The next day, given the magnitude of the events that had occurred, Ivan changed his plans and did not seek out Sorcerer Toyennes, preferring to observe the situation first.
In fact, he was overthinking it. The castle was still calm and quiet, with no changes or disturbances.
In the evening, Justine approached him, and her first words took Ivan by surprise.
"Do you want to know who Billerie and Pearney are?"
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Ivan guessed, "Someone you know, perhaps the previous batch of apprentices?"
"Exactly," Justine nodded vigorously. "I didn’t expect them to be still alive. Did you know Pearney’s last name is Hobson? Do you make anything of that?"
"Related to the City Lord."
"She is Earl Hobson’s niece, and she reached Knight Class before turning sixteen. She is greatly favoured by the Earl, even more than his own daughter. She was jokingly called the little princess of Flying Fish Port. I heard that it was mainly Pearney’s insistence that got them on board last time."
"And who is Billerie?"
"He is not from Flying Fish Port; he has a Viscount backing him."
As she spoke of Pearney, her eyes occasionally flashed with envy and admiration. Judging by her demeanor, if Pearney were in the castle, Justine would probably switch allegiances to her immediately.
Unfortunately, she did not know where on the island Pearney might be; otherwise, Ivan would have liked to seek her out and inquire about the situation.
Justine asked curiously, "By the way, to which rune have you meditated?"
Ivan smiled, "You will find out."
"Hmph, never mind then. Don’t expect me to help you gather information next time."
"I’ll tell you tomorrow."
Having obtained a promise from him, Justine left.
The morning of the third day.
Returning from the cafeteria, Ivan did not go back to the dormitory with Justine but instead headed to a higher part of the castle.
"Where are you going?"
"To see my mentor."
Justine watched his retreating figure in astonishment, pondering his words from just now and the night before, when a possibility suddenly occurred to her.
No way?
"I understand, mentor."
"Go back, it’s still early, continue working hard to enhance your strength, and I will contact you if needed."
Even though he had become a 2nd Class apprentice, he could still feel an unfathomably deep aura from his mentor. Ivan exited Lahr Hall with mixed feelings.
"Just try to enhance my strength as much as possible and take it one step at a time," he thought to himself.
Though he knew there was no such thing as a free lunch, there was always a bit of wishful thinking, unavoidable for anyone, himself included. Now that the mentor had directly addressed it, his heart was surprisingly less troubled.
The situation was clear; the danger came from the mentor, but they probably wouldn’t take his life outright.
His plan was simple: when the time came, think of a way to save his own life. For the moment, increasing his strength was still the most important.
A realization lightened his steps significantly.
As he approached his dormitory, Ivan perceived prying eyes.
He turned his head, just in time to meet a gaze.
Seeing himself discovered, Laurie opened the door of the dormitory and asked with forced calm, "Is that a book of magic in your hand?"
"Indeed," Ivan held up the blue-green sheepskin book to let him clearly see the title, and before going back inside, he reminded him, "Next time, don’t be so rude. Remember to call me Senior Brother, Laurie Junior Brother."
At that moment, he threw back the words Laurie had said half a month ago.
"How is that possible, how could you become a 2nd Class apprentice so quickly, it’s impossible," Laurie muttered in disbelief.
"That’s the reality, otherwise where would the book of magic come from?"
Seeing him looking utterly dejected, Ivan didn’t want to linger and walked back to his dorm.
Laurie kept mumbling, it’s impossible, how could this be, even though they both had 3rd Class Sorcerer talent, surely there’s no inherent gap, he just couldn’t understand how someone of common birth could advance so rapidly.
A few doors away, Justine, who had also opened her door, glanced disparagingly at him and knocked on Ivan’s door.
As soon as she entered, Justine clamored to see the book of magic.
"Quick, let me see the book of magic."
"Stop fooling around, don’t forget the oath we took initially, the book of magic isn’t for anyone else’s eyes."
"Alright then."
"Let’s talk about something serious, a top-secret piece of news."
Seeing Justine back down, Ivan spoke of the previous words of the mentor, knowledge has its price.
They fell silent facing each other.