Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 243 Chief Apprentice

"Lord Richard, my name is Lina. I just arrived at the Ignis School half a year ago. You...you haven't taken on any apprentices yet, have you? Do you think I meet your requirements?" The girl looked at Richard with an expectant expression.

Richard turned the seal ring on his hand and looked the girl up and down.

Although he wouldn't mind taking on a talented wizard apprentice as a student, Richard was still very cautious about accepting one given his current situation.

He had only just joined the Ignis School when he found himself on the opposite side of the established Soto family.

Although Professor Seres would try to mediate, Richard knew that even if the other party let the matter drop for now out of respect for Professor Seres, it was hard to say what would happen in the future.

Moreover, he was about to embark on a long journey, planning to first go to the capital of the Kingdom of Heron, and then to the Loras Peninsula on the continent of Viterol where Mero was located. It would take him at least half a year to return.

If any unforeseen circumstances arise, the delay could be even longer. Therefore, recruiting apprentices now is not the right time from any perspective.

but

This did not affect Richard's intention to first hear why the other party chose him.

"Lina, tell me, with so many mentors in the school, why did you choose me, a newly promoted wizard, as your mentor?" Richard asked.

"Lord Richard, because you are the only instructor in the Ignis School to offer a course on puppetry, I am very interested in this subject. Moreover, your legendary journey from a first-level wizard apprentice to a full wizard has already made you a role model in the school, so..."

Lina stood gracefully in front of Richard, her hands hanging naturally at her lower abdomen, but her constantly twisting, fair fingers revealed that the young girl was very nervous, unlike the calm she appeared when she spoke.

Richard nodded; this reason was indeed very valid.

"Okay, then tell me, why did I choose you as my apprentice instead of someone else?" Richard continued to ask.

If a typical wizarding apprentice is not mentally prepared, hearing a formal wizard say this would make them think that the wizard in front of them is prejudiced or has a problem with them, and their legs would already be trembling.

Lina's face paled at first, but then she quickly looked up and glanced at Richard's ambiguous smile before she instantly realized what was going on.

Lord Richard seemed to have no prejudice against her; he was simply more interested in how she would answer.

This immediately relieved Lina considerably. After thinking for a moment, Lina replied:

"My lord, although my wizarding aptitude is only second-class, my dark elemental affinity is average, and my mental strength is superb, but..."

"Stop! Say what you just said again."

Richard couldn't help but straighten up, and his posture shifted slightly from casual to more formal.

If he heard correctly, this little girl said she had superhuman mental strength?

Richard stared intently at Lina, reciting his prepared statement: "Lina, I'm sorry, I don't plan to take on any apprentices. Perhaps in a year or two, I'll consider it."

Richard swallowed it back down at this moment.

Although Lina had no idea why Richard wanted her to do this, after a slight pause, she obediently repeated what Richard asked.

"My lord, although my wizarding aptitude is only second-class, my dark elemental affinity is average, and my mental strength is superb."

Richard had already ignored what Lina said next.

Richard was all too aware of the advantage that superhuman mental strength gave when controlling puppets!

This means that if Lina hadn't died young, she would not only have been able to control more puppets than the average wizard, but also be much more skilled in controlling them.

This is especially true for puppets that are not controlled by a soul!

Examples include rock combat golems, obsidian combat golems, and more advanced ones such as giant war golems.

Of course, Richard's Bloodbone Puppet is not included in this category. The Bloodbone Puppet is controlled by a soul, so from this perspective, it is actually more like a summoned undead creature.

To be precise, the Bloodbone Golem is an organic combination of puppetry and undead summoning.

"Lina, I agree."

Richard agreed immediately before Lina could say anything more.

Moreover, based on Richard's assessment of Lina's aura, she was already on the verge of becoming a first-level wizard apprentice and would soon advance to the second-level wizard apprentice level.

If I take Lina as my apprentice, I should immediately gain another set of points, though not many. When an apprentice advances from level one to level two, the apprentice mentor only receives 50 points.

but

If you include your original 100 points, you'll have 150 points, which means you can exchange for another ogre skeleton with mid-level level 1 strength as raw material for your second Bloodbone Puppet.

"Uh, thank you, Mr. Richard. No, thank you, mentor!"

Lina was immediately stunned, then covered her mouth with both hands, her big, fluttering eyes shining with fervent joy, and bowed repeatedly to Richard.

"No need to be so polite."

Richard smiled slightly.

Seeing Lina's joyful expression, Richard couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met his mentor, Seras. He never expected that he would have an apprentice so soon.

In an instant, Richard recalled the scene where his mentor, Seras, had given him three gifts to choose from.

I had never even considered taking on a disciple, let alone preparing a gift for our first meeting!

However, the wizard's mind worked like lightning, and Richard quickly came up with several suitable gifts for their first meeting.

It's not expensive, but it shows my care for my students as a mentor, especially since I'm about to embark on a long journey.

"However, Lina, I will be going on a long trip soon, which may take a long time. I won't be back for about half a year. So, as your mentor, I have prepared a gift for you as compensation for not being able to teach you since I just took you on as my apprentice."

"Mentor, really, you don't need to." When Lina heard that Richard, as her mentor, had actually prepared a gift for her, she couldn't help but wave her fair hands hurriedly and said with a slightly anxious expression.

Richard waved his hand, interrupting Lina's speech.

"You can choose one of the following three different options," Richard said to Lina.

"The first thing is to give you a bottle of Prophet's Potion, which will permanently and slightly increase your total mental energy. Judging from your current situation, I estimate that after taking it, you will immediately be promoted to a second-level wizard apprentice."

Upon hearing this, Lina's large, beautiful eyes lit up. It seemed that she was very eager to advance to the level of a second-level wizard apprentice.

Richard smiled and continued:

"Like other potions that increase mental strength, this potion is most effective the first time you take it; subsequent uses will have half the effect. Of course, Lina, you can also choose to exchange the Prophet's Potion for the Shadow Power Potion, which will slightly increase your affinity for the dark element."

"The second thing is to give you a rock combat golem, which is roughly at the top level of a third-level wizard apprentice. Judging from your current mental strength, it will be difficult to control, but once you advance to a second-level wizard apprentice, given your talent, you should be able to control it with some difficulty."

"This should be very useful for you at this time."

Richard paused again at this point, glancing at Lina.

He noticed that Lina's red lips trembled slightly, as if she was about to agree. The longing in her eyes was obvious to anyone, but Lina seemed to hold back and did not immediately choose the option.

"The last item is a mid-level sorcery item, the Black Jade Ring. If the holder uses the level zero sorcery Dark Element Shield, the power of the sorcery will be increased by 18%. At the same time, the item solidifies the level zero sorcery Dark Element Shield, and it needs to be charged for 24 hours before it can be used again."

Richard immediately gave a brief explanation of the ring, which he hadn't used in a long time.

This immediately made Lina's eyes widen again. She hadn't expected that her mentor's last choice would be a defensive witchcraft item, which was a very valuable gift.

Her mind was buzzing, as if she'd been hit by a pie falling from the sky!

Suddenly, I was completely unable to concentrate on thinking about which option I should choose.

"Good heavens! I originally thought that a genius like Lord Richard must be very aloof and difficult to approach. I came here just to give it a try."

"I never expected Lord Richard to agree! I've become his chief apprentice, and there are even three gifts to choose from! This happiness has come so quickly and so suddenly!"

"How should I choose among these three options?" Lina murmured to herself.

Richard, on the other hand, smiled and leisurely observed his chief apprentice to see what choice she would make.

Of course, Richard did not offer the Rodriguez meditation method for the other party to choose from, firstly because their relationship had not yet reached that stage, and secondly because his relationship with the other party was different from his relationship with his mentor, Serales.

Therefore, generalizations cannot be made.

"Richard, may I choose the second option?" Lina asked timidly after thinking for a moment.

"Hehe, why did you choose the second option? You know, even for a level three wizard apprentice, the rock combat golem is quite difficult to control. Lina, why did you think of choosing this option?"

"Mentor, I'm confident I can break through to the second level of wizard apprenticeship without taking any potions for the first option. Besides, the rarity of the Prophet's Potion is nowhere near that of the Rock Combat Golem. If I don't choose the second option this time, I'll definitely regret it."

"As for the third item, although it is also very precious, I need to quickly improve my combat power at the moment. In comparison, although the Black Jade Ring is good, it is still not as good as the Rock Combat Puppet."

Looking at Lina, who was speaking eloquently, Richard couldn't help but nod with satisfaction.

He was very satisfied with his chief apprentice's quick thinking and clear mind.

Richard pointed to a nearly two-meter-tall, imposing humanoid statue placed in the corner of the room and said:

"Lina, this rock combat golem is yours. However, you still need to learn about intermediate control cores."

After Richard explained some details about controlling the rock combat golems to Lina, he let her leave.

Richard tapped his fingers slowly on the armrest of the chair. He had just suddenly thought of a problem: he was about to embark on a long journey, and if he could buy a flying mount, it would save him a lot of travel time.

Previously, it was because he was only at the apprentice level, but now, ground mounts are no longer his first choice.

After a moment's thought, Richard decided to go to the supply depot and post a request to buy a flying mount.

His requirements for flying mounts were low; they just needed to be able to travel long distances.

-

Inside the villa of a formal wizard of the Ignis School.

"Father, are we just going to let Robert's death go like this?" A middle-aged man with a gloomy face bowed slightly and asked the gray-haired old man sitting on the red leather sofa in front of him.

The middle-aged man was named Raymond Soto, and Robert Soto was his most talented offspring. Although Robert was only the son of himself and a maid, he had been favored by him ever since Robert’s wizarding talent was discovered.

Robert Soto also asked an acquaintance in the North Ring for help to go to the North Ring to study.

It can be said that Raymond had high hopes for Robert!

But I never expected this to happen.

"As a master of potions, Seras deserves our respect. Besides, I've also heard that Archmage Graf seems to think highly of that kid named Richard."

The elderly man with gray hair had a very gentlemanly demeanor, and his aura was profound and imposing, seemingly only slightly inferior to that of the great wizard Graf.

The old man paused, then continued:

"In that case, killing that little guy will only make Seras hostile to us and give Archmage Graf a bad name for us, and will not bring any benefit to the family."

"Raymond, if one day you inherit my position, you must learn to set aside personal emotions and consider issues from the perspective of the family's interests," the old man said in a deep voice.

"Understood, Father!" Raymond lowered his head respectfully, but the cold glint in his eyes beneath his gloomy face suggested that he would not let the matter rest so easily.

-

The Ring of North.

Gildas's residence was still filled with the smell of various healing potions.

"Those cowardly Soto family members actually gave in so quickly!" Gildas muttered to himself after glancing at the contents of the communication mark.

His face, which was originally pale, now had a slight flush.

But clearly, this was not a sign of his health improving, but rather a result of his anger after hearing the news from the Soto family.

"No, this isn't over yet!"

"Just you wait, kid, let's see who has the last laugh!"

In the study of an ancient castle atop a mountain in the Kingdom of Green, a fair hand is currently swirling a glass of red wine.

Then came the sound of birds flapping their wings.

A bird of prey the size of an owl, with a pair of striking red blood-red feathers, suddenly landed on the study window.

"Huh! It's a Blood Falcon."

A clear, crisp voice rang out, revealing that the owner of the fair hand was a woman.

She simply stretched out her hand, and the blood falcon seemed to be attracted, flying swiftly into her hand as if it were walking into a trap.

"Unexpectedly, it's Gildas's mission request to kill a newly promoted wizard of the Ignis School. His name is Richard, and his strength is at the beginner level one. The bounty is... ten high-grade magic stones. It seems he's been out recently."

"I didn't expect such a big bounty! Such a high reward for killing a newly promoted wizard. The assassins in the organization must be very happy, and it might even attract the attention of second- or third-level assassins."

The woman's name is Eurys Vance. As the head of the Hand of Death, an assassin organization that covers the entire continent of Essos, in this region, she is not only incredibly powerful, but also serves as the information hub for the Hand of Death in this area.

She shook a small bell on the table, and a mysterious figure in a black robe slowly emerged from the shadows and bowed slightly to the woman.

The woman parted her lips slightly:

"A mission has been issued. Mission objective: Richard Clavel, a newly ascended wizard of the Ignis School. Mission requirement: Kill him within one month. Mission reward: Nine high-grade magic stones."

The missing piece is the commission from the Grim Reaper's Hand mission, similar to the intermediary fee for assassins.

"Yes, sir!" the mysterious man in black robes replied hoarsely, before slowly disappearing into the shadows once more.

(End of this chapter)