Furan looked at the five-story building before her. Its broad walls were covered in complex patterns, and there were many sculptures decorating the periphery. She thought to herself, 'This building is truly grand!'
No other building in the entire academy exceeded three stories. Even though those buildings occupied a large area, none were built higher than three floors.
The building in front of her was the academy's administration building, and the Academy Head's office she was looking for was right here.
Furan let out a yawn as she stepped over the threshold. She hadn't rested at all last night, only sleeping slightly during the morning, and had only come here in the afternoon.
As soon as she entered, she heard the sound of many people arguing.
"...That idiot actually switched Schools! I've never seen someone so disloyal to their School!"
"Today he switches Schools; when his position as Academy Head is revoked by the Alliance, I bet he'll have to switch Schools again!"
"Wasn't it fine to just stay in his little corner? Does he want to advance to a High-Tier Mage that badly!"
"Fine! We're all leaving. Let's see how he arranges the curriculum this year."
...Furan saw a group of older individuals moving things in the distance as soon as she entered.
Even though some looked to be in their sixties or seventies, they were still carrying large boxes with one hand while walking and grumbling.
They were moving things out of a room and placing them in the hallway.
Though Furan found it strange, the place she was going to was on the fifth floor, and the stairs were right there. She wouldn't be passing by them at all, so she ignored it.
When she reached the door of a room with a nameplate that read [Academy Head's Office], she stopped and sized up the entrance with some curiosity.
The handle looked like it had just been polished, gleaming brightly, but the door was covered in a layer of dust, appearing as if it hadn't been cared for in a long time.
She knocked on the door, and after a moment, a familiar voice came from within.
"Come in."
Furan immediately realized that the person inside wasn't Harbos, but someone she knew, though she couldn't quite remember who it was.
It wasn't until she went inside and studied him for a while that she recognized the person sitting behind the desk was Elan from the Emerald Heart Bar.
"Hey, friend, what brings you here?"
Elan said very smugly, looking extremely happy.
Furan couldn't quite understand why he was here and asked:
"Why are you here..."
Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Elan.
"Because I am the Academy Head of Cuilan Academy, of course."
"You're the Academy Head?"
"Of course. Otherwise, why would the Law Enforcement Team give me face? If I were truly just a bar owner, where would that influence come from?"
"Didn't you say you were the person in charge of that area?"
"I am indeed the person in charge of the Cuilan Academy area! Why would the Alliance bother with the Apprentice Market?"
Furan scratched her head, not quite understanding, but one thing was clear to her now: she was very familiar with the Academy Head of Cuilan Academy.
And she even had a business relationship with the Academy Head.
"Then are you still handling the orders?"
"You can just hand those to the woman sitting in my old spot."
Furan thought for a moment before stating the purpose of her visit.
"Um, Harbos from the Weapon Forging Class told me to come here today."
At this, Elan gave her a strange look and said:
"So you've joined the Furnace Casting School?"
"Yes, why?"
To Furan's surprise, Elan sighed and then said:
"This isn't a good choice for you. You should have joined the Sword Chant School."
Furan didn't quite understand what he meant and asked:
"What's wrong?"
"The Furnace Casting School is a newly established School. It doesn't have a complete apprentice promotion system like those Schools that have been established for many years."
"Meaning, if you had gone to the Sword Chant School, you might already be making your final efforts to become a Formal Mage. But now that you've joined the Furnace Casting School, that time might be significantly extended."
"Currently, the Furnace Casting School probably only consists of me, besides Lord Harbos... Oh, wait, there should also be a Master of Mechanics Harbos kidnapped from somewhere. I have to discuss the curriculum with her during my term!"
Elan had been found by Harbos last night and told directly that there was now knowledge that could be promoted on a large scale, and it was time to agree to the deal.
Harbos moved very quickly. He had only arrived at this building in the morning, and before noon, those old men were already grumbling outside his door.
Elan thought Furan had come because she might have believed Harbos's bluffing about their School's Spells being invincible, which led her to join the School.
He thought these were two separate matters: one was to discuss the Furnace Casting School's curriculum with the incoming Master of Mechanics, and the other was to help Harbos receive the apprentice he favored.
As for Furan being the Master of Mechanics, he hadn't made the connection at all. In his view, it was already impressive enough for Furan to practice Spells well as an apprentice; where would she find the time to study machinery?
Regarding that Master of Mechanics, he hadn't met her and couldn't draw a conclusion, but he still didn't have high hopes for the matter. He truly couldn't imagine how machinery could help Harbos develop a School.
So even though he was technically part of the Furnace Casting School now, he still felt the need to speak ill of it.
However, the die was cast. He knew Furan had already promised Harbos, and there was no turning back.
As he spoke, Elan used his Spiritual Power to activate a disc in his hand. A few seconds later, Harbos appeared in the room.
Harbos first looked at Furan and saw that she looked haggard, as if she hadn't rested well.
"What's wrong with you? Didn't you sleep well last night?"
"Yes... I was a bit too excited."
Furan didn't mention the whole sequence of events where she accidentally ran into a Formal Mage last night, killed him, and then spent the entire night intensely studying his corpse.
Harbos turned his head and said to Elan:
"This is the genius I found, a Master of Mechanics. I saw her use a machine she crafted to release that First-Tier Spell I taught her."
"Ah!???"
"I'm going to discuss some things with her now. We'll discuss the curriculum after she returns."
Elan was dumbfounded, never expecting that Furan was actually a Master of Mechanics.
He watched Furan leave the room with a shocked gaze, unable to recover for a long time.
So, Furan could refine potions, knew swordsmanship, could forge weapons, and finally had high attainments in machinery—how did she learn so much?
Wait, Furan is the person who's supposed to collaborate with me on the curriculum?
It was called a collaboration, but Elan knew very well that this was Harbos's condition; theoretically, it wasn't a collaboration, but him helping to launch this course.
So theoretically, he would have to follow some of Furan's orders later on.
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