“Of course I’m not joking, what would be funny about something like this?” Charles replied, stating the truth as it was.
Owen was completely taken aback by Charles’s words, it took him a while to come to terms with this reality.
“Charles, why don’t you study alchemy with me?” Owen couldn’t suppress his desire any longer. Faced with a talent like Charles, he didn’t want to let this opportunity slip by, he had to teach him personally!
“Well… President Owen, I’ve already made a promise, so I can’t go back on it.” Charles replied. He valued honesty and integrity in both his words and actions, breaking a promise was not something he could do.
“Alright then.” Owen sighed again, dismissing the thought of taking on an apprentice. He felt immense regret, if only he had proposed mentoring Charles when they first met, how much better that would have been.
It seemed that his judgment was not as sharp as that of his brother at Cyber Academy.
As Charles exited the alchemy room, he found the once-crowded hall even fuller. Many had rushed over upon hearing the news of Charles successfully passing his assessment.
These were individuals with some influence in Genosha Calivia, eager to invest in Charles ahead of time.
Word had spread far and wide when Charles passed his advanced alchemist certification.
The purpose of these visitors was to establish a good relationship with Charles early on.
After all, an eighteen-year-old advanced alchemist was bound to achieve greatness, likely reaching master-level status, or even higher, perhaps he could become a grandmaster alchemist.
There were only a few grandmaster alchemists in Genosha, and each held a particularly high status. They were prime targets for various families and factions to court.
Charles looked around at the throng of people in the alchemist guild, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. He still had to return to the academy later that afternoon for the final competition.
He didn’t have much time to waste here.
Noticing Charles’s thoughts, Owen quickly spoke up, “How about this, Charles? There’s a back door in the alchemist guild, we could leave through there.”
Charles nodded and sent messages to Catherine and Jace, asking them to gather at the academy later.
He followed Owen toward the back door and returned to Cyber Academy.
Unexpectedly, Catherine replied, “Charles, I have some things to take care of, so I won’t be joining you guys back.”
Upon receiving the message, Charles felt a twinge of curiosity but didn’t dwell on it.
Before long, he and Jace returned to Cyber Academy.
Taking advantage of the little time left at noon, Charles went to the cafeteria and found a private room.
He summoned Mia, Mousie, and Max to join him.
The three mystical beasts were eating with him, and Max had the most elegant eating manners, resembling a lady, she made not a sound while eating.
In contrast, Mia was completely different, despite being a female mystical beast, she devoured her food ravenously and at lightning speed.
“Slow down, there’s plenty of meat left.” Charles said slowly, looking at the three mystical beasts.
He loved this feeling, the mystical beasts bound by the Beast Master contract were his most loyal companions!
The news of Charles passing the advanced alchemist certification was still spreading.
In the blacksmith guild, President Xavier was watching a news video on his phone, feeling incredibly anxious.
In response to his invitation, Charles had agreed to think for two days before giving a reply.
He worried that during this time, Charles might be swayed by the conditions offered by the alchemist guild president, Owen, and ultimately reject him.
At just eighteen years old, Charles was already an advanced blacksmith and advanced alchemist. If he could focus all his energy on blacksmithing, it was almost a given that another grandmaster-level blacksmith would emerge in Genosha in the future.
Moreover, various families and factions in Genosha Calivia were inviting Charles, especially the prominent families, who would surely offer generous conditions.
“I can’t wait any longer. Chu Feng has a competition this afternoon, once it’s over, I’ll go talk to him in person.” Xavier thought to himself in his office. If he weren’t worried about affecting Charles’s competition, he would have gone to Cyber Academy already.
Meanwhile, in the director’s office at Cyber Academy.
Director Jamie and Hale were engaged in conversation.
Jamie said, “Hale, Ezra has indeed found a true genius, but he’s almost too much of a genius, I’m a bit worried.”
“Are you worried that he might spend too much energy on blacksmithing and alchemy, thus affecting his growth as a Beast Master?” Hale responded.
Director Jamie nodded, agreeing with this perspective.
He continued, “After the competition this afternoon, find some time to talk to him. Remind him to focus his energy on his training as a Beast Master.”
Hale nodded in agreement, he had the same thought. He remembered that Charles had mentioned wanting to learn alchemy from Colton.
While it might somewhat interfere with his Beast Master training, Hale felt it wasn’t a major issue, he was just worried that Charles might end up investing too much energy into blacksmithing.
“By the way, Director, the Constellation organization won’t let go of the matter of assassinating geniuses. With Charles’s recent rise to fame, they might target him. I’d like to request a level seven Beast Master to secretly protect Charles.” Hale said.
His concerns were not unfounded, the entire Genosha Calivia was now aware that Charles was a genius Beast Master, a genius alchemist, and a genius blacksmith!
It was easy to assume that the Constellation organization would come after him.
Jamie understood this logic as well.
But he had a slightly different idea than Hale. “There’s no sense in being overly cautious. Instead, let’s discuss this with Charles and encourage him to go out more. Maybe we can draw the Constellation members out into the open.”
If they could use Charles to lure out all of the Constellation members in Genosha, they wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked constantly, and other students would also have the freedom to go outside.
“That….” Hale hesitated. He was concerned that the people from Constellation might be too strong and could harm Charles.
“I understand your worries, there are risks involved. Let’s see how Charles feels about it. You can ask him about it later.” Jamie replied, standing up and walking to the window. He gazed at the platform where he had stood during the freshman enrollment.
The image of fifteen coffins replayed in his mind, and he spoke slowly, his voice firm yet tinged with gravity. “Geniuses, before they fully grow, are still quite fragile. I hope Charles can become stronger quickly, there’s not much time left for a genius.”
On the other side,
In front of the competition venue at Cyber Academy, a dense crowd had gathered. Among them were both new students and those who had been studying at Cyber Academy for some time.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Charles and Catherine, who stood outside the competition area.
“Who do you think is stronger, the two of them?”
“Is that even a question? Of course, it’s Catherine! She’s a level four presale master, while Charles is only level three. There’s no way he could beat her!”
“That’s not the whole story, though. Kayden is also a level four presale master, and Charles defeated him.”
“That may be true, but Catherine is not Kayden, she won’t give Charles that chance.”
Kayden stood in the crowd, listening to the discussions around him, and his expression was extremely grim.
He had been the one standing on the competition stage, basking in the audience’s eager gaze, not Charles!
“Damn it, it’s all Charles’s fault. If only I had summoned my fourth mystical beast earlier, or just used Beast Mastery to fight Charles directly, things wouldn’t have turned out like this!” Kayden thought, feeling unwilling to accept that Charles was stronger than him!
He continued to mutter, “Give me one more chance, and I will definitely defeat Charles!”
Lan, who had already been defeated by Charles twice, unintentionally overheard Kayden’s words. He turned to look, his eyes filled with sympathy.
He had gone through this feeling himself, and not just once!
After thinking for a moment, Lan spoke up, “Buddy, even if you got another chance, you still wouldn’t be a match for Charles.”
Kayden shot his head up and glared at Lan, saying, “What do you mean by that? On a real battlefield, I would have already killed Charles with my own hands!”
“Uh, buddy, don’t be so hasty. I know you’re feeling hurt, but you might not know this.” Lan scratched his head, surprised by Kayden’s intense reaction.
Kayden took a couple of steps forward and asked, “Know what? How much stronger can Charles be?”
“Not much stronger. He’s only killed three level five Beast Masters when using his weapons and gear.” Lan recounted the previous events, watching Kayden’s face closely.
Kayden’s expression was filled with doubt and disbelief. “That’s impossible! How could someone at level three kill level five Beast Masters? Are you trying to fool me?”
The look of sympathy in Lan’s eyes deepened, he knew that those who hadn’t witnessed Charles’s full strength would find it hard to believe such things.
“You’ll find out soon enough whether it’s true or not.” Lan said before turning to look at the competition stage.
Charles stood there, holding a black long knife in his hand, fully equipped.
Across from him, Catherine wore a pair of gauntlets, which she had purchased earlier that afternoon.
Using weaponry for their final showdown was the result of a discussion between her and Charles.
She had insisted that Charles give it his all for a true battle between them!
Of course, all of this had been approved by their teacher.
After all, with only the two of them left, competing for the title of strongest new student, the format of the match didn’t matter much.
The final showdown was about to begin!