Adrian extended his hand and lightly patted Duke’s shoulder.
"In the future, if there’s a chance, we can exchange more. Although I’m not proficient in the Earth Elent, I do have so insights into the interactions between elents."
Duke nodded slightly.
"Alright."
Adrian withdrew his hand, gave Duke a final glance, and turned to walk back to his seat.
He walked leisurely, his steps neither hurried nor slow, as if everything that just happened was nothing more than an ordinary greeting.
Duke sat down again, his face still expressionless.
But his gaze lingered for a mont on Adrian’s back.
This guy deliberately ntioned "High-Level Earth Elent Affinity," and said it in a tone of admiration for all to hear.
It seed kind, but in truth, it pushed Duke to the forefront.
Letting everyone know that this nobody from Black Sail possesses a high-level affinity.
From now on, those who wouldn’t have paid attention to him will start to notice him.
Duke lowered his eyes, saying nothing, quietly sitting in the corner with the sa indifferent expression on his face.
Lis beside him was completely speechless, her mouth agape, eyes wide, glancing at Adrian’s back, then at Duke, repeating the process, finally swallowing hard.
"Um... Lord Duke..." she lowered her voice, "Lord Visenfels seems to... quite appreciate you?"
Duke did not answer.
He just slightly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd in the hall who were still whispering to each other.
Vera had already withdrawn her gaze, sitting quietly in her seat, her profile showing no expression.
But her fingers were gently rubbing the cuff of her magic robe.
Cecilia lowered her head, lost in thought.
The gaze of the few from Blood Rose drifted over from ti to ti, as if they were looking at sothing rare.
Duke had no way to handle this either, he could only adapt to whatever ca his way.
It was unrealistic to remain unnoticed forever, appropriately showcasing so strength could actually avoid so troubles.
...
The next procedures went faster than expected.
After Aisling left, an officer in a council uniform stepped onto the podium, beginning to announce the results of the remaining elental and non-elental mages one by one.
Nas and numbers were read out like flowing water, sparking sporadic cheers or sighs in the hall.
Morris ranked first in the non-elental mage group. When that na was read, a slender figure in the corner moved slightly, then returned to its usual stillness.
No one went over to congratulate, nor dared to.
The other nas were a string Duke couldn’t rember; so took second place, so third, so barely passed, and so didn’t pass at all.
Then ca the contribution point settlent.
Duke felt the Six-Ring Tower emblem slightly vibrate, so he divided a trace of spiritual power to probe inside, and a light curtain unfolded before his eyes.
Course: Introduction to Elental Mastery
Assessnt Performance: First (Elental Mage Group)
Basic Passing: 100 points
Outstanding Bonus: 150 points
Individual Breakthrough (Crystal Stone Quantity First): 50 points
Individual Breakthrough (Magic Model Perfect): 50 points
Total: 350 points
Current Contribution Balance: 415 points
He spent 35 points to enroll in this course, netting 315 points.
A yearly goal of 1000 points, and one course completed one-third of it.
He withdrew his spiritual power and leaned back into the chair.
The crowd in the hall began to disperse. So discussed their gains excitedly, so hung their heads dejectedly, so grouped together to celebrate with drinks, and so hurried off alone.
Lis cheered softly beside him; she barely passed the elental mage group assessnt and earned 100 basic contribution points. Though not much, it was at least not a loss.
"Lord Duke!" she turned her head, her eyes sparkling, "I passed! I got 100 points!"
Duke nodded slightly.
"Congratulations."
...
As they left the auditorium, the night was setting in.
Duke stood at the entrance, taking a deep breath.
points.
Adding the guaranteed 80 points soon to be credited from the Magic Potion class, it would be 495 points.
If he could achieve excellence in the Magic Potion class as well, surpassing 500 points would be easy.
He had already completed half of his yearly goal of 1000 points.
But he knew the Magic Potion class assessnt was much harder than the Elental Mastery class.
Elental Mastery tested the absorption and control of elental particles, sothing he excelled at.
The advantage brought by the six-elent compound spiritual crystal and high-level elental affinity gave him a significant edge over mages of the sa rank in this aspect.
But the Magic Potion class was different.
The Magic Potion class tested creativity.
On-site drawing of questions, and based on the questions, creating a Level 1 Potion on the spot that could solve the problem.
Materials were self-selected, formulae self-created, processes self-determined.
This is not sothing that can be easily handled with just talent.
This requires knowledge, experience, inspiration, and a truly profound understanding of Magic Potion.
He has the deep foundation provided by the skill tree, with countless potion knowledge directly imprinted in his consciousness.
But most of that knowledge is known, existing formulas, mature refining techniques, verified material combinations.
Creation is sothing else.
He needed to truly integrate this knowledge, and in the face of an unfamiliar question, mobilize all the accumulated knowledge in his mind to find that path no one has walked before.
Passing through the Light Gate barrier, he returned to the dormitory, stepping onto the pebble path, and pushed open the door to the mansion.
The study remained quiet, the fire in the fireplace had extinguished, leaving only a pile of dark red embers.
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