Horn suddenly shoved his way through the noisy crowd, spread his arms, and pulled Allen tightly behind him, shouting,"What are you doing?!"

  "He is my first official apprentice. You dare to openly snatch him away on my turf. Do you have any respect for the academy's rules?"

  Seeing that the truth of Allen's talent had been completely exposed, and knowing it was now impossible to hide it or coax Horn into giving Allen up, the elders all wore expressions of regret and unwillingness.

  "No, Horn, listen to us!" Sherman said urgently, his voice filled with anxiety.

  "This child's talent is so extraordinary. Letting him stay in the Alchemy and Potions Department to brew magic potions is a terrible waste!"

  "With talent like his, he is destined to become a top-tier powerhouse of the continent. Making potions would only bury his potential!"

  Horn shook his head hard, his stance firm and unyielding."I don't care whether it's a waste or not."

  "Since he has joined the Alchemy and Potions Department, he will learn the art of alchemy, and nothing else!"

  He raised his voice, a hint of stubbornness in his tone."Besides, what's so bad about making potions?"

  "If one can refine a bottle of the Primordial Genesis Elixir, it can grant someone nearly invincible combat power."

  The elders gritted their teeth in frustration, their faces filled with helplessness.

  Sherman could not help but retort,"Primordial Genesis Elixir? Do you even have a complete formula for it?"

  "If you can really produce the full recipe, then we won't say another word and will willingly watch him stay with you to make potions!"

  Horn was instantly left speechless. He truly did not possess the complete formula for the Primordial Genesis Elixir.

  This legendary top-tier potion recipe was something he had only ever seen mentioned in books.

  But he had read that a single bottle of the Primordial Genesis Elixir could instantly restore all injuries and cause one's magic power to surge.

  It could even break through limits and grant the power to shatter heaven and earth.

  At that moment, an aged yet authoritative voice sounded from behind the crowd once more."Letting him study alchemy is indeed somewhat of a pity."

  "The path of magical potions lost its true inheritance in the great war ten thousand years ago."

  "To let someone so gifted gamble on such an illusory continuation of that legacy is far too risky, and far too much of a waste of a genius."

  Hearing this voice, the elders all turned around. When they saw the old man who had spoken, they immediately became respectful."Headmaster!"

  The newcomer was none other than Berton, the headmaster of Luminara Magic Academy.

  Berton nodded lightly. His gaze passed over the elders and settled on Allen, a pleased smile appearing on his face as he said,"Your name is Allen, isn't it?"

  "To shatter an Advanced Crystal Obelisk with talent alone. Such aptitude is truly astonishing, extremely rare even in the entire history of the continent."

  Allen quickly replied,"Headmaster, I am Allen."

  Berton nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Horn."Horn, I won't make things difficult for you."

  "This child is extraordinarily gifted and highly moldable. I would like to take him as my core apprentice and personally teach him."

  Hearing this, Horn forced a helpless smile. He had never imagined that even the headmaster would take a liking to Allen. Now he was truly in a bind.

  "Headmaster, this…"

  He opened his mouth to say something, but did not know how to argue back.

  After all, Berton was the academy's headmaster, a man of immense authority, someone he simply could not afford to offend.

  Berton waved his hand gently and said with a smile,"You don't need to be so troubled. I know you hate to part with such a genius."

  "You wouldn't want a child with such heaven-defying talent to be delayed by the art of potion-making, would you? Besides, if I take him as my apprentice, I won't monopolize him."

  "He can still remain in your Alchemy and Potions Department, study alchemy under you, and carry on your potion legacy. Both sides can benefit without delay."

  "What do you think of this arrangement?"

  Horn frowned, falling into hesitation. On one side was the academy's headmaster, whom he dared not offend.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  On the other was a once-in-a-lifetime genius apprentice. He did not want to lose Allen, yet he also did not dare to go against the headmaster's will.

  Moreover, what Berton said did make sense. The path of magical potions had lost its true inheritance long ago, after the great war ten thousand years past.

  With such heaven-defying talent, if Allen were to truly throw himself into this road of alchemy with no future ahead, it would indeed be far too risky and far too much of a waste of a genius.

  Now, although Berton wanted to take Allen as his apprentice, he also allowed Allen to continue learning the art of alchemy under Horn, so neither side would be neglected.

  This way, he would neither offend the headmaster nor lose this rare genius. For Horn, this was already the best possible outcome.

  Horn said with a hint of relief,"Alright, I will leave everything to your arrangement, Headmaster."

  Berton nodded in satisfaction, the smile on his face growing gentler. He then turned to Allen and asked,"Are you willing to accept this arrangement?"

  Allen secretly complained in his heart. He wanted to say he was not willing. He never wanted to be so high profile. Quietly making potions and being an unnoticed nobody was the life he truly wanted.

  But from the corner of his eye, he saw the elders beside him desperately giving him signals, their looks clearly saying:

  Do not, under any circumstances, offend the headmaster, or life in the academy will be miserable for you later.

  Allen nodded lightly, making his own little calculation. In any case, he had no intention of seriously studying magic.

  At most, he would spend a year or so around the headmaster. Once everyone's novelty wore off, who would still care about someone like him, who made no progress in magic?

  By then, perhaps he would be sent back to the Alchemy and Potions Department, where he could peacefully focus on researching alchemy.

  Allen said,"I am willing."

  Berton looked even more pleased and said in high spirits,"What a sensible child. Then it is settled!"

  "Even though you are my apprentice, you must not receive special treatment in the academy!"

  "You must take part in training and trials just like the other new apprentices. Any magic crystals or potion materials you need must be earned by your own ability!"

  "You must not rely on my status to demand privileges. If you encounter any difficulties in your studies, you can come to me at any time."

  As he spoke, Berton took out a token from his robes and placed it into Allen's hand."Take this. With this token, you can move freely throughout the academy."

  Allen accepted the token with both hands, carefully tucking it away, and said respectfully,"Thank you for your kindness, Headmaster. I will remember."

  Berton looked at him with a face full of satisfaction, then turned to the still-dazed Isabella at the side and said,"Isabella, take Allen and Beth to the freshman dormitory area. Arrange their accommodations and show them around the academy."

  ...

  Along the way, Isabella still had not recovered from her earlier shock. From time to time, she turned her head to look at Allen beside her, who remained calm and composed.

  In the end, she could not help but ask,"Allen, did you really shatter the academy's Advanced Crystal Obelisk with talent alone?"

  Allen shrugged and said with a smile,"Didn't I tell you earlier? My talent is very high. You just did not believe me."

  Isabella's face filled with embarrassment."That is a little too high, isn't it? I have never heard of anyone who could shatter an Advanced Crystal Obelisk with talent alone."

  "You are now the headmaster's core apprentice. Among all the new students in the academy, your status is the highest."

  Hearing this, Allen looked puzzled and said,"But the headmaster clearly said just now that I should not receive special treatment and should be the same as the other new apprentices."

  Isabella did not answer this question, and Allen soon found the answer himself.

  He never could have imagined that he was actually Berton's only core apprentice. What made him even more helpless was that even his apprentice uniform was completely different from everyone else's.

  His uniform was so eye-catching that it was practically shouting to the whole world that he, Allen, was the headmaster's one and only core apprentice.

  Only then did Allen truly understand what people meant when they said that competition at Luminara Magic Academy was fierce.

  Right now, he was no different from being roasted over a fire, with not even the slightest room to retreat.

  Everyone knew he was Berton's core apprentice, the genius who had shattered the Advanced Crystal Obelisk with talent alone.

  All eyes were on him, waiting to see how he would perform. That meant he had to take first place in everything and do everything better than anyone else.

  Only then would he be worthy of this special status and not disappoint Berton's expectations.

  But if he, Berton's core apprentice, learned magic at a very slow pace, or was even worse than ordinary apprentices,

  then not only would he become the laughingstock of the entire academy, even Berton would lose face and be mocked by his peers.

  Fortunately, Allen did not care about any of this. He never intended to seriously study magic in the first place. As for other people's opinions and Berton's expectations, they were completely irrelevant to him.

  And so, Allen muddled along at Luminara Magic Academy for three months.

  During those three months, he took things day by day, never proactively studying magic and never taking part in the academy's learning competitions. His magic rank barely rose to Fifth Tier Senior Mage.

  At such a pace, in a place filled with geniuses like Luminara Magic Academy, he could not even make it into the top fifty. He was not even as good as some apprentices with ordinary talent but enough diligence.

  Luminara Magic Academy had a rule that all new apprentices had to carry out one academy task every month.

  The tasks could be freely chosen, with varying levels of difficulty and vastly different rewards. The higher the difficulty, the rarer the reward.

  Every time, Allen chose the simplest one. Every time, he chose the task of entering the Godfall Battlefield to gather herbs.

  For those from wealthy families who did not lack a Godfall Battlefield pass, this task was extremely easy.

  But for apprentices who could not afford to buy a pass, it was the hardest task of all.

  Allen never lacked passes, so he always chose this task without hesitation. He could complete the mission easily and also gather some medicinal herbs needed for alchemy at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.

  After muddling through and going through the motions for three whole months, Allen gradually earned a loud and well-known title at Luminara Magic Academy: Max Level Trash.

  His talent was maxed out and had shocked the entire academy. He was a recognized genius, yet he put all his energy into trivial and irrelevant things.

  He did not use it for studying at all. His magic rank progressed slowly, even worse than ordinary apprentices. If that was not Max Level Trash, then what was?

  When Berton learned about what his apprentice had been doing in the academy,

  slacking off in his studies, avoiding hard tasks, progressing slowly in magic, and even earning the title of Max Level Trash, his eyes actually turned red on the spot, and he nearly cried.

  He never could have imagined that in his later years, he would lose his good name by taking in an apprentice who made him lose so much face.

  He had never imagined that happily taking Allen in would turn out to be the beginning of his nightmare.