NEC Chapter 57: Farewell Between Master and Disciple

Chen Mo hurriedly finished the meal and took his leave. To be honest, while the Cloudmist Domain’s cuisine was quite refined, to Chen Mo, it

Chen Mo hurriedly finished the meal and took his leave. To be honest, while the Cloudmist Domain’s cuisine was quite refined, to Chen Mo, it

Chen Mo hurriedly finished the meal and took his leave.

To be honest, while the Cloudmist Domain’s cuisine was quite refined, to Chen Mo, it wasn’t much different from the cafeteria fare at Hal’s “rustic mage retreat.”

Escorted by the two mercenaries, Chen Mo rushed back to the mage tower, determined to gather all the weapons and gold coins he could carry. His priority was to secure those healing pills, no matter what.

As Chen Mo busied himself packing, Instructor Morton knocked on his dormitory door.

“Roy, are you leaving?”

“What?” Chen Mo quickly shook his head. “No, no, I still have so much to learn. There’s the year-end assessment, and after that—”

“Roy!” Morton interrupted, his face a mix of regret and reluctance. “You should go!”

Chen Mo froze mid-motion, packing up Little White’s gear.

“Instructor… Teacher, did I do something wrong?”

Morton raised a hand gently, and a soft breeze closed the dormitory door. The faint glow in the room illuminated the deep furrows on the middle-aged mage’s brow, like rugged mountains.

“No, Roy, you’ve done wonderfully. Among all the students I’ve taught, your talent isn’t the greatest, but your diligence is unmatched in my lifetime!”

“I’m proud to have taught you. I even considered recommending you to Master Hal to become his disciple.”

“I believe your future achievements will surpass mine and perhaps even Master Hal’s!”

Pausing briefly, Morton let out a deep sigh. “But that’s only if you had no other options. When I saw the invitation you received, I realized, Roy, you deserve a far greater future. Your future isn’t here!”

He walked to Chen Mo’s bed, sat down slowly, and patted the edge. “Sit.”

Chen Mo, looking bewildered, sat down, and Morton gently patted his back.

“Roy, here, you’ll always face an inescapable problem, your identity… it’s not clean!”

“Your enrollment procedures gravely violated federation law. It’s… illegal!”

“This will be a stain on your record. Someday, when you rise to become a shining star across the cities, this stain could be the pretext your enemies use to attack you.”

“It shouldn’t be like this, Roy!”

Morton grew more impassioned, his face flushing under the lamplight. “Your talent is solid, your effort is extraordinary, and you’re destined to become a great figure in the kingdom, a noble of renown. You must walk upright and stand tall, not let these shadowy matters derail your bright future.”

“Since you’ve made connections with foreign nobles, you should seek them out. Join a grand mage tower openly or enroll in the Crescent Moon Magic Academy, walking a legitimate path upward!”

“Besides, my teacher is only a fourth-tier mage. The future he can offer you is limited!”

Morton spoke hurriedly, panting heavily. His eyes locked onto Chen Mo’s with unprecedented sincerity, urging him on.

“I truly hate to see you go, but Roy, you must leave!”

“The sooner, the better!”

“Go!!!”

A rush of blood surged to Chen Mo’s head.

He looked at Morton’s earnest face.

This man, whom students called rigid, stiff, dull, and uninteresting, a mage who, due to an injury, could never advance further, with no wife or children, seemingly spending his remaining years scraping together funds to build Master Hal’s mage tower, stirred an indescribable warmth in Chen Mo’s heart.

He wanted to say, “It’s fine, I don’t care. I want to stay here!”

But reason told him Morton was right.

Chen Mo had been so immersed in learning magic and honing his spiritual cultivation that he’d overlooked the rules of this world, which Morton clearly understood better.

As long as he carried the identity of “Roy,” he would forever be a lawbreaker in the Crescent Moon Federation. One day, federation guards might appear at his door, coldly presenting him with shackles.

At any critical moment, whether it was Captain Seg, Deputy Director Vincent, the real Roy whose identity he’d usurped, or even the ever-attentive Kato by his side, any one of them could turn and bite him.

In the Crescent Moon Federation, Chen Mo had no legitimate standing!

Seeing that “Roy” seemed to understand, Morton nodded with relief. “After you left today, I’ve been preparing.”

“Go, go quickly. I’ll file with the federation that a student named Roy suddenly stopped attending. That’s the truth!”

“Remember, I’ve never met you, and you’ve never met me!”

Morton’s expression was a mix of melancholy and fervor. He pulled two thick scrolls from his robe and handed them to Chen Mo.

“You’re destined for greatness!”

“Here are two notebooks. One contains my insights on magic from years of practice. The other, I know you’ve always been keen on necromantic summoning. A Sunlight Group instructor specializes in it, so I borrowed his notes and copied them for you.”

“Take them. They might come in handy someday.”

“Oh, and before you leave, stop by my cabin. I’ve prepared some cultivation materials for you to use gradually.”

As Morton stepped out of the room, Chen Mo watched his teacher depart, a sense of desolation lingering in the air.

But having made his decision, Chen Mo didn’t hesitate. He began dismantling the weather station, retrieving surveillance probes, recalling the sample collectors, and packing up the solar panels and charging station…

There was a lot to handle. Chen Mo quickly organized, stowing critical equipment and materials in Little White’s chest cavity, filling it to the brim. The rest he left to Luke and Little John, who were waiting outside, to serve as porters.

Before leaving, Chen Mo visited Morton’s potion room.

Since many potions couldn’t be exposed to sunlight, the room was perpetually dim. The middle-aged mage sat alone in the faint light, his figure slightly hunched.

“You’re here?” Morton forced a smile, laboriously dragging a large sack from under the table, likely containing over a hundred portions of magical materials.

Chen Mo placed a bag on the table.

“Forget it, keep it,” Morton said. “You’ll need money out there. I’ve already earned plenty from you these days!”

Chen Mo grinned. “Old rules, if you don’t take the money, I won’t take anything!”

“Besides, with this money, the mage tower you’ve been dreaming of for Master Hal should be within reach.”

Morton’s eyes widened. He lunged forward, opened the bag, and was dazzled by the glint of gold coins.

“Are you insane?!”

Chen Mo waved dismissively. “Don’t worry, Instructor. Money’s not an issue for me!”

“What you’ve done for me is worth far more than this. Measuring it with money feels crude, but I’m a crude guy, what can I do?”

The brief master-disciple pair exchanged a few more words of advice before parting.

At the door, Morton called out to Chen Mo one last time.

“Roy, you probably won’t use that name anymore, will you? Can you tell me your real name? Otherwise, when a dazzling star rises on the continent, I won’t even know it’s you!”

“Sure. My name is Chen Mo.”

“Chen Mo… Alright then, Chen Mo, farewell!”

“Teacher, farewell!”

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