Carpenter could not understand Russell's melancholy. Her mastery of spells was still too shallow for her to understand how much calculation and how deep an understanding of the two of them it took to exhaust both of them despite their obvious difference in strength, leaving them with nearly the same amount of rest time.
Russell naturally did not think this was because their teacher paid especially close attention to them.
Gilbert could be considered a conscientious teacher, but he was certainly not so devoted that he would go that far.
This could only prove that apprentices were completely transparent before Mages, with no room whatsoever to hide themselves.
Whenever Russell thought about the plans he had once made for what he would do after entering the Mage Tower, before being taught by that elder of his family, he felt a little chilled.
Even if Gilbert discovered something wrong with him, based on Russell's observations over this period, his teacher probably would not do anything to him. However, he certainly would not teach him as earnestly as he did now.
He would merely become like those apprentices rushing about the Mage Tower every day, able to struggle only on his own... Could it be that none of those people had teachers with status comparable to Gilbert's?
There definitely were, and quite a few of them.
Russell could tell from their distinctly different mage robes that not every apprentice in the Black Mystery Tower had a cotton robe.
There was another type made from a blend of cotton and black ramie.
He guessed these were ordinary apprentices who had met the standards but had not been taken in by any capable Mage.
There were also a few who seemed to have only just entered the Mage Tower. Their apprentice robes were even