My inventory is full of monster materials.

Patrick turned around abruptly, his gaze sweeping over the several high-ranking officials in blue robes beside him with piercing intensity. His voice was low yet carried an undeniable authority as he gave the order in a stern voice.

"We must find a way to cover up everything that happened today. We absolutely cannot let the outside world know about Mark's unusual behavior, understand?"

"Yes, Chairman!"

Several blue-robed monks responded in unison, their backs ramrod straight, not daring to slacken in the slightest—they knew their leader's temperament well, and this matter was of utmost importance and could not be overlooked.

Immediately afterwards, Patrick's tone softened, and he moved closer to Morris with a sly smile on his face.

"My old friend Maurice, you must know this kid quite well, right?"

"I hope you can step in and try to keep him here as much as possible. He can focus on learning magic and grow steadily in the guild. At the very least, don't let him become some kind of damn adventurer."

Morris hesitated for a moment, then told the truth.

"I'll give it a try. Actually, this is the first time I've met this child. Before this, it was my student Dylan who spoke with him."

As they spoke, their gazes turned simultaneously to Dylan, who had been speaking cautiously the whole time.

Under the intense gaze of the two highly respected elders, Dylan instantly became so nervous that his palms sweated, and he stammered out his words.

"Sir, is there anything I can do to help?"

Patrick's wrinkles smoothed out, revealing a relieved smile.

"Good child, I would like to ask you to give him a gift on behalf of the association, as a small token of the association's appreciation."

Dylan felt relieved and quickly and respectfully performed a mage's salute, accepting the order in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir!"

"Hmph~"

Maurice, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but let out a slightly arrogant snort, his voice full of teasing.

"You old codger, are you going to use your usual tricks to win people over again?"

Hehe~

Patrick didn't hide it, a smug grin spreading across his face as he spoke frankly.

"Absolutely! It never fails, haha!"

"Ha ha!"

The two old rascals looked at each other and smiled, and the atmosphere instantly became relaxed and lively.

But then, as if suddenly remembering something, Morris's smile vanished instantly, and his expression became extremely serious.

"By the way, instead of giving Mark gifts, I think you should prioritize dealing with that 'Third Master' of the O'Connor family."

"Third... Master?"

Patrick paused for a moment, then met Morris's meaningful gaze and instantly realized what was going on.

"Zeff O'Connor!"

At this moment, Patrick's face was so gloomy it could drip water, and he slammed his silver-white staff hard onto the ground.

Boom-!

With a loud bang, the magical barrier shattered.

Patrick roared at the crowded people, his barely suppressed rage rising within him.

"Zeff O'Connor! Get out here—!"

As the crowd quietly turned into the corridor, Zefer, who was trying to sneak away, suddenly froze and stopped in his tracks.

The surrounding crowd turned to look at him, their dense gazes piercing him like needles.

Zefer was torn with inner turmoil, filled with regret.

He watched the entire process, from the president's entrance to his whispered conversation with Maurice.

Even after their voices were blocked by a magical barrier, he could still tell from their body language that things were anything but simple.

Now that the president is in a fit of rage and has specifically called him out by name, how could anything good possibly come of it?

For a moment, Zefer was caught in a dilemma and could only lower his head and pretend to be stupid.

But there were always people watching the drama unfold, and a blue-robed mage reached out and pulled Zeph over, deliberately raising his voice to shout.

"Hey! Zephyr! The president's calling you!"

As a result, more and more people looked over, and voices of discussion and urging rose and fell.

"Are you Zeffer O'Connor? If so, get over there right now!"

"Such arrogance! You even dare to disregard the president's words. Don't you want to stay in the association?"

"The O'Connor family has been riding high these past few years, and he's been acting a bit strangely?"

Zeffer was filled with anger and hatred. He hated the people who had dragged him down, he hated Morris's slander, and he hated the source of it all even more—Mark.

Amidst all the rumors and gossip, Zeffer had no way out but to grit his teeth, force a smile, walk up to Patrick, and bow.

"President, you—"

Snapped!

Before Zeffer could finish speaking, Patrick raised his arm and slapped him hard across the face.

Zeffer was sent spinning three and a half times on the spot before crashing heavily to the ground. He covered his swollen cheek with one hand, his eyes filled with disbelief.

hiss--

Everyone in the hall gasped in shock.

President Patrick was always dignified, virtuous and elegant, but I had never seen him so angry.

At this moment, Patrick was so angry that his beard trembled, his eyes were like knives, and he stared at Zeffer lying on the ground, cursing through gritted teeth.

"If it weren't for your older brother's sake, I would have kicked you out of the association long ago! You're just a piece of trash who only gives the association face, get out of here—!"

Zefer finally realized what was happening. Ignoring the excruciating pain on his face, he scrambled into the crowd and fled in a disheveled state.

Then, Patrick slowly surveyed the crowd around him and, with an irresistible air of authority, gave the order.

"From today onwards, no one may mention the distinction between inside and outside!"

"Yes, Chairman!"

Everyone looked like children who had done something wrong, lowering their heads and responding in unison, not daring to breathe.

Seeing this, Patrick didn't linger and turned to leave.

"Hello!"

Morris suddenly called out to him, tilting his head and gesturing towards the golden stars in the dome, and said.

"He should be out soon, shouldn't we wait a little longer?"

Patrick took a deep breath and shook his head heavily.

"No, I have more important things to take care of, so I'll leave this to you."

After saying that, Patrick led a group of blue-robed mages and hurriedly left the hall.

A look of seriousness flashed across Morris's eyes.

He focuses solely on academic research within the association and pays little attention to fieldwork. Judging from the commotion just now, something big must have happened.

After a while, the atmosphere in the hall gradually eased.

Just then, someone pointed at the dome and shouted excitedly.

"Look! Something's changed!"

"Where? Where?"

"It really is moving!"

...

Under everyone's gaze, the star cluster surrounded by golden light slowly unfolded and bloomed like a flower bud waiting to bloom.

Immediately afterwards, a tall figure fell from the center of the star, kneeling on one knee and supporting himself with one hand, like a superhero, and landed steadily on the ground.

At this moment, Mark's originally pale skin became smooth and lustrous, and he was surrounded by a faint golden light, with an aura as deep as the ocean.

Although Mark's eyes were closed, a notification screen was scrolling frantically on his retina.

[Passed "Iluvia's Test" and obtained the class: Tier 1 "Mage".]

[Obtain Class Basic 1: "Novice Magic (Green)"]

Trait "Magic Novice (Green)": Masters magic projection, magic damage +33%.

[Obtain Class Basic 2: "Formal Magic Network Permission I (Green)".]

Trait "Official Magic Network Access I (Green)": Grants free access to the internet and has N spell slots with a ring number of α. (N = Intelligence/2, α = 2 rank)

[Gain Class Base 3: Base attribute "Intelligence" +2/+6.]

[I have accepted Ilúvaira's forgiveness and received the Blessing of Wisdom III.]

[Having accepted Ilúvaira's approval, 'Blessing of Wisdom III' has been upgraded to 'Blessing of Wisdom V'.]

[Detected "Exceptional Intelligence I" bonus; "Blessing of Wisdom V" upgraded to "Blessing of Wisdom V+".]

[‘Wisdom Blessing V+’ Transforms into the class talent: ‘Magic Forge (Gold)’.]

Talent "Magic Furnace (Gold)": Magic capacity +100%, Magic circulation +100%, When the furnace is activated, other energies can be converted into one's own magic power, Magic recovery +300%.

[A conflict was detected between "Magic Forge (Gold)" and "Iceborn Blood (Blue)".]

["Frozen Blood (Blue)" changed to "Frozen Blood (White)"]

"Ice Mark (White)": Charisma +4, Constitution -2