Returning to his dormitory, he immediately blocked out the outside world and sank into the deep sea of his consciousness.
"DSeek, the influx of clients has exceeded expectations. The one-on-one model will consume too much time and energy, conflicting with the first phase of my learning plan. Establish an optimized service model."
[Model construction in progress... Based on existing data and risk assessment, generating product proposals:]
[Product 1: "Introductory Diagnosis." Price: 1 Low-Level Magic Stone.]
[Service Details: Five-minute, one-on-one rapid consultation. Provides core breakthrough strategies targeted at single Rune construction issues.]
[Strategic Objectives: Quick monetization to cover time costs; large-scale collection of freshmen's Spiritual Power model data through standardized processes; filtering out valuable clients to funnel into higher-tier services; establishing an "instant results" word-of-mouth effect.]
[Product 2: "Basic Rune Mutual Aid Group."]
[Model: Membership-based. Price: 15 Low-Level Magic Stones/month.]
[Service Details: Two group tutoring sessions and one specialized Q&A session per week. Provides standardized training plans and manuals for avoiding common mistakes.]
[Strategic Objectives: Establish stable cash flow; form a closed community; leverage the group effect to reduce unit service costs; limit personal influence to a controllable range to avoid unnecessary attention.]
[Product 3: "Personalized Academic Path Customization."]
[Model: Maximum of three people per month.]
[Price: 50-100 Low-Level Magic Stones.]
[Service Details: Based on DSeek's comprehensive analysis of the target's Spiritual Power talent, knowledge structure, and resource background, provides a one-academic-year "optimal clearance" study plan, detailed down to the week.]
[Strategic Objectives: Generate high profits; establish deep, binding relationships with promising apprentices to lay groundwork for the future.]
Allen examined this three-tiered product line. Every component supported the others, forming a perfect closed loop.
This system would allow him to act like a precise surgeon, accurately carving out the exact piece of the cake he needed from the massive freshman cohort, while simultaneously minimizing his own presence.
The name "Mutual Aid Group" was excellent. It sounded harmless and spontaneous, full of the rustic, helpful spirit of apprentices.
The next evening, outside public practice room A-7.
Before seven o'clock had even arrived, over twenty people were already sparsely scattered in the corridor. By exactly seven o'clock, the number had surged to nearly fifty.
They gathered in small groups of three or five, their faces revealing a mix of anticipation and suspicion. Lester Green was prominently among them. Pushing his chest out like a proud guardsman, he continuously boasted to those around him about Allen's "divinely inspired" guidance.
Allen arrived on time, dressed in a clean and neatly kept Apprentice Robe. Ignoring the gazes of the crowd, he walked straight to a table inside the practice room.
"Line up," he spat out the two words.
The apprentices caused a slight commotion, but quickly and spontaneously formed a long, meandering queue.
The first to step forward was a tall, skinny boy with a haggard expression, his dark circles so heavy they looked painted on.
"What's the problem?" Allen asked without even looking up.
"The Force Field shaping for 'Wizard's Hand'. I... I can never stabilize its form, and it consumes an enormous amount of Spiritual Power." The boy rubbed his hands nervously.
"One Magic Stone."
The boy hurriedly swiped his identification card against Allen's. A faint glimmer flashed, and a Low-Level Magic Stone was added to Allen's account.
Transaction complete.
Only then did Allen lift his eyes to look at him. "Cast it once for me to see."
The boy clumsily began to cast the spell. DSeek's calculations were completed in an instant.
[Root Cause of Failure Speculated: Incorrect Spiritual Power output mode. Attempting to construct the complete hand model all at once caused multi-thread operation collapse.]
"Your problem isn't shaping; it's the process," Allen's voice clearly reached the boy's ears. "First, build an Energy Ring at the wrist as a foundation. Then, extend five Energy Beams from that foundation to act as fingers. Only after that should you fill the skeletal frame with a Force Field. Construct it step by step."
The boy was stunned. He had never heard of this approach before. Textbooks and mentors only emphasized the final result.
"Go to the side and try it," Allen said, gesturing to the next person.
Half-doubting, the boy walked to a corner and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, his eyes snapped open, his face filled with unbelievable ecstasy. Though still a bit rusty, a blurry silhouette of an energy hand—composed of five fingers and a wrist ring—was actually floating steadily before him!
This scene was witnessed clearly by those waiting in line. A suppressed gasp of amazement erupted from the crowd.
"Next." Allen's voice carried not a ripple of emotion.
One, two, three...
The entire process was astonishingly fast. Allen was like a highly efficient machine; no "patient" stayed in front of him for more than five minutes. He could always pinpoint the root of a struggle that had plagued them for days, or even weeks, with just a sentence or two.
"The trick to a 'stable grip' isn't to sense the weight—that's what people with Spiritual Power talents do. You should set a 'pressure threshold' for the Force Field, letting it wrap around the object like a self-inflating airbag, instead of trying to grab it with a hand."
"Your Meditation efficiency is low because your breathing rhythm is out of sync with your Spiritual Power tide. Try pausing for a second at the end of your inhale before dispersing your Spiritual Power."
Every piece of guidance struck straight at the vital point—simple and direct, yet so effective it made their scalps tingle.
The apprentices who received his advice stepped aside to practice, and without exception, their faces lit up with sudden realization and wild joy. The difficult problems they had wasted so much time and so many Magic Stones on—buying recovery potions and engaging in ineffective practice—were resolved here in just five minutes, for a mere single Magic Stone.
"Is this a genius..." someone at the back of the line murmured.
While conducting the diagnoses, DSeek was also operating rapidly in the background, tagging every apprentice who received a consultation.
[Oliver Page: Medium Spiritual Power control; strong learning ability. Recommended for inclusion in the "Basic Rune Mutual Aid Group".]
[Fiona Clark: Family crest on robe sleeves; wearing a "Calm Heart Ring" (estimated value 30 Magic Stones). Showed interest in long-term planning questions. Recommended as a potential client for "Academic Path Customization".]
[Marcus Bell: High total Spiritual Power, but impatient and lacks a solid foundation. Suited for the "Basic Rune Mutual Aid Group" for systematic correction.]
Over an hour later, the last apprentice received his answer. Forty-seven Low-Level Magic Stones lay quietly in Allen's terminal, but this was merely the appetizer.
More importantly, a detailed big data model library encompassing nearly fifty freshmen had already been established in DSeek's database.
He cleared his throat, and the practice room instantly fell silent.
"Starting today, I will be forming a 'Basic Rune Mutual Aid Group' to help you systematically solve all the course difficulties you encounter during your first month of school."
The moment his voice fell, everyone's eyes lit up.
"Spots are limited to twenty people. It operates on a monthly fee system: fifteen Magic Stones per month. There will be two group tutoring sessions and one intensive Q&A session every week. Later, I will send invitations to the candidates I deem suitable. If the invitation is not confirmed within an hour of receipt, the spot will automatically pass to the next person."
Fifteen Magic Stones! This price made some people draw a sharp breath, but even more were calculating rapidly. A single Spiritual Power recovery potion cost five stones, and it only allowed you to fail a few more times. Fifteen stones bought a month of smooth sailing; it was countless hours and energy saved. Anyone could do this math.
Someone in the crowd immediately shouted, "I'm signing up!"
"Me too!"
"Please wait patiently." Allen did not immediately accept their requests. The initiative of selection had to be firmly held in his own hands.
Shortly after he left, the commotion in the practice room did not subside for a long time.
Meanwhile, on the second-floor corridor of another building in the academy district, a young man wearing a dark Advanced Apprentice Robe was leaning against the railing, gazing far off in the direction of practice room A-7.
"Draven, what are you looking at?" his companion beside him asked.
The young man called Draven did not turn his head. His features were handsome, but his eyes carried the shrewdness of a merchant. He was the one selling advanced notes for 2.5 Magic Stones a copy.
"An interesting freshman," Draven's voice was steady. "Instead of using a sickle to steal my wheat, he just opened a bakery."
His companion didn't understand the metaphor.
A sliver of an arc pulled at the corner of Draven's mouth. His notes business had seen a sales drop of nearly thirty percent in recent days. He initially thought the market was saturated, until he saw that post about the "Pointing" Rune and heard about tonight's "paid consultation."
His own product was fish, while what the other guy was selling was custom-made fishing gear.
"Look into this Allen Wesren for me," Draven said, turning around, his words carrying a chilling bite. "I want all his public records, including his talent assessment report, his background, and who he's close to."