Chapter 36

Luo En was somewhat surprised: "How did you know..."

"Hehe... I've been in this market for many years; I'm very familiar with the school's procedures."

She said, taking a crystal bottle from a locked drawer: "Return this to you first."

Luo En took the crystal bottle and recognized that it was the bottle of artificial star dew that Holt had given him.

"Remember? I promised you I would keep it for you temporarily and return it to you once you passed the apprentice assessment."

Lady Ailan said, the severity on her face melting somewhat, revealing a sense of relief similar to an elder toward a junior: "Now that you have broken through, it should return to your hands."

"I almost forgot about this agreement." Luo En admitted honestly: "Thank you for keeping it for me, my lady."

"And this." Lady Ailan handed him another letter stamped with a strange seal: "Take this recommendation letter and show it to the duty officer when applying for the initial resource allocation."

Luo En took the letter in confusion; the seal on it looked extremely ancient: "This is..."

"As a primary apprentice, you are eligible to apply to the school for a resource allocation." Lady Ailan explained patiently: "Generally speaking, the quality and quantity of resources are determined by your potential rating."

She paused, concern flashing in her eyes: "Given your initial aptitude and the timing of your breakthrough, the rating probably won't be very high. This recommendation letter should help you increase your authority by one level."

Luo En felt a warmth in his heart; he had not expected such care at all: "My lady... I really don't know how to thank you."

"Stinky brat, don't be so sentimental."

Hearing this, Lady Ailan immediately returned to her usual severity and waved her hand as if driving away an annoying fly:

"I just think you are more pleasing to the eye than those guys who have high expectations but low abilities, and I don't want to see you suffer losses in the school for no reason."

Luo En put away the recommendation letter and the star dew, somewhat at a loss for what to say, and was just about to brew some emotions to say something grateful...

"Alright, alright, get lost, don't delay me from closing the shop."

Lady Ailan waved her hand, and although her tone was impatient, a gentle light flickered in those deep green eyes:

"Don't forget, come to work on time tomorrow."

………………

The school's central hall is located in the outer area of the Black Mist Forest and is an ancient and magnificent building.

Dozens of night-luminous stones are embedded in the towering spire, emitting a soft light even in the darkest night, illuminating an area around it.

Luo En approached the entrance of the hall slowly, a trace of nervousness involuntarily arising in his heart.

Although he had confirmed through his own actions that he had reached the primary apprentice standard in mental power, this was his first time experiencing a formal qualification certification.

"It's best not to attract a large crowd of onlookers like Locke..." He calculated in his heart: "That feeling of being watched like a monkey is really not very pleasant."

He recalled the scene when Locke tested his mental power—almost half of the candidate apprentices in the dormitory area were attracted, surrounding the center of the hall and pointing fingers.

That scene would make him feel disgusted at any time, and in an environment like the Black Mist Forest, being overly conspicuous meant potential danger.

Luo En had always been a cautious person, especially after experiencing the conflict with Ma Kusi, he understood the importance of keeping a low profile even more.

Fortunately, there were not many people in the central hall at this time, and most apprentices were busy with their own experiments or performing tasks outside.

Luo En relaxed slightly and walked slowly toward the duty area in the corner.

The duty area was a relatively independent space in the hall, where several apprentices in gray-white uniforms were handling various affairs.

Luo En observed for a while and chose a female duty officer who looked relatively free and had a kind face.

"Hello, I'm here for the primary apprentice qualification certification." He maintained a polite but neither humble nor arrogant attitude.

The duty officer looked up at him; she looked to be in her thirties, with a beautiful face but a hint of fatigue, and the light blue badge on her chest indicated that she was an intermediate apprentice.

"Name?" Her tone was businesslike, but there was no impatience.

"Luo En Ralph."

"Affiliated area?"

"Candidate apprentice dormitory area, East Wing." Luo En answered concisely, trying not to attract unnecessary attention.

The duty officer nodded, flipping through a thick book at hand, her fingers sliding quickly over it: "Your name doesn't seem to be on the breakthrough list predicted by the school?"

"Yes, I broke through in the solitary confinement cell." Luo En answered truthfully.

The duty officer's pen stopped, and she looked up, a hint of surprise in her eyes: "Solitary confinement? There are no conditions for auxiliary meditation cultivation there."

"It is precisely because of this environment that it actually did me a big favor." Luo En gave his explanation vaguely: "The isolated environment allowed me to focus more on meditation."

The duty officer looked him over for a few seconds, compared the information in her hand, and her eyes gradually became interested:

"Luo En Ralph... I found it. What was your mental power aptitude test result?"

Luo En's heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface: "Yes, ma'am."

"Sixth-grade star... came to the Black Mist Forest more than nine months ago..."

The duty officer said somewhat incredulously, the surprise in her eyes even more obvious: "It is indeed very unusual for such mental power aptitude to break through within a limited time."

She closed the book and stood up: "Follow me, we need to conduct a formal mental power measurement."

Luo En breathed a sigh of relief; at least he didn't have to be tested in public in the center of the hall.

The duty officer led him through the corridor to a small door marked with ancient runes.

Inside the door was an independent test room, with a crystal ball similar to the one in the hall but smaller placed in the center of the room, surrounded by complex runes.

"Place your hand on the crystal ball and release your mental power." The duty officer instructed, her tone calm, but the curiosity in her eyes could no longer be hidden.

Luo En nodded and placed his right hand lightly on the crystal ball.

He closed his eyes and, according to the rhythm of the meditation technique he was proficient in, mobilized the mental power in his body steadily and orderly.

As the mental power flowed in, the crystal ball began to emit a soft light.

Dark red mist surged inside the ball, gradually forming a clear and stable symbol.

Unlike the blurry and extremely dim state when he first arrived, the symbol was now bright and solid, without the slightest fluctuation on the surface.

The duty officer's pupils contracted slightly, obviously surprised by this result: "There are almost no impurities in the mental power fluctuations, and the stability is far beyond that of ordinary primary apprentices... How did you do it?"

(End of chapter)