A Hospital in Another World?

Garrett halted, coming to his senses.

Looking at the one speaking.

...But there was no one there.

He lowered his gaze again. 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees... On the floor ahead, that mischievous kid from a few days ago was there, his face flushed with anger, bouncing around, stretching his arm and waving in front of Garrett's eyes:

"Over here! Who are you looking at?!"

That rascal again. Garrett felt a bit of a headache, mumbled a vague response, and continued walking up. The kid tagged along, constantly yelling:

"Why are you going up there? Hey, why are you going up there! That's where official mages stay! You're not even an apprentice!"

Second floor and above of the mage tower, in the past, Garrett wouldn't have had the qualification to go up there.

The mage tower had a hall and a library on the first floor. Mage apprentices—like the mischievous kid, who was only ten but had already stepped into the world of magic—stayed on the second floor, while the official mages resided on the third.

The fourth floor was for alchemy and experimenting with spells, the fifth floor was the residence of Mage Gelman, the overseer of the mage tower, and the hub of the mage tower was also located there.

From the second floor and above, no matter how wealthy or influential someone might be, entry was strictly by invitation only.

Garrett wasn't qualified to go up. But now, just now, he successfully cast his first spell! He was now a mage apprentice! Going up to the second floor was only natural!

Climbing to the third floor, finding a familiar mage to ask a question, that shouldn't be a big problem, ha ha ha...

The young boy chased after him, ranting and raving all the way, causing the stairs to resonate. Garrett wished he could make the noise physically disappear. Just as he paused, a loud voice came from the third floor:

"Absolutely not!"

"What's not possible?!" Another familiar voice retorted even louder. "I'm on the verge of success! Why should my research be halted just for you to buy alchemical materials!"

It's Mage Elliott, arguing with someone? Garrett immediately perked up his ears. A slap landed on a table:

"And what about you? Improving spells without materials? Without scrolls? I've at least made something, what about you? How many scrolls have you copied these days?—When the Magic Council comes for evaluation, let's see how you explain yourself!"

"I'll be fine!"

"Oh, no problems now? Just relying on that little kid's copied book? Don't joke, the words are still the same as the original, just rearranged, do you think the Magic Council will appreciate such minimal results?"

Huh... are they talking about my spellbook?

Garrett paused, cautiously stepping back a couple of paces to avoid an awkward encounter with the mages. Unexpectedly, the stairwell door burst open, and the golden-haired boy who had been blasted out of the window a few days ago stormed out, immediately furious upon seeing them:

"Why are you coming up here? Is this where you belong?!"

"He insisted on coming up!" Without waiting for Garrett's reply, the boy jumped in, his voice shrill. "Mr. Karen, this guy isn't even a mage apprentice, he's not qualified to be here at all!"

"You?"

Mage Karen's furious gaze immediately turned towards Garrett. He pointed a finger at Garrett, a glow shimmering at his fingertip, clearly intending to vent his anger on Garrett. As for whether this magic was ice, fire, wind, or earth, Garrett, with his limited experience, couldn't tell at a glance.

Uh-oh!

The staircase was narrow, nowhere to hide!

Garrett didn't want to become the focus of their frustration. Before the spell could be cast, he shouted from deep within his core:

"Mr. Elliott! I've learned my first spell, I have a question for you!"

Learned a spell?

The glow on Mage Karen's fingertip flickered and then extinguished. Learning a spell meant being a mage apprentice; occasionally going to the third floor of the mage tower was not out of the question. Moreover, he was looking for Elliott—

He snorted and was about to go upstairs, minding his own business to continue his alchemical experiments. However, as soon as he took a step, he heard the young boy yelling:

"You learned magic? Impossible! Just a few days ago, you couldn't even read!"

Huh?

Mage Karen stopped in his tracks. In the room, Mage Elliott had already raised his voice:

"Garrett, come in!"

Couldn't read a few days ago, and now he's learned magic? Mage Karen's curiosity was piqued, and he followed along. Elliott was tidying scattered papers, still somewhat angry. Seeing Garrett, his expression softened a bit, a hint of joy in his eyes:

"You've cast a spell successfully? What was the first one you learned? Any questions you have for me?"

"He's definitely lying!" The young boy tattled to Mage Karen beside him. "He came up here, got caught by you, and claimed to be a mage apprentice! Lies! I saw it with my own eyes; just a few days ago, he didn't even know all the magic words!"

Is that so?

The golden-haired boy looked to Elliott in inquiry.

Elliott felt somewhat awkward. The boy was the grandson of Mage Gelman, the mentor of the Great Mage himself representing the Magic Council in inspecting nearby mage towers. Despite being official mages themselves, they couldn't easily reprimand this child given his status.

Elliott pretended not to have heard and coughed lightly, turning to Garrett:

"What magic did you learn? Cast it again, let me see!"

"It's... magic detection," Garrett replied. As soon as he spoke, the young boy "hmphed" disdainfully, mocking even louder:

"Magic detection? Whether this spell succeeds or not, it's up to you?—You're not just trying to deceive us with that, are you!"

"George!" Mage Karen rebuked him softly. Then, turning to Garrett, he ordered:

"Alright, cast it here, see how many magical items are in the hall. If you can correctly identify three or even point out the strongest one, it'll count as a successful casting."

Garrett nodded slightly in agreement. He took two steps back, his back against the wall, trying to widen his field of vision as much as possible, focusing to cast the spell.

The hall was no more than 30 square meters, with six wooden chairs surrounding a rectangular table, occupying most of the space. There were chandeliers overhead, tapestries on the walls, and a fireplace at the end of the hall. At first glance, it looked much like the setup in the library downstairs.

Garrett softly recited the incantation. With his voice, faint magical auras lit up during his meditation—dazzling white, pale yellow, light azure, and more. As he shifted his gaze, amazing! That mischievous kid, his robe, the headband, and the necklace—all three items shimmered with more brilliance than the furnishings in the room!

The third-gen mage

 was really something... Garrett silently swallowed his resentment towards the kid, moving his gaze, one by one, mentioning those magical items:

"Chandelier, the tapestry on the left, the fireplace..."

Although the magical auras were dim and the enchantment levels were low, probably similar to the bookshelf downstairs, but three items!

With each item he listed, the boy's eyes and mouth widened, forming three perfect O shapes:

"It can't be... you actually..."

"How's that? Someone learning faster than you?" The golden-haired youth teased, leaning down, deliberately asking near the young boy's ear. After a moment of confusion, the boy shouted:

"I don't believe it!"

He turned and ran out of the hall, slamming the staircase door shut. With a bang, even the vase on the table trembled.

Vase?

The vase!

Garrett's heart skipped a beat. He hurried forward, pulled out the flowers from the vase, and turned it upside down. Rolling out from the vase was a gemstone that shone brightly in the magic detection's sight.

Garrett reached out and captured that light.

What he saw was still a hazy vision.

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