The shadow ant servants that appeared in the hall were not singular, but one after another, making everyone inevitably nervous. This was a decisive mont for their futures, and no one knew what would happen if a ntor did not choose them.
"Conley Raglan, Sorcerer Yosef wants to see you," soone said.
"Kent Budomir, Sorcerer Rowler wants to see you," another voice followed.
Talent was the primary criterion, and the two rookies with 4th Class talents were chosen imdiately.
Conley gestured to the others from the Aromatic Wheat Dukedom and followed the shadow ant servant out of the hall.
Ivan glanced at Carl beside him, expecting he would be next.
"I'm not in a hurry," Carl waved his hand and added in a low voice, "Sorcerer Yosef is from the potion group, and Sorcerer Rowler is from the Policing Team."
The third person chosen was indeed not him, but soone from the Fluttering Wind Kingdom.
"Ed Cassia, Sorcerer Sanga wants to see you," called out the announcer.
"He's from the Hunting Team."
While Carl spoke, Ed looked over here with a hint of pride before catching up with the pace of the shadow ant servant.
Ivan frowned slightly, not upset by Ed, but rather worried about his own situation. Compared to others, his situation was unusually complex. If the potion group did not choose him, it was very likely he would end up in the Hunting Team.
The Hunting Team had suffered great losses because of Toyennes, making it unlikely they would view his apprenticeship favorably.
"Ivan Marichardon, Sorcerer Randall wants to see you," ca the announcent.
A shadow ant servant approached them, and Ivan had thought it was for Carl, but it turned out to be for him.
Carl's eyes sparkled, "I know Sorcerer Randall, he belongs to the Enchantnt Group and is the most skilled Insect Control Master in the academy; his temper is genuinely nice."
"Carl, thank you for clearing that up," Ivan expressed.
So it was the Insect Control Master; although Ivan still had doubts, it was better than ending up in the Hunting Team.
After saying goodbye, he followed the shadow ant servant out.
Not far ahead, Ed had not yet left the hall, which made Ivan unconsciously quicken his pace without looking back.
Within the academy's boundaries, the lights shining down were neither too bright nor too dark, giving a just-right feeling. The shadow ant servant remained silent, gliding ahead at a speed comparable to a squire, with Ivan easily following behind.
The two arrived in front of a tall, three-story round tower.
Before they could even knock, soone was already pushing the door open from inside—a young apprentice with sowhat ssy hair.
Seeing Ivan outside, he displayed a friendly smile, "Are you Apprentice Ivan?"
"That's ," Ivan replied.
"I'm Mieyan, also a disciple of Instructor Randall. Go on in, the Instructor is expecting you," he encouraged.
Ivan nodded, quickly stepping into the three-story round tower.
This place appeared to be a living room, yet it was filled with various insect products. There were lively-looking insect decorations preserved in water, colorful beetle specins pinned to the walls, and what seed like fried white worms as snacks on the table.
In the corner, a particularly robust figure was bending over, searching for sothing.
"Ivan, is it?" he asked.
"Yes, are you Instructor Randall?" Ivan responded.
Randall stood and turned around, his bear-like posture completely caught Ivan's eye.
Ivan had never seen such a tall and robust middle-aged man before. He had grown a bit in the past few months and now stood 175 centiters tall, while the man before him towered over him, seemingly about 2.7 or 2.8 ters tall.
Randall, accustod to such gazes, warned, "I should tell you in advance, my apprentices must beco Insect Control Masters. Maintaining insects consus a lot of resources. Do you still wish to beco my apprentice?"
Ivan hurriedly replied, "I would be honored to be your apprentice."
Randall smiled and said, "I have looked into your background, so I don't need to enlighten you, but the enrollnt ceremony cannot be omitted."
He waved his hand, and the lights around the living room flickered montarily; a different halo appeared, enveloping them both and transforming into a complicated runes sorcery array. The surrounding light beca dazzling, as if they had entered another world.
"Repeat after : 'In accordance with the ancient heritage of the sorcerers------'"
As for Ivan, he was familiar with such procedures. Compared to those in Toyennes, this oath included so clauses about the academy. As the surrounding halo dazzled to its peak, the runes sorcery array suddenly dispersed.
"Now, call 'Instructor' and let's hear it."
Ivan, slightly taken aback, nonetheless promptly responded, "Good day, respected Instructor."
Randall, with an air of great satisfaction, stated, "We sorcerers believe that knowledge has its price and advocate for equivalent exchange. Since you've called 'Instructor,' I won't be stingy and will impart to you so paid knowledge at no cost.
Listen carefully, I will teach you the elentary part of the 'Black Beard Chapter' ditation technique, a special Insect Control Magic of my own creation called 'Blackbeard Crown', along with basic Runes Skill and basic Enchantnt Skill knowledge."
Having said this, Randall asked for his crystal ball and transferred the knowledge from his own crystal ball, including his self-developed Insect Control Magic.
He continued, "You should have 10 credits, according to the academy's rules. You can exchange them for one basic knowledge course from . Do you want to choose basic Enchantnt Skill or the elentary runes book, or would you prefer to save them for later?"
Everyone realized one thing: credits were very important. Ivan, not yet fully aware of their specific purposes, couldn't help asking, "Instructor, what exactly are credits used for?"
Randall explained, "They have a wide range of uses: they can be exchanged for primary or more important knowledge, and can buy ntal power potions, spells, important materials, and so on. Just rember, anything of significant value, including knowledge, requires credits, which is a rule of the academy that even us sorcerers must adhere to."
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"Understood. I actually have 30 credits, exchanged for a Physical Strength Potion," Ivan admitted, not wanting to hide this from his instructor.
Surprised, Randall remarked, "Is that really true as written under the potion maker's information?"
Not quite believing him, Ivan chose to speak with actions rather than words, pulling out a potion from his pocket.
Randall rely glanced at it and laughed, "Haha, my judgnt is not bad. The potion group made a mistake. Then you can exchange for both."
Ivan nodded in agreent and, driven by curiosity, asked, "Instructor, if I may be so bold, why did you choose ?"
Randall matter-of-factly responded, "Because you are interested in nurturing insects. I believe that's key to becoming a good Insect Control Master, and there are too few people in our academy who pursue Insect Control."
That was a strong reason. Ivan felt fortunate that he had written a bit more in his information.
Randall, excitedly inquiring, said, "What about the insects you're raising?"
Ivan did not believe a sorcerer would care about his belongings, so he started to introduce them, "This is a variant of the rapid wood silkworm. They belong to a species with an insect queen and can switch between moth and wood silkworm forms. Their strength is quite good, and currently, I'm mainly cultivating them. Also, there's the freezing water midge—"
After inspecting both types of insects, Randall complinted, "Your rapid wood silkworms have great potential and can be cultivated as a focal point. Unfortunately, I don't have any mulberry wood. They would probably feed on Plant-type elent stones."
He pulled out a grayish-green elent stone, and the Silkworm Queen wriggled toward it, nibbling it in small bites. Not one to eat alone, the queen called the other rapid wood silkworms over.
"See, it likes Plant-type elent stones. Look how hungry you've kept them; don't starve them again. They're really a lively bunch."
"I know now," Ivan acknowledged.
Seeing a continuous 'smitten smile' on the instructor's face, Ivan realized that his instructor was most likely an 'insect slave', unlike the 'cat slaves' from his previous life who favored potential insects. It was no wonder he didn't even ntion the freezing water midges.
However, as the instructor handed over one elent stone after another, Ivan found it hard to keep smiling. Elent stones seed as valuable as magic stones. He hadn't realized before how big an appetite the rapid wood silkworms had.
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