The first weekend of the new semester.
Beta Town had shaken off the desolation of winter break, and Pedestrian Street had regained much of its usual bustle.
Most of the witches and wizards passing by on the street openly pulled and tugged at one another, holding hands or embracing. Their cheerful laughter and lively atmosphere washed away the last trace of winter's chill, making the whole world seem to fill with the breath of spring overnight.
Zheng Qing walked apart from the crowd.
His face was hidden beneath a broad hood, and he deliberately chose paths along walls, behind houses, and through sparsely traveled alleys. Naturally, that made the trip to Dr. Duzem's home take much longer.
The witch walking beside him had already heard that a certain Secret Society intended to make a move against someone. She understood the young wizard's choice and happily wound through the twisting alleys with him.
Along the way, she explained some basic knowledge related to Graduation Theses.
"...For students graduating normally, the school assigns each of them a thesis advisor during the first semester of their fourth year. Then the advisors meet one-on-one with every student to determine the direction they want to 'research.'
"...Of course, the school did not expect students who had not even passed the Registered Wizard assessment to produce any profound theories or powerful magic. At most, this method systematically cultivated everyone's ability and habits in researching, analyzing, and solving problems, while testing their grasp of professional knowledge, and so on.
"...Before the meeting, there was the Thesis Proposal. The thesis advisor explained to everyone how to write one, the word-count and formatting requirements for the thesis, and so on. If students needed to borrow a laboratory, the advisor also had to coordinate the relevant experiment times and quotas