Although she rejected Gut's request, Serie was still rather satisfied with this young mage.
With his mindset and talent, a little guidance would surely take him far.
However, just as Serie was about to approve him for passing the test, she noticed something... odd about the young mage's gaze.
Was he... staring at her crossed leg?
"Mm..."
Rather than getting angry, Serie simply found it a little amusing. Shaking her head with a faint smile, she lowered her leg.
The next moment—
Serie's piercing gaze locked onto Gut, her voice cold and devoid of emotion.
"What were you just looking at?"
"Emm..."
Caught red-handed admiring those divine feet, Gut scratched his head and offered a sheepish, sincere apology.
"Sorry, it's just... you're really too adorable."
"And… I also noticed something else."
"Lady Serie, your magical aura... it's slightly unstable, isn't it?"
"Heh—"
Serie's lips couldn't help but curl upward into a mischievous smirk.
Her once indifferent eyes lit up with liveliness.
"Your name is Gut, right? You've passed. Become my disciple."
"I'll take you to—"
"Yes, Master."
Before Serie could finish explaining the benefits of being her disciple, Gut had already responded eagerly.
...
For a moment—even Serie, who had been quite eager to take on a student, was left speechless.
She even briefly questioned whether accepting Gut as her disciple had been the right choice.
But the thought only lingered for a second before she dismissed it.
She had extended the offer. He had accepted. He was now her disciple.
Besides, in both talent and mindset, Gut met the standard.
It's just... his personality was a little... too unique?
Serie stepped down from her seat and circled around Gut, silently memorizing the appearance of this youthful disciple.
Perhaps, this "uniqueness" of his wouldn't be a bad thing.
After all, for a long-lived elf like herself, what humans called a "lifetime" was but the blink of an eye.
No matter how glorious their lives, they would eventually return to dust.
But such a "special" disciple—he might leave behind some "special" memories for her.
Serie's gaze rested on Gut, but in her mind surfaced images of disciples who had long since passed away.
Among all the students she had taken in her lifetime, not all became legends like Flamme, who shaped the history of human magic.
Many never even scratched the surface of her magical mastery, nor did they leave their names in the human-written annals of history.
And yet...
Strangely enough, Serie still remembered every one of them—their faces, personalities, the spells they loved most.
All disciples taken on a whim…
Ah, well.
If she was their teacher, then it was her duty to carry their memories, appearances, stories—and the proof of their existence—into the future.
...
While Serie reminisced about her past disciples, Gut's attention was focused on the system notifications that suddenly popped up.
[Ding!]
[Host has formed a mentor-disciple bond with (Serie), trait [Secluded from the World] has expired]
[Host has completed "Fated to Enter the World," main questline module unlocked]
[Congratulations! Trait acquired: [Entering the World (Blue)]]
[Congratulations! Trait acquired: [Disciple of the Mythic Mage (Blue)]]
[Congratulations! Trait acquired: [Good Fortune (Blue)]]
Multiple alerts flashed rapidly—so much so that Gut was briefly overwhelmed.
Skimming through them, he immediately opened his personal interface to review the new traits.
[Personal Interface]
Host: Gut
Active Traits:
Transmigrator (Gold)
Otherworldly Chef (Blue)
Entering the World (Blue)
Disciple of the Mythic Mage (Blue)
Good Fortune (Blue)
Atheist (White)
Trait Effects:
[Entering the World (Blue)]
Description: Your fate has begun to anchor itself in this world. Though this process takes considerable time...
Effect: You retain strong resistance against fate-based abilities (this resistance will gradually weaken). This characteristic will also influence those around you.
[Disciple of the Mythic Mage (Blue)]
Description: As a student of a mythic-era archmage, staying close to your teacher grants you heightened intellect and comprehension.
Effects:
While within five meters of Serie, your intellect and insight receive a minor boost.
While being taught by Serie, your learning speed increases—amplified further by the closeness of your relationship.
[Good Fortune (Blue)]
Description: Your teacher is a central figure of this world's fate. As her disciple, you share in that luck.
Effect: Increases host's luck.
...
"What a haul."
Even after closing the interface, Gut couldn't help but marvel.
Looking at Serie before him, he felt a strong urge to rush up and hug this "old mage" and plant a kiss or two in thanks.
But under her subtly threatening gaze, Gut thought better of it and slowly lowered the hand he had already raised.
"Haha, Master, I got a little overexcited."
"Hmph."
Serie snorted lightly, unimpressed but unconcerned.
Returning to her lavish seat, she sat cross-legged again and ordered Gut to fetch the next examinee.
Outside the Hall
Seeing that Gut had not exited for a long while, the waiting mages began murmuring among themselves.
"I bet that kid's got a real shot."
"Let's hope so. If someone passes, it'll give the rest of us a bit of hope. Everyone before him was rejected so quickly…"
...
"Creeeak—"
Suddenly, the large doors creaked open from within.
"The next examinee may enter."
When the others saw it was Gut who opened the door, they instinctively sighed in relief. A few stepped forward to ask whether he had passed Serie's exam.
Gut didn't hide it—he nodded firmly.
But he didn't linger to chat. With a glance, he signaled the next examinee to follow and returned to the hall himself.
What followed was simple: Serie dismissed the next candidate in five or six seconds and told him to fetch the next one.
For the moment, Gut had nothing to do.
So he simply stood behind Serie, enjoying the bonus intelligence and insight granted by the trait [Disciple of the Mythic Mage (Blue)].
Because Gut thought differently from Serie.
For Serie, all she needed was to sift out talent from the examinees.
But Gut had far more to think about.
No jokes—this was serious.
With his boosted intellect, Gut began to deeply analyze one key issue:
Now that [Secluded from the World] had expired, what would the consequences be? And just how strong—and how long-lasting—would the protection from [Entering the World] be?
...
[Sinseki Era · Approx. Year -60]
The Seven Calamity Sages under the Demon King had fully assembled, including the all-knowing Shulahat.
On the eve of war, Schlacht once again activated his ability to see the future…