The cool rain drizzled on Donnie’s face, making him gradually come back to himself. He shook his head. “It can’t be what I thought. His behavior showed anomalies. Such a gentle and friendly man can’t be…”
Donnie slowly turned around and walked out of the Mills Noble School. He intended to take a good rest in the dormitory to get himself prepared for the additional tests on ghosts, spirits, and souls in the afternoon.
He did not wait for Sammy because he knew very well that Sammy must’ve left an hour ago after he finished the exam. This was the field that Sammy was best at, and it was also the most mentally exhausting one. He wouldn’t be able to control his desire for sleep.
As he expected, after Donnie returned to his dormitory, he found Sammy snoring on the bed. The ghost on his back was also rather lazy and unenergetic since it was noon.
Donnie couldn’t help but smile at the familiar Sammy. His anxiety and concerns were greatly soothed. Pouring himself a glass of water and drinking it up, he lay on his own bed and stared at the ceiling. “He rode on an aircraft that was equipped with minor fission devices, and he was protected by the Guardian Squad of the Sword of Truth’s Knights. Karl definitely has a special identity. Is he the heir of a certain grand noble? No. He has a brother…”
“Thanks to Karl, the stitched body I crafted today was highly praised by the teacher. As long as my performance isn’t too bad in the afternoon, I will probably be admitted by the Heidler Magic College. With Karl’s background, he will probably be admitted by the college…”
Donnie sighed in the middle of his fantasies. “If he were a girl, everything would be perfect. None of the commercial girls between TV programs can compare to him…”
The world was truly malicious!
He took a deep breath and eliminated his messy thoughts, allowing him to enter a deep-level sleep with meditation tricks so that he could be revitalized for the afternoon tests.
In the afternoon, Donnie came to the Mills Noble School on the special bus again. Led by the gray-haired necromancer in the morning, he entered a graveyard nearby.
He looked around, hoping to find Karl. However, many students were taking the exam, and they were scattered in the spacious graveyard and blocked by tombstones and trees. It was barely possible to locate a specific person. However, when he summoned and drove ghosts, Donnie suddenly heard a distant and scary scream that sounded like it came from a terrifying wrath. Together with the scream were cries for help.
Hehe. Karl is here for the exam after all. Who’s so unlucky? However, since the teacher is here, there shouldn’t be any problem, Donnie thought with a gloating smile on his face. Not to mention that there are still Karl’s “Guardians”…
As he expected, the terrifying scream of spirits soon died down.
Since souls and spirits were not Donnie’s best field, he calmed himself down and was devoted to his own tests. He modified, commanded, and adjusted the ghosts prudently until he felt that it was perfect before asking the necromancer to review his works. As a result, by the time he left the cemetery, Karl was long gone, which slightly upset him. Although Karl was a man, it was always a pleasant experience to see him.
“Donnie, how is your work?” The moment Donnie returned to the Mills Noble School from the cemetery, he heard Sammy calling him. The evening of a gloomy day was particularly dim, so Sammy was in high spirits. His ghost no longer hid in the shadows anymore. It was waving its fuzzy arms and creaking.
Donnie smiled. “I’m 90% confident.”
He was talking about his confidence to be admitted by the Heidler Magic College.
Sammy rubbed his messy hair and chuckled. “I am 100%. Right, Donnie, now that the exam is over, our dormitory will be reclaimed. I will return to Wolfburg. What about you? Are you going home or staying in Rentato for now to wait for the final result?”
He was a native of Wolfburg, a southern city.
Hearing Sammy’s words, Donnie immediately thought of his parents and his sister. He couldn’t have missed them more, but he quickly shook his head and pointed at his neck where there were no accessories with a bitter smile. “I have to work in Rentato for two months to pay for the Lucidity Necklace that I borrowed.”
He signed a contract with the bookstore owner.
“Is that so?” Sammy asked in surprise. He had obviously forgotten what Donnie told him earlier. However, he quickly dropped it and went on, “I’m here to tell you that you can apply for a dormitory, as long as you move out before September so that the new apprentices can move in.”
“Really?” Donnie had been wondering where he could find a cheap residence. He was both surprised and delighted, and his sorrow was gone.
“So, you’ve saved a great amount of money. You have to buy me dinner!” Sammy said jokingly.
He did not feel that sad that they were graduating and departing from each other because he believed that he would see Donnie again in the Heidler Magic College.
……
The next morning, Donnie went to the office of his school to apply for a dormitory. After he listed his poor conditions and his excellent study performance, the sympathetic elf teacher quickly granted his request. Then, without any rest, he went to the Triumph Square and entered the Knowledge Bookstore.
Dollos, the owner of the bookstore who had owl eyes, glanced at Donnie. “I thought you were going to break the contract.”
“I was delayed by something in school. Here is your Lucidity Necklace.” Donnie handed the Lucidity Necklace back to the boss. Without the Lucidity Necklace, his review and consolidation in the last three months couldn’t have been so effective.
Dollos nodded. “You will wipe all the bookshelves and spines today.”
After that, he hurried to greet a new guest who just came in.
Donnie was not a spoiled child. He found a piece of cloth in a corner and began to work.
As he wiped, he read the titles of the books. Reading was his greatest hobby.
“‘Evans Instructions’, ‘Lucien’s Guidance’, ‘Detailed Explanations of the Questions in the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic by Lucien Evans’…” Looking at the row of books, Donnie felt that the veins on his forehead were suddenly bulging. He was so agitated and nauseated that he almost burned them up.
Donnie had the same feelings when he saw the tests on his own bookshelf in his dormitory. Had it not been for the fact that he could earn a lot by selling those books as well as his solutions, he would’ve set them on fire.
“Why is the nightmare still haunting me here?”
Thankfully, the Knowledge Bookstore only had one row that was about tests, or Donnie suspected that he would go crazy.
It was already noon after he cleaned half of the bookshelves. Dollos turned on the home TV embedded on the wall and watched “Noon of the Empire”, a news program.
“Considering the two cases of sudden death when the sorcerer was playing virtual adventure games, Master Karu, most famous for his fraternity, has filed an application to the Affair Committee and the Magic Research Board, asking them to abort the funding for the project of ‘Virtual Magic Exercise’. He believes that the project has serious safety problems and that the combination of artificial intelligence, alchemical life, and illusion will definitely go wrong. The project should not be activated until the arcanists behind the project propose practical precautions.”
The anchor was a black-haired and blue-eyed Holmish lady, pretty with a pleasant voice.
“Ms. Heidi, the arcanist who is responsible for the ‘Virtual Magic Exercise’ project publicly states that the two sudden death cases do not contradict the principle of ‘virtual reality’, and what is needed is a body examination before the stimulation with illusion. She believes that Master Karu’s attack is absurd and illogical. It’s like when somebody drives off a cliff in an alchemical car after getting drunk, he is calling for a total ban on alchemical cars instead of forbidding drunk driving.
“The arcanists have been debating fiercely on the matter. Right now, the Affair Committee is more inclined to control the promotion of the ‘Virtual Magic Exercise…”
Donnie heard the news in the middle of his work. Finding it odd, he blurted out, “How is this happening?”
Under normal circumstances, as Mr. Evans’ student, Ms. Heidi’s project shouldn’t have been attacked so hard.
As if he guessed Donnie’s confusion, the boss chuckled. “After writing ‘What Is Life?’, it is said that Mr. Evans left our world with the empress and went to another universe for adventure to seek the path of immortality. Right now, the prince is the regent of the country. After certain things are figured out in the adventure, it is possible that the empress will return and give away the throne.”
In the first year of the arcana calendar, the Kingdom of Holm obtained the Holy City as well as all the papal states. So, “empress” was added to Natasha’s titles.
“Wow… We can go to a parallel universe for adventures now?” Donnie asked in confusion and shock.
“What do you think Mr. Evans has been working on in the past twenty years besides quantum field theory?” Dollos seemed to be rather informed.
Donnie was suddenly reinvigorated. “Are they going to the universe that intersects with ours?”
“How is it possible? When we go to that universe, the ocean of energy we count on will be no longer usable because of the quick fluctuations. Other than the demigods who partly grasp the secrets of high dimensions, the other demigods wouldn’t have much strength left after they go there.” The boss chuckled. “However, even if they go to other parallel universes, their strength will also be greatly reduced. I wonder if Mr. Evans has solved the problem in his research. After all, I’m told that only the top legends can be taken away by the demigods.”
“Alright…” Donnie suddenly felt that his horizon was broadened. This world included not just the Rentato he lived in, but also the vast cosmos and the countless parallel universes. There were too many places he could explore.
So, there was no telling when Mr. Evans or Her Majesty would return from their exploration? That could explain the situation. For the grand arcanists, it was very common for them to be engaged in field research. They wouldn’t tell anyone on purpose, and naturally, the TV channels, radio stations, and newspapers did not know anything about it.
Shaking his head, Donnie went on wiping, and he reached a corner, where a row of books on the theories of the school of necromancy was placed.
“It’s a shame that none of the books are about specific applications. Otherwise, I can try to analyze them right now.” Donnie sighed regretfully. Under the government of the Congress of Magic, arcana theories were not confidential, and everybody was welcome to study and discuss them. However, the specific magic application and alchemical tricks could only be exchanged when they had clearances, like when they became students of a certain magic college.
As he wiped, Donnie suddenly saw a book with a black spine. On the cover of the book, written in the language of the ancient Magic Empire was…
Parchment of Death.
This is… Donnie’s heart beat fast. It seemed to be a magic book about an application?
