Adolf 2

"Unknown force field??" Anglie was startled, then immediately delighted. Hearing Adolf's question, he suppressed his joy and hurriedly answered.

"Mentor Adolf, I was merely interested in the powers of those mysterious wizards from legend. I wanted to enter a better place and see if I could find even a trace of wizards." Anglie answered earnestly.

"Wizards?" Adolf froze slightly, then fell silent. "What a... nostalgic word." He sighed, a wistful expression appearing on his face.

He looked at Anglie with a complicated gaze. Only after a long while, when Anglie was starting to feel uneasy under his stare, did he speak again. "I see sincerity in you. You're telling the truth. Come with me." His body seemed to hunch over as he turned and slowly walked out of the classroom.

Anglie hurried after him.

Outside the door, Adolf's daughter Sophia, the delicate-looking girl dressed in tight red clothes, also looked at Anglie with complicated eyes. She said nothing. She must have heard their conversation.

Adolf led Anglie and his daughter downstairs. Outside the lawn stood a spacious double carriage, dark red all over, with a scale-shaped crest engraved on its side. "Get in," Adolf said, pointing at the carriage.

"Yes, Mentor." Anglie followed respectfully and climbed into the carriage.

Inside, Anglie sat opposite Adolf and Sophia. Listening to the driver's shouts, he felt the carriage begin to move, gradually picking up speed. None of the three spoke. From time to time, though, Anglie saw a distant, reminiscing look in Adolf's eyes.

The carriage left the academy and entered the Maluya district. It soon turned into a luxurious villa district and stopped before a red-and-white villa. By the time they arrived, it was already noon.

Without saying a word, Adolf led Anglie and his daughter into the villa. After several old servants came forward to greet them, the three went up to the second floor and entered the study.

"Sit." Adolf settled into an armchair beside the desk, his whole body sinking into it.

Anglie looked around the study.

The two bookshelves were packed tightly with books. All of them had red leather covers, with bold, flowing handwriting on them that was probably Mentor Adolf's. On the desk were a gold-trimmed kerosene lamp, a white quill pen, a capped black ink bottle, and a silver round seal. The seal weighed down an opened parchment letter.

"Ouni, bring my young guest a cup of Marconi," Adolf called loudly. "Sophia and I will have the usual."

Sophia sat beside her father at the desk without saying a word. She seemed to have no objections to Adolf's sudden decision.

Soon, a plump middle-aged woman brought up three cups of drinks and gently closed the door behind her.

Anglie picked up the drink placed before him. It was a cup of black liquid resembling chocolate sauce, but it gave off a mixed fragrance of lemons and oranges. A faint wisp of steam rose from its surface.

"All right, tell me. How determined are you to seek the traces of wizards?" Adolf began. "You must understand that this path is extremely difficult. The perseverance and persistence it requires may far exceed your imagination." His tone was grave.

Without hesitation, Anglie nodded firmly. "Sir Adolf, to be frank, I have no hope of walking the path of a Great Knight because I cannot possess a life energy seed. By chance, I witnessed the power of wizards, so I wanted to see whether I could find my own future through this path." He had already formed several guesses about Adolf, so he simply stated his intentions directly. It was not some great secret anyway.

"You witnessed the power of wizards?" Adolf was taken aback. "Are there still wizards active here?" Sophia, sitting beside him, also became curious and looked toward Anglie.

"Not exactly. It was merely residual power inside a nearly damaged enchanted item. I saw someone use it."

"That must have been a wizard as well! Other than wizards, no one can use enchanted items." Adolf nodded. "You are very honest, but the path of a wizard requires even more talent than that of a Great Knight. Are you certain you possess such talent?"

"How would I know whether I have it without trying?" Anglie smiled. "If I do not even try, then not even a one-in-a-thousand chance will exist." Having previously been able to use the power within the spellburst ring gave Anglie a measure of confidence in himself.

"Very good." Adolf smiled. "You are much like I was in my youth. Persistent, and not one to give up easily."

"Then that means you are..." Anglie's eyes lit up.

"Not what you think." Adolf shook his head. "I am not the wizard you imagine. I am merely an ordinary man who longs for wizards." He sighed and said no more. "All right, I am tired and wish to rest for a while. Anglie, come again next time."

Anglie still wanted to say something, but he had no choice but to rise and nod. "Then thank you for your hospitality. This student shall take his leave."

"Sophia, see him out." Adolf stood, took a book from the shelf, and handed it to Anglie. "This is Elarasian. Take it and familiarize yourself with it first. Come tomorrow, and I will teach you personally. If you can satisfy me, I will consider recommending you to the Alliance Academy."

A flash of joy passed through Anglie's eyes. He respectfully accepted the book. "Thank you, Mentor Adolf."

"Mm."

Adolf waved his hand and said nothing more.

Anglie followed Sophia out of the study, downstairs, and out of the villa. As Anglie got into the carriage, Sophia stood outside and said to him, "Father has hoped for this many times. He has the ability to tell whether someone is lying, so whatever decision he makes will not surprise me. But I hope you will not disappoint him." Sophia spoke solemnly.

"I understand." Anglie nodded seriously.

Half a year later

Lunsuo Villa.

"If 'Kafka' can be replaced with the term 'single wheel,' then from another angle, judging by Angmarian grammar, such a substitution is meaningless." Adolf frowned as he held a sheet of parchment, tracing and pointing across it with his index finger. "And here, this word is not used properly either. You could replace it with 'burning' from Rudin."

Anglie sat upright to one side, concentrating on his mentor's critique. Over the past six months, their relationship had changed from that of ordinary teacher and student to something closer, like master and disciple. With the chip, Anglie's learning ability far surpassed that of ordinary people. He had actually mastered Angmarian and Bolunian within the first week, but in order not to be too shocking, he deliberately dragged things out for half a year before finally "mastering" all three languages. Even so, Adolf had already repeatedly called him a genius.

At this moment, Adolf was testing Anglie's grasp of the languages. He used sentences formed from mixed languages to test Anglie's understanding of the subtle meanings of words.

"Teacher is right. Anglie was careless." Anglie lowered his head with an earnest expression. He had deliberately designed those errors, and they were all within his expectations.

"Though it is somewhat lacking in standardization..." Adolf set down the parchment, a smile appearing on his face. "You have passed in all three languages."

Anglie cooperatively showed a relieved smile.

Adolf carefully studied the disciple before him, the one he was proudest of after half a year, and his heart was filled with emotion. "Anglie, you have followed me for more than half a year now?"

"Yes, Teacher." Anglie lowered his head respectfully.

"You must also know my identity by now?" Adolf smiled. "As the deputy minister of the security department personally appointed by Port City, I investigated your background long ago."

Anglie nodded but did not answer. He had indeed learned of Adolf's distinguished identity, but that was not his ultimate goal.

Adolf watched the expression of his sole disciple carefully. When he found that not even Anglie's eyes had changed in the slightest, he became even more certain that his status and power had not altered this disciple in any way. He felt deeply gratified. "But none of that matters. What matters is our ultimate goal. Not these things."

Anglie knew that his teacher was finally going to reveal something substantial. This was what he had been seeking for the past half year.

Sure enough, Adolf stood and pulled a book from the shelf beside him, handing it to Anglie.

Anglie accepted it and looked at the cover. Its title was: The Journey of the Heart — Berkville Henry.

"Teacher, this book is?"

"It is the personal biography written by the great thinker Master Berkville." Adolf smiled at his prized disciple. The talent and diligence required to master three languages within half a year made him find Anglie increasingly pleasing to the eye. "But no one knows that besides being a great scholar, Master Berkville had another identity. An even more mysterious identity."

Anglie's eyes lit up. "A wizard?" he guessed quietly.

"Correct." Adolf nodded in satisfaction at his disciple's reaction. "Take it back and study it carefully. If you encounter any problems, you may come ask me at any time."

"Thank you, Teacher!" Anglie was certain that he would gain something from this book, and his heart filled with joy.

"In another half month, people from Andes Alliance Academy will come to the academy for assessments. Prepare yourself well."

"Yes. Then, Teacher, I will take my leave first." Anglie stood, holding the book as anticipation filled his heart. He knew Adolf would never give him a book without reason, but he had not expected it to be a work written by a wizard.

Adolf nodded and said with a smile, "I am old now. I no longer have the energy to spend on this. From here on, it will depend on you."

"Yes!" Anglie nodded heavily.