Wildness and Masks

"So, you went through all that trouble just for the apprentice assessment?"

Ogre couldn't help but feel the gap between people was truly vast.

He was busy fighting or training every day just to become a Professional, while this young master from another city was suppressing his own power, deliberately not condensing his magic core, in pursuit of perfection.

"That's just one reason. I don't want to randomly inscribe a low-level spell in my mind," Foucault explained.

Whether a Shaping or Control Type mage apprentice, the hallmark of advancing to a Professional Mage is compressing mana to form a mana core.

During the process of condensing the magic core, one can choose a spell they are proficient in and inscribe it onto the core in the form of a magic rune.

This stage is also where the Control and Shaping Types begin to diverge. Control Type mages will blend their soul and a large amount of mental will into the process of condensing the magic core.

In contrast, Shaping Types will forgo inscribing spells, reduce the mental power mixed in, and choose to condense with more powerful elemental forces.

This elemental power will permanently alter the nature of the mana core, but at the same time, Shaping Mages will gain stronger mana.

Those with better elemental perception and mental gifts will become Control Type mages, while those with stronger mana reserves but poor elemental perception will choose the Shaping path.

"Pursuing strength and perfection is understandable," Ogre said, taking a sip from his wooden mug. Then he asked his question: "But I'm curious, with your family's influence, finding a few outstanding apprentices shouldn't be difficult, right?"

The ale at this tavern was quite weak, more like a beverage than alcohol, but it tasted good.

Ogre quite liked this slightly bitter drink—the bitterness helped keep him alert.

Lange, however, didn't seem to enjoy it as much. Ogre noticed that the knight's squire took only one sip before sticking out his tongue and refusing to drink more.

"The apprentice qualification assessment doesn't allow non-apprentice level individuals to interfere," Foucault seemed to recall something and paused before continuing to explain to Ogre: "I'm aiming for a high-star apprentice adventurer group rating, which will greatly benefit me in the future. That's the real reason I came to the borderlands with my uncle."

"It's because the family's special recruitment quota didn't fall to you, right..." Ogre stated Foucault's true need.

During his studies, he had learned about the so-called mage sanctuary—Serris Mage Academy.

Serris Mage Academy only admits apprentice-level mage students. As their principal puts it—they only cultivate potential blank slates.

Professional-level mages cannot become students at Serris Academy.

But joining Serris Mage Academy is quite challenging; either you have a recommendation from a major power, or you pass with exceptionally high mage talent.

Although Foucault was already an excellent spell apprentice, he was still a bit short of joining Serris Academy.

'Speaking of which, the information broker mentioned a wizard organization there. Could it be that those wizards are actually some mages from the academy?' It wasn't surprising that Ogre couldn't pinpoint the wizard organization's location.

Few would suspect that a profession like a wizard, akin to a rat crossing the street, would directly infiltrate the largest mage residence.

To say there's no connection between the two, Ogre wouldn't believe it.

Ogre thought the academy was likely infiltrated.

"I didn't expect you to know about this too. Yes, I want to enter Serris Academy through a high-star Professional Association apprentice rating," Foucault said openly.

This path was suggested by his uncle. He was unlucky—in Foucault's generation, the family happened to have three exceptionally talented mage apprentices.

This meant the recommendation quota for two consecutive years didn't fall to Foucault. His only option was to challenge the six-star apprentice-level Professional rating!

As long as he met the standard, the Professional Association would naturally vouch for him.

"I can't wait until next year, so I came here. I don't want to compromise on my mage path; I want to achieve more with my own strength," Foucault said frankly.

He had other mage academies to choose from.

But he wanted the best!

Some people don't covet small immediate gains because they seek something greater.

"Just say whether you agree or not. My young master has taken a liking to you, which is your..." Seeing Ogre's hesitance, Lange couldn't hold back any longer.

"Lange, be quiet. Don't interrupt from now on!" Foucault warned, knocking on the wooden table with his fist.

He understood that Lange still held a grudge over the previous incident.

Watching the two of them play good cop, bad cop, Ogre just shrugged: "I have no other demands. I'm still very business-like—just pay me."

Ogre didn't even know if he had enough money to buy the forbidden potion.

"The apprentices I know mostly aren't good at fighting," Foucault explained the real reason for seeking Ogre.

People from the borderlands were known for their combat skills, a classic stereotype. But since it became a stereotype, it indeed indicated a different local culture.

Apprentices not from the borderlands mostly had little combat experience.

Those with good talent usually wouldn't waste their promotion time honing combat skills.

So, Foucault was telling the truth, which also explained why he immediately sought to challenge the strongest apprentice in the arena, Ogre.

Although the strongest in the apprentice arena wasn't necessarily the strongest apprentice in the region.

But they were definitely the most reliable apprentice teammate to find.

This selection method was undoubtedly taught by Foucault's uncle.

"Are there any other teammates?" Ogre's question had a dual meaning.

First, he was inquiring about the teammates' situation, and second, he was testing how much Foucault would pay for his worth.

"Currently, no. I've passed through several cities and haven't found an apprentice stronger than you," Foucault had indeed encountered stronger apprentices.

But those apprentices weren't like the arena guys who would easily risk their lives for others.

Such people, without other reasons, often had high aspirations—each thinking they were the best.

A high-star adventurer group could only apply for one endorsement.

So, Foucault had already ruled out mage apprentices early on. Of course, this was also because mages at the apprentice stage indeed didn't have strong combat power.

In his view, Ogre, accustomed to living near the Demon Beast Forest, might be more useful than those stronger individuals.

"Do you have experience fighting demon beasts?" Ogre asked again.

Foucault and Lange exchanged glances, then both shook their heads.

Of course, this was within Ogre's expectations.

It was both a bad and a good thing.

The bad part was that this task might not be easy.

The good part was that his bargaining chips had increased in value.

"How many people can the team have at most?" Ogre put down the beer mug and asked the next question.

Ogre only knew that the fewer members an adventurer team had, the better they performed, and the easier it was to get a high rating.

The first few stars were easy to achieve, but from the fifth and sixth stars onward, it became difficult—the more freeloaders, the harder it was to manage.

Generally, there wouldn't be any "carry" operations—because it was almost meaningless.

As time passed, the adventurer group's rating would decrease.

Even if they managed to boost the rating with help, once the strong member left and a few tasks failed, the rating would drop.

The adventurer who helped carry the team might also face a reduced star rating.

The adventurer group's rating was a comprehensive assessment of the professionals within it.

Each task would assign individual ratings based on contributions, especially during star promotion assessments, which required observation and testing.

Professionals with strong individual abilities and real skills either formed their own adventurer groups or were recruited by various forces.

Carrying others was generally meaningless, except for Foucault's loophole-exploiting behavior, which had almost no benefits.

And if Foucault wanted to rely on the Adventurer Association's endorsement, he either had to form his own adventurer group and rise up or join an already high-rated adventurer group to get the sole recommendation.

Both were difficult, and high-rated adventurer groups wouldn't easily let Foucault join—because a significant gap would lower the group's rating.

Once it dropped, getting it back up would be a nightmare.

Even adventurer groups that wanted to train newcomers wouldn't directly include them in their own group.

"Have you decided on a task yet?" Ogre added.

He had already accepted Foucault as the leader, as it was just a temporary title for now.

Foucault, currently trying to exploit a loophole, could only choose to create his own adventurer group—unlike registering for Professional status, registering an adventurer group required a substantial fee.

The advantage was that adventurer groups were more likely to be assigned tasks.

The Professional Association didn't impose significant restrictions on professionals changing adventurer groups.

But each change would be recorded in their personal file.

Frequent job-hopping also had some impact.

Of course, for those who wanted to team up as freelancers, the Professional Association had a reasonable system in place—a temporary adventurer group.

The difference between a temporary and a formal adventurer group was that the temporary group's qualification rating was often discounted by one star, and some of the earnings would be deducted by the Professional Association.

"I have a task in mind, and as for personnel, it's just the three of us for now. I can only accept two more people at most. Too many would affect my plan, and I can't accept weaklings, as that would affect efficiency."

Foucault was forming the adventurer group to secure a spot at Serris Academy this year.

For him, whether the rating dropped afterward didn't matter.

This adventurer group only needed to exist for a year, long enough for him to enroll.

But this would also delay other apprentice professionals joining, as Foucault had to ensure no members left during this time—otherwise, it would lower the rating.

So he wanted to find professionals, but not full-fledged ones.

This requirement was quite demanding.

This was also a restriction intentionally set by the Professional Association to recommend truly capable professionals.

Of course, if you could really exploit this rule with so many restrictions, the association would acknowledge it.

But generally, such people had their own channels.

"This will also benefit your future professional development, won't it?" Foucault said with a smile.

Of course, it wasn't as good as he made it sound—if you joined, for at least half a year, you wouldn't be able to improve your rating or take on tasks at the Professional Association.

For an apprentice professional, this restriction was neither too heavy nor too light—for those in the borderlands who relied on this for a living, it had a significant impact, but for those relying on family systems or studying in academies, it had almost no impact.

The former found it hard to find willing participants, while the latter's combat power at this stage was usually weak.

There was no way around it; if Foucault wanted to form his own adventurer group and get this recommendation, he had to find apprentice professionals.

Because the Professional Association not only rated professionals but also adventurer groups (star ratings and strength weren't entirely linked).

For adventurer groups below silver, the strength rating would be based on the strongest professional.

In other words.

If the adventurer group had a full-fledged professional, it would be directly classified as an iron adventurer group, making star promotion much more difficult.

He was trying to exploit a loophole, not challenge the limits.

"I'm more focused on immediate benefits, but if Young Master Foucault needs teammate recommendations, I do know someone." Ogre wasn't too concerned about so-called future development.

He wouldn't be using his current identity for long.

So he had plenty of confidence.

Ogre said as he casually picked up a knife and fork, cutting a piece of steak, chewing and swallowing it, his leisurely demeanor giving Foucault some confidence.

The limitations on the teammates Foucault was looking for were indeed significant.

This also highlighted Ogre's importance, which was probably why Foucault was so polite to someone from the arena.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that he was well-mannered.

"Another expert?" Foucault's eyes widened slightly as he instinctively asked, "Who?"

He was indeed curious about the teammate Ogre mentioned.

He had been troubled by this for a while.

If he couldn't exploit this loophole, he would have to wait for the family quota a year later or find a less prestigious academy.

It could only be said that everything had its risks.

Fortunately, a mage's age wasn't as pressing as a martial artist's; a mage's post-adulthood training was very steady.

Absorbing mana at the apprentice level wasn't useless; forming a magic core later could still improve quality—just not as efficiently as a Professional.

"He's a knight, a paladin in training. He probably wouldn't care about the Professional Association's restrictions..."

Ogre finished his steak, wiped his mouth, and finally revealed the person's name: "His name is Thrandic, a paladin trainee at the Church of Dawn here. Strictly speaking, he should be considered my junior brother."

It had to be said, the steak here was indeed good, and Ogre ate faster than usual.

This might also be related to Ogre eating a lot of sweets yesterday. Tired of sweets, he naturally preferred salty meat dishes more.

Not that honey wasn't tasty, but anything eaten too much would become cloying—unless it was addictive.

And long-term monotonous training with no visible progress feedback was much the same.

"You can even enlist someone from the Church of Dawn! Right, why didn't I think of that?" Foucault excitedly slapped the table—he felt that exploiting this loophole might actually work.

"In terms of strength, I guarantee no problem, but he's a bit hard to recruit, so it might not succeed," Ogre didn't dare to promise too much.

"If it doesn't work, I'll have to ask my uncle to recruit an archer..." Hearing Ogre's words, Foucault's expression wasn't as excited.

"No, no, no, you might have misunderstood my meaning."

"What do you mean?" Foucault asked curiously.

"I mean, as a rare paladin, it's indeed hard to recruit him at risk, but the success rate is quite high, as long as you know his preferences, which I happen to know."

"You mean?"

"Add money," Ogre said bluntly.