Wizard: Unlimited Profession Slots Chapter 1305 - 520: Apprentice’s Dilemma (Part 3)

"It’s like... a very faint echo?"

"That’s right." Ron nodded encouragingly:

"Metal has a memory; every forging, every use, leaves marks within its molecular structure.

Your metal arm can read these ’memories,’ something pure-blooded humans or pure-blooded Stokers find hard to achieve."

"But Master, how does this perception help in actual combat?"

Gareen’s question was realistic:

"I’m not an archaeologist; what’s the point of knowing the weapon’s history?"

"Let me explain from another angle."

Ron took a standard longsword out from his storage bag, a standard piece of equipment he bought in the Main World:

"This sword was mass-produced in a factory and has never seen real combat.

Now, try to perceive both swords simultaneously and tell me what the difference is."

Following Ron’s guidance, Gareen touched the practice sword with his left hand, while his right metal arm reached for the standard longsword.

A few seconds later, his expression turned serious:

"The practice sword... is very active, full of chaotic information. The new sword is very quiet, almost imperceptible."

"That’s the difference."

Ron began to elaborate on the deeper meaning:

"The practice sword went through countless trainings, absorbing techniques and experiences from various users.

If you can learn to interpret this information, it’s equivalent to gaining the battle wisdom of your predecessors."

This explanation made Gareen’s eyes light up.

But Ron’s next words surprised him even more:

"Actually, the true value of this ability is not in reading the weapon’s memory but in reading the memory of your own metal arm."

"My metal arm?"

"Exactly." Ron’s tone grew profound:

"You should be well aware of the arm’s former owner.

His combat instincts, skill memory, and even intuition for danger are deeply imprinted in the metal’s molecular structure."

"If you can learn to resonate with these memories, it’s like gaining the guidance of an invisible mentor."

Gareen stared at his own metal right arm, now more puzzled.

"But... does that mean I am still myself?"

This question touched on the core dilemma of identity.

"That’s exactly what you need to learn to balance," Ron replied with his personal style:

"Resonance is not replacement, but fusion.

You are still Gareen, just with a richer experience source.

Just like learning the knowledge of predecessors doesn’t make you lose your own thinking ability."

In the following time, Ron guided Gareen in deep meditation, attempting to establish a deeper connection with the ’memories’ in his metal arm.

The process was not smooth.

In initial attempts, Gareen could only feel chaotic emotional fluctuations—anger, pain, unwillingness...

"These negative emotions are too strong."

He wiped sweat from his forehead: "Each contact feels like I’m about to be devoured."

"Because you’re trying to resist them."

Ron corrected him:

"Those emotions are not enemies but reflections of a warrior’s last moments. Try to understand them rather than fear them."

.........

Personal guidance for Lira posed a completely different challenge.

This half-blood Three-eyed Race girl’s problem was not a lack of ability, but overly strong capabilities.

"Each usage of the third eye feels like being swamped by a flood of information."

Lira described her distress painfully:

"I can see too much... everyone’s emotions, every plant’s life state, and even historical echoes within buildings..."

"Such all-encompassing perception makes it impossible for me to focus on anything."

Ron observed carefully the third eye on Lira’s forehead, indeed more refined than the similar organ of the pure-blood Three-eyed Race.

"Your third eye, besides inheriting the multidimensional perception of the Three-eyed Race, also possesses human information processing capability."

He analyzed:

"This combination allows you to perceive multiple levels of information simultaneously but also causes the problem of information overload."

"So, is there a solution?"

"Yes, but you need to learn information filtering and priority sorting."

Ron used magic power to draw a rune array on the practice room floor:

"This is my improved ’Perception Focusing Array,’ which can help you train selective perception."

The rune array displayed a layered ring structure.

The inner ring represents core focus targets, the middle ring is secondary information, and the outer ring is background noise.

"Stand at the center of the array, then try to only focus on information within the inner ring’s range."

Lira followed the instructions and walked into the array center.

When she opened her third eye, the previously chaotic information flow became orderly.

She could clearly perceive Ron’s emotional state, while surrounding environment information was effectively filtered.

"This feeling... is amazing!" she exclaimed excitedly:

"It’s like finding a clear melody amidst the noise!"

"This is just the first step," Ron continued to guide:

"The real goal is to achieve this focusing effect without relying on external aids."

"This requires a lot of practice and a deep understanding of your own ability’s Traits."

.........

As personal guidance courses deepened, the apprentices began to feel subtle yet important changes.

Gareen’s metal arm was no longer just an emotional burden.

Although he still couldn’t fully read the battle memories within, he was already able to feel the arm’s ’suggestions’ when faced with different situations.

Lira’s third eye also became more controllable.

Though she still needed the support of the rune array, she was able to perform brief selective perception.

Other apprentices also made their respective progress.

Sied learned to establish initial resonance with more energy types;

Alfred’s temperature control became more precise, and the flames more stable.

But these advancements were gradual and not easily noticeable.

On a more practical level, personal guidance took up a lot of the apprentices’ autonomous training time.

Some apprentices began to have doubts.

"Mentor Ralph’s methods are indeed interesting, but my magic casting speed doesn’t seem to improve."

During the break, Alfred complained to his companions:

"Before, I could cast Fireball three times in a row, and now it’s still just three times.

But according to the academy’s standard progress, at this point I should barely be able to cast a fourth."

"I have the same concern," another apprentice agreed:

"Although my physical condition feels better and the magic power circulates more smoothly, the specific ability value doesn’t seem to have a noticeable improvement."

This doubts spread privately.

The apprentices were indeed impressed by Ron’s teaching philosophy, and the concept of "resonance" allowed them to experience something different.

But within the academy environment that emphasizes quantitative indicators, it’s inevitable to have suspicions about training methods with no direct data increase.

"Maybe Mentor Ralph’s methods are more suitable for long-term development?"

Lira tried to advocate for Luoxi:

"As he mentioned, true growth requires time to precipitate."

"The problem is, we don’t have that much time."

Gareen’s words expressed everyone’s concerns:

"Monthly ability tests, quarterly progress evaluations... If our data doesn’t meet standards, we might be downgraded in training standards or even lose the academy study eligibility."

This realistic pressure put the apprentices in a conflicting mindset.

On one hand, they indeed felt new possibilities from Ron’s teaching;

On the other hand, the pressure from quantitative indicators forced them to consider more straightforward training methods.

.........

Two weeks later, the academy held its annual duel tournament.

This was a traditional activity of the Vindar Colony, aimed at testing the apprentices’ ability to transform theoretical knowledge into practical combat skills.

The rules of the match were quite simple:

Each apprentice could choose a weapon and use their most proficient rune to perform a temporary enhancement, then proceed to duel.

Victory judgment not only looked at combat results but also evaluated the innovation and skill level in rune application.

The entire academy’s hybrid apprentices would participate, with Ron’s class grade having forty-three contestants.

The competition was held at the academy’s circular arena.

The audience seats were filled with students, mentors, and representatives of the residents in the colony.

Vindar’s Void Remains projection appeared on the VIP seats, its silver eyes scanning the entire venue.

"This is an important moment to test teaching outcomes."

Ella whispered beside Ron:

"The teachers will evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching methods based on those apprentices’ performances."