I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 126
After hanging up her daughter's message, Veronica leaned back in her beach chair, looking at the familiar face opposite her yet feeling somewhat unfamiliar. She casually summoned a pile of ice blocks: "You've got plenty of free time. Instead of doing anything productive, you're using a simulation technique to eat and drink here. You're really living a carefree life."

"Not bad, just getting by." The simulacrum pointed to the women on the beach: "I remember you're a lesbian, right? Want to pick a few to take home and have some fun with? Except for the succubi and erotica, they're all innocent, not that stupid or naive. Okay, girls, I'm telling you, you're not that stupid, time to go home!"

Watching the girls leave, Veronica glanced at them and said, "Alright, enough with the formalities. We're classmates, and I've come to talk business with you. Why are you trying to fool me with emulation?"

"To be honest, I didn't want to either. After all, these spell models are only good for the eyes and the taste buds." The Simulation Spell shrugged. "My main body is a bit busy. The matter I'm busy with right now is top secret, and I really can't leave my body."

"Top Secret??" Veronica frowned upon hearing this. "You're not just giving me a runaround, are you??"

"If I were just trying to fob you off, why would I even bother meeting you? Even the Simulation Technique is busy. As for the mission, it's top secret, so I can't just reveal it casually. You'd be better off asking the old man." Simulation Technique said, pouring a glass of wine and pushing it to the table.

"However, the main body answered the question you asked me to ask earlier. He said that you might not be able to control this kid named DuPont. This kid is very ambitious. If you don't suppress him, with his current advancement speed, he might cause trouble that you might not be able to handle."

"Huh?" Veronica was so angry she almost laughed. "Hey, I admit I don't have your skills, but I can't even control an apprentice?"

"DuPont's strength is definitely more than that of an ordinary apprentice. This guy has mastered the Barbarian class on his own and has decent swordsmanship. All things considered, he is somewhat like an Arcane Knight of the Church. He is decisive and never hesitates when he encounters a problem. If he is more cautious, he will have a bright future."

Simulation Art then took out an image gem: "DuPont had a conflict with one of the instructors at the academy. This is a recording of his battle at the time. A fifth-ring mage was ambushed and beaten so badly that he couldn't even fight back. Although there was an element of luck involved, the fact that he was able to successfully outmaneuver a great mage shows that he was remarkably precocious."

"Is that so?" Veronica clicked her tongue in amazement after glancing at it. "You can record and track him even in the dark. It seems you're quite interested in this guy. Why don't you take him on as an apprentice?"

"The main body doesn't have time, and according to his plan, not only will he be too busy to teach and cause trouble, but he will also make DuPont appear in front of more people. For a boy, becoming famous too early is not a good thing. It may cause him to perish prematurely. It's better to let him grow up freely."

"It seems my senior is still as cold-faced as ever, with a warm heart; he's thought of everything so thoroughly." Veronica took a sip of the red wine on the table. "So, you're planning to leave him here?"

"Since you like taking him away, that's fine. But according to the original owner's evaluation, this kid has an amazing appetite. It's best to keep him in check and make his personality more mature."

"Oh?" Veronica was quite surprised to hear this. "According to you, this kid named DuPont has a personality quite similar to yours. How come you, as a teacher, have to reprimand him? I remember you used to really hate the old man's ways, saying things like conservatives are stubborn and inflexible."

After a moment of silence, the simulacrum said, "In the past, I wasted too much time and did many unnecessary things because of my youthful arrogance. I can only say that the teacher's wisdom is indeed far-sighted. We mortals, even if we become the chosen ones, are just pieces on the chessboard of the gods that can be noticed for a short time, but in reality, we cannot influence the chessboard at all."

Veronica fell silent upon hearing this.

This statement is truly appalling.

Those capable of carrying out top-secret missions must be 9th-ring mages. They can move freely between planets and can be considered as one person forming an army. They can almost sweep away an entire civilization on some weaker planets, making them veritable demigods.

But in Lavoisier's words, it seems that legends or even demigods are merely pawns on the chessboard of the gods, unable to control the course of events.

If a legendary mage and a voter can say such a thing, then her supposedly formidable strength is nothing more than a pawn.

After a while, the simulation technique broke the silence first: "The main body's idea is to let him attend classes normally in the academy. Even if something happens, the academy can cover for him instead of you taking full responsibility. If you want to take him to your tower to teach, that's fine too, but he must stay in the academy for half a month every month. As for the holidays and after graduation, you can arrange it as you see fit. He's not so bored as to compete with you for a man, even though he highly recognizes the kid's potential."

"Go to hell! What do you mean by stealing my man?" Veronica scoffed, but didn't argue much.

The apprenticeship transfer was now a done deal; Lavoisier had even thought things through more thoroughly than she had, so she had nothing more to say. However, she still had one question: "Can you tell me why he values ​​this DuPont kid so much?"

“He’s got guts, and he’s got a dark heart.” The simulacrum seemed to be reminiscing about the past: “I didn’t have his guts at his age. This kid doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘respect.’ If you see him acting stupid, he’s probably faking it.”

"Although it is a bit outrageous that he defeated a fifth-ring mage, you also said it was an ambush. It's not too difficult for a formal combatant to catch someone off guard, right? After all, this is in the city, where people won't be too vigilant."

"That's not it. He dared to extort money from the church when he was still a first-ring mage, and not just once. It had nothing to do with me back then, but in terms of disrespect for the church, he was even more disrespectful than me."

The simulacrum smiled as it was mentioned: "If the high priest here hadn't been so suspicious, thinking I was backing him up, DuPont would probably be locked up in a dark cell being tortured by those judges long ago. He wouldn't be wandering around outside. That kid is a born bandit. He'd probably be a natural at politics too. If I had been as shameless as him, I probably wouldn't have ended up in the Northwest."

The mention of simulacrum made Veronica's lips twitch slightly.

A level 1 mage who's not even level 3 yet dares to rip off the church?
Wouldn't he be going to ascend to heaven once he becomes a formal Dharma Master?

What leverage does he have to be so arrogant? Just because Lavoisier is his dean?

The church is really good-natured for not physically destroying him.
Seeing that Veronica remained silent, the Imitation Technique assumed she didn't believe him: "I remember you have a small principality in a low-magic world, right? If you don't believe me, you can have him manage it for you. I'm sure he'll surprise you."

"By the way, I'm also short-handed lately. I estimate the council will be recruiting you soon. Prepare more materials for golems and simulacrum spells. If you don't know cloning, I can sell you a scroll. The price is negotiable, you can pay me back."

"Is it that serious?" Veronica asked skeptically. "Could you briefly explain what happened?"

"Simply put, it's an alien invasion, but this time the targets are a bit bigger, and some of them are even former enemies of the gods. My main body is struggling to defend against them, even with all my possessions." The Simulation Technique couldn't help but laugh as it spoke, "Don't let the fact that the old man is sickly and only gives a speech once every three years fool you; his ambition is as strong as ever."

"If things succeed, the whole of Faerun will look at us with envy, and Harua will become the focus of the world. However, we won't care too much about these things at that time, since, according to the prophets, the storm that is about to come may exceed everyone's imagination."

Although the simulacrum's words were cryptic, Veronica understood them instantly upon hearing about the alien war.

This is indeed the most expensive but also the most profitable thing. No wonder those legendary mages of Harua have rarely come out to give lectures in recent years; they have been busy with this.

But what force could possibly make Harua mobilize such a large force, even sending more than one 9th-ring mage?
Veronica, the “enemy of the true god,” pondered for a long time before suddenly realizing the answer. Her eyes widened immediately: “You’re not talking about the Primal Beings on Eberl, are you? I remember there’s no magic network there, making spellcasting even more difficult. Not to mention, a slight mistake could blow your head off. How could the Council issue such a war mission? Isn’t that practically suicide?”

"It seems you've already heard some rumors," the simulacrum replied. "If I were you, I wouldn't be here discussing whether things are true or false. Instead, I'd be rushing back to create golems and practice casting spells without magic nets. Otherwise, you might have no choice but to disobey this secret decree and return to your low-magic world as king when the storm arrives. Of course, you could also consider that those old prophetic guys in the council collectively made a wrong judgment. In that case, nothing would happen here, and you wouldn't need to use your precious wealth for an arms race."

"Damn it!" Veronica cursed under her breath, took out her staff, and teleported away.

The female mage had already left. The illusory mage lay back in the chair, put on sunglasses, waved her hand to disperse the dark clouds, and the bright and warm sunlight once again enveloped her.

"The world is about to change," the emulation muttered to itself, gazing at the sun. "Which is more accurate: the wisdom of the mages of Harua, or the prophecy of the Scepter of Sulfuras?"

(End of this chapter)