Now that the immediate danger of having a dragon destroy Endow Hill was out of the way, Hua Tuo and Merlin decided to hold a serious discussion with both their students.
"It is Buddha's request that we take you in as students. However, we will not force this decision on you. Please think about it seriously if you will like to officially accept us as your teachers. Training will be harsh and it might take a few years. During this time, we will not only impart our skills and knowledge but also our experience and our blessings. Unlike what we've been doing before, apprenticeship is a magically binding contract."
Truen understood what Merlin was saying. He already had such contracts with the Great Gods and quickly agreed to the terms. Zero was confused.
"What does this apprenticeship contract do? why is there a need for a contract?"
The old physician smiled. Normally, there isn't a need for a contract to take on apprentices. However, some arts that Sage Gods knew were considered catastrophic and knowledge in the wrong hands would be disastrous. As a precaution, apprenticeship contracts were formed to ensure that the apprentices of Sage Gods will not misuse their superior knowledge or risk self-destruction.
Zero wasn't afraid of the contract. However, he was concerned about the magic training.
"How can I train in magic if I cannot recover mana?"
Merlin felt a headache when he remembered the basic problem. While Zero showed great aptitude for magic, he didn't possess any life energy. It was very odd and Merlin wanted to consult Buddha about it.
"About that, I'll need some time to understand why you're not able to regenerate mana naturally. This doesn't mean that it's impossible to learn magic, it just means it will be trickier."
Zero nodded. "Yes sir! In that case, can I learn from grandpa first? Truen can learn from you first then we'll swap about a year later."
Merlin didn't disagree. In fact, it was a great idea. With Zero in Hua Tuo's care, he would be able to focus better on training the elf. According to Buddha, Truen was undergoing some training with the Great Gods in the dream space. Merlin wanted to use that dream space to groom Zero's guardian without alerting the boy.
"It's settled then," Hua Tuo nodded. Secretly, the physician was happy to have someone he could impart medical knowledge of the ancients. His world might have been destroyed but with Zero, it might live on for a little longer.
"Let's see each other again in two years," Zero smiled at the elf.
Although saddened at the thought of leaving his charge, Truen nodded. Two years was a long time but it was for the best. As he was, Truen was too weak to protect Zero. He needed to bee stronger. As for Zero, he wanted to start his adventure but after the encounter with the moontaur sisters and the Dingo brothers, he knew he was far from ready for the world.
As such, the brunet steeled himself to learn as much as he can with Hua Tuo and Merlin. Endow Hill was the perfect place to learn how to blend in with humans. In fact, there was still so much Zero doesn't know about the world Great One created. What he'd experienced was merely the glimpse of a very very huge mountain.
"I need to bee stronger," Zero resolved. It wasn't only for his sake, it was also for Truen and the Great Gods. He couldn't always rely on others. This was his adventure, Zero was going to take control and write their story. The book that Great One provided was blank. It was up to Zero to fill in those blank pages for both their sakes.
Hopefully, there will e a time when he could tell Great One all about it when he gets his memories back, the old and the new.
-Season 1 End-
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