Lanchi's Artistic Insight

The vast garden belonging to the Magic Engineering Institute was lush and green, with dew clinging to the leaves and branches of the plants, sparkling with crystalline light.

At this moment, with the arrival of the Magic Engineering Institute staff, the garden's automatic irrigation system also began to operate.

Meanwhile, Lanchi and Vivian were still lingering near the entrance of the Old Liberal Arts Building.

It was all because of the question Vivian had suddenly posed.

Back in the South Wantina Border Territory, Lanchi had never met anyone who would discuss such topics with him.

Although Butler Hans and Maid Francine had highly praised his paintings, they had never discussed professional art-related questions with Lanchi.

Lanchi thought for a moment, then answered with a smile:

"If I had to say what's different... the Goddess Statue is carved so vividly. Her eyes are gentle and loving, immersed in the shimmering, rugged surface of the stars. At times vast, at times returning to calm, sinking deeper and deeper into a tranquil embrace, yet also seeming to float to the surface, soaring upwards."

"Indeed."

Vivian nodded in agreement upon hearing Lanchi's answer.

She agreed with Lanchi's statement.

However, after hearing such insights, which were not much different from those of famous artists, she felt a touch of ordinariness.

But soon.

She heard Lanchi continue.

"But if I were to say why the overall piece is so moving, I think we need to start with the Southern Cross Constellation behind the Goddess Statue."

"Why?"

Vivian frowned slightly and asked.

Often, people's evaluations of this piece praised the goddess. As for the background, even though the carving of the background was excellent, it was not the main subject of the work. Its greater purpose was to accentuate the goddess.

"The star pattern carved by Mr. Jela actually has a very subtle deviation from the official school badge. Of course, it's not a mistake, just a difference in observation angle..."

Lanchi looked up at the carving on the dome again, his clear and focused emerald eyes seeming to be able to precisely penetrate the position of every star. He sighed with a sense of intoxication,

"I'll make a guess... Could it be that the sculptor, Mr. Jela, was inspired by the star pattern that night and carved this piece impromptu? Perhaps the starry sky that night was like the Creator's answer, giving Mr. Jela the impetus for this work's natural spirituality. Under this realization, he gazed at the starry sky, pouring his heart into it. In the end, it's hard to say whether he was carving lapis lazuli or carving starlight. And it is precisely this starry sky behind the goddess that makes the entire work a unified whole, accentuating the Goddess Statue to the extreme without taking away any of her moving radiance."

"!"

Lanchi's engrossed speech clearly startled Vivian.

His keen eye for detail and insight into the carving were unique and profound.

Vivian remembered that according to the records of Iketerite Academy, the Magic Artisan Jela did indeed complete this work at night.

Although it was impossible to verify the state of mind of the late Master Jela Zelt during his creation, it happened to align with Lanchi's statement.

Vivian couldn't help but look up and stare at the carving again, feeling more and more that Lanchi's words made sense.

"You..."

Then she looked at Lanchi's profile again.

She seemed to be somewhat doubtful if Lanchi had truly seen this carving for the first time.

"Please forgive me, Princess Vivian. Perhaps my guess wasn't thorough, and I hope Master Jela can overlook any offense."

Lanchi felt Vivian's gaze, turned his head, and smiled brightly.

"I heard your ancestors were all merchants, which is why you're so skilled at appraisal?"

Vivian came back to her senses, nodded gently, and then asked.

Although Lanchi had good appraisal skills, Vivian didn't know what type Lanchi was good at, or what his own creative level was.

"Just a little bit, out of interest."

Lanchi answered modestly.

Vivian knew that Lanchi always spoke without sharpness, but it was true that if Lanchi himself possessed extremely high artistic attainments, it would be impossible for him to be completely unknown in this field until now.

"To be honest, the Royal Treasury also houses works by the Magic Artisan Jela. Each piece can be called a national treasure."

Vivian's tone held no hint of showing off; she was just happy to meet a peer she could talk to and couldn't help but introduce them.

"If my royal brother Enoer were to meet you, perhaps he would invite you to appraise them... Forget it, it's better if you don't get to know him. If you ever meet a third-year student from the Magic Engineering Institute named Enoer, be sure to steer clear."

Vivian quickly stopped mid-sentence and changed the subject with a slightly troubled expression.

"Is Prince Enoer not as approachable as Princess Vivian?"

Lanchi asked curiously.

He hated people who only spoke halfway and riddlers the most.

But out of politeness, he still posed his question using more appropriate language.

"Am I approachable? Hmm... My brother is indeed very approachable, but his problem is that he's too approachable."

Vivian nodded after a moment of thought, then explained.

Her brother, the second prince of the Hutton Nation, was a person with a very unique personality.

As a member of the royal family, he disdained power and status but only loved elegance and art.

And he loved to show off in front of others.

If Enoer discovered that Lanchi had quite a bit to say about art appraisal, he would definitely invite Lanchi to tour the palace with him, admire and comment on his many collections, and show Lanchi the way of showing off.

"I see. Then Prince Enoer is also a very good person. I'll be careful to avoid him and not cause him trouble."

Lanchi roughly understood.

It was just that this prince was too enthusiastic and couldn't control himself when he met someone he could talk to.

"Well, you don't need to worry too much."

Vivian was sure that even if her foolish royal brother really met Lanchi in the future and they hit it off, he wouldn't bother Lanchi too much.

Clearly, given Lanchi's age, it was impossible for him to be a true art master.

So her royal brother would at most show off to Lanchi and there wouldn't be any follow-up.

While chatting.

Seeing that the Old Liberal Arts Building had started its normal operations, the two of them entered the building to complete the enrollment procedures.

With Vivian accompanying him, everything was very simple.

He felt as if he had become a minister himself.

In less than half an hour, Lanchi happily left the Magic Engineering Institute and headed towards the dormitory.

The Student Service Center would directly send the students' temporarily stored luggage to their respective dormitories later.

Lanchi was quite satisfied with the school's service.

"Do you have a preferred team now? If you don't join a team, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to challenge the Shadow World."

Vivian walked with her arms crossed, tapping her elbow with her fingertips.

She asked Lanchi as they walked along the way.

Today, she was also planning to visit the dormitory building. From now on, they would be classmates in the Sage Institute.

Students who were granted registered challenger qualifications by the Southern Continent Shadow World Management Association could challenge the real Shadow World. Of course, they could also form teams.

Therefore, there were quite a few well-known and powerful teams in the school.

The school had clear regulations prohibiting first-year students from participating in Shadow World challenges alone.

So, even if a student obtained a registered challenger license in their first year, they would often join a team and challenge with upperclassmen.

"By the way, is it not okay if I find a first-year companion to team up and challenge?"

Lanchi asked curiously.

He actually wanted to challenge a real Shadow World as soon as possible and didn't want to waste any time.

Because after entering the Shadow World, there would be a cooldown period during which he couldn't enter again. As the saying goes, the sooner you fight, the sooner the cooldown.

And joining a team involved various periods of adjustment, arrangement, and preparation. As a newcomer, it would probably be difficult to get into action quickly.

"That would be purely seeking death."

Vivian looked at Lanchi and said coldly.

She didn't want Lanchi to ruin himself due to excessive arrogance and ignorance. He was a very promising talent in the Hutton Kingdom.

"Uh."

Lanchi felt that Vivian's attitude had become a bit scary, but he also knew that Vivian was worried about his safety.

His understanding of the real Shadow World was limited to some combat records and analysis documents. As a princess, Vivian knew many powerful challengers and definitely understood the actual situation better than he did.

"Speaking of which, compared to the difficulty of a real Tier 3 Shadow World and the third round of the examination..."

"The difficulty of a Tier 3 Shadow World is far greater than that of the Tier 2 [Infinite Phantom Canyon]. Even with stricter modifiers, they are not on the same level."

Before Lanchi could finish his question, Vivian answered directly and decisively.

She realized that Lanchi clearly didn't realize the danger of the real Shadow World at all.

How could an artificially simulated Tier 2 Shadow World fragment possibly compare to the difficulty of a Tier 3 Shadow World!

If Lanchi really became arrogant and complacent just because he passed the entrance examination and got his license without taking the test, he would sooner or later cause serious trouble in the Shadow World.

Vivian took a deep breath, feeling that even if she had to be the bad guy, she had to scold Lanchi awake.

However, before she could organize her words, Lanchi asked again:

"What if, and I mean if, we add three negative modifiers to the Infinite Phantom Canyon examination: 'Small Hill Terrain', 'Examiner Tier increased from four to five', and 'Examiner Starting Distance Halved'? Could it then compare to a Tier 3 Shadow World?"

After hearing this, Vivian was stunned.

What kind of devilish modifiers were these? Was this something a person could even think of?

The nature of the examination would completely change.

"...What kind of joke are you making? If you add these three modifiers, I believe it would be impossible for any freshman to pass. This is already close to a Tier 3 Shadow World in a 'berserk state'."

Vivian murmured, her words hesitant.

Generally speaking, if a serious error occurs during the process of a Shadow World, leading to the inability to smoothly reach the end and defeat the final powerful enemy through the mechanics, or even being hunted down by the final powerful enemy first, it is often referred to as the Shadow World entering a "berserk state".

And in a Tier 3 Shadow World that has fallen into a berserk state, a Tier 3 challenger might have to face the hunting of a Tier 5 final powerful enemy directly.

After speaking, Vivian looked at Lanchi again, confused.

It couldn't be that Lanchi and Hughberlian encountered these modifiers, could it?

If those two managed to pass even with those, how abnormal would Lanchi have to be?

"Then I probably have a rough idea of the difficulty of a Tier 3 Shadow World."

Lanchi nodded, resting his chin on his hand.

In that case, as long as he teamed up with his old teammate Hughberlian and matched into a real Shadow World, their tiers being two and three respectively, it would likely be a Tier 2 or Tier 3 Shadow World without any surprises.

It would be much easier than joining a team with older students of Tier 3 and Tier 4.

"You... you and Hughberlian didn't actually encounter those three modifiers, did you?"

Vivian turned her head, half-believing and half-doubting, and stared at Lanchi as she asked.

Although she felt it was impossible.

But in that moment, she felt that Lanchi seemed to possess an inexplicable calmness and steadiness. Even with her good judgment of people as a princess, she felt a bit unable to gauge Lanchi's depth.

"Of course not, how could it be those three?"

Lanchi smiled and waved his hand, shaking his head.

What he encountered were the three modifiers: "Plain Terrain", "Angry Ferrat", and "One-Third Distance".

They were a little different from what he had just told Vivian.

The chapters these few days will have more words than usual, with five to six thousand words updated every day. Thank you to everyone who is willing to follow and read this book. Thank you from Xi Zhi!