"Come in—"

Andrew Meg put down the black-covered book in his hand, frowned slightly, and looked at the young apprentice with a respectful attitude in front of the door, his tone was indifferent and detached, and he couldn't hear joy or anger: "Christopher, I remember I said, if there is nothing wrong, don't come here to look for me." ”

"The teachings of the instructor are always in my heart." The young apprentice bowed a little stiffly.

"Very well," the old-looking mage nodded, closing the cover of the book, "Tell me, what's the matter." ”

"Recently, I have procured a holy heart," the aristocratic young man knew quite well that the scrawny black-robed mage in front of him did not like anything more than to talk and do things, so he said directly, "I remember you mentioned in class that there are quite a few potions that need its petals and rhizomes as adjuncts, so I think it can be used most in your hands. ”

"Holy Heart." After hearing this name, the old mage raised his eyes slightly, but his tone was so flat that there were almost no fluctuations, "It seems that you have made a lot of efforts, but it just so happens that I need it to concoct the purification potion, but are you sure you want to entrust it to me?" ”

"I've always thought that only a mentor can get the most out of it," Christopher Kelvin replied in an equally calm voice, and he, who knew the old man well, didn't have too many scruples when he spoke, "besides, we apprentices are meant to serve you, and the better you can complete your task, the more favored you will be—it's a very fair exchange." ”

"Exchange," repeated the old mage, an unfathomable smile on his face, "but I don't have the impression that there is a task to acquire a holy heart. ”

"Everything you put in will pay off." The young apprentice became more and more humble, "I have always taken to heart everything you have taught. ”

"Good." The old man withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at him, "Is there anything else?" ”

The apprentice from the aristocracy didn't speak, just bowed to the black-robed mage, and then silently closed the door.

"Meditation Elixir...... It's been a while since I've been deployed, and I don't know if it's rusty. After making sure that the apprentice was gone, the old mage stood up from the wicker chair and fixed his eyes on the exotic flower bone left by the apprentice, "But the little guy of the Kelvin family is really interesting. ”

There are not many apprentices who can make him remember his name, especially the aristocratic apprentices who exchange interests like this - in the Anturk Freemasonry, he has recruited about thirty to forty apprentices, of which some have been eliminated because their hearts and abilities do not meet the requirements, and there are about ten or twenty of them left, of which he can recognize and call out the names of only three or five people, and among these three or five, only Kelvin is not from a prominent background, but only an unknown noble heir on the border of the kingdom.

The reason why he noticed this inconspicuous small role among apprentices was not because of his outstanding ability, nor because of how good his talent was, but simply because of his purity - the reason why most apprentices from noble backgrounds could not rank among the ranks of mages in their lives was largely because they were not pure enough, had too many thoughts, were too mixed, and always regarded the identity and power of mages as a tool and means to achieve their goals.

Rarely, in Christopher Kelvin, the old mage did not see this utilitarianism, perhaps he did become an apprentice at first because of the power brought by spells, but in the subsequent study, he gradually immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge, eager to see the truth behind the surface, eager to dig into the hidden mysteries under the arcane law - this is the quality that a true mage should have, and only an apprentice with this quality can make him look at it differently.

"More importantly, a smart little guy." Although he had never expressed it in person, he did appreciate this apprentice from a noble background - the concoction of meditation potions was not a complicated matter, as an auxiliary means for low-level mages and apprentices to improve their perception and correct themselves, it did not require high delicate operations in the concoction process, and basically apprentices with basic knowledge could handle it well.

Christopher, as the apprentice he taught, knew the roots, and with his talent in pharmacy, he could fail a few times at most, and soon succeeded in concocting the real meditation potion - but now he resisted the most direct and realistic temptation to improve the efficiency of meditation, handed over the precious materials he found, gave up the meditation potion at his fingertips, and retreated to advance, wanting to seek a broader space for development.

But...... Should we admit him to the school now?

School mages and wild mages are simply in two different worlds, unlike wild mages who have been inherited from their masters and apprentices and do not have a fixed place of residence, each school mage has a whole school behind them to support, not only the precious magic books collected and created by countless traveling mages for thousands of years, but also the intricate network of relationships in the secular class, as long as the spells are not used in public, there is almost no risk of identity being exposed, and there will be no rude interrogation.

The only drawback is probably the lack of resources - limited by the law of secrecy, even school mages with secular connections cannot collect the resources that are focused on by the church in a big way, and as the power of the church weakens, the school continues to grow, and there are even fewer resources that can fall into the hands of each mage - even though there are people who choose to become traveling mages every year because of their dwindling resources, the general trend has not changed.

This also led to a much slower rate at which the school could replenish new blood, and an unusually strict entrance assessment - although he admired Christopher quite a bit, with that guy's current level, the chances of passing the test were slim.

"But for the sake of this holy heart, let's give him a chance." Andrew said half-jokingly - the purification potion refined by the Holy Heart is a fairly versatile high-grade potion, which can not only remove most of the toxins in the world, but also remove curses and heal physical wounds, and if you find a suitable seller on the top of the mountains, a bottle of such a potion can sell at least three digits or more gold coins - more importantly, the current school needs to purify the potion, and hand it over to the school as soon as possible to meet the needs of the school, and there is a considerable chance to get the reward of those archmages, And for the Archmage, deciding whether a person can enter the school or not only requires a simple sentence.

Nothing is out of the rules.

Because—

In the school, they are the rule-makers, they are the rules!

"Then it's up to him," said the old mage, putting the matter aside for the time being, and concentrating on the potion in his hand - it is true that he is very optimistic about the little guy surnamed Kelvin, but he is only optimistic, and he will not bother to run forward for an apprentice, and the reason why he made a purification potion for him this time is only because he provided the materials, and his success is also good for him.

You must know that even within the school, there are factions, and the Stone Heart School, as the only mage school in Gable, except for a few traveling mages from other regions among the mountains and peaks, or wild mages who wander here, almost all of them are inextricably linked with the Stone Heart School, and only one of the schools is on the top of the mountains, and there are as many as 100 mages with formal qualifications, not to mention the entire country of mountains - the school has at least extraordinary influence on more than 300 spellcasters.

Three hundred spellcasters is not a small number, even if these three hundred people are all low-level mages, it is also a terrifying force that can shake the rule of the kingdom, not to mention that among these three hundred full-scale mages, there are many high-level mages like him and a single person is enough to destroy an army.

This is precisely where the school seeks political status and plans to overthrow the rule of the church.

But that's all for the rest of the world - the increasing number of mages and the relatively stagnant growth rate of resource acquisition, there are naturally contradictions within the school caused by supply problems, not to mention high-level mages like them, even those who stand at the top of the mortal world and begin to explore the path of transcendence, will attack each other for the share of resources allocated by their respective apprentices, form factions, and divide the small amount of cake.

These high-level mages who are in the middle level will naturally have their own plans because of this.

If Kelvin can successfully join the school and become a full-fledged mage in the future, then his faction will further grow, his voice in the school will be further improved, and the proportion of resources that can be won can also be tilted accordingly, which is a matter of mutual benefit.

So he didn't mind giving a helping hand to the young aristocratic apprentice.

"Hope you don't let me down."

The old mage whispered, bowing his head and mixing the slightly shiny liquid in the beaker: "Next...... Ryan grass three coins, minced and mixed well-"

However, his voice and movements stopped abruptly here.

"—don't move," said a young businessman behind him, and the sharp object against the vest leaned forward slightly, "Raise your hands, don't make any small moves." ”

"Who are you?" He quietly picked up the bottle of potion that had not yet been dispensed, and raised his hand obediently, "Is it the secret agent of the nobles, the inquisitor of the church, or the ......?"

"Quiet—" The voice behind him suddenly turned cold, "don't try to pretend to miss and drop the mixture on the ground - the unstable potion mixed with the dust of Erlin will emit a strong hallucinogenic gas after shaking violently, and this little trick will not fool even a slightly basic apprentice." ”

“……”

The old-faced mage fell silent for a moment, but then he asked again, "Who are you?" ”

"A visitor." The immature voice behind him replied, "It's just that considering that the host is likely not going to meet the guests, it's just a little presumptuous." ”

- Well, just a little presumptuous.

The little mage didn't have the slightest sincerity to think of this.

ps: Set up a flag, as long as you can pass the interview, you will be updated every day in the future, leaving no way out.