Jas continued, "Although the total amount of ntal strength is not a decisive factor in terms of becoming a mage, its benefits are huge! This ans that you are able to cast more spells compared to your peers -- not useful for research, but very helpful for combat. If you beco a battlemage, it will be great."
"A battlemage?"
Jas dismissed him, "Bah, we can discuss it when you actually beco a mage -- there is no need for you to know now."
Adam replied, "But Mr. Jas, this is my ntal strength we're talking about, I think I need to know."
Jas smiled, "I guess you are right. However, although this is your inherent talent, it's useful to , too."
"What do you an?"
"Follow ."
Jas led Adam by the hand and led him to his laboratory. Adam didn't resist -- Jas is incredibly powerful for an apprentice, so he's interested to see what Jas wants to do with him.
A laboratory is incredibly important to a researcher -- each researcher protects their own achievents and discoveries very strictly, and this is no exception in the Mage World. Jas swiped his identity token three tis, and the laboratory was unlocked.
Adam was curious on how mages do their research -- it is not realistic for the researchers to simply rely on fantasy and theories, so rigid, empirical evidence was needed, but how does one prove sothing mystical like magic? When he walked into the room, his questions were answered -- countless, sophisticated instrunts used to asure magic; containers filled with exotic specins; test tubes with strange liquids...
"This laboratory is oddly simple and... ordinary."
Jas smiled.
Jas' laboratory was huge, and the walls were painted black. The room was full of optical projections, suspended in the air. Rune models were painted onto the projections, and crystal balls were scattered on the tables.
Jas' tone changed from indifferent to kind, since Adam was about to be of great importance to him, "You think this laboratory is ordinary? Wait 'till you see the other laboratories."
Jas continued, "There are other labs that focus on other things -- my main research is for runes and ntal strength."
"I see why you're teaching ditation now."
Jas nodded, "That's right. I'm qualified enough to serve as a first-year Rune Studies ntor."
Adam's gaze swept across the room and had to physically stop himself from recording everything in the room. No matter how much he wanted to rember this vividly, it is equivalent to stealing Jas' research, and he might die if Jas decides to kill him for doing that.
Adam wondered what Jas' motives were, and without beating around the bush, asked, "So, you want to beco your test subject?"
Jas shook his head, "Not a test subject, but my assistant. When you help in my experints, I'll share so of my earnings to you as a commission. You'll be able to live comfortably here."
"What do I need to do?"
Seeing that Adam was willing to beco his assistant, Jas gently grabbed his shoulders, "It's very simple -- build sets of runes that I co up with, and I will record your feedback in order to judge whether or not ditation has any true value."
This sounds like a great idea for Adam -- experinting with runes won't cause him any physical harm, he can get paid, and gain knowledge and experience from working under Jas. There is no reason for him to refuse.
But Adam wouldn't agree so easily, rembering the Black Mage's advice of not making hasty decisions.
"I'll think about it carefully and give you an answer by next week, now, what is your research for?"
Jas was a little frustrated and slumped back into his seat, "When a mage has inherent talents in certain magic, their soul can try to guide him towards the correct path. I would like to study if these talents can be integrated into the rune groups to build your own set of runes, since I theorise that mage 'armour' ford this way has a strong personal tendency and is able to call forth powerful abilities."
Turns out, as long as apprentices reach the bare minimum, they have the opportunity of becoming a mage, but a small number of people with inherent talent will have access to spells relating to their own talent.
Adam got his answer and left Jas alone. He still needed to attend his Elental Studies class in the afternoon.
Along the way, he t a lot of apprentices who had just finished their Rune Studies class -- they discussed the knowledge they had obtained, and constantly compared their mastery with each other.
It was noon, but nobody chose to eat lunch. It was expensive, after all, and with everyone being as strong as a knight here, one al a day was more than sufficient.
So people saw Adam, but didn't approach him. So of them have already decided that Adam was an idiot, so they considered it unwise to invest their ti into Adam.
Adam does not care. Being an A.I, he did not know the concept of loneliness.
The closer he got to his classroom, the more intense the surrounding magic content beca. This energy caused him to put more effort into walking, but the other apprentices were struggling to walk by, having to take frequent breaks for a few steps.
A few corners later, Adam ca to a closed door. A barrier sealed the door, and on the barrier wrote: [New apprentices are strictly prohibited from casting spells in the Elental Laboratory, or dire consequences will be at your own risk.]
Nobody dared to disobey this rule. Adam resisted the great energy to try and enter the lab for his next class.
The barrier displayed a text: [Display your identity token.]
Adam swiped his identity token against the door, and Adam felt a force latch onto him, completely suppressing his ntal power.
Since Adam was more talented than his peers, it took longer for his ntal power to be completely suppressed.
The interior of the Elental Laboratory did not conform to Euclidean geotry -- it looked extrely large inside, and a couple of apprentices ca and went in a hurry. There were several doors that were sealed tightly with runes.
Adam checked his titable and walked towards his classroom underground. The mont he reached the stairs, explosions could be heard in the opposite room, and violent fire licked at the apprentices.
"Oh my god!"
"Extinguish it!"
Panic erupted among the apprentices, and a crowd soon gathered by the lab. Several people were burnt, and their clothes were singed.
The senior apprentices who wore grey robes ran out the lab, and a figure who was surrounded by orbs of fire chased after them, "All of you idiots! Idiots! Didn't I tell you that the runes had to be perfect?! You idiots are worse than pigs!" he then turned to a senior apprentice cowering, "Send them to the infirmary, and never co back!"
"This must be an experint on elental magic," Adam thought to himself. This was important information to him, but he had no way of entering the lab.
When he ca to his classroom, Adam found that his tutor was the Black Mage! After everyone arrived, he began, "I am the Black Mage, and I am a second-level Wind Mage. I will be your Elental Studies teacher for the first year."
The classroom was an amphitheatre, the Black Mage levitated in the centre and announced, "I hope the scene just now did not frighten any of you -- elental magic is full of charm, and probably what most mages are looking forward to! However, it is dangerous, and the apprentices who were running just now were extrely lucky to run away with their lives. You must know, many apprentices die from these experints every year.
I will only be eting you once a month -- in this year, you must study what elents there are and successfully construct three sets of low-levelled elental magic runes.
This assignnt of yours is extrely important. If you are unlike Miss Ophelia, who has talents in Body Refining, you must learn at least three kinds of elental magic, or you will be expelled from the academy."
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