In the academy’s grand banquet hall, Professor Morian was still recounting Brand’s "inspirational stories" with great emotion, showing absolutely no intention of stopping.
Seeing this, Anna, who had been waiting for quite a while, finally couldn’t help but pull "Brand" to Professor Morian’s side, ready to interrupt her teacher’s impromptu speech.
As Professor Morian’s apprentice, Anna knew exactly what kind of character her teacher had. Just a month ago, her teacher’s knowledge of Brand was limited to the fact that he was a student in his class, or at most, that Brand was an excellent student. As for how Brand usually behaved, he hadn’t paid any attention to it at all!
So it was easy to deduce the truth: everything Professor Morian was narrating right now was completely made up by him. Fabricating someone’s past right in front of them made Anna feel incredibly embarrassed on her teacher’s behalf.
On Professor Morian’s end, upon realizing someone had touched his shoulder and softly called his name, he finally stopped his impromptu speech, though he still seemed wanting to say more. He was deeply immersed in boasting about Brand’s various deeds, and those admiring gazes made him feel as if he had reached the pinnacle of Magic. But after speaking for so long, his throat was quite dry. Now was a good time to take a sip of water to moisten his throat.
Drinking his tea, Professor Morian turned his head. Upon discovering that it was his apprentice Anna who had interrupted his speech, his mood brightened a bit more.
"Ah, Anna! Has Brand come over?" As he spoke, Professor Morian looked around.
Regrettably, he failed to see the figure he had expected. He didn’t pay it much mind, thinking that Brand might be occupied with something and it was inconvenient for him right now. He would just take his friends to go find him later.
Shifting his gaze back to Anna, he saw his little apprentice frowning and looking around in utter confusion. Professor Morian couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong?"
Looking at her bare, smooth hand, Anna said with a hint of uncertainty, "I was definitely pulling Brand just a moment ago, but how did he disappear?"
"What did you say?"
Realizing that Anna was not lying, Professor Morian’s expression turned grave. Could someone have snatched him away prematurely?
At the Moon Lakefront, Brand was currently being forced to take an "exam."
Earlier, when a desk and chair had abruptly appeared in the clearing by the lake, Brand had originally just wanted to approach and study them. However, during his cautious approach, perhaps someone watching from the shadows became dissatisfied with his dawdling. An irresistible Power hoisted Brand directly into the air and then firmly pressed him onto the chair.
Immediately after, Brand watched in sheer bewilderment as his right hand "automatically" picked up the "exam paper" on the desk, and his eyes "consciously" focused on it. The only thing missing was for his brain to start automatically comprehending the meaning of the words on the paper.
The hidden mentor’s intention was so obvious that Brand naturally grasped its meaning right away—they wanted him to complete this exam paper! Since he was already here, Brand was also quite curious about what kind of "exam" they wanted him to take.
[Please follow the steps below to complete the Rune and Array Base Plate drawing on the answer sheet.]
Below the prompt, each step was explained in detail across several paragraphs: which line used what "pigment," which pattern needed to be coated with what "powder," and which circle required what Rune to be drawn. Seeing this content gave Brand the strong déjà vu of looking at an "illustrated manual."
"Could this be the drawing method for a Rune Array?"
Since he didn’t know the drawing process of a Rune Array, nor had he ever seen what one actually looked like, Brand could only rely on his "shallow" knowledge and the prompt’s instructions to guess the exam’s intent.
After reading through all the steps under the prompt, Brand was highly surprised to find that he knew how to do this! Setting aside those bizarre "drawing requirements," the Runes involved only ranged from Rune One to Rune Three. Therefore, theoretically speaking, Brand could pull it off!
"If this is what drawing a Rune Array entails, I don’t think it’s impossible for me!"
Because there was only one answer sheet, Brand planned to try it once in the Simulation World first, substituting the unseen pigments and powders with materials of similar properties. Glancing at the hourglass in the corner, Brand began his "Meditation."
***
On the opposite side of Moon Lake, the Dean of the Empire Mage Academy and a veiled, purple-haired woman were watching Brand’s every move on the other side of the lake. They were the "masterminds" who had brought Brand out of the banquet hall.
When Brand started examining the exam question, the Dean of the Academy seemed to have discovered something interesting. Stroking his beard, he teased with a smile, "Little Celine, you’re only giving him one answer sheet? I remember when you first attempted Rune Array drawing, you failed quite a few times!" You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Hearing the Dean of the Academy’s teasing, the purple-haired woman frowned slightly and replied, "His Spiritual Power has just stepped over the threshold of a Junior Mage Apprentice. Even with the Awakening Potion, he is limited by the diminishing effectiveness of taking Potions multiple times in a short period. He only ever had one chance to begin with."
Hearing the purple-haired woman’s explanation, the Dean of the Academy persistently continued, imitating Brand’s voice: "Exactly! I only have the Spiritual Power of a Junior Mage Apprentice, so why did I run into such an unreasonable mentor giving me such a difficult exam? Isn’t this just making things hard for me, Brand? Why not wait until I become a Middle Level Mage Apprentice or Senior Mage Apprentice to test me?"
The Dean of the Academy’s antics angered the purple-haired woman, and she shot back, "You old geezer! Isn’t it because those mentors under you never follow the rules and always jump the gun? If I didn’t intercept him a bit earlier, would I even have a chance? Since when did taking an apprentice rely on connections instead of ability? Do you know how many apprentices have been snatched away from me over the years?"
"AHEM!"
Hit where it hurt, the smile on the Dean of the Academy’s face faded a bit. Immediately after, he defended himself with somewhat lacking confidence, "Although it’s true that my delegation of power played a part in this, they were all willing parties, weren’t they?"
Seeing the purple-haired woman’s displeased expression, the Dean of the Academy quickly changed the subject. "Regardless, isn’t the difficulty of the exam you gave Brand a bit too high? Even with my many years of experience, I have never seen a young person who could successfully draw a Rune Array on their first try."
The Dean of the Academy’s concession slightly softened the purple-haired woman’s expression. After pondering for a moment, she explained, "The legacy of Rune Array Science in my lineage demands extremely high ’drawing’ Talent. Before delving into the deeper aspects, knowledge is actually secondary. Brand’s Talent in Rune Drawing is the highest I’ve ever seen; he has a very high chance of completing my test."
"And what if he doesn’t pass?"
Hearing this, the Dean of the Academy looked very puzzled. One must know, he had braved the pressure from a whole group of the academy’s mentors to follow her wishes and bring Brand over. If she ended up not taking Brand as her apprentice, wouldn’t all his efforts have been in vain?
However, he heard the purple-haired woman say with a flat expression, "Then it will prove that Brand’s Talent is only so-so, and taking him as a disciple will be a matter for another time! Of course, if he is willing, I am still willing to take him as an apprentice."
Hearing this, the Dean of the Academy couldn’t help but stroke his beard. Immediately after, he couldn’t resist dealing a blow: "Little Celine, you haven’t produced a Rune Array Master who passed the test for eight consecutive years. If two more years go by, even if Rune Array Science is a highly difficult, subsidized subject, I will have no choice but to painfully cut the share of resources allocated to you. If he is merely an ordinary apprentice and you don’t teach him with all your heart, I find it hard to believe he’ll be able to pass the test."
After hearing the Dean of the Academy’s words, the purple-haired woman knew that this was indeed a problem. But her tone remained resolute: "Then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!"