Chapter 88

Luo En walked past them, and the other party hurriedly stopped the topic, glanced at him with a complex expression, and then turned and left, throwing themselves into their struggle for survival.

Arriving at the next course, this time, he arrived early and chose a seat in the front.

Before he could sit still, he heard the whispering of several apprentices in the back row.

"Look, it's him, the one who performed outstandingly in Lord Eric's class just now."

A female apprentice with short hair deliberately raised her voice, looking at Mira with provocation in her eyes.

"Humph, another so-called genius?" Another voice carried the usual contempt: "Mira, it seems you have another competitor, this time here to steal your position."

Mira's face changed slightly, but she quickly returned to calm: "Everyone has their own path."

"Yeah, just like your path has been spinning in place." The short-haired female apprentice mocked:

"When Trish came, didn't you say the same thing? Now look at her, and look at you..."

"Shut up!" Mira countered angrily:

"Aren't you also left several streets behind by Trish? Look at what your upper-fifth-rank star aptitude has been used for? Don't think I don't know how much you paid to get a semi-finished zero-ring spell model?"

At this time, the front door of the classroom opened, and a middle-aged female high-level apprentice walked in.

She wore a dark gray robe with purple trim, expressionless, giving people an impression of being stern.

"I am Leah, and today I will teach you 'Mental Power Stability Techniques'."

Her voice was calm and powerful:

"The content of this course is more critical than Magic Circuit Optimization, because the stability of mental power directly affects the complexity of spells you can master in the future."

The short-haired female apprentice's face sank, but since the high-level apprentice had already arrived, she didn't dare to make a sound.

Luo En felt a bit funny; even in such a place, the conflicts in the small circles unique to the apprentices' adolescence were still constant.

What made him feel even more ironic was that these people were clearly in danger, yet they were still consuming each other instead of huddling together for warmth.

In class, Luo En listened to the explanation with full concentration; the content of this course was indeed as Leah said, more important than the previous one.

She explained in detail the principles of mental power fluctuations, common unstable factors, and how to stabilize the mental field through specific techniques.

Like Eric, Leah would also arrange for apprentices to practice on stage.

When she was about to randomly point one out, Luo En volunteered to walk to the podium without hesitation.

According to the instructions, he tried to construct a simple mental barrier to resist external interference.

This exercise was not easy for ordinary junior apprentices, but for Luo En, who had already mastered part of the content of "The Star Eater's Whisper," it was a piece of cake.

[Mental Interference (Introductory) Experience +1]

"Not bad performance, Apprentice Ralph."

Leah's evaluation was more direct than Eric's, "You seem to have mastered some kind of advanced meditation method?"

Luo En's heart tightened; he didn't expect his performance to be so obvious.

He quickly adjusted his emotions: "Just some basic exercises, Lord Leah."

Leah didn't seem to intend to pursue it, just nodded: "Keep it up, you have the potential to enter the second term of the course directly."

After the course ended, Luo En gained more than expected.

Not only did he gain experience points for the mental interference skill, but he also learned several practical techniques for stabilizing mental power, which would be of great help to his subsequent meditation and spell practice.

Just as he was packing up his notes and preparing to leave, the thin female apprentice from before walked over:

"Hello, my name is Mira. Your performance in class just now was really outstanding."

"Thanks, I just have a bit of a foundation." Luo En responded politely.

"I can tell." A complex emotion flashed in Mira's eyes:

"You remind me of Trish; she was like this when she took classes, every time she could perfectly complete the mentor's requirements."

Her tone carried both admiration and a trace of sourness that was hard to detect:

"I entered the Black Mist Forest three terms earlier than Trish, but now, she is already an intermediate apprentice, while I... am still repeatedly learning these basic courses."

Luo En didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only say: "Everyone has their own path; perhaps your advantage lies elsewhere."

Mira barely managed to smile:

"Thanks, but here, mental aptitude and comprehension are the real passports. Fifth-rank star aptitude, whether upper or lower, can only end up as peripheral personnel of the school. Unless..."

A group of apprentices suddenly surrounded them, their expressions carrying deliberate friendliness.

Mira glanced at the group of apprentices walking toward them, frowned slightly, and whispered to Luo En: "Be careful of these people; they are not good things."

Then she walked away quickly.

"Hey, Ralph!" A tall apprentice greeted enthusiastically: "I'm Aaron; I saw your performance in class just now, it was really outstanding! How did you do it?"

Aaron was secretly happy; this new junior apprentice looked like a higher-quality target than the previous few.

Especially the talent shown in class, he could definitely squeeze more value out of him.

The few wandering intermediate apprentices outside have become more and more picky about "sources" recently; they must find some better "prey."

The one last month was easy to deal with, just an ordinary junior apprentice, easily lured to the edge of the wilderness.

The school's law enforcement team didn't seem to care about this at all, which made Aaron even more convinced that his actions were safe.

Apprentices disappear mysteriously every month; who would care about a few more corpses?

Luo En responded to Aaron's question out of politeness: "Just some luck, plus a lot of practice."

"Too modest!" Aaron patted Luo En on the shoulder enthusiastically, with a force that was a bit deliberate, a trace of calculation flashing in the bottom of his eyes:

"A genius like you must have some special training method, right? Can you share it?"

Other apprentices in the classroom noticed that Aaron's group was looking for targets again, and many people flashed a trace of fear in their eyes, but no one spoke a warning.

A few people even deliberately accelerated the speed of packing things, for fear of being involved.

A thin, weak apprentice with glasses walked toward the door with his head down, exchanging a look with his companion: "Another unlucky guy."

"Deserves to die, who told him he had no eye for people."

The companion responded indifferently, without a trace of sympathy in his eyes: "Mind your own business to live longer; this is the first lesson I learned in the Black Mist Forest."

Luo En calmly avoided the other party's overly intimate contact, feeling the dangerous aura emanating from this group of people.

He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't say exactly what.

"Nothing special, just basic meditation techniques, the kind every apprentice knows."

"I heard you are an assistant at Lady Allen's herb shop?" A thin, small apprentice next to Aaron interjected:

"That old lady is notoriously picky. To be favored by her, your alchemy must be very good, right?"

"Just doing some odd jobs." Hearing the other party's disrespect for Lady Allen, Luo En's tone was already beginning to be a bit impatient:

"Organizing materials, cleaning tools, etc., can't be considered a serious student."

Aaron's smile didn't diminish, but his eyes became increasingly cold: "Why not participate in our collection mission this week? We happen to be missing someone who knows alchemy. The profits are split equally, absolutely fair."

"Sorry, I need to prepare for the Alchemist certification exam recently, I'm afraid I can't spare much time." Luo En politely refused.

"Alchemist certification?" A trace of confusion flashed in Aaron's eyes, then he returned to enthusiasm:

"That's even better! This collection will just allow you to accumulate some practical experience. Don't worry about time, the mission can be completed in at most half a day."

This person clearly didn't understand the gold content of the Alchemist certification.

Several apprentices around also echoed; they were all members of Aaron's small group, and everyone had blood on their hands.

Other apprentices in the classroom tried their best to maintain an attitude of turning a blind eye.

Another apprentice also leaned closer: "I heard that working in the herb shop has a good income, you must have saved a lot of magic stone fragments, right? You can invest more in equipment for this mission, the return will definitely be higher."

Several apprentices around gradually surrounded Luo En, forming a semi-circular encirclement.

Aaron saw that Luo En was still unmoved, reached out and wanted to pull him forcibly: "Listen, kid, don't be ungrateful—"

Before he finished speaking, a cold light flashed in Luo En's eyes.

The heat of the Sun Breathing Method surged in his body, and the physical control brought by the sword art that was close to the mastery realm exerted an amazing effect at this moment.

His right index finger trembled slightly, but with amazing force, accurately poking at the junction of Aaron's chest and abdomen.

That was the special strength he had recently realized after hard practice of sword art, perhaps an omen that he was not far from breaking through to the mastery level.

This special strength was transmitted through his fingertips at this moment, reaching several inches into the other party's body.

Aaron's movements stopped abruptly, his face turned pale instantly, and his whole body froze in place, as if frozen.

He could feel a strange force exploding between his chest and abdomen, directly shattering his breathing rhythm, making his chest burn so much that he couldn't even say a word.

"I said, I don't have time." Luo En calmly withdrew his finger, his gaze sweeping across the few people around: "I hope you can understand."

Just then, footsteps came from the corridor.

The apprentices surrounding Luo En turned their heads to look in unison.

Leah was already standing at the door at some point, holding a few papers in her hand, seemingly coming back to get something.

She glanced at the scene here, her brows furrowed slightly.

"Lord Leah!" Aaron's accomplices' attitudes immediately changed 180 degrees, their voices full of respect and fear: "We were just chatting with the new classmate."

Leah didn't respond, just glanced at them lightly.

Just this one glance made Aaron's accomplices sit on pins and needles, no longer having the arrogance they had just now.