Among these Wizard seeds, there was actually a Soul Cultivation genius recognized by the panel?
Ivan's spirits lifted, and his gaze swept over the more than twenty Wizard seeds before him. Guided by the game panel's prompt, he quickly locked onto the "Soul Cultivation genius."
That was a slightly reserved young girl, appearing particularly frail at the edge of the crowd, somewhat out of place with the others.
She wore clothing with distinct ethnic characteristics, a short skirt and boots woven from deerskin, with wolf teeth and turquoise braided into her hair, accentuating her fair neck and calves.
Diana noticed Ivan's gaze and leaned over to say.
"She is a Navajo."
Navajo... Ivan quickly searched for relevant memories in his mind.
The Navajo are the indigenous natives of this new continent; they possess their own unique beliefs, customs, and spellcasters.
As for the residents of Horton Port, most are descendants of colonists who sailed across the ocean from the Old Continent.
In the eyes of the Old Continent colonists, these indigenous natives spoke incomprehensible languages and were utterly barbaric.
Vastly different customs, the struggle for land and resources... all of these led to continuous conflict and tense relations between the indigenous natives and the colonists.
A girl from a Navajo tribe coming to Horton Wizard Academy to be an apprentice was indeed a very novel occurrence.
"She is also the only Wizard Apprentice with high spiritual power aptitude we recruited this year. If cultivated well... it's very possible she could advance to a First Ring Wizard before graduation."
Diana said with some envy; her aptitude wasn't very good, and it took her more than ten years to advance to a First Ring Wizard.
"Her name is..." Diana flipped through the roster in her hand, "Esmeralda Conti."
......
Esmeralda Conti sat awkwardly on her luggage, nervously fiddling with her fingers. This was the first time she had traveled so far in her life.
In the two days since entering Horton Port, she had seen more novel things than she had in the past fifteen years.
Essida watched the young boys and girls around her tearfully bidding farewell to their families, and a wave of envy rose in her heart.
If only Big Brother Logan and the others had also come to see me off...
"Hello, Esmeralda Conti."
A voice suddenly rang out. Essida looked up, her vision filled with Ivan's dark Wizard robe.
Essida had learned the language of the Horton people. Although she wasn't very proficient yet, basic daily communication was mostly fine.
At this moment, hearing the greeting, she turned her head and only saw Ivan's chest... she was too short.
"It's that powerful Necromancy Wizard, Your Excellency!"
Essida's breath hitched. Just now, she had personally witnessed this powerful Necromancy Wizard, Your Excellency, defeat another official Wizard with almost no effort.
Essida joined the Necromancy School precisely to pursue such powerful strength!
Essida scrambled to stand up, but accidentally knocked over her luggage bag, making her appear even more flustered and awkward.
"Don't be nervous, just call me Ivan."
Ivan looked at the flustered young girl and showed what he considered a kind smile.
But perhaps because his complexion was inherently pale and indifferent, coupled with recent poor rest, his smile was a bit stiff.
Thus, this smile made Essida even more flustered. She quickly tidied her things, and her replies became stammering.
"Ivan... Ivan, Your Excellency, is there something... you need me to do?"
It was clear she wasn't very good at interacting with people.
Also not very good at socializing, Ivan was quite understanding of Essida. He simply got straight to the point and stated his intention.
"Essida, I see potential in you far exceeding that of other apprentices. My laboratory is in need of a research assistant. Are you willing to take on this position?"
"Huh?"
Essida was completely dumbfounded.
She had considered why this powerful Wizard Sir would seek her out.
Based on Essida's limited experience in dealing with people, a Wizard like Ivan, Your Excellency, who looked so evil, was either coming to cause her trouble or was coveting her beauty... The stories her mother told her were all like this!
But she never would have imagined that this Wizard, Your Excellency, actually wanted to take her on as a research assistant?
Ivan looked at the stunned young girl, thought for a moment, and added two more sentences.
"As my research assistant, you will receive monthly compensation and can ask me about Wizard knowledge at any time..."
To show goodwill, Ivan looked at Essida's scattered luggage and gave Vivian an instruction, asking the Zombie girl to help tidy it up.
To Ivan's surprise, Vivian actually did quite well. She silently moved next to the pile of scattered packages. Although her movements were slightly stiff, they were unexpectedly quick.
Soon, Essida's luggage bags were neatly stacked together.
Ivan fell into contemplation. Perhaps tasks like cleaning the laboratory, organizing clutter, and doing his laundry and cooking could all be handed over to Vivian...
Zombies, after all, don't complain about being tired. They are truly too suitable for dirty and strenuous work.
Just as Ivan was contemplating, Essida seemed to have made some kind of decision.
"Essida, oh Essida, didn't you come all the way to Horton Port to become a Wizard and save your tribe!"
"Opportunity is right in front of you, how can you not seize it?! Moreover, Ivan, Your Excellency, doesn't look like a bad person..."
Essida glanced at Ivan's face, his pale, stern features, his indifferent eyes... her smile froze on her face.
It's over, he doesn't look like a good person either.
"Ivan, Your Excellency... I agree!"
After much thought, Essida finally gritted her teeth and accepted Ivan's offer for the assistant position.
Ivan had no idea Essida was having so many wild thoughts. Hearing Essida agree, he quickly opened the panel to check if the quest was complete.
【Prologue Quest Two: Recruit Demonic Cultivator Disciple Completed, gained Demonic Path Points × 2, Myriad Soul Banner Fragment × 2】
【Successfully taken the Soul Cultivation genius as a true disciple】
【Sudden Event: Soul Cultivation Genius Completed, gained Demonic Path Points × 2】
【Prologue Quest Three: Only by staining the sky with blood can the true nature of a Demonic Cultivator be revealed. The Soul Hall, silent for ten thousand years, needs to restore its fearsome reputation. Display the mighty and fearsome power of the Soul Hall's Ancestor before more people!
Cause a cumulative total of two hundred people to feel fear towards you. Currently completed 113 / 200】
【Reward: Demonic Path Points × 3, Myriad Soul Banner Fragment × 3, can unlock Secret Realm Sweeping function】
With the completion of the Sudden Event and Prologue Quest Two, Ivan now had a total of 4 Demonic Path Points in his hand!
Ivan immediately became somewhat distracted. He quickly dismissed the bewildered Essida, telling the Navajo girl that after she settled in, she could come find him on the second basement level of the abandoned warehouse.
After concluding the matters there, Ivan hurried back to the laboratory.
Currently, the Myriad Soul Banner Fragments in Ivan's possession had accumulated to three. With just one more fragment, he would meet the conditions to synthesize the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
It was just that Ivan was still a bit unclear about the new Demonic Cultivation quest, which required causing a cumulative total of two hundred people to feel fear... The scope of judgment for this quest was even more ambiguous.
This quest hadn't even started, yet it already had a progress of 113 / 200. Ivan guessed this should be the result of him publicly defeating the Energy Shaping School Wizard on recruitment day.
As for how to complete the remaining progress, Ivan currently had no clue. He temporarily put this matter aside, opened the 【Magic Cave Bazaar】, and began redeeming rewards.
Since it hadn't been a full week since the last refresh, the bazaar shelves still displayed that bottle of Small Evil Pill and that special item named "Joyous Tome."
Honestly, Ivan really wanted to redeem the Joyous Tome to see how creative the masters of the Joyous Temple were.
But currently, Demonic Path Points were still a bit tight for Ivan, leaving no room for waste.
Ivan spent 1 Demonic Path Point to purchase the Small Evil Pill, took a deep breath, and clicked 'Refresh Bazaar' on the panel.
Refresh!
Ivan's luck seemed surprisingly good. The three items refreshed this time were all quite useful to him.