But Marjorie was obviously used to it, and she quietly waited for Archibald to finish speaking.
"This one here is...?" Archibald asked, looking at Colin with curiosity.
"Good morning, mentor," Colin said, placing his right hand on his chest and bowing slightly.
"I am the new apprentice, Colin Leonard." He handed the white paper to Archibald.
Like his voice, Archibald was an elderly man, his face layered with wrinkles as deep as tree bark.
"New apprentice?" Archibald asked slowly, taking the white paper with a hand as gnarled as tree roots.
If he didn't remember incorrectly, it had been almost ten years since a new apprentice had joined... But, in any case, it was always a good thing to have new apprentices.
After looking at the white paper, he slowly nodded.
"Welcome, new apprentice."
Then it seemed he got stuck, Archibald suddenly fell silent... It had been too long since a new apprentice had arrived, and for a moment, he couldn't quite remember what to do next.
"Mentor," Marjorie hastily spoke up to remind him, "You need to help Colin officially activate his badge, and then record Colin's information on Nado."
"Oh, right," Archibald nodded in realization, then he paused and added, "Also, since Colin joined the School midway, he needs to be taught the Meditation Method."
Then, he turned around and extended his hand toward Colin, "Give me your School Badge."
"Yes, mentor," Colin resisted the urge to make a sarcastic remark and took out his School Badge to give to him.
Archibald removed his own badge, which was pinned to his chest, and placed it alongside Colin's.
Colin keenly noticed that on Archibald's feather badge, aside from the three silver feathers like his own, there were also two golden ones...
He had not expected Archibald, who was unremarkable in appearance, to be a Second Rank Wizard!
He was shaken inside; Allyn had given him little information, and only now did he learn that Archibald was a Second Rank Wizard!
"All right."
A moment later Archibald handed the badge back to him and explained slowly, "The badge is now officially activated, and you will be able to use it to record, query, and spend your academic points."
Patiently waiting for Archibald to finish speaking at his leisurely pace, Colin raised his head and asked, "Mentor, what exactly are these academic points?"
"You can think of academic points as the School's Magic Stones; if you wish to learn knowledge later, aside from some basic courses and the ones I teach, the rest will consume academic points."
"In addition, some of the unique items of the School usually require academic points to exchange."
"I see, thank you, mentor." Colin nodded.
Choosing a mentor did not mean that all knowledge would be learned from the mentor thereafter.
In fact, the real role of a mentor was to provide targeted answers to apprentices' questions about their practice and to pass on some unique knowledge.
Most of the other knowledge was mainly learned through free or paid courses offered by other Wizards of the School.
"Next... Ah, onto the Meditation Method." As Archibald spoke, he leaned over to take a transparent crystal the size of a thumb from a drawer next to his desk.
"This is the Tin Saint School Apprentice's Meditation Method." Archibald handed the crystal to Colin and then asked, "Why don't you take a look at it now, then try to practice it, and I'll guide you through it?"
"Yes, mentor, but I haven't yet dissipated and converted my previous Magic Power..."
"No matter, let's first get you familiarized with the Meditation Method."
"Okay." Colin nodded slowly and began to examine the Meditation Method carefully.
Meanwhile, Marjorie took this opportunity to present to Archibald the issues she had recently encountered in her own practice.
Time ticked away, moment by moment, and about two hours later, Colin opened his eyes.
He was ready.
But since Archibald was still answering Marjorie's questions, he did not hurry to speak up and instead began to listen.
He was a bit curious as to what Marjorie could have asked that required such a long explanation.
"The role of the Immortal Order Flower is not to neutralize, but to overlay..."
'It seems to be a problem related to Magic Potion preparation,' Colin listened attentively.
But soon, he lifted his head, somewhat speechlessly.
Archibald's speech was not only slow, but he also often paused for a long time between sentences... It seemed that the lengthy duration was perhaps not due to the complexity of Marjorie's issues, but simply because Archibald spoke at a leisurely pace.
Another while passed.
They finally finished explaining.
"Colin, are you ready?" Archibald turned his head to ask him.
"Yes, Mentor," Colin nodded.
"Then come here," Archibald gently waved his right hand, as if speeding up time. In front of him, a sapling went through the stages of rooting, sprouting, branching, and growing in an instant, eventually becoming a natural chair.
The whole process had not a hint of fireworks, and Colin couldn't even detect any fluctuations in Magic Power.
"Sit down," Archibald continued to instruct.
Colin did as he was told.
Seemingly remembering something, Archibald waved his hand again, and the giant tree outside the floor-to-ceiling window stirred; a branch quickly extended.
Under Colin's astonished gaze, the branch passed through the air and directly through the "floor-to-ceiling window" to reach in front of him.
Then, an Immortal Order Flower slowly bloomed atop it.
'It turns out that it's not a glass window, but more akin to a kind of Force Field that simulates the properties of other materials, like Steel Armor,' Colin realized.
"Choose a finger to place upon it. Nado will record your breath and fingerprint," Archibald said.
"Okay," Colin complied.
The touch of the Immortal Order Flower felt cold and soft, just like any other flower at first… but upon closer inspection, he could feel as if countless tiny tendrils were caressing the spot where his finger touched.
Don't think too hard... Colin shook his head, not finding the sensation pleasant.
Fortunately, the Immortal Order Flower retracted quickly.
"Now, relax, don't resist, and follow my guidance to circulate the Tin Saint Meditation Method," Archibald continued, placing his palm virtually in front of Colin's chest.
The core of Magic Power is located in front of the human chest, while a Knight's Life Seed is positioned to the left or right of the lower abdomen.
Colin slowly closed his eyes.
The next second, his heart trembled.
"Focus," Archibald reminded.
"Yes, Mentor."
Releasing a breath, Colin gathered his thoughts.
If dabbling with a new Meditation Method was like fumbling in the dark before, now with Archibald's assistance, it was as though the environment had transformed to daylight, complete with real-time navigation!
And so, under the guidance of Archibald, Colin quickly circulated the Tin Saint Meditation Method once through.
"That's it, remember this sensation, it will at least save you half of the initiation time," Archibald withdrew his hand.
"Thank you," Colin stood up, sincerely pressing his hand to his chest in a salute to Archibald.
A flicker of joy crossed his mind.
What Archibald didn't know was that with the help of the Golden Paper and his assistance, Colin had already mastered the basics of the Tin Saint Meditation Method with just this one circulation!
"Uh-huh," Archibald nodded, "That's the enrollment process, as for some other trivial matters and things to note..."
He turned his head to look at Marjorie who was still at the side and said, "Marjorie, that's up to you."
"Of course, Mentor," Marjorie responded without hesitation, then turned to look at Colin.
"Let's go, I'll take you for a tour of the School," he strode towards the door.
"Mentor, I'll be leaving now," Colin bid farewell to Archibald.
After seeing him nod, Colin turned and quickly followed Marjorie's pace.
"Pick up the pace, Colin. After we have toured the School, there are still many important matters to discuss with you..."
"By the way, do you have a place to stay in Neustadt City?"
"..."
"Aren't we supposed to live at the School?"