"Sir, can I be your apprentice?"
Edward–who was about to check Hernandes' situation–turned around and looked at Set. He gazed at him up and down.
"You? Forget it." He shook his head before turning around again.
"Please, give me a chance," added Set with gritted teeth. Edward focused on him again with a pondering look.
"I was a teacher at Hogwarts for three years. I laid the magical foundation for people like Hermione, Cedric, the Weasley Twins, Harry Potter, Ron, and even Malfoy. All of them turned into Tier 6 and 7 Arcanists.
"I have three official apprentices–all Tier 7 and less than 300 years old. The first two were geniuses even before walking the magical path. Now, they are exceptional archaeologists that travel the universe, the multiverse, and countless planes, discovering ancient relics, lost languages, and civilization.
"Their accomplishment in the field of Linguistics–both magical and non magical–is not something even I can compare with."
Edward remembered his two apprentices–Flynn Carsen and Emily Davenport–from the movie The Librarian. In the Mummy World, he saw the potential of these two and schemed before their birth for them to become his apprentice.
"My third apprentice has a unique talent for Dreams. Her current research has almost reached the point she can wield the Rule of Dream. As long as she has more time and increases her Willpower, she can become a Legendary Arcanist."
Edward remembered Chloe from The Last Witch Hunter. He has great hope for her to discover the Dream Plane. And once he returns, this is one of the main planes the Empire will focus on developing in the future.
Edward looked at Set in the eyes.
"Your talent is okay, but I don't care about magical talent. With only a few potions, I can turn you into an unparalleled genius.
"However, you do not have the desire for truth and knowledge; I can tell you became an Arcanist because you thought it was cool."
"Is something wrong with that?" asked Set, with blood eyes; he tried really hard to hide his embarrassment and shame.
"No. I also think magic is cool, and so do many people. The problem I have with you is I don't see any sense of curiosity from you, the desire to explore the unknown. Your desire and view on magic are too superficial."
Edward shook his head. However, he could see Set disagreed with his word.
"You don't agree?"
"I-I believe you have misjudged me," replied Set, who calmed down. He decided to use this interaction as a harsh interview for a job.
"You are Tier 6, but I can see you only reach this level by using the Lord God's power to strengthen your soul and mana. In other words, you don't have the knowledge a Tier 6 Arcanist should have."
Arcanists increase the power of their soul through knowledge. So, the higher their tiers, the more knowledgeable they are. However, it's different for Set.
He turned his eyes to look at Tobias.
"Based on his eyes, Tobias felt I was being too harsh on you," continued Edward. "Without reading his mind, I know why he made this judgment.
"You belong to the Lord God and have to participate in countless missions. So, you don't have as much time as regular Casters to study or do research. Isn't that right?"
Tobias did not answer as he felt he should not intrude on this conversation.
"He's right, though," replied Set.
"But he's not. If you wanted to, you could use your points or the power of the Lord God to instantly have the knowledge of your Tier. Or better yet, use it to have extra time for your research."
Set's body subconsciously trembled. Many Casters he knew used this method. Furthermore, most casters will take long-term missions to ensure they can do their research in these worlds.
"So, besides your luck, you don't meet any of my requirements," said Edward before suddenly remembering something.
"Are you talented in combat?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm asking if you excel at combat magic," reiterated Edward. "I have never seen you fight, so I don't know. However, if you have any talent for combat, I might reconsider.
"In my last voyage, I was the Wizard King in Black Clover and trained all the magic captains and talented magic knights into Tier 5 and Tier 6."
Set and the group were shocked; they wondered when it was so easy for people to reach Tier 6. Meanwhile, Set did not know how to answer.
"I'm guessing the answer is negative."
Edward frowned before taking out a black stone. "Last chance."
He handed it to him. Set caught it by instinct, and the stone lit up.
"A Willpower of 0.5," commented Edward before shaking his head. "Wait, you should constantly be on the verge of life and death during missions. How come it's not even 1?"
He waved his hand to send the stone to Michelle, and she scored a 1. Finally, Sasha also scored a 1, and Kingsley was 1.5. Edward immediately knew Set was the kind of person who relied too much on his natural luck.
As for Tobias? His score was 3.
"A Willpower of 3? I knew this kid was talented." Edward shook his head, thinking how this kid was wasting his naturally God-given talent.
"3 out of 5? Not bad, Tobias," said Michelle, who felt it might be necessary to get close to Tobias, given how much the Legendary Arcanist valued him.
"It's out of 10," corrected Edward as he placed the stone away.
"And that's a good score?"
"Yes. Even I started at 3, and now, I'm only at 8," explained Edward. "Even someone like Asta only has a Willpower of 5."
"I see."
"I'm sorry, but you don't meet my requirement for an apprentice."
Set sighed but did not say anything. This short conversation made him realize a lot of things about himself. So, he decided to change.
"Sir, can I ask a question? What do you intend to do with us?" asked Tobias.
"My purpose?" said Edward, but he did not immediately answer. Instead, he took a moment to process Hernandes' memory; he was extra careful to ensure nothing went wrong.
'Is their God Space called Samsara Hall?' he thought.
"Do you guys know the concept of Lord God, God Space, Reincarnation Hall?"
"Yes." They have read Terror Infinity, the first novel that introduced the concept. And after it became popular, many novels of the same genre appeared.
"Then, you should know these things can take shape into two forms: a powerful creature or a magic artifact."
The group nodded. After entering the Samsara Hall, they read more novels regarding Lord God or God Space. So, they knew such a thing.
"For many years, I have been searching for a weak Lord God to take their weapon from them."
"You want us to become your spy?" said Tobias.
"Yes," replied Edward. "I will give you a magical artifact with two purposes. One is to help me gather coordinates from other universes and to gather more information about the owner of your Samsara Hall.
"Then, once the time arrives, I will strike them."
Tobias took a deep breath.
"And if we refuse?"
"Nothing will happen," replied Edward. "After I study your power system, you'll be free to go. However, you should decide after hearing what I offer as a reward."
"And what would that be?"
Edward smiled to himself.
"Besides Michelle, I can tell none of you want to abandon your powers. Simultaneously, you also don't want to be controlled by the Samsara Hall.
"So, if you agree and succeed in my mission, I will give you an Omniversal Travel Ship. Meaning you can continue traveling to other universes, increasing your power. However, the Samsara Hall will no longer be able to control or force you to go on missions."
The heart of the group trembled; this was such a tempting offer. Even Michelle, who was prepared to become a regular person, felt it would be a better choice for her if she accepted this offer.
After all, she loved being a Jujutsu Sorcerer and had decent talent, given how she succeeded in creating an Incomplete Domain Expansion without using Samsara Points.
"So, what do you think?"
"I have a few more questions," said Tobias hurriedly to prevent anyone from accepting before making things clear.
"Please," replied Edward.