In this regard, Ross continued to remain silent. He lowered his head and rolled his eyes. He was not sure whether "McCard" was testing him or if he really just accidentally asked in advance.
But how to answer, Ross was a little hesitant. It was related to his future and destiny. Whether to regret it or not was not a difficult choice for a spell caster.
But Rhodes didn't want to do that. During this time together, he had been impressed by the knowledge and magnanimity of the so-called "newcomer" McCard, and he was unwilling to say perfunctory or even deceptive words.
After thinking about it, Ross finally followed the truest choice in his heart, "Sir, I need to seriously consider this matter, but one thing I can guarantee is that I will never be an enemy of you."
"Okay, tell me your choice after you complete your promotion!"
Xia Duo did not force the other party to make a choice on the spot. In fact, Ross's answer seemed to him to be very sincere. If he were a villain, he might have agreed well now, but he might have turned his back immediately afterwards.
Furthermore, what he needs is a collaborator who is willing to cooperate sincerely and proactively, rather than a passive coercion forced by the situation.
If Ross doesn't want to, he really won't do anything to the other party, he will just be a little disappointed.
There are currently fourteen assistant researchers in the laboratory. If most people agree, Xia Duo will laugh out of his sleep, because that means that at least twenty-eight high-level mages will follow his arrangements and conduct the research he specifies.
Of course, the more people who agree, the better it is for him.
Ideally, there can be up to 14*(1+3)+3=59 high-level mages conducting various research under his arrangement.
This is simply awesome!
It is foreseeable that once he leaves this projection plane, Xia Duo will not have such good research conditions for a long time in the future.
…
Time flies.
Two days later, Huck successfully advanced to the rank of Arcanist. Combined with his experience in at least three "good" evaluation projects, his application for promotion to the rank of Level 1 Researcher was quickly approved by the superiors.
The Hacker Laboratory was established!
On the same day, Sha Duo proposed an outsourcing plan to Huck's laboratory for the "Improvement and Expansion of Teleportation Spell Response Mechanism Based on Magic Network Background Fluctuation Positioning" project, which Huck readily accepted.
At the same time, Xia Duo's own preparations for the trial production of the spell chip were all in place.
But on this day, after reaching an outsourcing agreement with Hacker Laboratory, Shaduo suddenly received a notice from the management center saying that there was a group of new apprentices that McArdle Laboratory needed to accept.
The so-called apprentices are actually formal mages.
Most of them are low-level mages, and a few are already mid-level mages, and all of them have been upgraded in a way similar to the Tower of Time level promotion test. They are not spell-casting tools who only know individual spells of relevant levels.
Each laboratory in the institute will be assigned a certain number of apprentices. If one of them can become a high-level mage or arcanist, the researcher will be rewarded with corresponding points.
These apprentices have been screened at the academy stage, and being able to enter the academy shows that they are the best among their peers.
Assigned to various laboratories, in addition to serving as a de facto magic battery, they sometimes also provide constructive opinions on laboratory projects.
It can be said that there is almost no laboratory that does not welcome apprentices. Of course, assistant researchers may not welcome them because it will take up too much of their time to guide apprentices and they will not receive fair compensation from formal researchers.
But here in Xia Duo, he does not welcome the arrival of apprentices.
The project he is currently arranging for everyone in the laboratory is difficult to complete even for a high-level mage, not to mention the additional conditions mentioned above, and it will not be completed easily.
If he hadn't followed up on the progress of the project and given constant guidance, he really doubted that any one of these projects would have been unfinished in the end.
When apprentices come, the assistant researchers will be distracted and their precious time will be wasted. This is difficult for Sha Duo to accept.
Perhaps these apprentices may be helpful to the project, but the possibility is not high. If they are simply used as a spell battery, they cannot make up for the losses they cause.
Xia Duo doubted whether some level 1 researchers who opposed him were causing trouble, because counting the time, it was not yet time to graduate from the Magic Academy.
The most obvious evidence is that, as a newly established laboratory, Huck Laboratory has no apprentices.
Only Xia Duo was arranged. It was difficult not to make him think about it. If he didn't graduate and enroll in advance, would those apprentices show up?
Moreover, he also has doubts about the quality of the apprentices. If he is given more crooked melons and cracked dates, the proportion of high-level mages that appear in the end will be too low, which will be another troublesome matter.
But Xia Duo couldn't say anything against it, because these systems were reasonable and in line with the overall interests of the empire's survivors. They were supported by everyone, and the superiors would not allow him to object.
At the same time, Xia Duo himself could not find a reason to object. Could it be that he was worried that the apprentices would affect the progress of the laboratory project?
Others are also affected, why don't they say anything?
This will make his situation more difficult, and some people may have to review his rank and authority again.
"Why is it so difficult for me!"
After slandering, Xia Duo could only ask the Rhodes Management Center to bring the people back. A total of twelve people were arranged according to the normal number of people in the laboratory.
Otherwise, according to the ratio of one senior mage to three apprentices, and arrange for dozens of people to come over, then there will be no need to work in the laboratory from now on, and everyone will take their children with them.
You must know that although there are more than a dozen assistant researchers in the McCard Laboratory now, they will be promoted and leave.
When the time came, dozens of apprentices would pile up in the laboratory, all asking Xia Duo to take care of them. Thinking about that scene really made him feel physically and mentally exhausted.
After such a comparison, it seems that these twelve apprentices are not difficult to accept now!
…
Not long after, Rhodes brought back twelve young people, nine boys and three girls. With a wave of his hand, Xia Duo arranged them to observe the various project teams and left them there for a short time.
As long as they do not interfere with the progress of the project, it will be treated as if twelve new potted plants have been added to the laboratory.
After doing this, Xia Duo looked at the apprenticeship information that Ross brought back. Although he graduated early and was admitted early, he finally didn't get anything wrong with him.
"Gene Era"
Among these twelve people, four passed the intermediate-level mage assessment, and although the remaining eight failed to pass the intermediate-level assessment, they were only a few points short.
If this were placed in the Tower of Time, they could now complete the upgrade through the ring promotion trial and become mid-level mages.
If nothing unexpected happens, these twelve people can become high-level mages in as little as two or three years, or as slowly as three or four years.
