Villain's Evolution: Investing in My Minions Yields Crazy Returns!

”When you were testing it just now, did you feel that the mana flowing through several of the patterns inside wasn’t quite coordinated?”

Mia’s pupils contracted slightly.

”How did you know?”

”Just a guess.” Victor smiled. ”You can try again. But this time, don’t rush to pour mana into it. First, point out the places where you sensed something unusual.”

Mia hesitated. She had mentioned similar problems to her instructors before.

However, most of them believed that her insufficient mana control had caused her to develop inaccurate perceptions.

After all, the academy’s basic mana testing devices were uniformly calibrated. How could they possibly develop problems so easily?

But looking at Victor’s serious expression, she eventually nodded.

”Okay.”

The girl placed her palm against the crystal again, closed her eyes, and slowly released her spiritual power.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and pointed toward a spot near the crystal’s lower right corner.

”Here.”

”Anywhere else?”

”The connection point of the second mana pattern on the left. The mana flow there also feels slightly unstable.”

After speaking, Mia seemed somewhat uncertain.

”But I might just be imagining it.”

Victor said nothing and turned toward Evelyn.

”Go get the instructor responsible for maintaining the training equipment.”

Evelyn nodded and turned to leave.

Mia quickly became nervous.

”Senior, what are you...”

”Verifying something,” Victor replied. ”If you’re right, we can’t have you constantly doubting yourself, can we?”

Before long, an instructor responsible for maintaining the training grounds hurried over.

When he learned that Victor suspected something was wrong with the testing device, he was visibly surprised.

”Young Master Victor, these devices are inspected every day. Under normal circumstances, they shouldn’t malfunction.”

”I know.”

Victor pointed toward the two locations Mia had identified earlier.

”However, please check these two places again.”

Although the instructor was somewhat puzzled, he still took out his professional inspection tools and began examining the mana pattern structure inside the crystal.

A moment later, his expression suddenly changed.

”Huh?”

He carefully examined it again. Then, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

”There really is a problem!”

”What?” Mia abruptly raised her head.

”The mana conduction node in the lower right corner has suffered slight wear, and there’s also an energy deviation of approximately three percent at the connection point of the second mana pattern on the left.”

The instructor frowned.

”A deviation of this magnitude wouldn’t affect normal usage, but for students with weaker mana, it could indeed increase the difficulty of achieving resonance.”

At this point, he suddenly looked toward Mia.

”Did you discover these problems?”

Mia nodded somewhat helplessly.

”I... I just felt that something wasn’t quite right.”

The instructor was astonished.

One had to understand that even he needed professional inspection tools to accurately identify mana pattern deviations of this magnitude.

Yet the girl before him had actually discovered them using nothing but spiritual perception?

”Wonderful...” The way the instructor looked at Mia immediately changed. ”What’s your name?”

”Mia Hart.”

”Mia Hart...” He silently memorized the name before continuing, ”When you have time, you should visit the academy’s Mana Pattern Research Laboratory and apply for a perception ability assessment. Your spiritual perception might be considerably sharper than that of ordinary students.”

After saying this, he began repairing the testing device.

Meanwhile, Mia remained standing in place, unable to recover from her shock for a long time.

So... she really hadn’t been imagining things?

For the past several days, she had constantly believed that something was wrong with her abilities.

But now, someone had actually proven that her judgment was correct.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help turning toward Victor.

”Senior...”

”Hmm?”

”Thank you,” Mia spoke sincerely.

Victor smiled. ”There’s no need to thank me. You’re the one who discovered the problem.”

At this point, he suddenly changed the subject.

”However, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

”Please go ahead.”

”Have you ever wondered why you’ve never been able to awaken your profession?”

The smile on Mia’s face stiffened slightly.

After remaining silent for a moment, she whispered, ”My instructors said it might be because my profession compatibility is poor, or perhaps I haven’t accumulated enough mana.”

”Do you believe that?”

Mia hesitated.

”I don’t know.”

She lowered her head.

”I’ve already tried so many methods, but every time I undergo a profession awakening test, the results are almost the same. Sometimes, I even feel like I might not have the talent to awaken a profession at all.”

Victor looked at her and suddenly smiled.

”What if I told you that your talent is actually quite good?”

”What?”

”I’m saying that your talent might be much better than you imagine.” Victor’s tone was calm. ”It’s just that you haven’t found the direction that suits you yet.”

Mia stared at him blankly.

If those words had come from someone else, she might have simply regarded them as consolation.

But the person before her was different.

Moreover, he had been the first person to believe her judgment and had even asked an instructor to verify the problems with the mana pattern device.

Under such circumstances, his words naturally carried a different weight.

”Senior...” Mia took a deep breath. ”Are you saying that I still have a chance to awaken a profession?”

”Of course.”

Victor nodded.

”However, ordinary awakening methods might not be suitable for you.”

As he spoke, he took a pale blue crystal from his storage ring.

The crystal was only the size of a thumb, but its surface was covered in intricate mana patterns, while a soft light could vaguely be seen flowing inside.

[Basic Profession Awakening Guidance Stone]

Exchange Price: 12,000 Academy Contribution Points.

This was a material he had already exchanged for through the academy’s resource treasury before leaving the medical center that morning.

For ordinary students, twelve thousand contribution points was definitely no small amount. But to the current Victor, it wasn’t particularly significant.

”Do you recognize this?”

Mia glanced at it, and her expression immediately changed slightly.

”A Profession Awakening Guidance Stone?”

”Looks like you know what it is.” Victor smiled.

”I’ve seen it in the academy’s records.” Mia nodded. ”I heard that this material can help students who haven’t awakened their professions stabilize their profession seeds. However, it’s extremely expensive. Ordinary students can’t afford to exchange for one.”

”Then, do you want it?”

”I do...”

Mia answered instinctively.

However, she quickly realized what she had said and hurriedly shook her head.

”N... No, Senior! That’s not what I meant!”

”I know.”

Victor couldn’t help laughing.

”Don’t be nervous.”

He placed the crystal on the nearby table.

”I can give it to you.”

Mia’s eyes widened abruptly.

”G... Give it to me?”

”That’s right.” Victor nodded. ”However, I have one condition.”

Mia immediately became nervous.

”What condition?”

Victor looked at her, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

”I hope you’ll join my team in the future.”

”Of course, I’m not asking you to make a decision right now,” he continued. ”You can first get to know the people around me and see what kind of training resources I can provide. If you feel it isn’t suitable, you can refuse at any time.”

Mia fell silent. She naturally understood just how rare this opportunity was.

A senior with a powerful background, astonishing strength, and a willingness to provide training resources had actually invited her to join his team.

If it were another student, they would probably have agreed without the slightest hesitation.

But Mia didn’t immediately nod because she remembered what had happened during the screening.

Back then, she had also chosen to join that temporary group because she trusted her teammates.

During the screening, her teammates had told her to leave the group. Later, one former teammate had fought beside her alongside two strangers.

Those without sufficient strength often had very little power to choose.

And now, could she really trust the person standing before her?

Victor didn’t rush her, simply waiting patiently.

After quite some time, Mia finally raised her head.

”Senior.”

”Hmm?”

”What if I still can’t awaken my profession in the future?” Mia clenched her hands and asked seriously, ”If I accept your resources but fail to meet your expectations, won’t you feel that they’ve been wasted?”

Victor looked at her and suddenly smiled.

”Of course I will.”

Mia’s face turned pale, and she clenched her hands even harder.

However, before she could speak, Victor continued.

”But investment always comes with risks. I’m willing to give you resources because I believe you’re worth cultivating, not because you’re guaranteed to succeed.”

”If you ultimately fail, that simply means my judgment was wrong.”

Victor paused before adding with a smile.

”Of course, if you clearly have talent but waste my resources because you’re too lazy to work hard, that’s an entirely different matter.”

A smile suddenly appeared on Mia’s face.

”I won’t be lazy.”

”Good.”

Victor pushed the crystal toward her.

”Take it.”

She hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out with both hands and carefully accepting the pale blue crystal.

The instant her fingers touched the crystal, a system notification visible only to Victor suddenly appeared.

[Ding!]

[An Eligible Investment Target Has Been Detected!]