LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 924
Ding ding ding
<924 – Titosso’s Test (5)>
Every professor has their personal research lab, but the stronger the professor, the larger the lab.
For instance, Professor Weird has a gigantic tree for a personal lab, complete with all sorts of facilities on it, and Professor Sadako has the remains of powerful beings from various places in the world stored in the cemetery.
“What’s Professor Buzhaar’s lab like?”
“…Tito. You really have the spirit of a graduate student.”
“Why?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Tch. Jiang always says that.”
“Anyway, do well.”
“Hmph. Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I’m busy with assignments.”
Of course, Jiang didn’t trust easily like Titosso, so they fled after hearing the bad reputation of Professor Buzhaar.
Knock knock knock.
“Is anyone there?”
“What is this? A lively voice and a girl knocking? Is it someone’s birthday in the lab today?”
The door burst open from the inside.
“Who are you?”
“Uh, well, I came to seek advice from Professor Buzhaar…”
“Oh my.”
Buzhaar’s teaching assistant stepped outside, a serious look on their face, and closed the door behind them. The heavy smell of burnt material and dark circles under their eyes revealed the lab’s harsh conditions, which couldn’t be hidden even by a white lab coat.
“Sweetie, I’m a graduate from class 965 and a graduate from class 970. I’m telling you this because you remind me of my younger sister back home, so listen well. You shouldn’t behave like that in front of the professor.”
“Why not?”
“Why, you ask? Because it’s wildly inappropriate. How do you think a professor would view a student seeking help from them? Don’t you think they’d immediately kidnap you, stuff knowledge into you, and make you a graduate student?”
Titosso bit their finger, pondering deeply, but that thought never crossed their mind.
“I didn’t think so?”
“Sigh. Your dazzling looks could turn dark, so I’ll spare you this time. Ask me for advice instead of the professor. If I can help, I’ll help.”
“Well, if you’re a graduate senior, you must be really strong, right? Actually, I can’t use mana because I consumed giant blood, so I was hoping to get some advice on mana control…”
The assistant’s eyes widened.
“Oh my. What year are you in?”
“Second Year.”
“These crazy professors! How could they mess with a second-year student who’s attending lectures? I thought they only targeted fourth years or graduates!”
Titosso felt a shiver run down their spine. They never imagined that professors who used their extracted blood in some twisted game would be targeting disciples under Professor Buzhaar’s wing.
“Hey, Kenshi! Get out here. There’s someone just like you!”
A senior who looked like they had been crying for ages stepped out with swollen eyes.
“What department are you in?”
“Adventure Department.”
“I was in the Magic Department. Now, I’m an assistant in the Production Department’s Monster Studies lab. I have to work with seniors who got an average of 50,000 points a month for 34 months. Otherwise, I can’t remove the giant blood or return to the Magic Tower.”
“Oh no!”
“I’m not alone in this. You’ll end up like me. You know our minimum guaranteed salary is legally 200,000 points, but 150,000 points are forcibly taken for education or research investments. They’re exploiting the desperate situation where we can’t get kicked out of the lab!”
That was a darkness unlike the assignment hell faced by undergraduates.
A brutal world for graduate students who couldn’t even receive the minimum human rights guaranteed by law!
“In the Monster Studies lab, if you claim your share, you’ll have monster cells implanted in your body. If you don’t want that, you have to obediently surrender points as required by the professor.”
“That’s terrible! That’s just robbery!”
“So, learn the formula I’m about to tell you quickly. They aren’t the correct answers, but they’ll be greatly helpful for your control arts.”
Titosso diligently took notes on the invaluable advice given by Kenshi.
Then they practiced in real-life scenarios.
Unfortunately, they failed at control.
But hope did shine through.
The mana that had been non-responsive in their body showed some signs of reacting to the control techniques.
“Did that help?”
“Quite a bit! Thank you so much, senior!”
“Get out now. And never come back.”
Titosso bowed their head in thanks and ran out joyfully.
“If I seek advice from other professors’ graduate seniors besides Professor Buzhaar’s lab, it’ll be easier to manage!”
Kenshi’s dedication led to a misguided conclusion.
If anyone had looked into Titosso’s mind, they would have immediately knocked some sense into their head.
*
Professor Buzhaar recently picked up an interesting rumor.
“I heard that these days, there’s a frantic second-year female student going around the professors’ labs seeking advice without even being a teaching assistant!”
The two assistants, Punk and Kenshi, who had sent Titosso away, couldn’t hide their gloomy spirits.
If the rumor reached Professor’s ears, other professors must have heard it too.
They had chased Titosso away to avoid being seen by the professors, only to have them come back into proper view while seeking advice.
“Deputy. Go and capture the second-year rumor.”
“A second-year is too young to work in a lab, isn’t it?”
“There’s no such thing as a second-year too young for the world. There are only those who have entered society a year early.”
What kind of person would say that after binding assistants for decades to milk data maximally?
The deputy cursed Buzhaar in their heart yet again.
“I just need to ask for the face and proposal, and if they refuse, I’ll record it and play it back.”
Let’s hope they don’t even act interested.
It wouldn’t be bad to suggest in the most obnoxious way possible too.
With a rebellious determination, the deputy began searching for the rumor’s main character, Titosso.
Finding them wasn’t difficult.
The girl had too much information on her.
“That one? The prettiest girl at the Academy, it seems.”
“If she’s around a place filled with men.”
“If you see a girl with a glowing face, that’s probably her.”
“Does she not carry a light stand around anymore?”
The deputy honestly felt a bit confused.
“Why would she carry a light stand? Is she some bard from a touring troupe shining spotlights on her face?”
“That’s Malcolm from this year’s Production Department.”
“Wait, is that kid for real?”
After several twists and turns, the deputy finally found Titosso, and the rumors barely captured her beauty.
“This… if the world knew, it could ruin a nation.”
Honestly, if she were just moderately pretty, it wouldn’t have mattered much.
The Gift Academy is where the world’s top talents gather.
Many from each organization are dispatched as representatives, some even going for plastic surgery right off the bat.
Some lucky ones are born from good families, blessed with good food, inheriting beautiful genes leading to splendorous features.
Due to the dazzling beauty all around, it’s only natural for people’s standards to rise, and even the slightest display of beauty won’t get their heads turning without much thought.
“Have I lowered my standards by looking among monsters? No, given the kinds of greedy slackers at the lazy research labs only working 100 hours a week, it must be my misperception.”
Unquestionably recognized beauty that none would refuse.
It was strange that no noble or king would want to claim those excellent genes for their bloodline.
To be perfectly frank, it wouldn’t be unexpected for marriage proposals to flood in, with scandalous rumors swirling all around.
“With looks that great, wouldn’t locking her in a lab be the path to world peace?”
The deputy rationalized to themselves.
They felt they could take her to the lab without guilt.
But the problem was, as previously confirmed, Titosso’s beauty wasn’t something only they had noticed.
“If you come to our lab, we can guarantee you 350,000 points a month!”
“In our lab, we can provide all the reference materials for every lecture you enroll in.”
“If you have any interest in royal bloodlines, we can even set up a matchmaking meeting. How about it?”
Every lab’s recruitment staff was vying for Titosso with plausible offers!
Just a second-year girl could easily be lured in and accept a proposal without thinking twice.
As the deputy rushed over with a sense of urgency, Titosso’s response rang out.
“No, I already have a lot of points!”
“And the references aren’t that impressive… our organization has access to plenty of references too!”
“Hmph. The Empress is my peer, way more impressive than royal blood. So what about that?”
Titosso was a tough one, just as difficult to reel in as her monumental beauty!
Despite her naive face, her credentials were surprisingly exceptional.
Points, grades, and even the allure of upward marriage were of no use against her fierce will.
“I’ll need something pretty extravagant.”
The deputy of Buzhaar had a bit more power over recruitment than other professors.
Which is why they could make slightly different offers.
“Are you interested in a World Tree fruit that increases your mana by 300%? It’s a rare gift personally brought back by Professor Buzhaar after invading the burned Elf Forest and receiving it firsthand from his disciple.”
A high-level deception boasting the professor’s connections, formidable influence, and excellent rewards all at once!
The other recruitment staff could only seethe at this but, oddly enough, they looked utterly stunned.
“I knew Professor Buzhaar was a piece of work, but I never thought the deputy would stoop this low.”
“Isn’t this just a kind of new-age harassment?”
“Could they have come here without any knowledge? They must have some clue about what’s going on.”
What have I missed?
The flustered deputy watched as tears brimmed in Titosso’s eyes, and she burst into tears.
“I have lots of mana and can’t control it, but there’s no need to make fun of me like this!! Waaaah!!”
When a professor’s bad name is too notorious, even their deputies fear getting entangled and potentially dragged into the lab, leading to social ostracization among their fellow assistants.
The deputy didn’t know the most crucial piece of information, leading Titosso to unintentionally drop a bombshell statement that was tantamount to suicide in the recruitment race.
“What? You were worried about just that? In that case, I’ll teach you the control technique. What do you think?”
Sniffle “Really?”
Wait, is it that easy?
All the recruitment staff who had thrown every bit of sweet talk were left aghast as the deputy of Professor Buzhaar managed to recover with that one statement.
“See? When you reach a peak in mana control, you can cast spells without chanting, possess a plethora of passive magic, and even cancel out your opponent’s magic.”
Mana control is the hardest magical training that can only be raised with the most expensive equipment under a professor capable of financing that burden—a privilege of the richest!
“I want to do it! The seniors in Professor Buzhaar’s lab were kind and taught me techniques well. I definitely want to go there!”
The deputy, realizing that they had just chased away a remarkable talent, looked on with a meaningful smile and asked.
“Could you tell me those seniors’ names?”
“Why do you want their names?”
“Why, as a second-year rookie, if they didn’t reprimand you for being here, they should be rewarded.”
Titosso, lured in by the sweet temptations like a devil, quickly spouted out names.
Upon entering the lab, she would unwittingly make enemies within her ranks, marking the beginning of a tangled fate for Titosso!