Saul and the old man exchanged a lighthearted joke, easing the sense of unfamiliarity between them from their first eting.
"May I ask who you are...?" Saul had a vague guess in his heart.
"I am Pond, the Dean of Bayton Academy," the white-haired old man said with a smile.
The Dean of Bayton Academy, that ans he's a Second Rank Wizard?
Saul quickly perford the customary greeting between wizards—of course, with his Third Rank Wizard ntor, he didn’t need to perform a deep bow.
"Dean Pond, greetings!"
"Hehe, no need to be so formal. Well, I see you’ve already beco a true wizard. No wonder you're the apprentice of Wizard Gorsa. I’m sure you’ll advance to Third Rank one day," Dean Pond said, clearly because Saul’s ntor treated him with special regard.
"Thank you for the complint, but I still have much to learn. By the way, why did you say the storage device is much better than the storage bag earlier?"
"This storage device, although not yet common for the general public, has a large space, allows for classification and organization, and most importantly, it can store living creatures that have been treated."
"If it can store living creatures, that’s incredibly convenient. Does it require other equipnt to assist?" Saul asked, as most of the items he carried were living substances.
Many wizard experints required processing materials while they were still alive.
And active materials often had extrely demanding preservation conditions, so very few could be kept on hand. Often, one had to buy (or catch) them when needed.
Saul hadn’t felt this deeply when he was at the Wizard Tower, but now that he was fully away, he realized how hard life could be for wandering wizards.
Luckily, his primary focus was on the Dark Elent, so he had fewer requirents for living materials.
Pond, hearing Saul’s guess, nodded with a smile. "Exactly. If you need, you can purchase the corresponding hibernation chambers. We have various models. Besides that, we also offer other storage devices, like the Spirit-capturing Pods." Dean Pond effortlessly promoted the products, showing that he was quite experienced.
However, he likely didn’t expect that Gorsa hadn’t left Saul with much magic crystals.
In fact, because Saul had taken the core of the Wizard Tower, he didn’t feel right taking too many valuables from the ruins.
After a brief consideration, Saul bought the storage device and two hibernation chambers.
His magic crystals were suddenly reduced by more than half.
When Saul paid, his expression remained unchanged, though a slight pain tugged at his heart.
Because Dean Pond accompanied him throughout, the purchase procedure was completed very quickly.
A few staff mbers were mostly ordinary people, quaking slightly in the presence of the Dean, indicating his high standing.
Once the paynt was made and the items were in hand, Saul glanced at the showroom behind him, not daring to linger.
Dean Pond also took the opportunity to walk out with him.
The architecture of Bayton Academy was distinct from the tall buildings of Caugust City. It included sprawling flat buildings, tall towers similar to Wizard Towers, and even a lake with an underwater crystal house that swayed gently.
"Our academy was established not long ago, but our philosophy is to recruit talented individuals. See, the buildings around here are where our ntors conduct experints and classes," Dean Pond introduced Saul while walking.
This only further confird Saul’s earlier guess.
When they arrived at a building that looked like a haunted house, three or four wizards happened to erge from it.
The leader, wearing a black cloak, had shoulder epaulets pinned to his cloak, black with a wave-like blue-and-white symbol in the center.
Behind him, the others wore standard Bayton Academy uniforms with two silver borders on their clothes.
"This is ntor Jonah, who, like you, specializes in the Dark Elent. The others following him are his apprentices. Based on the uniforms, they should all be Second Rank apprentices," Pond explained to Saul from a distance of about ten ters.
The group had already noticed Saul and Dean Pond but didn’t approach to greet them.
Jonah, turning his head toward them, suddenly squeezed his eyes up to his nose.
At that mont, Saul felt a ntal force pressing over him.
He glanced at Pond, who smiled benignly without any other reaction. With a slight movent of his own ntal force, countless semi-transparent tendrils appeared like fine hairs on his skin.
The overwhelming ntal force was instantly consud by the tiny sucking mouths on the tendrils.
The apprentices following Jonah imdiately showed expressions of fear.
Jonah’s eyes, squeezed together, quickly separated again, continuing to stare at Saul. One of his eyes even flipped entirely, showing only the white.
Then, Jonah opened his mouth to speak, "A true wizard pretending to be a Third Rank apprentice? Are you planning to ambush and harm soone?"
Before Saul could say anything, Dean Pond imdiately rebuked, "Stop talking nonsense! I’ll deduct your salary!"
Jonah’s mouth imdiately closed, twitching and contorting, clearly hurt by the threat of a salary deduction.
After a few seconds, his mouth struggled open again, but nothing particularly pleasant ca out.
"Did you just hire another Dark Elent true wizard? Are you planning to fire ?"
"If Master Saul is willing to join, of course, I would be thrilled. At that point, I’ll send you to the Corpse Refining Tower!"
"Master Saul?" Jonah turned back, his eyes flipping again, "Is it really that Saul?"
Saul stared at him unflinchingly, and suddenly, he heard Penny laughing uproariously in his mind.
"Why are you laughing?" Saul asked in his thoughts.
"Saul, big brother, that guy has a lot of voices inside him. So are saying they should please you right away, others want to challenge you to a duel to test your strength, and one is saying he was rude to you earlier and wants to kneel before you! Hahaha, they’re all about to fight!" Penny said, still laughing.
Many voices?
Saul scanned Jonah’s body briefly.
Could this guy have many souls living inside him?
He felt a strong curiosity to study this.
Jonah, under Saul’s gaze, nervously adjusted his cloak.
"Of course, would I treat others the sa way?" Pond, although elderly, was quick to complint, completely unconcerned about his own dignity.
Jonah’s mouth twitched again, his face contorting, as though his facial nerves were spasming.
"Go to the Corpse Refining Tower, then. I’m not the one going to cancel the contract!" Jonah waved his arms and spoke viciously.
Then, as if afraid Pond would deduct his salary again, he turned and ran.
The apprentices behind him hurriedly bowed to both Pond and Saul before quickly chasing after him.
"Sigh… I apologize for the trouble," Pond sighed lightly, then turned to Saul and said, "Our academy does recruit all kinds of talents, but sotis we end up with so strange individuals."
Saul smiled. This Bayton Academy, which had erged from the Borderland, seed to be a bit different from what he had imagined.
"You’re too humble. It’s normal for wizards to be free-spirited and honest."
"Hehe, I’m glad you’re not upset. Jonah’s personality is like that—his mouth is harsh, but he’s serious when it cos to work," Pond glanced back at the haunted-looking building, then picked up the previous topic. "By the way, I wasn’t joking earlier. If you’re willing to join Bayton Academy, I’ll send Jonah to the Corpse Refining Tower. This laboratory will be yours, how about it?"
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