A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 371 Don't Call Me Principal

"My demand remains the same: secrecy, absolute secrecy. If anyone finds out what you were involved in after you leave this room, not only will our cooperation end here, but your life will also be over. Mr. Martin, I have never coerced you, have I?"

Martin put on the necklace: "That's right, Mage Rorschach, you're a fair man. I know that power always comes at a price."

Rorschach waved his hand: "Don't say that. It makes it sound like I'm doing some evil experiment. I'm just doing academic research, and you're the volunteer, understand? I'm showing you the failed example to be honest and open, hoping to make you aware of the dangers. I assure you, I will never let you put yourself in danger until a safe method for transplanting microorganisms is found."

Mr. Martin, a local Stockholm enthusiast, was moved. He grasped Rorschach's hand and said, "You are my role model! You are my guiding star!" The guiding star is probably an idol in the sense of a past life, but it may also have religious connotations.

I'd rather be an ordinary entrepreneur than some idol or cult leader—it'll ruin everything, you know?! Rorschach shook off Martin's hand and formally assigned him a job:

"Being a volunteer is just one aspect of your resume; internships require real work! Let me be blunt, your resume is largely fabricated!"

Martin was extremely ashamed; he felt he had let down the great philanthropist: "Mr. Rorschach, I admit that Miss Hannah Vogel actually taught me how to do the accounting on the spot."

"It's alright, I have other plans. Do you know about newspaper editors? Future Trading Company is setting up a newspaper company with two newspapers: Kempson Steelworkers and Byrne Gossip. They need writers like you. Since it's a startup, you'll be an editor, reporter, and writer all at the same time."

"No problem! It's great that you're still willing to give me a chance!" Martin seemed to have forgotten that during the internship, he only received room and board and no salary, but that didn't diminish his gratitude.

The reason he was singled out was because Luo Xia found his doggerel terrible! Terrible is good, it means he doesn't have a literary pretentiousness, or at least when he does, it won't be too severe: "Regarding the content, I have a special requirement—your press releases or any other written materials must be read aloud to an uneducated old woman, so that she can understand what's going on before they can be submitted."

It was indeed a strange request, but what could an intern complain about? Martin happily agreed, and after another round of disinfection, he went out to find Hannah.

The testing of magical talent was carried out simultaneously with the new school's admissions and internship recruitment, and even a small-scale investigation of the factory's employees was launched, creating a file for each person.

This kept Andrei extremely busy, as the fewer people involved in the related work, the better. For incoming freshmen and their parents, there was only one explanation—test your child's IQ.

Don't understand? This is a test to see if your child is stupid or dumb!

In any case, the publicly announced results are only three: smart, very smart, and extremely smart, released randomly. If a child's grades are poor in the future, the teacher will comfort the parents: "This child is actually quite smart, just didn't study hard." If the parents actually believe this, Teacher Luo Xia will also say: "The child's great intelligence must be inherited from you!"

But he's not a teacher anymore, he's a principal now!

The former technical school of the Metallurgical Association was upgraded to "Bain Southern Industrial School" and officially opened. It also had an affiliated basic education college. It was a combination of primary and secondary school, but the compulsory education period was not that long. The school taught for three years first, and after an exam, the most intelligent students were screened out. The remaining students studied for another two years. Those with excellent grades could directly enter the industrial school, or they could ask the principal to write a letter of recommendation to see if other universities would be willing to accept them.

Yes, there is no "college entrance examination" now, but a letter of recommendation for "large-scale fair competitive assessment and unified enrollment methods for higher education institutions within Bain" is already on its way to the royal palace.

"Principal!" Andrei, who had noticed Luo Xia's obsession with the school and had a keen sense of smell, had already adopted a new form of address and used it the first time he entered the office.

But this time he guessed wrong. Rorschach, who didn't want to be banished to the island, didn't like the name: "Just call me Rorschach from now on. We're not that far apart in age."

"Yes, Professor Rorschach. Here are all the test results, and the statistical table you requested is also ready."

Rorschach glanced around and saw that among the more than 400 new students in the primary and secondary school age group, there was a child with outstanding magical talent who was capable of directly entering the Tower of Arcane Arts as an apprentice, and another child who was talented but less so, about the same level as Andrei.

Among the interns at the three companies and the Baldorom Trading Company, there are 2:312, including Hannah and the second son of a minor nobleman. They have not received any magical education, and their peers among the apprentices are more skilled, but with Rorschach's assistance, their spellcasting is sufficient.

In the last three steel plant work teams that were randomly checked, there was not a single one.

Although the sample size is still small, Rorschach roughly estimates that the proportion among children is basically in line with the "three per thousand" proposed by the master Cano, while it is slightly higher among those who have received a university education. Is it because their brains are more mature? Or do they have a deeper understanding of the world?

And there were none of the laborers. Perhaps the more they produced, the more numb and frail they became.

"Thank you for your hard work. Use the teaching materials I provided for now, and adjust them as needed based on the actual situation." The teaching materials Luo Xia mentioned sounded familiar to Andrei, as they were materials from the Valuwana Higher Normal School's past. They might not be suitable for all children, but the school had just opened, so adjustments were necessary. Fortunately, they still had teachers and lesson plans from the old guild schools and free schools.

However, Andrei was the best person to teach them, as Rorschach was only familiar with his own "Basic Alchemy".

"Should I learn the art of creating clones?" Andrei joked.

"You're right, it's necessary. But I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on the school for me during this period."

Rorschach's words surprised Andrei: "Then, doesn't Lanster need me for their new factory?"

"I'll do the work. Magic is currently being overused in crafting. If every factory requires large converters and mithril alloy wires, the construction costs will be extremely high and it won't be replicable. Besides, compared to regular skilled workers, where are we going to find so many mages and magic apprentices to maintain our alchemy equipment? At least not right now."

"Therefore, we need to optimize gradually, retain the important and irreplaceable magic arrays, and gradually find alternatives for other protective magic arrays and heat sources. We should replace the protective measures with better steel and pressure-bearing designs, train more workers, and reduce the current burden on the tower spirits."

"Only when the students of this school mature and people who do not have magical talent but can understand magic join the factory can more magical techniques be applied to production."

"You're right."

Rorschach stood up and packed his things: "Before I leave Kempson, I'll attend a few classes."

(End of this chapter)