"Merlin, Avery Avery

A thunderous roar came from behind him, piercing through the noise before class, and accurately plunged into the eardrums of fifth-level apprentice Merlin Avery, causing him to be slightly startled, and then a smile mixed with excitement and nervousness appeared on his face. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Of course, the smile vanished before Avery could turn around.

"Oh, Tech Brick. Avery jumped up from his chair and straightened up with meticulous movements, his fingers pressed against the line of his dark blue cargo pants. "Apprentice Merlin Avery greets you and is always available to assist you. ”

Technical Chief Brick strode over angrily, he was a tall, burly middle-aged man, with ginger hair as hard as a brush, and muscular wrists exposed under the sleeves of his overalls, looking almost like an angry bear.

"Serve me, I can't afford it!" Technician Brick's throat felt like a storm was brewing, causing the apprentices to retreat and some even knocking over tables and chairs in a panic. "Avery or, rather, honorable Clever Scholar, please come with me, Vice Dean Rowan is waiting to summon you in his office. ”

Avery almost couldn't hold back his eyebrows, hurriedly lowered his head slightly to cover up, and then neatly performed an apprenticeship salute. "Thank you very much, Chief Brick, this is the best news I've heard in a while. ”

“...... Maybe not so good. Techno-Chief Brick paused, replied in a tone as hard as gravel, and then scanned the area with the fierce eyes under the thick eyebrows. "What are you doing here? Didn't you hear the bell ringing for class? Remember, you're a full-fledged apprentice at Bluffrey House, not a bunch of chirping fat sparrows!"

Technician Brick's face seemed to soften a little as the apprentices scattered like sparrows startled by a stone, returning to their seats, and the noise of the tumult died away. "Keep up with me, Avery and don't keep His Excellency Vice Dean waiting too long. ”

With that, Captain Brick turned to leave, heavy footsteps echoing through the empty corridor.

Merlin Avery was pleased with his good fortune and quickly kept up with Technician Brick, but looking at the back of this fiery and upright technician, he was a little annoyed for no reason. Remembering the care and advice that Chief Brick had been giving him, the young apprentice cleared his throat a little uncomfortably, and took two steps to explain the fact that he had privately submitted a research paper.

What Avery didn't expect at all was that he had just opened his mouth to say "I'm sorry...... when he was interrupted by Techno. Brick's deliberately low voice.

"What are you going to do with me? Avery find a chance and leave. ”

"What?" Avery couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Technician Brick, I don't seem to hear you clearly...... You just said that you want me to ...... Leave?"

"You heard you right. Technician Brick replied expressionlessly as if he were a rock carving, not even the corner of his eye turned to the young apprentice. "Get out of here, out of Blauflair House, immediately. ”

"Why?" Avery couldn't help but scream, and his footsteps stopped, "Technician Brick, are you trying to drive me away? Fire me? Expelle the best apprentice in the second grade, you don't have the power!"

"I really didn't. Brick's stern gaze turned at the stern gaze of the new apprentice who had scared and cried - it was obvious that there was no point in continuing to cover it up now, "Even if you are as stupid and naïve as you are, Avery I have no authority to fire you, but to give you a piece of advice before you fall headlong into a deadly trap." ”

"What trap?" Avery looked very ugly, his expression was half angry, half disapproving "Technical Chief Brick, I'm sorry for not following your orders, but I don't think that's a valid reason for you to get rid of me, neither Mentor Steven nor Magistrate White will agree to your approach, and Vice Dean Rowan won't ......"

"Of course they won't agree!" Brick sighed heavily, "so you really don't understand anything, little Avery, don't you still understand why I don't allow you to submit your research? I'm not a gifted alchemist, but I have experience—decades of experience in repairing alchemical objects, and I can see that it's a very valuable achievement, groundbreaking, inspiring, and even practical." He snorted and added in an accentuated tone, "Value is...... Enough to increase the submitter's alchemist qualification by one level. ”

"So I—Merlin, Avery—will become the first outstanding apprentice in the Academy's history to qualify as a full-fledged alchemist in five years?" Avery asked in a proud tone.

"No, you're just one of the many apprentices who have lost their lives for carelessness while experimenting with results, and there are several examples of this every year at Blauflair. Techno-Chief Brick crooked his mouth mockingly, "Of course, a wise mentor discovered your far from perfect idea, and then delved into it and submitted it as an important result of his own promotion to an alchemist. ”

The young apprentice was stunned for a moment, then took a sharp breath of cold air. "This, this can't be, you're intimidating me?"

"I just don't want you to die in a daze, and as for whether you believe it or not, it has nothing to do with me. Techno-Chief Brick shook his head, then gestured towards the stairs at the end of the hallway, "Vice Dean Rowan's office is up there, and the Golem Activation Research Paper that you submitted anonymously under the name of 'A Karakuri Scholar' is now on his desk, now make your choice." Go up, get honor, or give up your life, or leave, lose your future or keep your freedom. ”

Watching TechChief Brick lean against the wall of the hallway, take the flint from the pocket of his overalls, and light his pipe with a blank face, Avery took a deep breath to let his heart beat and breathing slowly calm down, then checked the creases of his dark blue apprentice's overalls, smoothed out every wrinkle, and walked towards the stairs.

His steps were unhurried, and he seemed to have completely taken Technician Brick's advice to the back of his mind, but in reality Avery focused at most a tenth of his attention on his steps, and the rest of his attention was on Technician Brick's every move.

The golden tobacco filled with the woodcut pipe burns slowly, and the curling green smoke surrounds Brick's long face, subtly softening the angularity of this rocky face. Until Merlin Avery disappeared around the corner of the staircase, Techno. Brick did not cast a casual glance there, as if he was only preoccupied with the wonderful taste of fine tobacco. But his ears twitched slightly, listening to every tiny sound in the air.

When an extremely faint grinding sound came from the corner of the staircase, where there was a window leading to the outside, the tall, burly middle-aged man smiled unusually well, and then used his fingers to extinguish the sparks in the pipe.

"What a bad little ghost...... Merlin Avery, I'm looking forward to the day you return to the Academy. ”