Hill mentally calculated Russell's learning pace... After all, he knew how the boy used the library inside that ring.
Although Russell had left himself a little leeway, this truly was his limit.
Still, Hill could see a hint of the boy's lack of confidence in himself.
Russell was very familiar with at least half of these books and could certainly recite them from memory.
Yet he clearly planned to read them all over again from the beginning to avoid making any mistakes.
Hill was someone with great confidence in himself, so he did not quite understand how Russell could know himself so poorly... But he never interfered with other people's understanding of themselves.
That was not something an outsider could meddle in—not even a person's own parents. He was only a teacher; pointing out the path the boy should take was enough.
Hill had never been willing to shoulder responsibilities beyond what he could tolerate. He liked a clear division of duties and authority.
"All right." Hill chuckled softly. "Don't let your focus on the books interfere with your daily spell practice."
At the apprentice stage, there was little else to say. Practice made perfect.
Even the Mages of Toril, restricted as they were by spell slots, understood this. They would never abandon their study of magic simply because the Magic Weave made things convenient.
That went all the more for someone like Hill, who would grind elemental crystals into powder to study them painstakingly. His present ease and leisure rested entirely on the days and nights he had spent researching spells in the past.
Although Russell had yet to fully grasp the deeper meaning behind Teacher Gilbert's words, he knew very well that someone who could hold his ground in a fiercely competitive Mage Tower despite such severe physical