Translator: AnubisTL
Shortly after ending his communication with Dean Avery, Jieming was still mentally outlining his research plans and teaching preparations for the next decade when his communicator flashed again, interrupting his thoughts.
Jieming couldn't help but chuckle wryly.
Normally, the communicator remained as silent as a decorative ornament. Today, however, it had rung repeatedly, as if all urgent matters had conspired to converge at this very moment.
He casually answered the call, and the figure that appeared on the holographic screen made him pause momentarily before understanding dawned.
It was Senior Viola.
Now that the war against the Destruction Demon God Plane had concluded, her return was inevitable.
Though a trace of the researcher's persistent fatigue lingered in her eyes, her overall spirit was far brighter than when she had been tirelessly processing data day and night on the Flamefrost Plane. The imposing aura of a sixth-tier wizard radiated more distinctly from her.
"Senior Viola, long time no see," Jieming greeted with a smile.
"Just got back," Viola waved dismissively, her voice retaining its characteristic languid tone. She cut straight to the point: "Heard about the opening of Noren Academy in Elosia?"
Jieming nodded. "Just spoke with Dean Avery. I've already agreed to teach there."
"You're going too?" Viola raised an eyebrow, then grinned with the smugness of a fellow traveler. "Heh, I knew it! Who could resist such a perk?"
Noticing Jieming's curiosity, Viola elaborated: "The academy mentors' benefits are tiered. For wizards below the fifth-tier, like you, there's a mandatory expedition duty with fixed rest periods. So, the perk is extended rest time, giving you more freedom to spend your years as you please."
She shifted her tone, pointing to herself. "But for fifth-tier wizards and above, the rules are reversed. The civilization fears we old fogies might wander off for too long or bury ourselves in laboratories for millennia, forgetting our responsibility to pass on knowledge. So, we're required to return for mandatory rest periods. The perk for mentors is reducing the length of these mandatory rest periods!"
She shuddered dramatically. "For me, a sixth-tier wizard, a single mandatory rest period can easily exceed a thousand years! If I didn't find ways to shorten it, just sitting around twiddling my thumbs would drive me mad! What's the fun in that when I could be immersed in the laboratory or exploring other planes?"
Jieming finally understood. The academy mentors' benefits varied by tier, each tailored to appeal to wizards at different stages of their development. In essence, it was all about offering "time" to entice wizards to dedicate themselves to education.
"Oh, right," Viola said, as if suddenly remembering something. "Mentor Clark has returned to Noren Academy No. 13. If you have some free time recently, you might want to go back."
Jieming was taken aback. "Mentor Clark is looking for me? Is there something wrong?"
Viola simply smiled mysteriously and waved her hand. "Why don't you go back and find out for yourself? I have data to process. Gotta go!"
Before Jieming could ask further questions, she abruptly ended the communication.
Staring at the fading holographic screen, Jieming's confusion deepened.
Mentor Clark had personally requested to see him?
This was highly unusual.
Knowing his mentor well, Jieming understood that the man, who practically welded himself to his laboratory bench, would never summon a student without a compelling reason.
Despite his lingering doubts, Jieming temporarily set aside his current research a few days later and used the teleportation formation to return to the familiar Noren Plane No. 13. He headed straight for Mentor Clark's office.
In the office, which was piled high with scrolls, instruments, and specimens of unknown creatures, and permeated with the mingled scents of parchment and alchemical potions, Jieming once again met his mentor.
Mentor Clark still bore his signature disheveled appearance—his hair slightly unkempt, the corners of his eyes showing the fatigue of chronic sleep deprivation.
The wizard's robe he wore seemed to be the same one from years ago, now adorned with several unidentified stains and burn marks, radiating a palpable aura of "hard work."
Seeing Jieming's sudden appearance, Mentor Clark looked up from a pile of complex energy structure diagrams, a genuine flicker of surprise crossing his clouded eyes.
"Jieming? What brings you back?"
Jieming was even more surprised. "Didn't you ask Senior Viola to notify me to return?"
Mentor Clark blinked blankly, then seemed to understand, shaking his head with a sigh. "That crazy girl..." he muttered under his breath.
He said no more, immediately refocusing on the diagrams on his desk, as if Jieming's arrival were merely a minor interruption.
Jieming was left between laughter and tears, realizing he'd been "teased" by Senior Viola.
But since he was already here, he was about to strike up a conversation when...
Knock, knock, knock.
A soft knock echoed through the room.
Mentor Clark didn't even look up. "Come in," he said flatly.
The office door creaked open a crack, and a small head peeked inside.
It was a boy who looked no older than ten, dressed in a clean apprentice robe, his clear eyes tinged with nervousness.
When the boy saw Jieming, a stranger, in the office alongside Mentor Clark, he visibly startled, a flicker of panic crossing his face.
He quickly took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and walked in with proper decorum. He gave a standard wizard's bow to both Mentor Clark and Jieming.
"Mentor Clark, here's the summary of last week's observation data," the boy said in a clear, crisp voice, respectfully holding out a thick stack of documents with both hands.
Mentor Clark merely grunted in acknowledgment, casually accepting the documents and placing them atop the mountain of files already piled high on his desk.
The boy bowed again and quietly withdrew, gently closing the door behind him.
Throughout this exchange, Jieming remained silent, watching the boy's retreating figure with keen interest.
Only after the office door had completely closed did he turn to his mentor, who was still hunched over his blueprints, and ask with a hint of incredulous amusement:
"Mentor, could that... be my 'junior brother'?"
Noren Academy admitted new students every five years. In the broadest sense, Jieming had thousands of junior brothers.
But the "junior brother" he referred to now was specifically a personal disciple whom Mentor Clark had personally recognized and taken under his wing.
Jieming knew his mentor all too well.
Mentor Clark was solitary by nature, demanding to the extreme, and utterly intolerant of wasted time.
Ordinary wizard apprentices, no matter how gifted, wouldn't even qualify to set foot in this office unless they caught his eye.
The fact that the young boy had entered so naturally to submit his materials spoke volumes about his status—just like Jieming himself had been in the past.
Mentor Clark finally lifted his gaze from the blueprints, glanced at Jieming, and nodded faintly in acknowledgement.
Then he added, "Average aptitude, but has his own ideas."
This was already the highest praise Jieming had ever heard his mentor give an apprentice.
As he watched the door close, Jieming could still picture the young boy's back—trying to appear calm but unable to completely conceal his youthful awkwardness. A strange feeling suddenly surged within him, a sudden, inexplicable sense of disorientation.
Time seemed to overlap in that moment.
How long ago had he been that same boy, filled with anxiety and longing, cautiously stepping into this very office?
Now, he stood here as a "senior," watching a new cycle of reincarnation quietly begin.
(End of the Chapter)