12: Chapter 12 Choosing a Mentor

Byron heard this, and his speechlessness reached its peak.

But alas, the circumstances were stronger than the man; he could only obediently walk back.

The Old Wizard did not waste time and immediately took a stack of documents out of a drawer.

"You haven't selected a mentor yet. These are the documents for mentors currently recruiting students, along with their recruitment requirements."

As he spoke, the Old Wizard tapped his finger on the document folder. "I will only state the rules once. Once you have made your selection, it cannot be changed. Choose carefully."

After saying this, the Old Wizard placed the stack of documents in front of Byron and went back to doing his own work with his head lowered.

Looking at the stack of documents, Byron finally understood why the students who had entered before him had taken so long; it turned out they had to choose a mentor.

Byron didn't waste any more words and immediately picked up the stack of documents, starting to flip through them one by one.

[Simon Varo, Necromancy Dept. Mentor. Research focus: Undead creation, Soul extraction and conversion, skeletal activation. Recruitment requirements: Students with Grade 3 Aptitude or above, absolute obedience to mentor instructions, provision of no less than 300 milliliters of heart blood per month for the mentor's harmless testing. Number of recruits: Two.]

[Anya Haytham, Soul Dept. Mentor. Research focus: Psychology, Soul Spell modeling, Spellcasting. Provides three items of free knowledge, requires assistance in completing one experiment. Number of recruits: Unlimited.]

...

[Gerald Varo, Bloodline Dept. Mentor. Research focus: Bloodline transplantation, biological cultivation, anatomy. Requires students with Grade 4 Aptitude or above, must possess a strong physique to assist the mentor in experiments, must hand over five magic stones per month. Number of recruits: One.]

[Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross, Potionology mentor. Research focus: Life energy studies, Potionology, Materials. Requires students to hand over five magic stones per month, complete instructions issued by the mentor, and assist the mentor in completing various harmless potion experiments. Number of recruits: One.]

[Alchemy Dept. Mentor Edgar Thorne, Alchemy Dept. Mentor. Research focus: wizard artifact manufacturing, Materials, mana conduction studies. Provides three items of free knowledge, one wizard artifact, requires students to hand over 30% of profits from selling alchemy products, and must be able to complete various tasks assigned by the mentor. Number of recruits: Unlimited.]

Upon seeing the prompt that the Eye of Omniscience had finished recording, Byron issued another command.

'Omniscience, organize the data and filter out the mentors suitable for me.'

[Organization complete. There are a total of seventy-six mentors. After removing mentors with misleading information or who pose a danger, seven mentors remain.]

[Simon Varo, Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross, Alchemy Dept. Mentor Edgar Thorne...]

Seeing this data, even though Byron had been prepared, the corner of his eye twitched in shock, and he cursed inwardly.

'Damn it, there are so many pitfalls. Out of seventy-plus mentors, only seven are left after filtering.'

'It even includes Alchemy Dept. Mentor Edgar Thorne, that exploiter of labor. Just how treacherous must the other filtered-out mentors be!'

'"Assisting with experiments"—could it be that they aren't looking for lab assistants, but rather test subjects?'

Thinking about the nature of those wizards, the more Byron thought about it, the more likely that conjecture seemed!

"Have you chosen yet?" The Old Wizard raised his head slightly at this moment, looking at Byron through the gap above his glasses.

Byron hurriedly said, "Almost done."

The Old Wizard chuckled, "It's fine, I'm not in a rush. Take your time choosing."

After speaking, a meaningful smile appeared on the Old Wizard's lips, which made Byron feel a chill down his spine.

Byron thought to himself: 'This old bastard must know about these documents... No, he definitely knows. They are all in the same academy; how could he not know? What a pit!'

Seeing that Byron didn't answer immediately, the Old Wizard continued.

"Little guy, you must have realized there are issues here, right? Do you want to know which of these mentors are problematic and which are not? Ten magic stones, and I can tell you what you want to know."

Upon hearing this, Byron couldn't help but curse inwardly: The old thing's appetite is truly huge!

But it doesn't matter, I have a cheat!

Byron said respectfully, "Respected Wizard, thank you for your kindness, but I have already chosen a mentor. It is Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross."

The Old Wizard didn't expect Byron to suddenly make a decision: "Oh, you must think carefully. Once a mentor is chosen, it cannot be changed."

"Furthermore, Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross teaches Potionology. Although this subject can earn magic stones, it consumes a lot of magic stones early on. It is not the best choice for you."

"You must think carefully. If you pay the magic stones, I can help you change to another one and assist you in choosing a mentor suitable for you. How about it?"

Byron shook his head slightly: "Thank you for your kindness, Wizard, but I have made up my mind to choose Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross."

He did not make this choice without reason.

Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross was not only on the list provided by the Eye of Omniscience, but she was also a Potionology mentor and one of the four choices given by Eliza.

Furthermore, because he had the Eye of Omniscience, with its help, he was confident in minimizing the early losses of Potionology.

Seeing Byron's determined expression, the Old Wizard couldn't say much more and sighed lightly.

It was just unclear whether he was sighing for Byron's future or feeling regret and heartache over not being able to earn twenty magic stones.

Subsequently, he wrote Byron's full name on the page of documents recording Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross, then rubbed it gently.

That page of documents instantly turned into ashes and finally disappeared into the air.

"Alright, now you can go report to your mentor, Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross. Don't forget the first class of the semester tomorrow. Leave now."

The Old Wizard waved his hand impatiently, telling him to leave quickly.

Seeing this appearance, Byron was certain in his heart that this guy was unhappy because he hadn't managed to earn twenty magic stones from him.

However, Byron didn't care whether he was happy or not. Without saying much, he simply bowed and then turned to leave directly.

And when Byron walked out of the building and looked at the unfamiliar environment around him, he finally realized that he didn't know the way!

At this moment, Byron could confirm that this was done on purpose by that old bastard; it was absolutely intentional.

If he went to the wrong place, wasting time would be a minor issue, but if he accidentally trespassed into the Forbidden Ground of the academy or a wizard's territory, his fate would be absolutely miserable—at the very least, he would lose a layer of skin.

This was naked revenge.

Thinking of this, Byron instead laughed rather than getting angry.

That old thing probably wouldn't have thought that he possessed something like the Eye of Omniscience.

Furthermore, when Gerald had brought them here earlier, they had passed through the Research Area, and he had mentioned that if there were no other matters, academy mentors were generally in their own laboratories in the Research Area and would not leave.

And this entire route had been recorded and archived by the Eye of Omniscience, so Byron was able to head to the Research Area according to the prompts from the Eye of Omniscience.

As for how to find Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross, that would require thinking of another way.

Thinking of this, Byron did not hesitate any longer and walked forward according to what the Eye of Omniscience had recorded.

After a while, after many twists and turns, Byron finally arrived at the Research Area.

The buildings throughout the entire Research Area existed in the form of spires, only with different styles.

With so many spires gathered together, it gave people a sense of concentrated, repetitive beauty.

And when Byron walked into the Research Area, he smiled, smiling exceptionally brightly.

Because at this moment, he had already found the way to Potion Dept. Mentor Isold Ross's laboratory.