Spirit Realm Analysis

The instructor for Spirit Realm Analysis was a white-haired old man, so frail that it felt as if he didn't have a single tooth left in his head.

Fran curiously sized up the instructor, who was holding a grey orb in his hand.

He placed the orb onto the table and began to speak:

"I am Ichi, the instructor for this Spirit Realm Analysis course. There will be an examination for this class."

Surprisingly, Ichi's voice was full of vigor, not at all as aged as his appearance suggested.

However, everyone taking this course was likely here for the Spirit Realm itself; Fran looked at the other apprentices, who were all staring at the orb as well.

"Without further ado, let us begin the lesson."

"After I explain the basic common knowledge of the Spirit Realm, I will lead everyone on a Spirit Realm Cruising."

Following this, Ichi began his lecture.

"The place where we currently reside is called the Material Realm; it is where all matter exists and where we are able to live without needing excessive survival conditions."

"As for the stars we see every night, they are located in the Astral Realm, which is difficult to reach."

"The Spirit Realm lies between the Material Realm and the Astral Realm. The influence of the Astral Realm is even greater within the Spirit Realm, and places in the Material Realm also have corresponding locations within the Spirit Realm."

"Although we can walk into the Spirit Realm with our physical bodies, such areas are often quite remote and difficult to exit."

"The method we generally use to go to the Spirit Realm is the Spirit Realm Cruising, which involves raising our consciousness toward the Spirit Realm, rather than our souls..."

After Ichi explained some basic common knowledge, he copied a chant onto the blackboard.

"Everyone, memorize this chant. Once you recite it later, your consciousness will ascend into the Spirit Realm."

"The item in my hand is a Guide of the Spirit Realm; it can open a passage leading to the Spirit Realm."

"It is worth noting that the functions of each Guide of the Spirit Realm are not the same. Some point to a special location, while others allow you to obtain peculiar powers..."

"The function of the one in my hand is to send those who recite the chant into relatively safe areas on a large scale, and pull you back within a certain amount of time."

"You should not have obtained anything from the Spirit Realm yet, so even if your corresponding body in the Spirit Realm dies, it will not cause you any harm."

"Your time in the Spirit Realm may not necessarily match that of the Material Realm, but I can guarantee that you will all return before this class ends."

"Take note: do not casually sign contracts with Spirit Realm creatures, otherwise you may never be able to enter the Spirit Realm again for the rest of your life."

"Also, after you enter, you might encounter a trial, a monster that attacks you, or other people conducting a Spirit Realm Cruising."

"But I suspect most of you will only be able to see the correspondence of our City of Apprentices in the Spirit Realm."

"Very well, I have finished speaking. Everyone, begin now."

The grey orb in Ichi's hand began to glow, and after Fran recited the chant once, she felt her entire being rising, but the ascent was incomplete, leaving her stuck in place.

"Everyone whose consciousness has not yet entered the Spirit Realm, recite the chant a few more times."

After Fran followed his instructions, she felt her consciousness slip away.

When Fran regained consciousness, she saw a notification on her panel, but she didn't look at it immediately; instead, she began to survey her surroundings.

Contrary to her expectation of seeing the correspondence of the City of Apprentices in the Spirit Realm, Fran saw that the surrounding environment was a wasteland, with a building faintly visible in the distance and a few withered, yellow trees nearby.

After confirming that the environment was safe, she looked at the panel notification.

[New profession can be formed after detecting that relevant skills meet the conditions.

Profession: Spirit Realm Mage (One Star)

Introduction: Obtain spellcasting power from the Spirit Realm. Different individuals can acquire unique talents after becoming a Spirit Realm Mage.

Conditions for Completion:
Learn three spells (Novice)
Spirit Realm Cruising Method reached (Novice)
Pass the trial given by the Spirit Realm.]

Fran looked at the completion conditions for the new profession that had popped up and scratched her head.

Based on the information she had collected previously, as well as the one-star profession rank of this Spirit Realm Mage, she deduced that this Spirit Realm Mage should be the official rank.

But the requirements to achieve this profession seemed a bit strange.

To think that they only required Novice-level skills—these requirements were far too low.

Or was it because the final trial given by the Spirit Realm was too difficult?

Even the previously mentioned half-star Rune Warrior had higher skill requirements than this, so how could a Spirit Realm Mage, which was a higher rank than a Rune Warrior, have a lower difficulty?

She believed that the requirement to complete the Spirit Realm trial must be extremely high; otherwise, these requirements were simply too low.

However, it was not yet certain whether this method was the only way to become an official rank, so she temporarily set the matter aside and began to explore.

It seemed that at this moment, the only option was to walk toward that building.

Fran looked at the nearly empty surroundings and began to walk quickly toward the structure.

After some time, what came into view was a dilapidated building standing in the wasteland.

Beneath its spire was a clock, only it was no longer turning, and its hands were nowhere to be found.

The entire building bore the marks of long-term disrepair; greenery climbed the walls, and the surfaces were riddled with cracks.

She passed through the dilapidated gate and stepped into the interior of the building.

The ceiling of the first floor was quite high, perhaps six or seven meters, and after weaving through a pile of debris, Fran finally arrived at an open space.

"Nn!"

Fran was now standing on an aisle, flanked by rows of chairs on the verge of collapse.

At the end of this aisle stood a sculpture—no, it should be called a statue of a deity.

Only then did Fran realize that the layout here resembled a church, with a broken window behind the statue.

Unlike the exterior, the walls here were marked with dark red stains.

Fran began to look around, but found nothing until she reached the front of the statue.

The statue depicted an angel with folded wings, its face covered by its hands, its body in a semi-crouched position.

Fran suddenly felt the dark red stains on the nearby wall flicker, but when she looked over, there was no trace of anything.

Just as she turned her head back to look at the statue again, she suddenly noticed a tattered book had appeared on the small table in front of it.

"Was this book here just now?"

Fran was certain the book had not been there a moment ago; it must have appeared the instant she turned her head.

Fran cautiously reached out to touch the book, finding its surface extremely rough with many small, raised bumps.

She flipped to the first page, but there was nothing on it.

Yet, as Fran peered closer, some characters she could not understand began to emerge on the previously blank surface.

Before Fran could take a closer look, her consciousness began to sink.