Wizard: The exploration panel keeps me pure.

Chapter 191 Investment and Returns

"teacher."

Upon hearing the old man's words, Ron bowed deeply without hesitation, calling out "Teacher."

This was something he had already decided long ago, and since the other party had brought it up now, he might as well go along with it and take advantage of the situation.

As for why the other party wanted to take me as a student?

This was not even on his radar, because it was an unimportant matter to begin with.

At least in Ron's view, this was not important to him. After all, if the other party had any designs on him, there was no need to go through such a big roundabout way. If a third-ring archmage wanted to make a move on a mere wizard apprentice like him, there were plenty of ways. Why choose the most troublesome one?

Latour was momentarily dazed when he heard the boy in front of him call him "teacher".

It seems that he was recalling how he used to call others "teacher" in the same way many years ago, and how his students used to call him "teacher" in the same way. But now, times have changed, things have changed, his teacher and his former students are no longer here. Will the arrival of this disciple be like the previous two?

The old man didn't know, nor did he want to. He knew so much. His only purpose in taking the other person as his disciple was to inherit the bloodline of the Phoenix Ancestor within him.

A second or two later, as if just realizing what had happened, Raven helped Ron up with a smile: "Alright, since that's the case, from now on you'll be my only student. Remember to register at the academy's office in a couple of days. I'll let the person in charge know in advance."

Ron nodded, indicating that he understood what the other party had said.

But then he realized the hidden meaning in the other person's words, and he raised his head, looking at the hunched figure in front of him, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Teacher, why do we have to wait a couple of days to register? Can't we do it today?"

Na Tu seemed to have anticipated this question. Without explaining, he simply beckoned him to follow, then led him to the sofa and personally poured him a cup of tea: "You should still remember the ten-year development plan I told you about before, right?"

Upon hearing this, Ron immediately recalled what the old man had told him when he first arrived at the Crimson Tower: every apprentice who passed the assessment would be given ten years of study opportunities at the academy. During these ten years, all you need to do is study, and the academy will take care of all the resources and training.

Of course, the resources mentioned here are only the most basic and ordinary resources for maintaining the most basic cultivation. The academy will not take them, and all students are treated equally.

After all, in any world, there is no such thing as treating everyone completely equally.

Survival of the fittest, the weak perish and the strong rise—this is a universal law of survival.

Therefore, in this 10-year training program, if you want to avoid falling behind your fellow apprentices, you must find suitable training resources. If you lack this self-awareness, no matter how talented you are, you will eventually become just another face in the crowd.

Ron nodded, indicating that he remembered.

Seeing this, Latour didn't dwell on the topic any longer, but continued to explain some of the conditions of the ten-year training program: "Since you still remember, I don't need to explain it to you again. You should know that the ten-year training program is a new type of training program proposed by the academy to expand its influence. There are a lot of investments involved in it. For example, you apprentices can receive the most basic resource training without having to do any tasks, which was almost unimaginable to us at that time."

"Even your seniors from previous years didn't receive this treatment; you're just lucky to be born at the right time. But you should also know that this kind of training always comes at a price; the college can't afford to support a bunch of lazy and useless people."

Ron nodded again. In fact, he had already guessed that there must be some hidden condition involved.

Even in my previous life, some companies with good benefits would attract employees through certain implicit conditions.

Not to mention in today's chaotic and polluted wizarding world, the fact that the academy can receive such good treatment must mean that there is some kind of hidden mediation involved, which is just not something that the apprentices have to talk about.

Seeing that Ron understood his meaning, Latour nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Since the academy has such a large expenditure, it must find a way to recover it from elsewhere. This is what you need to do for the academy, or rather, what you need to repay for the investment the academy has made in you."

"Teacher, what exactly is this 'reward' you're talking about?"

Before Latour could finish speaking, Ron impatiently interrupted him.

The old man, seeing this, did not blame him at all. After all, he was his student, and he had the tolerance he needed. Besides, it was normal for young people to be a little impatient. Otherwise, he would have suspected that the other person had been possessed by some evil spirit.

"Don't rush, let me finish what I have to say."

After saying this, Latu slowly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then continued to explain to the boy in front of him: "The so-called return is naturally what you need to do to repay the investment that the academy has made in you. Remember the enrollment contract you signed when you first entered the academy in Qingshan? That was also a welfare policy of the academy for you new students. Otherwise, you little guys wouldn't have been able to raise the tuition fees when you enrolled."

As Ron listened to Latour's words, he immediately recalled the enrollment agreement he and the others had signed when they disembarked from the airship at the Red Moon Tower. The tuition loan mentioned in the agreement was still fresh in his mind.

So now I've become a student of a third-ring wizard. I've also gained a lot from the student tasks and assessments. The tuition of one hundred magic stones is still a considerable sum.

If this is the case for someone as outstanding as him, then it is even more true for those who are merely novice wizards.

"So your return is also to pay off the academy's tuition loan. Otherwise, with the abilities of you little guys, it would be a long time before you could pay off the debt of one hundred magic stones."

"So, teacher, after saying all that, you still haven't gotten to the crux of the problem!"