Super Righteous Player
Chapter 975 - 33: Pain in the Heart of 13 Xiang

Chapter 975: Chapter 33: Pain in the Heart of 13 Xiang

"You don’t have a mentor of your own, so I will be your mentor."

Isaac seriously said to Shi San Xiang, "I really despise soul-reaping wizards, but I don’t discriminate against soul-snatching spells. The reason I despise soul-reaping wizards is that despite their extremely strict review standards, some scum always manages to slip through.

"On one hand, this prevents us from discriminating against all soul-reaping wizards—since most of them are upright, trustworthy, reliable teammates. But precisely because of this, if one or two extremely deceitful villains slip through, there’s no way to guard against them.

"I can’t manage them, but I can make some contributions within my capabilities. I will do my utmost to train you—not just in spells, but also in morals. Although my experience with soul-snatching spells is only as a victim, I will also learn alongside you—if you have any questions, you can ask me.

"Whatever I know, I will tell you. If I don’t know, I will learn it then teach you."

Isaac said with utmost seriousness, "I have only one request—you must not fall into corruption. You are my student, and I have the right to discipline you... even if Duke Annan tries to stop me."

Usually, the Wizard’s Tower does not actively pursue wanted black wizards.

Because no matter what, it is very dangerous. Wizards do not have robust physiques, and even a wizard of the silver rank could be assassinated by a single arrow if ambushed.

Even though wizards have strong sensory abilities, they are basically unable to detect an assassination from fifty meters away—or even if they do notice it, they might suddenly be confounded, and their bodies do not react in time.

The Wizard’s Tower itself is not accountable to the king or the dukes. And those deployed to hunt down black wizards are usually trustworthy... These wizards are truly the wealth and strength of the Wizard’s Tower.

What if something goes wrong?

On the other hand... These students become like this, fall into corruption due to external temptations, and it is somewhat related to their mentors. In the Wizard’s Tower, mentors have to teach students spells and, at the same time, the principles of being a person.

Because they are really young, truly "little wizards." They are in the critical period of forming their personal values.

The little wizards who enter the Wizard’s Tower are generally not very old. When they graduate from the Wizard’s Tower as bronze-ranked transcendent beings, they are usually around the age of college graduates on Earth.

Provided they have sufficient talent, they can advance to the silver rank by the age of thirty, which is about the same age as earning a Ph.D. Among all transcendent beings, this is also the fastest average promotion speed.

Roles like warriors or stealth classes might even struggle to advance to the silver rank until their fifties or sixties. Those who can advance to the silver rank are either extremely skilled with the sword or have rich combat experience and are not young.

But wizards are different.

They start attending school from the age of eleven or twelve and live in the Wizard’s Tower until their twenties. It is a dense environment of transcendent beings, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that geniuses are everywhere.

In terms of rarity, bronze-ranked transcendent beings are about at the undergraduate to graduate level, while the silver rank directly corresponds to beyond the Ph.D.—because the silver rank is genuinely a "professor."

And the gold rank, basically, are important figures who can "name themselves"... like the legendary "naming-tier" researchers, such as Mendel or Lorenz.

Even in this profession, it’s highly unlikely one will encounter them in their lifetime. If one could meet and talk with them for a bit, it would be something to boast about.

And bronze-ranked wizards are those who seem very strong to an outsider but actually can’t do much research and have no reputation; even after graduating from the Wizard’s Tower, they still can only be corporate drones.

Transformation, idol, and modeling schools can take some commercial orders and start a business if their studies aren’t too poor—they still manage to find work.

But for wizards of other schools, if they can’t become "public servants" and get employed, they’re basically considered unemployed. Even if they find a job, it often has little relation to what they learned in the Wizard’s Tower.

Yet, they indeed have powerful suppressive force over ordinary people and hold immense destructive power in their hands.

This is also why there is a very high probability of black wizards emerging among destructive wizards. Just like before, among the black wizards controlled by the Dream Stealer in Noah’s Royal Capital, three out of every ten belonged to the destructive school.

Part of the reason is that they tend to be hot-tempered and more or less have self-destructive impulses.

But actually, the direct reason is usually that they can’t find decent jobs and, relying on their identity, are unwilling to take up ordinary people’s jobs. They can only take high-paying illegal commissions... and after being discovered, they are forced to become black wizards.

Generally speaking, wizards who fall into corruption are mostly concentrated at the bronze rank—largely because they have not experienced the harsh reality from mentors and society.

But among all the dark wizards, the Soul Snatching wizards were a special case.

Destruction wizards could be wanted for indiscriminate murder, and Transformation wizards might be involved in creating illegal products... but Soul Snatching wizards had rich "criminal experience" from a young age.

Soul Snatching wizards were highly knowledgeable in psychology. They could administer psychological therapies on themselves, so they did not fall into corruption easily due to external blows and setbacks like Destruction wizards.

Once they fell, it generally indicated that there was a serious issue with their personalities.

While they were studying, they learned how to deceive others, how to control people’s minds, and how to use Soul Snatching Spells for reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance.

If they decided to use their expertise to break the law... they weren’t easy to catch anytime soon. Nor would they behave recklessly like other dark wizards; instead, they became subdued, cunning, and venomous.

And anyway, murder would definitely accumulate some psychological pressure.

For other professions, this psychological pressure might only cause depression or anxiety. It might even disappear over time.

But in the case of hunting down a Soul Snatching wizard, this could become extremely dangerous.

A Bronze-Tier Soul Snatching wizard could awaken the negative emotions of others. If the target specialized in emotional manipulation, then accumulated negative emotions could be instantly triggered—resulting in madness, corruption, or even instant death.

Therefore, this task could only be handed over to experienced Soul Snatching wizards who could always use positive Soul Snatching Spells to adjust their psychological state.

And as the custom spread...

Some Soul Snatching wizards simply implanted suggestions in their students’ minds.

This was to prevent being unable to find or overpower a fallen former student—before the student’s power surpassed their own, the suggestion could not be erased.

"But I won’t mark you. It’s not that I can’t, but that I don’t want to - I believe that using this method won’t truly help you understand what you should and shouldn’t do."

Isaac said with utmost seriousness, "Other schools may emphasize willpower, inspiration, or wisdom... but the most important talent in the Soul Snatching School is morality.

"Only a Soul Snatching wizard must become a saint. Otherwise, they are merely tools—or dead. You must pay a price for possessing forbidden techniques."

"...I understand, teacher."

Thirteen Fragrance nodded earnestly in response.

"—Don’t worry, teacher!"

Before Isaac could respond, Husky chimed in, "He’s too good-hearted, otherwise I would have starved long ago."

"Indeed, love is also one of the ropes that keep morality intact."

Isaac’s attitude towards Husky visibly warmed up; he nodded in agreement, "If he falls... no, if you discover he’s trying to betray you, you can come to me at any moment."

Thirteen Fragrance: ?

"Wait, teacher," Thirteen Fragrance suddenly realized Isaac might have misunderstood something, "We’re not in that kind of relationship..."

Isaac was immediately outraged, "As a Soul Snatching wizard, that’s playing dumb! You know how irresponsible it is not to make commitments!"

Thirteen Fragrance: ???

He suddenly felt very bitter inside.

Annan, watching the drama unfold, was almost laughing foolishly.