Please be my partner.

The office area is where the college tutors and the student union usually gather. Ordinary students rarely come here on weekdays, so it seems a bit quiet.

Soon, Melen found his mentor Jeroen's office and heard a voice an octave higher from a distance...

"...What? You said the one who wanted to become a [Branded Knight] was a dog?! Jeroen, that's not what you said yesterday!"

"Jeroen, I want to hear your explanation too! Also, you're telling us now just to make fun of us, right?!"

"Explain?! Hehe! Isn't the purpose of us coming to this academy to spread the legacy? As long as you want to become a [Branded Knight], we will teach you. No matter if you are a human or a dog?!"

"That's what I say, but..."

"Okay, it's nothing, don't keep the kids waiting!"

Melen, who was standing at the door, blinked, knocked on the office door, and said, "Teacher Jeroen, Melen is here to visit."

Jeroen's gentle voice came from inside the door: "Come in."

After entering the office, I saw two other mentors besides Jeroen.

One of them was tall, at least two meters and two centimeters tall, and as strong as a small mountain. The loose casual sportswear he wore looked like it would burst at any moment.

Although the other man also looked very strong, he was much more normal than the former. His hair and pupils were fiery red, and he exhaled a burning breath.

Jeroen said with a smile: "Mellen, let me introduce you..."

He pointed at the tall man and said, "This is the mentor of the Qingshan School, Herb Stewart."

He then pointed to the man with fiery red hair and said, "This is Domer Mankiewicz, the mentor of the Blazing School."

Finally, his smile faded slightly, and he said solemnly, "I am the mentor of the Raging Waves School, Jeroen Bartley."

'This seems to be a rather formal introduction.'

This thought flashed through his mind, and Melen hurriedly bowed and greeted the three mentors one by one.

After finishing all this, Jeroen smiled and waved his hand, signaling Mellen not to be too nervous.

At this time, Herb and Domer were already looking at Spike carefully. After the shock just now, they also became interested in the dog who could become a knight.

Jeroen said, "I have something to say first. Although the three of us are receiving instruction in the Branded Knights at the Kingdom's Mystical Academy, we are not actually affiliated with the academy or the kingdom. Our true affiliation is with the Order of the Dusk!"

The Twilight Knights?!

Mellen was a little confused. He thought coming here for Spike to learn the [Branded Knight] was just a simple mentor teaching a student, so why did other forces get involved?!

He asked carefully, "So my... dog wants to become a [Branded Knight], so I have to join the Order of Dusk first?"

Jeroen smiled and explained, "That's not necessary. We, the Twilight Knights, have an agreement with the academy. The purpose is to train more [Branded Knights]."

"Of course, because the third level of the Branded Knight is somewhat special, we will only teach the first and second levels. If you want to obtain the third level inheritance, you must go to the headquarters of the Dusk Knights and complete the test."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Don't worry, these are just some simple tests."

Melen suddenly realized.

There really is no such thing as a free lunch.

After becoming a professional, because core abilities may conflict with each other, changing careers requires considerable effort, and at best one can only switch between adjacent paths.

Just like the royal family of the Kingdom of Kro, they hold the high-level inheritance of all orthodox knights in their hands and widely spread the knight training methods.

In this way, after you become a knight, if you want to get to a higher level, you can only work for the royal family.

All channels for upward mobility are controlled by various major forces.

This seems to be natural!

It can even be said that the original intention of establishing the Kingdom Mystic Academy was for various forces to cultivate their own extraordinary professionals!

Compulsory education and the like really don't exist in this world!

These thoughts flashed through his mind in a flash. Melen nodded without changing his expression and said, "I understand, Master Jeroen."

Jeroen smiled and said, "Then you can choose one of the three schools of the Branded Knight to practice."

After a pause, he added, "Actually, there are far more than three schools within the Order of Dusk. If you are willing to swear an oath and formally join the Order, you can even inherit some powerful esoteric schools."

"This..." Mellen showed hesitation on his face.

Jeroen said gently, "Don't rush to make a decision. Branded Knights have a chance to change their style when they reach the third level. You can make your decision then."

"Okay, Teacher Jeroen, I will seriously consider it!" Melen nodded to show that he understood.

Jeroen said, "Then you can choose a school..."

"My school is Raging Tide, and the elemental power I use is Water. The bonuses in all aspects are relatively balanced, and I have obvious advantages in endurance and recovery."

"Heb belongs to the Qingshan school, using the elemental power of earth. He is known for his defense and physical strength, with a large bonus to strength, but his agility and dexterity are disadvantages."

"Dome's school is Blazing Flame, and the elemental power it uses is fire. It has strong explosive and destructive power, but unless one's physical fitness reaches a certain standard, it is easy to hurt others and oneself."

The three schools all have very distinct characteristics.

Mellen looked at Spike, having already made up his mind, and gave Jeroen an apologetic smile.

Jeroen didn't care. He saw from the beginning that Spike was not suitable for his school, which was why he called the other two mentors today.

He was actually very curious about what choice Mellen would make.

Mellen stood up and walked in front of Herb. Even though the latter was just sitting there, he was almost as tall as him.

He bowed slightly and said, "Teacher Herb, can Spike and I study with you?"

Herb said calmly, "Have you decided? Your pet should be good at defense, right? Adding the Qingshan School to the mix would be a bit repetitive, wouldn't it?"

Mellen replied: "Now that we have decided on the path we want to take, we should push it to the extreme!"

Herb showed a look of surprise. He didn't expect Mellen to answer like this, so he showed a look of satisfaction and said, "Okay! Come with me!"

After he finished speaking, he was about to take Mellen away.

Jeroen and Dormer were already accustomed to Herb's personality and didn't take it seriously.

Mellen bowed slightly to the two mentors and hurriedly followed Herb.

After walking for a while, the two men and the dog came to another office. Mellen's first impression of this office was that it was spacious and simple.

There was nothing except a table and a few chairs, and the documents on the table were arranged very neatly.

After the two of them sat down, Herb said, "You should know the origin of the [Branded Knight], right?"

Mellen nodded.

Heb continued, "That's good. Branded Knights mostly use elemental power. Unlike wizards, we mobilize elemental power by relying on the life force activated by the brand. Therefore, we are more easily affected by the power of elements."

"Those brands are like fixed spell templates. Relying on them, we can release corresponding spells."

"Since you are planning to join the Qingshan School, I have two sets of branding templates for you to choose from: [Juqing] and [Zhongshan]."

"[Giant] is a combination of three marks: [Tenacious Body], [Unyielding Will], and [Gigantism]."

"[Tough Body] strengthens the body with the blessing of the earth element, significantly increasing defense and damage immunity."

"[Unyielding Will] is a rare brand that can enhance mental defense. It not only defends against mental attacks, but also dispels many negative emotions, making one's fighting spirit even stronger."

"[Gigantism], as the name suggests, can enlarge the body to a certain extent, greatly increasing strength and stamina."

"The effect of [Giant Engine] is an enhanced version of the combination of the above three brands."

"[Heavy Mountain] is formed by combining three marks: [Earth Element Control], [Earth Pulse], and [Earthquake]."

"[Earth Element Control] allows you to gain the power to manipulate the earth element. Once you master it, you can cast spells like Earth Spikes and Earth Sinks."

"[Earth Pulse] is a sensory ability that can use the power of the earth to perceive things over long distances."

"[Earthquake] can cause a small area of ground vibration, slowing down enemies or even causing them to fall."

"[Heavy Mountain] can affect gravity within a certain range. Enemies within it will feel as if they are carrying a heavy mountain on their backs, making it difficult for them to move."

"Of the six brands mentioned above, you only need to complete one to attempt to channel the [Life Force] and ascend to become a first-level [Branded Knight]. If you fail, not only will you suffer severe damage, but the engraved brand will also be shattered."

"Once you complete all three types of branding in one set and combine them, it means you have been promoted to the second level."

【Giant】! 【Heavy Mountain】!

Mellen's eyes lit up and it all sounded good.

【Juqing】Needless to say, which man can resist the temptation of "big and thick"? !

[Chongshan] is also good. The ability to control gravity within a range can make up for Spike's shortcomings to a certain extent.

After struggling for a moment, Mellen asked hesitantly, "Teacher Herb, can I only learn one set?"

Herb smiled and said, "Of course not. You can learn both sets. When you have finished imprinting one set, you can come to me to learn the other set."

Mellen was overjoyed, but then asked with some concern, "Then, there's no charge for the extra training, right?"

Hebu smiled and shook his head. "You've already paid the price to become a student at the Kingdom Mystic Academy. As long as you have the ability, you can learn as much as you want. There's no additional cost."

Mellen's heart moved, and he vaguely felt that this sentence seemed to contain more meaning, but these were of no significance to him for the time being.

After thinking carefully for a while, Melen made up his mind and said, "Teacher Heb, I want to learn [Chongshan] first."

Hebu nodded, took out a manual from the desk, and said, "These are the three branding diagrams of [Chongshan]. Take them back and familiarize yourself with them. I have classes later. Come to me in the afternoon and I will explain the meaning of the branding and the method of engraving it to you."

"Okay, Master Heb." Mellen saluted respectfully and was about to leave.

"Oh right!" Heb suddenly stopped him and said, "Do you need a blending fluid to assist with engraving the mark?"

"Blending liquid?!" Melen's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Yes." Heb nodded and explained, "You know the dangers of engraving a brand. The concoction was specially developed by the Knights of Dusk for this purpose. It not only increases the success rate of engraving, but also can avoid the risks of failure to a certain extent."

"Our Qingshan School's special blend is made from precious items like the Heart of a Rock Demon, Earth Stone, Molten Ashes, and Tears of Life. If you want it, you must pre-order it."

Mellen asked hopefully, "Teacher Heb, this blending liquid should also be free..."

Hebu waved his hand and said, "What are you thinking?! This blending fluid is a custom service, so of course it's priced differently! One bottle of blending fluid, enough for one engraving, costs 500 gold coins. No bargaining!"

Mellen: ...

Chapter 31 Teaching

"Yes... yes... no... don't worry... okay... okay... I will..."

In the college's telephone booth, Mellen hung up the phone, looking a little depressed.

In the end, he asked his family for money.

Less than a month after school started, or to be exact, only twenty days, he had already "squandered" nearly 1000 gold coins, something he had never dared to imagine before.

You know, in the Kingdom of Crow, even 100 gold coins is a number that ordinary people can hardly hope for! (1 gold coin can be roughly converted to 2000 RMB)

Mellen originally wanted to explain to Butler Morgan where he had spent all the gold coins, to show that he was not the kind of playboy who would let himself go and spend money without restraint.

But Butler Morgan only asked one question...

Young Master, have all these gold coins been used where necessary?

Mellen replied…yes!

Then, after Butler Morgan said that he would send the gold coins as soon as possible through the channels of Sir Wright's family, he ignored this question and continued to ask about his well-being, such as whether he was doing well in Roland City.

It was this genuine expression of concern that made Melen even more uncomfortable.

Gently patting Spike's head, Mellen smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't be devastated by this kind of thing. However, I have to include making money in my short-term plan."

I looked through my short-term plan list and found that there were quite a few items on it without me noticing.

In fact, Mellen is not a very self-disciplined person. In his previous life, he had no plans or goals and lived in a muddle.

And when he set his goal to see higher and farther scenery, he decided...

Get rid of some bad habits.

Develop some good habits.

Yes, it's that simple!

Traveling through time is a new beginning.

But, starting over does not necessarily require a time travel.

When you realize what you need and are willing to make changes for it, then tomorrow you will be greeted by a brand new and better self!

Mellen stretched himself, cheered himself up, and said to Spike, "Let's go exercise!"