Special Notification

Shade stared grimly at the parchment scroll of elective courses, which looked more like a price list. Based on his real-world circumstances—his city, profession, and age—as well as the College he had joined and his Core Ling Rune, the Academy had opened nearly two hundred elective courses to him in his first year. Among them were seemingly quite useful courses such as "Inspiration Divination" and "Easy Acquisition of Four Elements Ling Runes."

Some courses required the completion of foundational or elective courses before they could be selected. Otherwise, Shade would have seen even more electives.

Even the cheaper courses cost more than twenty pounds, while the most expensive ones could not even be paid for with money, requiring relics or other conditions and tasks as payment.

Fortunately, elective courses could be selected at any time. Whenever he came to the Doctor's place on Saturdays, he could simply contact the Academy if he wished to pay.

Doctor Schneider advised Shade to familiarize himself with the foundational courses for a while before considering electives. The Old Priest recommended several useful courses, while Miss Louisa directly crossed some off for Shade. When she was in her first year, she had just received a large sum in manuscript fees and spent quite a bit on courses, so she knew which ones were not needed for now:

"You don't have to pass elective courses. The Academy and the professors don't care about that. But electives are a good opportunity for correspondence Ring Arcanists like us to meet and become familiar with the Academy's professors. You should know that whether some valuable electives are offered also depends on the professors' own wishes."

Miss Louisa continued her explanation. Shade was quite familiar with this sort of system. Though it differed somewhat from the past, he adapted to such rules very well.

As he read through the elective course list in hand, he unconsciously flipped it over upon reaching the end. He had assumed there would be no writing on the back of the parchment, but to his surprise, there really was:

Mr. Shade Suellen Hamilton, First Ring Arcanist:

At midnight tonight, prepare four wooden chairs in an empty, spacious room. They must not bear any holy emblems of the gods. Place the four chairs facing one another in the east, west, south, and north, surrounding a basin filled with clear water that is not made of pure silver. Before midnight, sit in the chair to the north, set this scroll alight, and throw it into the basin.

Please dress formally. You may turn on the Gas Lamp. Close the curtains. Do not tell anyone about this, including the Ring Arcanists in your group. Hames Sanchez Professor of the Library Management College and Hessinger Garcia Professor of the History College wish to see you.

Saint Byrens Comprehensive College—Student Management Office

Hames Jane Sanchez Professor

"What is it?"

Seeing Shade stare blankly at the back of the parchment, Miss Louisa also looked towards its reverse side.

"What's so interesting about a blank page? Oh, I know. You probably haven't used parchment before. It's common knowledge that we usually don't use both sides of parchment, so there shouldn't be anything on the back."

Miss Louisa was positioned perfectly to see the words, yet she behaved as though she had seen nothing at all.

Only I can see this? What does the Academy mean? Do they have a secret mission for me? They want to speak to me alone—has my identity as an Outlander been exposed?

Shade silently recorded the message, rolled up the parchment again, and placed it on the sofa.

Because of Shade's Spacetime Core Ling Rune, the History College had promised to provide him with a Keeper of Secrets Level relic for self-defense after he joined. This relic only appeared along with the slip confirming receipt after all the books and documents had been delivered.

The upper limit of items that could be transmitted by a Poet Level relic was only Keeper of Secrets Level, and even then, only some Keeper of Secrets Level relics could be sent. Thus, the History College had clearly gone to considerable lengths for Shade.

The relic was placed in a rusty bronze box shaped like a cube, smaller than his palm. The patterns on the box's surface depicted incomprehensible vine-like designs.

A document describing the relic's function was pressed beneath the bronze box.

The relic had not been given to Shade. If he left the History College or withdrew from Saint Byrens Comprehensive College, he would have to return it. However, if he graduated normally, he would not.

You touched 'Whisper'.

By common sense, Shade should not have immediately known it was a relic, since he did not yet know its properties.

"Dice of Destiny?"

Without avoiding the others, Shade directly opened the antique-like bronze box. The box was almost solid metal, with only a bronze die embedded in its very center.

Its surface was mottled with rust. It was a twenty-sided die, its numbers recessed into the metal surface. The numbers were all golden, and some had nearly blended into the rust. They bore the marks of time.

"I know this!"

Miss Louisa said in surprise. She raised a hand as if to touch her earlobe, then shook her head.

"No, I should say that 'Another Me' knows this. I probably happened to glance across information about this die in a book. But why would the Academy give you such a dangerous relic?"

"All relics are dangerous. They are terrifying remnants condensed from the Whispers of ages past."

Priest Augustus reminded her, but Miss Writer shook her head, her blonde hair swaying slightly.

"This one is particularly dangerous. Its properties manifest in two ways.

"First, while carrying the die, most divinations cannot affect its bearer. But that only applies while it is being carried, and carrying this die for a long period will cause a permanent decline in one's luck. I know luck is an immeasurable concept, but Whisper Elements truly can interfere with luck.

"Second, the die can be actively thrown once per day. When it is thrown, whether one event related to the thrower turns out well or poorly will be determined by the number rolled. The higher the number, the better the luck. No skill or method can influence which number appears."

"Anything related to the user?"

Doctor Schneider caught the key point. The others in their group believed he often had Bad Luck, so he was especially concerned about this kind of relic.

"Yes. So after throwing it, one usually does not immediately know which event has been affected. But one will certainly understand later. That is also one of the properties of the Dice of Destiny."

The blonde Lady moved a little farther away from the bronze box in Shade's hand in fear.

"But in most cases, it can only roll numbers below ten, which lean towards Bad Luck. That has been statistically proven. And it is said that if it rolls a one, something even more horrifying than death will happen. Why would the History College give something so terrible to a Detective?"

The materials provided by the Academy were much the same as Miss Louisa's explanation. This die could only be contained by that bronze box made of Special Materials. When it was not contained, the die would always tempt its holder to throw it in moments of inattention. Furthermore, the odds of each number were not equal; numbers below ten were the most likely, thereby bringing about terrible events.

Therefore, Miss Louisa strongly advised Shade not to use the die's active effect and simply treat it as a relic for Interfering with divination.