Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Lyle smiled slightly. The materials were collected by Chai Chai, modified by Raymond, and made by Ariana. To be honest, he had gotten something for nothing. He felt no resentment at being able to see Ariana's childlike side with a cane, and it was indeed very suitable.

"Yes, it really suits you."

“I was just kidding.” Ariana handed the staff back to Lyle, this time without pulling her hand back. “Now is the time when you need it. Mr. Dragon’s course has already begun. It’s a three-day course on spirit summoning spells. If you go now, you can witness the staff’s awakening process and familiarize yourself with your new staff.”

"Thank you." Lyle picked up his cane and prepared to leave.

"Wait, what's that in your hand?"

Following Ariana's finger, Lyle saw the egg in his hand, which he held there, a fact he habitually ignored.

"It's my talent. Since there are some things I don't understand, I plan to take it to Mr. Dragon for a look."

"I need... cough, I mean, I can take a look at you."

Looking at Ariana's outstretched hand, it was as if her veil practically screamed, "I'm curious."

Lyle placed the egg in her palm and closed the door to the Cup of Extravagance.

"Please be careful."

……

Lyle held the new cane in his hand, and at first, he walked down the corridor like a gentleman, the sound of his heels tapping on the floor tiles as pleasant as the sound of his shoes.

Later, I gave up. I couldn't learn that affected elegance. Walking with a cane felt like having a third leg. It was okay for a short time, but after a while, it felt awkward no matter how I walked, and eventually, I even became somewhat uncoordinated. Another point was Lyle's stinginess. She felt bad when her beautiful cane got scratched or bumped, and she held it preciously in her hand. But later, she simply threw it into her bag, preferring to stay out of sight of it.

Walking down to the familiar basement level, perhaps because I had been there before, the blue flame torches along the way no longer felt cold, even though the temperature was indeed a bit low.

Upon arriving at the old classroom, I gently knocked three times on the wooden door, but no one responded for a long time.

Lyle opened the door.

First, there was the Emor spell being chanted over and over again. It was a psychic spell that I had practiced in advance. No wonder no one heard the knocking. The low and cold Emor spell also had a somewhat noisy feel because of the number of people.

The chaos wasn't just caused by the constant chanting of spells, but also by the bones floating in mid-air. Occasionally, shadowy figures chasing the bones and bones chasing the shadows would run past Lyle, accompanied by the thud of bones hitting heads. Some bones even put on a flying show in mid-air, while directly below them, bewildered novice séances were repeatedly chanting spells or letting out meaningless screams.

What is Mr. Dragon doing?

Mr. Dragon is flying on his sword, manipulating four bone clubs of different lengths, controlling them to strike in the air and knock down any unruly bone clubs.

“Mr. Dragon!” Lyle had to shout so that he could hear him.

"Oh! Doctor of Plague, please find a seat."

"Watch out for air raids!"

Chapter Fifty-Four: Time Was Too Short

The uproar lasted for fifteen minutes, but the situation was brought under control with the intervention of Mr. Dragon.

The rampaging staff crashed from the sky, lost its power, and was caught in its owner's hand.

One by one, the students in black robes returned to their original positions, as if they were in deep meditation. If you hadn't witnessed it with your own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that the taciturn boy had been running and jumping around not long ago.

Mr. Dragon on the stage waved his hand, and the four bone staffs returned to his pocket like swallows returning to their nest, leaving only a standard staff that reached his eyebrows in his hand.

The dragon lightly touched the ground, and the gaze refocused on him.

“It was my mistake to allow you to cast spells before understanding your skill level,” Mr. Dragon stroked his chin. “The recent surge in the number of new students, coupled with your excellent performance in the last class, led me to misjudge your average level. After all, times have changed, and I should also change my outdated teaching methods.”

Although Mr. Dragon's words were sincere and earnest, the implication was that this year's class was the worst students he had ever taught. His intention was not to criticize, but it was precisely this unintentional statement that revealed the greatest malice.

"The practical lesson is over. Now, let's continue with the theoretical lesson."

"Lesson Two: Spells for Communication with Spirits."

It involves performing rituals on the soul of an inanimate object. The materials are the soul itself and the object it is attached to. The result, commonly known as a spirit object, possesses varying degrees of spirituality depending on the amount of effort exerted. The soul can be one's own or someone else's; the difference is that one's own is much easier to control.

Try to be alone when casting a spell and keep your emotions stable, as this is directly related to the result. The emotions of those around you are also a source of interference, because emotions are contagious. This is especially true for spirits that are forming their spirituality. Negative emotions such as irritability are the main reasons for spirits to go berserk. Once the spell is over, the spirit's spirituality is basically established, just like a child entering adulthood, and it will no longer be disturbed by a few words.

However, these factors can be ignored when the spellcaster's magic power and will are strong enough. This is why these conditions were not taken seriously at first. According to Mr. Dragon, this was the first time he had ever experienced such a riot in all his years of teaching.

After a riot, it is not difficult to control the situation. Just repeat the spell to appease the rioters, provided that your emotions are calm enough. Otherwise, you will only add fuel to the fire.

Mr. Dragon explained in sufficient detail, and afterward did not require any further on-the-spot practice. He confirmed the situation with the students whose staffs had gone berserk, gave them some instructions, and then announced the end of get out of class.

Lyle and the dragon walked back. The dragon inquired about why Lyle hadn't attended class the night before, and then emphasized some precautions regarding psychic communication.

"Has the Plague Doctor's talent awakened?"

"Yes, it is a talent called the Egg of Delusion, an egg that can change its shape according to my thoughts."

"An egg?" Perhaps it was the initial structure of the organism that attracted the attention of biology enthusiasts. Mr. Dragon was very interested in the appearance of the egg, and after learning that Lyle did not have it with him but left it with Ariana, he also pulled Lyle aside to ask some specific details, becoming even more engrossed than Lyle.

Urged repeatedly by Mr. Dragon, the two quickly returned to the Cup of Extravagance.

……

Ariana gently swirled the spoon in her teacup. She had maintained this habit for a long time, watching the metal handle slice through the liquid, swirling with yellow and white patterns, which brought her a sense of peace.

But today, she has found a new habit.

The black gauze glove stroked the sphere, and with a slight pressure, small ripples spread outwards like waves.

The comfort made her mind a little hazy, and Ariana began to hum "The Snow Fairy," a nursery rhyme she loved as a child that she hadn't heard in a long time.

The intoxicating feeling is like incense spreading over your head, making you want to fall asleep forever.

Until a sudden voice came from beside me, it was the plague doctor.

"Ariana, stop singing."

She looked over and saw the doctor sitting opposite her, across a table. He was holding the edge of the table with one hand and resting his other elbow on the table, his body trembling slightly.

The dragon stood between the two, his gaze fixed on them, or more precisely, on the egg he had placed on his lap.

I'm feeling a little irritated; maybe I should let go.

……

Lyle swallowed hard, barely managing to push back the stomach acid that was rising into his throat, his tongue unconsciously tasting the sourness in his mouth.

I was watching Ariana intently "masturbating," her head swaying from side to side in bliss, and I didn't want to disturb the atmosphere, so I sat down to let her enjoy herself.

As a result, Ariana started singing while playing... and she had no choice but to interrupt her.

There was nothing he could do; his intestines were dancing wildly to the rhythm of her singing.

"Ariana, have you discovered anything?" Although he realized she was just trying to satisfy her own psychological needs.

“Nothing was found,” she said, placing the eggs on the table. “Too little time.”

This seems to imply a short experience, but Lyle has expressed doubts about it.

Chapter 55 The Scholar's Answer

Mr. Dragon tapped his fingertips on the table, the vibrations transmitted through the thick velvet to the surface, producing a dull sound. Lyle and Ariana unconsciously lowered their voices, providing the true elder with a quiet environment for contemplation.

The giant dragon claw occasionally moved across the surface of the egg, pressing and kneading it. Light gray magic flashed at the junction. If one's eyesight was sharp enough, one could watch the surface of the egg constantly changing, altering its shape with different energy fluctuations between the two.

As time progressed, the dragon's movements gradually slowed down. It would pause for four or five seconds, and just when you thought it was over, it would resume its movements. These pauses gradually lengthened, and you could clearly feel the dragon's confusion.

The dragon withdrew its hand.

At this moment, he seemed uninterested, as if he were in a bored phase after hastily fabricating a paper.

"I can only roughly determine that this is not a living organism, but rather some kind of device with a unique mechanism. Its sensitivity to me is quite limited, which means, Doctor of Epidemic Diseases, that its ability to change subjectively is quite limited."

Lyle was a little frustrated, like when you hand over a family heirloom to an expert for appraisal, only to find that it doesn't live up to your expectations.

"Don't be discouraged. I'm not an authority on talent either. I'm a professor of necromancy, and I can only determine that this egg's spirituality is not strong, which means it can't grow like a normal organism. Perhaps, if we leave it to a true authority to judge, his opinion will be different from ours."

"True authority?"

"Yes, the creator of the Talent Awakening Ritual, an authority on traditional magic, the third president of the Magic Research Society, and also Andrei's specially appointed professor of spells, my colleague, Mr. Scholar."

“If the doctor is available, we can set off now.”

"Ok."

……

In a room, on a sandalwood desk facing the door, a figure was fiddling with a crystal ball. Wearing a pointed wizard's hat and a black robe, he was muttering indistinct words. The mist inside the crystal ball was churning. As the mist dissipated, the Plague Doctor, holding a milky-white sphere, appeared inside the crystal ball.

A shrill voice echoed in the room, "They're here, they're here..."

Then it turned into a sharp, grotesque laugh.

“Ms. Murray, please stop making strange noises at my crystal ball. If you really like it that much, the Magic Research Society’s magical item shop sells them to the public, and I wouldn’t mind if you took it.”

The speaker sat on a ladder leaning against a bookshelf, wearing a simple linen robe and a stone mask with wavy patterns of energy on its surface—an enchanted artifact.

Books taken from the bookshelf were piled up around him, quills danced on parchment scrolls, and a large bucket of manuscripts had been piled up at his feet.

Murray sprang from her seat and reached out to steady the chair, which was about to tip over due to inertia. Although the chair was covered with the fur of an unknown animal, it wouldn't be damaged even if it fell to the ground.

"Excuse me, sir, you have a guest."

“Thank you for letting me know, Murray,” the scholar in the blue mask glanced at the crystal ball. “My guest is coming, Murray. Please close the door behind you when you leave, thank you.”

"Scholar, are you trying to get rid of me?"

The scholar put down his quill and lightly patted his forehead.

“I’ve been as tactful as I could, Ms. Murray. What I’m trying to say is, yes, you’ve been here for two hours now.”

"But the scholar didn't agree to my request either."

The scholar rubbed his temples. "So, what were you witches thinking, sending me a membership invitation and sending a clueless young lady to torment this old man like me?"

"Because we wanted to repay the scholar, and we didn't send any members to bother you. You're such a clueless person. I've been here with you for so long and I haven't seen you. You must be overthinking it. Old people's memories are indeed not good."

The scholar screwed the cap on the ink bottle, and as he turned it, he twisted it three times hard, as if he wanted to twist the head of some silly girl three times.

"So, Ms. Murray intends to come with me to meet the guest."

"Yes, I'll just stand here quietly and won't bother you."

"..." The scholar seemed to realize something. "Oh dear, I'm afraid that won't do. My colleague, Mr. Dragon, is a chauvinist. He utterly detests being in the same room as a woman of such exceptional talent as you. He once told me that he would rather be with female animals than women. So, Murray, I'm afraid you'll have to leave. I can't be rude to my guest."