Krite Wizard

After answering the questions left by Wizard Krite, Taylor left the Wizard Tower under the guidance of the butler puppet and returned to his apprentice dormitory, quietly awaiting the final result.

Like the other Wizard apprentices taking part in the selection, Taylor sat on his bed, tense and uneasy. He did not even continue researching the experiments he usually loved most, the points of knowledge he most wanted to delve into, or all kinds of construction knowledge.

In his mind, Kano and Bobby also remained silent. The two of them were somewhat nervous as well, since this concerned Taylor's development over the next few years.

Without a good mentor or a good model to learn from, if he had to figure things out on his own, Taylor did not know how long it would take him to become a first-rank Wizard.

What was more, without a powerful first-rank Wizard to back him, Taylor would only be a somewhat talented apprentice in the eyes of the other Wizard apprentices. Many obvious and hidden benefits might have nothing to do with him.

Elsewhere, five sheets of magic paper floated before Wizard Krite, each displaying the answers written by an apprentice who had taken part in the assessment.

Some apprentices had answered one question, some two, and some three. However, only four people had filled in all five questions.

With an ugly expression, Wizard Krite rapidly waved his arm. Each time he did so, one answer was tossed aside, and a completely new answer appeared on the magic paper. These apprentices were about to drive him mad.

"Ha? You added a water mist rune to a fire-element puppet? Do you want the conflict between water and fire elements to blow you to pieces?!"

"I'm testing your understanding of energy pathways and puppet energy transport. What the hell did you write? If energy circulation is maintained this way, the puppet will self-destruct in less than two minutes!"

"Idiots, idiots! Why are they all a bunch of idiots?!"

Even though his life level was now different from that of ordinary people and he had become a transcendent first-rank Wizard, Krite still felt his temples throbbing and the veins on his forehead twitching incessantly.

Some questions clearly could not be answered, yet they insisted on forcing out an answer.

Fine, forcing out an answer was one thing, but could they not even make up convincing nonsense? It was obviously wrong, yet they still wrote it down. Were they testing the tolerance and temper of the youngest Wizard?

If it had been another subject, Krite might not have gotten angry. But when it came to construct and puppet studies—the field he excelled at most and valued most—any mistake, omission, or perfunctory effort was a tremendous insult to him.

Some of the lines of thought and ideas were indeed decent. A very, very small number of viewpoints even gave him a refreshing feeling. But most of the rest were exceedingly shallow, and some were plainly being perfunctory or blindly guessing.

Just as Krite was considering whether he should simply take no apprentices at all, a brand-new set of answers entered his sight and gave him an entirely new feeling.

"This kind of rune is indeed comprehensive enough, and while retaining its offensive nature, it also preserves the smooth flow of energy."

"This viewpoint is novel. Not bad, not bad at all."

"An earth-element puppet carriage. At first glance, this is quite an innovative move. Its practicality may be questionable, but coming up with such innovation is already impressive, and it looks good too. The resonance between the earthen steeds and the granite puppet carriage has been handled very well. The energy connection between the two..."

"Good lad, this hypothesis is excellent. According to this hypothesis, the energy channels and the energy circulation inside the puppet could reduce consumption even further."

"Abandoning the concealment of energy patterns and magic circulation, directly using spell arrays to unleash flames, wind blades, and lightning..."

"A stripped-down, beggar-version Construct Puppet. That's an interesting way to put it."

Looking at these answers, Krite was thoroughly delighted. The many interesting concepts, along with the hypotheses regarding energy patterns and magic conduction circuits, as well as the speculation about a beggar-version puppet construct, made new ideas constantly emerge in Krite's mind.

As he looked through the answers, Krite sometimes followed those hypotheses and lines of thought in contemplation, and sometimes found himself amazed by the designs, throwing back his head in laughter.

"This is truly a genius at researching constructs and puppets. Let me see who it is."

Krite sent a stream of magic power into the paper floating before him, and Taylor's name appeared at the beginning of the page.

"Taylor... that sounds familiar."

After committing the flashes of inspiration in his mind to memory for future research, Wizard Krite finally recalled the background of this apprentice Taylor.

Wasn't this the apprentice Wizard Mendes had mentioned to him years ago, the one even old Oak had brought up—a student full of ambition and wild ideas?

Originally, Krite had thought that if this young apprentice failed to make the cut, he could take on one more errand apprentice and count it as repaying that favor.

Yet the boy had truly lived up to expectations. Many of his viewpoints and ideas had given Krite considerable inspiration.

"Butler!"

Wizard Krite called out, and a butler puppet dressed immaculately entered. Its face still bore the appearance of a puppet, but unlike other puppets, its eyes were more spirited, as though it possessed a soul of its own.

"Master."

The butler walked before Krite, lowered his head, and respectfully awaited Krite's command.

"Go to the apprentice dormitories now and bring Apprentice Taylor and all his luggage here. Then have several puppets clean up and vacate a room. From now on, Apprentice Taylor will be my, Krite's, apprentice."

Wizard Krite's face was filled with smiles. Nothing made him happier than taking in an apprentice who shared his interests and could become his assistant.

With such talent, Taylor might even become a first-rank Wizard like him in the future. If his very first apprentice could become a Wizard, it would greatly enhance his standing among the other Wizards, and he would have more confidence when speaking in the future.

And if he had a first-rank Wizard apprentice, they could support each other whenever they encountered danger, couldn't they?

"I shall follow your will, my master."

Seeing Krite's happiness, the butler's eyes also revealed joy at his master's joy.

After bowing to Krite, the butler slowly backed out. Once he left the Wizard Tower, he immediately called over several ordinary butler puppets that looked dull and stiff, then headed with them to the apprentice dormitories.

Unable to settle down, Taylor went out for a walk. When he returned, he saw a puppet dressed as a butler in exquisite clothes waiting outside his dormitory door with several standard-issue butler puppets.

The instant Taylor saw the butler, his mind began racing. He quickly understood that Wizard Krite had chosen him.

"Young Master Taylor, I am my master's butler. My master has decided to accept you as his apprentice. We have come to help move your luggage. You will no longer need to live here. From now on, you will reside in the great Krite's Wizard Tower."

Upon hearing this, Taylor was first taken aback. He had not expected becoming a Wizard's apprentice to come with such a "benefit."

Refusing was not an option. An apprentice like him could not refuse a Wizard's invitation, and he had no legitimate reason to do so anyway.

"Could you wait outside for a little while? My room is somewhat... messy. I can pack my luggage myself."

Seeing Taylor's expression, the butler understood what Taylor was thinking. He smiled faintly, bowed, and said,

"Of course, Young Master Taylor."

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