Skull Explosion and a Deal

Locke left the dormitory and walked through the Academy's elegant corridors, crossing its beautiful gardens. There, he saw Cohen Julian and his lackeys in the garden.

Locke frowned at the sight. During this time, Cohen Julian and his lackeys had been making quite a name for themselves.

Over the past year and three months, the Frank Empire had decisively defeated the allied armies of the remaining four kingdoms three times, then invaded the Bane Kingdom.

Of the seven kingdoms, only three remained, along with the Frank Empire.

As the son of a Frank Empire count, Cohen Julian had naturally grown arrogant within the Academy. He had become someone no one dared provoke, and everyone gave him some leeway.

He had tried to provoke Locke as well, but Locke had always ignored him. Moreover, Cohen Julian's own family had warned him several times, so he no longer had any desire to make an enemy of Locke.

Yet at that moment, Cohen Julian's face was deathly pale. Standing before him was Professor Alder of Aurelian Academy.

Unlike a year ago, Professor Alder's entire face was now black. He looked like a zombie that had clawed its way out of a grave, making it hard to tell whether he was alive or dead. His skin was dry and gaunt, like a skeleton with no flesh.

Only, he still wore an eyepatch over his left eye and gold-rimmed glasses over his right.

Without those, Locke might not even have recognized him.

Cohen Julian said pale-faced, "But I'm from the Frank Empire. My country is powerful. You can't make me go to your office after class to copy things for you..."

"Those students who copied things for you all died for no reason."

Alder licked his lips and looked greedily at Cohen Julian, his gaze full of contempt. "What country you're from makes no difference. Little native, heh heh."

Alder seemed to have gone mad. He no longer cared much about hiding information about the Wizarding World from mortals—or perhaps, in his eyes, Cohen Julian and the others were already dead.

Alder said, "Cohen Julian, you've failed too many times. So you must come to my office and work for me as well."

"You have no right to refuse. Your family will make you do it. It is one of the benefits of the 'resources' I provide, allowing your Frank emperor to unify this little island more quickly."

Cohen Julian's face turned utterly white. The usual smugness and bullying bravado had vanished from his eyes. Facing Professor Alder, he suddenly realized that all the backing he had been so proud of was useless, fragile, and hollow.

He even believed that his family would sacrifice him to curry favor with Alder.

He wanted to keep speaking, to fight for a chance at survival, but at that moment, Alder seemed to have discovered a new continent. He turned and looked at Locke, who stood in the corridor.

Locke gave Alder a slight nod, then prepared to turn and leave.

After all, Alder looked far from normal right now.

It was better to keep his distance.

But Professor Alder, contrary to his previous attitude of always pretending not to see Locke, suddenly spoke. "Locke, congratulations. You succeeded."

Locke knew he was referring to his successful advancement to Third-Class Wizard Apprentice.

After becoming a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice, Locke had met Professor Alder again and discovered just how powerful the man's Mental Power was.

Even a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice whose lifespan was rapidly running out seemed to possess Mana and Mental Power far beyond his own.

Before Alder, Locke's Mana felt faintly suppressed, his Mental Power became less active, and his head grew slightly dizzy.

Professor Alder left the garden, walked to Locke's side, and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Locke, you became a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice."

"Two years ago, I already knew you could."

"After all, you were the first student to come back to life after dying in my office."

Locke's gaze flickered. He could not tell what Alder meant. Was it just casual conversation, a test, or simply a threat?

Professor Alder chuckled. "You were very lucky back then. You must have happened to awaken your wizard talent, which was why my Life-Loan Ritual failed to kill you."

"We could say we got acquainted through a fight."

"I haven't made things difficult for you these past two years, so I think our relationship should be fairly good."

Locke replied blandly, "Professor Alder, you are a teacher of the Academy, and I am a student of the Academy. How could our relationship possibly be bad?"

He was reminding Alder that the wizard family Alder came from was still in the Wizarding World.

That might help Alder regain some sanity.

Alder smiled. "Don't worry. I only want to make a deal with you."

"The Wizard Ship won't arrive for another three months, right?"

"Tungus has nothing left to teach you. He is only a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice himself, just like me, already in his twilight years—only a few years younger than I am."

"Besides, Tungus specializes in Fire Magic, so he has nothing more to guide you in. But I'm different. I specialize in Death Magic, and I can sense that you have some degree of affinity with dark energy elemental particles as well."

Professor Alder said, "So, if you don't want to waste three months, perhaps you can help me, and I can help you."

"Of course, you can refuse. It's only a proposal."

Looking into the man's stubborn eyes, Locke asked, "What deal do you want to make with me? What can I gain? And Professor Alder, you are a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice while I am a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice. I don't see how I can help you."

Alder lowered his voice. "That's different. My Mental Power and Mana are stronger than yours, but I'm too old. And my Mana has been contaminated too severely, so I can't do anything too delicate. I don't trust that fellow Tungus either."

"I want to ask you to help me brew a vial of potion. I can provide both the materials and the method. My Mental Power fluctuations are too great now—I simply cannot do such delicate work."

"I know the chances of a beginner failing are high."

"I have three sets of materials. Don't worry—if you fail all of them, I absolutely won't blame you. You can tell Tungus about this and have him assess whether it's safe for you, but I truly am not deceiving you this time."

Alder's tone became much gentler. "I apologize for what happened before."

"In return, you can have all my notes on magic, and I will teach you the spell I specialize in, Skull Explosion. I can also prepare the casting materials and learning materials for you."

Alder said sincerely, "You have already learned your first spell, and your Mental Power is now about ten times that of an ordinary person, so you will learn a second cantrip quickly. Moreover, the prerequisite courses for Skull Explosion are Animal Necromancy Fundamentals, Magic Manipulation Fundamentals, and Negative Energy Fundamentals."

"You have already studied Magic Manipulation Fundamentals, so you will learn the remaining two courses very quickly."

"If you can learn two spells before boarding the Wizard Ship and increase your Mental Power further, your evaluation will be higher." Professor Alder said, "For you, this should be an extremely profitable deal."

"If you go to Tungus for help, that may not be the case. First, if you want to learn a second cantrip, you don't have any Magic Stones."

"Second, at your level, Tungus cannot help you much either. Fire Magic is what he is best at. Though he could put quite a bit of effort into helping that girl Patti."

Patti was learning Searing Sparks.