Mercenary Wars

Chapter 232 Francis
The discussion lasted about an hour.

Professor Steven and the academic advisors introduced themselves and the various rules and regulations to the new students, including the courses that would begin the day after tomorrow. The spacious hall echoed with the teachers' methodical voices, and occasionally a student would raise their hand to ask a question about details.

According to the academic advisors, the academy values ​​students’ actual level more than the length of their study time. Therefore, most people will spend three or four years at Ax Magic Academy, but a small number of diligent geniuses can complete all the courses and graduate in two years.

After graduation, the most outstanding students will be taken as disciples by the professor, thus having the opportunity to become magical successors and inherit their master's mantle.

The remaining trainees naturally went their separate ways, some going home to inherit property, others finding jobs in large organizations, and still others starting their own businesses.

"If you encounter any problems later, feel free to come to us. We hope you all have an unforgettable time in Laziville," Professor Steven concluded. "Alright, everyone can leave now—"

A voice suddenly rang out from outside the door: "Wait!"

The students who had just gotten up all turned to look.

But a dwarf old man hurried in. His white hair and beard were thick, but unkempt and messy, looking a bit like a chicken coop. His robe was stained with dirty stains, and at first glance, he looked like he came from the lower town.

Despite his disheveled appearance, his arrival immediately drew respectful glances from many academic advisors, including Professor Steven: "Professor Francis."

It is obvious that this is a chaired professor.

All chair professors are archmages, and theoretically, each one has the potential to become dean or vice-dean, making their status extremely high. They are not only exceptionally skilled in magic but also symbols of the academy's authority, participating in many important decisions. The Academy of Magic, with its rich history, is embodied in its twenty-odd chair professors.

The dwarf old man strode in, twitched his beard, and then asked, "Who is Gaucano?"

The room fell silent as the students looked around, with a few staring directly at Gao Jiano. Everyone was curious as to why this chair professor would make a special trip to find a newly enrolled student.

Kevin Fogel also looked at Gaucano with surprise, feeling a bit curious about this new classmate he had spoken with not long ago.

Gaucano paused for a moment, then raised his hand.

Professor Francis once again took the small, shuffling steps characteristic of dwarfs, walked straight up to Gaucano, and cast a spell at the same time.

[Status Acquired: High-Level Element Detection]

The message flashed by, and immediately Gao Jiano saw surprise on Professor Francis's face.

"It really is wind and earth element!" the dwarf exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I thought they were lying to me!"

So that's what it was all about.

Despite having anticipated this, Gao Jiano couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Being the center of attention is never an easy thing, especially in such a new and unknown environment.

Meanwhile, murmurs arose in the hall.

"What does that mean? What wind element and earth element?" Most of the students were confused, since most of the candidates had already left when it was Gao Jiano's turn to take the test. Now they whispered among themselves, trying to get the answer from each other.

"I heard from a friend that one of our students has the blessing of both wind and earth elements," the well-informed students whispered.

"so what?"

"Don't you understand? Wind and earth are opposing elements. It's not easy to make those who are named by the two elements become friends, let alone one person who possesses the blessings of both elements at the same time!"

The discussions in the hall grew increasingly noisy.

Professor Francis was small and his voice wasn't loud. After a few sentences, his voice was drowned out by the noise. He immediately showed a slightly impatient expression and simply recited a spell.

As the incantation was completed, a rainbow-like light instantly appeared, enveloping Gaucano and Francis and isolating them from all external sounds and sights.

The previously noisy environment instantly became silent.

"Finally, some peace and quiet!" Professor Francis said.

He exhaled, then looked up at Gao Jiano, who was more than half a meter taller than him: "Young man, how did you acquire these two talents?"

“I don’t know the reason either…maybe it’s fate,” Gao Jiano said.

He is able to receive the blessings of the wind and earth elements because of the blessing of "cognition".

But he really had no clue about the origin of "cognition," so this wasn't exactly a lie.

In fact, "Cognition" not only grants him the blessings of both the wind and earth elements, but if he so desires, he can also receive the blessings of angels and demons simultaneously. In the manifestations of "Cognition," most holy names appear to be without hostility, or at least without irreconcilable conflict, which is quite different from common perception.

At least so far, among the holy names that Gaucano has carefully examined, only the holy names of Outer Gods directly exhibit strong exclusivity and are completely incompatible with ordinary holy names.

"Where are you from?" Professor Francis asked again, his curiosity growing stronger.

Gao Jiano: "From the Duchy of Nordanron, Southshore Town, and formerly a pharmacist in a mercenary group."

Professor Francis's eyes lit up: "Apothecary? So you're very interested in alchemy?"

“Yes, Professor,” Gao Jiano said truthfully. “In fact, learning alchemy is my goal in coming to Ax Academy of Magic.”

Professor Francis nodded, then suddenly adopted a more formal demeanor: "Oh, let me introduce myself. I am Francis Mekkatorque, Chair Professor of Laziville, a level twelve mage. I have been responsible for courses such as Elemental Relationships, Introduction to Magical Synthesis, Alchemy, Metallurgy, and Herbalism. I am the designer of the 'Magma Forge' in the Alchemy Workshop. The material of your student badges—Magma 724—is my creation."

Then he changed the subject: "I happen to have a big research project going on recently, would you like to participate?"

"What subject?"

"The Zeroth Element Conjecture!" Professor Francis's tone grew increasingly excited. "Ancient element masters speculated that the four elements might just be appearances, merely derivatives of the same fundamental thing, which is why they exhibit a complex relationship of mutual opposition yet inseparable connection!"

“Those stubborn old guys in the Avis school think that ‘arc’ is the so-called ‘fundamental thing,’ but obviously they are wrong… They can’t even explain what ‘arc’ is! Oh, and what about this so-called ‘arc reorganization’? What an absurd theory!” he said in a string of words, as if he were belittling the Avis school.

After criticizing the Avis School, Francis continued, "Without a doubt, the Zero Element is the essence of magic and the origin of elements. My task is to find the Zero Element. If I can accomplish this, it will absolutely rewrite the entire history of magic! How about it, young man, isn't that an interesting topic?"

"Uh." Faced with such a seemingly grand topic, Gao Jiano was momentarily at a loss for words. "If I participate in your research, what can I do for you?"

Professor Francis waved his hand: "We'll talk about that later. After all, I never expected to encounter a student with the Mutually Exclusive Elemental Blessing. But don't worry, there won't be any danger. There are some rumors circulating that the Magic Metal Forge often explodes, but that's not true. It's just that there have been a few... small fires, that's all!"

Gaucano hadn't considered the danger.

But after Professor Francis said that, he actually felt a bit dangerous...

Of course, regardless of the circumstances, Francis, as a chair professor in Laziville and a master alchemist, dared not refuse outright.

After a moment's thought, he said, "I haven't taught a single class yet, so perhaps I'm not up to the task."

Professor Francis thought for a moment, then nodded: "That's right, you've just enrolled, you do need to learn more." Gao Jiano breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Professor Francis added, "You should focus on your studies first, and come visit the Magic Forge Hall when you have time. I basically live there. It's southeast of the Alchemy Workshop, so it's easy to find."

The two talked for a little while longer.

Then Professor Francis said, "I'm leaving now!"

After saying that, he removed the light screen and turned to leave. His steps were still hurried, as if he couldn't wait to get back to his work.

Although a while had passed, the hall was still bustling with activity, and most people were still discussing the matter.

After Professor Francis and Professor Steven exchanged a few words and left the hall, Professor Steven glanced at Gaucano and said to the students, "Everyone can go to their dormitories now... Remember to attend the entrance ceremony on time tomorrow. Dean Randolph will also be there."

This did serve as a reminder to Gaucano.

Although most of the students come from wealthy families, and many, like him, have bought houses in Ax City, the academy is vast; it takes at least half an hour to walk from one end to the other, not to mention the size of Ax City itself. Given this distance, commuting between their residences and classrooms daily would be a considerable drain on their time and energy.

Therefore, for convenience, and with the encouragement of the college, most students still choose to live in the dormitory as their primary residence.

Anyway, it doesn't require any extra money.

However, one problem is that the living conditions in the dormitories at Ax Magic Academy vary greatly, ranging from 20-square-meter four-person rooms to 30-square-meter double rooms.

According to the "Ax Magic Academy Survival Handbook," all these rooms are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Those who act quickly get a luxury double room.

Those who are slow to book will be assigned to a basic four-person room.

Thinking of this, Gao Jiano immediately rushed out of the hall and drove the Swift Breeze straight to the student dormitory.

Fortunately, his reaction was timely, faster than most of the freshmen, and he successfully secured a double room.

Tidy up the room a little.

Gao Jiano took out the "Ax Magic Academy Survival Handbook" again, turned to Professor Francis's page, and carefully read the evaluations of previous students.

"Frequently causes explosions."

"The Elemental Emergency Response Team was probably established because of him."

"Ten conjectures are generated every day, and nine and a half of them are wrong."

"There is an Orokin ring."

"An attempt to achieve 'costless divination'."

"Of the five Tidal Lands that opened up in the past year, Professor Francis successfully predicted twenty-five..."

Seeing these comments, Gao Gano couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache—this Professor Francis didn't seem very reliable.

He was scrutinizing each of Professor Francis's comments when a sound of footsteps approached from afar.

Gao Jiano closed the book, stood up and looked around, and then saw a young man walk in, who was obviously his roommate.

“Hello, my name is Martin Temple, from Mosaroya,” the young man introduced himself. He had thick brown curly hair and looked to be about twenty years old. As he spoke, he took some luggage from his storage ring.

Gaucano also introduced himself and expressed his welcome.

After a few polite exchanges, he couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you enroll in the Mosaroye Magic Academy, which is closer to you? I've heard it's quite good."

Martin shook his head: "Not at all! Mosaroye Magic Academy isn't a magic academy at all, it's a branch of a monastery! My father wants me to go there, but I don't want to spend all my time with a bunch of weirdos!"

“After all, it’s a holy city.” Gaucano nodded; places with a strong religious atmosphere can indeed create pressure.

The two chatted for about half an hour while tidying up the room.

During the conversation, Gaucano learned that Martin's father was Viscount Temple, a minor nobleman in Mosaroya. The father-son relationship seemed somewhat strained, because Viscount Temple was quite devout, while Martin was a frivolous believer.

Of course, he could also be a false believer.

But nobody wants to be seen as a false believer.

This is undoubtedly good news for Gaugano.

In a two-person dorm room, where you live together day and night, if your roommate is a devout believer or fanatic, you'll probably have to consider changing dorm rooms.

If he changes dormitories, he will most likely only be able to get a four-person room. The probability of having a devout believer in a four-person room is definitely higher, so he will have no choice but to not live in the dormitory.

After tidying up the room, Gao Jiano suggested, "Let's go buy mage stamps."

"Mage stamps?" Martin was puzzled.

Gao Jiano: "As a perk of the magic academy, students can buy twelve tickets each year."

"What is the use?"

Gaucano: "Letters with mage stamps are delivered through a portal very quickly, and can be placed on anyone's desk."

Martin was a little surprised: "Send it to anyone's table! Even the Pope?"

“Yes,” Gaucano said, “and you can receive replies, but it’s uncertain whether they are written by the Pope himself.”

“It certainly wasn’t written by the Pope himself,” Martin said. “But this mage stamp sounds pretty good though.”

The two then left the dormitory, asked for directions in the academy, and found a place selling mage stamps.

“A set of twelve silver coins,” the steward monk said.

The two men each took out twelve silver coins.

The abbot refused to accept the gift, saying instead, "Where are your student badges? The abbot's stamps require real-name registration."

(End of this chapter)