Sanctuary Mage

To others, Magic Tutor was the most prestigious of titles, representing formidable strength and incomparable wealth.

But to Garfield, it was merely his most ordinary title. His other titles were each more resounding than the last: Hell Butcher, Nightmare Mentor, Sinful Alchemist, and Sanctuary Mage, which represented his strength.

His reputation had spread throughout Saint Nor Continent. Even Roland's former self, who had shut out all worldly matters and devoted himself wholeheartedly to potion studies, had heard much of his great name.

Garfield was an eighteenth-level professional, a Sanctuary Mage on the verge of breaking through to Legendary. Yet what he was most famous for was not his strength, but his development of potion studies.

One of his unique potion research projects was renowned across the continent: the fusion and mutation of potions with bloodlines.

Its essence was the development of exclusive potions tailored to specific bloodlines.

According to his findings, when an exclusive potion was used by a particular bloodline, its effects could be amplified by one to three times.

In other words, if Garfield redeveloped the formula of the same third-tier Healing Potion for a specific bloodline, then upon success, its effects would at least double.

Yet the potion's cost would not increase by much. The difference was enormous, after all. Once a potion had been successfully developed, an entire family could benefit from it for decades, even centuries.

Thus, despite the astronomical research fees, countless nobles still sought Garfield out, asking him to develop potions exclusive to their family bloodlines.

However, the price of developing a new Bloodline Potion formula was not merely an immense amount of resources. The family also had to provide exceptionally gifted professionals to participate in the experiments.

For a family capable of paying such a huge price to hire Garfield, professionals with warrior talent were naturally plentiful. But family members with mage talent—especially those with exceptional talent—were treasures to every family.

If participating in the experiments did not affect the subject's body or advancement, then it would not have mattered.

But Garfield's terrifying titles of Nightmare Mentor and Sinful Alchemist had not come from nowhere. Nearly every subject who participated in the development of his Bloodline Potions found it difficult to survive the experiments.

Over the decades, no one knew how many unfortunate people had died in his experiments.

Of course, there were lucky ones among them. Not only did they survive the experiments, but their professional levels also rose dramatically. Yet they were ultimately a tiny minority. For most subjects, the odds of a good outcome were less than one in a hundred.

Roland did not know what price Solomon had paid to contact Garfield, but he refused to believe that the Solomon Family had paid so much merely to find a Magic Tutor for an illegitimate son like him.

Roland's ultimate fate would surely be to become Garfield's test subject, used to develop Bloodline Potions for the Solomon Family.

Faced with an outcome that was nearly certain death, Roland naturally could not suppress the fear in his heart.

The study was utterly silent. The father and son stared at each other without exchanging a word, while only Roland's heavy breathing echoed through the air.

The crushing pressure seemed to suffocate even his thoughts.

Roland's disbelieving gaze remained fixed on Junot behind the oak desk, his heart filled with doubt. Even if his former self had been an illegitimate son, he still carried Junot's blood. How could he be so heartless?

But Junot could remain silent. Roland had no such right, for what came next concerned his fate.

"Respected... Marquis Jurut, I have no objections to the family's arrangements. However, I have already secured a Pioneer Knight position at the academy. Under my mentor Olivia's arrangements, I must report to Highland City in the eastern part of the kingdom within a month. Otherwise, I will be placed on the wanted lists of the kingdom and even the entire Human Alliance."

At that moment, Roland was immensely grateful for his former self's choice. A year ago, as graduation approached, his former self had registered to become a Pioneer Knight at the academy without hesitation in order to escape the family's control. After several rounds of assessment, he had successfully obtained a Pioneer Knight position.

Though the future of a Pioneer Knight was destined to be a perilous road strewn with thorns, compared to becoming experimental material for the Bloodline Alchemist Garfield, there was at least a chance of survival.

"A Pioneer Knight?" A trace of gravity flashed through Jurut's eyes.

"Yes. I volunteered to become a Pioneer Knight, carrying on the will of our ancestors and expanding humanity's territory," Roland said after steadying himself, his expression solemn.

"Why didn't you report this to the family?" Jurut's gaze was sharp as fire, suddenly becoming exceedingly piercing. His mountain-like presence did not bear down directly upon Roland, yet it still brought Roland immense pressure and caused cold sweat to pour down his back.

But he knew that this concerned his life. He absolutely could not yield.

"This was arranged by my mentor at the academy, Olivia."

"Olivia, the commander of the Kingdom Fire Mage Corps?" Jurut asked uncertainly.

"That's her." Under Jurut's pressure, Roland forced himself to remain standing without showing the slightest fear, then nodded in acknowledgment.

Olivia was the commander of the Terra Kingdom Fire Mage Corps. Even in the capital, she was an important figure. Roland's former self had only been fortunate enough to attend one of her public lectures on magical theory; in truth, he was not acquainted with her at all.

But at this moment, he had no choice but to invoke her name and make Jurut abandon the thought of sending him to Garfield as an experimental subject.

Jurut's sharp gaze carefully examined Roland. In the end, however, he did not continue questioning him. Instead, his imposing presence dissipated, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "You are quite fortunate to have gained Olivia's favor."

"During a magical experiment, I was fortunate enough to assist Lady Olivia with some preliminary extraction work." Roland relaxed inwardly and brazenly replied.

After Roland finished speaking, the room once again fell into a long silence. Neither father nor son knew how to continue.

Roland lowered his head slightly, avoiding Jurut's oppressive gaze.

At that moment, Jurut seemed to be seriously examining for the first time the son he had only met two or three times. Roland wore a plain, somewhat worn Mage Robe stained with specks of blood. His soft golden hair was disheveled, and he looked utterly bedraggled.

Seeing this, Jurut finally let out a soft sigh and slowly spoke, breaking the silence in the room.

"In truth, Garfield is not as frightening as you imagine. In recent years, his experimental techniques in potion studies have improved further, and experimental failures have become rare."

"Moreover, participating in the experiments would bring tremendous benefits to your professional path. I thought you usually paid attention to such matters, but it seems you know nothing at all."

Jurut's words left Roland momentarily stunned. He could not guess what Jurut meant. Could it be that Jurut really intended to arrange a Magic Tutor for him?

Roland's suspicious and guarded expression caused a trace of guilt to surface in Jurut's eyes. After a moment of silence, he continued, "Many things are not as simple as they appear. I know you have suffered these past years, but at the very least, you are still alive."

Upon hearing that, Roland abruptly raised his head and stared straight into Jurut's eyes without hesitation, as though he wanted to find the truest answer within them.

Jurut's attitude today had indeed caught Roland off guard. It seemed there might be another hidden truth behind what his former self had endured in childhood.

"Then why... didn't you send me somewhere else? Do you know how I lived before I was ten?" Roland asked in a trembling voice, his face pale.

In truth, Roland did not particularly want to investigate these old truths. He merely wanted to better understand what sort of attitude this nominal father before him truly held toward him.

"Somewhere else? Do you know why your mother sent you here? She knew perfectly well what an illegitimate son would encounter in a marquis's family, yet she still did it."

"Mother?" Roland's expression became even more complicated, and a deep longing instinctively appeared in his eyes.

She was the person his former self missed most in his memories. When he had been young, he had prayed to the gods nearly every night for a chance to see his mother again.

Jurut's gaze became even more complex and restrained. He slowly spoke again, "Because she wanted you to live. Because only the core territory of the Solomon Family could keep you alive. It was not until you were ten that I resolved some of the hidden troubles, ensuring that I would not need to send someone to collect your corpse the moment you stepped out of Fortress of Radiance."

Hearing Jurut's explanation, Roland finally understood somewhat why his former self, who had been neglected and treated like a slave, had still been qualified to attend the Noble Mage Academy at the age of ten. It was a hall renowned as having the highest level of magic in the Terra Kingdom.

So Jurut had been behind it all along. He had even once dealt with some hidden troubles for Roland's former self.

But why had he allowed the Solomon Family members to humiliate his former self so cruelly? If he had paid even a little more attention, his former self would not have suffered such miserable treatment during childhood.

Seeing the confusion gradually appear on Roland's face, Jurut continued, "There are things you do not understand, and you are not qualified to understand them yet."

"Go. Since you chose to become a Pioneer Knight, walk that path bravely. Of course, you must rely on yourself for everything."

"What exactly is my mother's identity? Is she still alive?" Roland asked the question that had always weighed upon his former self's heart.

Upon hearing Roland's question, Jurut's eyes became distant, and a trace of longing appeared on his stern face.

Yet in the end, he said nothing more. With a weary wave of his hand, he said, "Gerson, see him out."

As soon as his words fell, Gerson's respectful voice immediately sounded from outside the door.

"As you command."

Seeing Gerson reappear at the doorway like a ghost, Roland knew he could no longer obtain any information he wanted from the man before him. He therefore endured the pain in his chest and slowly withdrew from the room.

After Roland left, the study fell silent once more. After a very, very long time, a sound rang out.