"... It has nothing to do with the seed."

"Once the seed is planted, it is beyond anyone’s control."

"Therefore, why the young man wasn’t affected is something we don’t know until we have specific test data. The one thing we can confirm is that he is definitely a very valuable research subject."

In the office of Doctor Duzem at the Abnormal Life Research Institute.

The door is tightly closed.

Professor Montreya sits on the high-back chair across the desk, legs crossed, fingers interlocked on his knee, exuding a relaxed and natural aura from inside out.

After hearing his analysis, Doctor Duzem raises his head, revealing two dark eye sockets.

"Indeed, indeed."

He murmurs, but the glass rod in his hand continues to stir in the cup, two black and white eyes with bloodshot veins rolling gracefully in the viscous eye wash: "You were right before. I admit, I misjudged... this child is indeed very special... perhaps this is also why Qingqiu and Zhongshan favor him."

He enunciates the words ’Qingqiu’ and ’Zhongshan’ slightly emphatically.

The meaning is clear—similar to prior discussions, he still opposes targeting the students, especially one so extraordinary, especially since that student is now a formal employee of the First University.

"Rest assured, in the short term, I won’t do anything to him."

Professor Montreya clearly understands the unfinished meaning of the doctor, chuckles lowly: "He is now a teaching assistant on the edge, I have ample space and time to observe, to see if that seed has truly disappeared within him, to see what kind of Wizard he truly is... But as you told him before, ’we cannot make any conclusion based on simple observation alone.’"

"I still don’t understand why you would take such a big risk and choose to plant the seed at the banquet. During that period, you should know, he was already a teacher at the Edge Academy..."

"People at the edge are not our people."

Professor Montreya clasps his hands, with a hint of sentiment in his tone: "As for why, I can somewhat guess the mindset of those kids. Probably things have been smooth recently, so they got careless, thinking a second-year student would be easy to handle. Or, perhaps, they thought the chaotic banquet, the noisy sounds, alcohol, delicacies, etc., were excellent cover..."

Doctor Duzem stops stirring the glass rod, seriously interrupting the professor’s words: "You know my question wasn’t about ’why’ in that sense."

The professor gazes at the eyes in the cup, falls silent for several seconds.

"Because I believe he will make a good Raven." He answers softly: "A seed would be the best bond between him and us. We provide him the lab’s highest quality seed, with a very high level of completion. Even if some uncontrolled ’side effects’ occur after merging with that seed, the lab has sufficient Magic Potions to suppress them..."

"Then for survival, he must cooperate to some extent with the Ravens?"

Doctor Duzem chuckles, helping the professor extrapolate the progression of the story: "... Although initially there might be slight displeasure between you, as the seed sprouts, the young man will be surprised to find his Magic Power and flesh undergo a transformation every moment. This visibly increasing strength consistently offsets his resistance. Until eventually, cooperation benefits both sides, and collaboration proceeds smoothly."

The professor remains silent, not denying this possibility.

Doctor Duzem hesitates slightly, changes the direction of his words: "But I once heard a Wizard say that a momentary accident is an incident, but over time, an incident will turn into an eternal tragedy. Ordinary people attacked by wild Werewolves or Vampires face such tragedy; Wizards bitten by Demons and forced to fall face such tragedy... Accepting your seed, becoming a Raven’s experimental subject, also faces such tragedy."

"If our transformation experiment succeeds, these tragedies can be avoided." Professor Montreya’s right index finger flicks lightly, a faint wave of Magic Power ripples from him as the center, yet is ingeniously confined to the study, not even lifting a single page of grass paper.

Doctor Duzem stares with those dark eye sockets.

Several thick strands of blood ooze from the corner of his eyes, resembling Little Snakes meandering among the wrinkles on his face.

"Ah, indeed."

He murmurs, instinctively restarting the stirring of the eyes in the glass cup, his voice somewhat dry: "As long as it succeeds... haven’t congratulated you yet, for becoming a Big Wizard."

Though without eyes, Professor Montreya still sensed a gaze from those dark eye sockets, laced with ’envy’ and ’jealousy.’ 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"You will also surely achieve your wish."

The professor draws back his arms, facing the owner of the lab directly: "As I always promised, after the experiment succeeds, you will receive your own piece of ’Real Flesh.’

This statement is more useful than any comfort.

Doctor Duzem finally stops stirring the glass rod in his hand, extends two fingers, reaches into the measuring cup, and pinches out his eyes, one after another, placing them back into his sockets.

The viscous eye wash splashes everywhere due to his slightly rough actions, making his entire face appear soaked.

Then the doctor raises his head, closes his eyes, waits for the nerves beneath the eyes to be reconnected one by one.

A moment later, he opens his eyes, stares fixedly at the guest across the desk, raises a hand, and a thumb-sized piece of Transparent Amber flies out from some corner of the room, with a crimson, gem-like crystal floating in the center.

"This is the fragment of the Philosopher’s Stone refined from that pint of blood. Although I’m unsure why, as a Big Wizard, you still need it, but I must remind you, it is no longer a pure Philosopher’s Stone. The turmoil in the Black Prison and the inundation of legendary presence has made its nature very elusive. Of course, I employed many purification methods, sufficient to meet most experimental requirements."

After speaking, the doctor waves, tossing the Amber towards the guest, his attitude suddenly becoming much rougher: "Now, immediately, leave my laboratory!"

Professor Montreya flips his hand and stows the Amber away, smiling faintly.

"No worries, although I’ve just advanced recently, avoiding the notice of those higher-level Wizards is still achievable." Saying this, he pauses, his tone becoming much more serious: "Tonight, I am here to discuss another matter with you, related to the Edge Academy."