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Seeing Sprint's defiant and dismissive attitude, Katrina stamped her foot lightly, gave a cold snort, and followed him over.
"Relax. The examination is very simple." Lucian lifted his chin toward the examination room, gesturing for the three apprentices to head inside.
Anik and the others nodded firmly. "Yes, Mr. Evans." Then they left, still visibly nervous.
Lazarus had both hands tucked into the pockets of his black double-breasted frock coat. Seeing how respectful Anik and the others were, he couldn't help but smile. "Lucian, are these the three apprentices you've been guiding? How are they on the fundamentals of Archanist theory?"
"They've only been studying for a little over a month. However good they are, there's only so much they could achieve in that time. I've just had them drill the most basic foundations over and over through sheer repetition, so they can nail those down as quickly as possible. That way, when they move on to actual Archanist theory and Arcane Magic studies, they'll be on the right path." Lucian answered casually. He wasn't the slightest bit worried about Anik and the others passing the examination—their level was already at least a full head above the other apprentices.
Lazarus, who was always good for a smile, tilted his head to look at Lucian. "Sheer repetition? Aren't you afraid you'll stifle their Archanist talent?"
"Compared to true geniuses whom everyone can only look up to, ordinary children with some Archanist and magical talent have no choice but to rely on hard work, effort, willpower, and persistence if they want to go further. They don't possess that level of genius, so they have to make up for it in other areas—otherwise, how could they ever hope to catch up?" Lucian smiled, though his expression had turned somewhat serious. "And the forging of their way of thinking must be woven into that hard practice, not cultivated separately. Otherwise, it's like a house built without a foundation—the moment you poke it, it falls over."
Lazarus had only been making conversation and had no intention of debating. "Heh heh, Lucian, you really do have a talent for teaching."
"Of course—my nickname is 'the Professor.'" This was something Lucian could only say in his head. Out loud, he changed the subject. "Lazarus, do you own a lot of black double-breasted frock coats? It feels like you've never changed your clothes…"
Lazarus burst out laughing. "This is my magic robe! Don't tell me you thought only the hooded, grim-looking robes of the old Arcane Magic Empire counted as magic robes. Nowadays there are frock coat types, evening gown types, tailcoat types, cake-dress types—whatever style you want, you can have one custom-made. Of course, there are also magic robes that can freely change their style, but those are rather expensive."
"How much does a second-tier magic robe run? I happen to need one." Lucian perked up slightly at the mention of this.
Lazarus pointed at his own black double-breasted frock coat. "Tribute to the Night—a standard second-tier magic robe, valued at two hundred Gold Thalers or Arcane points. Made by Vassim's Alchemy Shop. A century of reputation, good quality, low price."
*You're worth it…* Lucian silently added the rest of the line in his head, then did a quick tally of his assets. "I've only got sixty Gold Thalers on me, and nine Arcane points. Oh—Lazarus, is the exchange rate between Arcane points and Gold Thalers one to one?"
On the journey from the Duchy of Djibouti to Sturk, Lucian certainly hadn't deprived himself.
Lazarus nodded. "Yes, but the higher your rank, the wider the range of uses for Arcane points. At least in Arlin, they're far more practical than Gold Thalers. According to those greedy bankers, it's the Council using its own credit as a guarantee. Honestly, I also had to save for quite a while before I could afford a magic robe. The good thing is, once you become a formal Magician, it's not hard to find work in Arlin—ten Gold Thalers or Arcane points a month is no trouble at all. Add in the income from improvements to spells that others learn, and in about two years you can afford a mid-grade second-tier magic item."
"Need me to lend you money? I haven't spent the thirty Arcane points I got from Burning Hands yet. Heh heh, I trust you'll be able to pay me back, Lucian. That apprentice-level spell is sure to be picked up by plenty of Archanists looking to study and improve it."
Lucian laughed. "Lazarus, thank you for the offer. But I still have some materials I can exchange." High-quality Sea Blue Stones were quite valuable even as raw materials.
Lazarus was straightforward enough not to hide his envy. "You people who've inherited ancient Arcane Magic traditions are truly lucky. You must have quite a few materials or magic items."
One leaning against the wall, the other standing with hands in pockets, they chatted idly as the time slipped by. Then the examination room door burst open and Hetty came rushing out first, cheerfully shouting, "Mr. Evans, the questions were so easy!"
Right behind her was Reiliria, her black little ponytail bouncing with each step. "They really were! Much easier than those exercises you gave us at the end, Mr. Evans!"
"Heh heh, good that they were easy. Anik, what about you?" Lucian smiled and nodded, then turned to ask the third person emerging from the examination room.
Anik gave a bashful grin and scratched at his fuzzy hair. "Not bad, not bad. All thanks to your guidance, Mr. Evans."
"You only thought it was easy because you couldn't do it!" another apprentice who came out after them blurted resentfully. "Sprint, wouldn't you say?"
Some of Sprint's haughty demeanor had faded. "Most of it was fairly simple, but a small portion was quite difficult. I wasn't entirely confident either."
"Even you felt that way, Sprint?" Katrina's expression relaxed slightly—her complexion had been a bit off, and hearing Sprint's words eased her mind. So the questions really had been hard; it wasn't that she hadn't studied well enough.
"Yeah, they were really tough. My head hurt just thinking through them." The other Magic Apprentices chimed in agreement.
Katrina saw the examination room door close again and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Sprint, how did you parse and construct the apprentice-level spell 'Strike the Undead'?"
"I…" Sprint wasn't particularly confident about this one either, so his pride dropped away and he quickly shared his approach so Katrina could compare answers.
The other Magic Apprentices also hurried to ask about each other's solutions, eager to judge how many they had gotten right. The scene quickly became lively and noisy.
Hetty stared at them in confusion, gathered in a tight circle. "But it really was easy!"
Reiliria wore the same puzzled expression, but hearing the apprentices discussing answers, she couldn't resist edging closer.
"This question should be solved by…"
"No, no, it's calculated this way…"
"What about you? How did you solve it?"