Death Wizard Diary.

Chapter 13 The Arduous Path to Education

Thor had no idea how he got back to his dorm.

He slammed the door shut, threw all the books and the crystal ball onto the bed, and then slowly slid down to sit against the foot of the bed.

"Why can't I sense much dark element? Is it because the elemental particles in the classroom are unevenly distributed?"

With that thought in mind, Thor immediately opened the book, picked up the crystal ball, and, still seated, began to meditate and immerse himself in the music.

This time he sensed dark element particles, but they were still pitifully few, even fewer than the white ones.

"White is light? How is that possible? When I tested it, I clearly felt that the perception of dark elements was the highest."

"Could it be something West Germany did back then? That's unlikely. If they didn't want me to pass, what use would it be to tamper with elemental perception?"

Although reluctant, Thor eventually thought of Kongsa.

The image in his mind was fixed on the bottle of healing potion that Kongsha had given him.

"If the element I perceive most strongly isn't dark, then that potion most likely temporarily altered my mental strength."

Saul knew from the beginning that Kongsa had some purpose in helping him become an apprentice, and now he was just more certain of it.

He let out a long sigh, dropped the crystal ball, looked up, and realized it was almost time for afternoon classes.

He couldn't question Kongsha about the meditation now, so he could only take it one step at a time.

I didn't see Keli when I went out again.

The plan to inquire about her meditative state failed, and Thor could only walk alone to the 15th floor of the East Tower.

Mentor Katz has his own private laboratory, right there.

For ordinary apprentices to receive instruction from a mentor, they usually need to go to the laboratory—where the mentor might answer a few questions while conducting experiments.

But more often than not, apprentices are reluctant to seek out mentors when they encounter a bottleneck in their learning.

The answers they'll likely get are, "You can't even do something this simple?", "Didn't I explain this question before?", or "I think you're already eliminated, no need to wait for the next test."

Only newcomers who have never witnessed their mentor's outburst would be excited to meet their mentor up close.

Because he had a lot on his mind, Thor didn't feel excited at all when he went to the fifteenth floor.

He arrived at his mentor Katz's laboratory and, upon opening the door, met a pair of eyes.

The owner of those eyes immediately displayed a rich range of emotions, including surprise, anger, lingering fear, and a forced attempt to remain calm.

Thor looked at Duke and scratched his chin with his bone knuckles.

Duke immediately looked away.

After all, there were still slightly purplish five-finger marks on his face.

I dare not provoke them, I dare not provoke them...

Not many apprentices chose Kaz; out of about twenty new recruits, only three were selected.

Thor, Duke, and another girl named Angela who is quite cute.

She seemed unaware of the conflict between Saul and Duke, her large eyes blinking, a serene smile playing on her lips.

Inside the laboratory, a young man wearing a second-level apprentice medal was packing up his things.

He saw the three of them standing quietly in the laboratory and went up to them, saying, "Professor Katz usually doesn't come this early in the afternoon. You can come around 3 o'clock next time."

He chuckled again, the meaning of which was ambiguous.

"Of course, you don't have to come."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the laboratory fell silent once more.

The second-level wizard apprentice turned back to his work and had little interest in continuing the conversation.

Seeing that his mentor Katz didn't seem to be showing up early, Thor simply took out his book, found a table that wasn't cluttered, and sat down to study.

Seeing this, the other two also found a place to read.

There were clear boundaries between the three individuals and each other.

Because he had too many things weighing on his mind, Saul couldn't concentrate on reading this time. Every now and then, he would look up to check the time.

Finally, when the hourglass reached 3:30 p.m., the laboratory door was pushed open again.

Everyone put down their work and stood up.

"Mentor!" The second-level apprentice greeted him with a smile.

Following his gaze, Thor saw a thin, withered old man with white hair.

The other person looked very old, with wrinkled skin and slightly cloudy eyes, making Kaz look like he was over ninety years old.

Katz walked in slowly, his steps quite steady.

He didn't respond to the second-level apprentice, but simply glanced around the laboratory.

Saul noticed that the second-level apprentice seemed very nervous.

"My requirements are simple," Katz said coldly to the second-level apprentice. "Put everything back where it belongs. If you can't even do that, don't bother coming to my lab again."

The second-level apprentice's smile faltered, and his expression turned awkward. "Yes, mentor, I'll get it ready today."

When is your next test?

"One month later."

"Okay, then let's test whether you can clean the lab."

"Yes."

Thor noticed that the second-level apprentice actually breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Katz's test requirements.

Then, Kaz looked at the three newcomers and said, "Come here, stand in front of me. Do you expect an old man like me to walk over there?"

The three of them quickly went over and stood in a row in front of Kaz.

Kaz's grey pupils swept over the three of them one by one, finally landing on Thor, when he suddenly asked in a displeased tone, "Why is your magic power so low?"

Duke, standing on Angela's other side, suddenly brightened up. He seemed to be hesitating whether to offer to "explain" for Thor.

Just as he was about to speak, the wound on his face began to throb, and he was unable to utter a sound.

Thor knew he couldn't hide his situation from a formal wizard, so he took the initiative to say, "Master, my magical talent isn't very good, but my mental talent is alright."

Kaz, however, was unconvinced. "Having only mental power without magic makes you a scholar, not a wizard. A wizard isn't just someone who can read books."

He muttered under his breath, "Can't they even find a decent apprentice out there anymore?"

Thor was already mentally prepared and wasn't discouraged by Kaz's words. But if even his own mentor looked down on him, how could he continue his studies?

"Mentor, I will work hard to improve my magic. Please give me a chance."

Kaz rolled his eyes. "How hard? Sorcery modification? Fine, as long as your magic power increases to 10 joules within three months, I'll consider you to have passed the first test. Otherwise... my lab will never have too many materials."

A joule is a unit of measurement for magic.

During the wizard apprentice test, the black crystal was responsible for measuring the magical power inherent in a person's body.

Generally, it is required to reach 10 joules before the age of fifteen to be considered a qualified talent.

However, Thor's magical talent is definitely less than 10 joules, and may even be less than 5 joules, otherwise Master Kaz would not have thought that he had no chance at all.

It is indeed difficult to accomplish in three months what was originally a three-year goal.

Saul stepped forward, intending to plead with his mentor for more time.

But Katz raised his hand, preventing Thor from speaking again.

He said to Duke, who was gloating, and Angela, who was looking at him with pity, "You two come with me."

"You," he glanced at Saul, "start by learning from Mark."

Mark is the second-level apprentice in the lab.

After Kaz finished speaking, he left the lab with the other two new recruits, not knowing what they were going to do or where they were going.

Mark wasn't surprised and escorted him all the way to the door.

After Kaz and his group left, he closed the door and went back to the cabinet to tidy up his things.

They didn't even acknowledge Thor's intentions.

Saul was not discouraged; he had Kongsa behind him.

He has now met Kongsha's requirements and become Kaz's student.

She will likely relay the next order to Saul soon.

However, Kongsa mostly used Saul.

She disregarded Thor's situation and forcibly influenced his elemental perception, most likely to make Thor choose Kaz as his mentor.

If Thor wants to use Kongsa's influence to become stronger, then he can no longer allow her to treat him as cannon fodder that can be discarded at any time.

He had to carefully navigate between refusing the other party's dangerous orders and seeking their protection.

First of all, the study of witchcraft must never cease.

"Senior," Thor stepped behind Mark, "can I help you pack?"

Mark turned around, completely unsurprised by Saul's choice, as if he had been waiting for him to speak.

"Sigh, you newbies don't have magic crystals or academic credits, so all you can do is physical labor. For the next month, you'll be in charge of cleaning the lab, and I'll spend an hour teaching you every day."

Thor looked around the small but cluttered laboratory and hesitated before saying, "Cleaning the whole laboratory? Senior, I'm not sure if my current abilities will interfere with your plans."

"Of course, I won't leave all the work to you. I'll tell you the important points; you just need to be responsible for the final touches."

Mark suddenly raised his hand, and a mouth opened in his palm, from which a bright red tongue darted out, nearly licking Saul's face.

"If you don't concentrate on your work and make a mistake, I'll skin you alive!"

(End of this chapter)