Shade's Required Courses

Although the blonde Miss Writer, Dorothy Louisa, had also arrived, the Academy would still send over the items Shade needed to collect after enrollment at the scheduled time. So, for the half hour before then, the four of them still had time to chat.

As the nominal host of the correspondence Ring Arcanist group, Doctor Schneider was more than happy to start a conversation.

Shade thus learned more common knowledge about Ring Arcanists. For instance, under normal circumstances, touching a relic with unfamiliar properties would not immediately bring a prompt from "Another Me." Therefore, relying on "Another Me" to search for relics was unrealistic. Relic identification was a key area of study for Library Management College.

Shade was clearly not normal.

Outlander, your soul is exceptionally sensitive to the Four Elements, which is why I can so easily identify relics for you. This is not my uniqueness, but yours.

The whisper in his ear explained it that way. Shade initially thought it was an excuse, but the more he considered it, the more reasonable the explanation seemed.

Even he himself was unsure whether the special nature of "Another Me" was genuinely special, or whether it was special because of the Outlander.

Su Lun's middle name could be explained by her learning his Core Rune in advance; the "Northern Common Language Gift Pack" she had given him could be explained by her gaining fragments of the original owner's memories that he himself had not received because of "Another Me's" nature; and the warning about the ring was only because she had discovered that peculiar relic.

Thinking about it that way only left Shade more confused.

"No, why do you have a woman's voice?"

Shade had nearly talked himself into confusion.

Perhaps even you cannot fully understand your own personality.

"Don't spout nonsense."

Shade felt she was implying that he was somewhat feminine.

Aside from the fact that relics could not be easily discovered, Shade also learned that Doctor Schneider's group usually gathered every Saturday afternoon to share what they had learned, ask one another questions, and contact the Academy through Doctor Schneider's manuscript paper.

Even when there was nothing important to discuss, they could still exchange information, trade items, or complain about the burden of their studies. The last of those was usually the main topic.

The group did not assign compulsory tasks to its members, but if someone needed help—for example, with Academy assignments that could earn Practical Credit—the others had to immediately consider whether they had the time.

As ten o'clock approached, everyone cleared the tea table and had Doctor Schneider place the page of that Poet Level relic there. When the clock in the corner began striking ten, the first chime sounded, and light flickered across the paper. A parchment scroll, rolled into a tube and tied with a red ribbon, appeared.

Shade quickly picked it up, pulled off the ribbon, and unfurled the scroll. It was Shade's correspondence first-year study plan.

Saint Byron's Academy generally held promotion assessments at the end of winter each year. Since Shade had enrolled in summer, it was impossible for him to complete all his studies this year, so he would probably need more than a year and a half to finish the courses in this customized study plan.

"First year usually takes one to three years anyway, since these are foundational courses. Oh, you'll be plenty busy."

Priest Augustus was sitting beside Shade, so he could clearly see the first-year required courses listed on the study plan:

"We Know Herbs"

"Basic Potionology"

"Introduction to Elementary Alchemy"

"Introduction to Astronomy"

"Introduction to Mysticism and Ritual Studies"

"Ling Rune Theoretical Foundation (Part 1)"

"Ring Arcanist Basic Course - Miracle Technique"

"Ring Arcanist Basic Course - Spell"

"Introduction to Ancient Language (Fifth Epoch 0–2000)"

"Introduction to Ancient Language (Fifth Epoch 2000–4000)"

"Introduction to Ancient Language (Fifth Epoch 4000–5793)"

"Ancient Literature" (serious literature, popular literature, or other; choose one of three. Must be completed before fifth year.)

"Folklore, Religion, and Civilization"

"History (I)"

"Theoretical Basis of Time Travel" (core academic course)

"Time Travel Practical Training" (core academic course)

"Containment and Management of Relics" (core academic course)

"Basic Theology (Part 1)"

"History and General Education of Saint Byrens Comprehensive College"

A total of nineteen required courses, worth fifty-three required credits. By the end of this year, Shade only needed to earn fifteen credits to pass the year-end assessment and continue his remaining first-year studies in the second year.

The books delivered afterward numbered well over a hundred, including textbooks, required reading materials, and supplementary course literature.

Together with the other three, Shade kept taking textbooks that appeared from the poetry manuscript paper and stacking them to one side.

Watching the "mountain of books" steadily rise, the Outlander's unease about his future suddenly vanished. It was as though he had returned to his hometown, to his days at school.

"Well? Those 50 Pounds in tuition were worth it, weren't they? These required courses were customized for you, and they're all quite basic. First year is for laying foundations, after all. But don't worry. Other than the core academic courses, you get three chances to fail each course. After three failures, you must postpone the assessment for another year and pay the tuition again. You won't be expelled."

Old Priest Augustus thought Shade was intimidated by so many books, so he tried to comfort him. Even in this age of Steam Industry, illiteracy remained high. Ordinary citizens would probably never come into contact with so many books in their entire lives, which was why the priest comforted the "inexperienced" young Detective.

But this was precisely the kind of life the Outlander was familiar with.

Shade's nineteen first-year required courses required him to submit several papers or assignments after self-study, while some also required written exams or practical assessments.

The year-end assessments were all held at the end of the year, but examination seasons also took place in summer at the end of July and in winter in December. If Shade progressed quickly enough, he could pass some of the exams by the end of July, one month from now.

All of that was only part of the required correspondence Ring Arcanist courses. To complete an entire year of study, he also needed to earn enough Practical Credit.

The first-year requirement was forty Practical Credit, but History College had strict rules regarding where those forty credits could come from. At least ten credits had to come from "Time Exploration" activities.

History College had the fewest students of any college at Saint Byrens Comprehensive College, and most of its students transferred in during their upper years.

That was because the core of History College was using the relic Time Key of the Old God, Father of Infinite Tree, to conduct Time Travel, which required Spirit Runes related to the concept of time.

Shade's core academic course, "Time Travel Practical Training," involved using a key provided by the Academy to conduct one Time Travel under supervision. He could complete the course after submitting a report. But conducting an almost completely safe Time Travel through a course would not earn Practical Credit.

If one independently found or purchased from the Academy relic Time Keys of varying levels, then brought back valuable information, history, or knowledge, one could receive substantial Practical Credit and other rewards, such as relics, thaumaturgy, spells, or precious knowledge collected in Saint Byron's Grand Library.

Therefore, History College and Library Management College—Time Travel and relic containment—could be considered the colleges where it was easiest to earn Practical Credit and Academy rewards.

"Though these basic courses may look complicated, once you get started, you'll find they aren't very difficult. Look, this is the list of elective courses you're allowed to choose from."

After the more than one hundred books had finally all been delivered, a brand-new parchment scroll appeared on the table. The Doctor helped Shade open it, took one look, and stuffed it into his hands.

"Elective credits can be converted. Ten credits can be converted into one Practical Credit. And these elective courses are the truly valuable ones—the real expertise of those professors. Of course, elective courses cost gold pounds."

"Elective courses cost gold pounds?"

Shade was startled, then immediately realized that this was not his old world. Besides, even in that old world, while elective courses in his hometown did not cost money, some schools in Western countries charged for them.

PS: You can guess whether Shade's "Another Me" is truly special, special because of the Outlander's soul, or special for both reasons.