014 Go ahead and brag, senior!

Roland moved the cabinet away from the door in advance and then stood respectfully at the entrance to welcome his mentor’s arrival. As soon as she entered, Roland gave a slight bow and followed her to the desk inside the small room. Throughout this, he said nothing about the events of the previous night.

The female mentor seemed not to inquire about last night either. She gazed absentmindedly at the withered herb on the table for quite a while. Then, her face darkened as she stared at the broken door of the hut, her mood evidently very grim.

It was unclear whether her anger stemmed from Anna’s intrusion or from what Roland had done behind her back last night—or perhaps both.

Watching the mentor’s sullen profile, Roland’s heart tightened. “She didn’t ask about last night… She must have some way of knowing what happened here.”

In fact, while hastening the growth of the Manhattos herb last night, Roland had considered this possibility—that his mentor might have other means of monitoring the hut.

But Roland was well aware that, regardless of whether she had such surveillance, he had to hasten the Manhattos herb’s growth.

“I wonder since when she started paying attention to this hut... and how much she has seen.”

Roland recalled the entire process of hastening the herb’s growth last night.

After reviewing it, a strange expression crossed his face.

When Roland used transfiguration last night, he hadn’t uttered any incantations. Moreover, although he transformed the wine glass into a Holy Grail, its appearance remained unchanged.

The whole process looked as if Roland had simply poured a glass of wine onto the herb.

Then, mermaids grew from the herb!

If one were watching through surveillance, it would be impossible to tell that those mermaids were elemental spirits.

So, everything confirmed what Roland had told his mentor during the day: “The reason Manhattos herb doesn’t sprout mermaids is because it’s thirsty. Mermaids like wine, so if you water it with wine, mermaids will grow inside the herb!”

As for his mentor’s current mood, her eyes were sunken and bloodshot, clearly from a sleepless night.

‘I hope I haven’t driven her mad.’

At that moment, the mentor suddenly looked at Roland with reddened eyes.

Roland, who had been scrutinizing the dark circles under her eyes, hurriedly lowered his head and stared at his toes.

“Didn’t you say that if the Manhattos herb is watered with wine, mermaids will grow?” the mentor asked through clenched teeth. “Did you see any mermaids last night?”

Roland’s expression was peculiar.

He answered, “Mentor, I was delirious last night. Watering it with wine only makes it rot; it won’t sprout mermaids.”

Upon hearing this, the mentor stood frozen, stunned. “You… you didn’t see mermaids? None grew inside the herb?”

Roland replied, “Mentor, how could mermaids grow inside the herb?”

Suddenly, the mentor’s body wavered, nearly collapsing into Roland’s arms. She steadied herself by gripping the desk and wearily rubbed her forehead.

Indeed… how could mermaids grow inside the herb?

So, she must be going mad!

That was right—recently, she had gone on an expedition to the Sallow Fern Forest with Hall and had suffered a considerable mental shock. It seemed she still hadn’t fully recovered. No, something was off about this!

Catherine vaguely felt there was something strange about the mermaid matter. It wasn’t that simple; she couldn’t have been mistaken.

However, now was not the time to alarm anyone… for now, she would just soothe him.

Mentor thought to herself, ‘Today, I will take this boy to the Sallow Fern Forest. Other matters can wait… After the forest expedition is handled, I will settle the issue of his attempted escape! As for the mermaids… now is not the time to dig deeper.’

After regaining her composure, Catherine said no more and instead placed two books on the desk.

Roland focused and saw two books: one titled “A Brief Discussion on Mental Magic,” and the other “Arcana: Secondary and Tertiary Applications of Chain Lightning.”

The mentor took out “Arcana: Chain Lightning” to signify her acceptance of Roland’s promotion.

By producing “A Brief Discussion on Mental Magic,” she indicated recognition that Roland had grasped Mental Shock after his advancement and hoped he would focus on studying this magic to deal with the frequently troublesome Miss Anna—since mental magic was evidently very effective against her.

Seeing that Catherine was so lenient and did not pursue other matters, Roland wore a strange expression.

Could it be that he had been overly cautious? Had he thought too ill of others?

So, was the mentor truly going to keep her promise? Now that he was promoted to a low-level apprentice, she would no longer treat him as a human drug?

He still couldn’t fully trust Catherine but said nothing, feigning obedient innocence.

“The academy I’m about to take you to is called ‘Alexandra Arcane Academy.’ Because it lies in the southeastern region known as the ‘Black Abyss,’ it’s also commonly called the Black Abyss Academy.”

“Going from zero to this level in just three months, you’ve broken the Black Abyss Academy’s record,” Catherine said with a hint of nostalgia, as if lost in distant memories.

Roland had always thought his mentor was the most gifted in the academy, perhaps the most talented sorcerer ever.

Yet from her tone just now, it seemed the record-breaker was someone else.

Curious, Roland asked, “Mentor, who was the last person to break the record?”

“My first student,” Catherine replied, shaking her head. “If he were still alive, he’d probably have reached third-tier sorcerer by now…”

Roland rolled his eyes hard, thinking to himself, “Keep boasting! High-level apprentice Catherine!”

He was quite certain Catherine was indeed a high-level apprentice.

Because he had secretly glanced at her books—her current meditation method was that of a high-level apprentice!

As for why Narl respected Catherine so much or why Anna feared her so deeply… that was for other reasons.

“Roland,” Catherine picked up the family grimoire titled “Alaya’s Journal” and said, “This book has indeed been very beneficial during the apprentice initiation phase, but it has significant drawbacks. When we return to the academy, I’ll find you a book that better suits your visualization.”

Catherine then picked up “A Brief Discussion on Mental Magic” and said, “Mental magic is a double-edged sword; mental black magic is even more so—a soul-devouring blade. Few can truly master it, so it’s best not to delve too deeply.”

She glanced at “Arcana: Secondary and Tertiary Applications of Chain Lightning” and added, “By contrast, arcana is different… Moreover, in the entire eastern region, no one has studied lightning magic more deeply than I have. Following me, you can learn quite a bit.”

Roland knew his mentor was very proud and dared not show any expression.

He thought to himself—Yes, yes, you’re the strongest in the entire eastern region, the best in the world!

The mentor was not boasting, and Roland was correct about her level.

If Roland returned to the academy and read its founding history, he would find that the portrait of the academy’s founding mentor bore a striking resemblance to Catherine.

Three hundred years ago, a witch named Alexandra once ruled the entire eastern region. She was like a supernova, eclipsing the sun’s brilliance, but like a supernova, she vanished in an instant.

Two hundred years ago, the witch fell; some believed she had not truly died but descended into hell.

Twenty years ago, a baby named Catherine was born into the Alexandra family. She was extraordinarily gifted, with almost no cultivation bottlenecks, and at nineteen, was promoted to high-level apprentice.

Catherine was that very witch who had crawled out of hell and begun anew.

The mentor continued, “You should study arcana. Black Abyss Academy is famous for arcana, so even if I don’t have much time to teach you personally, what the professors teach will suffice for a while.”

If other academy sorcerers heard “Black Abyss Academy is famous for arcana,” they’d spit disdainfully—the Black Abyss Academy was notorious; yes, they excelled in arcana but were even more adept at black magic.

Catherine added, “Roland, you have great talent, but you need pressure to go further on the path of sorcery. If you follow me, you will have unimaginable opportunities… but you will also face tremendous pressure.”

Roland’s expression was peculiar. It seemed Catherine had never intended to use him as human bait for Anna. Saying this was just to apply pressure.

Indeed, that was true.

But once someone had threatened your life, it was hard to trust them again. So Catherine’s behavior cost her points in Roland’s heart, leaving him deeply wary of her to this day.

Catherine said, “Black Abyss Academy advocates survival of the fittest, winner takes all… but the path of sorcery is even harsher. When you become a full sorcerer and leave the academy, you’ll understand.”

Roland took the books from his mentor.

---

Roland had originally thought Catherine couldn’t handle Anna, so to avoid being eaten by her when Anna went mad, Catherine would surely use him as human bait—after all, if two people encounter a bear, and the bear eats one, the other survives, right?

But now he realized Catherine wasn’t afraid of Anna at all. Even if Anna went berserk, Catherine and Narl could easily subdue her. So the bear crisis didn’t exist.

Therefore, Roland believed Catherine wouldn’t treat him as human bait anymore. Following Catherine posed no risk of death.

So, if that was the case, should he still run away?

Roland pondered: ‘Should I return to the academy, or run off to be a wild sorcerer?’

As an apprentice who had emerged from the mundane world, Roland knew well the preciousness of magical resources and how much academies provided that wild sorcerers only dreamed of.

Take these two books, for example.

In the mundane world, magical books are priceless treasures. Even one of these two books would cause a bloodbath among wild sorcerers if released.

But for a professional sorcerer like Catherine, these two books were just two books.

In essence, sorcerers like Catherine, born of the magical world, were true sorcerers.

Whereas wild sorcerers in the mundane world were merely Muggles.

If Roland didn’t go to the academy, he’d have to mingle with wild sorcerers and become a Muggle.

So if he really ran away, he might never again access the true world of sorcery.

After a brief hesitation of two or three seconds, Roland made up his mind.

‘I must run away!’

‘I have too many secrets—there’s no way I can stay by her side!’

‘Because my mentor is not only intensely curious but a voyeur!’

‘And there’s a pervert constantly trying to sneak into my room!’

Anna was always scheming about Roland; today she barged in while he was bathing, tomorrow she might sneak into bed while he’s asleep to play!

Just thinking about it unsettled Roland completely.

He firmly believed that if he stayed by his mentor’s side, future incidents would be even more “exciting” than last night.

Being near his mentor meant endless trouble. If there was a chance, it was better to leave her.

As Roland was lost in thought, the mentor had already stepped out of the hut.

Her voice came from outside: “Pack your things; everyone’s waiting.”

“Where to?” Roland asked instinctively.

“Back to the academy,” the female mentor replied without turning, a faint, elegant smile playing on her lips.

‘I haven’t lied to my student,’ Catherine thought. ‘I will indeed take him back to the academy… but first, the group will visit the Sallow Fern Forest.’

...

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