Recruitment

"All right, children, it was time for us to go. If that petty old man Adolf watched any longer, he'd start gossiping about me all over the academy again."

"Earl Huidun happened to have prepared a banquet for me, so you little ones can all come along and take a look."

Professor Pempes's somewhat crude words made some of the noble-born students feel uncomfortable. But considering his current strength and the importance the Earl placed on recruiting him, these people, who had received noble education since childhood, all kept smiling on the surface.

Professor Pempes also knew that his temperament made these self-proclaimed noble people look down on him. But who knew whether this Platinum Rank powerhouse even considered them worth a damn?

He acted wild and unruly before them because, in Professor Pempes's eyes, they were all ants. It was merely that, unlike other powerhouses, he did not put on a lofty and superior air when facing ants.

To him, ants were simply air. Who would put on airs in front of the air?

Then that bald old man Professor Pempes really did bring Chen Cheng and the other young students to the banquet.

Inside the Earl's castle, just as everyone had become flushed and warm from drink, they saw Professor Pempes truly arrive with a group of students.

The noble lords laughed at the sight, while Wisdom Shield felt that this professor was genuinely unreliable.

Still, Wisdom Shield quickly composed his expression, put on a delighted smile, and stepped forward to greet them.

"I'm truly sorry. If necessary, fresh dishes can be brought out immediately."

There was none of the earlier humility in Wisdom Shield's tone. No matter what, he was still an Earl. Professor Pempes's earlier actions had thoroughly slapped him across the face.

Yet Professor Pempes did not care in the slightest.

"Hey, why replace anything? I see these dishes have barely been touched, and the little brats I brought have enough to eat.

"But you have to get me a few bottles of good wine. This old man loves drinking."

As he spoke, Professor Pempes laughed heartily and patted Wisdom Shield on the shoulder.

What he hated most were people who bent and scraped. The first reason he had embarrassed Wisdom Shield earlier was that he did not want to get involved in royal affairs. At the same time, it was because Wisdom Shield, a dignified Earl, had actually gone all the way to the city gates to welcome an old man like him.

In terms of their relationship, he was a professor at Huidun Academy, while Wisdom Shield was the owner of Huidun Territory. He was Wisdom Shield's subordinate. Upon returning to the city, he should have been the one to visit Earl Huidun first and report the results of this academic exchange.

Just now, Wisdom Shield had not given him much face either. There had been neither softness nor hardness in his words, yet they had still pricked Professor Pempes. At the same time, Wisdom Shield had controlled the measure well and had not offended too deeply the subordinate he wished to recruit.

Professor Pempes rather admired an Earl like that. At the very least, if Wisdom Shield truly ascended to the throne, a King who knew the proper measure would not lead the entire kingdom into the Abyss.

Meanwhile, Chen Cheng, who followed amid the crowd, paid no attention to the schemes and calculations of those inside. He stood at the banquet entrance, staring fixedly at the guards by the door.

The armor those guards wore and the swords at their waists were all Magic Artifacts. Recently, because something had gone wrong with the Magic Runes inside his body, Chen Cheng had begun studying Magic Artifacts.

At that moment, he was examining the armor. As he watched, a few professional magical terms would occasionally pop out of his mouth.

These were the Magic Artifacts he had encountered recently, and he was comparing those magical terms against the Magic Runes on the armor.

Before long, his strange behavior attracted attention.

After all, this was the first time they had seen someone stare at the guards' Magic Armor while endlessly blurting out technical terms.

They wondered which family's Young Master this was. Once they learned his identity, they could mock his father. Was his family so poor that he needed to come before the guards at a banquet to study actual objects?

But when they saw the collar around his neck, those who had noticed him revealed looks of contempt.

Their gazes were like someone expecting a treasure, only for what was brought out to be a pile of shit.

Some who paid more attention to outside affairs thought of who could possibly be a slave wearing an academy uniform. The expressions they showed afterward contained not only contempt, but also a trace of regret.

At that moment, Fini came to his side, reached out, and tugged at him.

"Brown, what are you doing? Don't you know this is a noble banquet?"

Chen Cheng smiled and nodded.

"I know about banquets. There are way too many rules, and you can't even eat your fill. I was looking at the magical inscriptions on that guard's armor. This is the first magical weapon I've seen whose workings I can understand."

Fini rolled her eyes at him and said,

"All right, stop doing such strange things. If you really want to see actual items, I can write a letter to Father and have him send over some low-grade Magic Artifacts. For now, just stay obediently by my side."

Yet Chen Cheng showed an expression of lingering interest. Just now, he had discovered that although the armor had been crafted exactly as the books described, its sheer size meant that its magic still had considerable room for adjustment and improvement.

Of course, that was only his conjecture. To truly carry it out, experiments would definitely be needed.

While this master and servant were talking, Chen Cheng quickly drew attention because of his genius master.

Seeing so many students arrive, Wisdom Shield also wanted to properly meet Fini, whom he had only glimpsed briefly before.

When his gaze turned toward Fini, Wisdom Shield noticed Chen Cheng standing at her side.

Seeing Chen Cheng reminded him of what had happened inside the camp tent that day. That little slave had so casually said a whole string of inexplicable things before him, then inexplicably begun comforting him.

Thinking of it, Wisdom Shield found it rather amusing.

When Professor Pempes saw Wisdom Shield looking toward Fini and Chen Cheng, with a smile even appearing on Wisdom Shield's face, he was somewhat baffled.

Meanwhile, Chen Cheng was explaining the magic on the armor he had just seen to Fini. Based on the actual object, he then began telling her about his proposed improvements.

"Listen, although the foundational magic inscribed on it is perfectly conventional, the person who made the inscriptions pursued balance too much. And the connections between the different spells aren't carried through properly, so warriors will feel a sense of blockage when using it..."

Fini had initially not cared much, but after listening for a while, she became interested. After all, she was a genius girl who had entered the Sea of Magic on her own. Her comprehension of magic was far beyond that of ordinary people, and she was immediately absorbed in what he said.

Then, when Wisdom Shield and Professor Pempes came over to the two of them, they heard the two little ones discussing the magical armor on the guard's body.

Professor Pempes felt somewhat apologetic at the sight, since this was, after all, a banquet.

He could ignore the rules because he possessed that strength, and no one here would do anything to him.

But these two little ones were nobodies, and now even the host had come over, yet they still did not know to stop and greet him.

Only after hearing Professor Pempes clear his throat several times did the two little ones truly come back to their senses. Chen Cheng looked up and saw that incomparably familiar face.

After seeing Chen Cheng's full face, Wisdom Shield also confirmed that he had not been mistaken.

This eloquent little slave truly was the little slave he had seen in the camp tent several days ago.

And judging from the two of them, this little slave was likely the servant of the Kekebor family's daughter. Yet seeing the equal way master and servant communicated, Wisdom Shield understood why Chen Cheng had possessed such courage when facing him before.

If it had been before, he might have rebuked Chen Cheng and punished him. But after what had happened last time, he had instead begun to appreciate Chen Cheng.

Then, from the banquet hall, which had previously only contained whispers, came a cry of surprise.

"So it was you!"

Chen Cheng's cry of surprise immediately drew the gaze of everyone at the banquet.

Before these noble lords could become angry, Professor Pempes and Wisdom Shield took the lead in apologizing to everyone. Then Wisdom Shield invited them to his reception room.

After seeing Wisdom Shield lead them away, the banquet hall returned to its earlier cheerful atmosphere.

Coles, who had been watching this side all along, was also somewhat curious. He did not know why Wisdom Shield had not dealt with Chen Cheng just now, but none of that mattered anymore.

He held an Image Recording Crystal in his hand. Inside were all the intimate contacts between Chen Cheng and Melinda that he had secretly photographed over the past few days. Many had been deliberately shot from misleading angles.

Honestly, with photography skills like his, it would have been a pity if he had not become a paparazzo in the modern world.

This banquet truly was heaven helping me. Let's see what you, you damned lowly slave, can do this time.

Coles thought bitterly to himself, then quietly slipped out of the banquet hall. He wanted the Earl to see this Image Recording Crystal first thing after the banquet.

Inside the reception room, the servant Tru brought over tea and arranged it. Wisdom Shield invited everyone to sit.

After sitting down, Chen Cheng said excitedly,

"I never expected the person I met last time to be you. Don't take what I said to you last time to heart."

Perhaps because his unintentional words last time had not earned Wisdom Shield's blame, Chen Cheng still spoke so casually even after learning his identity.

Wisdom Shield merely smiled.

"Come to think of it, I still don't know your name."

Perhaps there was some unseen connection at work, but Wisdom Shield could accept everything Chen Cheng had said last time.

This time, seeing Chen Cheng was only a slave, Wisdom Shield unexpectedly did not want him to act like a slave in front of him.

"Oh, my name? Just call me Brown."

Chen Cheng gave the name he had originally possessed in this world.

Wisdom Shield nodded, then looked at Fini beside Chen Cheng and smiled.

"This young lady must be our genius student, Miss Fini. The circumstances were unusual last time, so please do not take offense, our student genius. Since you are here today, you still have not applied to receive the magic staff awarded to you last time. Today, before all the guests, I can present that magic staff to you."

Fini thanked him with great propriety.

The main reason Wisdom Shield had invited them to the reception room was Professor Pempes.

"Professor Pempes, my mentor Achilles passed away in the last incident. I hope you can become my next magic teacher."

Wisdom Shield spoke rather directly. The forces at his side were simply too lacking at the moment, and from everything that had happened today, he could see that Professor Pempes truly was as the outside world said: a straightforward man.

Therefore, he did not want to beat around the bush with Professor Pempes. Otherwise, this old professor might very well fail to grasp the meaning behind his words.

What Wisdom Shield did not expect was that Professor Pempes had been waiting a long time to hear those words as well.

When he returned to the academy, Dean Adolf had already sent him a voice transmission, hoping that he would help Wisdom Shield. But at the time, he had not agreed.

Yet Wisdom Shield's attitude afterward allowed him to see how Wisdom Shield differed from the other princes. He would strike back.

Over the past half year in the Royal Capital, he had met the other princes. When those princes faced a powerhouse like him, they always acted as though they were bending at the waist and scraping the ground. Even when anger burned in their hearts, they did not dare let it out.

Wisdom Shield, however, had seized the right opportunity and struck back with proper measure. That was also why Professor Pempes appreciated him.

Professor Pempes showed sorrow when he heard that Achilles had died. Then, hearing that the Earl had not yet completed his magic studies, he nodded.

"Of course, that will not be a problem. Tomorrow, Earl, you may come to the academy to enroll. I will be waiting for you there."