Chapter 118: Chapter 115: Open Source
"I’ll be taking my leave now, ntor."
Allen gave a slight bow. He glanced at Victor, who was still trying to inscribe sothing with his eyes closed, then turned and left the office.
Back at his dorm, he knocked on the door. It was opened gently from the inside.
Ah Fu stood just inside, dressed in the sa crisp tailcoat and top hat, looking quite elegant.
"Welco back, sir."
It took the overcoat Allen had removed and hung it on a rack. A mont later, a hot drink, ward to the perfect temperature, was brought over and placed on the table beside Allen.
"For you, sir."
Allen lifted the cup and took a sip. As he enjoyed his steward’s consistently thoughtful service, a strange mix of emotions welled up inside him.
He stared at Ah Fu’s face—a face made of tal that should have been expressionless—and seed to see the faint, blurry shadow of another life within it.
The living room was silent. For the first ti, he was examining this creation of his so seriously.
Inside that steel body, that black sphere known as the ’General-Purpose Factory Servant Control Core’... what was it once?
A monkey? An elf? Or...
Allen set down his cup, and the hot drink inside rippled.
He suddenly spoke, his voice a little low. "Ah Fu."
"I am here, sir."
"Who are you?"
Ah Fu’s head tilted slightly, an action Allen had programd to indicate it was ’processing a command.’
After a second, it replied in the steward’s voice Allen had so carefully calibrated:
"Sir, I am the Factory Servant you created, Alfred Series Unit One. You may call
’Ah Fu.’"
’A standard answer.’
Allen didn’t press the matter. He just waved his hand, dismissing it.
He silently finished the hot drink in his cup, then walked into his bedroom, subrged his consciousness into the profound Sea of Spirit, and began his daily ditation.
’In this world, there was no room for excess pity.’
The next morning, a rhythmic knock sounded on the door.
Ah Fu went and opened it. Outside stood a cheerful-looking Vera.
"Good morning, Ah Fu!" Vera greeted him familiarly, clearly having grown completely used to the ’steward’s’ presence.
"Good morning, Ms. Vera. The master is expecting you. Please, co in." Ah Fu stepped aside.
Vera walked into the living room and saw Allen waiting for her on the sofa.
"Allen, you were looking for ?"
"Yes, I have so new ideas I want to discuss with you." Allen gestured to the sofa opposite him. "Sit. How is the Learning Mutual Aid Group doing?"
Vera’s eyes lit up at the ntion of it.
"It couldn’t be better!"
She sat down, her tone jaunty. "The three-hundred-person quota filled up long ago! And did you know? Last school year, the promotion rate for junior apprentices in the Seven Towers Alliance increased by a full eight percent compared to previous years! Now, even several professors in the public disciplines have heard of our ’Learning Mutual Aid Group’!"
She took a sip of the black tea Ah Fu brought her and smiled even more brightly:
"Everyone’s going crazy over it. So many apprentices are fighting to get in. I had to turn one down the other day, and you know what he said? He said he’d pay even if the fee went up to thirty Magic Stones a month, begging
to get him in through the back door. Thirty Magic Stones! But the three-hundred-person limit you set was already full, so I had to refuse them all."
"Also."
Vera lowered her voice. "That guy Roy, Draven’s agent, ca to see
again. He was beating around the bush, asking if we’re still recruiting and hinting that they’d be willing to offer more investnt if we expand."
"You were right to refuse."
Allen nodded, his tone calm. "A scale of three hundred is just right. We’re already conspicuous enough."
"What about Roy, then..."
"Ignore him."
Allen’s gaze didn’t waver in the slightest. "Even if Draven ca to
himself, my answer would be the sa."
Vera nodded. She knew Allen always planned his moves carefully before acting.
’Since he said so, he must have his reasons.’
"Alright, I’ll listen to you." She sighed with a hint of regret. "It just feels like a waste, turning down Magic Stones that are being handed to us."
"Also."
Allen looked at her, noting she seed more cheerful than before. "I haven’t been as busy lately, so I’m preparing to launch a new service."
"A new service?" Vera was taken aback.
"’Personalized Academic Path Customization Service,’" Allen said the na slowly. "It’s mainly for those apprentices who aren’t short on money but have hit a bottleneck in their advancent, or who feel lost about which school of magic to choose in the future."
"Simply put, it’s one-on-one academic counseling," Allen explained. "Many pre-promotion apprentices lack direction and don’t know what to do. They don’t know which school of magic their talents are suited for, what they should be learning at which stage, or how to allocate their ti and resources for the most efficient advancent. And I can teach them all of that."
Vera’s mouth slowly fell open.
’This kind of service... she had never even heard of it!’
’The academy’s ntors offer guidance, sure, but it’s always broad. And a ntor’s ti is so precious—how could they possibly provide such detailed ’private customization’ for a single apprentice?’
"The service includes talent assessnt, recomndations for schools of magic, curriculum planning, resource allocation strategies, and comprehensive guidance all the way until they are promoted to Advanced Apprentice."
"Will... will this really work?" she asked, uncertain.
"Why wouldn’t it?"
Allen retorted. "Do you think those lost apprentices would be willing to spend a sum of money to buy a clear direction and a higher chance of success?"
For a Wizard Apprentice, choosing a school of magic was choosing their future; they had no choice but to be cautious.
"Then... how much would you charge for this?" Vera felt her heart start to beat a little faster.
"Two hundred Magic Stones per person."
"T-Two hundred?!" Vera nearly jumped off the sofa.
That was no small sum! It was almost the entire annual savings of an ordinary junior apprentice.
"We’ll open thirty spots first and see if anyone signs up. There will always be people who think more expensive ans better."
Allen’s tone made it sound like a trivial matter. "You’ll be in charge of promoting it and handling registrations. I’ll do the actual screening and guidance."
’Thirty spots, two hundred each... that’s six thousand Low-Level Magic Stones!’
Vera looked at Allen, feeling like her brain couldn’t quite keep up.
’From a mutual aid group at fifteen Magic Stones a month to a personalized service for two hundred Magic Stones a session.’
’The leap is just too big. Will anyone actually sign up?’
’But then she had another thought. Allen had managed to do sothing as incredible as getting a perfect score in every subject. Planning an academic path for others probably wasn’t that difficult for him.’
’Just what else is hidden inside that head of his?’
After seeing Vera off, he leaned back in his chair and gazed out the window.
The morning sun shone into the dorm, falling on the quietly standing Ah Fu, whose crisp tailcoat looked noble and elegant.
In Allen’s mind, the intricate Rune structure of the [Soul Processing Formula] surfaced once again.
He needed money. He needed vast sums of it to buy resources, to research stronger Golems, to accelerate his own training, and to build the ladder that would lead to becoming an Official Wizard.
Because in this world, if you can’t be the one who sets the rules and assembles the machine, then your ultimate fate is to beco just another easily replaceable ’part’ of it.
’And he, Allen Wesren, would never be a part.’
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