“It seems I haven’t found the wrong person; Professor Manning is very reliable.”
Seeing Professor Heinck’s expression, Xia De knew his wait had finally yielded results.
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t recognize this symbol.”
Professor Heinck said, and aside from his abnormal expression when he saw the symbol unexpectedly, there was no sign that he was lying.
“Is that so? What a pity.”
Xia De nodded, put his notebook away, then reached into his pocket and took out an envelope:
“One hundred pounds.”
It was almost a quarter of his savings.
“What do you mean?”
The Professor asked in surprise. Xia De stopped beating around the bush and said directly:
“Professor, I’m looking for the Hermit Order.”
“Oh, no, no, I don’t know anything about a Hermit Order. Young man, you’ve really found the wrong person.”
He said, and was about to get up and leave. Xia De didn’t stop him, but instead whispered:
“Ancient winds can blow from ancient epochs to the present. An organization hidden in lost history certainly wouldn’t reveal its identity easily. But Professor, I heard that as long as it doesn’t conflict with the Hermit Order’s goals, they are very willing to trade with strangers, spread their Knowledge, and receive compensation. Has the Hermit Order’s rules changed after all these years?”
Professor Heinck ignored him and walked straight to the study door.
Xia De sat at the desk with his back to him:
“Professor, not only am I looking for the Hermit Order, but the Hermit Order also needs the information in my hands. I don’t know if you can contact those Ring術士.”
Contacting this organization would definitely expose his identity, and Xia De was prepared for it. But he wasn't worried, partly because the other party was certainly more afraid of exposure—Xia De could just grab the cat and jump on a train if he wanted to run, but the Guiding Light Club, which the Hermit Order had supported for years, couldn't escape. On the other hand, according to Miss Felianna’s statement and Xia De’s initial understanding, this ancient organization should be trustworthy.
Although there were still risks, everything carried risks, and Xia De could bear them.
Professor Heinck stood at the door, holding the doorknob, neither opening the door nor turning to speak to Xia De.
Xia De was not in a hurry to urge him, so silence descended upon the study. After a full three minutes, the Old Professor, probably tired of standing, sighed and said:
“Alright, Mr. Hamilton, I can help you contact a member of the Hermit Order, but we must decide the location.”
“There are people from them in Tobesk? That’s great. You can decide the location, but it can’t be too remote, and the time can’t be too late. I also need to consider my own safety.”
“I think that’s fine. I’ll give you the news tonight. I’ll send a letter to your address.”
The Professor said, and Xia De, of course, readily agreed. After all, he didn’t have time that afternoon.
Today was Saturday, the time for the weekly group meeting. Last Saturday, the five members of the group took their Summer exam. After the exam, the five of them, wanting to relax, didn’t discuss anything, but in reality, no one had anything to share.
After all, the public security had been exceptionally good in recent weeks.
This Saturday, the most important matter was, of course, Xia De’s promotion to the second year. As planned, he arrived at Doctor Schneider’s clinic earlier than usual and submitted the small mercury bottle to the College via the poetry manuscript pages.
While Luvia, Priest Augustus, and Dorothy were arriving, the College gave Xia De a reply, acknowledging the value of the relic, granting him five credits, and allowing him to smoothly obtain 15 credits within a week.
Although he had long known this would be the result, Xia De couldn’t help but feel happy when he heard the news.
Subsequently, just like when he enrolled, the College gave him a notice for textbook fees and tuition. The total cost for the second year was 325 pounds, which was, of course, a discounted price; otherwise, just the textbook fees alone would have been more than that.
This money was paid by the special contribution award jointly earned by the group. Xia De received twenty-five percent of the 1000 pounds from that bonus, and since the first payment had already been handled by the doctor, he still had about 200 pounds left from the bonus. Now that the special contribution award had paid the fees, it meant he still owed the rest of the group about 125 pounds.
When he first enrolled, the tuition Xia De needed to pay was 50 pounds, which the group lent him. Later, after finding the forged philosopher's stone, the doctor waived his debt. A month and a half had passed, and the tuition price was higher, but Xia De was no longer in the predicament he was in when he first arrived here; he could afford this money.
However, this caused his savings to plummet again, leaving him with just over 200 pounds of usable money. Considering the transaction with the Guiding Light Hermitage, Xia De once again felt that he was still short on money.
Similar to the first-year courses, the second-year courses were also basic courses for Ring術士, combined with core courses from the History Academy. The number of courses was still large, but by their names, most were extensions of courses required in the first year.
“Intermediate Alchemy and Potions”
“Continental Geography Atlas: Herbs and Minerals”
“Common Toxin Identification”
“Introduction to Astrology”
“Introduction to Heraldry”
“Occultism and Ritualism: Beginner Class”
“Introduction to Ancient Occult Schools” (Summoning, Elemental, Necromancy, Prophecy, Protection/Healing, Cursing, Illusion, Enhancement, General; choose one of nine. At least six must be completed before graduation.)
“Ling Rune Theory Basics (Intermediate)”
“Ring術士 Advanced Course - Miracle”
“Ring術士 Advanced Course - Spellcraft”
“Ancient Languages (fifth epoch 0 ~ 2000) Mastery”
“Ancient Languages (fifth epoch 2000 ~ 4000) Mastery”
“Ancient Languages (fifth epoch 4000 ~ 5793) Mastery”
“Ancient Literature” (Serious Literature, Popular Literature (already chosen in first year), Other; choose one of three. Must be completed before fifth year.)
“The Departed great one: Old God” (Note: Letter-based Ring術士 must select a Middle-Ring (inclusive) or higher-level companion for guidance and supervision to ensure normal mental state.)
“History (II)”
“Investigator Files” (Academic Core Course)
“Introduction to Antique Appraisal” (Academic Core Course)
“The Mystery of Time: Investigator’s Guide” (Academic Core Course)
“relics and Whispers” (Academic Core Course)
“Basic Theology (Intermediate)”
A total of 21 courses, among which the “Introduction to Ancient Occult Schools” course introduced the forms of occultism from the era before the Witch Epoch, continuing all the way to the sixth epoch where the Ring術士 resided. As for the Ancient Language Mastery courses, Dorothy only began studying them in her fourth year, but Xia De, being from the History Academy, was required to achieve mastery by his second year according to his cultivation plan.
The focus of different Colleges would vary greatly after the first year. For example, alchemy and potions, two important fields of study, were not highly relevant to the cultivation direction of the History Academy, so while alchemy and potions were to continue being studied, the two courses were merged, and their difficulty was much lower than that of the Mechanical College and Chemistry College.
These courses were merely compulsory. Upon reaching the second year, more elective courses that required payment would also become available to Xia De. The parchment listing the elective courses was kept by Xia De himself, and he could apply to the College through the doctor’s channel at any time.
However, Professor Garcia’s “Folding Space,” which he was to attend next week, was not on the list. This course was originally not open to low-level Ring術士; Xia De was only able to attend with Professor Garcia’s special permission.
The College probably guessed that Xia De would obtain credits by purchasing and submitting relics, and would certainly reach his goal by the weekend, so the textbooks had already been prepared.
Some of the first-year textbooks were also used as second-year teaching materials, so although Xia De had more second-year courses, the textbooks delivered this time were fewer than last time, only a little over forty books.
The five of them arranged the books together, and Xia De could take them when he left in the evening.
Besides Xia De, Priest Augustus and Dorothy also applied for new elective courses from the College as supplementary study content for the second half of the year. The Priest chose “Extraction and Processing of Hallucinogenic Toxins,” while Dorothy chose “The Mystery of the Soul: Elemental Impact.”
The purple-eyed Diviner had nothing for the College to handle this week, and Doctor Schneider received a notice that the “Summer Off-Campus Practice” for official College students, which the student administration mentioned to the doctor last week, had been postponed to the latter half of August.
Although Tobesk’s Divine Descent incident had already passed two weeks ago, after discussion, the College was still uneasy about the City. Considering overall safety issues, not only Saint Byron's, but also Zaras Academy and Success Higher Medical College, postponed their off-campus practice, originally scheduled for early August, to the latter half of this month.
If nothing else happened in Tobesk and its surrounding areas, this annual practice activity would continue.
