While Donnie was still struggling to stand up, the sudden knock interrupted them, and they both turned to look at the door.

 The door was half open, as half of the wall it was in had collapsed. The examiner wearing the ancient magic robe was looking at them with an expressionless face.

 Donnie’s face also felt numb, but he really wanted to ask him what took him so long to arrive, just like what often happened in those TV series that cops and knights always came so late after all the problems had been solved.

 The gray-haired necromancer held a black notebook in his hand, and the way he looked at them was rather cold. He started writing on his notebook as he said, “Mutant stitched body, made from mostly low-rank materials… Power close to grand knight level. Best among these years. But the body was out of control, so some scores should be taken away…

 “Common stitched body, fully used the mummy arm… Power equivalent to a knight… Stopped the mutant stitched body twice. Very good for an apprentice, and the body was under the absolute control of the maker…”

 Donnie was shocked. So the examiner was just looking? Why didn’t he help? Did he trust Karl that much? Or was it also a test?

 “So, that means we passed?” Brades, who preferred to be called Karl, asked in surprise, “In fact, I tried out ‘the Original Body’ when I was making it, to make it fly, but it turned out…”

 He kept talking and talking, which made Donnie feel totally speechless. Basically, he admitted that he did not plan on making a mutant stitched body and that this whole thing was just an accident. It turned out that the thing was a twisted, weird dead body with unusual strength! How could he confess that?

 The necromancer had amber-colored eyes, and they looked a bit muddy. He looked down at his notes and said in a rather peaceful tone, “You two could make them, which means both of you know the materials well.”

 Donnie finally realized that his answer paper had been destroyed by the miasma of the monster, but fortunately, the examiner could tell it.

 “The result will be available with the rest of the subjects. Check them on your own later,” said the necromancer who had put away his notebook as he had zero interest in sharing Karl’s fascination.

After the necromancer turned around, he paused and said, “It does work better shouting out ‘help’ than relying on yourself…”

 Donnie’s face flushed instantly. His cries were so anguished that they were much worse than the cries of those girls who saw ghosts in school. And he had always considered himself fairly calm most of the time.

 But it also relaxed his body. He could finally stand up.

 “Sorry I didn’t help you there. I was so caught up in my self-introduction. How do you feel? Move your arms and legs. See if there’s anything wrong,” said Karl.

 His silver-purple eyes looked gentle again, and they were like two shining ponds in the sunlight. Donnie had to look away. The world had been confusing to him.

 “It seems that you’re mentally traumatized. It shouldn’t be like this… A mutant stitched body shouldn’t be able to hurt you mentally, apart from the deterrence of death… Did I miss anything?” Karl murmured.

 But he soon grinned and said, “I know. You’re just startled. Sorry. The examiner just interrupted my self-introduction. I’m Brades, and my father gave me the name, which means ‘a happy person’ in the common tongue, but I actually prefer…”

 Donnie hurriedly cut him off, “‘Karl’. You prefer people to call you Karl. I know.”

 “Very good! You’re the first one who remembers my name so fast!” Karl smiled, and his eyes were like two crescents. “So, my biggest target right now is to become a real man. I don’t know your name yet, but I suppose you’re a student from Nature’s Heart, right? Look at the magic robe on you. Are there many elves in your school? Last time, when I visited Stroop Forest, the Elder told me that more and more elves started to accept human beings and that they were willing to seek a sustainable way of living with human beings…”

 “I’m Donnie,” Donnie answered straightaway. Karl’s face and his charming male voice bugged him. He wished that Karl could just stand there and remain silent.

 “We should go now. The exam has ended,” said Donnie.

 Karl clapped his hands and nodded. “You’re right. We can talk on our way. Your stitched body was good, but you can use some theories at a higher level, say, the Original Body. I used it.”

 “What is it?” Donnie asked out of curiosity.

 “The Original Body came from the rite called ‘Life Traceback’ and the concept of ‘Origin’ in the ancient Meshkate Empire. They believed that…” Karl went on and on and still had not finished when they walked out of the magic tower. “His Excellency Thanatos became a top legendary because of his success in making ‘the Original Body’…”

 That wasn’t something that Donnie could get to know from the radio, Tv programs, or even his teachers. Although the many concepts made his head dizzy, he was still showing great interest. The only thing he wished was that Karl could be briefer.

 At this time, he suddenly realized that this wasn’t some kind of information that an apprentice should know. Was Karl someone important? Were there knights or guards secretly protecting him nearby?

 He looked around, as if those guards were staring at him behind the trees along the street and that they were pointing their Gauss rifles toward him.

 Fine beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, and he felt a bit cold in his back.

 “Donnie, you got it?” Karl asked him.

 Donnie stammered, “What… What?”

 “You didn’t get it? Fine. I’ll start all over, no worries.” Karl looked even more excited now.

 Donnie’s head buzzed. “I think I’ve got a general picture.”

 “I see.” Karl stopped himself, feeling a bit disappointed. When he was not happy, he looked much more serious and dignified.

 Donnie was even more nervous now. He wondered if the guards would pull their triggers anytime. Would he be left with a complete body?

 “You know… Actually, I think you’re more like a knight. I think your strength can compete with that of a grand knight.” Donnie tried to switch the topic. In his mind, he believed that Karl was as strong as a dragon.

 Karl looked a bit shy. “I’m okay.”

 He then wielded his right hand and casually hit a tree beside them.

 Bang!

The tree snapped right in the middle and collapsed to the ground.

 Donnie almost dropped his chin.

 “That’s my best, you see? Only a tree.” Karl laughed and patted Donnie’s shoulder.

 Donnie felt that his guts almost came out.

Karl looked more serious now as he said, “A knight always has to face the ultimate problem sooner or later, which is to face himself and explore himself. Therefore, arcana and magic are the most important. Also, what makes me want to go to the Heidler Magic Academy is that I’m trying to change my look by modifying my ‘genes’. Well, you know ‘gene’, right? It’s a concept put forward in the manuscript called ‘What Is Life’. Have you ever read it? It’s a masterpiece in the microscopic domain as…”

 The muscles in Donnie’s face twitched slightly when Karl did not leave him a chance to answer anger. He hurriedly asked before Karl went even further, “Change your look? I know many magic potions that can do this. I think you can afford these kinds of potions. They’re permanent.”

 “Well, don’t you think I’m actually quite good-looking?” Karl smiled.

The smile made Karl’s face look even more gorgeous. Donnie could only nod, feeling stunned.

 Karl continued, “Those kinds of magic potions will do too much to my perfect face. What I’m trying to do is to make myself look more like a man, but not doing any fundamental changes! Then I’ll be a very good-looking man! I’ve always had this wish. My mother wished that she would have a daughter when she was pregnant…”

 “What does that have to do with your mom?” Donnie was feeling less nervous now that he realized he basically didn’t have to do anything as long as he was willing to listen. Karl was willing to share everything, and in this perspective, he was very easy-going.

 Karl looked at Donnie and said, “Like spiritual power, willpower can also change matters, and thus, change genes…”

 He was about to give a lecture again.

 “That’s quite a powerful and horrible willpower…” Donnie blurted out.

 Karl chuckled dryly and said, “I gotta leave now. I’ll see you at the Heidler Magic Academy. I’m sure you’ll get in because of your stitched body…”

 Karl walked away, leaving Donnie there alone.

 Donnie felt that Karl was in fact very easy to get along with.

 At this time, Donnie suddenly recalled something. Karl told him that a mutant stitched body shouldn’t be able to hurt him mentally, apart from the deterrence of death… But how did Karl get to know that?

 Donnie was totally lost.

 Behind one of the biggest trees along the street, a knight had put away his rifle and said in low voice to someone else via an alchemical item, “Find his information. Don’t miss anything. We gotta be cautious.”