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"You sneaky guy," Cyb Louis chuckled. "We\'re part of the same faction. Why would I shortchange you?"

After a brief pause, Cyb Louis continued in a low voice, "I can offer you the status of Senior Mentor, turning this exchange program into a permanent position. That way, your monthly compensation and resource supply will be significantly increased!"

Hearing the promise of higher pay and more resources, Dean Bruce\'s eyes lit up. But then, remembering the idea of permanently staying in Saint Laurent City, his brow furrowed in thought.

After all, there were still many places in Notting City waiting for him to explore, and staying in one place for too long simply wasn\'t an option for him.

"You\'re hesitating?" Cyb Louis noticed Dean Bruce\'s reluctance and immediately asked, "What\'s holding you back? Is there something you\'re concerned about?"

Dean Bruce shook his head and replied, "It\'s not exactly a concern. It\'s just that I occasionally need to return to Notting City for a while, so staying here permanently might be difficult."

"That\'s no big deal," Cyb Louis said nonchalantly. "Saint Laurent Advanced Magic Academy takes breaks all the time. You can easily use that time to go home, visit family, or whatever. No need to worry."

After a brief pause, Cyb Louis added, "I want you to keep an eye on what\'s happening inside the academy because the higher-ups are managing things in a rather... \'magical\' way. I get the feeling they\'re hiding something from us and are up to some shady stuff."

"Alright," Dean Bruce agreed without hesitation, now that he knew he\'d have some free time.

"By the way, the saintess\'s elopement... that\'s going to have some serious consequences," Cyb Louis sighed. "After all, you were the one who brought her back. If something happens later, they might send you to the Church of Light."

"What? They\'re going to send me?" Dean Bruce frowned, confused. "Why me? I have nothing to do with them!"

"The saintess\'s status is too important," Cyb Louis sneered. "As soon as you\'re tied to those high-ranking folks, there are always tons of unreasonable but annoyingly persistent issues."

"But don\'t worry," Cyb Louis reassured him. "You\'re with us in the Nine Provinces Alliance, and you hold some status in the Magic Guild. The Church of Light won\'t harm you. And if they try to pass the blame onto you, we won\'t let it slide without a fight!"

Cyb Louis reached out and patted Dean Bruce on the shoulder, speaking softly, "Keep it up. As long as you can get to the bottom of what\'s going on inside the academy, I can get you promoted, and you won\'t have to worry about anything else."

Dean Bruce had long grown immune to such promises, so he probed cautiously, "Alright, but I\'m curious... How is it that the mighty Nine Provinces Alliance can\'t even scrounge up some resources?"

Cyb Louis sighed helplessly, "Over the years, the organization has had too many things to handle. We\'ve had to explore various relics, and also guard against that other continent. It consumes an enormous amount of resources, so some things... well, we just fall short."

"And don\'t even get me started on the infighting between the factions! It\'s exhausting!"

Cyb Louis shook his head in frustration.

Feigning surprise, Dean Bruce asked, "Guarding against another continent? I thought the continents were separated by endless oceans? Only the top-tier powerhouses can even cross, right? So why the need for such precautions?"

Cyb Louis glanced around cautiously, then lowered his voice, "I don\'t know why, but in recent years, numerous portals have started appearing on the northern side of our continent. People from the Cold Cloud Continent occasionally emerge through them."

"Destroying the portals requires tremendous magic power or specialized magical formations, so the drain on manpower and resources is enormous."

He didn\'t go into any more detail, instead issuing a cautious warning, "This is classified information. Only the Church of Light, the major empires, and our own organization know about this. You mustn\'t tell anyone."

"If the public finds out, and they realize that war is looming, it would be catastrophic for everyone."

Hearing this, Dean Bruce\'s eyes widened in shock.

The saintess was already threatening to stir up a war within the continent, but now a war between two entire continents was on the brink of breaking out?

For a moment, Dean Bruce found himself breathing heavily, his mind racing as he considered what actions he should take in the future.

"Alright, that\'s enough talk for now. I\'ll handle getting you the Senior Mentor position later. In a couple of days, just report in. At that time, the Secret Realm will be opening, and I\'ll send you in," Cyb Louis said as he prepared to leave.

Before he left, Cyb Louis gave one last reminder, "Don\'t stress too much over all this. It\'s still quite far off from us. Focus on what\'s right in front of you for now."

With that, Dean Bruce snapped out of his daze.

A war between continents would surely take a long time to fully escalate. The wisest course of action would be to focus on the immediate tasks at hand for now.

As Cyb Louis was leaving, just as he reached the door, he suddenly turned and said, "These servants were all handpicked by me, and if you don\'t trust them, you\'re free to replace them at the market yourself!"

With that, Cyb Louis strode out confidently without looking back.

Dean Bruce didn\'t really care about the servants. After all, he wasn\'t planning to stay here long.

Besides, if he used the servants Cyb Louis had bought, it would make Cyb Louis feel more secure, treating him as a trusted ally. That would make it easier to get more information out of him.

Once Cyb Louis was completely gone, several of the servants immediately approached, bowing respectfully. "Master, what would you like for dinner tonight? Do you have any specific instructions?"

"Just prepare something simple," Dean Bruce responded casually. Then he asked, "Previously, were all your expenses covered by Lord Cyb?"

"Yes, Master," one of the servants replied, lowering his head even further.

Hearing this, Dean Bruce calmly pulled out a card from his system space and handed it to one of the servants. "There are 100,000 gold coins on this card. Take it."

"M-Master, I can\'t accept this!"

The chosen servant immediately shook his head, looking utterly terrified.

One hundred thousand gold coins would be more than a lifetime\'s worth of money for a commoner. How could he dare to take it?

Dean Bruce\'s expression remained calm as he said, "I\'m telling you to take it, so take it. From now on, you are the steward of this estate. This money is for managing the estate, not for your personal use."

The servant hesitated for a moment, then dropped to his knees, bowing his head to the ground as he took the gold card with both hands. "I, Hakenny, will not betray the Master\'s trust."

"Good. The rest of the servants will be under your command," Dean Bruce said nonchalantly. "Now, go. Prepare dinner—a meal for two."

"Yes, sir,"

Hakenny, now the steward, was the first to rise, quickly directing the other servants to leave. Dean Bruce then stepped out of the room himself and made his way toward the room where the girl had been placed earlier.

Cough, cough!

As soon as Dean Bruce stepped into the room, he was greeted by the sound of hurried coughing. Looking up, he saw that the girl had already struggled to sit up. However, although she had regained some vitality, her physical strength had not yet returned, and her attempt to force herself up caused her to collapse onto the floor, unable to rise again.

Hearing footsteps, the girl raised her head. Although her eyes had been gouged out and she couldn\'t see anything, she sniffed the air lightly and, to his surprise, a look of excitement appeared on her face. She spoke up, "Are you... are you the one who saved me earlier?"

"Master, I... can I become your disciple? I am willing to give everything I have! Whatever you want, I will give it to you. My body, my life, even my soul!"

Despite the desperation in her words, Dean Bruce remained calm. Though he felt a pang of sympathy, he didn\'t refuse her outright. Instead, he asked steadily, "Why do you want to become my disciple?"

"I... I want revenge!" Her voice, which should have belonged to a lively and innocent girl, was now filled with hatred and rage. "She wanted my eyes, and I was willing to give them to her. But who would\'ve thought they\'d kill my parents? Murder my brother!"

"I fought to escape, just so that one day, I could make them pay in blood for what they\'ve done!" Her voice trembled with fury.

After her outburst, the girl, despite the pain, turned toward Dean Bruce and said, "Master, if you accept me as your disciple and teach me magic, I swear my life will belong to you!"

Dean Bruce remained composed, and after a brief pause, he said, "I can take you as my disciple and teach you magic." His tone was calm and measured. "But I have one condition."

"What condition? Please, tell me!" The girl\'s voice grew tense with excitement and nervousness.

Dean Bruce responded, "If I accept you as my disciple, I will teach you many advanced spells. But if you can\'t comprehend them or fail to level up quickly, it will mean you lack the necessary talent. In that case, I will expel you from my tutelage."

Knowing the girl had the potential of a protagonist, Dean Bruce wanted to push her to ensure he could receive the system rewards quickly.

"Yes, I won\'t let you down! And even if it\'s only for revenge, I will work tirelessly to become stronger!" The girl, overwhelmed with emotion, bowed three times, her head hitting the floor with a thud each time. "Disciple greets her teacher!"

"Alright, no need for all the formalities," Dean Bruce said calmly. With a gentle wave of his hand, a stream of magic lifted the girl and placed her back onto the bed. As he stepped closer, he asked, "What is your name?"