Morris gave Slade a long, meaningful look.
For several moments, he remained silent, as though carefully weighing whether the conversation was worth continuing.
Ordinary apprentices rarely earned even a fraction of his attention.
After all, Morris had spent decades within Bone Spire Academy, climbing from a mere apprentice to a full-fledged wizard. During that time, he had witnessed far too many betrayals, conspiracies, experiments, and deaths.
Among the dark wizards of Bone Spire, both he and Cyrus were considered comparatively "stable" and "reasonable" the sort who would not casually slaughter people on a whim.
That was precisely why they had been assigned recruitment duties.
Had the task fallen to one of the more deranged wizards whose minds had been twisted by prolonged exposure to negative energy…
There probably would not have been many survivors left aboard the ship.
But Slade was different.
This boy possessed extraordinary potential.
Morris could see it clearly.
If he invested further in him now and established a favorable relationship, the returns in the future might be enormous.
At last, Morris spoke.
"With your talent, two people are guaranteed to take interest in you."
He lifted his bone-bladed arm and pointed toward the front of the hall, where two of the most terrifying figures stood.
One was a towering man cloaked in dense black mist, with only a pair of crimson eyes visible beneath the darkness.
The other was a woman in flowing black robes. Her face remained hidden beneath the shadow of her hood, revealing only a pale chin curved into a faintly mysterious smile.
"Skeleton Emperor Victor."
"And Soul Weaver Malfa."
The moment Slade's gaze landed on them, both figures slowly turned to look in his direction.
Slade immediately felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Morris noticed the subtle reaction and lowered his voice even further, his hoarse words seeming to burrow directly into Slade's mind.
"If you follow either of them, you'll gain rapid access to top-tier knowledge regarding necromancy and soul sorcery."
"Resources will not be a problem."
Then his tone changed slightly.
A trace of warning appeared in it.
"But especially in Victor's case…"
"They regard talented apprentices as premium-grade materials and experimental subjects."
"In Malfa's eyes, your superior soul talent may be the perfect foundation for soul-stitching experiments."
"And in Victor's view, your combined affinity for soul and earth attributes could make you an ideal core for an Earth Skeleton Golem."
Morris paused briefly before speaking the final sentence.
"The mortality rate among their apprentices… is extremely high."
Slade's heart sank.
So his instincts had been correct all along.
Originally, he had assumed that choosing a mentor specializing in souls or necromancy would be ideal, since his current spells already belonged to those schools.
And both disciplines were undeniably powerful. The source of this chapter is g.com.
But compared to his own survival…
Everything else became secondary.
Suppressing the unease in his heart, Slade asked quietly,
"Then… Mentor Morris, what would you recommend?"
Morris's compound eyes shifted toward a remote corner of the hall.
There sat a middle-aged wizard wearing a gray robe stained with dirt and unidentified substances.
His hair resembled a tangled bird's nest, and his cloudy eyes lacked focus.
Unlike the other wizards, he displayed no symbols of status, no achievements, no aura of intimidation.
He merely sat there alone, absentmindedly scribbling on a bone tablet, seemingly oblivious to the noise surrounding him.
"His name is Gregor."
Morris spoke slowly.
"He is known as the Hand of All Things."
Then he added with a strange expression,
"A stubborn old outcast."
"He has remained a Third-Ring Wizard for nearly a century, yet has never succeeded in condensing a Holy Mark to advance into the Fourth Ring."
"Several decades ago, he became obsessed with an insane theory…"
"The Death Metamorphosis Ritual."
Slade's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Death Metamorphosis?"
Morris nodded faintly.
"Gregor believes that comfort and stability are shackles preventing wizards from evolving."
"In his view, only by approaching death infinitely closely or even truly entering a near-death state can the soul break through its limits and undergo qualitative transformation."
"He even believes this process can strengthen a person's innate talent."
"He has spent decades attempting to create a ritual capable of bringing someone to the brink of death before reviving them afterward."
A harsh, grating laugh escaped Morris's throat, sounding like bones scraping against one another.
"The theory sounds tempting."
"But in reality…"
"The success rate is practically zero."
"He himself nearly died several times while testing the ritual."
Morris continued,
"Gregor studies a wide range of disciplines necromancy, soul magic, curses, transformations, elemental sorcery…"
"Because his research is spread too broadly, he doesn't possess many resources to invest in apprentices."
"And he rarely bothers guiding them personally."
"His teaching philosophy is almost entirely hands-off."
Morris paused briefly before adding in a strange tone,
"Yet ironically…"
"His apprentices have the highest survival rate."
"Because…"
Morris paused briefly before continuing.
"He does not willingly sacrifice his apprentices."
"And, strangely enough, he dislikes unnecessary trouble."
"Under Gregor, as long as you keep a low profile and avoid causing problems, your chances of survival are actually much higher than under Victor or Malfa."
His compound eyes fixed on Slade.
"For someone like you a genius who needs time to grow, and who clearly doesn't want to become disposable experimental material Gregor may actually be the safer choice."
Then Morris added meaningfully,
"Of course… that assumes you stay far away from his so-called Death Metamorphosis Ritual."
"I'm only offering advice. The final decision is yours."
"The path of wizardry has never been smooth. Perhaps this kind of 'free-range' mentorship will simply cause you to die sooner."
Slade immediately understood the deeper implication behind Morris's words.
Gregor was essentially a research-oriented mentor.
He could provide only limited protection and minimal resources, but in exchange, he offered something far more valuable:
Freedom.
Choosing Gregor meant sacrificing support and direct guidance.
But it also meant avoiding becoming tightly bound to a mentor as personal property.
And in an academy where the mentor-apprentice relationship resembled ownership more than education, Slade naturally found himself leaning toward this kind of eccentric academic.
As for the so-called Death Metamorphosis Ritual…
A faint glimmer flashed through Slade's eyes.
The theory itself was not entirely absurd.
Wasn't Alphonse living proof?
He had awakened his death affinity only after approaching true death, and his mental power had skyrocketed to fifteen points in the process.
Though…
Still slightly inferior to Slade himself.
"Thank you for your guidance, Mentor."
Slade bowed sincerely.
Even so, he did not intend to decide immediately.
Before making his choice, he wanted to examine the other mentors carefully and gain a better understanding of the academy's various disciplines and research directions.