89: Green was shocked

"Gelin…"

"Regarding what you said, the fact that your batch of combat apprentices suffered heavy casualties actually has a reason."

Mentor Jordan regained his calm composure, reorganized his words, and said:

"This is also related to the Bio-Armor Project."

"Before you joined the Bio-Armor Project, our Academy had already completed the first two steps of special training for 5 third-generation Bio-armors, which were then put into the third step of outdoor environment testing."

"With the support of 5 Bio-armors, each comparable in combat power to a Peak Wizard Apprentice, our Academy seized a medium-sized resource point in the Mist Islands…"

"And in the Mist Forest, we fought a battle against the Wizard Apprentices of our old rival, Blood Fortress Academy, and reclaimed the fifty-mile border we had lost…"

"We also had friendly sparring matches with the three great Wizard families of the Motlan Grand Kingdom, making them obediently increase their resource tribute by 30% and place a large order for Knight series potions with us…"

"…These…"

"…are all things that have happened in the past decade or so."

"Some you have experienced, some you have only heard fragments of, and some you are completely unaware of…"

Mentor Jordan said solemnly:

"Gelin…"

"The reason why so many combat apprentices in your batch suffered casualties is due to these wars of the Academy, not the so-called Black Wizards."

"Gelin, you must remember, on the Mist Coast, your opponents are not Black Wizards; they are merely pathetic wretches not worth mentioning."

"The ones who truly pose a threat to you are those White Wizard Apprentices who are also part of the Seven Towers Alliance."

"Especially those scoundrels from Blood Fortress; they are both righteous and evil, with a hint of Black Wizard flavor, and their combat power is generally a bit stronger than the apprentices of our Academy. You will frequently encounter them when you go on missions in the future."

"It's not good to act in public places, but when no one is around, just go for it, fight to the death."

"This is an unspoken understanding between our two Academies; personal grudges between apprentices will not be meddled with by Formal Wizards, nor by the Seven Towers Alliance."

"This is also the third secret I want to tell you: even White Wizard Academies are not entirely harmonious; they also speak with their fists."

"Those with harder fists speak with more confidence and get more resources. Those with softer fists have to speak more quietly and receive a smaller share of resources…" Gelin was stunned by such explosive news.

This was completely different from the education he had received during his decades at the Wizard Academy.

It was as if Gelin's worldview had been thrown to the ground and repeatedly crushed to pieces… Mentor Jordan saw Gelin's confusion and continued:

"This is related to the fourth secret I'm about to tell you."

"On the Mist Coast, there is a recognized unspoken rule, which is—"

"—you cannot damage the reputation of White Wizards' unity. All bad deeds, all evil, are done by Black Wizards."

"In other words…"

"It's fine for apprentices from various White Wizard Academies to kill each other in secret, but it cannot be brought into the open."

"Publicly, all Wizard Apprentices who die in the wilderness are killed by Black Wizards."

"The Academy's mentors will also cooperate with the propaganda, telling you that Black Wizards outside are very ferocious, and if you don't study hard, you will have to fight Black Wizards in the future, and then you will die a miserable, miserable death…"

"Gelin, am I right?"

"Did your previous mentors tell you this?"

…Gelin nodded frantically.

He said, extremely excited:

"Mentor Jordan, you are absolutely right."

"From the first day I came to this Academy, everyone was telling me, 'Gelin, if you don't study hard, you'll have to fight Black Wizards in the future.'"

"Those Black Wizards are extremely vicious. After killing you, they'll even cut out your kidneys to make roasted kidneys, slice your two livers for a stir-fried liver dish to go with drinks, and collect your blood to make blood wine, and so on and so forth…"

"They're simply too brutal to be human!"

"In those years, the most popular storybooks among us apprentices were about Black Wizards—all sorts of brutality, all sorts of gore, all sorts of ruthlessness; it was incredible."

"So, I…"

"So, you became extremely fearful and scared of Black Wizards?"

Mentor Jordan continued Gelin's words,

"And then…"

"You studied desperately, trained desperately, and even your fighting spirit was just this humble desire to survive?"

"Is that right?"

"Yes, Mentor," Gelin said sheepishly.

Mentor Jordan didn't know what to say at this point, remaining silent for a long time.

"Sigh…"

"What more can I say?"

"I can only say that the Academy's education was too successful, successfully cultivating an oddball like you."

"Even in the 100-plus year history of the Wizard Academy, your situation is very rare."

"This Black Wizard intimidation teaching method is not unique to Plant Heart Wizard Academy."

"It can be said that all White Wizard Academies on the Mist Coast teach apprentices this way, but I've never heard of anyone being so afraid of Black Wizards, afraid to the point of reaching a certain state, a kind of, well, what you called a psychological shadow."

…Mentor Jordan stared intently at Gelin for a while.

Then he suddenly thought of a situation.

Mentor Jordan immediately spoke up and asked:

"Gelin, please don't tell me—you still have fear of Black Wizards, meaning a psychological shadow?"

"I've told you secrets for so long, explained the strengths of White Wizards and the pitiful situation of Black Wizards, all of it, and you still have a psychological shadow about Black Wizards?"

"Was what I said of no use at all?"

"Uh…"

Gelin was a bit embarrassed but didn't want to lie, so he braced himself and said:

"Mentor Jordan, it still had some effect."

"At least, I'm clearer about the history of our White Wizards, more confident about the path I'll take in the future, and I trust our Wizard Academy even more…"

"Our Wizard Academy is truly an excellent Academy; it's good to its apprentices, has good welfare and benefits, and the teaching atmosphere of the mentors is also good. It's simply the best Wizard Academy in the world…"

As Gelin spoke, feeling Mentor Jordan's increasingly pressing death glare, his voice grew softer and softer, eventually becoming almost a mosquito's whisper… "Sigh…"

Mentor Jordan let out a deep sigh.

"Gelin, I really shouldn't have held out hope for you."

"I really don't know how your brain is wired…"

"Forget it, forget it…"

"That's enough for today. I'll think of a way to solve your problem."

"This first lesson was just me talking nonsense to you, and it ended up having no effect at all…"

"Gelin, after you go back, think carefully about these four secrets I told you."

"Remember, do not tell these secrets to other low-level apprentices, especially those still in their welfare period."

"Do you understand?"

"Mentor Jordan, I promise I won't blabber," Gelin said, patting his chest.

"Hmph…"

Mentor Jordan only left Gelin with a cold snort before departing…