Praise

At the same time, Herbert's gaze also fell upon Matthew.

His shock was far more restrained than Sutton's, almost entirely concealed beneath his usual calm and indifference. Only in the depths of his grey-blue eyes did a faint, thoughtful gleam flicker.

When Matthew first joined, Herbert had not paid much attention to this Second-Grade Apprentice brought along by Sutton. The gap between Second-Grade and Third-Grade seemed like a single level, but in truth, there was a qualitative difference in their total Spirit, mana control, knowledge reserves, and even physical reinforcement.

In his eyes, Matthew was mostly just an extra addition brought by Sutton to balance the team or perhaps someone with a bit of background—a junior who needed looking after.

However, the time it took for Matthew to wake up now forced him to reevaluate the young man. For a Second-Grade Apprentice to recover their mobility so quickly in this environment... Herbert swiftly made a judgment in his mind. The resilience of his Spirit, or perhaps his energy absorption efficiency, far surpasses those of the same grade, even approaching the threshold of an ordinary Third-Grade Apprentice. This kind of foundational quality is a clear manifestation of talent.

A junior with exceptional talent... Herbert's thoughts became active. He was not the type of short-sighted person who looked down on others and only cared about immediate benefits. He knew very well how long and difficult the path of a wizard was.

Although he was currently a Third-Grade Apprentice and seemingly only one step away from an Official Wizard, it was precisely this step that stood like an impassable chasm before countless people, requiring opportunity, resources, perseverance, and even luck. Having one more friend, especially one with immense potential who might go far in the future, was always better than having one more enemy.

Matthew came from the Fire Vortex Tower, which already implied a certain formal inheritance and background. Now that he had shown excellent talent, his future growth potential was worth looking forward to.

Forming a good relationship now might open up another path in the future, or at the very least, reduce a potential competitor.

Therefore, the initial coldness and aloofness in Herbert's gaze as he looked at Matthew softened quite a bit, replaced by a slightly gentler look that even carried a trace of barely perceptible appreciation and scrutiny.

He was not calculating immediate gains and losses, but rather a long-term value investment. A young man with good talent, an academy background, and who proved reliable at critical moments was worthy of being treated as an equal, and even of receiving some extended goodwill.

But he certainly would not take the initiative to strike up a conversation...

Matthew was unaware of the change in attitude of the two men beside him.

Slowly coming back to his senses, he exhaled a breath of turbid air and stretched his somewhat stiff neck.

However, since he had pushed his Spirit to its limit at this moment, he naturally felt the two gazes looking in his direction.

Matthew felt a bit uncomfortable under their stares, his thoughts racing. Why are they staring at me like that? Did I wake up too slowly and hold them back? Or did I do something wrong during the battle just now?

He instinctively checked himself but found no obvious abnormalities, so he could only suppress his doubts and prepare to ask.

Just then, Sutton made the first move. The scrutiny on his face quickly vanished, replaced by a slightly deliberate yet sincere look of appreciation.

He walked over to Matthew in a few steps and reached out, seemingly wanting to pat Matthew's shoulder, but changed it mid-air to a gesture of encouragement. His voice was also slightly warmer than usual:

“You're awake. How do you feel?”

Without waiting for Matthew to answer, he continued, his single eye revealing just the right amount of praise. “You did incredibly well in the battle just now.

“Especially at that moment when the golem's chest core lit up and it tried to draw earth-vein energy to counterattack—your spiritual shock was timed to absolute perfection! If you hadn't interrupted it in time, allowing it to successfully renew its shield or even launch a counterattack, we would have had to expend a lot more effort, and there might have even been casualties.

“This kind of sharpness in grasping combat opportunities is truly remarkable.”

Sutton's change in attitude was rather obvious, carrying a senior's recognition and attempt to win over an outstanding junior. Although Matthew was young, he was not ignorant of the ways of the world. He immediately realized there might be a purpose behind this praise.

Suppressing the slight ripples in his heart from being the center of attention, he put on a perfectly timed smile of slight exhaustion and humility, bowing slightly as he said:

“Mr. Sutton, you flatter me. The situation was critical at the time, and I was merely doing my utmost. It was just a stroke of luck that it had some effect.

“It was mainly thanks to you and Mr. Herbert confronting it head-on and drawing the vast majority of the golem's fire that I had the chance to act. Without the two of you controlling the overall situation, my meager tricks would really not be worth mentioning.”

Herbert had been watching the interaction between Sutton and Matthew with cold eyes.

Sutton's attempt to win over the young man was as clear as a mirror to him.

He was dismissive of it in his heart, even feeling a faint trace of mockery.

If a relationship could be deepened with just a couple of words, then there would be no enemies in the world.

Only after Matthew finished speaking did he speak unhurriedly, his voice steady and indifferent. “Pleasantries can wait until later.”

His gaze swept past Sutton and landed on the faintly glowing earthy-yellow energy core amidst the pile of debris. There was no warmth in his grey-blue eyes, only a pure, calm calculation of interests.

“The urgent matter at hand is to handle the spoils of war.”

He paused, every word clear, powerful, and leaving no room for doubt.

“This golem energy core, which is close to the level of a Fourth-Grade Apprentice, as well as any rare minerals or rune fragments that might exist in its remains and are not completely destroyed... How should they be distributed?”

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