parentshiftbook Chapter 288, First Student
Chapter 288, First Student
Chapter 288 The First Student
The number of people in the square where the apprentice recruitment fair was held was indeed slightly more than it had been decades ago, but it had only changed from "extremely sparse" to "slightly sparse".
This year's freshman enrollment barely exceeded four hundred, which is still far more than the number of students in such a large college.
As he had done every year for the past few decades, Jemin sat calmly behind the alchemy school's admissions desk, holding a thick tome in his hands.
He appeared to be engrossed in reading, but his mind had already wandered off, pondering the details of an energy loop optimization plan.
He had long since given up any expectations for the trip, regarding it merely as a routine duty that required his presence.
However, fate always seems to like to play little jokes on people unexpectedly.
A small, somewhat timid figure, who had been standing still for a long time, finally shuffled to the front of the stage.
The subtle noise pulled Jemin back to reality. He looked up with some curiosity and examined the little girl who looked to be only eleven or twelve years old.
She wore a clean but not particularly fancy cotton dress, her brown curly hair looked a little frizzy, her hands were nervously twisted in front of her, and her eyes darted away, avoiding his gaze.
Upon noticing that Jemin was looking at her, the little girl flinched like a startled fawn, but ultimately mustered her courage, took a small step forward, and said in a voice barely above a whisper:
"Hello—Professor Jemin." She quickly glanced at the badge with his name engraved on Jemin's chest to confirm his identity. "I—I want to join Alchemy."
Jemin looked at her calmly, his powerful mental energy instantly recalling the fragments of information that had vaguely come from the distant testing hall.
Despite the distance, it is not difficult for a formal wizard to capture the announcements about talent levels and the corresponding ripples of soul energy.
"Level four talent, Anita Chuck. Is that right?" Jemin's voice was calm and even as he directly stated her name and talent.
Anita seemed startled by this accurate "recognition," nodding her head like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, tutor."
He had a surname, Chuck—Jermin instantly understood.
This usually means that she comes from a family with at least a wizarding lineage.
Nine times out of ten, children who choose logistics majors do so because they followed the advice of their family elders, rather than out of their own love of knowledge or insight into long-term interests.
Having figured this out, the slight ripple that had just stirred in Jieming's heart quickly subsided, replaced by a barely perceptible sense of disappointment.
But his face remained impassive as he tried to recall and imitate the manner in which his mentor, Clark, had recruited him. He nodded slightly and spoke in a tone tinged with a touch of melancholy and calmness:
"A wise choice. The path of a wizard is long and dangerous. Only by ensuring your survival can you have the right to talk about the future. Persevere, and even with ordinary talent, one day you will be able to see the scenery that belongs to you."
These words, which he had found wise and profound years ago, now sounded formulaic when spoken by him.
"Yes, thank you for your guidance," Anita replied cautiously, her tone respectful but lacking any genuine emotion.
Without saying anything more, Jemin took out a rather old-fashioned, even somewhat rough, animal hide scroll from under the table and handed it to Anita.
"This is the standard apprenticeship contract of the Norren Workshop," he explained matter-of-factly. "Read every clause carefully. If you have no objections, then leave your blood and spirit imprint on it. Remember, once the contract takes effect, any violation of the terms will come at a price you cannot bear."
This scroll may look simple, but it is actually a rather sophisticated magical artifact.
That seemingly rough "animal hide" is actually the leather taken from a formal wizard-level magical beast, usually used to make disposable high-powered magical artifacts.
Using this to create a contract is quite an extravagant act.
Furthermore, the surface of the scroll has been subjected to ingenious light and shadow magic, transforming it into a "display".
The contract is only half-finished. To read the full text, you must slide your finger up the scroll surface.
This is the second implicit test that Norren Academy has always set up when recruiting apprentices, mainly for those apprentices who have no wizarding background and rely entirely on themselves.
If they can discover and operate it on their own, it is enough to prove that their observation, exploratory spirit and comprehension are extraordinary.
However, for apprentices like Anita with family connections, this was already an open secret.
Jemin watched as she skillfully ran her finger along the surface of the scroll, the light and shadow shifting as the complete contract terms appeared. She merely glanced at it quickly, clearly indicating that her family elders had already explained the key points to her.
Jemin shook his head inwardly, his last glimmer of hope vanishing.
Anita quickly followed the instructions, pricking her fingertip and dripping a drop of blood onto it.
At the same time, Jemin guided her to separate a wisp of her still weak spiritual power and integrate it into the scroll.
Metaphor!
A barely perceptible glint flashed across the scroll before it returned to calm, marking the formal establishment of the contract.
As Jemin retrieved two thick, brick-like books from his storage space—"The Basic Alchemy Handbook" and "Basic Meditation"—along with a rather heavy wooden box containing illustrations of basic tools and common materials, he placed them in front of Anita and admonished her:
"This is what you need to get started. There are ten days left before the official start of the course. During this time, you must master the 'Basic Meditation Method' and successfully begin learning it. If you fail to do so, your first month's standard resource allocation will be deducted."
He pointed to the wooden crate: "Inside are your basic tools and some commonly used materials. The college has a public laboratory, but you need to book your time in advance."
Immediately, Jemin's expression turned serious, and he looked sharply at Anita: "Remember these basic rules: First, safety first. All operations must strictly adhere to regulations; there can be no room for chance! Second, private fights are strictly prohibited within the academy; any disputes must be submitted to the instructors for adjudication. Third, respect knowledge. All borrowed books and used equipment must be carefully maintained and must not be damaged. Fourth, points are your only currency for exchanging resources and knowledge within the academy; strive to earn them through tasks and studies!"
After quickly explaining everything, Jieming told her the general location of the dormitory area, then sat back down in his chair, picked up the book he hadn't turned more than a few pages of, and gestured that she could leave.
"Thank you, mentor. I'll take my leave now." Anita bowed respectfully, struggled to lift the heavy books and wooden box, and left, almost kneeling.
Watching that small, thin figure disappear at the edge of the crowd, Jemin blinked helplessly.
He was initially a little disappointed, but then he thought about it and realized that he might have been judging people by their appearance.
Judging someone as "lacking in intelligence" solely based on their background and skill in operating a reel might be unfair.
"Fine, since I've accepted it—I hope you can bring me some unexpected surprises in the future," he murmured to himself.
Ten days later, Jemin stepped into the private laboratory assigned to the Alchemy School by the Academy, a laboratory he had almost never used.
In the vast, empty laboratory, only Anita was waiting there early in the morning, looking particularly lonely.
Jemin didn't show anything special about this; the passion he had when he first became a teacher had long been worn down by the indifference of the past few decades.
"Welcome to Alchemy, one of the most stable and foundational disciplines at Norren Academy." Jemin paid no attention to Anita's reaction below, speaking calmly and unhurriedly.
"Here, you will learn the core of alchemy—understand, decompose, and reconstruct it."
"Understanding is the cognition of the essence of matter, analyzing its elemental composition and energy properties. Decomposition is breaking matter down into its basic constituent units. Reconstruction is, according to your will, using spiritual power to guide energy and matter, reshaping them into new forms or endowing them with new properties."
Jemin glanced at Anita, his tone turning serious: "Alchemy demands extremely high levels of mental strength, and your mental strength is your strongest tool. The precision with which you control your mental strength determines the upper limit of your alchemy skills."
He walked to a small workbench next to the podium, on which sat a rather heavy-looking, irregularly shaped gold nugget.
"You should have already previewed basic alchemy, so let's not waste time. Today's first lesson is basic shaping," Jemin said calmly. "This is one of the most fundamental practices in alchemy, controlling the shape of objects through mental power. You will practice with gold."
Without saying anything more, Jemin took out a standard gold ingot for alchemy and handed it to Anita.
"Watch closely."
Jemint succinctly began demonstrating the most basic golden body shaping technique.
A gentle yet precise spiritual power flowed from his fingertips, guiding the gold ingot to flow, stretch, and change shape as if it were alive.
Throughout the process, Jemin explained key points about the rhythm of energy input and the stability of material structure.
After the demonstration, he guided Anita through her first alchemy practice.
The course ended in a somewhat dull and mechanical atmosphere.
Anita followed the steps meticulously without making any mistakes, but she also lacked any flair; it was more like she was completing an assigned task.
Back in his core laboratory, Jemin recalled the scene in class and sighed helplessly once again.
This time, he lamented not the student's potential lack of wisdom, but her attitude, which was almost written all over her face.
Jemin could understand that the other party lacked interest in alchemy, since it was a choice arranged by the family.
However, it was somewhat difficult for Jemin to understand why she displayed this lack of interest so obviously in class, even affecting her concentration and learning efficiency.
"If she continues down this path," Jemin murmured, gazing at the eternally burning sky of the Infernal Sulfur Plane outside the window, "then she'll probably remain stuck in the 'logistics' realm forever, never reaching the true core of wizardry."
This first student didn't seem to bring any surprises; instead, he made the gap between ideals and reality even clearer to him.