"What are your thoughts on the Bubble Technique?"
Over the next few days, Reilo studied Basic Potion Recipes, learning the fundamentals of potions. Yet he couldn't stop thinking back to the Elite Rank assessment, when he'd been utterly clueless and helpless in the face of the stern, portly instructor's questions.
"If I'm going to make the Bubble Technique the first academic discipline of my life, what should its future be?"
As a child, Reilo had sometimes imagined becoming an all-powerful Grand Magus, commanding the wind and rain, wielding unmatched power, punishing evil, upholding justice, and traveling across the continent. But he had almost never imagined that his first academic discipline would be the ability to blow bubbles!
Senior Bailing had once told him that an outstanding scholar researching Evolution's Profound Meaning did more than copy the innate abilities of biological specimens. They had to build upon those abilities and complete an evolution. Through wisdom, they could surpass the specimens on the experiment table. Scholars who mastered an academic discipline were far stronger than the specimens themselves!
His thoughts were a tangled mess.
Reilo no longer felt like studying Basic Potion Recipes. Agitated and distracted, he casually cast the Bubble Technique and reached out to poke it.
Pop!
The Bubble Technique burst. His palm throbbed with pain, but Reilo seemed not to notice. He looked at the sore spot on his hand. His arm had a few bruises and red welts, as though he'd been struck with willow branches.
But that was all!
"It's still just a basic academic discipline."
Reilo finally understood why Orn, who had mastered the Fireball Technique, had been so nervous when they encountered the Black Demon Wolf Mercenary Group on the way to Saint Grand Fort.
Like the Bubble Technique, the basic, zero-level Fireball Technique was in an awkward position!
In actual combat, a zero-level Fireball Technique could probably do little more than cause a few burns. The Black Demon Wolf Mercenary Group had retreated mostly because of their instinctive fear of "mages."
Even among Enlightenment Scholars, strength varied widely. It depended on how long they'd studied their disciplines and how much they'd mastered. The weak, like Reilo, knew only one basic discipline and were utterly helpless. Powerful Enlightenment Scholars had mastered a first-level discipline, perhaps even achieved an evolution. Add in a few rare Magic Props, and their strength was unimaginable.
According to plan, Reilo should have begun researching potions. Whether he wanted to evolve the Bubble Technique or attempt to study Self-Control, left behind by the Star Core, he needed to build a foundation through potion research. But now Reilo felt he had to start defining the future of the Bubble Technique.
With these thoughts on his mind, Reilo checked the time, rubbed the dark circles under his eyes from days of worry, finished his morning reading, and headed for Classroom Eleven.
The bell rang!
Xiao Kang arrived just as the bell sounded. He looked around the classroom, spotted Reilo, and grinned as he took the seat beside him.
"What are you so happy about?"
Reilo asked absently, but Xiao Kang replied, "Heh-heh, I got the news yesterday. My maternal grandfather died."
"Huh?"
Reilo turned to him in astonishment. Seeing Xiao Kang's excited expression, he asked in disbelief, "Your grandfather died? Aren't you sad?"
"It's a good thing! My grandfather had plenty of children, but luckily his fief was big enough, and he'd raked in plenty over the years. The inheritance he left me is pretty decent."
Seeing Reilo's astonished expression, Xiao Kang understood what he was thinking and laughed. "Ha-ha, don't worry. My grandfather was a devout believer in God of Light. He donated plenty of gold to The Church over the years, so now that he's dead, his soul's gone to Heaven to enjoy itself. Who knows, maybe I'll inherit another fortune when I get there!"
Reilo's forehead was beaded with sweat.
If he ever said something like that and Teacher Gubo found out, the man would surely cripple him with his own hands.
Before long, Teacher Jenny entered the classroom and began a new day of lessons.
As usual, she told them about her adventures when she was young, and the students listened with rapt interest.
As Reilo listened to Teacher Jenny's stories, he quietly asked Xiao Kang, "Would you be interested in going out to collect specimens together and earn contribution points for the Elite Rank?"
"Uh... not interested."
Xiao Kang pursed his lips. "Look over there. Bai Xing isn't in class today. She's definitely gone out to collect specimens with a group!"
Reilo sneaked a glance. The classroom was already sparsely attended, and there were even fewer students today. "Did she go to the Demon Eagle Forest?"
"How could she?"
Xiao Kang cried. "The Demon Eagle Forest? Only third-year students are allowed to go on adventures there. With her current strength, would she be going there just to feed the Magical Beasts? She probably went to the Furnace Mountains."
The Furnace Mountains?
Reilo had heard of the Furnace Mountains, a range not far from Saint Grand Fort, along the border with the Xilan Duchy.
According to legend, the Furnace Mountains had once been an ocean in ancient times. Later, geological changes and volcanic eruptions had formed the sprawling mountain range.
Scholars had unearthed great quantities of salt and alkali ores, along with fossils of marine creatures, in the mountains. Near the border between the Grand Duchy and the Xilan Duchy lay an inland salt sea. Some strange mutated creatures lived nearby, making it an important specimen-gathering site for first-year students at the Grand Natural Academy.
Hearing that someone in his class had already started collecting natural specimens in the Furnace Mountains, Reilo could no longer suppress the urge. He said quietly, "I want to go out and collect specimens too. Are you really not interested? We could team up!"
"Huh?"
Xiao Kang grunted. "Forget it. I don't want to go on an adventure. I've given up on competing for the Elite Rank anyway. I'll just buy some mutated specimens from merchants or upper-year students and turn them in for enough points. Heh-heh-heh, I recently found out that investing in the arena is really profitable. I'm thinking of putting some money into it!"
"The arena?"
Like the Natural Academy and the Mercenary Association, the arenas of the various duchies were independent powers.
Reilo was surprised. "You're... investing in an arena?"
Xiao Kang rolled his eyes. "I'm planning for the future too. What if I never manage to beat that girl, and the old man at home gets so angry he really won't let me go back? At least then I could offer another title to The Church. Worst comes to worst, I'll just establish a new family myself."
After class, Reilo went to wait outside Classroom Four of the first-year classes.
"Orn!"
Orn, dressed in a black academic robe and chatting with a few friends as he left the classroom, heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw Reilo, whom he hadn't seen in days. His eyes lit up.
"Orn, is that your friend?"
A female student with short, wavy red hair looked toward Reilo in the hallway and asked.
"Yeah. Wait a moment."
Orn came over to Reilo and complained, "Where have you been all these days? Ever since the academy discovered the Witcher remnants, The Church has taken over security, and everyone's on edge. I saw the fighting had happened near your place, so I went to check on you. But you were nowhere to be found. I was starting to think you'd been killed!"
Reilo felt rather awkward and apologized. "Something unexpected happened that day. I was badly injured, but luckily my instructor rescued me."
"Ah!"
Orn looked Reilo up and down in shock. "Did I hear that right? You really did run into that terrifying Witcher and survive? Everyone at the academy is saying that the Witcher who infiltrated the academy might be a Great Warlock King! Yikes, tell me—what did he look like?"
"How would I know? I only saw a Black Shadow. I was scared half to death, and when I woke up, I was at my instructor's house. I have no idea how I survived."
Reilo shuddered at the memory.
He recalled the brief clash between his instructor and the Witcher. They had easily destroyed large sections of the stone-paved road, while the shockwaves cracked the houses on either side. And that had only been a probing exchange! If they'd fought in earnest, with neither holding back, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
The academy was still under The Church's security lockdown, so it wasn't a good time to discuss too much.
Orn glanced at the classmates waiting for him nearby, then at the Light Knights patrolling the street in the distance. He stopped discussing the sensitive matter of the Witchers and clapped Reilo on the shoulder. "Ha-ha, so what did you come looking for me about?"
"I'm staying at my instructor's house for now, so it's not convenient for me to go out. If you need anything, you can find me in Classroom Eleven! I came to ask you about contribution points for the Elite Rank. I want to go to the Furnace Mountains to collect specimens before the quarter ends. Do you want to come with me?"
Reilo asked hopefully.
"Classroom Eleven?"
Orn looked at Reilo in surprise.
"If you were in some other class, that'd be fine. But now our Class Four and your Class Eleven are competing fiercely. I hear the two students with the most contribution points are both in your class. If our instructor wants to become a Grade Director in three years, he really needs that qualification."
Orn pressed his lips together, his brows tilted with reluctance. He lowered his voice. "That red-haired girl over there is Angelina. We all call her Fire Phoenix. She has eighty-eight contribution points and is top of our class. Her instructor is also our class advisor. We've already arranged to go out together in a few days..."
Orn didn't finish, but Reilo understood what he meant.
Reilo didn't blame him. He sighed softly, exchanged a few words with Orn about their academic studies, then left the entrance to Classroom Four.