This peerless powerhouse of the world looked at Jody while still hiccupping."You're a student of the academy?"
Jody nodded. "A freshman. I enrolled three months ago."
The headmaster glanced once more at the hotpot nearby, then fixed Jody with her watery, gleaming eyes."Would you be willing, hic, to become my disciple?"
Elinor's eyes flew wide open. She hurriedly added, "Teacher, his name is Jody. His magical talent—"
"Talent isn't important." The headmaster never took her eyes off Jody. "All you need to do is cook for me every day."
Elinor nearly choked. She had been about to say that Jody's magical talent was highly unusual and perhaps genuinely worthy of cultivation. And yet her teacher wanted to take him in… just so he could cook?
She shot Jody a look, seventy percent urging, thirty percent envy. This is a blessing from the heavens. Hurry up and kneel already! Back when she herself enrolled, she had revealed her all-element affinity and stunned the entire academy, and her teacher had merely remarked, "Not bad," before reluctantly accepting her.
This guy conquered her with a single meal?
Jody pretended not to notice Elinor's glare. Putting on an expression of great difficulty, he spoke slowly,"Headmaster, you are the foremost Grand Mage of the world, revered by all. I, on the other hand, am but a novice who has yet to be ranked, weak in strength and lacking any noteworthy treasures. If I were to go out representing you, I fear I might tarnish your illustrious reputation."
Elinor nearly rolled her eyes straight into the heavens. After laying it on so thick, he was angling for benefits after all.
The headmaster was not offended. She casually slipped a hand into the front of her robes, rummaging left and right. According to the records, she was well over a hundred years old, yet her figure and youthful face, coupled with this vaguely dazed manner, could easily pass for that of a newly enrolled student.
At last, she produced a crystal-like object the size of an egg.
Elinor gasped aloud."That's… a magic crystal? And that large?!"
"Ah, it's nothing special," the headmaster said lazily, clearly sated. "I took a stroll through the northeastern forest, slaughtered a few magic beasts, and picked this up along the way."
Magic crystals had been mentioned in class. They were exceedingly rare, and their function was both simple and formidable. A mage could infuse them with mental energy and store it inside, drawing upon it whenever needed. In plain terms, it was a magical power bank.
Its value lay in combat. When two mages of equal rank faced one another, the one with a magic crystal could unleash more spells for a longer duration. The advantage was obvious.
Its rarity, however, was even more striking. Magic crystals typically formed within magic beasts, which was believed to be the reason such creatures could wield magic at all. Even then, a mid-tier beast would usually yield a crystal no larger than a fingertip. The one in the headmaster's hand must have been taken from a powerful high-tier beast. And she had produced it as casually as loose change. A Grand Mage was truly terrifying.
Jody immediately knelt."Master Headmaster, please accept Jody's bow."
The headmaster smiled, but instead tossed the crystal to Elinor."First, you may call me Teacher Lopez. Second, I'll have little Elinor hold onto this crystal for you. Once you've paid off your debt, it will be yours."
"Debt? What debt?" Jody asked, bewildered.
"You used my alchemy cauldron to cook that… what did you call it, 'hotpot,' and my pill furnace to prepare your seasonings. Do you have any idea how much those old fellows pay when they borrow such things from me? I won't fleece you. Serve as my cook for one year, and the crystal is yours."
"Alchemy furnace? Medicine cauldron?" Jody stared blankly at the "pots and pans" he had been using for months, then turned to Elinor.
Elinor scratched her head awkwardly. "Teacher's been away from the academy for ages, and this alchemy chamber hadn't been used in years. I just meant well letting you stay here temporarily. Who knew you'd use all of this to cook…"
Being accepted as a disciple by the headmaster was already an enormous stroke of luck. Jody had merely tried his hand at squeezing out a few extra benefits. Failing that, he didn't particularly mind. Besides, he could now see clearly that his new master was, at heart, an unabashed foodie. Putting everything else aside, when it came to cuisine, his past-life experience alone placed him peerless in this world. As long as he could bind the Grand Mage's stomach, would he really have to worry about not obtaining her trea— no, her treasures? Heh.
Jody stood up, glanced at Elinor and the magic crystal in her hands, and smiled."Then I'll trouble you, Senior Sister. Be careful not to damage it."
Elinor shot him another eye roll. "You adapt fast, don't you."
The headmaster waved her hand. "Little Elinor, you teach him for now. It's late. Everyone disperse. I'm going to wash up and sleep."
"Yes, Teacher," Elinor replied, bowing.
"Good night, Teacher," Jody said with a wave.
This world's foremost Grand Mage might appear unrestrained and careless, but her mind was likely clear as a mirror. Jody suspected his days of leisure were over. He pondered this as he cleaned up the "dishes."
Over the next half month, Jody continued his routine of classroom and "laboratory," with two additions. The first was delivering meals to the headmaster. For fifteen straight days, not a single dish was repeated. Lopez was so delighted she practically danced, insisting that Jody was the finest disciple she had ever taken. At first, Elinor fumed at the side, ears nearly smoking. Later, when Jody prepared an extra portion and invited her along, she joined in after a single meal, declaring that her teacher's judgment was nothing short of brilliant.
The vice headmaster and Director Feng grew increasingly puzzled. They had never seen the headmaster remain at the academy for so long, and judging by her demeanor, she had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
The second addition was sparring with Senior Sister Elinor. At first, she approached it with the mindset of instructing Jody. After a dozen days, however, she realized she seemed to be learning more from him than the other way around.
Using wind to accelerate fireballs. Enhancing lightning strikes with water. Drenching an opponent with a water sphere, then freezing them with wind. These combinations made her previous years of magical combat feel like children playing house.
More frightening still was Jody's claim that these techniques were merely the tip of the iceberg, with more to be taught gradually. Wait. Something was off here. Who exactly was teaching whom?
Of course, in true combat Jody was still far from Elinor's equal. The disparity in mana reserves alone was vast. If Elinor unleashed a full-powered lightning strike, she could easily pierce through Jody's defensive magic. Yet it was precisely this pressure that drove Jody's rapid growth.
At last, Jody broke through. Sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus… sulfur, chlorine, argon, potassium, calcium. This entire row of elements flared into existence within his perception.
Metallic elements.
Jody was practically ecstatic. And not just metals, but highly reactive ones.
With only half a month left before the assessment, and aiming for absolute certainty, his next destination was clear.
The eastern coast.