When Mr. Gravity returned to the auditorium, the melancholy on his face was so pronounced it could almost speak for itself, leading all liches to wonder if he might be the first to have ever rediscovered the emotion of concern.

Mr. Stasis shifted to the left, offering to Mr. Gravity a crudely hewn, barely square, stone seat.

"You know, Gravity, the look on your face could make me mistake you for a fresh recruit of the Advanced Magic Research Society, not a professor. You look as if you’ve just published your first academic paper, filled with uncertainty and apprehension," he said.

Facing his colleague’s jest, Mr. Gravity scoffed.

"When I first joined, I was far better off than now. Uncertainty and apprehension? During my first academic gathering, what filled my mind was nothing but the arrogant belief that no one else but me should do it. Mentoring apprentices is far harder than conducting research."

"Mentoring apprentices isn’t tiresome, think about others, Gravity, you worry too much over this," another said.

Mr. Gravity looked at the colleagues seated beside him—all six professors to date, except for Mr. Apocalypse, who needed to manage the society, including himself, had experiences in passing on knowledge. However, after much contemplation, he still chose not to use the experiences of others as a template.

"Your experiences hold no value for me to consider," he said decisively.

"Stasis, you and Death Star, have completely adopted a laissez-faire policy. Although liches lack anything resembling a sense of responsibility or conscience, apprentices do willingly choose their own mentors. But, well, I don’t wish a moment’s inattention on my part to end up leaving my apprentices as nothing more than stone sculptures or, worse, mere dust..."

The pursuit of knowledge requires a price, a concept akin to a basic law within the Advanced Magic Research Society. The macro forces the society researches are dangerous powers that could shred them, insignificant as they are, to pieces in the pursuit of knowledge. Death Star had seen his own mentor and apprentices pay such a price, and so his understanding of this phrase ran deep. Thus, the disillusionment of apprentices failed to stir him—they simply needed to be chosen with the utmost care.

Mr. Stasis, possessing a shred of conscience, was plagued by guilt over his apprentices, which had led him lately to research methods that transcend time.

Feeling like the comfort he was offering his colleague had suddenly turned into a display of his own shame, Mr. Stasis quickly changed the subject.

"What about Electromagnetism and Fear? Their apprentices are developing quite well, Gravity, you could discuss some teaching methods with them," he suggested.

Mr. Gravity looked at Mr. Stasis as if to ascertain whether he was joking, then replied with slight irritation.

"How could I learn from them? Those two are The Chosen."

"The Chosen?" Mr. Stasis searched his mind for an understanding of the concept, but could not find such a term.

"Rather than learning their teaching methods, you might as well let me snatch away those two apprentices, Laser and Bold. Electromagnetism and Fear, not to put too fine a point on it, but if, Stasis, your educational responsibility is the size of an apple, then mine is the gravity that causes the apple to fall. As for them, they are the lucky fools upon whom the apple has fallen, entirely devoid of anything like responsibility."

"Laser. Electromagnetism chose him and taught him practically nothing. Three months later, by merely observing experiments, Laser grasped some of the basics of electromagnetism and became his assistant outright. Bold—Are you sure he wasn’t brought in by Fear as a nanny to take care of him? I, too, wish for an apprentice who learns all on his own just to take care of his professor."

"Do you think I haven’t tried to bring Nameless to observe gravitology experiments to pique his interest? What was the result? My gravitology lab turned into a disaster zone for tornados, although by accident, it created a vacuum. But that brat got bored after just one week."

Mr. Gravity covered his face with his hands, "Even though Nameless has improved a bit recently compared to before. How should I put it? That guy, you know he once belonged to the Destiny Research Society, right? His behavior has a certain... randomness. It’s hard to predict what he will do next, as many of his actions seem aimless. It’s like he’s just... wasting his time."

"That’s called being neurotic. Don’t worry, for a lich researcher, that’s a compliment; you can say it outright," Mr. Stasis reassured him.

"Alright, Nameless is a bit neurotic, more than just a bit. Stasis, can you imagine? Nameless once discussed theological issues with me at the Advanced Magic Research Society! Sometimes I truly wish I were a figment of fiction myself, so I could strangle that deity known as the Silver Sage he always has on his lips."

"Just thirty minutes ago, Nameless used Old Witch Doctor’s organ divination to assess the fortune of his match, then sat back all relaxed with his eyes closed to rest up. By the heavenly bodies above, he’s just a second seal—why isn’t he the slightest bit nervous?"

"Gravity, the ’Magic Lock’ set, is not very applicable to the Advanced Magic Research Society," Stasis reminded his colleague, a fact that had been emphasized by the society’s president, Mr. Apocalypse.

"That’s assuming Nameless has his own ’Rules.’ For now, the words of a scholar mentor still apply to him," Gravity sighed. "To ensure the accuracy of inner organ divination, I gave him my latest experimental results when we decided to let him compete. If he trains seriously, he should be able to achieve a respectable ranking."

"You’ve passed on your latest technological achievements to your apprentice?"

"Hey! I did give him the manual properly, that thing is not very lethal, it’s actually quite good for self-defense."

"I’m not worried about Nameless’s safety... never mind, let’s just say I am," Stasis was quite certain that Gravity had undergone some kind of change after coming into contact with Nameless, becoming more human, which should be considered a good thing.

"I remember your research project is about simulating celestial bodies?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Yes, the magical equipment I gave Nameless is an upgraded version that simulates a constant star."

"Simulating a galaxy."

"Alright, now I’m starting to worry about his opponents."

The conversation between Stasis and Gravity came to a pause when Death Star, sitting in front, looked up and leaned back, clearly having overheard the lich colleagues’ conversation.

"Actually, you’re totally worrying about nothing, Gravity. When Nameless joined the Advanced Magic Research Society, his future was already destined; he’s going to be one of us. You’re just flustered because you care. Nameless gets along well with apprentices like Laser. What does that tell you? They are cut from the same cloth."

"Nameless will become a proxy just like us."

Gravity seemed somewhat relieved.

"I hope you’re right, Death Star."

Then, Gravity seemed to remember something.

"Death Star, how do you know that the youngsters are on good terms with each other privately? Even we mentors don’t know much about our own apprentices. How could you, who don’t give a damn about your own apprentice, care about others?"

Death Star did not answer but just looked skyward at a forty-five-degree angle, gazing at the clouds.

"They are all good seeds indeed."

Gravity remembered that after his own apprentice had passed away, Death Star had made moves to poach other professors’ apprentices. After all, apprentices approved by a professor were certainly qualified, and it would be easy for them to switch disciplines.

Gravity secretly decided to keep his apprentice Nameless away from Death Star; it was too dangerous.

Nameless was fiddling with dark matter and the like.

As Gravity was lost in thought, the war drums of the Black Abyss Arena sounded once again.

The first battle of the Advanced Magic Research Society was about to begin soon.