A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 94 The whole family is a winner

"Children, there is a classic story about the First Brave Link. You may have heard of it—"

"Link led the ancient British people of the time to establish the world's first ironworks, ushering in the Iron Age for Tamilan. Later, to cope with the consumption of the First Demon War, the canning process, which used iron and aluminum to preserve food, was invented."

"After the war, Link raised a black cat named 'Chris'. Link always liked to feed the cat canned sardines. Over time, a very interesting phenomenon appeared."

"Whenever Chris hears the sound of a can being opened, regardless of whether it's Link or not, he'll think it's time for dinner. He'll quickly rush to the can and start meowing for food. This is the famous 'Link's Cat' experiment."

At the podium, Jacob was teaching the first-year students.

This was a large class in the Department of Arcane Fundamentals. All fifty-one first-year students were sitting in the lecture hall, and the theme of the class was "Meditation."

Quinn was there too, leaning in the corner, listening intently.

"Everyone, please think about this: how does the 'Link's Cat' experiment relate to the switch meditation method I mentioned earlier?"

Jacob's eyes slowly swept across the seats through his monocle.

As the saying goes, when the teacher asks a question, you should never look him in the eye.
"Ms. Celia, could you please tell me what you think?"

The tall girl sitting in the last row in a daze suddenly stood up, raised her head and chest in confusion, and said, "Here we are!"

There were snickers everywhere.

"Sign-in roll call is over," Jacob said with a smile. "Please tell me, what's the connection between 'Link's Cat' and 'Switch Meditation'?"

Celia's clear big eyes blinked.

She was just in a daze.

She knew about Link's cat, of course, and most of the stories about the heroes. But what was the "Switch Meditation Method"?
My head is itchy. I think the teacher just mentioned it, but it just slipped away along my smooth brain.
"Elink's cat is... um."

Just when Celia was at a loss, a line of arcane handwriting appeared on her textbook.

She quickly recited, "Link's cat will instinctively want to eat when it hears the sound of a can. By setting a special word, the brain will quickly enter a deep meditative state through this conditioned reflex."

Jacob nodded imperceptibly.

"That's basically right. Thank you, Miss Celia, please take a seat and pay attention in class."

Celia smiled shyly and sat down feeling relieved.

At her front desk.

A young man calmly withdrew his wand, and Celia whispered "thank you".

Quinn in the back watched all this with interest.

Celia is seventeen years old this year. The girl who inherited the beauty of the Queen of Britain is at the most youthful and lovely age. She has a fatal charm that is a mixture of aristocratic elegance and rustic simplicity. Just by sitting in the back row and daydreaming, she can attract many little boys in the front to look back frequently.

The owner of the tailor shop was right, the boys in this class are very lucky.

It is said that some senior students have secretly passed her love letters, and she is on the verge of becoming the school belle.

Quinn withdrew his gaze and said to himself, "I'll test your code."

The authentic Litang accent is so pure.

The next moment, all distracting thoughts were instantly thrown away and Quinn entered a state of meditation.

Perhaps it was due to the added bonus of the two extraordinary characteristics that Quinn had mastered the switch meditation method after only a few days of practice.

“Choose a meaningful word or syllable—but remember, don’t use it often, so you don’t confuse it in your daily life. Repeat it silently or under your breath during your daily meditation. Let the vibration and rhythm of the sound occupy your mind, replacing distracting thoughts, and slowly outline the image of your soul.”

"Discard all the restrictions and limitations on your previous meditation methods. Don't let any rigid thinking limit your imagination. Arcana is free, and so is meditation. Persevere and practice until you can quickly enter meditation at your will and in any environment."

Although Jacob is a teacher in the teaching department, he also teaches some simple basic arcane courses on weekdays.

Arcane Basics Department: The teaching scope includes common knowledge of arcane, arcane theory and spells. As the name suggests, it is the foundation of all arcane.

"Meditation can help restore mental strength quickly. One hour of deep meditation is equivalent to a full night's sleep. Arcanists are not transcendents and do not possess extraordinary traits to help refine their mental strength. Therefore, we need to persist day by day. The refinement and purification of mental strength often occurs between breaths during meditation..."

“Meditation not only helps us restore our spirits and clear our minds, but it also helps us resist curses and mental pollution and stay true to our true selves.”

It's an amazing feeling.

Perhaps because he possesses two extraordinary characteristics in his body, Quinn can observe the outside world while meditating.

He was born with an incredible ability to focus, allowing even the most quiet-averse teenager to endure the monotony of a part-time job. Quinn didn't know if it was due to his extraordinary nature or if he truly possessed this talent, but even for these super-geniuses, the deep meditation required a period of time, yet he didn't find it any more difficult than mastering the Demon King's Eye.

In meditation, he could feel the thief's extraordinary qualities gradually merging with his soul.

Although it's nothing compared to the intense sense of integration I felt after stealing Pepe's suitcase, I'm indeed making progress bit by bit.

It's like downloading a 1TB collection of Japanese action movies from a non-member online disk, with a crawling download speed.

Since that day, Quinn has never felt such a sense of integration again.

By stealing a suitcase, the progress of the fusion of characteristics and soul increased by more than half.

But if I rely on meditation, at this snail's pace, it will take at least one or two years to integrate the remaining half.

The tavern owner once said that if one wanted to take the next sequence of potions, one had to wait until the extraordinary characteristics in the soul were completely digested and integrated.

Otherwise, conflicts will arise between new features and features that have not been fully digested, and the consequences will be disastrous.

As for how to digest and integrate, the boss just told Quinn to explore it on his own. The methods for each destiny, each sequence, and even each person are different.

Quinn thought with both laughter and tears, could it be that the way to incorporate the characteristics of a thief is to steal things?

The extraordinary characteristics of the "useless person" do not undergo any integration process.

From the moment of promotion, the extraordinary characteristics of the hero's destiny were completely integrated with the soul. Quinn could only feel the existence of the thief's characteristics through meditation, while the hero's characteristics seemed to be everywhere.

Not only do these two characteristics not conflict with each other, the hero's characteristic is also helping the soul to withstand the distortion of the thief's characteristic.

At least until today, it has been almost a week since Quinn took the Thief Potion, and he hasn't felt any urge to lose control.

[The conditions required to advance to the next level of the 'Brave' destiny are:]

[1. Collect 1000 Soul Fragments in total. (245/1000)]

[2. Take a random fate sequence nine potion and digest it completely.]

The system prompts for these two permanent main lines always exist. The way for the hero to advance is not by fusion, but by completing system tasks.

No wonder this destiny can only be used by time travelers, it is highly bound to the system.

After completely digesting the ninth potion of the Thief Sequence, Quinn already had some ideas. He planned to steal... oh no, try to pick up something.

But collecting a total of 1,000 soul fragments is too difficult. After getting 200 points as a divination reward, there is still a shortfall of more than 700 points.

Even if he avoided the new divination event and could get the tenfold reward again, it would only be 400 soul fragments.

Is he really going to kill someone?
You're looking for someone who is unfaithful, unfilial, unkind, and unjust, right? I'm going to kill him, kill, kill, kill, kill
Of course not.

Do the heroes hiding in the dark also need to collect soul fragments to advance?

Quinn ended his meditation and looked up at Celia.

Her long, cold brown hair draped over her shoulders, bobbing up and down with her head. The girl was struggling against sleepiness, looking like she was having a hard time.

Sequence eight?
Time passed as Jacob lectured.

The ancient bell rang out, and the tune that Quinn missed echoed inside and outside Grindelwald. Who knew what Merlin was thinking, bringing "Vanessa's Smile" to this other world? This was the bell that sounded when Quinn started and ended school in junior high school.

"Okay, dear ladies and gentlemen, this class ends here. Remember tonight to find a word to start or stop meditation according to my method. Practice more. If you have any questions, feel free to write to me."

Jacob raised his wrist to check his watch.

"Oh, by the way, you all need to gather in the auditorium at 5:00 PM for the class division ceremony. Everyone is here now, I emphasize this again."

After class, Jacob took the textbook and went to find Quinn.

"Ms. Quinn, how are you feeling?"

"Very good. Your lecture rhythm is much smoother than Mr. Cavendish's."

Quinn came in to audit the class under the pretext of observation. The vice-president asked him to speak for ten minutes on stage at the Demon Defense Department class every Friday, so he frantically ran to other departments to audit the class under the pretext of "learning the lectures".

The most visited classes are the Arcane Basics, History, and Demon Defense classes.

The teachers all thought he was a hard-working colleague, but who knew that Quinn, a Muggle, was actually there to attend classes for free and learned a lot.

For example, the history of Tamilan's mystical studies, meditation, and the restraint of various forces in battle.
This knowledge is vast and diverse, and one or two weeks of classes will not allow you to even learn the basics, but Quinn has a good brain and can remember everything he listens to, which is better than sitting in a daze in Amemiya Ningning's office.

"Oh, that's quite a compliment. You know, among the students, Mr. Cavendish is much more popular than us old-fashioned guys." Jacob said cheerfully, "It's been over a week since I started working here. What do you think of Mr. Cavendish?"

"what?"

Quinn was stunned, thinking he was asking about how his work with Amamiya Ningning was going.

"Very good, getting better."

"Things are getting better?" Jacob gave him a thumbs-up. "Haha, before coming to the academy, I knew you had a knack from seeing Celia's attitude towards you—keep working on it! The dean will definitely be happy to hear this."

"Oh, I didn't expect the dean to care so much about teaching." Quinn saluted the arcane gardener, Salute.

Jacob suddenly lowered his voice:

"We've got a gift for you to help you with your work."

"What gift?" Quinn asked curiously.

He hasn't chosen the compensation the college promised him yet.

"You'll find out when you wait." Jacob then walked away mysteriously. "What are these crazy people up to?"

Quinn always felt that his conversations with Jacob were not on the same channel, for some unknown reason.

At the classroom door, Quinn saw Celia.

And the boy who secretly gave Celia a hint.

Allison, sixteen years old, is one of the few nobles among this class of freshmen. His father is a hereditary viscount of Bavaria. He has burgundy hair in beautiful curls and his appearance is quite outstanding among the boys.

Quinn memorized the names and backgrounds of all the first-year students, even their preferences, thanks to the confidential information that Amamiya Ningning had casually thrown away.

Celia maintained a polite smile on her face, keeping a proper distance from him. She seemed to have little experience in this kind of social interaction. When she saw Quinn come out, she ran towards him with a sense of relief.
"Teacher Quinn~!"

Quinn smiled and nodded.

"You're daydreaming in class."

"Hey, I'm so sleepy."

Celia was clearly more relaxed than before, her youthful brightness dazzling him. Alison eyed Quinn warily, but when he saw the face and beard that clearly matched Celia's age, he felt reassured.

You're overthinking it.

It's okay, take your time.

"Celia--" Allison said with a polite smile, "I look forward to hearing from you in the auditorium. Bye. Professor Babas's space magic class is about to begin, and I plan to sit in."

“Okay.”

Watching Alison leave, Celia sighed with emotion, "That's amazing! I feel like I don't fit in with them...why was I chosen to join Grindelwald?"

Quinn asked with interest, "Reply to what?"

"Alison wants me to go shopping with him on Broom Lane next weekend. He wants to buy some Poké Balls for catching magical creatures."

The two walked side by side in the corridor, soft light falling on their way from the square windows.

"Didn't you also say that we'll go out to eat together after we finish shopping?"

"Wow, teacher, you eavesdropped on our conversation!"

"I didn't eavesdrop, but I can guess." Quinn imitated a polite tone. "For example, I know there's a restaurant in a certain place. It's very unique and the chef is very good. Anyway, it's just on my way, blah blah."

"As expected of a Divination Department teacher."

Celia looked at Quinn's profile with admiration. "Alison said there's a restaurant called Mirror Lake Restaurant on Cloud Avenue. It has a view of Mirror Lake and serves steak, a specialty of his hometown."

"Oh, rich people."

Quinn, who had worked at the Nordic Fantasy Club throughout his youth, was accustomed to this kind of thing.

In fact, among minors who have never seen the world, there are not many money worshippers. But if they have seen the hustle and bustle of the world above the clouds and the bright lights and feasting of the rich, the huge gap will make them yearn for money.

There are always some rich young men who take ordinary schoolgirls to Northern Europe and fantasize about having dinner, some luxury clothes that their parents can't afford, a few exquisite Western meals that make them take photos non-stop, and a hotel suite that can get a lot of likes on Xiaohongshu. Then they will have unrealistic dreams of having both love and material wealth.

But for the rich, this was just a commonplace tactic, the good thing about it being so effective. Quinn had seen it so often that he didn't even think anything of it; it had nothing to do with him, a pianist.

Of course, he didn't think Alison was that bad. Grindelwald's admissions examination included character as an exam, so he must be a good guy.

But looking at the girl who was so close to him, as if she didn't know what distance was, Quinn couldn't help but say, "It's very expensive."

"What's expensive?" Celia asked curiously.

"That restaurant costs a gold pound for a steak." Quinn paused. "But it's worth it. The food is really good, and there are floor-to-ceiling windows with a beautiful view of the lake. It's just not as good as the view at the academy."

Celia's small mouth slowly opened into an O shape.

"This is so expensive?!"

She subconsciously calculated, "One gold pound can buy me a month's worth of fresh meat, and I can even buy some beans to stew with it. My pocket money has only amounted to twenty silver coins so far. Isn't it a bad idea to spend the shopping budget given by the academy on something like this?"

"The academy's budget can only be spent on Broom Lane." Quinn laughed dumbly. "If he said that, then he will definitely treat you. You don't need to spend any money."

".ah?"

Celia was stunned for a moment, then shook her head slightly.

"Then I'm not going."

"why?"

"I feel like he has ulterior motives."

The girl said unhappily.

"What do you mean by scheming? He's not going to sell you out." Quinn said casually as he walked, "His family seems to be aristocratic. This little money is nothing."

"I don't like boys younger than me. Seeing him reminds me of my younger brother, who is still wet behind the ears."

"If so what do you like?"

"I like people who are older than me—"

Celia suddenly changed her stance and asked, "Teacher, what about you? Teacher Quinn, do you prefer girls who are older or younger than you?"

"Same as you." Quinn answered honestly: "I like the older sister type."

"Hey, so tasteless!" The girl moved away from him, feeling angry.

"Ah."

Quinn laughed cheerfully: "Seeing you guys reminds me of my school days, my youth."

"School days? Oh~~" She dragged out the words, as if she suddenly became excited:
"What does it remind you of? Did you also do something inappropriate to girls like Allison did when you were in school?"

Quinn reminisced:

"When I was a student, I also saw others doing bad things to girls."

"puff"

Celia's shoulders twitched as she tried to suppress a laugh.

"teacher"

"Ok?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

The textbook rolled up and hit the girl on the head with a bang.

"Wow——"

"Why are you gossiping about this? You're just daydreaming in class, aren't you?" Quinn said, playing the role of a qualified teacher. "You might as well spend your time thinking about learning the arcane."

Celia's energy suddenly waned.

“Although it’s only been a week since school started, I feel like there’s a huge gap between me and them.”

Her voice was low. "Even eleven-year-old Paige is better than me. They understand everything the teacher says right away, but I have to take my notes back to the dorm to study just to keep up. Many people can play Quidditch on a broomstick, but I can barely sit still."

"Teacher, do you think Grindelwald picked the wrong person? How could an ordinary girl like me be chosen? My classmates can audit space magic classes, but I even get distracted while meditating. Dad thinks I'm only suitable to be a cake maker when I grow up, but I'm dreaming of playing the piano and arcane magic. Isn't that a bit unrealistic?"

Quinn looked into her dim eyes, the frustration coming from the heart.

Is the identity of a British princess really enough to make the most rule-conscious academy make an exception and admit students?
But what if you add the identity of a hero?
His conscience struggled slightly, but Quinn decided to give it a try.

"Auditing the Space Magic class is bullshit. He's just trying to show off in front of you. How could a first-year student possibly understand that? You know, only the top students in the upper grades dare to sign up for Space Magic, and the failure rate is as high as 70% every year."

Celia followed behind Quinn without answering, looking quite depressed.

"Why are you so obsessed with talent? It negates all effort, understand? Let me give you an analogy. Let's say there are four or six people in your family. Your mom cooks every day, and your dad goes out to work. Then at the end of the month, when the accounts are settled, you see that dad is the most valuable family member! Everyone else just won by doing nothing, and they all failed!"

Quinn asked seriously, "Can that be calculated? No, doesn't it depend on how much effort each person puts in? As long as you work hard, even if you're not as good as others, you're still a good student that the school can be proud of."

After hearing these irrelevant words, Celia became even more depressed.

".There are only three people in my family. My brother and I are orphans picked up by our father."

"what?"

Quinn feigned surprise, "What about your parents?"

"."

Celia shook her head and said nothing.

It wasn't until they parted ways on the upside-down stairwell that Celia smiled as usual and said, "Teacher Quinn, thank you for your encouragement! I'm much better now!"

Quinn stared at her forced smile.

Does this sadness come from the king and queen who died in the fire, or from the parents in the previous life whom they will never see again?
Quinn, who didn't miss his parents much, was confused to find that he seemed not good at distinguishing such delicate feelings.

Although the girl was smiling, her eyes were filled with unspeakable sadness.

Tsk, that nasty feeling of guilt. You don't act like a villain at all.

"Hey." Quinn picked up the textbook and tapped Celia on the head, but this time it was very gentle.

"If you can be assigned to the Divination Department, I will teach you to play the piano after school every day."

(End of this chapter)