Chapter Fourteen: The Essence of the Arcane Arts

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Deer Institute · Anderson Dormitory
[6:30 AM]
[Sir, the Deer Institute has delivered academy robes tailored to your size to your room door—three sets in total, each equipped with a miniature anti-dust magical array.
According to Article 34, Clause 5 of the Deer Institute Student Handbook, students are required to wear magical robes during classes.]
[You have yet to eat; Jarvis offers you two options.]
[①: Spend standard equivalent currency to use delivery service. The cafeteria will dispatch a familiar to bring your meal (current location: Mist City; currency unit: Yuan Coin; estimated cost: 3 Yuan Coins).]
[②: Go directly to the cafeteria.]

While washing up in the bathroom, Xia Xiu casually pulled out ten 100-Yuan Coin bills.
“Have the cafeteria deliver breakfast here. Put the rest into my personal account at the Deer Institute’s Think Tank.”
Having money, so naturally indulgent!
[Understood, Sir.]

The red leather-bound book with embedded external devices floated up automatically, flipping through pages rapidly. Then, a [Public Reverse Summoning] magic array appeared, swallowing the money directly. The red book then popped up a notification window.
[Cafeteria: Order dispatched, expected arrival in three minutes.]

After finishing his wash, Xia Xiu retrieved the magical robe from the door and put it on.
Yes, it fits perfectly.

The familiar delivering the meal soon arrived with breakfast.
Still an old friend.

Xia Xiu took the basket the owl held in its beak, and under the bird’s expectant gaze—clearly thinking he must be a clever fellow—he took out a sandwich and handed it back.
“You really are as sharp as I thought, kid.”

The owl happily took the food and flew off, while Xia Xiu smiled and shook his head.
He resolved to summon a familiar for himself when he had time.

Having quickly settled breakfast, Xia Xiu asked Jarvis:
“Jarvis, display the layout of the Deer Institute’s teaching area.”
[Certainly.]

[Deer Institute Teaching Office and Wings:
Main Building: Aboveground structure (Cathedral)
Primary Office Area (Basement Level 1): Administrative offices, special residency
Wing A (Basement Level 1): Staff dormitories, medical center, conference hall
Wing B (Basement Level 1): Research area, low-risk artifact storage
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Wing C (Basement Level 2): Mundane Studies classrooms
Wing D (Basement Level 2): Occult Studies classrooms
Wing E (Basement Level 2): Medium security control area
Wing F (Basement Level 3): All-purpose hidden shelter facilities, secure living quarters
Wing G (Basement Level 3): Sustainable agriculture center
Wing H (Basement Level 3): High-value area
Wing I (Basement Level 4): Classified zone]

[Sir, you will need to attend the Occult Studies class in Wing D shortly. The upcoming week consists of an introductory course on occult literacy and basic arcane arts.]
[Location: Classroom 22]
[Class time: 7:50 AM]
[Lead Professor: Albert Laungen]

“Understood.”

——————

Deer Institute Teaching Area
Wing D (Basement Level 2) Occult Studies Classroom - Room 22
[7:45 AM]

When Xia Xiu entered the tiered classroom 22, the front seats were already filled. The students there had dark circles under their eyes, bloodshot pupils, and looked somewhat agitated.
It was their first encounter with the supernatural world, hence the excitement.

Xia Xiu quietly moved to the back row. Though a freshman, he already carried the air of a seasoned veteran, deliberately arriving just in time.

As he sat down, he noticed Camille in the front row waving at him. Surprisingly, she looked quite well, and Xia Xiu had just seen her chatting happily with a three-eyed girl nearby.
She’s adapting quickly.

[7:50 AM]

Ding ding ding—
Three peculiar chimes rang, signaling the start of class.

The students gleamed with excitement, eyes fixed on the door, awaiting the professor’s arrival. Their anticipation was rewarded; the professor appeared promptly.

Laungen did not walk in through the door but arrived via a teleportation array. A familiar hexagram formed by multiple triangles shimmered on the podium, and Professor Laungen materialized within it.

Wow—

Laungen’s grand entrance perfectly matched the “muggle” ideal of the supernatural. Many students’ eyes sparkled like stars.
“Coach, I want to learn this!”

Xia Xiu rested his chin on his hand, watching the scene unfold. He sensed a kindred spirit—one with the scent of laziness.

[Ethereal Traversal], or spatial teleportation, is a form of arcane art that transforms the caster’s body into ethereal form, allowing instantaneous movement through the omnipresent [Ocean of Ether].
Common manifestations include teleportation via magic arrays, spatial gates, or dimensional rifts.

In his previous life, Xia Xiu’s most used arcane art was the Heaven’s Domain lineage-exclusive Ethereal Traversal technique—[Divine Walk], which is also a magic array teleportation type.

After mastering [Divine Walk] in his past life, Xia Xiu invested immense time and effort to codify this technique into a fixed entry in his lineage grimoire.
With this art, Xia Xiu never truly walked the ground again.

“Good morning, everyone,” Laungen greeted warmly.

“Although you probably know my name from your AI familiars, I will introduce myself. I am Albert Laungen, Head of the Non-Natural Sciences Division.”

“For the next week, I will be your instructor.”

“I will provide a brief overview of Terra’s arcane development history and explain the nature of arcane practitioners.”

“Now, please summon your AI familiars and have them open the Deer Institute First-Year Textbook—Version 268.”

Xia Xiu waved his hand casually at the void before him. A blue virtual screen appeared in his sight, and he instructed Jarvis to open the textbook Laungen mentioned.

The blue screen promptly displayed richly illustrated textbook pages.

“Pages 5 to 6 cover an overview of Terra’s arcane development history. Please skim through them.”

The students quickly scanned the pages. Once they finished, Laungen snapped his fingers, and a large blue screen visible to all appeared behind him, automatically displaying text.

[The Essence of Arcane Arts]

“Students, you will encounter this phrase countless times in the future: The essence of arcane arts is—conceptual transformation.”

“We use our lineage grimoire to analyze the Ether and thereby distort the present reality.”

Laungen adjusted his glasses and spoke solemnly to the students:
“With the aid of the [Ocean of Ether], the fabric of the world is like clay in the arcane practitioner’s hands—fragile and easily reshaped.”

“However, the [Ocean of Ether] is by no means a benevolent realm. Overuse of arcane arts can distort the user themselves, leading to malignant mutations or turning them into ‘Unbound’.”

“‘Unbound’ refers to arcane practitioners heavily polluted by the [Ocean of Ether], contractors who have made pacts with demons, ambitious individuals who trade their souls for knowledge and power, and so forth.

“Each time an arcane practitioner uses their art, their soul projects a spectral form into the immaterial plane—often demons or malevolent gods—like blazing flames.

“These entities are like moths drawn to the fire.

“Unlike moths, which perish in the flame, these demons devouring the soul represent the death of the practitioner. Worse yet, their bodies become vessels for these demons.”
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