"Kid, your decision!" The hoarse voice of the Raven Soros perched on the table interrupted Yellen's continued browsing. He reluctantly handed the small booklet back, pondered for a moment, then clenched his teeth and declared, "I choose Mentor Lucien!"
"Very well, this is your token." The Formal Wizard Gray who presided over the entire selection process glanced at Yellen and smiled almost imperceptibly.
After all, with someone voluntarily choosing Lucien, he didn't need to do anything to easily pocket those twenty Magic Stones.
The selection continued.
Third-level... second-level... and the weakest first-level qualifications.
"Ah... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I... I don't have any Magic Stones." At the very end of the queue, a girl in somewhat rough clothing—who appeared quite delicate—took her turn. She seemed a little timid, and after laying eyes on the slightly terrifying Raven Soros, she let out a squeak and her voice became somewhat flustered.
Soros wasn't too fond of this "disrespectful" newbie either, so when he drew a mentor for the girl, he deliberately picked a token with subtle markings on it.
"Carly, Mentor Lucien." Soros flapped his wings twice before loudly announcing the final result.
Gray simply glanced at his Magic Pet, holding his peace.
"Alright, follow the academy's servants and seek out your mentors." With a wave of his hand, Gray ended the mentor selection ceremony.
The two new bloods who also chose Lucien as their mentor naturally congregated together.
However, compared to Carly who was still somewhat befuddled, Yellen was a bit excited at this time.
After all, during the fifteen minutes he had just quickly skimmed through the mentor information, Lucien was undoubtedly the one who offered the most favorable conditions with the lowest cost.
He didn't require the students to assist with experiments, nor did he require them to hand over Magic Stones every month; he didn't even list chores like cleaning the laboratory. Aside from having a lesser strength, being only a third-level Wizard Apprentice, every other piece of information satisfied Yellen immensely.
Whereas Carly felt a subconscious reverence for this mentor she had never met.
Or perhaps, she hadn't yet fully adapted to her new identity.
After all, not long ago, she was the most unremarkable of servants tasked with taking care of the gardens within the Earl of Blackstone's family. She joined the awakening ceremony as one of many young servants just to make up the numbers, yet unexpectedly, it was discovered she had the qualifications to become a Wizard. In that moment, she went from a nondescript Cinderella to a princess hoisted high.
But, bewildered as she was and following the team recruiting Wizard prospects onto the airship for secondary testing, she was informed that her abilities were of the poorest first-level qualifications. Instantly, her status plummeted from the clouds, crashing hard into the dirt.
Under such extreme highs and lows, Carly, who was already somewhat introverted, became exceptionally sensitive and even developed an inexplicable inferiority complex and anxiety.
"You also chose Mentor Lucien?" Yellen also noticed Carly beside him, but of course, he was more concerned with her delicate and pretty appearance.
"Yes... Yes, I did." Carly lowered her head and took a small step back.
"Haha, then we're really classmates now. By the way, my name is Yellen Franz, a third-level talent. And you?" Yellen stepped closer.
"Car... Carly Mayer." Carly seemed somewhat uneasy, especially after hearing Yellen's surname and his third-level qualification, "I... I have first-level talent."
"Oh." Yellen halted his steps, as his interest in Carly had waned at that point.
Of course, if it were just for fun, that might still be okay. Yellen eyed the still somewhat naive girl, pondering his thoughts.
Considering this, he felt he could still offer Carly a little "sweetener."
"Did you know? Mentor Lucien is one of the most generous among all the mentors I checked out," Yellen said with a smile, which made him quite happy,
Carly, though silent, was clearly intrigued by Yellen's words—after all, this was her mentor too, and she naturally hoped to meet a good one.
"The most generous mentor?" Carly listened, her heart slightly relieved.
At least for now, the mentor assigned to her seemed quite decent.
"Generous? Hmph, it looks like Lucien has successfully duped two unlucky souls this time." Just as the two were conversing, a third-level Wizard Apprentice passing by seemed to overhear their conversation and couldn't help but let out a snicker.
Yellen's smile stiffened.
"Hmph, whether your mentor Lucien can survive two months is still an unknown." The third-level Wizard Apprentice sneered and began to leave. Yellen, upon seeing this, quickly followed, "Sir, sir..."
Carly stood there, dumbstruck, somewhat at a loss.
She first looked in the direction Yellen ran off to, then at the servant leading the way forward, unsure of which side to follow.
In the end, Carly bit her lip and then quickly caught up with the leading servant.
...
Meanwhile, Lucien was in his laboratory, waiting for his two students to arrive.
He was in an extremely good mood.
After all, his greatest concern appeared to be resolving, and everything seemed to be getting back on track.
Although it cost a whopping twenty Magic Stones, it seemed a fair price to pay.
Currently, Lucien sat in his chair, stroking his chin, pondering how he could make a minute and negligible impression on the two students he had yet to meet.
Should he meditate with a blank expression and only open his eyes when they arrived? Or should he be mixing potions and, after a successful concoction, casually remark, "You can do this too, afterwards?"
Many ideas for the first meeting came to Lucien's mind, but something always seemed missing; it lacked a certain essence, a bit of soul, and failed to fully embody his image as a bright, towering, and righteous mentor.
Cough cough, this had nothing to do with gaining adoration value; he had no interest in adoration value whatsoever.
Lucien mused, frowning at times, smiling slightly at others, and occasionally looking conflicted as he tugged on his hair, feeling his indecisiveness acting up again.
"Yellen... doesn't seem to have followed." When the lead servant silently brought Carly to the door of Lucien's laboratory, Carly glanced back, but did not see Yellen.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she had an ominous thought.
However, the lead servant had already gently knocked on the laboratory door and signaled Carly to enter before quietly stepping away.
"Come in." A gentle voice came from inside the laboratory.
There was a slight fluctuation in the voice that made Carly subconsciously reach for the door and step inside upon hearing it.
[Zero-level Witchcraft]Suggestive action
"Is this... the power of a wizard?" Carly was somewhat awed, as the sensation of her body acting seemingly beyond her control was simply too mysterious.
The door creaked open gently, and Carly finally laid eyes on her mentor.
It was a cool figure with his back to her.
He was tall, draped in a long black robe.
He was handling test tubes, his hands steady and forceful, movements sharp and natural, and the faint pressure emanating from him made Carly feel a sense of reverence.
Mysterious, powerful, poised, graceful... Suddenly, Lucien's image matched the powerful and mysterious wizards spoken of by the wandering poets in Carly's eyes!