It’s fine. I can take a task later. Your injuries are so severe; you should take it.”
Meieruita heard his own voice, calm and emotionless. “I might not be able to repay it.”
John immediately showed a troubled expression, frowning.
After a moment, as if resolved, he said, “Then consider it a gift from me.”
Meieruita still did not take it. “How will you explain it to that person?”
“No need to worry.” John said, “I’ll repay him.”
He showed a silly smile. “He’s such a good person; he probably won’t make things hard for me. I heard he’s some noble young master. I can run errands for him, do some work—save up bit by bit to pay him back.”
Meieruita recalled the scene he had just witnessed.
When interacting with John, An Luo appeared completely at ease, without the tension he had with Meieruita.
Even when his hand was abruptly grabbed and shaken vigorously, there was no disgust or fright—just faint helplessness.
Good, truly good.
The Creator was finally meeting his true protagonist.
“No.”
Meieruita said coldly.
While they spoke, the line had shortened rapidly. John wanted to say more, but it was his turn.
John hesitated a moment but chose to pay the identity rent with his own Contribution Points plus ten gold coins.
After paying, however, he did not leave. Instead, he stood to the side, as if waiting for something.
It was Meieruita’s turn.
Meieruita placed his Wizard Apprentice Credential on the table. “Pay with Contribution Points.”
Alden, in charge of collection, deftly touched his own credential to Meieruita’s, then called, “Next.”
Meieruita pocketed his credential and turned to leave without a backward glance.
The bewildered John stood to the side.
But since the other didn’t need Contribution Points, that was a good thing.
He turned and hurried to the Task Reception Area.
Monthly identity rent payments coincided with task refreshes.
If quick enough, one could still snag a few low-risk good tasks.
Meieruita did not stop, returning to the Wizard Apprentice Dormitory.
In the long, silent corridor, only his footsteps echoed.
Passing An Luo’s dormitory, Meieruita’s steps paused, then he pushed open the wooden door to his own room.
Though he desperately wanted to confront An Luo and demand if everything he had been told was a lie, calm reason suppressed his emotional impulse.
Meieruita needed to quickly finish his half-done witchcraft research, then take tasks to earn Contribution Points.
Time was tight.
He could not afford to waste it.
An Luo’s life was relatively peaceful.
After mailing the letter written by the original owner, he received another substantial sum of money—enough to sustain him for a long time.
He closed his eyes, sat cross-legged on the bed like Meieruita, and tried to sense the free-floating energy in the air.
As expected, another fruitless day.
An Luo sighed in frustration, regretting once more why he had written such nonsense.
Wouldn’t it be nice if chanting a spell could activate magic?
Whatever, what’s done was done. Time to eat first.
He took the processed magic plants and magic beast meat from the food cabinet.
Life in the Wizard Tower was too boring, with nothing to pass the time except reading that Knight Novel Meieruita had not asked back for—An Luo had no other entertainment.
So he spent a lot of time researching how to cook these magic plants and magic beast meat to make them tastier…
In Meieruita’s view, this was surely a pointless waste of time.
But it was An Luo’s only pleasure in his boring life.
Not long ago, An Luo had exchanged gold coins for a stone slab—originally an experimental cutting board, but perfect for grilling meat.
The fatty, marbled magic beast meat sizzled on the slab, filling the air with the aroma of roasting meat.
Suddenly, someone knocked on his door.
Besides Meieruita, who would knock on An Luo’s door?
An Luo cautiously peered through the small hole in the door and saw it was the good-hearted cannon fodder from before.
“What do you want?”
He spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Uh… I, I’m John.” The dog-like eyes looked awkward. “Thank you for saving me earlier.”
“Mm.” An Luo replied curtly. “Anything else?”
John realized the benefactor inside might not want to see anyone. Recalling what he had heard, he said vaguely, “I… I brought you a bottle of Healing Potion.”
“I’ll definitely repay the money.” An Luo heard the voice from outside. “You can tell me to do anything if needed.”
“I know.”
After he left, An Luo opened the door. A bottle of Healing Potion sat outside.
How great—this was a true good person!
Knowing gratitude and repaying it.
Thinking of the fate he had arranged for him before, An Luo muttered to himself, “If only I’d known earlier… Sigh…”
Meanwhile, Meieruita’s expression was blank. Due to a pause, a drop of ink fell from his pen tip onto his Notebook, spreading into a blot.
If only he’d known earlier…
Known what?
