bantayden Chapter 121 : Chapter 121
Chapter 121 : Chapter 121
Chapter 121. The Next One
The next morning.
Central Plaza of Saint Arcadia Academy.
Every year, this place hosted the “Annual Talent Exchange Fair.” To put it bluntly, it was the day when major factions came to carve up fresh talent… or rather, recruit promising individuals.
As the continent’s top academy, the scale of the event was naturally grand.
The prime A-zone had long been occupied by the most powerful merchant guilds and the old noble families from across the kingdom.
The Golden Griffon Chamber of Commerce’s booth was extravagantly luxurious. A griffon statue made of pure gold gleamed blindingly under the sunlight, while attendants dressed in silk uniforms carried wine and pastries, handing them out to anyone they saw.
Next to it was the Violet Family’s recruitment area. Although it was not as ostentatious, the rows of beautiful receptionists dressed in maid outfits were enough to leave those inexperienced engineering students rooted to the spot.
In comparison, the Northern Territory’s booth, squeezed into the corner of the C-zone, looked rather shabby.
Two tables, a few chairs, and a stack of freshly printed brochures that still smelled of ink.
“This is that so-called Northern Territory Magitech Industrial Base?”
A few students in mage robes passed by, clicking their tongues in disdain.
“I have never even heard of it. Isn’t the Northern Territory just snow and rocks?”
“Look at the Compensation they wrote—three times the salary? Who are they trying to fool? That kind of backwater place can afford that? You would probably end up mining coal if you went there.”
“Let’s go, let’s go. I heard the Tulip Chamber of Commerce is hiring magitech circuit designers this year, with a monthly salary of 300 Golden Lion Coins. If we are late, there will be no spots left.”
A cold wind swept a few fallen leaves past the Northern Territory’s booth, making it appear especially desolate.
Aaron wore a formal suit he had no idea where he had borrowed from. Although he shivered slightly from the cold, he still shouted energetically.
“Do not miss this opportunity as you pass by! Direct recruitment from the Governor’s Office of the Northern Territory! Excellent Compensation, food and lodging included! There are also independent laboratories…”
However, no one paid him any attention at all.
Students these days were sharp; no one wanted to suffer in that godforsaken place.
“This is just too miserable…”
Emily sat on a small stool, holding a cup of hot milk tea, and muttered quietly as she looked at the deserted booth.
“Brother Aaron, should we take out some gold coins and scatter them? Father said there is no problem that money cannot solve.”
“Do not!”
Aaron hurriedly stopped this little spendthrift ancestor.
“This is nothing yet. Our real trump card has not been revealed.”
As he spoke, Aaron smiled mysteriously and turned around to drag out a huge display board from beneath the table. He had specially ordered it overnight.
He took a deep breath and planted the board firmly in front of the booth.
Thud!
The board hit the ground.
There were no flashy decorations on it, only an enlarged photograph and a name written in bright red paint.
[Supervising Professor: Logaris West]
Those few words were like some kind of spell.
The previously noisy plaza fell into a brief, one-second silence.
Immediately afterward, it erupted into chaos.
“Who?!”
“Am I seeing things? Professor Logaris? That genius Archmage?!”
“Why did he go to the Northern Territory?”
“My god… if he is really leading the project…”
Students who had originally been heading toward other booths suddenly pivoted as if their feet were mounted on rotating axes, turning in unison.
The disdain they had shown for the Northern Territory just moments ago had completely transformed into excitement—and a trace of deep reverence.
“Senior, who exactly is this Professor Logaris? Why is everyone reacting like this?”
A freshman who had just enrolled tugged at a senior student beside him and asked.
The senior pushed up his glasses and looked at the photograph with a complicated expression.
“It is normal that you do not know, since you are new. At Saint Arcadia, you might not recognize the Dean, but you absolutely must know Logaris.”
The senior lowered his voice, as if telling a ghost story.
“Six years ago, Professor Logaris was only sixteen. Back then, he developed a new patent related to improving mana furnaces. It caught the attention of a board member who held the title of Count. That family tried to seize his results by force and even used their influence to threaten his expulsion.”
The freshman’s eyes widened. “And then? Did he file a lawsuit?”
“A lawsuit?”
The senior revealed a look of admiration.
“Professor Logaris never takes such mild approaches. That very night, he and Her Highness Sylvia—who was still studying at the academy at the time and is now the Acting Governor of the Northern Territory—stormed directly into the Count’s estate outside the city.”
“The next morning, people discovered that the entire Count’s family, including his three pet dogs, had been hung from street lamps. They hung there all night, exposed to the cold wind.”
“The most outrageous part was that Logaris pasted evidence of the Count embezzling academy funds directly onto his forehead. In the end, not only was he not punished, but the Count’s entire family was thrown into prison.”
The freshman was stunned and could not help swallowing.
“Th-This is too ruthless…”
“Ruthless? That is called efficiency.”
The senior looked at the display board, a trace of fervor appearing in his eyes.
“From that day on, he became the ‘War God’ of our academic world. If you work under him, you might be exhausted to death, and you might be scolded to death, but you will never have to worry about being bullied—nor about your talent being buried.”
“Let’s go! Let’s take a look! I would work under him even without pay!”
…
In just a few minutes,
the Northern Territory’s booth was completely surrounded.
The scene was even more frenzied than giving away free gold coins.
Students pushed and shoved desperately to squeeze inside, waving their resumes, afraid that a single moment of delay would cost them their chance.
“Make way! Do not push!”
Aaron shouted until his voice became hoarse, but no one listened to him at all.
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control,
a cold voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.
“Quiet.”
The voice was not loud, nor was it amplified by magic, but its distinct chill was like a bucket of ice water poured into a boiling pan of oil.
The crowd instantly fell silent.
Like the Red Sea parted by Moses, the dense crowd automatically split to both sides, opening a wide path.
At the end of the path,
Logaris, wearing his signature black long coat, walked forward at an unhurried pace.
He did not glance at the fervent gazes around him and simply went straight behind the table and sat down.
Especially among the magitech engineering students, the moment they saw him sit, it was as if some collective reflex had been triggered.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Without any instruction, dozens of senior students instantly straightened their bodies and formed a neat formation on their own initiative.
Logaris swept his gaze across them.
“You want to come to the Northern Territory?”
He casually picked up the first resume and glanced at it.
“Sixth year, magitech materials. You claim to be proficient in the secondary refinement of mithril?”
The student who handed over the resume nodded nervously. “Y-Yes, Professor! I have worked on it in the laboratory…”
“Then tell me, under low-temperature conditions, what is the critical mana threshold at which mithril undergoes brittle fracture?”
The student froze. “Th-That… it is not written in the books…”
“If it is not in the books, you do not know how to measure it yourself?”
Logaris tossed the resume back into his arms, his tone filled with cold, impersonal rationality.
“What I need are researchers, not bookworms who can only recite texts. Next.”
The student’s face flushed red with shame as he clutched his resume and fled in embarrassment.