Chapter 46: Chapter 44: Observer
"Submitting your choice?"
Her voice was flat, betraying no emotion.
"Yes, Professor."
Allen presented his personal terminal, the application page already displayed on its screen.
Lecia ignored the terminal Allen offered. Instead, she opened the academy’s backend system. Her eyes scanned the text on the screen, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
She looked up, her perpetually stern expression faltering slightly.
"Are you certain? In just one day, you’ve chosen your school, your tower, and even your master?"
Her voice was a fraction higher than usual.
As a faculty representative for the junior apprentices’ general courses, she had seen far too many apprentices hesitate when faced with this decision.
Three days was the standard ti limit given by the academy, but many would apply for an extension. They would wander between the library and the various towers for weeks, weighing the pros and cons and visiting senior students, all in an attempt to secure the most advantageous future for themselves.
The Seven Towers Alliance had over three hundred registered senior masters, and each na represented a completely different path.
Allen’s choice was so fast it seed like a rash impulse.
"Yes, I’ve already decided."
Allen’s reply was still crisp and decisive, without a hint of wavering.
He looked directly at Lecia, and his composure, so far beyond his years, made the words she had prepared catch in her throat.
Lecia was silent for a few seconds before she spoke.
"Allen Wesren, I must remind you."
"This is a choice that will determine your path for the next several decades, perhaps even centuries. The School of Alchemy, the Macro-Construction and Domination specialization... you’ve chosen the most difficult and most expensive path."
She paused, as if gathering her words to make him understand the gravity of the situation. "Shouldn’t you go back and at least finish reading the files on all the masters in the Black Tower of the Forge?"
This was an almost unheard-of attempt at persuasion from her.
Given Lecia’s strictly professional deanor, she would normally just verify the information, stamp the docunt, and offer a formulaic wish for the apprentice’s bright future.
These extra words were a final act of responsibility, driven by her concern for Allen’s rare talent.
"Thank you for your advice, Professor, but I have already completed my assessnt."
Allen gave a slight bow. His manners were impeccable, but his attitude was unyielding.
Assessnt. He had used that word.
Not ’consideration,’ not ’deliberation,’ but ’assessnt.’
The choice of word gave Lecia a headache.
"Very well."
She gave up trying to persuade him, wanting only to send this unsettling apprentice on his way as quickly as possible.
She took a blank Crystal Letter and a Feather Pen from her drawer and began to write the letter of introduction.
"An apprentice chooses a master, but a master also has the right to refuse an apprentice."
Her voice had returned to its usual seriousness.
"Every year, more than twenty hopeful apprentices are turned away by the masters they’ve set their hearts on. They are forced to choose again. I hope you do not beco one of them."
Allen listened quietly, not responding.
"Furthermore, there is the matter of expenses," Lecia continued.
"The costs during the Advanced Apprentice stage are more than ten tis that of the junior stage. And for the School of Alchemy, which you’ve chosen, it’s normal to multiply that figure by a hundred."
As she wrote the letter of introduction, she laid out the harsh reality in the sa stern tone she had used when they first t.
"First, replacing your Advanced ditation thod. The standard version can no longer support your cultivation. You will need to purchase a compatible, advanced version from your master. Depending on the school, the price is usually between eight hundred and fifteen hundred Magic Stones. The ditation thods for the School of Alchemy, especially those involving precise operations, will only be more expensive."
"Second, experint consumables. For research in the Macro-Construction and Domination specialization, even the materials and energy for a single, basic chanical Body are incredibly expensive. Your savings and the initial investnt from the Gate of Truth might not even be enough to fully cover the material costs of your first experint."
"Finally, promotion. To advance from an Advanced Apprentice to a First-level Wizard, you need to complete the inscription of three Core Witchcrafts. The cost of purchasing these Core Witchcrafts from your master is an expense that would bankrupt many."
When Lecia finished speaking, she handed the now-completed Crystal Letter, which was shimring with a faint light, to Allen.
"Your choice, Master rcer Iron Star, has a specialized course this afternoon in the seventh public lecture hall of the Black Tower. It’s called ’Fundantals of chanical Bodies,’ for all Advanced Apprentices of the School of Alchemy. You can try to see him when the class is over."
She deliberately emphasized the word "try."
"Good luck, apprentice."
Allen accepted the cool letter. The silver Runes flowing across its surface contained Lecia’s Wizard’s Mark and the official certification of the Seven Towers Alliance’s junior apprentice departnt.
"Thank you, Professor." He bowed again, then turned and left without another word.
As he walked out of the office, Allen looked down at the letter in his hand. Every word Lecia had just spoken was being converted into specific entries and figures in DSeek’s database.
[Financial Model Update:]
[Confird Expenditures: Advanced ditation thod, basic sester experint material fees, promotion to First-level Core Witchcraft model fees, etc. Amounts undetermined.]
[Current Assets: 6,050 Low-Level Magic Stones.]
The funding gap was not yet clear. More information needed to be gathered.
He had just walked out the main doors of the administration center and was about to head to the academy cafeteria for lunch.
But a figure was standing quietly in the shadows of the portico, as if they had been waiting for a long ti.
It was a woman. Unlike the Wizard Robes or apprentice uniforms seen everywhere in the academy, she wore a tailored, dark gray business suit. Her short hair was impeccably styled, and a delicate badge was pinned to her chest.
A silver probe passing through a stellar ring.
Her gaze found Allen with precision.
"Mr. Allen Wesren?" Her voice was clear and steady, tinged with a professional politeness.
"I am." Allen stopped.
"My na is Eleanor."
The woman stepped forward with a smile so standard it looked like it was cast from a mold—neither overly warm nor alienating.
"Plane Exploration and Developnt Association, Senior Observer. I believe you know of us. The Association is one of the most important subordinate organizations of the Gate of Truth."
In Allen’s database, an organizational chart for the Gate of Truth instantly unfolded.
The Plane Exploration and Developnt Association: its function was to find, evaluate, and perform initial resource developnt on newly discovered planes. It was the sharp edge of the Gate of Truth’s vast system, responsible for converting knowledge into wealth and resources.
"I know of it." Allen nodded. He had already guessed her purpose.
"Good, that will save us a lot of ti." Eleanor’s smile deepened, a hint of admiration in her eyes. "Your performance during the junior apprentice stage has far exceeded our initial assessnt. Your perfect score on the examination, as well as the school selection you just submitted, all prove that our initial investnt was correct."
’She even knows about the choice I just submitted.’
The Association’s intelligence-gathering capabilities—or rather, the degree of attention they were paying him—exceeded Allen’s expectations.
"According to the Association’s ’Potential-Graded Investnt Protocol,’ you have now t the criteria to activate a mid-term investnt."
Eleanor cut straight to the point. "A protocol that can provide you with resources far exceeding the scale of the initial investnt, to support all your research during the Advanced Apprentice stage, and even up until your promotion to Official Wizard."
To any apprentice who had just been warned about enormous expenses, these words were nothing short of a godsend.
But Allen just watched her quietly, waiting for what ca next.
He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, especially not in the Wizarding World, where equivalent exchange was a fundantal rule. A larger investnt would inevitably an stricter terms.
Eleanor seed quite pleased with Allen’s composure.
She took a thin tal plate from the leather briefcase she carried and handed it to him.
It wasn’t a contract, just a business card.
"However, now is not the ti for details," she said.
"A valuable investnt requires a solid foundation. Your foundation will be your position in the Black Tower of the Forge, as well as that master’s approval."
Her gaze seed to pierce right through Allen, seeing the still-warm letter of introduction in his pocket.
"Contact
after you officially beco Master rcer Iron Star’s apprentice."
Eleanor withdrew her hand gracefully. "I trust that by then, the amount our protocol can offer will certainly be to your satisfaction."
With that, she gave Allen a nod, turned, and left. The crisp, rhythmic tapping of her high heels on the ground soon blended into the crowd in the plaza.
Allen looked down at the tal business card in his hand. It was cold to the touch, and on its surface, an etching process had left Eleanor’s na and a string of complex communication Runes.
’So that’s how it is.’
’This isn’t just a letter of intent for an investnt; it’s another test.’
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