"It seems that even mysterious individuals can’t hack the finance game," Zhong Shenxiu sighed, watching Jason fall silent.
Then, the somewhat plump young man spoke, "Li Wei, you have so much money, why choose our small school? Honestly, our school only has Davis as a teacher, with three apprentices, two of whom are still out working..."
Zhong Shenxiu continued to sigh, "Can I say I was tricked into coming here?"
He had known, given Julie’s rather stingy nature, the recommended school wouldn’t be great.
But now it seemed that the Five Rings School was not just bad—it felt like it was on its last legs.
Even the mysterious apprentices were pushed to take up jobs outside; it was truly a miserable sight!
’Wait, even those who have passed through "The Black Door" and became "Exceptionals" can hardly do anything except harnessing their own spiritual essence. The study of magic potions is not an easy task; it requires significant capital investment in advance...’
’I myself, if not for the money earned from selling spirits, the skills of a master mixologist, and my prior alchemy experience, would have needed many failures to successfully create a potion occasionally... So maybe it makes sense that "Exceptionals" end up as workers? After all, if one doesn’t commit crimes, earning money is indeed limited, and if anyone wanted to do evil deeds, the Special Affairs Bureau isn’t blind...’
Thinking this, Zhong Shenxiu couldn’t help but ask, "Have the three of you passed through ’The Black Door’?"
"No, among the three of us, only William has officially advanced to become an ’Exceptional.’ Camilla and I are still lingering outside the door, but recently, during my meditations, I have begun to see The Black Door!" Jason replied with a proud look on his face.
’Alright, two mysterious apprentices...’
Zhong Shenxiu felt even more speechless and followed Jason around the residence of the Five Rings School.
"This entire second floor is ours, and because we have few people, we can each have a single room...," Jason happily led Zhong Shenxiu into a single room, "and there’s a private bathroom too... You know, the rent in Isreal is very high. Some students from outside have no choice but to squeeze into public housing with workers and drivers."
"Usually, we need to buy our own meals, but we have an arrangement with the training class downstairs; we can eat in their restaurant, of course, paying for our own meals..."
Jason then opened another room, "Laboratory, alchemy rooms, a greenhouse... We have all these facilities, quite complete, right? And the furthest inside..."
He pointed toward a dark wooden door at the end of the corridor.
On each side of the door stood two lifelike gargoyle sculptures, "That’s the library. The teacher holds three classes a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings; the rest of the time it’s self-study for us, but entering the library requires proof... It’s very dangerous inside!"
’Alchemy Demons, maybe?’
Zhong Shenxiu glanced at those gargoyle statues and nodded slightly.
After all, despite everything, the Five Rings School still had some heritage.
In the evening, he joined Jason for dinner on the first floor.
At that time, a man and woman also entered the restaurant.
The man was tall and handsome, dressed in a deep blue work uniform, and the woman, with soft blonde hair, looked very sweet, especially in her maid outfit.
Jason waved, "Over here..."
He introduced them, "This is a new student recently taken in by our teacher, Li Wei!"
Zhong Shenxiu stood up, smiling and waving his hand.
"Hello, I’m Camilla, I work at a maid café," Camilla said, blushing and lowering her head.
"You actually chose to join us, a very unwise decision."
William, who reeked heavily of motor oil, looked exhausted.
This ’Exceptional,’ seemed to have just gone through some grueling physical labor.
And in his eyes, Zhong Shenxiu saw an uncontainable anger.
"Where’s the teacher? I need to see him!"
"The teacher is in his office..."
Jason answered reflexively, his expression then changed, "What do you want to do?"
"I need to talk to the teacher."
William walked straight out of the dining hall and up to the second floor.
Jason quickly stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth, "It seems like trouble is brewing, we should go see..."
The three of them went upstairs to the outside of the office, and unsurprisingly heard William’s loud roar, "I’ve had enough... look at Miren and Wolf before this! As the teacher’s most prized students, they even had to work to sustain their magic potion needs... We are mysterious beings, not laborers! Bloody hell, Miren almost worked himself sick to death... What are we chasing this mysterious thing for? This is a joke!"
"Cough, cough..." Davis’s voice was full of helplessness, "Wasn’t Miren cured by me in the end? Although he chose to leave the school to become a corporate employee, I heard he recently wooed the boss’s daughter and his future looks bright... And Wolf went back home to inherit the farm."
"But they left!" William gasped heavily, "In this era, the mystery has passed, only money is everything... Ordinary people in the Federation can live well, and the mad dogs of the Special Affairs Bureau are everywhere... then why do we still cling to these ancient rules."
"William, I know you’re upset, suffering... but rules are rules, we cannot use the mysterious power for ill-gotten wealth!"
Davis’s voice was solemn and serious.
"Then, I’m sorry... teacher, I won’t come here again."
William took a deep breath, "I choose to leave the school!"
He bowed one last time, pulled open the office door, saw Jason and the others, shook his head, and left the second floor.
Jason watched the only ’Exceptional’ student leave, and Davis’s back seemed even more stooped, making him quite worried.
"It’s okay, come inside."
Davis sighed and let Zhong Shenxiu and the others in.
"This is my new student, Li Wei. You’ve met him, right?"
He smiled, "Thanks to him, starting today, we can give out a little subsidy every week... Ah, I originally wanted to tell William this good news first..."
Davis obviously felt a bit sad as he handed a black iron badge to Zhong Shenxiu, "This is your library card, keep it safe, don’t lose it... Remember, the books in the library are very dangerous, don’t go there after midnight, don’t look in the forbidden books area..."
Zhong Shenxiu readily agreed, taking the black iron badge.