Chapter 160 - Master Pt III: (Deciding Factor, Yes!)

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nSomewhere else, another Master-disciple pair were having a much more harmonious... interaction.

nEmilin released a sigh after everything was over and wished his big brother all the best before disconnecting.

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"Are you really Master M?

" Levi ask again cautiously so that his boss wouldn't have to do so.

nXander's gaze that hadn't left Emilin showed how he too was awaiting a response.

nEmilin looked at them both before responding.

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"Yes, I am indeed M.

"

nEmilin didn't intend to hide anything, and she didn't find it strange at all that they were shocked.

nIn this situation, it would be best if she gave them some time right?

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"Oh...,

" Xander looked down at his own hands as if counting with them before his eyes widened.

n*Cough* *Cough*

nThe remaining water and saliva were coughed out by Xander and he seemed out of breath.

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"So you were 5?

"

nThis was a little too absurd.

nThis feeling could not be compared to the one he felt just a few moments ago when he figured that TWO was eight years old when they first met.

nXander had once thought that he was a genius, but now he understood how others felt when looking at him, feeling as if they were still a kid playing in the mud.

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"Yeah, it took quite a while for me to be able to start typing things with those stubby fingers of mine back then. Those reports were a pain to write,

" Emilin's face darkened in disdain for those hands of hers that failed to type properly before much practice.

n(・_・;)

nXander: How am I supposed to respond to that?

nXander: I have finally realized how unqualified I am to humblebrag. What to do now?

nXander: Is this the difference between a miniboss and the final boss?

nXander put how his fingers in defeat.

nWait.

nDefeat?

nWhy should I feel defeated?

nNonono.

nThis isn't the time to feel defeated, but rather overjoyed, right?

nIndeed it was, rather than feeling defeated, Xander realized that he should be over the moon!

nPrime example of female mood swings.

nIt was only natural that his future Master was better than him!

nIt just meant that he would have to work even harder so that the disciple could finally surpass the Master one day.

nEven if that day wouldn't be coming any time soon.

nXander could only trust his own talent.

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"Then about the ceremony tomorrow... are there any specific plans?

"

nXander continued to ask.

nEmilin pondered for a bit.

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"Actually, now that I think about it, the ceremony is dispensable in this case scenario...

"

nA question mark floated above both Xander and Levi's heads.

n?

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"Well, I'm meaning for you to become my successor, not my inheritor, so no ceremony, for now, should be just fine right? Not to mention this since this is the case, it would probably be more convenient for you to succeed my name after you have assimilated all the knowledge from the folders.

"

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"That is if you are willing.

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nEmilin kept elaborating as this was an issue that she had only thought of right now after Theodore took in another Master as his teacher.

nIt was only now that she had realized the difference between some of these procedures.

nWhen accepting a disciple, as a Master, there was habitually a ceremony to officialize the event.

nSimilar to a marriage, this has no real significance when it comes to the procedural parts, but is normally not skipped.

nNot unless there were special circumstances such as that of his brother's where the two parties didn't want to meet each other face to face.

nAN: My god, when I read that last part again while editing, I imagined marriage in another 20-30 years when people wouldn't even want to meet each other when getting married…

nBut now what Emilin was talking about was a whole other case.

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"Ma-Master! You've already reached the Grandmaster level?!

"

nXander was stunned and stuttered a little.

nThough he had strongly considered this possibility in the past, when he looked at the rather slender, small (really not that small though), and young girl in front of him...

nThe description didn't fit!!!

nHave you ever seen a 15-year-old grandmaster?

nAnd in a field like medicine!

nFrick, all the other grandmasters were already one foot into death's door.

nTecnincally, Emilin had once put in both feet but isn't it as simple as stepping out? But let's ignore that for now.

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"Well, yes and no. I'll go get the certifications next time, but you haven't answered my question yet.

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nWhen Xander finally escaped from the buzz in his head that came after the revelation, telling him he was going crazy, he thought back.

nWhat question was it again?

nIf he was willing to be Master- no- Grandmaster M's successor?

nYes!

nYes!

nYes!

nA million times yes!

nIf anyone says no to an offer like this, then they can just go fly to the heavens!

nThose were probably only the people who were certain they could make an even bigger name for themselves, not wanting to succeed their teacher's title.

nMost of them being a little too arrogant for their own good.

nBut by the time the adrenaline stopped rushing through Xander's head, he realized that he hadn't spoken yet despite having said yes so many times in his head.

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"Oh, no. I mean yes! I meant oh, no I haven't said anything yet, but the answer is yes.

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nLoading bar...

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"Okay then.

"

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"Wait, but Master, don't I have to at least be a Master too to be able to succeed you?

"

nThough Xander was close, that didn't mean he was at that point yet.

nThere was a grand chasm between doing something and almost doing something.

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"Don't we have plenty of time?

"

nEmilin sounded indifferent yet to Xander, that voice contained so much faith!

nIt was as if she were saying, you'll get there at some point right?

nI can wait.

nIf this were said by anyone else, Xander might have just humblebragged a little, but he wouldn't have taken it to heart.

nHe generally ignored people who said: Ah! I'm sure you'll become a master sooner or later!

nBut this was coming from his teacher so it was completely different!

nStill, Xander was still quite startled.

nMasters would take in a number of disciples, depending on the amount of time they had as well as their personal preferences and available candidates.

nBut those were all people who may or may not be competing for their Master's inheritance.

nEverything they leave behind, property, money, their knowledge, and their secret techniques.

nOn the other hand, a Grandmaster was different.

nA Grandmaster could leave behind their name if they found a suitable candidate who was at a minimum of a Master level.

nThis was their name, their title, their reputation, and their people's faith in the Grandmaster's skills being passed on to their disciple.

nThis was clearly because people didn't want to watch the decline of a title

/ name just because the successor was someone who wasn't qualified to pass down those techniques.

nIt was a rather simple matter.

nPeople didn't want the information to be lost due to human selfishness.

nEspecially when every piece of information from a Grandmaster could heed in a breakthrough.

nBut then again, of course, Grandmasters could still do whatever they liked in the end, it wasn't like they could be easily forced.

nIt was in general, condemned by the people who understood enough to know what it meant.

nAs a show of respect to their industry, Grandmasters wouldn't usually do such a thing.

nOf course, it wasn't just once or twice that a government had to do an 'inspection' and ransacking of a Grandmaster's house looking for documents in the name of public justice or some other sh*tty excuse.

nThere were also a lot of Grandmasters who actively looked for people who could carry their name in the future with no results.

nIn the end, many of them either donated their research, sold it, giving the money to their family, or went to the association to make an inheritance with specific requirements that future generations could try and access.

nThe third type was in the minority as the process was a tedious one.

nThe second one was even more so since Grandmasters generally did not lack money with abundant government funding and patent money from various counties (Of course this is only in the fields of research and not business-related ones, when it comes to those this is not accurate).

nAnd thus the most frequent occurrence was the first, with many donating the research to companies or organizations they were familiar with or connected to.

nBut all in all, these successors were different from normal inheritors.

nAnd successors were normally only chosen after a long time of observation with many Grandmasters wanting to choose from multiple disciples.

nIt was only natural that Xander would be shell-shocked to know that (Grand)Master M had already decided on him to be her successor.

nThat meant that he was going to be the second-generation M!

nBeing called M when he officially succeeded the title.

nAnd though it didn't seem like too much as of now, Xander knew that in the future, the weight of this title would only grow and not diminish.

nHowever, what he didn't know was that he was so easily determined to be the successor because Emilin couldn't possibly bother looking for another person to take up this job, wanting to wash clean from the work as fast as possible.

nOh, and um, that and her great confidence in Xander… right, that.

nYes, her confidence in him was really the deciding factor!

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