Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Three Apprentices Seeing Sherman ecstatic, the girl also showed a hint of a smile and said, "My name is Attila Yuri, and you are?" "Sherman." Sherman looked at the other boy. The latter slightly raised his chin and said indifferently, "Cole McKinney." Perhaps because of Sherman’s poor attire, Cole looked down on him a bit and, out of politeness, introduced his name before ignoring Sherman. Instead, Attila smiled warmly at Sherman, showing no haughty attitude despite the difference in their backgrounds. She’s a gentle girl. Sherman thought quietly. Finally, as the sky began to hint at yellow, the detection ended. The result surprised Sherman; unexpectedly, only he, Attila, and Cole passed. The others were all eliminated. This made Sherman feel somewhat proud, thinking he might be quite exceptional. "Come with me." The old man carefully wrapped the book in a cloth, tucked it into his arms, and beckoned Sherman and the other two to follow him. Led by the old man, the three entered the Inner City District, arriving at the front of the castle. The old man seemed to hold a high status; the guards immediately greeted him respectfully upon seeing him. Only then did Sherman learn the old man’s name was Geller, a steward in the castle. The guard who had previously warned Sherman now looked at him in shock, clearly surprised Sherman had passed the detection. Sherman smiled gratefully at the guard, thinking he must find an opportunity to thank him properly later. "Young Master Sunan is nice and never scolds the servants. You don’t need to be nervous when you see him later." On the way, old Geller reassured the three a bit. But it didn’t help much; all three looked tense. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎 Especially Sherman, who was about to meet someone significant in his eyes, not being nervous would be unusual. Even Attila and Cole, before coming here, had been repeatedly told by their elders at home to maintain respect towards Lord Sunan. After crossing courtyards and corridors, old Geller finally led the three to a courtyard. The spacious courtyard was empty except for a small cat lazily basking on the stone table in the center. Attila’s eyes slightly brightened. What a cute little cat! Sherman and Cole couldn’t help but glance at it a few times. But the next scene left all three stunned. Old Geller walked up and respectfully bowed to the small cat, saying, "Lord Amy, these three are the newly recruited apprentices. I’ve brought them to see Young Master Sunan." "Meow, Sunan is in the Meditation Room meditating. He’ll be finished in about half an hour. You should wait here for now." Amy licked the back of her paw, curiously observing the three. The latter were already standing there, slack-jawed. A talking cat?! Were they dreaming? The three instinctively looked at old Geller, who cleared his throat and whispered, "Lord Amy is... um, a friend of Lord Sunan’s. Don’t be rude." "Meow, come on, have a seat, don’t just stand there." Amy raised a paw and gestured to the three. With this, the three exchanged glances and reluctantly sat beside the stone table. Old Geller placed the book and a scroll of parchment on the stone table, bowed to Amy, and took his leave. In the blink of an eye, only three people and one cat remained in the courtyard. "Meow, what are your names?" Amy enthusiastically started a conversation with the three. Sherman’s expression was a bit dazed; he had never dreamed he’d be chatting with a cat one day. Luckily, Amy seemed very friendly, asking about ’fun places in Flash City’ and ’where to buy delicious Frost Mint,’ among other things. Sherman had little to add; he had no idea what Frost Mint was! On the other hand, Cole and Attila were much more knowledgeable, able to answer many questions, making Sherman both envious and self-conscious. Half an hour passed quickly. The sound of a door opening came from the depths of the corridor. "Meow, Sunan is coming out." Sherman and the others reflexively stood up, nervously looking towards the corridor. A figure soon emerged from the corridor. To their surprise, they expected Lord Sunan to be a young man in his twenties or thirties, but upon seeing him, they realized he was quite young, seemingly not even twenty. "Lord Sunan!" The three dared not look too closely, immediately bowing in respect. Sunan nodded slightly, not speaking, and with a gesture, the parchment on the stone table flew into his hand. He unfolded it, showing a slight change in expression. Cole McKinney, the son of a baron. Attila Yuri, the daughter of a scholar. Sherman, the adopted son of a poor family. The three perfectly represented the three classes in the Flashing Territory, a real coincidence. After reclaiming the Flashing Territory, Kei appointed three barons; besides Brad and Jordon, there was a knight named Stali McKinney. This boy, Cole’s father. The parchment also detailed the entire process of the detection. The whole detection lasted seven days, during which over a thousand youths who met the age and literacy requirements attended, but only three successfully passed the aptitude detection. Sunan wasn’t surprised by the outcome. Even during the height of the wizardry millennium, those with wizard aptitude were rare among the large population, not even reaching a thousandth. Moreover, the concentration of Energy Particles had greatly decreased over the millennium, making wizard aptitude rarer. Finding three with aptitude in the entire Flashing Territory was honestly beyond Sunan’s expectations. Initially, he thought finding one would be good. Of course, Sunan couldn’t be sure how far these three would eventually grow. Unless they showed enough value, he wouldn’t waste too many resources on cultivating them. Thump! With a wave of Sunan’s hand, three thick books appeared out of thin air and landed on the stone table. This scene left the three kids wide-eyed. "This is the Star Ring Meditation Method, the key to becoming Wizard Apprentices and what you’ll practice in the coming period." "Starting today, you’ll live here. If you have any needs regarding food, clothing, and living, you can tell the servants, and they’ll fulfill anything reasonable." "The only thing you need to do is focus on practicing the Star Ring Meditation Method. Once you’ve mastered it, I’ll accept you as my students." "Understood?" Sherman, Cole, and Attila were both surprised and delighted, responding in unison. Apprentices and students are entirely different concepts; they were well aware of the distinction. Becoming Lord Sunan’s student would make their futures undoubtedly brighter. Sunan nodded in satisfaction, gesturing for the three to leave. Finding suitable assistants to manage the various facilities wasn’t easy. The primary condition was that these people must be at least Wizard Apprentices. Even if they’re Level 1 Wizard Apprentices who haven’t successfully constructed the first star ring, it’s fine. Otherwise, without the ability to sense Energy Particles, many tasks couldn’t be started. Wizards aren’t a community eager to spread knowledge. Many wizards go through the hard work of training apprentices either to cultivate their influence, collect resources, or find a group of qualified assistants. And Sunan wanted both. He planned to start now, step by step, gathering manpower. When the wizard era arrived a thousand years later, perhaps he’d have established his wizard influence. And to achieve this, the first step was crucial and the hardest. Sunan was already mentally prepared for this.