"Sir, can I be your apprentice?" Just when Ian was about to turn around to check the progress of Hernandez's soul reshaping, a voice with trembling and hope suddenly sounded in the laboratory.
Ian stopped and turned around slowly. His gaze was like a cold searchlight, looking at the elf named Set Arcanist from head to toe.
Set held his breath at this time, and his pair of long pointed elf ears trembled unconsciously due to nervousness. Although he had stepped into the Sixth Tier position under the baptism of the Samsara Hall, in front of Ian, the true legendary emperor, he felt as thin as a piece of white paper that could be torn to pieces at any time.
"You?" Ian stared at him for a moment, then shook his head calmly, "Let's forget it." After saying that, he was about to turn around and leave again.
"Please... please give me a chance!" Set gritted his teeth, clutching the edges of his robe with both hands, his eyes Blink showing an almost desperate fanaticism. He knew very well that an opportunity like this might only happen once in all the worlds.
If you miss this Legendary Arcanist, he may always be a puppet under Main God, waiting for the next death mission in the cold teleportation beam.
Ian looked at him again, this time, there was a hint of thoughtful scrutiny in his eyes.
"I once taught at Hogwarts for three years," Ian stood with his hands behind his hands, speaking leisurely, as if recalling a long-lasting past event, "There, I personally laid the magic Cornerstone for a group of young people. Some of them were named Hermione·Granger, and some were named Cedric Diggory, as well as Weasley twins, Harry Potter, Ron, and even the kid named Malfoy. Now, they have all grown into the Sixth Tier of Sixth Tier and even Arcanist of Seventh Tier.."
Hearing these thunderous names, Sasha, Tobias and others' hearts skipped a beat unconsciously. In the stories they had read, although these characters had their own merits, they had never been raised to a height that could destroy the galaxy. But now, the emperor told them that he had personally cultivated those "protagonists in the story" into a group of terrifying plane-level powerhouses.
"In addition, I have three official direct disciples, all of them are Seventh Tier, and they are not over three hundred years old." Ian continued, with an undisguised pride in his tone, "The first two are stepping into magic. Geniuses who had already emerged before the journey. Now, they are Empire's most outstanding archaeologists, traveling across the universe, Multiverse and countless planes, looking for ancient ruins, lost languages and ancient civilizations that have been buried by time.."
The figures of Flynn Carson and Emily Davin Potter appeared in Ian's mind. That was in the <The Librarian> movie world. He started planning before the two were born, and through a series of sophisticated causal manipulations, he brought these two souls with Infinity potential under his command.."Their achievements in the field of linguistics - whether it is magic words or conventional languages - are difficult for me to match even now."
"My third apprentice has unparalleled talent in the field of 'dreams'. Her current research has touched the edge of the law of dreams. As long as she is given enough time and willpower, it is only a matter of time before she steps into Legendary Tier." Ian thought of Chloe, the girl from <The Last Witch Hunter>. He valued her very much, and even planned to let Empire fully develop "Dream Plane" in the future, using it as another important pillar for the transition of civilization.
Ian's eyes were locked on Set's eyes. At that moment, Set felt as if his soul was pinned to the spot by some indescribable weight.
"Although your talent is reasonable, I never care about magic talent. As long as I think about it, a few bottles of Potions can turn an idiot into a genius.." Ian's words were so cold that they were almost cruel, "But I don't see any desire for Truth and knowledge from you. I can feel that you chose to become a Arcanist just because you thought this profession was cool, or because you thought it would allow you to live longer in the reincarnation mission."
"Is there something wrong with this?" Set's eyes were bloodshot, and he could not understand the reason for such complete denial.
"Nothing wrong. I also think magic is cool, and most people in the world think so. But I can't stand your lack of curiosity and mediocrity." Ian shook his head, with disappointment in his tone, "You have never had the pure desire to explore the unknown. Your understanding and attitude towards magic are really too superficial."
Set tried to refute. He felt that the emperor might have misjudged him. But Ian's next words made all his self-esteem collapse in an instant.
"Although you are currently at the Sixth Tier level, I can see at a glance that your level was created purely by using the power of Main God to forcibly raise the upper limit of soul and magic power. In other words, the amount of knowledge stored in your brain is not worthy of the title of 'Sixth Tier Arcanist'." Ian turned his head and looked at Tobias, who was standing silently aside, "In Arcanist's understanding, the improvement of rank should be a natural qualitative change after the accumulation of knowledge to a certain extent."
"Tobias, do you think my requirements for him are too harsh?" Ian suddenly asked.
Tobias did not dare to speak, but he did feel in his heart that for a person struggling to survive in that cold temple, survival was indeed more important than seeking knowledge.
"I know what you are thinking." Ian smiled faintly, "You think that he is burdened with countless reincarnation tasks and has no time to study systematically. But this is just an excuse. If he really wanted to, he could use points to exchange for a complete knowledge base of the same level, or use points to purchase additional research time. But he didn't, he spent all his resources on more "efficient" immediate combat power improvement.. So, except for that little bit of humble luck, you completely fail to meet my requirements."
"So, are you good at combat magic?" Ian changed the topic.
Set was stunned for a moment, not understanding the logic of this question.
"I'm asking if you have any special skills in combat." Ian reiterated patiently, "During my last voyage to another world, I was in the world of <Black Clover> There, I served as the 'Magic Emperor'. There, I personally trained all the Magic Knights leaders into Combat Expert of Fifth Tier and Sixth Tier.."
When everyone heard this, they were once again deeply shocked. This was the first time they heard that reaching Sixth Tier was something that could be achieved as long as someone trained. Set could only lower his head in shame, because he knew that although he was skilled in combat, he was definitely not amazing.
"It seems that the answer is a regrettable no." Ian frowned, and then took out a stone as black as ink from his arms, "The last chance."
He waved his hand casually, and the stone fell into Set's hand. The moment the stone came into contact with Set's palm, a faint light bloomed.
"Willpower score: 0.5." Ian stared at the light and shook his head in disappointment. "As a Reincarnators who walks on the edge of life and death all year round, your willpower is not even 1? Are you just relying on luck to get by?"
Ian then passed the stone to Michelle and Sasha in turn. Both of them received ratings of 1. Kingsley performed slightly better and got 1.5. Finally, the stone fell into the hands of Tobias.
Buzz! The pitch-black stone instantly erupted into a solid beam of light.
"Willpower rating: 3. Sure enough, you are a malleable talent." Ian nodded to Tobias, and then sighed with some distress, "It's a pity that this innate talent was used by you to repair that rough Haki System. It's a waste of nature."
"Three out of ten? That score sounds pretty good." Michelle looked at Tobias with some envy. Due to the emperor's favor for Tobias, she was already considering whether to find an opportunity to get closer to this man.
"It's three percent." Ian coldly corrected her misunderstanding, "This is a test with a total score of 10. Even I only had a score of 3 when I first started, and now I only have a score of 8. You have to know that in that world full of miracles, there is a kid named Asta, whose willpower has reached a terrifying 5 points."
Set sighed deeply, knowing that he had completely lost the opportunity to become an apprentice. Ian's brief words were like a sharp scalpel, cutting through the complacency that he had been hiding from others, allowing him to see a true and mediocre self. At this moment, he secretly vowed that if he could survive this mission, he must make changes.
"Sir, since the apprenticeship matter is over here... then what are you going to do with us?" Tobias asked the most important question.
Ian did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes and was silent for a few seconds. During that time, he was processing and sifting the broken memories from the depths of Hernandez's soul with unprecedented concentration in Sea of Consciousness. Because the other party's soul was severely damaged, extracting every piece of valid information was like searching for a needle tip in the ruins.
'Is that damn Main God Space really called 'Samsara Hall'?' Ian sneered in his heart.
"Do you know what Main God is, what is a temple, and what is the Hall of Reincarnation?" Ian opened his eyes and his tone became deep and mysterious.
"Yes. We have read a novel called <Infinite Terror>, which is the originator of this type of story." Tobias answered truthfully. After entering Samsara Hall, in order to survive, they read almost all such literary works they could find, trying to find loopholes behind the cold rules.
"Very good. Then you should also understand that this so-called 'Main God' usually has only two forms: either it is some extremely powerful taboo creature, or it is a Divine Artifact with an interdimensional Authority."
Ian looked at everyone with an unabashed predator's light in his eyes. "Over the years, I have been cruising in all the worlds with only one purpose - to find a 'Main God' who is still in its infancy with little knowledge, and then snatch the 'weapon' that leads to the supreme from its hands."
Tobias felt that his throat was a little dry, and he was keenly aware of the smell of blood behind Ian's words. "You want... to let us act as your internal agent?"
"That's right." Ian did not deny it, "I will allocate a special arcane artifact to each of you. It has two functions: first, in your subsequent reincarnation missions, quietly record the underlying coordinates of those different universes; second, help me collect the core existence information about your 'Samsara Hall Lord'."
"When the time is right, I will come with my own hands to end its rule."
The laboratory fell into dead silence again. Tobias felt that his legs were a little weak. This plan was so crazy that it simply made them dance on the tip of a knife to murder an Near-Omniscience almighty indigenous god.
"What if we refuse?" Tobias took a deep breath and asked.
"I never force others to make things difficult." Ian smiled, very sincerely, "When I finish analyzing your power system, I will lift the restrictions on you and let you go. But I suggest you listen to the reward I give before making a decision."
Ian looked at the struggling faces and threw out the bait that they couldn't refuse. "I know that except for Michelle, none of you really want to give up your extraordinary power. But at the same time, you don't want to live forever in the shadow of that Main God and be harvested regularly like livestock."
"So, if you agree to this agreement and successfully complete the mission, I will give you a 'Omniverse Navigation Technology' belonging to the Empire. This means that from now on, you will have the right to sail freely in the sea, and you can go to different universes to become stronger as you like. The price is just that you must go to Main God to check in on time and take care of your errands."
At this moment, everyone's hearts trembled violently. Even Michelle, who was ready to retire and planned to return to his hometown to be an ordinary person, felt a kind of "ambition" after hearing this condition. After all, as long as he is a normal person, after experiencing the power of moving mountains and reclaiming seas, who would be willing to return to the mediocre and decadent mortal world?
What's more, Ian provides not only power, but also the coveted... freedom.
"I... I still have a few details that need to be clarified." Tobias managed to maintain his sanity at the last moment. He knew that the more a promise sounded like Heaven, the heavier the price hidden behind it would be.
Ian leaned on the large chair and made a gesture of invitation. He was not in a hurry, because he knew that in this game of fate, the weight he held in his hand was already too heavy for these people to resist.