Faced with Dierth's complaints, Mosido did not respond immediately. He waited until Sain had left the living room and entered the laboratory, the sound of the door closing behind him, before slowly replying, "It should be possible."
"Dean Martin and the others began planning this over a century ago. I arrived fifty years ago, and in that time, I've seen quite a few promising youngsters grow."
"Given the current quality and standards of the Black Magic Academy's apprentices, meeting Dean Martin's requirements shouldn't be an issue," Mosido mused, running his fingers along the cup on the table before him.
The liquid in the cups on the table between the two official black magicians was no ordinary drink—it was a high-grade meditation potion personally concocted by Dierth. Not only did it accelerate the recovery of a magician's mental energy and enhance the quality of meditation, but it also had a refreshing and pleasant taste. For apprentices, such a potion would be an unimaginable treasure. But for these two official black magicians, it was merely a beverage to relieve fatigue.
Mosido, Sain's mentor, had never been so extravagant in the past. However, since forming a secret alliance with Dierth, he had gained access to many similar potions from this beautiful female magician. Likewise, Dierth had recently been asking Mosido to craft a high-quality magic artifact for her in his spare time.
The two black magicians were each getting what they needed, and both were masters in their respective fields. By working together, they could maximize their gains from the otherworldly plane beyond the spatial rift when it eventually opened.
Though Mosido and Dierth were relatively well-off among black magicians due to their expertise in alchemy and potion-making, they still paled in comparison to the official magicians on the surface who were backed by the Sage Towers.
With more abundant resources and richer knowledge, those magicians within the Sage Towers were the fastest-growing forces in the wizarding world.
Mosido was already over eight hundred years old, with only a little over a century left before reaching his lifespan's limit. He was still far from becoming a peak first-tier magician, let alone advancing to the second tier.
At the same age, many magicians in the Sage Towers had already reached the second or even third tier, while he remained stagnant at the first.
This disparity stemmed partly from the black magicians' lack of resources and isolated knowledge exchange, but also from Mosido's own excessive focus on alchemy, which had gradually led him astray from the true essence of magic.
Senior disciple Zorro believed that Mentor Mosido valued the second disciple most and had once regarded him as his successor. Even Mosido himself had thought so. But looking back, among all his disciples, the one who resembled him the most was actually Zorro.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph. I heard that Walter and the others who went to the surface for the raid were discovered."
"Dean Dadaron found two magic imprints on the floating ship," Dierth said.
"Oh? Was it an ordinary magician organization or the Sage Tower?" Mosido tensed.
"Unclear. Probably just ordinary magicians."
"If it were the Sage Tower, those two wouldn't have made it back," Dierth replied, shaking her head.
"Hmph! The Sage Tower magicians already monopolize over eighty percent of the wizarding world's resources. Are they now encroaching on the underground too?" Mosido said indignantly.
Dierth nodded in agreement. "Not only that, but the Sage Towers also take the vast majority of promising apprentice candidates."
"Hmph. I heard the Sage Tower Academy's admission standard is an initial mental strength of at least ten points."
"How many of the apprentices Walter brought back even meet that?"
"If it weren't for that, Dean and the others wouldn't have lowered the entry requirements for apprentices," Dierth lamented.
"The Black Domain of the Western Isles also sets the apprentice standard at an initial mental strength of ten points—a reliable benchmark our wizarding world established since ancient times."
"Though initial mental strength doesn't determine an apprentice's ultimate achievements—what truly defines a magician's power is their wisdom—it does dictate how quickly they can begin their training."
"If you ask me, the Sage Towers of the wizarding world are nothing but hypocrites."
"Where do those Sage Tower magicians come from? The nobility! It's all becoming a game for the aristocracy."
"Meanwhile, in the Western Isles, though the environment is harsh and resources scarce, the Black Domain's magic academies recruit from all eligible children within their controlled territories."
"Tell me, which system is fairer?" Mosido sneered.
Though both Mosido and Dierth hailed from the Black Domain of the Western Isles, the region was vast—far beyond what two official black magicians could fully explore.
Mosido and Dierth originated from two peripheral island continents within the Black Domain. However, Mosido had once ventured deeper into the Black Domain's magic academies for further study, giving him a broader perspective on its inner workings compared to Dierth.
This also meant their views on certain matters differed significantly.
Dierth prioritized personal and immediate gains, while Mosido, though usually reserved, occasionally pondered deeper implications.
Of course, Mosido's words weren't entirely unbiased. The differences in recruitment standards between the Black Domain and the Sage Tower academies on the main wizarding continent stemmed from multifaceted considerations beyond mere "fairness."
Moreover, the competitive nature of the Black Domain's apprentice system…
Both black magicians had lived through it. Though neither had clawed their way up from a pure black magic academy like Andis, their apprentice days had undoubtedly been brutal—shaping them into the stubborn, ruthless figures they were now.
As the topic turned to apprentice recruitment standards, Mosido, with his broader experience in the Western Isles, sighed again.
"Though I despise the Knight Halls of the wizarding world, at least their squire recruitment is open to all humans—regardless of status."
"On my way from the Western Isles, I passed several commoner knight academies."
"They say this reform traces back to an ancient, peerless knight who single-handedly pushed for its adoption across the wizarding world."
"I wonder if our magician community will ever produce such a figure," Mosido mused.