Aside from Xia De, the other students were all official students enrolled at Saint Byron's Comprehensive College, wearing uniform black robes as their attire.
Professor Garcia simply welcomed Xia De, then began the formal lecture. Of course, before class, he explained the assessment requirements for the course and described the 12-inch (approximately 30.4 cm) long parchment course report that needed to be submitted at the end.
Xia De had originally thought that taking such a specialized course early would make it difficult to understand, but once Professor Garcia officially began lecturing, he realized that this course was only a very preliminary explanation of the peculiar transcendent ability known as Mystic Lock.
All the Ring術士 who chose this course planned to study Mystic Lock-type Miracles or spells in the future, or at least had such intentions. Relatively speaking, Xia De had a stronger understanding of the course itself, because he had truly used Mystic Lock more than once.
This type of foundational course was extremely helpful to Xia De. Not only did Professor Garcia's explanation of the application of spatial Miracles give Xia De more ideas for applying his abilities and planning his own system, but more importantly, he could not find information on Mystic Lock-related mysterious abilities anywhere else. Therefore, even though he had used Mystic Lock multiple times, this was his first systematic understanding of such abilities.
The reason Mystic Lock abilities are precious is that they require the user to create and superimpose a space upon the unusually stable space of the material world. Within the closed space, the power of the Mystic Lock user will be greatly enhanced, and can even suppress those terrifyingly powerful relics to a certain extent.
In addition to a comprehensive enhancement of the self, different Mystic Locks will also grant the user different abilities based on their nature.
For example, Xia De's the little match girl granted Xia De the ability to use four limited wishes. To date, he had fully used Mystic Lock twice: the first time he used four wishes to save the little girl's family, and the second time he used four wishes to win a card game.
Mystic Lock can be generated by Miracles and spells, or by large-scale rituals. However, ritualistic Mystic Locks consume a huge amount of resources. To use Professor Garcia's analogy, they are only slightly cheaper than a God-descent ritual. As for spell and Miracle-type Mystic Locks, they not only require the user's Ring術士 level, but also extremely strong talent.
This is not something that can be achieved with money and effort. High-ring Miracles have strong requirements for Ling Runes, talent, and luck.
Even among Thirteen Ring Sorcerers, only a few have mastered Mystic Lock. And within the entire Saint Byron's Comprehensive College, only four people possess Mystic Lock-type abilities.
Of course, that's four people not including Xia De. They are Miss Daniste, the librarian; the Dean of the Library Management College, the college's ace major; an eleventh-ring student from the History Academy who is currently preparing to graduate; and Professor Garcia, the Associate Dean of the History Academy.
At this point, Professor Garcia showed a rather smug expression on his face. But the students all thought this was normal, because if they were in the professor's position, they would probably show the exact same expression.
"Professor! So, do Mystic Lock abilities use the Four Elements to influence space and thus create space, or do they use one's own thoughts and spirit to construct an imaginary world?"
This was a question Xia De posed near the end of class. Professor Garcia was very pleased with this question and suggested that Xia De use it as the topic for his final course paper:
"Strictly speaking, both of your ideas are correct. The Ring術士 system itself is about intelligent life influencing this world by relying on spirit and the Four Elements; it's just that the manifestation of Mystic Lock is quite unique."
"Then, Professor, is it possible for an already formed Mystic Lock to change due to changes in the user's own soul? For example, can a Ring術士 who has lost control still exert the original power of the Mystic Lock?"
Xia De posed another question. The previous time Gluttony affected the little match girl, it made him realize this issue.
Professor Garcia frowned, thought for a moment, and then nodded slightly:
"Abnormal changes in the soul will affect all Miracles, as the Destiny Ring itself is part of the soul. The topic I am currently researching is whether two Mystic Lock Miracles will influence each other if a Ring術士 masters both. This is also an important research direction concerning self-consciousness acting upon itself / Miracle powers interfering with each other, similar to your question."
He considered it for a moment:
"I can explain this part of the content in tomorrow's class. However, Mr. Hamilton, I think you can really try to start considering constructing Mystic Lock-type abilities and selecting suitable Ling Runes from now on. You have a lot of talent for it."
Professor Garcia had always admired Xia De, after all, Xia De's performance had always been excellent.
"No problem, Professor, I'm considering a Mystic Lock related to the Enlightenment Element."
Xia De said, taking advantage of the opportunity, so that when he reached a high ring, it would be easier to explain the origin of his Mystic Lock.
Class ended exactly at nine in the evening. When Xia De stood up from his chair, Mia was standing on the sofa, looking back at her tail, which was constantly wagging with a ring on it.
Seeing Xia De stand up and stretch after sitting for a long time, the cat immediately ran over, wanting him to hold her.
After playing with Mia for a while, before Xia De could find his notebook to write down the class content for review, the carriage stopped downstairs at No. 6.
When Xia De went out for dinner in the evening, he wrote an urgent letter to Miss Jialinna and sent it directly from the post office. Calculating the time, it was about this time that Miss Jialinna would send out a carriage after receiving his letter.
However, when Xia De got dressed and went downstairs, he found that not only was the Black-haired maid Tifa in the carriage, but Miss Jialinna was also there.
"You actually came in person?"
Xia De was very surprised and invited the Duchess in to talk.
"I didn't come to the city for your business. I went to Yodel Palace today to handle some matters, and coincidentally, your letter was delivered by the manor's servants. Xia De, what happened to you again? Could it be that you found another bottle of elixir of life?"
The Duchess joked. After following Xia De upstairs, she saw the chairs and basin set out and knew that he had just contacted Saint Byron's.
"It's like this, I recently got an interesting alchemy formula, but it requires your help."
Xia De had originally not intended to tell anyone about the Witch detection alchemy tool. But today's chance encounter with the Aurora Family's carriage gave him a great sense of crisis. His own alchemy level was not high, plus he needed a Witch's hair, which was why he changed his mind and directly sought help from Miss Jialinna.
"Alchemy formula?"
The Duchess asked in surprise. She knew that Xia De would not bother her with such a small matter.
"Yes, it's related to Witches."
Xia De handed the formula, which he had copied onto paper in advance, to the Duchess. Miss Tifa, after receiving permission, had already entered Xia De's kitchen to prepare black tea for the two of them.
The two sat down on the sofa. Mia seemed to be very hostile towards Miss Jialinna. Even when Xia De held her on his lap, she would occasionally meow at the Witch.
Miss Jialinna frowned as she read:
"Hmm?"
The Red-haired Witch looked up at Xia De, her expression somewhat serious:
"Detective, where did you get this?"
"Although I'd love to use the excuse 'I bought it from a mysterious person in the black market,' I don't like to lie, so the answer is that it's inconvenient to answer, but I can guarantee the formula is fine."
Miss Jialinna nodded and placed the page on the coffee table.
Just then, Tifa returned with the teapot, ready to pour tea for them. The Red-haired Witch carefully chose her words, her golden eyes appraising Xia De's face:
"Xia De, perhaps you and Witches truly have a destined entanglement."
Xia De immediately shook his head:
"No, no, I don't want any entanglement with troublesome Witches—you are an exception."
Realizing the impropriety in his words, he immediately corrected himself, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see the bending Black-haired maid's lips curve into a smile.
Miss Jialinna raised an eyebrow:
"First the merman elixir of life a few days ago, and now this lost item. Even the Witch Council has only heard rumors of it. I really suspect if you've found the tombs of the fifth epoch Witches."
"I wish I had. I heard that Witches from the fifth epoch liked to use precious metals like gold and silver as burial offerings."
Xia De shook his head regretfully, then asked again:
"Speaking of which, is it the sixth epoch now?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course, it's the sixth epoch now. Detective, have you lost control?"
The Witch asked in surprise, and the Black-haired maid also cast a concerned glance.
"No, no, no, I just asked casually. Let's get back to the main topic. I've prepared all the materials for making this item, only missing a Witch's hair. Miss Jialinna, I hope you can help me make one. The formula can be shared with you, but I hope it won't be shared with other members of the Witch Council."
Xia De said, then saw the Duchess opposite him show a mocking expression:
"Detective, why would you think I would share this item with them? Of course not. Such a good thing, where I can find them but they don't know I can find them, I'll certainly keep for myself."
Xia De stroked the cat lying on his lap, feeling that the relationship between the thirteen Witches of the Witch Council was even more complicated than he had imagined.
Miss Jialinna reached out and picked up the paper from the coffee table, folded it in half, and handed it to her Black-haired maid:
"It looks like we'll be staying up late tonight. Tomorrow morning, tomorrow at eight, I'll have Tifa deliver the finished badge to you."
"That would be wonderful!"
Xia De's face broke into a smile. He had thought it would take several days, given how complex the formula was.
"So, what do you need, Xia De? I've taken your formula, I always have to give you something. Making one for you is not worth as much as the formula itself."
The Red-haired Witch asked Xia De with a smile. Xia De thought for a moment. Although he really wanted to ask for pounds, he thought of another matter:
"The Sea Offering Ritual. I hope you can, as much as possible, help me find information about the Sea Offering Ritual through various channels, especially regarding the ritual steps of the Cultists in the final stage of the ritual."
The information from the College and the Church might not be complete. An organization like the Witch Council might have unexpected gains. For the potentially existing "evil god's power," giving up an alchemy formula was completely worth it.
