Luvia did not leave Xia De's house that morning. The two spent the entire morning discussing the Fourth Chosen One. After having lunch together, she and Xia De, who was holding a cat, took a four-wheeled hansom cab to Doctor Schneider's clinic for a meeting.
It snowed lightly again at noon, but the snow stopped when they arrived at Lunqin Avenue.
Because Tobesk City was outwardly calm this week, the five-person group had no new things to share. Besides re-emphasizing the importance of next month's exam week, the Doctor also reminded everyone to be careful about theft:
"I heard from the black market that a humanoid relic specializing in theft has recently appeared in the City."
The Doctor shared his information:
"This relic targets everyone, but it prefers to steal from Ring Warlock. Some local Ring Warlock have already had important items stolen. Be careful about theft, but do not use Ring術士 methods, otherwise the other party will become very powerful. As long as our anti-theft measures are strict enough, even if it finds us, it will give up stealing."
Xia De recalled what he had seen at Professor Manning's place, so he said:
"An Old Professor I know, a common person, was robbed. The thief used a wire to unlatch the inside of the window, opened a first-floor window, entered the room to steal, and took a vase."
"I've heard similar things."
Priest Augustus said, wiping his pipe:
"Old Birmingham, who often visits the church, had the only joint photo with his deceased wife stolen. The thief committed the theft during the day, bringing a large wooden box disguised as a mailed package and placing it at the door. The thief hid inside the wooden box, sawed open the door from the side closest to it, entered the room to steal, and then returned to the wooden box."
He shook his head:
"Who would have thought of such a method of theft?"
"I also heard other Prophets in the Prophet Association talking about this relic."
Luvia also shared an interesting anecdote:
"Miss Lane, who lives in the eastern district of Tobesk City, about two blocks from here, had her family's heirloom pearl necklace stolen. But this time, the thief neither broke the door nor opened a window. While Miss Lane was away, it used a hammer to smash open the back wall of the house facing the garbage alley, and then crawled through the dog-hole-sized opening."
"Is that considered a common person's method?"
Xia De asked suspiciously:
"Can a common person smash open a building's wall with a sledgehammer?"
"They can, after all, that house itself isn't a very sturdy building."
Luvia said, while Dorothy became interested:
"Although the other party is a relic, it's also a thief. I really hope I can record the process of it being caught, so my book can have more interesting plots."
As she spoke, she glanced at Xia De. Of course, Dorothy would certainly not encourage Xia De to seek trouble with a humanoid relic.
"What's the benefit of catching it?"
Xia De asked curiously again. This time, neither Luvia nor Doctor Schneider could answer, but Priest Augustus knew more because he had heard information from someone at the church:
"This humanoid relic possesses many wonderful treasures. Yes, if you can catch it, you can obtain one of its prized possessions."
Seeing that the other four present showed interested expressions, Priest Augustus quickly added:
"Don't think it's simple. To this day, no one has ever seen the true appearance of that thief. It becomes stronger when faced with strength. Although it usually only uses common person's methods to steal, those methods are extremely ingenious. Furthermore, church records show that this thief does not exist at any time other than when a 'theft act' occurs. It only exists in the scene where a theft occurs. Therefore, on the surface, catching it doesn't seem difficult; but in reality, there is reason to believe that the possibility of catching it is approximately equal to trying to find a needle in the ocean with a fishing net."
Besides the interesting story of the humanoid relic stealing in the City, that afternoon, the five-person group also contacted their respective academies to make their final preparations for the year-end exams next month.
Priest Augustus was still short on some practical credits and wanted to take on a high-value academy commission; the Doctor wanted to try again to retake the elective course "Aether Mechanics" that he failed in the Summer, although he himself wasn't very confident, he still wanted to try his luck.
As for Dorothy and Luvia, the Writer had been promoted to PentaCircle with Xia De's help, so she had to take the grade promotion exam at the end of the year, and she still had several basic course papers to submit. Although Luvia was a jointly trained student of the Prophet Association and Saint Byron's, after being promoted to Four Ring during the Battle of Middlesburg in the Autumn, she was also considering taking the fourth-year entrance exam in the Winter.
She herself was not in a hurry; even if she didn't pass the exam this year, she could try again next year.
Xia De was the most troubled of everyone. He had officially applied to Saint Byron's to take the skip-grade exam as a second-year student this year, directly advancing to the fourth year.
The conditions for taking the skip-grade exam were sufficient Ring術士 level, which Xia De had no problem with; the exam content only covered the written part of compulsory courses, while uncompleted practical courses and papers for the second and third years could be made up within the following year.
Xia De had already borrowed enough books from the Library for "memorization," and as long as he completed Miss Daniste's commission, he could get a huge amount of practical credits through a back door. So for Xia De, before the end of 1853, he had a vast number of books to memorize. Fortunately, with "her" help, Xia De did not believe he would fail the exam.
After the five individuals separately requested a list of Miracles from the Library, the academy also sent a letter from the student administration office to the group.
Doctor Schneider, the group leader, opened the letter. He glanced at the content and sighed:
"Alright, this year's off-campus practical activity in the Tobesk City district has been officially canceled. The students who were supposed to come here have gone to other districts."
The off-campus practical training for official Saint Byron's students was originally supposed to take place in the Summer. However, due to the divine descent event that occurred in Tobesk City in the Summer, this year's activity was postponed to the Winter.
Doctor Schneider had even complained about this, but he didn't expect it to be canceled directly in the Winter.
"Why was our district canceled? Haven't the past few months in Tobesk City been very safe?"
Priest Augustus asked doubtfully. Doctor Schneider handed the letter to the Priest, then explained to the others:
"The school believes that the visit of Princess Margaret Anjou will cause some things to happen in the City, so for safety, this year's off-campus practical activity has been officially canceled."
"What does a Princess's visit have to do with Ring術士?"
Dorothy asked intentionally, but the Doctor shook his head:
"The academy didn't make it clear. However, the academy has additionally issued a high-value academy bounty. Augustus, please read it to everyone."
The Old Priest, who was reading the letter, coughed and read clearly:
"Academy Bounty Order.
According to the divination results of the Astronomical Academy, high-danger level relics related to 'trials,' 'tests,' 'riddles,' etc., will frequently appear in Tobesk City and its surrounding areas in Delarion recently. A bounty is now being offered to all Letter-based Ring術士 of the academy in this area. Once such relics are encountered, quickly inform the academy of the specific information. Based on the detailedness and value of the information, the academy will award practical credits ranging from 1 to 20 points."
"Just submitting information can give so many credits?"
Dorothy exclaimed softly. Priest Augustus continued to read:
"If you directly encounter such a relic and can complete the test given by it without asking for any reward, you will receive a tear-shaped, blue crystal as a reward. This crystal is a physical substance of unknown composition, named the Poet Grade relic 【wise man's stone】. Submitting the wise man's stone to the academy will grant you a one-time acquisition of—"
Priest Augustus opened his mouth in surprise:
"20 practical credits, 2000 pounds in cash, learning information and ritual materials for any Miracle from the Library list, and any sage-level relic contained by the academy."
The Priest himself gasped. Xia De glanced at Luvia, whose eyes moved but expression remained unchanged. Doctor Schneider stroked his chin in thought, and Dorothy, holding Xia De's cat, was also quite surprised:
"Containing a Poet Grade relic (Level 5), and the academy rewards a sage-level relic (Level 2)?"
"Yes."
Priest Augustus nodded and finished reading the last few sentences of the Academy Bounty Order:
"Note 1: This mission is extremely dangerous. Students below Four Ring (inclusive) are not advised to attempt to obtain the 【wise man's stone】.
Note 2: During the bounty period, the academy Library will open some containment information of humanoid relics for free. For specific details, please consult the academy Library.
Note 3: Multiple Ring術士 organizations, including the Orthodox Church, will participate in this event, and moderate-intensity City Ring術士 battles are expected. Local Letter-based Ring術士 are requested to protect their personal privacy and safety. If needed, please contact Saint Byron's Student Administration Office at any time."
After he finished reading, the others remained silent for a long time. Even though Xia De and Luvia had known about the 【wise man's stone】 half a week ago, they were still astonished by Saint Byron's "grand gesture."
"The last time the academy offered such a generous bounty reward—"
Doctor Schneider said softly:
"—was when the academy suspected the Tobesk City area had fallen into an eternal time loop, but it was later proven that this was not the case, and time had always been flowing."
Luvia quickly exchanged glances with Priest Augustus (Chapter 512), and the Priest, wiping his pipe, shook his head slightly.
"It seems something big has really happened in the Tobesk City area."
Doctor Schneider's expression suddenly became serious. He was the oldest Ring術士 in the group.
"Are there any other situations where the academy can offer such generous rewards?"
Xia De asked again, and the Doctor replied once more:
"Yes, a certain integer itself is a relic. This integer is between 13 and 14. If this number is found, the academy can award a sage-level relic and a lifelong teaching position after graduation. Once this number is announced, it will directly lead to the collapse of the mathematical system."
This was somewhat like solving the Goldbach Conjecture in the Outsider's homeland. The Doctor's analogy made Xia De fully understand how strongly the academy desired the 【wise man's stone】.
