Something's not right. No matter how I look at it, it doesn't add up.
Hyacine narrowed her eyes, quickly counting the students behind Heinrich. Including Pela, there were at least thirty of them. But Heinrich was the Tower Master of the Transmutation Tower and the Headmaster of the entire Arcane Federation's capital. Taking on thirty students at once? Was he joking?
If he'd encountered a few exceptionally talented students, taking them on as apprentices would be understandable. But Hyacine refused to believe that thirty students in a single cohort could possess the kind of extraordinary talent that would catch the Headmaster's eye. Moreover, Heinrich, a Great Mage, was perpetually swamped with work. How could he possibly have the time to teach thirty students?
Just then, the Necromancy Tower Master turned to Hyacine. "Is your friend in this group? Which one is she?"
Hyacine provided Pela's details. The Necromancy Tower Master immediately approached Heinrich, her gaze sweeping over the students behind him. They were all young children, not a single adult among them.
The children's faces were alight with excitement and anticipation. After all, they had been chosen by the Headmaster himself—a chance to learn directly under him, something most people could only dream of!
The Necromancy Tower Master turned to Heinrich and said, "There's a student named Pela. Lord Headmaster, would you mind letting her come with me?"
Her words stunned both Heinrich and the students behind him. The students, already ecstatic at being chosen by the Headmaster, were now witnessing a situation straight out of a bard's tale—two Tower Masters vying for a single student!
Heinrich paused briefly before glancing at Anaxa, who stood nearby. Since none of the students behind him had undergone aptitude testing, it was clear the Necromancy Tower Master was pulling strings to get her chosen candidate.
Nevertheless, he didn't refuse outright. Smiling faintly, he said, "I have no objection personally. Let's see what Pela chooses."
As he spoke, Heinrich glanced behind him. The students, sensing the shift, gradually parted to the sides, leaving a bewildered Pela standing alone.
The Necromancy Tower Master spoke gently, "Well, child? How about coming to study Necromancy with me?"
Pela hesitated, her gaze darting repeatedly between Heinrich and the Necromancy Tower Master. The former was the clearly more promising headmaster, while the latter was the Tower Master of the Necromancy School—the very tower Pela had originally intended to join.
Then, Pela suddenly spotted Hyacine in the distance, standing on tiptoe and waving at her. This solidified her decision. "I still want to go to the Necromancy School after all," she declared.
Heinrich nodded. "If that's your choice, then go, child."
Pela left Heinrich's group and followed the Necromancy Tower Master to where Anaxa and Hyacine were waiting. Hyacine immediately rushed over to chat with Pela, exclaiming, "Professor Anaxa and Lady Friedrich are inseparable! Now we can all take classes together!"
While Hyacine was chatting with Pela, Anaxa seized the opportunity to approach the Necromancy Tower Master. "Don't you find the children behind the headmaster... strange?" he asked.
"Of course," the Tower Master replied without hesitation. "Heinrich's not recruiting apprentices out of the goodness of his heart. What normal wizard would take on so many apprentices at once? I suspect it's likely related to Project X."
"Project X?" Anaxa recalled that Heinrich had once invited him to join this project, but he had refused.
The Necromancy Tower Master continued, "It's a super-secret project that Heinrich has been preparing for ages. As far as I know, it dates back at least a decade, possibly even two? But in recent years, I suspect the project is nearing completion, as Heinrich's strange actions have become increasingly frequent."
"For example, he's been massively draining national resources to hire hordes of Wizards to craft some mysterious artifacts. And now this sudden mass apprenticeship? Basically, any bizarre activity can likely be attributed to Project X."
"Oh, and by the way, apart from me, the Tower Masters of the other six Schools are all members of this project. Heinrich has repeatedly invited me to join, but I have no interest in getting involved in something so obviously troublesome. So I don't have any more detailed information beyond this."
The Arcane Federation's magical prowess is unparalleled worldwide—this isn't hyperbole, it's a fact. As for Okhema, their research focuses on Magitech Technology rather than Magic, so the two operate in different domains.
The Tower Masters of the Eight Mage Towers were the eight most accomplished wizards in the entire Arcane Federation. According to the Necromancy Tower Master, the seven most powerful wizards in the world—excluding herself—were currently collaborating on a secret project they had been planning for decades.
This was clearly no mere research project or the invention of a new spell.
While pondering this, Anaxa hurried toward the testing area. He headed straight for the nearest examination hall, standing at the doorway of the empty room. Inside, a proctor was cleaning up charred Magic Puppet debris and tidying the floor, indicating that the previous candidates had passed the assessment using fire-based Evocation Magic.
But that wasn't his focus. Anaxa's gaze locked onto the pristine white wall beside the testing area:
[0327. If you can see this message, speak these numbers aloud to pass the examination immediately.]
Unlike Hyacine's earlier experience, the numbers had changed. Moreover, as a rational Demigod, Anaxa possessed observational skills far superior to Hyacine's. He narrowed his eyes slightly and quickly deduced the underlying principle of this hidden message.
This was a method of communication beyond the normal human five senses. In layman's terms, only those with a particularly strong Sixth Sense or heightened Perception could perceive and understand this message.
The problem was that the strength of one's Perception had absolutely no bearing on a Wizard's prospects! The Wizard profession valued Magic Power within the body and one's intelligence. Conversely, Priests placed far greater importance on Perception, as it directly influenced their connection to the gods.
In other words, this didn't resemble a Wizard selection test at all; it was more like a Priest selection test. This was utterly perplexing.
The Necromancy Tower Master, Hyacine, and Pela arrived soon after. Anaxa glanced back to see everyone dispersing as the examination concluded. Heinrich was also leading his newly recruited students toward this area.
To avoid raising suspicion, Anaxa didn't linger. He strode away, perfectly embodying the image of a newly recruited teacher eager to return to his books.