Throne of Magical Arcana

“You’re screaming as if you’ve run into a ghost.” As a low and unpredictable voice echoed, the door of his dormitory was opened, and a young man with messy hair walked in. His eyelids were bloated, and his blue eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept for a long time.

On his back, a pale and fuzzy shadow was stuck to him and floated forward with the feet away from the ground. After it showed up, the whole dormitory suddenly became cold, as if the night of spring turned into a dawn in winter.

Donnie quivered and hurried to put on the long coat that he just took off. “Sammy, I see the ghost on your back every day. Why would I be scared of ghosts? Besides, if there are really any evil spirits, those teachers of the school of necromancy would be capturing them with great delight.”

Such was the disadvantage of the magic schools, where there was no place for ghost stories. Things were different in the generic schools. For example, after a girl hanged herself in a laboratory, the other students often found that their experiment materials would go missing, or that the materials they badly in need of would appear right next to their hands when they worked alone in the place at night.

Of course, there were other stories in magic schools. For example, rumors had it that the grim old sorcerer who watched over the autopsy room often dissected living people for studies, and it was why he barely came out and always refused everyone who approached his room.

Sammy yawned. “In that case, why were you screaming so miserably? You are a top twenty apprentice of our grade.”

The ghost hands behind him suddenly stretched like it was made of elastic material. Then, they grabbed the kettle and the cup, poured water, and fed it to Sammy’s mouth.

“Even the best apprentices would feel that their brains are exploding when they are faced with all those equations, conceptions, mechanisms, and magic models, even though we’re only working on the basics,” Donnie rubbed his temples and complained. It was particularly so when so many theories and equations had Lucien or Evans in them. He only hoped that somebody could travel back in time and kill that guy so that those torturing things wouldn’t have been invented.

Thinking about that, Donnie sighed. “Also, I do not have a Lucidity Necklace or a Stamina Ring. I’m not like you. You have a natural-born Back Spirit, and you have been admitted by the Heidler Magic College in advance for your excellent necromancy skills. For me, I can only count myself, and I cannot fail. It’s only natural that I get exhausted and anxious as time goes on.”

He knew his mental status rather well.

Sammy drank a mouthful of water and yawned again. “Your psychoanalysis is pretty good. It will be better after you unleash your depression.”

Then, he lay on his bed lazily and closed his eyes. “The Back Spirit can be quite tricky. It absorbs your vitality, affects your status, and… prevents girls from getting close to you. I would’ve been burnt if I were born during the reign of the Saint Truth…”

As he spoke, he fell asleep, and his breath was barely audible. His Back Spirit lay below him and hugged him tightly.

Donnie looked at his roommate and sighed. What you despise is what I envy and cannot get. After all, if he could become an official sorcerer, none of the female sorcerers would be scared of his Back Spirit.

Sammy mentioned it before that he had a twin brother. However, since his mother’s body was damaged near a gap of the World of Souls, one of her babies was already dead before being born.

Calming himself down, Donnie threw aside “Introduction to Arcana” and “History of Arcana and Magic” and focused on the exercises to analyze magic models.

Tomorrow, I will have my own Lucidity Necklace!

…

As the intricate and weird spell echoed and the clusters of cold powder slid off, a transparent ray mixed with freezing air was shot out, resulting in thick frost on the throat of the target.

Donnie looked at his work in satisfaction and appreciated Mr. Evans in his heart. After he basically figured out the essence of magic, the functions of many spells had been analyzed and simplified. Otherwise, it would’ve been impossible for him to shoot out a freezing ray so easily.

“Alright, that’s all for today’s magic exercise.” The teacher responsible for real-battle magic guidance clapped his hands and dismissed the students.

Donnie hurried to stop and pack his materials. After saying goodbye to Sammy who seemed to be half asleep all the time, he hurried to go to the station outside of the school.

Today was Sunday. There were no classes in the afternoon.

After forty minutes, Bus No. 36 reached Triumph Avenue, and Donnie walked into the Knowledge Bookstore quickly.

“Good afternoon, sir.” Donnie greeted and was too shy to say anything else.

The boss, who had a pair of owl eyes and a deep yellow beard, laughed. “Good afternoon. You’re right on time. I’ve already had the Lucidity Necklace and the contract prepared.”

As he spoke, he brought out a bright gold necklace. On the necklace were five bright blue gems the size of grit. They emitted vague coolness as if a spring was hidden in them. Together, they constituted a strangely-shaped star.

“It’s a ‘Lucidity Necklace’ that is in the level of official magic items…” Donnie had taken basic appraisal classes in school, so he could tell the real level of the necklace easily from the obvious wave features. He was both excited and confused. As Mr. Evans said before, inexplicable gifts often contained schemes, no matter the schemes were good or bad.

The boss touched his beard and smiled. “It’s rented to you, not given to you.

“Actually, I am a very materialistic man. I do things for returns. Although I’m renting it to you very cheaply, will you turn down my request for help after you become an official sorcerer? This is essentially a long-term investment that does not jeopardize my own interests at all.”

As the infrastructure such as roads and rails was perfected, and after the magic cars, magic steam trains, steamships, aircraft, and other vehicles were popularized, the communication among places was more and more convenient. The banking industry had made a lot of innovations too.

Donnie was more relaxed after hearing the boss’ answer. Although he was still puzzled why the guy had high hopes in him, he was not too bothered by it. After all, it was his investment. So, Donnie picked up the contract and read it carefully.

Donnie reviewed every clause on the contract according to what he learned in school. The contract was very simple and did not have any ambiguities. So, Donnie reached a conclusion very quickly. Gritting his teeth, he signed his real name with his quill.

A bright fire popped up, burning up the contract and yielding two copies at the same time.

“The contract is now in effect. You can take away the necklace now.” The boss gave the necklace back to Donnie.

After seizing the necklace according to the standard procedure, Donnie put it on his neck and immediately sensed coolness circulating in his body. His days of anxiety and depression were gone. He was never more refreshed and comfortable.

“Donnie.” The boss suddenly asked, “Which school are you going to apply for in the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic? Holt? The Tower? Heidler? Or any others?”

There were nine advanced magic colleges in the Congress of Magic today. Among them, the Holt Magic College was best at the microscopic domain and elements, the Tower College was best at astrology and cosmology, and the Heidler College was best at necromancy, genes, and medics. Every college had additional tests for the applicants. Therefore, a month before the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic, each student would choose the college of their choice.

Subconsciously, Donnie was about to say Holt Magic College, because it was the first college of the Congress. The faculty was strong and knowledgeable, and they were best at the microscopic domain that involved the nature of the world and magic. Who wouldn’t be attracted by that?

However, when he saw the boss’ owl eyes, he suddenly remembered the pain from last night. The equations and formulas whose rough interpretations were already complicated enough, the dizzying math models, and the “curses” that had Lucien or Evans as the prefix made him feel agitated from the bottom of his heart.

The moment he thought that he would step deeper into the Evans domain, he felt that his life was dark and sunless.

“I… I haven’t made up my mind yet. I was thinking of applying for the Holt Magic College, but the other colleges seem quite good too. I’m good at most of my classes,” Donnie said ambiguously.

The boss smiled and then sighed. “Actually, I am a sorcerer, and I entered the world of magic under the influence of the Herald of Arcana and Magic.

“I once had the ambition to make huge achievements that I could be proud of in the microscopic domain. After all, Mr. Evans only established the framework, and many details and foundations still required studying. Alas, after deeper studies, I realized that only the real talented arcanists could press forward in this domain and that a mediocre man like me could barely keep up with them.

“To make things worse, to dedicate myself to theoretical studies, I completely ignored the magic application, which led to the stagnation of my capabilities. I was left out from the team that was aiming for the tip of the pyramid. I could only kill my time by opening such a bookstore.”

Donnie was stunned. “Sir, why didn’t you try to switch to a different field of studies?”

“I am trying to study necromancy, but my foundations are not good and my mind is already shaped. Everything is difficult.” The boss did not say anything more and simply hinted Donnie to leave.

Donnie walked on the street ignorantly. His head was filled with the boss’ words and his previous thoughts. Gradually, they gathered into the same idea. I will not be covered in Mr. Evans’ halo. I will not be haunted by the complicated equations and formulas for the rest of my life. I will not talk about Lucien blah blah blah and Evans blah blah blah in my dream every night…

But… which field did not have the shadow of Mr. Evans?