The next day, Ivan, having learned his lesson, first contacted his mentor to see if he was available. In the afternoon, he came to the mentor’s three-story round tower and barely knocked when the door automatically opened.
As he entered the hall, he curiously gazed at a corner inside, unsure of what Sorcerer Randall was bending over to search for.
“Good day, mentor.”
“Ivan, you’re here. How are the little fellows doing?” Sorcerer Randall reached about for a while before he stood up, turned to face him, and said in surprise, “Looking at the fluctuation of your spiritual power, you’re about to become a 3rd Class apprentice, right?”
Ivan nodded slightly and muttered, “The little fellows are all quite well; I myself am not so great.”
Sorcerer Randall walked over in a few steps and sat in the main seat, casually pushing his fried white grub toward him: “No rush, take your time.”
No wonder Gina was so casual around here, it turned out the mentor himself was too laid-back, hardly maintaining any semblance of a sorcerer’s demeanor.
Ivan internally remarked, then asked, “Mentor, I heard that advancing to a 3rd Class apprentice requires a certain important potion?”
Sorcerer Randall grabbed a handful of fried white grubs from another large glass jar and stuffed them into his mouth, speaking while eating, “The Bubbling Potion, it is a supplementary potion commonly used by our academy to break the spiritual barriers of 3rd Class apprentices, and has been verified countless times with barely any failures.”
Seeing this, Ivan couldn’t help but join him, and the taste was surprisingly good. Continue your adventure at empire
“How is it?”
“Crispy and tasty.”
“I told you it was delicious. Mieyan actually looked so disgusted.” Sorcerer Randall glanced at him appreciatively, scolded another one of his disciples for a moment, and then talked back about the potion, “One serving of the Bubbling Potion needs 100 credits plus 200 magic stones.”
“That expensive?”
Hearing his words, Ivan suddenly found the snacks in his hand less appetizing.
Sorcerer Randall with a helpless expression replied, “That’s the price. It’s the academy’s rule, nobody can change it.”
“Mentor, how do I earn credits?”
“How are your rune and enchantment studies? You don’t even come to ask me, your mentor.”
“I didn’t want to disturb you. Actually, I have accumulated quite a few questions.”
Before Sorcerer Randall, Ivan smiled sheepishly. Had he known earlier that his mentor was so approachable, he wouldn’t have hesitated to come and ask; it was just that he was used to Toyennes’s style and hadn’t adjusted yet.
Without waiting for the mentor to say anything, he asked a dozen questions about runes and enchantments in succession.
Sorcerer Randall answered each one, and Ivan only regretted not having come earlier, impressed by his mentor’s profound knowledge.
In the end, Sorcerer Randall nodded slightly, “Not bad, but not enough. The completion grade of the rune line needs to reach 80% to be able to form a runes bundle, which is a basic condition for creating low-level magicalized items.”
Ivan felt a bit ashamed; his highest grade was only about 63%, far from meeting the requirement for a runes bundle.
Sorcerer Randall continued, “There are two usual ways for the Enchantment Group to earn credits: one is to buy materials and make a one-time rune or a low-level magicalized item. If it’s a one-time rune, it will be picked over by some people, and this method can only earn 50 credits per year. That’s also the academy’s rule.”
Fifty credits a year were clearly not enough for him.
Ivan hastily asked, “What’s the second method?”
Sorcerer Randall replied, “Complete enchantment tasks for the Enchantment Group. The location is inside the workshop; the academy provides the raw materials, and the task payment is in credits. The amount of credits depends on the number of tasks, but usually, 3rd Class apprentices are chosen for enchantment tasks.”
“What else?”
“Completing special tasks or making a significant contribution to the academy, these tasks usually carry greater risks.”
After hearing the three ways to earn credits, Ivan furrowed his brows, none of which fully met his needs. As he came back to his senses, he realized that his mentor had a somewhat strange expression. Could there be another way?
“Mentor, please tell me everything at once.”
Sorcerer Randall spoke in a peculiar tone, “You’re in luck, just now an opportunity has arisen. The workshop listed an enchantment task two days ago that specified it should be completed by this batch of new apprentices. The basic requirement is to be able to create a disposable rune.”
“This—won’t there be any problem?”
Ivan was puzzled; such a bizarre requirement, it couldn’t be a trick, could it?
Randall pointed his finger and tapped gently, a soft spiritual power knocked on his head, “What are you thinking? How could the academy deliberately trap a 2nd Class apprentice like you? Since the workshop’s requirement is such, and you can create a disposable rune, you completely meet the task’s requirement. Go there directly tomorrow.”
Ivan nodded, “Understood, mentor.”
Randall said, “The conditions for advancing to a 3rd Class apprentice are threefold: spiritual power reaches 6 graduated degrees, learn two Level 0 magic, and the Bubbling Potion.”
“Just missing the Bubbling Potion.”
“Do you need to purchase magic? The spells I’ve researched on my own and acquired externally do not need your credits; I’ll charge you 20 magic stones each.”
“Of course, I need to buy them. Mentor, you are too generous.”
Ivan had inquired before that besides needing to pay with magic stones, purchasing spells at the academy also required deducting two to three credits, so he had not bought other spells.
Subsequently, Randall transferred five spells to him through the Crystal Ball: Insect Breath-concealing Skill, Archery Skill, Draw-in Skill, Shaping Skill, and Spirit Infusion Skill.
Without exception, all five spells were not orthodox elements magic.
“Any other questions?”
“About the Hunting Team—“
“No sorcerer will trouble you, and as for apprentices, you are strong enough not to fear them. If a problem arises, I will personally avenge you.”
“Alright then.”
The mentor had spoken; what more could Ivan do? This was his issue after all.
Before leaving, he curiously asked a question, “Mentor, what were you looking for in the corner earlier?”
Randall said subconsciously, “Just a stupid bug that hides there.”
The moment he finished speaking, two stones flew out from the corner, one aimed at Randall and the other at Ivan. Randall deftly dodged, and just as Ivan noticed, he was hit in the head by the stone.
This was the second time his head had been struck today, slightly painful.
Ivan scratched his head and glanced at Randall, who looked somewhat embarrassed. It was wise to leave early, and discerningly, he proposed to take his leave.
A new day.
Following Randall’s instructions, Ivan came to the internal workshop of the Enchantment Group, an experimental zone. From the outside, the enchantment workshop looked like a large storage warehouse with hardly any windows visible.
The entrance to the workshop resembled a reception area. He glanced at the particle membrane of light that listed the tasks, and indeed there was an enchantment task designated to be completed by this batch of new apprentices, with information listed simply and clearly.
Ivan stepped forward, “Hello, I am a student of Sorcerer Randall from the Enchantment Group, a newcomer from this batch of apprentices, here to collect the task.”
After he finished speaking, all the staff at the reception looked up at him, their eyes filled with a mysterious surprise, as if they were looking at something rare.
Being stared at by the three apprentices inside, Ivan couldn’t help feeling puzzled. Could there really be a problem with the task? But it made no sense for Randall to deceive him, especially since the particle membrane of light stated everything clearly, and he perfectly met the task requirements.