Chapter 13: The Difficult Path of Learning
Chapter 13: The Difficult Road of Study
Saul wasn’t even sure how he managed to walk all the way back to his dorm.
He slammed the door shut, threw all the books and the crystal ball onto the bed, and slowly slid down to the floor, leaning against the bed frame.
“Why can’t I sense many dark elements? Is it because the distribution of elemental particles in the classroom was uneven?”
Thinking this, Saul immediately grabbed a book and the crystal ball and, still sitting on the ground, began to meditate again.
This time, he could indeed sense some dark elemental particles—but there were pitifully few, even fewer than the white ones.
“White… that’s light element, right? That’s impossible. When I took the test, I clearly had the highest sensitivity to dark element.”
“Could Syd have tampered with the results back then?”
“No, that doesn’t make sense. If he didn’t want me to pass, what good would it do to mess with the element detection?”
As reluctant as he was, Saul couldn’t help but think of Kongsha.
His thoughts flashed back to the healing potion Kongsha had given him.
“If dark isn’t actually my strongest element, then maybe that potion temporarily altered my spiritual sensitivity.”
From the start, Saul had known Kongsha helped him become a student for some hidden purpose. Now, this only confirmed it further.
He let out a long breath, tossed the crystal ball aside, and looked up—it was nearly time for afternoon class.
There was no way to go question Kongsha about the meditation right now. He’d have to take it one step at a time.
When he left his room again, he didn’t see Keli.
His plan to ask her about her meditation fell through, so Saul headed alone to the 15th floor of the East Tower.
That’s where Instructor Katz’s private lab was located.
If an ordinary student wanted to get a mentor’s guidance, they usually had to go to the lab—if the mentor was in the mood, they might answer a few questions.
But more often than not, students avoided going unless they hit a bottleneck.
The usual responses were:
“You can’t even solve this?”
“Didn’t I already explain this?”
“I don’t think you need to wait for the next test—you’re already eliminated.”
Only newcomers who hadn’t seen their mentor's temper were still excited about meeting them up close.
Saul wasn’t excited.
His heart was weighed down with too much.
When he arrived at Instructor Katz’s lab and opened the door, he locked eyes with someone instantly.
The other person’s face went through an entire range of expressions—shock, anger, panic, and finally forced calm.
It was Duke.
Saul ran a finger across his chin with his bony left hand.
Duke immediately looked away.
The bruise on his face still carried a faint purplish outline in the shape of a handprint.
Don’t provoke… Don’t provoke…
Not many students had chosen Katz as their mentor—only three out of the twenty or so newcomers.
Saul, Duke, and a pretty girl named Angela.
Angela didn’t seem to know about the conflict between Saul and Duke. Her big eyes sparkled, and she wore a calm, gentle smile.
Inside the lab, a young man with a Level 2 apprentice badge was tidying up.
Seeing the three of them standing silently, he stepped forward and said, “Instructor Katz usually doesn’t come this early. You can show up around 3 PM next time.”
Then he gave them a cryptic smile.
“Of course, not showing up is fine too.”
After that brief greeting, the lab fell silent again.
The Level 2 apprentice went back to sorting his things—clearly not interested in chatting.
Seeing that Katz wasn’t here yet, Saul simply pulled out a book and found a clutter-free desk to study at.
The other two followed suit, each choosing a seat with a noticeable gap between them.
A clear divide.
But Saul couldn’t focus—his head was filled with too much.
Every few minutes, he’d glance at the time.
Finally, when the hourglass showed it was 3:30 PM, the lab door opened again.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood up.
“Instructor!” The Level 2 apprentice greeted with a big smile.
Following his gaze, Saul saw a skinny, frail-looking old man with white hair.
His skin was wrinkled and his eyes slightly cloudy—Katz looked like he was in his nineties.
But his steps were steady.
He didn’t respond to the apprentice, only swept his gaze around the lab.
Saul noticed that the Level 2 apprentice seemed very nervous.
“My requirements are simple,” Katz said coldly to the young man.
“Put everything back where it belongs. If you can’t even manage that, don’t bother coming to my lab again.”
The smile fell off the apprentice’s face.
“Yes, Instructor. I’ll clean everything up today.”
“When’s your next evaluation?”
“In a month.”
“Good. Then I’ll test whether you can tidy this lab properly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Saul noticed—strangely—that the apprentice looked relieved when Katz said that.
Then, Katz turned to the three newcomers.
“You three—come over. What, you expect this old man to walk to you?”
They quickly formed a line in front of him.
Katz’s dull gray eyes swept across each of them—and landed on Saul.
His tone suddenly soured.
“Why is your magic level so low?”
Duke’s eyes lit up instantly. He seemed ready to help "explain" Saul’s situation…
But just as he opened his mouth, the bruises on his face began to throb—he couldn’t even speak.
Saul knew his situation couldn’t be hidden from a full-fledged mage.
So he answered directly:
“Instructor, I don’t have a strong magic talent. But my spiritual power is decent.”
Katz didn’t buy it.
“Having only spiritual strength and no magic? That’s a scholar, not a mage. Being a mage isn’t just about reading books.”
He muttered under his breath.
“Can’t even find a decent apprentice out there these days…”
Saul was mentally prepared.
Katz’s words didn’t hit him too hard.
But if even his mentor didn’t believe in him—how could he move forward in his studies?
“Instructor, I’ll work hard to increase my magic. Please give me a chance.”
Katz rolled his eyes.
“Work hard? You want arcane enhancement? Fine. If you raise your magic to 10 Joules in three months, I’ll consider you as having passed the first evaluation. Otherwise… well, my lab can always use more materials.”
Joule—the unit of measurement for magical energy.
During apprentice evaluations, the black crystal ball is used to measure this.
Normally, reaching 10 Joules before age 15 is considered acceptable talent.
But Saul definitely didn’t have 10 Joules—probably not even 5.
Otherwise, Katz wouldn’t dismiss his chances completely.
Reaching in 3 months what should take 3 years… that was brutal.
Saul stepped forward, hoping to plead for more time.
But Katz raised a hand to silence him.
Then he looked at Duke and Angela.
“You two, come with me.”
Then, casting a glance at Saul:
“You—stay here and study under Mark.”
Mark—the Level 2 apprentice.
Katz left with the other two newcomers. Who knew what they were going to do, or where.
Mark didn’t seem surprised at all. He even saw them to the door.
Once Katz was gone, Mark shut the door and went back to his work.
He didn’t say a word to Saul.
But Saul wasn’t discouraged.
He still had Kongsha behind him.
He had already fulfilled her requirement—becoming Katz’s student.
She would probably give him his next directive soon.
Still, Kongsha only used Saul.
She tampered with his elemental perception, just to make sure he chose Katz as his mentor.
If Saul wanted to grow stronger using her backing, he couldn’t remain a disposable pawn.
He’d have to walk a tightrope—balancing between refusing her dangerous orders and gaining her protection.
And first of all, he couldn’t stop learning magic.
“Senior,” Saul took the initiative and walked up to Mark.
“Can I help you tidy up?”
Mark turned around, unsurprised—like he’d been expecting this.
“Sigh… You new kids have no magic crystals, no credits. All you can do is manual labor.”
“For the next month, you’ll be in charge of cleaning the lab. I’ll give you an hour of teaching each day.”
Saul glanced around at the cluttered but not-so-large lab.
“Clean the entire place? Senior, I’m worried my current abilities might slow you down.”
“Of course I’m not giving you everything. I’ll tell you what to watch for—you just do the final sweep.”
Suddenly, Mark lifted his hand—and his palm split open into a mouth, a long red tongue shooting out and almost licking Saul’s face.
“If you slack off and miss something…”
“I’ll tear your skin off.”
(End of Chapter)
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