A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 421 Here's a Test Paper

For the first time in a long time, Jiang Shuzhou stayed in bed.

Jiang Shuzhou slept until 10 a.m. before waking up.

Perhaps it was all a dream; Jiang Shuzhou didn't dream at all, and had no dreams all night.

"Why are you still here?"

Upon opening the door, Jiang Shuzhou saw Grace curled up to the side, surrounded by bloodstains, and a faint smell of blood still lingered in the air.

"I...I have nowhere to go. There are terrifying noises outside. I'm too scared to go out..."

Grace said weakly.

"Young people should be brave enough to take on challenges and not be afraid of difficulties; just go for it."

Jiang Shuzhou said it casually, and he didn't pay any attention to Grace's behavior of guarding the door.

These days, life isn't easy; sometimes, relying on someone else's power is a way to survive.

"Sir, could you please take me in?"

No, child, are you qualified?

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuzhou automatically began scrutinizing the situation.

Then, he found nothing.

Aside from her cute appearance, Jiang Shuzhou saw nothing about Grace that would make her worth taking on.

"I doubt it. I'll stay here for a day, and when I'm done, I'll go to the orphanage and wait for a kind person. After all, I'm not a kind person."

Shaking his head, Jiang Shuzhou prepared to go downstairs for dinner.

"Please take a look at this before making a decision, okay?"

Grace handed Jiang Shuzhou a book, the very same craftsman's book that Jiang Shuzhou had casually tossed to her.

Jiang Shuzhou was somewhat puzzled. Was there anything special about this?

However, under Grace's hopeful gaze, Jiang Shuzhou still opened the book.

What comes into view is a design drawing made in blood, which combines the contents of the craftsman's book to create entirely new content.

It's very innovative and highly feasible.

"Is this your blood?"

Jiang Shuzhou asked.

"Yes, sir, this is my own blood. I drew it little by little using wood shards as pens."

Grace slightly opened her curled-up body and raised her head. At this moment, Jiang Shuzhou finally saw her face, which was deathly pale, clearly caused by excessive blood loss.

She's so young, yet she's quite ruthless to herself.

Jiang Shuzhou nodded slightly, indicating that he was quite satisfied with Grace.

Have you studied this topic before?

As he spoke, Jiang Shuzhou used his magic to see if the other party was lying.

"No, I haven't studied that."

Through magic, Jiang Shuzhou was able to see that Grace was not lying.

If that's the case, then giving her a chance isn't out of the question.

"Come on, come inside with me."

Jiang Shuzhou, who had just stepped out, turned around and pulled Grace inside.

Then, he found paper and pen and made up a textbook out of nothing.

Although Jiang Shuzhou has a photographic memory and can clearly remember what the standard tutorial of the league looks like.

But that's too unchallenging. Jiang Shuzhou is looking for geniuses and apprentices; he doesn't want mediocre people who only know what's in textbooks.

This textbook should have been revised a long time ago!

Using magic, Jiang Shuzhou completed a textbook in just a few minutes.

"Come, come, learn this. If you can learn the first chapter in half a day, I'll take you as my apprentice."

Grace looked over and saw a freshly printed textbook prominently displayed on the table.

Alchemy Made Easy: 1.0 Quick Learning Edition

"Okay, thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Grace then opened the book.

Then, she was stunned.

"Rune construction, basic runes, potion identification, common spells, methods for creating flesh and blood lumps, crafting magical items..."

This is the table of contents. The beginning is fine, but what do the rest mean?

Grace looked at Jiang Shuzhou.

"Don't worry, you don't need to do any hands-on practice, just the theory."

"I'll give you a test paper. Look at it carefully and study hard."

"I'm very kind; you have twelve hours."

"Also, this is only the first chapter of this book."

After Jiang Shuzhou finished speaking, he left directly, leaving Grace alone for the time being, as he was going to have dinner.

Jiang Shuzhou used to not need to eat at all, completely different from ordinary people, but now he needs to eat. Fortunately, he doesn't need to go to the toilet, so it's not bad.

"Waiter, give me three catties of braised beef, along with fine wine and good food!"

Regardless of whether the locals could understand him or not, Jiang Shuzhou spoke directly.

After all, it's my dream, and the other party should understand that.

The receptionist responded, and then all the food was served. Jiang Shuzhou didn't pay attention to anything else and started eating.

After finishing his meal, Jiang Shuzhou went straight upstairs. As for paying?

Not now, but we'll talk about it later. Anyway, given Jiang Shuzhou's strength, it's already good that he didn't just say "I don't eat beef" and start killing. As for money, whether he pays or not depends entirely on his mood.

"Stop studying, eat something."

Jiang Shuzhou greeted Grace.

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry. I'll eat after I finish my lesson."

After Grace finished speaking, she immediately buried herself in her book and continued to study.

"It's still my textbooks that are so captivating," Jiang Shuzhou couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Look at this child, he's so engrossed in learning my textbook that he's practically neglecting to eat or sleep! He's a living example!

In reality, this was a compromise Grace made in order to survive, since the teaching materials were simply too difficult.

The first few sections were fairly normal, containing ordinary content, but the alchemy section suddenly became much more difficult, and the knowledge was also intertwined from different parts.

It jumps from spells to potions, then from potions to flesh-and-blood transmutation, and then combines flesh-and-blood transmutation with knowledge of magical items—it's a hodgepodge of ideas.

In Jiang Shuzhou's eyes, magic and this knowledge are one, and they are organized from simple to complex, which he has done very well.

But he forgot that this was a book for beginners.

However, talent can always make up for everything.

"Time's almost up."

Jiang Shuzhou said.

Upon hearing this, Grace flipped through the books even faster.

"Alright, eleven...!"

After saying that, Jiang Shuzhou snatched the book from Grace's hand.

Then he handed over a test paper directly.

Grace glanced at it and almost fainted.

Is this related to what the book says?

However, she didn't dare to say much and could only slowly answer using the knowledge she had just learned.

Jiang Shuzhou's questions are varied, mostly subjective questions that require thinking, and some are simulated applications. There are almost no questions that can be answered by rote memorization.

"If your beloved master needs to summon a beautiful succubus with a full bust, shapely hips, long legs, and yellow skin, what rune would you recommend for the summoning? Please write down the recommended rune and explain how you would help your master distinguish between the succubus's male and female."

The test paper was full of these kinds of questions, leaving Grace completely exasperated.

Fortunately, she remembered a lot of it, and after thinking for a moment, she began to answer.